Live Review: Lostprophets - Preston 53 Degrees - 13/02/2010

Tonight is a big night for Preston, it’s not that often that established artists play the City and Lostprophets are as big a band as they come around here. The venue is a hidden gem, a two tiered room with a 1200 capacity allowing an intimate feel if wanted but also allowing for people who don’t tend to stand in the crowd to be able to see at a better vantage point.

We start off with Hexes, and although the crowd seem appreciative, they deliver a poor set. Luckily, second support act, Kids In Glass Houses are on hand to show Hexes how it's done, with a set packed with hits, it's not only a perfect send off for their current touring cycle for their debut album but it's also a glimpse into what's to come, they leave the stage having done their job of gearing up the crowd nicely for headliners; Lostprophets. With new album; 'The Betrayed' in tow, Lostprophets are looking to pick up where they left off a couple of years ago, with 'Liberation Transmission' having propelled them to worldwide acclaim.

They quickly show they are nowhere near losing any momentum, that they had worked hard to gain. The moody ‘If It Wasn’t For Hate We’d Be Dead By Now’ opens up as the atmosphere builds, there’s an anticipation in the air waiting for the band to explode, and they do, mostly making an impact with crowd pleaser ‘Burn, Burn’. From there on in it’s hit after hit, with the set mixing the old ('A Thousand Apologies') with the new ('Where We Belong') nothing sounds out of place. We’re even treated instrumental of ‘Kobrakai’.

The light show looks as if it was made for a room bigger than this, sometimes overwhelming with a fair bit of strobe, it only adds to the intensity of the bands performance. Ian resembles a man determined to prove a point, while the rest of the band look as if they’re just enjoying the hell out of the gig. It all comes to a head with the superb ‘Where We Belong’ for me at least, it’s a song that makes me proud of the band, having watched this band grow to become what they are today, it’s a massive feeling. I think the only grievance I could possibly find was ending the set with ‘The Light That Burns Twice As Bright’. It’s a fairly sombre ending that sounds as if it’s begging for something to be added purely to allow the gig to go out on the high that it had been maintaining throughout.

All in all, this show was beyond brilliant, two and a half years ago you could only catch Lostprophets bothering arenas around the country, based on tonight I have a feeling that it won’t be long before they return to that height.


Words by Chris Marshman
Edited by Sean Reid