And anyone reading this would probably (or should be) relieved to hear that, that song doesn’t even get a mention in this set. They are unfortunately a band who has been trying to shake off that song ever since they released it, but they have since proved that they are a band who are always willing to progress and shows that all bands go through puberty. And tonight is to prove them right, despite the recent criticism of their live shows and Matt Skiba’s apparent “sore throat and cold” which was announced hours before the show on the venue’s website, they pull off a very strong set and leave the crowd reeling for more. Ok, granted the audience tonight was barely going to be the hardest to please, but they still do it with certain vigour and integrity which would silence any critic.

Opening with 2003’s ‘Good Mourning’ single ‘We’ve Had Enough’, the crowd are sent into an excitable riot and all is well. Catchy chorus and a generally brilliant guitar riff, it is a fantastic way to start off the set. And the surge of Alkaline’s charming anthemic punk pop is to continue throughout the set, backed up by recent single ‘Mercy Me’, always a great sing along track, and likewise, ‘Private Eye’ and its incredibly catchy chorus ‘But at the right place at the right time/ I'll be dead wrong and you'll be just fine/ And I won't have to quit doing fucked up shit/ For anyone but me’.

However, its not all glory for the Chicago based band, some of the album tracks featured tonight are a little samey and no way near as superior as their singles. A few songs having basically the same structure, cutting out guitars in favour of vocals and bass lines in the pre-chorus, sounding much like a punkier version of ‘Obstacle #1’ by Interpol. And there are times where the crowd begin to lose interest. Attractive as Matt Skiba may be, they lack the stage presence that would be considered the norm for bands such as them, and through the period of their set which features little to no ‘well known’ songs, leaves them looking a tad flat and shows not to hype them up too much just yet.

But you cannot deny the incredible increase of quality of songsmanship and general finely tuned pop songs. Returning on their encore with the haunting and looming piano sound of ‘Time to Waste’ sounds absolutely stunning, and is probably the most passionately song played of the night. Stunning dark and moody lyrics and the fantastic chorus of ‘You had time to waste and I'm not sorry/ Such a basket case, hide the cutlery/ I had time to kill, it's dead and buried/ You've got guts to spill but no one trustworthy’ shows just how much they have grown up since their first moment in the spotlight.

And so all in all, this is altogether fantastic set. It’s not without its flaws, but if anything, it gives us an idea of how much Alkaline Trio wants this and that they are not a band to be taken lightly.

Adam Turner-Heffer