LIVE REVIEW: Lostprophets, Southampton Guildhall, 2/5/12

After being together for well over a decade and producing records that accompanied us in the transitions to adult life, Lostprophets have stayed strong as a group and continue to push boundaries. We went to Southampton to see if these Welsh lads still had it in them.

Support for the evening came from new Dubstep group Modestep, a surprising choice, but one that did not disappoint. Despite playing to a different crowd to what they are used to, the guys gave it everything they had and put on an outstanding performance that hyped up the crowd brilliantly, ready for Lostprophets.

Having been around for so long, playing show after show, you’d hope that Lostprophets would have their performances nailed, however tonight this didn’t seem the case. Bring ‘Em Down was first on the setlist; having had a lot of radio play it seemed to go down well with the crowd. Ian Watkins’ vocals were the biggest disappointment, but as this was the tours penultimate show it’s likely his vocal chords were struggling. Unfortunately the vocals didn’t improve much over the set, infact if it wasn’t for the backing vocals it would have been a difficult listen.

What was clear from the night though, was that there are still a lot of hardcore Lostprophets fans out there, who have stuck by them despite the ups and downs. Songs such as Make A Move, Last Summer and Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja saw the crowd go absolutely insane, for a room that was barely three quarters full, there was a hell of a lot of noise and it proved to us why we all fell in love with their music in the first place. Yet for a setlist that consisted of eighteen songs, only five were off new album Weapons, which quite frankly sucked live. Only two tracks where from previous release The Betrayed, while the rest were the big rock anthems they were once so good at making.

All bands change their sound, try out new directions and throw in extra bits during their live performances. However tonight it seemed like they were trying a little too hard, with Ian rapping into a megaphone and attempting to throw Dizzee Rascal lyrics in. Sometimes you have got to stick to what you’re good at and that’s what Lostprophets need to learn; ditch the matching outfits and the random green lasers and give us the rock show we all hoped for. It could have been worse, but it could have been so much better, meaning we left feeling slightly let down by what had the potential to be an amazing show.