Doctor's orders for The Klaxons

The Klaxons

HMV Institute, Birmingham

words and pictures by James Watkins

The Klaxons descended on the West Midlands for a night of nu-rave sound - along with a few surprises to boot.

Frontman Jamie Reynolds was forced to play the whole set from a stool in the centre of the stage after a visit to Birmingham A&E left his leg bound in a support brace.

Murmuring good-humouredly to the capacity revellers mid-set about his injury, it didn't prevent The Klaxons from uplling out all the stops with an exciting and hypnotic set.

Hobbling on-stage in the dark with crutches, Reynolds and company opened with an explosive Flashover that saw the crowd bouncing away and setting the standard for the night.

With the lighting rig pitched to maximum glare and the amps turned even louder, The Klaxons played through an hour long set with highlights including As Above So Below and Twin Flames.

The melodic Golden Skans sparked a wave of crowd surfing that would have rivalled the frenetic activity of fans at early Libertines' gigs.

The climax came with Magick being pounded through the hearts of all lucky enough to be in the packed former Barfly, before an encore of It's Not Over Yet and Surfing The Void yet again raised the bar ahead of curtain closer Atlantis To Interzone.

The Klaxons produced an epic performance - all the more remarkable given that they'd spent a day at A&E wondering whether they'd be allowed to perform.