A great set to end the weekend
While watching Therapy perform this kind of show, putting every inch of effort into playing the best they possibly can, and with the quality of songs to go with it, it's hard to figure out why they went from the for-front of the UK rock scene in the early and mid nineties, to being one of the forgotten bands of rock.
Andy Cairns is an excellent frontman, and he is backed by a band who are slick, excellent musicians who know how to rock with the best of them. They may not have had quite as many people inside the sweat pit that was the Rock Sound Cave as Breed 77 did, but the reaction of those present made this an all round occasion to savour.
They played for an hour, and rattled through a setlist that was a real rock onslaught, and matches anything which the media darlings of the current rock world can produce.
It was a career spanning setlist, but for many the 'Trouble Gun' era was their strongest and so songs from that time stood out as highpoints. 'Screamager' from their 'Short Sharp Shocks EP' appeared early on and was one that really got the crowd jumping.
It's not uncommon for bands to use their gigs to have a dig at current world politics, and aside from allowing them to let off some steam and be a guaranteed way to get a massive cheer from the crowd, this can at times seem a bit obvious and tired.
Although there was nothing especially new about what Therapy did, we've all been in crowds that have been encouraged to show their dislike for George Bush, the fact that they originate from Northern Ireland does give an extra validity to things.
"We're from Northern Ireland, and so have a first hand experience of the butchering of innocent people!" Cairns said, as he conducted the anti Bush chants from center stage before the band launched into 'Rock You Monkeys', another stand out track from the night.
The George Bush stuff was lapped up with enthusiasm, sadly the dedication of 'Die Laughing' to Syd Barrett was met with a much lesser response.
"This one's for Syd Barrett," Cairns said, "I liked all the early Floyd stuff like 'Arnold Layne' and 'See Emily Play' before they went all..." and tries to emulate 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' on his guitar. This was met with a sea of blank faces: "I'll get my coat shall I?"
'Die Laughing', along with 'Going Nowhere' were massive in the early nineties, but still sound fresh today. For me Therapy sit nicely alongside early Green Day, before they went all global megastars on us, and so should be more popular than they are.
The band seemed genuinely grateful for the response they received. Before closing with 'Walking through the Darkness' Cairns told the crowd that it was a song about friends sticking by you, a fitting way to end the show given that they're no longer flavour of the month, but still have an army of loyal followers sticking by them.