Entering the main room of the Carling Academy at a little after 7pm the first of the evening's two support bands, Furthest Drive Home, were already on stage and about midway through their allotted set. From what I saw and heard the band certainly have something worth checking out and were definitely fun in the live environment and, as such, it  should have encouraged the 1,600 or so inside the hall to check out their mini album released last year. The Surrey based four piece, built around main man Joe play a brand of pop punk rock with U2. Given that the likes of Kerrang and Metal Hammer have waxed lyrical over the band the three or so songs this reviewer managed to catch did nothing to dissuade me of the fact that they have a bright future and they certainly made  a good impression on the Newcastle audience.

The second band of the evening, all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada if you will,  were The Higher. To be honest I found them a touch on the boring side as far as a live bands go. Vocal arrangement wise there was even a hint of an Eagles vibe about the band, not that that's a bad thing, but only frontman Seth had any sort of stage presence. Listening to the bands songs on their MySpace site it’s plain as to why they didn't make that much of an impression, too much pop and not enough ROCK. Mind you with this tour behind them and a slot on this summer's US Warped trek I guess we'll all be hearing more about The Higher in the future. For now, boring next please,

With the sound of the Sorcerer's Apprentice playing over the PA, just audible above the mass crowd chats of Minor, Minor, said band hit the stage and proceeded to blast through an hour long set based, in the main, on tracks from their forthcoming debut album. From the off there was an energy level evident, from both band and audience that is rarely witnessed, indeed the massed audience appreciation and participation is something that is all to rarely seen either, a true case of hero worship. Including stunning versions of Still Figuring Out, Time After Time Broken Mirror and a particularly excellent rendition of previous single Jessica, Elliot Minor certainly delivered all that could have been hoped for and more.  Sure the band are all consummate musicians, that can't be denied, but the heavy roadwork over the last year of has seen the live show tightened and honed to a fine edge, their brand of pop rock with classical overtones prefect in such an atmosphere as the Carling Academy.

Seeing the band live for the first time make you realize just why Elliot Minor have such crossover appeal,  they have come up with a  set of catchy almost pop songs that rock when required and don’t when the don’t need to. In the main they occupy that middle ground between rock and metal that AOR did back in the 80’s but of course the musical landscape has changed beyond all recognition since then and so although Elliott Minor cannot in any way be described as AOR, they are perhaps a noughties equivalent with the same mass market appeal. What they can be described as though is bloody entraining. Given that 1,600 or so people packed the Academy to see a band yet to release their debut album surely says it all and when the album is finally out it should be onwards and upwards for the band.

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