By Jase Walker
Blackout Problems represents a shining example of how catching a support act can very quickly move them from an unknown to a fast favourite. This is my third time seeing them this year, due to Enter Shikari picking them as European touring partners as well as grabbing them for a festival warmup show.
The moment they start the singer suddenly ducks out and charges past me pushing a cabinet to the front of the crowd to then jump on top of it to sing on. Then immediately after that he gets people to gather around him, kneel and then jump around. This has all quickly happened within about two minutes so nevermind ramp up time, it’s time to go at 110 per cent right out of the gate! It does seem like there’s a bit of a rush with getting the next song started, it’s a headline show but they’ve got a fixed hour so no time to waste. I’ve had a quick scan around and there’s quite a few people wearing Shikari shirts so I’m going to hazard a guess they’re also people that were won over by these at their Amsterdam show at the start of this year.
I’m really enjoying the much more intimate show tonight, they’ve got a sound that fills a huge arena as I saw before but getting a real good look at the band and experiencing the show they want to conduct is a joy. They’re whipping people up into a circle pit and then following that up immediately with a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’, Blackout Problems are not going to let the energy drop. I can feel every single part of the band bouncing around in my chest and legs, the mix they’ve got going tonight is stellar, incredibly strong but not muddy at all. Their singer even ends up climbing up on the merch stand and dances around in front of his merch while singing, what a vibe. Oh wait, now he’s ‘surfing’ the cabinet from earlier around the floor, that doesn’t look safe at all but I suppose he’s counterbalanced by the unbelievably massive balls he’s got.
The sort of synth drenched sound they’ve got reminds me strongly of the likes of Boston Manor and maybe going all the way back to the likes of Joy Division. Admittedly I am a bit bummed that Lake Malice are not with them for this show and I think it’s just this specific date as well which is a shame so suppose I’ll miss out on the collaborative single that both bands released recently.
The overall quality of this show has been fantastic though and the ability for their sound to fill up an arena like AFAS Live as well as deliver an intense intimate show like this is a pretty clear indicator to me that these are well on track to build their own massive following. I mean ending a song by dumping your mic stand in the middle of the crowd only to have someone start a circle pit around you is a real ballsy move.
A short but sweet show that has been a real joy to write about, one that I’ll most definitely spend a few weeks trying to convince friends back in the ÜK to go to, plenty of dates and people would be mad to miss a show like this.
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