The Roadhouse is one of those venues I’m always a little nervous about as the sound can sometimes be circumspect compared to its rivals but tonight is fortunately not one of those occasions. The early start (doors at 6pm) does catch me out though and thus I miss The Auteur‘s brief set. Out Of Sight are ready to go as I enter a packed Roadhouse.
After seeing OOS support Hey Monday last year I was fortunate enough to have something to compare tonight with. With that said this is probably about as well as I can imagine these guys playing at this stage in their career. They play a brand of semi-catchy pop-punk that goes down really well this evening and they look accomplished doing it. They seem more relaxed in a smaller venue and the kids (that’s not a derogatory statement, but a fact due to the age of most people here) give them all the encouragement they could possibly ask for. The delivery across the whole band is a lot more assured and evidence of a band feeling very comfortable in their surroundings.
Boys Like Girls soon follow and start with a short rendition of Black Eyed Peas’ ?I Gotta Feeling?. This soon heads us into the title track off the new album ?Love Drunk? as the crowd scream ?tonight’s going to be a good night?, let’s hope so! One could argue either way, I think it depends on your expectation. Their target audience is quite young and this is reflected in their performance. Energy is key within this ‘market’ and there’s plenty on show. There are times when it appears slightly forced and over the top, with Martin spending a lot of time on top of the speakers, but I don’t think you’ll find many complaining. All the singles and crowd favourites get a go tonight and with resounding success. ?Thunder? goes down particularly well, as it’s introduced as the first song the band wrote together. The set does close a little too soon for my liking and some will potentially leave wishing they’d heard more. The guys do apologise for this though and end on a high with the latest single ?Two Is Better Than One? and their biggest/most noticeable track ?The Great Escape?. The latter sending the whole crowd into a frenzy.
With the band due back in April tonight does feel like a ‘taster’. All things considered you have to take BLG with a pinch of salt as well. Not take them too seriously. In part that’s my downfall. They’re decent at what they do and are in turn very popular. It’s all a little too much for me though and I find the provocativeness on show among other things a little wrong, however it clearly sells so what do I know! It’s a shame I just don’t quite ‘get it’ live.
Jamie