First on were The La Barrons who were given the task to kick off the night in the sweltering 02 Academy. They delivered a very solid performance with well put-together songs. The singer’s vocals were great, the guitarist provided tights riffs, the drums were banging (that’s good) and the bassist was tall, very tall – but very good! Altogether they created a very full sound. One downer may be that they brought lyrics on stage for their new song; this may have came of as slightly amateur; but the song did deliver a hefty punch regardless! Watch out for The La Barrons.

Second tonight was Interlight, who were on stage kitted out in their Sunday best – it looked slick. After their first couple of songs I got a heavy classic rock/county vibe from them, and despite their age they pulled this off very well. A note must be said about the bassist (Jacob Cusworth) who provided kick ass bass lines and actually kept me very entertained with his slight mannerisms! The singer/guitarist had a presence on stage that most local bands are void of and the rest of the band fed off this, along with his presence he had a very melodic voice to boot. An improvement may be made in their long pauses between songs because the crowd didn’t want to wait for more of their songs; they wanted them immediately as the tunes here were first class, a band for the radar for sure.

Next on, and already eagerly awaited with fans chanting “Scarlet!” were the two-piece Scarlet Shift. I would like to start off by saying that this band was tighter than a fat woman’s thong, with very powerful drumming (and hair), melodic guitar work that was really atmospheric, and awesome duo vocals that created many soaring harmonies. Two songs stick out in my mind and must be said here – “Clean” and “Running”. They both got the crowd bouncing and my foot tapping. Scarlet Shift are a two-piece outfit that disproves the idea that strength comes in numbers, the sound created here was incredibly powerful. This is a band to watch out for - their new EP “Red Rag to a Bull” is now available on iTunes and direct from the band, I managed to bag my copy for free – perks of the job!

Fourth on were first timers Silent in Action who brought with them an army of support. S.I.A pounded out fast paced rock music, which wrapped the crowd into frenzy – exactly what a band playing their first gig needs – and they even popped in a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle”, which was played with great confidence and charisma. A change in atmosphere was brought to the surface when S.I.A decided to pop in another cover, this time in the form of Ke$ha ‘s hit “Tik Tok” which provided a bit of good humour to their already well put together set. They were slightly rough around the edges – but this can be easily forgiven due to this being their first gig and with experience those rough edges will soon become smooth like my chest! Let’s hope S.I.A keep on the road they’re going.

Rock music was the oxygen that the people breathed tonight at the 02, this was until the headliners, the 6 piece, Inner Sight came on and threw some Alternative Rock into the mix.  Inner Sight took the crowd to a different place, space perhaps? This is what it felt like with the synth/keyboard/and I actually think the bass guitar creating astronomical sounds which merged together beautifully, reminded me very much of Muse. The vocals were thrown about between the band, and boy-girl harmonies were created very well, which added to the space-like atmosphere. The drums created a barrage of sound and the guitarists filled in the gaps so that Inner Sight sounded fuller than the ocean. Their cover of the 1969 hit “In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)" by Zager and Evans was incredibly well received by the crowd and worked really well with their sound. Inner Sight is a band, a special band, that people NEED to check out and if they don’t I will be very sad.

By Russell Ferguson for YRock.