14-04-2010 Lostprophets

Supports: The Blackout; Venue: Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

Tonight the Schlachthof in Wiesbaden was the place to be. A long queue was still outside long after doors had opened. Lostprophets and The Blackout were to play tonight. The big venue was very crowded already before the first band began.

The Blackout is a post-hardcore band from the Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, formed in 2003. After some time backing Lostprophets on their Liberation Transmission Tour, along with Dopamine, Covergirl, Kids In Glass Houses, The Guns and Men, Women and Children, they released their first mini-album The Blackout! The Blackout! The Blackout!. In October 2007 the band released their debut album, We Are the Dynamite!. Their second record, The Best In Town was released on May 25 2009 in Europe and June 23 2009 in the US, both via Epitaph Records. I had seen them before at a festival a few years back. Since I liked them back then I was happy that they opened tonight. Energetic as I knew them the guys came jumping on stage, running around and performing very powerful. The two singers were always running from one side to another, amazing that they didn’t run into each other. The audience loved them and jumped around, got a circle pit going and rocked out along with the band. The Blackout talked a lot with their audience. They played old and new songs, all squished into their 40 minutes of performance.

Up next was Lostprophets. Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist (later guitarist) Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. Since their formation, Lostprophets have released four studio albums and three EPs, most recently releasing The Betrayed on 13 January 2010, and are part of the Cardiff music scene. Unsure whether the audience could go any wilder, I was looking forward to this performance. The first couple songs the band performed in almost complete darkness. Already during the intro song the fans went insane, as Lostprophets performed “Burn Burn” after that, the entire venue was shaking because everybody began jumping along. Nobody stood still and many people sang along. The band seemed a little shy at first but loosened up very quick. The Brits got their audience hyped up big time. With old and new songs and a great performance the fans were melting away. Lostprophets put up a very professional and strong performance, yet friendly and always in touch with the audience. The guys also played a medley of some old songs before setting in with their own. A great show in Wiesbaden, Lostprophets rocked the house.