Sing this with me now
The Barfly in Liverpool is pretty packed down at the front for the return of Hundred Reasons and judging by the ages of the crowd there are both old and new fans present. If Hundred Reasons were worried that they may have lost some impetus with their fan base since the last record, then the turn out tonight should confirm that any such fears are unfounded.
Kicking proceedings off with 'What You Get' it's instantly obvious why we need the return of Hundred Reasons, they just exude energy and passion from the first note until the last and it makes them a great live band. 'I'll Find You' follows and really gets the crowd at the front jumping, it's great to hear these songs again and it's a timely reminder of just how good Hundred Reasons can be, as is 'Answers', which initiates the first crowd sing a long of the evening.
There is new material on offer tonight as well and the first of these comes in the form of 'Kill Your Own', the title track of the forthcoming album. On first listen it sounds like the new album is going to live up to expectations, it's not a real departure in terms of sound, it's still heavy and retains the trademark 'big' chorus. Vocalist Colin puts on a great show tonight with his familiar leaps and constant interaction with the crowd although it has to be said that most of the band do likewise.
If there is a problem with Hundred Reasons it's perhaps that the odd song doesn't quite hit the spot, 'The Perfect Gift' sounds like it might be one of these and by comparison the awesome version of 'Drowning' which follows is a definite highlight. Another new song, 'No Pretending' sees both crowd and band whipped into a frenzy, even the security guard on the barrier is tapping his foot along although he has to do some work soon after as a girl gets launched over the barrier and lands extremely awkwardly on the edge of the stage. The band and everybody else visibly wince as she lands but she gets up and seems ok and it doesn't put the band off as they deliver a great version of 'Silver'.
After some impressive crowd participation we get the pick of the new material in 'Feed the Fire', a great tune that leads nicely into the final song of the night, which turns out to be an excellent version of 'If I Could'. Once again the crowd go nuts in the chorus and it's a fitting way to end what has been a triumphant return for Hundred Reasons, by and large the new material sounds extremely promising and with every date on the barfly tour being sold out there can be no danger that the HR faithful have deserted. Isn't it nice when old friends come home?