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<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s been absolutely sodding brilliant about 2015 so far, it\u2019s just how spoilt we\u2019ve been with excellent young British rock bands with super bright futures hitting the road almost every week. Fort Hope<\/b>\u2019s nationwide jaunt this week was absolutely no exception; and AH hit The Key Club for the particularly promising Leeds date of the tour.<\/p>\n
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Opening the night were local boy\u2019s The Wilde<\/b> who, over the course of the last year or so, have become as good as any up and coming live band as Yorkshire has to offer. And the boys were on top form here. \u2018Bad Bones\u2019<\/i>, taken from the band\u2019s killer debut EP \u2018Young Libertine\u2019<\/i> wasted no time in getting the respectably full room moving, the grooving guitar lines and infectious swagger and bounce of both it and \u2018Youth In Bloom\u2019<\/i> proving inescapable for all present. An early live airing of an unnamed new song showed that the five piece\u2019s already formidable knack of writing catchy, consciousness bothering hooks only continues to get stronger, before frontman Tommy Fleming combined getting every pair of hands clapping with a superb vocal performance on set closer \u2018Young Libertine\u2019<\/i>. (4\/5)<\/p>\n
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Southampton\u2019s Dead!<\/b> then did a great job of keeping the energy levels up while adding their own brand of theatrics and pomp to the evening. While not as infectious or instantly accessible as the openers, Dead!<\/b>\u2019s dark MCR inspired take on angsty brit-rock with an emo edge made for a plenty entertaining watch. And with big sweeping numbers like \u2018Alaska\u2019<\/i> in their arsenal the band have the songs to add weight to the posturing and presence of their live show. (3.5\/5)<\/p>\n
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To say that the predominantly female crowd were excited for Fort Hope<\/b>\u2019s would be putting it mildly, as the deafening screams that met singer Jon Gaskin\u2019s arrival were even more ear-splitting then a really screechy cat that had been stepped on by a fat lass in heels. Seriously it was painful. But it quickly became clear that the four piece were more than deserving of such a welcome. From the get go Fort Hope<\/b> were nothing short of brilliant, showing that live they can get awfully close to their near flawless efforts on record. Gaskin is an exceptional vocal talent, effortlessly showing off a range that very few frontmen in today\u2019s rock scene can match. He immediately had his audience firmly in his sway, keeping them there with a powerful and effecting performance that both squeezed every ounce of feeling and majesty out of the songs, and pushed his bandmates to keep up with his showman ship and performance levels.<\/p>\n
The songs from Fort Hope<\/b>\u2019s recently released self-titled EP provided many of the set\u2019s stand out moments with the beautifully paced ebb and flow of \u2018Crosses (And So We Dig)\u2019<\/i>, the emphatic flag waver \u2018Sick\u2019<\/i> and fist-pumping, bruising anthem \u2018Plans\u2019<\/i> all sounding great live. While older tracks \u2018The Rapture\u2019<\/i>, \u2018We Are The Gods\u2019<\/i> and last song \u2018Control\u2019<\/i> were all equally well received.<\/p>\n
Based on performances like this one, and songs this stirring, there is no way that Fort Hope<\/b> won\u2019t be the next band to follow the likes of Mallory Knox and Twin Atlantic into the upper echelons of British Rock and playing much, much bigger rooms. Fort Hope<\/b> in this form are one of the must see UK rock acts of 2015. (4\/5)<\/p>\n
4\/5<\/p>\n
Words and photos by Dane Wright (<\/a>@MrDaneWright)<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s been absolutely sodding brilliant about 2015 so far, it\u2019s just how spoilt we\u2019ve been with excellent young British rock bands with super bright futures hitting the road almost every week. Fort Hope\u2019s nationwide jaunt this week was absolutely no exception; and AH hit The Key Club for the particularly promising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8181],"tags":[5866,142,1552,978,3260,977,4570],"class_list":["post-11833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-reviews","category-post","tag-dane-wright","tag-dead","tag-fort-hope","tag-leeds","tag-live-review","tag-the-key-club","tag-the-wilde"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n