Young Guns at Birmingham HMV institute 15th September

Some of the crowd, at the Library at the HMV institute in Birmingham on the 15^th September, were left needing ‘Stitches’ after Young Guns shook the room of the first sold out show of their headline tour.


It was clear to anyone that attended the signing earlier that evening that Gustav, as tweeted, was still not 100% better after being ill; however this did not stop the British rock giants coming out to say hello to the large fan base they have built up over the last couple of years, for which the fans were appreciative.

The first of the three support bands of the evening were Aussie rockers ‘Dangerous’, unheard of to most if not all of the crowd they gave more than they got. Pulsating high energy tunes throughout the venue they soon inspired high energy feedback from the crowd. The lead singer immersed himself into the crowd several times, breaking down the literal and metaphorical barrier between band and audience. The crowd were seriously warmed up for the next support after these guys left the stage.

Next on were ‘The Xcerts’  who failed to stand up to the raw energy put out by ‘Dangerous’, their tunes more mellow compared and stage presence to match. It seemed from an audience perspective that the people who organised the support line up wanted to  ‘chill’ everyone out, which, although is better for security, puts a damper on the gig experience. Perhaps in a different line-up they would have shone to their full potential, but the self-advertised distorted pop band did not manage to keep up with the rock displayed in this particular gig.

The last support and last chance to get the audience going was American pop rock band ‘Every Avenue’, who were clearly the most renowned support on this tour, judging by the noisy reception they received from a previously restless crowd. The band, although they haven’t really broken out of supporting yet, managed to get their lyrics sung back to them by most of the audience, people danced, ‘Every Avenue’ absorbing every ounce of energy the crowd were exerting, only increasing their enthusiasm, bettering their performance.  Perhaps this gig proved that they do have the capability to make it on their own as opposed to supporting.

After much anticipation the main attraction graced the stage, from the first beat of the snare ‘Young Guns’ killed it;  smashing songs from their album ‘All our Kings are dead’ such as ‘Stitches’ and ‘Sons of Apathy’ all getting a great response from their fans.

Gustav Wood, lead singer, confessed to suffering from slight delirium brought on by cough syrup, this did not affect his vocals; however the multiple technical problems did put a damper on the what would be a flawless epic performance from this amazing band. Most did not let this stop them moshing out and singing along.

The highlight of the gig was hearing them blast out nearly the whole of the ‘Mirrors’ E.P their best work as some may argue. The ‘Mirrors’ E.P contains so powerful lyrics, fist pumping beats and outstanding riffs, if these tunes ever vanished from the ‘Young Guns’ set list it would be a tragedy, as each track is pure musical genius.

Sweat was definitely brewing; every part of this band makes you want to jump and scream, their songs infectious, their audience interaction inspiring and their stage presence immense.

‘Young Guns’ went from the support band nobody knew to one of the best British rock bands on the scene, and taking their Birmingham performance into account, they are going to be sticking around for a long time.





Words By Gemma Harling