The Apollo is heaving and bands Shiny Toy Guns and Cobra Starship have been invited to entertain/showcase their sounds to an impatient crowd. Unfortunately for one too many, Shiny Toy Guns have been on and gone by 8pm. New Yorkers, Cobra Starship remain totally confident despite the hall being totally stacked (the vast majority being pretty young). Cobra frontman, Gabe Saporta, ex-Midtown singer/bassist, has a curiously flawless confidence as he jumps/dances around the stage and chats humorously with the room. The songs and the vocals are strong, only shame is that the band need turning up, consequently the bands Pop/Punk/Disco combination is mellowed. The crowd still respond well with heaps of clapping etc, recognising that the band are talented, love what they do and have a hoard of good songs stored on ‘While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets’ album, which they plug as it was released yesterday. Crazy banter about glow sticks, a brief version of Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’, combined with the odd bit of suggestive dancing and a standout guitar solo, Cobra Starship prove that fun can be contagious. Highlights being ‘Church of Hot Addiction’ (apparently they ‘started this religion in honour of Fall Out Boy’) and finish brilliantly on ‘Snakes on a Plane (Bring it)’ in which Saporta invited a young girl on stage to do the rap. Go get converted! (7.5)

The wait is finally over, as Fall Out Boy tear open their set with ‘Our Lawyer Made us’. The crowd is chaotic as people fight to the front screaming and shouting every lyric back- almost competing with the band. For anyone who has seen them before, tonight they are truly at their best. Since the last time they were here, the stage is more expensive and elaborate, with ramps leading up to Andy Hurley and drums, a silver curtain backdrop, 5 large screens (which at times spell Fall Out Boy across like a screen saver, show the band members or appears multi-coloured) and dozens of different lights.

Patrick’s vocals are fantastic throughout the show and shine so beautifully on new album track ‘Golden’, which he performs acoustically. They even appear more polished- somehow tidier and better dressed, like live versions of the dolls (not the other way around) and the performance of ‘Sugar We’re Going Down’ was spectacular. The atmosphere got that much more intense, the crowd got that bit more hyper and the air- a good 10 degrees hotter. It was followed by ‘The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes’, by which point the crowd was studded with mobile phone lights to record and keep every minute possible. Before some of the songs were played, Pete would chat randomly to the audience and give hints to the next song, e.g. ‘he tastes like you but sweeter’ in reference to current single ‘Thnks fr th Mmrs’. FOB amigo Dirty came onstage for an interval to entertain the crowd and get kicked in the nuts. Yes, really. He actually invited 2 kids (a boy and a girl) to kick him where it hurts. Pretty crazy for a guy who’d spent the majority of the morning in Manchester A+E nursing his elbow. Pete’s screaming in the songs is more frequent and sounds great. For ‘Dance Dance’. Dirty slys back onstage and dances around the whole of the stage. The band are having fun, the audience are having a ball, and they’ve never sounded better, and with approximately a 16 song set, the audience got their fill to say the least. (9)

Carolyn.

Glaswegian band Union of Knives confidently kicked off the night in style. Co-ordinated from head to toe in black, they broke into slick indie/electro beats with beautiful and impressive, harmonised male vocals. Despite the thick beats and hypnotic indie/dance sounds, towards the end of the set some of the songs sounded disappointingly repetitive, and so failed to maintain everyone?s interest. The main highlight of their performance was undeniably the massively catchy, ?Evil Has Never?, due to be released on the 5th March. For fans of Muse, Radiohead and Soulwax. (7)

The Sounds opened with vocalist Maja Ivarsson, dressed in tiny, high-waisted, black shorts, announcing that they?d ?travelled all the way from Sweden to be with you mother fuckers tonight!? as the band energetically unleashed song ?Death of Me? to a tightly packed, eager crowd. The audience were enthusiastically encouraged to join in by clapping and singing along, ?I wanna see some fucking hands!? shouted guitarist Felix Rodriguez to the intro of ?Hit Me?. Ivarsson?s provocative dancing beckoned everyone?s attention as she gyrated on the floor and straddled her microphone stand throughout the set. Song ?Ego? was the grand finale, complete with crowd-pleasing drum-off. The Sounds gave a hypnotic performance of punk/disco that undoubtedly exceeded numerous expectations. They are a quirky band that not only love to rock out, with smiles and passion, but also know how to perform thrillingly on stage, even on one as modest as the Faversham?s. (8)

Los Angeles headliners Shiny Toy Guns gave a melodic, gradual intro with ?Promise You Walls?, luring the audience into a false sense of calm before crashing into the glorious ?Starts With One?, with lights flashing wildly and Chad Petree?s bold, immaculate vocals
resounding powerfully through the venue. The vocal range from both Petree and Carah Faye is nothing short of impressive, from beautiful melodies to high-pitched screams that emphasise a definite rock element to the band, as do the heavy bass lines, thrashing drums, dramatic make-up, tattoos and skinny jeans. They?re blurring the dividing lines between rock, electro and dance and it?s good. Very good. The only anti-climax of the show was the much-anticipated track ?Le Disco?, which appears somewhat bolder and more dominating on the record than live tonight. Single ?You Are the One? stole the show with an astonishing 10/10 performance that was loved by the crowd even more than the band that played it, with such energy that they had the whole crowd clapping along and chants for encores. Shiny Toy Guns closed the set with ?Don?t Cry Out?. The lights were turned off; someone came up on stage and started cable clearing. Minutes passed, no one moved. The crowd chanted for an encore- more specifically for ?You Are the One?. Then one by one, the band made their way back on stage to perform an impressive three more songs, which included new material and a cover song. Chances of them playing a venue this size again are slim, especially since they are due to support Fall Out Boy on tour in April, meaning that their talent and fresh, innovative sound will be showcased to tens of thousands of people. Fingers crossed that they?re old and wise enough to appreciate more than just pop/punk. (8)

Carolyn