Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassins
Reuben headline the Rocksound tent on the Saturday night and get by far the biggest crowd of the weekend. This is no real surprise having received rave reviews for their latest album ('In Nothing We Trust') and gracing the main stage at Download, it all seems somewhat removed from the last time we saw them on this stage two years ago!
There's no messing around tonight as they get straight down to business with 'No One Wins the War' and immediately the crowd really go for it. Reuben are one of those bands that just have the ability to really turn it on at times and tonight they are fantastic. 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em' is excellent, as is the sound and they keep the performance level high as they plough through recent single 'Blood, Bunny Larkhall'. The set is already starting to sound like a greatest hits set before one of the highlights 'Keep It To Yourself' gets virtually the whole tent bouncing and it's quite a sight. As usual there's plenty of light hearted chat between Jon, Jamie and the crowd between songs.
Personal favourite and fast becoming the song everyone wants to hear 'Lights Out' is quite stunning but there's a good mix of old and new on offer tonight from 'Song for Saturday' and 'Freddy Kreuger' to new album tracks like 'We're All Going Home In An Ambulance'. Having bumped into him earlier in the day we knew this was coming but for many of the crowd it's a complete surprise when Frank Turner takes the stage to sing the middle section of 'Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin'. The delighted punters go wild as the ex –Million Dead frontman gets into it and appears to enjoy the opportunity to deliver some hardcore style vocals again.
The whole set has been strong and the finale of 'Kick In the Mouth', 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' and 'Cities On Fire' certainly keep the standards up. Everyone has had a good time in here tonight and it's been yet further proof that Reuben's decision to go it alone is bearing fruit. I'd advise buying tickets for their September headline tour now as it's sure to be a sell out. Excellent stuff yet again.