The local newspaper published this article about what the fans thought of The Enemy's comeback gig at S7ven in Coventry. Warren Manger who was at the gig and wrote the story, has championed the music scene in Coventry for a long time. His review of The Enemy at S7ven is also reproduced below (read The Music Abyss for more from Coventry's music scene)
COVENTRY kids The Enemy stepped back onto the stage to treat hundreds of fans to a compelling comeback show.
A capacity crowd packed bar S7ven at the old city fire station for the momentous show, which saw The Enemy debut five tracks from their eagerly-awaited third album.
Meanwhile, an estimated 30,000 fans tuned in online to watch the gig – which was recorded for the band’s new music video, Gimme The Sign.
They were treated to a host of classic Enemy tracks, plus five new tracks from their third album, due later this year.
After the show on Thursday night, many fans took to Twitter hailing it a huge success.
Rob McArdle, from The Enemy unofficial blog, said: “The crowd went wild – lots of crowd surfing and new tunes are mint.
“The band ripped it up, the place was exploding with energy.”
The Enemy announced the intimate gig online three weeks ago.
Tickets went on sale immediately and sold out in seconds.
Fans began queuing outside the venue long before the doors opened at 8pm to secure a spot at the front and get their faces on the video.
During the show they were treated to a sneak peak at five new tracks including This Is Real, Saturday and Bigger Cages, Longer Chains.
After the gig The Enemy frontman Tom Clarke tweeted: “Thank you to everyone at the video shoot.
“Amazing, you lot made it epic! Can’t praise you enough.”
The comeback gig prompted such excitement The Sun’s showbiz editor Gordon Smart even sought some relief from the scandal that has engulfed the newspaper by heading to Coventry to see the show.
He saw the band – Clarke, bassist Andy Hopkins and drummer Liam Watts – produce arguably their most thrilling show since their Godiva Festival slot in 2007.
After the gig, he tweeted: “Fair play to Tom, Andy and Liam. Rock’n’roll spirit is alive and well in Coventry tonight.”
The gig was hosted by the Panic rock and roll club night at S7ven.
It was organised by promoter John Dawkins, who also works with and is a close friend of the band.
It is the second big name he has attracted to the venue in a week.
Last Friday, Reverend & The Makers played an intimate set there to warm up for their slot supporting Noel Gallagher on his solo arena tour.
Coventry music historian Pete Chambers tweeted: “The Enemy are back, they nailed it tonight.
“Made me proud to be from Cov all over again, thanks to Dawks.”
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THERE is something special in the air as the crowd at S7ven in Coventry wait for The Enemy to take to the stage for their big comeback.
It evokes memories of the trio's famous slot at the Godiva Festival in 2007.
On that occasion both the band and their fans knew they were celebrating the dawn of a new era, with their debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns set to enter the charts at number one the next evening.
Tonight is all about rebirth.
Second album Music For The People featured some stunning highlights but failed to capture the public's imagination in the same way as their first.
So the band went away and regrouped, enlisting the help of punk rocker Joby Ford to reinvigorate their music and capture their live sound on record.
(Ford's influence is acknowledged tonight by bassist Andy Hopkins, who wears a t-shirt promoting his band The Bronx).
The crowd sense they are about to be treated to a momentous occasion.
They are the privileged few hundred who happened to be online at the moment the show was announced and tickets immediately went on sale.
Thousands more only heard about the intimate comeback gig after it had sold out.
Promoter John Dawkins - a close confident of the band and organiser of Panic, the rock and roll night at S7ven which is hosting their comeback - is quick to remind them of that.
"There are 30,000 people watching this online," he says, goading the crowd to go wild for the cameras.
"We're the lucky ones."
This gig may be designed to debut new material, but The Enemy are seasoned enough to know they need to lay the groundwork first.
Entering to the familiar refrain of Too Much, Too Young the band launch straight into the unbridled antagonism of Aggro before merging seamlessly into the hit singles Had Enough and Away From Here.
By the time they have ripped through that titanic trilogy the crowd are whipped into enough of a frenzy for the band to reel out Gimme The Sign - the new single for which they are filming the video.
More new tracks follow - the full throttle Bigger Cages, Longer Chains, the yearning This Is Real (already released as a demo), Saturday and 1234 Ready To Go.
These are interspersed with established favourites such as This Song Is About You, No Time For Tears and Happy Birthday Jane.
Frontman Tom Clarke has previously promised the new tracks are the most muscular the band have penned to date - a welcome return to their hard rocking roots.
On this evidence he was not exaggerating.
These new tracks - fuelled by the same spirit of rebellion that inspired their earlier highlights - are uncompromising to say the least.
In light of Clarke's recent comments on the state of the charts you might easily brand them a rallying cry for rock and roll - even a declaration of war against the insipid singles of polished pop that currently dominate the airwaves.
Lighters aloft sing-a-long We'll Live And Die In These Towns was always one of The Enemy's more measured moments.
Now, nestled alongside their breakneck new material, it seems positively slow and sentimental.
This draws a wry joke from Clarke as the acoustic guitar kicks in.
"Right, now we're gonna play you some James Blunt," he quips, before swiftly assuring the crowd this is not the case.
In The Enemy camp the sense of excitement surrounding their third album is reaching fever pitch. (Dawkins in particular is emphatic when describing how far superior it is to their previous work).
However, the band inevitably return to perennial favourite You're Not Alone to close the set.
It is more than just their standard, it is the very embodiment of their shared identity with every other frustrated Coventrian who still mourns the decline of this great city.
As such it will always mean more to those fervent fans going doolally on the dancefloor at S7ven than it will to crowds in any other city.
By the time the song reaches its climax the venue is bouncing so violently it seems the city walls visible from the window - which have stood for 700 years - could come crashing down under the force of the shockwaves.
It ends the gig on a fitting high and sees bassist Hopkins swept out into the crowd to surf across a sea of bodies before returning to the stage, carried aloft like a scene from Danny The Champion of the World.
As the band reluctantly leave the stage Clarke turns to the crowd, raises his beer bottle in silent salute and mouths the words, "We Love You Coventry."
The success of their first two albums has taken the Enemy around the world, bringing them fame and fortune.
However, their ferociously intense bond with the city remains undiminished.
You get the feeling the notion of living and dying in their hometown no longer carries the sense of dread and frustration that it did five years ago.
All that matters right now is that they enjoy the journey.
And on the evidence of this compelling comeback the boys are clearly having the time of their lives - as are they hundreds of fans they are taking along for the ride.
*Source: Coventry Telegraph/ Warren Manger / The Music Abyss
*PICTURE: Joe O'Brien / Panic @S7ven
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