The Blackout

By Claire White

As the lights dimmed and a powerful introduction song began, the crowd were already highly anticipating The Blackout’s appearance supporting You Me At Six at The Corn Exchange in Edinburgh on Friday 7th January.

As the band appeared on stage, the audience screamed and applauded before the band had even played a single note, this already was showing that The Blackout were clearly a good choice for the support slot and the crowd were fully behind them

They launched into ‘Children Of The Night’ with full energy from the first chord played. The song is a powerful first choice and already the excitement has rippled through the crowd, those at the back even jumping along. The crowd were already involved singing along with no aid from the band and the song was a good choice to get the crowd into the full gig spirit.

The song choices within the set allowed both vocalists showcase their talent. In the 2nd song ‘Shut The Fuck Uppercut’ the band had full crowd interaction in this high energy song and it managed to showcase lead singer Gavin Butler’s vocals even more so than the other tracks. By the end of the song, the whole crowd were joining in with the band and as the lighting suited the music perfectly, it created a whole new atmosphere in the room.

In the bands 5th song ‘It’s High Tide Baby’, it showcased Sean Smith’s vocals to their best. The song again contained full crowd interaction, a point which the band spread throughout their whole set and make sure that every single person in the room is enjoying themselves. With this song, they also start of with a little introduction of ‘Whip My Hair’ by Willow Smith which was an extremely different addition, but the crowd joined in with the bands encouragement and this increased the crowd’s energy level before they launched into the song, working extremely well.

Other highlights in the set included ‘Spread Legs, Not Lies’ and ‘Save Ourselves (The Warning)’ in which the band again have the full support of the crowd singing along and jumping in unison, again they do not need encouragement to do so. Looking over the crowd, it is one of the best reaction’s you could ever wish for being a support band and the crowd reacting like you are the main act. The band in this song also manage to encapsulate both sides of the room, with the lead singers taking a side each and ensuring everyone on their ‘side’ is having the best possible time and that everyone is involved, unlike some live bands were the singer seems static in the middle, the two are just as alive as the crowd!

On the bands 4th song they invited on stage Josh Franceschi, the lead singer of You Me At Six, to join them for their track ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’. The crowd were expecting this to happen with Josh featuring on the original track, but this did not show as the screams erupted when he walked on stage. This song was definitely a highlight in the set and allowed everyone in the room to join in, even the very small minority who originally were not so alive. It was a good choice for their set and contained full energy constantly, strong vocals from all three singers and again the band ensured that the crowd were fully involved at every point.

The crowd fully welcomed The Blackout in Edinburgh as they contained their high spirits, energy and strong vocals throughout every single song, including their last most-known song ‘I’m A Riot, You’re A Fucking Riot’. The band made sure the crowd were fully involved throughout their whole set and had a range of songs to suit everyone’s taste. With their headline show here in March and the reception they received, it would not be a surprise if the show is a sell out!

One response to “The Blackout”

  1. […] To read the full review, click here. […]

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