Tuesday 05/09/06 The Subways, The Sunshine Underground @ Rock City, Nottingham

It’s amazing to think that The Subways' album ‘Young for Eternity’ is now well over a year old and they are now working up to that make or break second album.  It’s amazing too that despite having new material under their belts they’ve decided to tour again on the back of their debut rather than wait for their sophomore release. Ticket sales are up from their November 2005 show at the same venue, but the fan base appears to be more dedicated than a year ago with teenagers happy to occupy the steps outside from midday (back to school my arse) just to get onto the barrier when the doors open. 

It’s testament to their growing reputation that The Subways can invite The Sunshine Underground along as their support. If you haven’t heard this act they sound like the Music and the Rapture getting married and then moving to Leeds.  ‘Put You In Your Place’ is a swirling mix of wailing vocals and fidgety percussion which is bound to become an anthem when it gets the coverage it deserves, expect them to be playing shows of this size this time next year.

If The Subways hadn’t played a similar show last year this show would be everything you want from a rock and roll gig, but they did and there’s a niggling sense that you’ve seen it all before and it’s time to refresh things. ‘Oh Yeah’ and ‘I Want To Hear What You’ve Got To Say’ are foot stomping, energy fuelled numbers but as much as they put in the set is most alive when they bring out the new tracks. ‘Shake, Shake’ is the pick of them with a scuzzy bass prelude into a giant riff and one that gets the pit bouncing as if they’ve heard it a million times.  It’s unfair to be overly critical though; the set still works with ‘With You’ blasting it off and ‘Rock and Roll Queen’ closing matters up with riotous guitar and Billy doing his best to end up in hospital leaping from a speaker stack. It’s a delightful testament to his utter devotion to the tracks he’s playing that his energy is unwavering. 

The new tracks have a similar feel to them but still seem exciting, and add some weight to what is a rather disappointingly short set. The crowd’s ultra-energetic response tonight might spur on some bands to keep touring the older material but for the Subways to progress they must now realise when to call time on ‘Young for Eternity’ and to give the fans the new material they crave.  It seems after debuting numerous tracks tonight and showing they still have un-bounding energy they look all set for that ‘difficult’ second album.