The Blackout, Manchester Academy 1

by Paulo Tourette on 4.10.08

You can say what you like about The Blackout, but you cannot deny their effectiveness as a live unit. Too poppy for some, not serious enough for others, but in a live environment, they really shine and last night was no exception.

Coming on to the crowds now familiar chant of “We are the dynamite”, they wait until the whole room is shouting then storm onstage and segue into “I’ve Got Better Things To Do Tonight Than Die” letting the fans gathered here tonight know they’ll be taking no prisoners.

They play a style of post-hardcore, plenty of screamed vocals to counterpoint the sung sections, more than enough grunt from the rhythm section, huge epic hooks in every song, and they’re tight, to the point of it all being almost rehearsed. Which it more than likely is.

But that’s the point, it’s a show, its not just a gig, its entertainment, songs like “She is Macho” and “Spread Legs Not Lies” gain a rapturous reception as the band weave in and out of each other, juggling mics, its plain they’re having the time of their lives.

It’s this sense of fun that really makes The Blackout stand out, and then there’s the bits between songs, the good natured taunting, the intro’s, the tongue in cheek banter, they actually make you laugh, this is a band that has personality.

The sneaky covers and homage’s to Madonna, AC/DC, and RATM really get everyone involved, they even play a section of “I kissed a girl (and I liked it)”.

A new track gets aired, but not before we’re taught the chorus so we can sing along, but its their penultimate track, the anthemic “Its High Tide Baby!” that gets the biggest cheers, with everyone joining in, the band cut out leaving just the audience screaming along to the chorus.

The whole venture is pure, rock n roll fun distilled into just over an hour, this is a band on the up, loving what they’re doing and their fans for getting them there, they deserve all the success they’ve had so far and more to come.

They really are the dynamite.