The Libertines
HMV Forum, London
25/08/2010

After a six year hiatus, enough column inches to make Katie Price look positively shy in comparison, a slew of individual projects with varying degrees of success, endless rumours and fervent documentation of their every potential move The Libertines’ reunion was one almost unparalleled in tentative expectation. With a legacy based almost as much on their shambolic tendencies as their inarguably influential musical output, the four piece always had the teetering air of a band that could, and often did, fall apart at any moment; second time around however, with so much cynicism just waiting to rear it’s head at the hint of a slip up, things have to be tight.

And by god we’re not disappointed. Entering to the strains of ‘We’ll Meet Again’, backed by a montage of classic photos and a backdrop of ‘Up The Bracket’, even seeing these four men sharing a stage again is enough to bring a lump to the throat; and from the opening rumbles of ‘Horrorshow’, they are undoubtedly slicker, more polished and generally on form than they ever were, which means that tonight is so, so much more than a mere nostalgia trip. Through the spitting venom of ‘Begging’ to the sheer elation of ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’, the punk spirit of ‘The Delaney’ to the patriotic anthemics of ‘Time For Heroes’ every song only further serves to cement the sheer force of their back catalogue; and with the drama removed and tensions resolved there’s nothing left to take away from it.

As ‘What A Waster’ roars into the final strains of a thrashing, vital ‘I Get Along’ the quartet embrace centre-stage to the kind of deafening roars that we’ve literally, never heard anything like before. There’s little banter; tonight the music finally does the talking. And it is speaking glorious volumes.

Lisa Wright