Checking out both the support bands before the show I decided that they certainly warranted a look and further investigation rather than spending time hemmed in with the multitudes in the local pub. It meant that Hounds who had the job of being first on were not playing in front of that many people but it certainly did not stop them throwing themselves into things as opening number ‘Shark In The Water’ bounced out the speakers with a heavy electronic bombast pulsating through it. First thought about this was that it was all very meaty, beaty, big and bouncy and the front trio matched it up with some heavyset posturing and gobby attitude. The lead singer reminded a little of a young Kirk Brandon but musically this was far more modern and this was yet another young band that the Joke had brought out to try and impress their fans with. Hounds were not doing a bad job either and seemed to be going down fairly well with those entering the venue. I would have said that they would easily have pleased anyone into the likes of Marilyn Manson or Nine Inch Nails who they both resembled at times as they powerfully chugged away being just on the right side of being non- commercial and slightly threatening. With some touches that would have held their own in a stadium allowing audience sing along this lot have the potential to go far and in my opinion would go down really well opening for the likes of The Prodigy. Last song ‘The Wicked Witch’ was particularly quirky and catchy so an enjoyable half an hour all round.

Jayce Lewis is the sort of name that I would have expected to crop up on the X Factor singing R & B covers but luckily the somewhat egotistically named act were far from this. Forget everything that I said about posturing before these Welsh boyos had their own over the top light rig and posing platforms and were all about the showmanship. Apparently the singer who is a solo artist when not live also manufactures his own set production so credit where it’s due. They played as though they were there supporting the best band in the world to which for many of us they were. Firstly coming on in masks and whipping them off and blazing away with some cutting edge electronic sounds which although never hitting gabba like intensity at times threatened to do so. Slower songs had a bit of a retro feel to them and again I found myself thinking that this lot would have done well to open for Depeche Mode or Gary Numan. Faster numbers had adrenaline coursing through them emphasized by the vigorous stage display and heady electroclash of sounds. Not everyone liked them and one over ambitious punter launched a pint at them, unfortunately it fell short getting me and my camera completely drenched in the photo pit. Hazard of being there but at almost £4.50 a pint also sheer madness. Again this lot pulled it off and did so to a much bigger crowd, apparently the Welsh side had just won the rugby too so they can chalk this one up to a totally successful day.

Killing Joke have of late been quite high profile, a couple of albums and plenty of shows and of course some disappearing acts keeping people as ever intrigued about the cult of Jaz Coleman. Had their popularity waned at all though? Not looking around just before they took to the stage as by now the venue was rammed, if it was not sold out it was as close to it as possible and the upstairs section looked equally thronged. Listening to conversations was interesting, fans really are fanatical and I overheard one person telling another about the first time he saw the band in 82 when he was 15, this is very much dedication for life with no parole!  After all the stage dressings of the last lot Killing Joke simply had two side banners splitting their name at the back. Their death and resurrection show is not about anything other than the music and the stage was stark with no trappings. Jaz was in the centre and Youth and Geordie either side with a vast void between them all. Anyone would think the band members hate each other the space between them. Behind slightly is keyboard player Reza and of course keeping the beat at the back Paul Ferguson.

Tonight was partly about the release of the singles collection and this was very much the focus of the set. The second those spiralling cutting guitars announced ‘Requiem’ from the speaker right in front of me we were off on a mad frenzy, singing along to which was completely compulsory. Jaz simply garbed in black marched about with lunatic intent and bulging eyes and playing the joker next to him in Hawaiian shirt Youth looked like he had just stepped off the plane from his golfing holiday.  We bounced along and the indignant sound of ‘Wardance’ was as relevant and charged as ever. New anthem ‘European Super State’ seems to be the one song that has really impacted more than anything else on the live front as far as the last couple of albums are concerned. There is something about its near techno beat and of course the lyrics, which are mirrored in our lives that endears this number to us. The timeless ‘Love Like Blood’ simply has to be played, probably the bands biggest single ever, the one that got into the charts and touched many, tinged as a heartfelt ballad in the height of the hot summer that it landed in the midst of an interesting futurist period where synth pop had emerged and taken over our lives and punk and gothic music stood side by side. This was the song that drew it all together.

Jaz seemed quite chirpy tonight, speaking between songs although not wasting any time. He attacked the current trend of plugged in technology taking control of society and turning all into mindless zombies before the somewhat unexpected funeral dirge of ‘Beautiful Dead’ rumbled out the speakers like a requiem mass. A couple of downbeat slower songs gave us pause for breath before the frenzy really kicked in with ‘Empire Song’ dredged from the primeval swamp. With the rioting still fresh in memory this is still incendiary stuff which literally took us straight back to square one and ignited the flames once more. Screen projectors either side of the stage gave us plenty to watch as flames flickered and images constantly changed in a fast edited blur.

Another one I would not have guessed to have heard was ‘Sun Goes Down,’  bristling with a primitive ranting force and the spiky guitars and thudding tribal drum tattoo really made an impact not so much taking us back to the dawn of the band but the dawn of mankind itself. It might be a cliché but ‘Eighties’ is a place very much in the majority of this audiences hearts and it was never about disco but rebellion here was its indignant fucking voice and as ever we revelled in it. Time for another stark announcement that ½ the children in the country will be below the poverty line in a few years. Aptly we knew what was coming in this age of greed. ‘Money Is Not Our God,’ this version sounding a bit strange and raw, unpolished even but it did not stop it going down like the suicidal leap of a failed banker from his penthouse suite.

Lights exploded with ‘Whiteout’ being one of their most incendiary numbers ever following it as a double whammy with ‘Asteroid’ was a good move then back to ‘The Wait.’ Everyone was joining in with the chorus by now. They were packing stuff in from everywhere ‘Pandemonium’ took us back to a favourite era of mine and if I had one tiny complaint about the show tonight it was just that they did not revisit Brighter Than 1000 Suns. Having said that this was probably the best and most diverse set list I have ever seen the band unfurl and I have seen them plenty of times.

It was time to try and get from the front of the venue to the back, bladder commanded it and seriously it was wall to wall in here and I knew there would be no way back. As it was I had to wait for others to filter out and (sorry) ‘Follow The Leader’. Yes the encore was underway and it again focused on the older hits like ‘Tension’ and ‘Psyche’. Considering the local station was shut and a capacity venue was just about to leave and all try and get on the same buses it was time to make a departure rapidly. Killing Joke really delivered tonight and those lucky enough to have them pass through town in the USA, Canada and Australia later in the year are really in for a treat.

Pete Woods