The occasion certainly isn’t lost on Enemy frontman Tom Clarke either, who seems particularly pleased with his surroundings as he launches head-first into a savage version of ‘It’s Not Ok.’ As you might expect from a venue that normally houses bovines rather than boozy blokes and their birds, the sound is utterly shite. But it doesn’t matter as The Enemy’s anthem-laden set is ideal for mass sing-a-longs from the crowd and it drowns out any aural inconsistencies.
This is the third time the Coventry three-piece have been in the north in six months and judging by everyone’s reactions, Belfast hasn’t grown bored with them yet. ‘40 Days And 40 nights’ is big, dumb fun played by musicians who are anything but, and the best song The Jam never wrote, ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’, sounds like it was tailor-made for tonight. It might be politically incorrect to say it, but it’s a shame smoking isn’t cool anymore because we could have really used some lighters in the air.
As you might expect from a band with only one album under their belts, tonight’s set is a short, sharp shock to the system with single after single delivered with passion and aggression. The final song before the encore, ‘Away From Here’, is just pure ear candy. They’re not exactly reinventing the wheel with their mix of Smiths and early Weller, but they’re sure having fun.
The encore is interrupted by an impromptu chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’, dedicated to the group’s roadie, before they ensure we all go home with smiles on our faces by finishing with a fist in the air, sabre-rattling version of ‘Away From Here.’ Right now The Enemy are in the form of their lives, so we think by the time festival season rolls around they’ll be making plenty more friends.