I first saw Kids In Glass Houses on 6/02/10, a couple of days after 'Matters At All,' the second single to come from their second album 'Dirt,' was released. They were supporting Lostprophets at Hull City Hall and I distinctly remember how good they were live; after a truly terrible opening from first support band Hexes it's perhaps no wonder that I remember it so well, but to engage and capture the less-than-impressed audience the way that KIGH did is no easy feat, yet they managed it effortlessly. I've been a firm fan ever since and so you can imagine that I jumped at the chance to see them again, over 3 years later, this time headlining a show in York.
Much like the first time I saw them, the supporting bands were polar opposites. First up were Summer City, who at first seemed pretty good, though I had to question my initial judgement when they engaged with the crowd gathered before them. Their on-stage personalities are similar to that of a certain YouTube "vlogger" worshipped by millions of fangirls worldwide, and not in a good sense - I was regrettably left trying to control my laughter rather than being able to listen to their music, which really wasn't too bad. It's just a shame that their songs are undermined and let-down by their cringey on-stage mannerisms. On a high note however, Summer City do have guts; they made an extremely brave choice to cover Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe,' which they pulled off as well as any band covering one of the most annoying songs in the world could do.
Following Summer City were
Verses, a rock band hailing from Brighton. I can't even begin to describe how glad I am that Verses were chosen to support KIGH because they are truly an amazing band! And after buying their CD 'Come To Life' at the show, I can confirm that they're one of the few bands that sound just as good live as they do on their CDs. Even if I really like a support band at a gig, it's not very often that I'll go and check them out after the show, but Verses are quickly becoming one of my favourite bands to listen to at the moment. I genuinely can't recommend them enough, and I really hope that they grow even bigger.
Though Verses did have some fans in the crowd, the majority were obviously waiting on Kids In Glass Houses making an appearance. After the show was rescheduled from May 30th to July 29th, the excitement was even more so, so when KIGH first came on, opening with 'Artbreaker I' and rocketing straight into 'Youngblood (Let It Out),' the atmosphere was incredible. The setlist spanned songs from 'Smart Casual,' 'Dirt' and the upcoming album (due to be released September 30th and can be pre-ordered
here) 'Peace,' although there was a notable lack of songs from third album 'In Gold Blood.' I feel as though the setlist could have been a little stronger, and admittedly I was a bit disappointed at the lack of songs such as 'Hunt The Haunted' and 'Black Crush,' but this was made up for by a performance of 'Drive;' the first single to come from the new album, I've been hooked on it ever since its release. 'Drive' is undoubtedly one of the best songs I've heard live by any band, and I think it's going to become a firm fixture in the setlist of future KIGH shows. It unites the crowd; not one body in that room wasn't dancing and singing along at the top of their lungs. Kids In Glass Houses seem to be fluent in writing songs that unite their fans, a talent shown by 'Saturday' and the song they closed with, 'Matters At All.' Their set, albeit less than an hour long, just confirmed my beliefs that Kids In Glass Houses are one of the strongest best live bands I've ever seen and I really hope I get to see them several more times throughout my life.
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