Well here’s a thing Fightstar feature a certain Charlie Simpson (ex- Busted) and my son, who liked  Busted had asked for the Fightstar CD a while ago and having picked up a copy of the 9 track EP  'They Liked You Better When You Were Dead' I had listen to it once (to ensure it was suitable) before passing it on. This was  also the first concert he had asked to go to off his own bat. So after the telling the two Steves and getting endless Busted jokes, my eldest son and I duly arrived a Newcastle university by seven o’clock to find a large queue outside (to my surprise!) and finally got in a little later  just as opening band Brigade hit the stage, and hit the stage they did playing a short sharp set that was hard hitting and to the point. Heavy chucking guitars and melodic choruses and a vocalist I could understand. With a set that included the likes of 'Wreck', 'Funeral' and 'Null And Void' Brigade proved to be a great start to the night and I could easily be persuaded to check them out again in the future. 

Could Last Days Of April keep up the momentum?  In a word NO!  Their Indie 70’s inspired music did bugger all for me  and most of the crowd and simply proved boring for 25-30minutes. Luckily Reuben made up for that in spades. I must admit having heard only one track by the band prior to this and wasn't entirely certain what to expect, but the band delivered a great set of Therapy, Foo Fighters and Rage Against The Machine inspired music complete with some great guitar work and in common with all the bands tonight a vocalist who can sing and one you can understand what he is singing about, unlike certain bands at the heavier end of the spectrum these days. 

Reuben went down a storm with the crowd down the front and they obviously have a sense of humour with vocalist Jamie coming on stage wearing a spaceman’s helmet with modified vocals to match. A thoroughly enjoyable set and I guess I’ll have no choice but to take my son along if they play somewhere again where he can attend (that’s my excuses and I’m sticking to it!) 

After a slightly longer changeover than between the other bands Fightstar hit the stage and the volume went through the roof. Fightstar's star drummer (Omar Ibidi) had a monster kit which he played the crap out of all night  and with bass player Dan Haigh also having a thunderous sound the bottom end of Fightstar's ound was felt more in the chest than actually heard. The fact is though that no matter how good the rest of the band may be the undoubted star of the show was the former Busted singer/guitarist Charlie Simpson, ably assisted by Alex Westaway, as they powered through an enjoyable hour long set.

Playing all but two of the songs off the 'They Liked You Better When You Were Dead' EP and the rest from the recently released Grand Unification album  Fightstar  certainly put on a good show although all the material did tend to follow a similar pattern, heavy guitars and then melodic choruses, never-the-less all the punters seemed to enjoy proceedings. If there any criticism it is that Simpson, although having played on some of the biggest stages this country has to offer with his former band, is still learning how to be a frontman in the truest sense of the word and is not quite there yet. The bulk of the young crowd though couldn't have given a damn and the mosh pit down the front reminded me of Anthrax gig from many moons ago. 

To sum up,  a great night out for £12 with two great bands (Reuben and Brigade) and one good band (Fighstar) and that's Is VFM in anybody's book. As an aside I’m noted as the websites melodic rock fan but my tastes are boarding rapidly and I may now have to raid the son's bedroom for the  Fighstar CD as well as the Brigade album.  It also made me smile to see so many of the crowd wearing studded belts very much like the one I owned 20 years ago! (about the time the bulk of the audience born!)

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