I think the vast majority of people that attended this gig are in shock that such a big band chose to play a one-off gig in Stoke-On-Trent, but why the hell not! Stoke crowds are awesome!The support act were alright. I can’t remember the name of them, but they sang songs about biscuits, new shoes and green bottles. 10 of them in fact..green bottles that is. They all had perfectly straight hair, as a female I envy the fact that their hair goes straighter than mine. Bastards! Good band though, even if the singer did wear a cardigan without a t-shirt showing his hairy chest.Before The Subways come on, the PA system is blasting out Arctic Monkeys’ Brianstorm track, and yes everyone in The Sugarmill shouts out “BRIAN! Top marks for not tryin’ “ One of the many highlights!We are told this gig is being filmed, and for some reason the cameramen have decided to risk their lives by going into the crowd with the cameras.

After various chants (including Stoke football chants), Josh, Charlotte and Billy walk onto the stage greeted by what can only be described as mass hysteria. If I was them, I probably would have pissed myself- but that probably says something about me…oh….Anyway, back to the gig. They open with new song California and play a mix of new and old songs from Young For Eternity. The second song they play, Oh Yeah is beyond amazing. Billy places down his guitar and jumps into the crowd. This is not the first time he does this during the gig. He climbs onto the balcony, walks round and dives into the crowd. He does this twice. The guy is mental. The whole band play quite mentally actually. It’s clearly one of the best gigs that has ever been played at The Sugarmill and one of the best ones I’ve been to. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that about every gig I’ve been to…apart from when I saw the Backstreet Boys. I don’t talk about that though.