Birmingham’s Templeton Pek were the opening act for this show and it has to be said that they delivered an entertaining set. Given that there were only a three piece they certainly created a good wall of sound. With songs such as “Rebels Adequate”, “No Association”, “Shikata”, “If All Else Fails” and “Catch 22”, which was the highlight of the set, it was nice to see a band that knew they are at the start of their career and hence an opening act. They didn't try to act like ready made rock stars or like it was their crowd, instead they tried to win people over by being friendly and fun and providing good entertainment to start the night off on a good note.   

Flood Of Red obviously had some fans in attendance despite their relatively small status, with several of their T-shirts being visible amongst those at the front of the stage.  The six piece shared the vocals between themselves possibly due to the fact that lead singer Jordan Spiers’ voice came across as somewhat weak.  Flood Of Red though are a young band and their image looked very ‘scene’, so much so that it appeared two of them actually came out in their dad’s cardigans. As a whole however they made a big effort to engage with the audience, keyboardist Dale Gallacher walking amongst the crowd whilst singing, but perhaps they are still a bit lacking.  Their fans would have been happy with the performance but sadly they did nothing for this reviewer. 

If I am honest then I was here for one band, From Autumn To Ashes.  On the back of the superb “Holding A Wolf By The Ears” they hit stage running, vocalist Fran Mark, immediately a blur of motion that was to continue for the whole of the forty minute set.  With the new album to promote the majority of the set was made up of songs from the latest offering with “Pioneers”, “Deth Kult Social Club”, “Daylight Slaving” and “Under Pass Tutorial” all being delivered. For long time fans though they also found the time to throw in a bunch of older songs with the likes of “Milligram Smile”, “Lilacs & Lolita” and “The After Dinner Payback” all making the cut.  With an over abundance of energy and vocals working well, split between Mark, guitarist Brian Denevee and new drummer Jeff Gretz, the band literally gave their all. Sadly though there wasn't too much communication with the crowd and what little there was was met with a lack of response for the Wolverhampton crowd. Despite this fact, for this reviewer at least, From Autumn To Ashes proved to be every bit as good as could have been expected and we can only hope that they come back to the UK for a headline tour once their new album is complete. 

And now came the difficult task, reviewing a headline act that I am not a fan off. This was the third time that I'd seen Hundred Reasons and, in the past, I'd found them to be, well slightly boring really.  Please note I said past... This time around,  when they kicked of the set initial thoughts were it's more of the same, not that entertaining, then for some reason it all clicked three or four songs in. The superb “Kill Your Own” not only got the front of the crowd bouncing like Tiggers, but also had this reviewer finding a new appreciation for the band and the feeling grew as the set progressed.  “Falter” was a massive sing-a-long with the audience and by then there was the feeling that, in the past I'd somehow been missing out.  I don't know whether it was down to the fact that this was the most intimate venue I'd seen them in, or the fact it was the first time I'd seen the band in a headline situation, but I was actually enjoying an Hundred Reason's show. So much so that it was only towards the end of the evening, and the final  couple of songs, that the attention started to wander just a little - but we'll put that down to the lateness in the day.

Hundred Reasons may have had their share of bad luck with record label problems throughout their career, but despite such problems, the band  ploughed through a vast amount of material in obvious high spirits and sent the Wolverhampton faithful home more than happy...

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