The Blackout – University of Glamorgan

The Blackout
University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd
2nd October 2010

Tonight sees a mix and mash line up at a Student Union deep into South Wales’ Treforest area. Kicking things off to a somewhat empty room are iSpyStrangers. They’re noisy and they’ve all got perfectly straightened hair (bar the drummer). It’s a typical sound, from a typical band with a drummer who seems like he could do more musically if he wanted to. They’re not bad, but they’re nothing special unfortunately.

The Guns hit the stage next and Alex Wiltshire leaps in with his usual banter. The crowd are mostly into the band, but it still feels like a short set for a band who, in the past, I have seen having the whole crowd eating out the palm of their hand by the end of their set. Their drummer is slowly beginning to fit in with the outfit (she joined not too long ago), but it still feels like the whole thing could do with a bit of a kick up the arse. Shame really cause they once upon a time really blew me away.

Headlining tonight’s gig is The Blackout. Now I’ve been avoiding seeing this band for almost a year in hope’s something would change and something would surprise. And mostly… it didn’t. Which was a real shame. There was one awesome highlight of the night when they blew the dust off of a track from the old skool days of “The Blackout! The Blackout! The Blackout!” and played ‘Hard Slammin’. I hadn’t heard this song I don’t think since at least 2008 and it was nice that they chucked an old track in there. But the rest of the set was still as predictable as I remember. From certain jumps to the crowd interactions, the band seemed to have nothing new to offer.


Thankfully they seem to be leaving the scene for a while to record the third album in the new year and I hope that the break will be exactly what this band needs to set itself back where they used to… different, exciting and offering something a little new and unique. Let’s hope that they’re back in a way that will make us all lose our shit (or so they say!)

Words: Anneka Sillitoe