The kids are out in force for their hardrock heart-throbs but not before Rosanna Hynes has digested some Canadian brute force.
The Young Guns arrived onstage to a crowd indifferent to their presence and left a crowd rapt. Though the vocals are at first weak, once this emocore band get into their stride they are impossible to stop. With catchy hooks and boy-band good looks, The Young Guns are energetic and wild onstage, and clearly destined for emo greatness.
The Young Guns pick up speed, carrying the young crowd with them, and at its fastest, this particular brand of angsty punk demands movement, whether to the music or away. It is an acquired taste, but one perfectly suited to The Masque Theatre’s crowd this evening.
The Pack AD performed swaggering cowboy rock and roll packaged in too-cool androgyny. With stamping and shouting tunes, this Canadian pair are impossible to ignore.
Their combination of punk attitude, crashing cymbals and clanging guitars have notes of early White Stripes and The Clash managing to rip up The Masque with verve and steel.
The Blackout storm onto the stage at the start of their set to deafening cheers and high-pitched screams that increase in volume at the appearance of emo teen heartthrob Sean, The Blackout’s talented lead.
The frenzied crowd are quickly whipped into a pulsing mass of sweating energy, as the ceiling starts to drip and the air steams up.
Launching headlong into the crowd, the two vocalists are mobbed, zombie-like by a tumult of hands, and the music gears up.
With pounding drums, layered melodies and metal guitars, The Blackout are shining examples of a scene they transcend on talent alone. The hardcore screams, blending seamlessly with catchy choruses and gloriously violent breakdowns.
‘That was fucking beautiful‘, exclaims lead singer Sean as they wrap up the set with their last song, ‘Save Ourselves‘. He’s not wrong.
Pictures by Matt Thomas and Mark McNulty
