Preaching from the alter of early nineties indie
The expectant fans were gathering in the Carling Tent, many of them waiting to find out what Reverend and the Makers had to offer aside from their massive smash hit single.
The Reverend took what might to some seem a somewhat risky decision to get 'Heavyweight Champion of the World' out of the way early, playing it second in the set. Although there were a few heading for the exit having heard the one song they'd come to hear, most stuck around and were rewarded with a lively, whistle stop tour of the forth-coming album.
The B-side to 'Heavyweight Champion', '18-30' offered a rare dose of familiarity, but a voyage of discovery is never a bad thing, and the initial reaction from this performance is that there's plenty more, New Order or Happy Mondays-like pop to come from this Sheffield act.
A bit of vocal variety was thrown in during the final track; with the female keyboard player sharing the mic on new single 'He Said He Loved Me'.
The Reverend has his congregation hanging on his every action, moving on the floor as much as he does on stage. There is a risk here that I could drag this review down to religious puns so I won't, other than to say that this is a band who're already being hero worshiped, but it will take further studying of their Bible of baggy pop, in the form of a round bit of plastic in a box to suss out how much variety and strength in depth they'll have before I become a fully confirmed disciple.