Lostprophets 27th April 2012 - Newcastle O2 Academy
From the word go the academy was buzzing with an undeniable energy unlike anything you’d see anywhere else. Lostprophets hadn’t graced the stage here since 2010 and if the excitement was anything to go by their return came not a day too soon.
First on, and the only support act for the night, were rising dubstep band Modestep. Walking in during their set was certainly a surprising moment and rose the question “Is this really the right gig?” as they jumped around the stage, with an apple mac sitting on a DJ booth doing a lot of the work for them it was hard to understand why they had been chosen to support one of British rock’s biggest bands.
However, those in the mosh pits did not seem to complain, maybe it was for the many cameras that the band had brought with them or maybe they were genuinely enjoying the loud bass and non-stop beats but whatever it was the moshing never seemed to cease.
Other than those in the main part of the crowd though, it seemed not many other people were enjoying the overdone remixes of songs which were good before Modestep got their hands on them (take for example, Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” which seems to be played as a message “to the haters” but probably gains the band more “haters” than it makes an example of) and for the most part many people stood with their arms folded waiting for it to just end already. There are only so many “wub wub wub” beats you can take whilst waiting for Lostprophets.
Eventually it was time for Modestep to leave and the headliners to make an appearance.
From the word go it was clear that Lostprophets were on the top of their game. The crowd never once seemed to let their feet touch the ground for more than a millisecond as the band played old favourites and new songs (all of which gained the same enthusiastic reaction, regardless of the little time the fans had had to familiarise themselves with those off Weapons)
The stand out tracks were mostly from Liberation Transmission, crowd pleasers included Can’t Catch Tomorrow, A Town Called Hypocrisy and of course, Rooftops and Last Train Home. However there was not one song that didn’t gain any sort of notable reaction (the most notable reaction in terms of songs off Weapons surprisingly seemed to come from We Bring An Arsenal, interesting as this song is not even a single) and even during ballads the crowd did not let up, eager to show these Welsh boys that after a decade and a bit they are still as needed and appreciated as ever.
The band themselves barely faltered, although Ian Watkins may not be the best singer in the world he still pulled out all of the stops (various times this involved a megaphone) whilst the rest of the band seemed even more energetic, as though their 2 year absence left them with something to prove.
And prove themselves is certainly what they did, putting on a show I’m sure no one will be forgetting any time soon.
With all of this competition from rising British bands it’s sometimes easier to overlook Lostprophets but after seeing them live and seeing how much energy and atmosphere their shows can create, it becomes obvious that even the biggest rising stars of the British scene have some way to go to catch them up yet.
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