Half hour of power
Now whilst we may berate the fact that we don't have a Reuben headline slot to drool about, we must be thankful that they seem to come around quite often and tonight they produce probably the best support band set list I've heard for a long time.
The sound is rather bass heavy and it's a shame as it does mean that if you don't know the songs already then the tune is hard to pick out. That aside, it's at times like this when you remember that Reuben really are one of the best British bands around. You couldn't have asked for a much better set (aside from the omission of 'Lights Out'); who could argue with 'Freddy Kreuger', 'Good Night', 'Blamethrower', 'Let's Stop Hanging Out', 'Keep It To Yourself' and 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'em'?
They finish with 'Cities on Fire', which is already starting to sound familiar to anyone who's seen a lot of Reuben recently. Something of an epic with wildly contrasting parts, it all bodes well for the new album, although we may be waiting some time before we receive it in recorded form.
It's all over too soon but it's been an excellent half hour set that really makes an impact, far better than the Download set, this is Reuben back at their best. They are ready, seriously, now is the time for some major backing and for Reuben to really make the breakthrough that they deserve.