My trip to the Louisiana in Bristol tonight was filled with fireworks, trick or treaters and wet parents following them around the streets of Bristol which made me feel grateful that I was off to a gig. This one for me would be one of discovery having only recently discovered Only The Poets. One thing I had definitely noticed after following them on social media is they are dedicated to their fans and can be found giving Blue WKD’s out to fans in your local Wetherspoons. They also seem dedicated, providing passionate performances and giving there all in their live performances.

Support tonight came from Tom Abisgold, whom I’m informed by one fan had once appeared on Britain’s Got Talent. I arrive to see him chatting with his crew, possibly looking a tad nervous, as you may be when you have a sold out support gig upstairs waiting for you. I wondered where everyone was for a moment, but it turns out everyone was eager and had arrived early to catch Tom play.

First off everyone has read the memo and has arrived in full Halloween costume, apart from me, which was a great start! I overheard one fan talking about how her voice had ‘gone’ from the previous nights Only The Poets performance, which is a good sign! As the lights change to a sinister shade of ‘Halloween orange’, Tom bounds on stage all smiles and tells us he’s dressed as an “angsty teenage singer”. From the off he knows what he’s doing, getting the crowd involved in each song and fulfilling his self-proclaimed job “to get people hyped for Only The Poets!!” (I think this crowd are one of the most hyped I’ve ever been in). He goes from angsty to a more dance style effortlessly, moving from ‘Died at 18’ to ‘Growing Pains’ announcing “enough with this sad shit….let’s dance!” then showing off his rapping skills with an impeccably delivered version of Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’. The crowd are now singing along providing backing vocals to Tom who provides the guitar whilst the pop tunes are layered in the background.

Tom Abisgold plays pure pop music, I’m kind of taken a back that’s there’s someone this good in a small room in Bristol. I’m sure he’s destined for bigger venues, but tonight, he had 200 people singing and dancing who were here to see another band, that’s a pretty cool achievement in my book.

There was a huge cheer when he announced he’d be returning to Bristol in November before playing ‘Amber Gambler’, which couldn’t be more of pop single if it tried, filled with hand claps, making it catchy from start to finish. Not surprisingly as I leave the room, there is queue of fans to meet and pose for selfies.

The crowd are by now whipped up into even more of a frenzy than when they got here. There are pumpkin balloons filled with lights, the stage has spider filled cobwebs all over it and I’m surrounded by the youngest Only The Poets zombie army, screaming out Harry Styles lyrics, like he’s on stage.

The music dies to horror film horrific laughs then the theme to Ghostbusters breaks out and so do the band, fighting there way through a crammed crowd of adoring fans. The frenzy begins. It feels like someone just turned the heating up and the band are instantly looking like they have played a whole set and are drenched in sweat. They open with ‘Stolen Bikes’ and my initial reaction is that they are LOUD and so much more ‘emo rock’ when performing live than I could imagine after listening to them on Spotify. This is handy for me as I’ve always been an ‘emo kid’ at heart.

“Tonight is all about leaving your troubles at the door”, singer Tommy Longhurst announced before ‘Nana’s House’ which is a funky, noisy affair live and the crowd know where to wave without any need for a crowd participation prompt. you can tell this crowd have a bond with this band and have all seen them before. Finally ‘Forget Your Name’ is a catchy emo-pop number that has the crowd singing even more intensely than before which seemed impossible.

“Its Ok not to be ok”, Tom states before the band play ‘Waking in the Dark’, this song soothes, and provides support and is lit up by its intense delivery from a frontman who has the crowd singing like they are on stage with him. “Don’t be afraid to show your scars, through the chaos and the calm”, he sings with eyes shut sincerely, kissing smiling guitarist Jarred on the cheek between verses. The crowd are then lit up to see the winners of the Halloween costume contest who are a trio of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ zombies! Obvious winners for me!

The band look suitably spooky too as they announce they will play another bigger Halloween show next year, there is a scream let out than makes the room shake and me wince in pain.…the crowd is bouncing! It’s so hot in the Louisiana tonight, sweat is dripping from the ceiling, thankfully the band then slow things down asking the crowd to form a circle right where I’m stood as they play an unplugged version of ‘Every God' I Pray To’ set to a backdrop of an adoring choir all with phones lit up, swaying, making video calls to friends. A definite highlight for me. I’d pay to see more stripped back versions of their songs, which is the sign of a good band.

They then hit us with all the bangers, ‘Ceasefire’ which they always include in their set (I love it when you go to see a favourite band and you know you are going to get to sing a certain song every time you see them, it really creates a bond between band and fan).

‘Emotional’ is the perfect explosive-emo-pop-banger set closer, as the band and crowd become one with a Halloween stage invasion. The stage is now filled with frenzied pumpkin joy, happy fans jumping up and down, screaming out loud every lyric like they are scared of the show coming to a close. The ideal ending for any fan of any band when you end up on stage in an iconic venue such as the Louisiana.

Words by Matthew Barnes

Pictures by Meg Hollingworth