2:30pm Wednesday 22nd April 2009
By Vicky O'Hare
The Enemy
Southampton Guildhall
BOUNDING on to the stage with energy and attitude by the bucketload, The Enemy showcased their brash, down-to-earth brand of rock and wowed a sell-out south coast crowd.
Frontman Tom Clarke barely paused for breath as he led his band through hits old and new with his dulcet Midlands vocals holding strong.
Crowd-pleasers We’ll Live and Die in These Towns and Away from Here saw the die-hard fans in full voice and filled Southampton Guildhall to the brim with rousing atmosphere.
Several new tracks from the Coventry boys’ new album were also showcased, including the brilliant Sing When You’re in Love.
Tom was also joined by amazing vocalist Emma Skip for another new track, No Time for Tears, which showed a whole new side to the feisty frontman’s vocal talents.
One disappointment was the band’s lack of interaction with the crowd. Apart from the mandatory sing back sections of some of their biggest hits, we didn’t hear much from Tom and Co.
However, this didn’t really take anything away from what really was a top class performance and showed that The Enemy have plenty of life left in them yet.
Although still in their early 20s, this is a band with a much more mature mindset and lyrics to match. In the current economic downturn, this is exactly what we need to rouse some working class spirit to get us through the tough times.
Aggro was another big number which really got the crowd going and despite seeming to race through their set, I don’t think anyone went home feeling anything like short-changed.
The Enemy are joining Oasis and Kasabian in the summer for a string of mini festival performances and with warm-up shows of this calibre, I for one can’t wait.
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