Things get off to a good start, its only just gone half eight and there’s no sound from the stage yet. Time enough to get a cheeky beer in before Thirteen Senses do their thing. Much like The Open were upon their arrival, Thirteen Senses are being touted as yet another next big thing in the world of indie rock. To be honest, I’m actually quite excited, having been thoroughly charmed by what little I’ve heard of them. Luckily, they do not disappoint, in fact they come very close to ruining the evening for the main act, what with their catchy hooks and flowing melodies, the crowd are presented with a strong set of songs from their new album ‘The Invitation’. Mixing a touch of Keane’s piano and Coldplay's eloquence, they seemingly don’t put a foot wrong, with recent single ‘Into the Fire’ and ‘Do No Wrong’ getting the biggest cheers from tonight’s sold out crowd.

And before you know it, on come The Open and waste no time by launching straight into ‘Bring me Down’, complete with lots of juicy beefed up guitars cranked up to the max, The Open are clearly here tonight to rock. Before long, I find myself tapping uncontrollably to the music as ‘Close my eyes’, with its hypnotic guitar kicks in, the band, wearing their leather jackets and slightly floppy fringes play like their lives depended on it, and if I was impressed with what I’d heard thus far with Thirteen Senses, The Open continue the trend with a staggeringly heavy non album track followed by the Six by Seven tinged ‘Forgotten’. The onslaught is relentless, up next is the single that never was ‘Just Want to Live’ (cue any Dove comparisons), with its anthemic chorus and their most mainstream entry on the album to date and then, it’s the set closer ‘Can you Hear’. But surely that can’t be it? One glance at my watch and they’ve been playing for an hour already, and its amidst much cheering that they come back on to play new single ‘Elevation’ as their encore, a cheerful (for them) jaunt into catchy guitar pop rock. Then its all over, such was their seamless talent and ability an hour and ten minutes flies by in a wave of musical bliss whose only fault is that they didn’t play ‘Lost’ from the album, which is a small complaint to make considering the sheer brilliance of tonight’s performance.

Review by Bevis Man

www.theopenmusic.com

www.thirteensenses.com