The Blackout obviously aren’t too keen on performing during daylight hours
Ahead of their electric set later in the day, the Welsh sextet made an appearance on the Jagermeister acoustic stage. The early time slot of 12.30pm may have been the cause of the considerable intonation imperfections in the vocal performances, but Sean Smith warning in advance that the vocals would probably be off-key did not excuse them. Neither Smith nor fellow vocalist Gavin Butler were particularly on-form and the professionalism of the band seemed to be severely lacking.
The acoustic translations of their songs were actually quite admirable, but the performance of them was very disappointing. ‘Top of the World’ was a dire mess, with Smith’s inaccurate vocals preventing any sense of coherence. ‘It’s High Tide, Baby!’ was comparatively better and appeared well suited to the unfamiliar acoustic territory.
‘Save Our Selves (The Warning)’ was not entirely convincing and was largely protected by the vocal contributions provided by the fans. The group had admitted that this was a new venture for them, but the impression given was that they had not treated the acoustic slot with enough respect. The fans (and bands) are indeed there to have a good time, but The Blackout need to up their game if they expect to be treated like professional musicians after a performance (and attitude) like this.
The band even admitted; “the crowd have been excellent, we’ve been mediocre”. To be honest, I could not have put it better myself.