Gig review: The Sunshine Underground at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds

Talk about a brilliant day of live music reaching a glorious crescendo.

After superb performances by five outstanding support acts, The Sunshine Underground took centre stage just before 9pm to headline Kirkstall Abbey on Saturday.

It was a mesmeric homecoming performance by the Leeds indie-dance band, an occasion to savour for the thousands of fans who packed out the historic site.

The Streets delivered an unforgettable Kirkstall Abbey Sessions opener the previous night, so that was always going to take some topping 24 hours later.

Well, the whole day was rapturously received by an eclectic mix of music lovers who travelled from far and wide to see some of their favourite bands.

Billed as an ‘Exclusive Reunion Show’ by promoters Futuresound Group, the day began with a set from Manchester rock outfit The Whip, who were playing their first live gig for quite some time.

They warmed up the crowd nicely before a fantastic set by Brummie indie band The Twang, who played many of their best-loved tracks.

Kicking off with Ice Cream Sundae, Phil Etheridge and his pals blasted through a back catalogue which included Either Way, Two Lovers, Barney Rubble, Wide Awake and ended with Cloudy Room.

Etheridge revealed he had left his wife and kids on holiday in Spain to fly back to England and play at Kirkstall Abbey.

After The Twang’s 45-minute set, it was the turn of The Futureheads to take to the stage and they did not disappoint either.

The Sunderland legends are another ageing outfit who clearly love what they do and that transmitted to the crowd as they belted out songs such as Decent Days and Nights and Meantime in a compelling 10-track set.

Barry Hyde is a fine frontman who knows how to work a crowd and next up was Hard-Fi, who played classics such as Cash Machine and Hard to Beat before finishing with Living for the Weekend.

It was good to see members of different bands in and amongst the crowd, having a beer and posing for pictures with fans, during each performance.

The atmosphere cranked up a notch further with an incredible set by White Lies, whose frontman Harry McVeigh was on top form as tracks such as Farewell to the Fairground and Bigger Than Us sent the crowd wild.

Finally, it was time for The Sunshine Underground to perform and their popularity was clear to see as the crowd was now absolutely heaving to see a band who are back after nearly 10 years away.

They opened with Wake Up and then Commercial Breakdown before reeling off so many more tracks which served as a welcome reminder of what a special outfit they really are.

Borders is a personal favourite of mine but this was an unbelievable set, paced perfectly and sounding simply amazing throughout in a delightful setting.

Their encore sees them play The Messiah and Raise the Alarm and leaves everyone in the crowd thinking the very same thing: The Sunshine Underground are back and hopefully here to stay.