Seeing as The Audition were the main support band for the show tonight, they opened to a surprisingly massive applause. Tonight on first glance and first listen, the Audition are a four piece pop punk band that share a similar sound to The Academy is or an early Taking Back Sunday. However, on a further glance and a further listen, they show their true colours and become something all together more interesting.

The immediate bouncy sound and sharp technical guitar work combines neatly with the indie dance style drum beats; this creates something that is unexpectedly unique. In a scene dominated by groups who all sound and look the same, it was excellent to see such an exciting performance by four individuals. Individuals with no costume or sound gimmick to help place them with all the other pop punk/emo bands you see on stage today. Although not the usual line up having only one guitarist in the band worked to their advantage, it allowed a tighter sound that didn’t become a loud wall of noise, a mistake that some pop punk bands make today. Instead, it allowed their guitarist to explore the fret board freely, creating some interesting dynamic changes and showing off some impressive skills. Although often spurting out cliché phrases to the crowd such as ‘This is the best show we have played so far on the tour.’ The well-dressed front man, Danny Stevens, displays an exciting energy and a powerful voice. This blends perfectly with the backing vocals that are on offer.

With the new album due for release shortly, it was no surprise the band performed some new material. Just as catchy as the old songs, ‘The Way That You Move’ has an immediate bounce to it the makes you want to do exactly what the song suggests. The song still manages to remain unique but commercial at the same time. It goes down well with the audience. Other songs performed sound heavier at times and lead to huge epic endings with the occasional small, but effective, sing-a-long moments.

The Audition are a band that know exactly how they want to sound, this helps them become the professional and well practiced band that they are, the performance tonight proved this. Performing songs both old and new such as ‘Hurry up’, ‘Don’t be so hard’ and ‘You’ve Made Us Conscious’ helped create a gig experience perfect for both those that had never heard the Audition before and those that are huge fans.

Words: Edward Lewis
Pics: Mark Forrer - www.markforrer.co.uk