Lostprophets support came in the form of Middlesex band Sharks, and chips off the old Welsh block, Kids In Glass Houses. Sharks, not so much to shout about, Kids In Glass Houses however, had a lot to sing and dance about. With such a short support slot (30 mins), Kids had to squeeze in as many songs as they could. Playing tracks off 'Smart Casual' and finishing with new song 'Matters At All' and 'Saturday', I felt there wasn’t enough Kids In Glass Houses time on stage – maybe if they’d cut Sharks set in half?

Nevertheless, with the stage ready for Lostprophets, fans a-screaming and a few drunken lone wonderers already dancing, the atmosphere was swell (let’s remember that it’s also a Friday night which means more party points). The performance starts with an incredible light show. A red light pulsates to some heavy nose-bleed inducing bass whilst tension builds up. As the bass is building, red light pulsating, lights spelling out Lostprophets (in the same style of that album cover for 'The Betrayed') begins pulsating too, getting brighter with each beat until drummer Luke Johnson takes to stage. Followed by Ian Watkins, they sing (and partly scream) into first song ‘If It Wasn’t For Hate We’d Be Dead By Now’, shortly followed by ‘It’s Not The End Of The World But I Can See It From Here’. Unnecessarily long song titles anyone?

Performing the two opening songs pretty much perfectly, Prophets waste no time in diving straight into classic, ‘Burn Burn’. Ian isn’t really needed at this point as the crowd are doing the majority of the singing. The raw guitar taking the audience back to when the rock master piece was released back in 2003. The whole band, despite being knackered on this penultimate date of the tour, put in 110% effort. Particularly Ian, who I’ve previously (wrongly), thought of as somewhat lazy. Definitely not tonight, especially as he went on to perform a DJ set with his group at local club Unit afterwards.

Breaking away from the older track, Lostprophets then play new songs ‘Darkest Blue’ and ‘A Better Nothing’. Then, an unexpected cover as the Welsh lads play an excellent version The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’. A definite crowd pleaser as the bald 50 something men in front of me, begin to throw their pints (at £3.60 a pop they should have thrown them in my mouth) over the crowd and bounce their way into the mosh of teenagers. 'Last Summer' too lends a warm atmosphere (literally), as everyone is moving, swaying, dancing.
 
Lostprophets then end in a perfect five song set: 'A Town Called Hypocrisy', 'Last Train Home', 'Where We Belong', 'Rooftops' and wait for it, yes, 'Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja'!

The crowd demanding a come back, Prophets return to the stage, still looking fancy in their fashionable threads (Ian Watkins in his Viv Westwood belt), and play new song ‘The Light That Burns Twice As Bright.’

7/10

By Hannah Mahoney

For some more Lostprophets action check out their hilarious Virgin Red Room interview.