The atmosphere in the Underworld was one of excitement, and while a small crowd had gathered to witness the first band on tonight, Welsh post-hardcore outfit, The Blackout, it was apparent that the majority were more interested in what was to come.

However The Blackout proved they are worth paying attention to. Despite being a warm up band, they launched into a ferocious set of extremely tight and well put together tunes, switching between melodic verses, riffs, soaring choruses and seamlessly going into ridiculously heavy breakdowns. Despite this being the last night of their eight day tour they show no sign of slowing down now. The two vocalists, each of whom obviously have enough talent to front at least two bands on their own, traversed the stage like men possessed, singing and screaming all the while keeping the attention of the rapidly swelling crowd. It cannot be said that The Blackout are the most original in terms of what they do, but they do it far better than most. For fans of From Autumn to Ashes and Underoath, The Blackout are definitely the surprise of the night, and they are a well kept secret that won’t be kept for much longer.

Next up is rapidly ascending The Brigade. While the singer bears the burden of being Charlie Simpson’s (Busted, Fightstar) older brother, this seems distant enough for the band not to suffer from any attack on their credibility. However while comparisons with Fightstar are inevitable and occasionally apt, big, punchy riffs being the hallmark of both of these bands, The Brigade add a different more melodic element to their mix which is even reminiscent of Placebo at times. While some of the more atmospheric guitar lines would seem quite at home on a more post-punk record (e.g. Interpol) they are contrasted with storming bass driven breakdowns. However while all this sounds good on paper, the songs can become a somewhat samey live, and it is hard to distinguish between individual tracks. Despite this, The Brigade are an impressive band to watch who obviously have potential and may go a long way.

The gap between The Brigade and Hidden in Plain View is the one place in which the organisation of tonight goes awry. The crowd begins to get restless, and this turns out to be merely so that HIPV can enter to the sound of feedback. However this is mainly forgiven once they fill the stage and it is automatically apparent what band the crowd is here to see. HIPV open with ‘A Minor Detail’ and the crowd start jumping. Frontman Joe Reo commands the audience well and HIPV rocket through a fast paced set of both new and old material. While the material itself at times seems indistinguishable from many of the other emo bands (on Drive-Thru Records) out there today, their performance tonight adds a personal touch to songs that may seem somewhat lacking on the record. This is particularly the case on the acoustic rendition of ‘The Point’ in which the crowds almost drowns out Reo. This song also provides a nice break before the finale of HIPV’s last single ‘Bleed for You’. While not the most original of bands, Hidden in Plain View are enjoyable to watch and as with all the bands on tonight, well worth seeing in the future.