The atmosphere is exciting and it feels like being 15 again. An array of familiar faces from Brighton, Eastbourne and Hailsham gather to see New Found Glory warm up for their upcoming Reading and Leeds appearances.

The guys burst onto stage with a highly energetic ‘Understatement’ followed immediately by ‘Don’t Let Her Pull You Down’ and ‘At Least I’m Known For Something’. They hammer through songs feeding an attentive crowd with nonstop tune after tune. We remember pop punk when it was huge and the individual bands had their own distinguished sound; producing classic teenage rock anthems similar but unlike another band but them. ‘Hold My Hand’ and ‘Hit or Miss’ are songs which epitomise their sound. Tonight the guys are on great form and so are the audience. There is a lot of action at the front and even some crowd surfing going down, which is great because sadly it is banned in a lot of venues these days. The impact of loud, fast music in a small crowded venue is something special and unique to rock music. It feels good and it feels right.

The encore is a well-selected cover of The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and they end with the popular single ‘My Friends Over You’. We are impressed that there are no fart gags or a continuous, patronising thanking of the fans. New Found Glory are not as cheesy and American as we had expected, and we’re glad to have experienced them live because they are much better on stage than on disc. Tonight was good practise for their festival shows and they clearly have a dedicated fan base.

New Found Glory
Concorde 2
Wednesday 24 Aug 2011
WORDS BY JOHN MCLEAN
PHOTOS BY JAZZ CHANDLER