Stereophonics @ Newcastle Arena, Thursday 22 November 2007
"There are not many bands reviled in the music press as much as the Stereophonics. They may not invite the most flattering album reviews in the world but they do know how to put on a good show.
It's going to be the fourth time I've seen them at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena and I have held my hopes high as each gig I have been to has had a great atmosphere.
I await the support band, Coventry lads The Enemy. I admit I am not the biggest fan, despite their recent successful assaults on the charts. I am wondering if this performance will change my perceptions. It didn't really, mostly because each song was filled with screaming from the fan girls behind me so I failed to hear much at all. You've got to give it to them for dedication though.
As soon as Stereophonics came on stage, they hadn't even got to the first chorus of opener Bank Holiday Monday and The Enemy fan girls had to be pulled out from the moshpit of enthusiastic 'Phonics dedicatees.
Pull The Pin isn't their best album and is often greeted with a more muted response, but this is maybe because of the large array of classic hits singer Kelly Jones and the boys have decided to wheel out which make recent efforts sound lacklustre in comparison. Hits from debut album Word Gets Around invite the biggest response, with the crowd chanting back the words to A Thousand Trees, Local Boy and Tramps Vest as if their lives depend on it.
A mash-up of acoustic songs is performed solo by Jones, which is also met with a beautiful sing-along. For the encore, It Means Nothing and number one single Dakota lead to a near stage invasion, with crowd surfers nearly kicking me in the face. Yet I can't deny that this was one of the best few hours of fun I've had this year.
Critics can accuse Stereophonics of being middle-of-the-road rock for your father, but tonight they have the youthful audience eating out the palms of their hands with a passionate performance."
Published: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/articles/2007/12/19/stereophonics_review_feature.shtml (19/12/07)
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