Earlier this week I took a trip down memory lane and regressed to my fifteen year old self. Whilst I didn’t really have a proper angsty teenage stage I did in my mid teens discover Lostprophets, and I never looked back. The Welsh rockers have been around for donkey’s years now and having seen them live at various venues and festivals over the years I already knew what to expect. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind: am I too old for this now and perhaps more importantly are they? So with their latest tour I decided to take the opportunity to see an old friend and fellow Lostprophets fangirl (a fan so dedicated she once jumped a security barrier to get a closer look…) to see if they still had it.
But firstly were the support band: Modestep. They turned out to be one of those bands I don’t expect very much of but turn out to brilliant. I asked my companion if she knew anything about their “dubstep”. Anyone who read my previous review will know my feelings on dubstep but they were really fantastic! A brilliant support band who got the crowd whipped up into frenzy with some wicked remixes and tunes of their own. Whilst I doubt I will ever buy a record from them I would not say no to another live show.
Then it was time for the main event and by this point I had definitely regressed back to my first ever encounter with them almost 5 years ago, standing right at the front and screaming like a loser. But what came on can only be described as initially a disappointment. They opened with ‘ Bring Em Down’ from their latest album Weapons and to be blunt it was not great. They looked old, as if the years were beginning to take their toll this is particularly true when placed in contrast to the youthful and vibrant Modestep. However, they soon switched to the old tunes such as ‘Can’t Catch Tomorrow’ and ‘Last Summer’ (a personal favourite) which gave a new lease of life to the boys and they returned to their usual brilliant energy. Anyone not moved by an entire room singing every word to ‘Rooftops’ and the iconic breakdown “screeeeam youuuurrr heeeeearrt oooouuuutt” has no soul. What a moment that always is. Faced with a devoted following that were not particularly interested in hearing the new material, the guys were clever enough to realise this and played a set of mainly the hits (which were awesome).
Overall I had a brilliant night, although how much that had to do with the band and how much it had to do with my reminiscence with an old friend is debatable. Either way I love Lostptophets but maybe as my dear friend said upon leaving “now is perhaps time to say goodbye to that phase of our lives”. So Lostprophets it’s been wonderful but keep doing what you are doing and you’ll be sure to always have a devoted following. But now you’ve guided me through my angsty teens it’s time for me to move on.
Holly Abbott
