There are two kinds of concerts. There are those you dream of, those you save up for and bubble over with excitement. You wait with bated breath to finally catch a glimpse of your musical idol. The ticket will be on your wall and the photos will be plastered as the background on your phone for years to come. Then there’s the second kind, concerts of convenience. Some band that you may only be vaguely aware of are playing nearby and tickets are cheap, or a friend has invited you along, or you are just in need of a night out. This was the latter, I went in as a blank slate.

I think it was the first time that I’ve ever been one of the older people in the audience. A crowd of teenagers had already gathered around the tiny stage when I arrived; thankfully they were short and easy to see over. The band were slick and professional. They functioned like a well oiled machine in a way that most don’t until they are a good few albums in, whereas here they were promoting they debut ‘The Day’s War’. They played through some of the high points including ‘Trick Of The Light’ and ‘Victory Line’ and I was impressed by frontman David Jakes’ vocals. Their occasional headbanging was a bit over the top – they’re hardly Metallica after all – but they were clearly enjoying themselves. They had a great rapport with the audience and it was clear that they had a loyal fanbase present who would happily rank the night in the first concert category.

I’m ashamed to say the let down of the night was the venue itself. The lighting was practically non existent and so the band were playing in the dark. We were all packed in like sardines when there were two much larger venues within the same building that were just sat empty and unused. You had to push your way lengthways right across the room, all the way through the crowd to reach the toilets. Judging by that fact that someone was pushing past every couple of seconds It seems like half the crowd must have had too much to drink. It was a shambles, it was utterly frustrating. I would quite happily pay double the ticket price if it meant seeing them somewhere other than The Scholar, the way the band deserve to be seen!