Two Alkaline Trio gigs in 48 hours? Why, yes! Last night was with a press pass though.

These are Leeds and Reading warm-up shows, but I still wasn’t sure whether last night would be as good as the first night of the tour on Wednesday at Koko. Turns out it wasn’t far off! Hi-fi Handgrenades were really good at Koko – they engaged well with the crowd and I really like what they played. Last night they hardly said anything except to name the tracks, and only really woke up for the last song. It’s a shame because I like their stuff, but it was clear last night that their hearts weren’t in it. Regardless, I think it was a one-off; the album’s out now on Deck Cheese now and I’ll definitely be getting it.

Alkaline Trio were obviously enjoying themselves again, with an almost identical set list to Koko, and just as many smiles. I would imagine the Reading and Leeds shows are going to be pretty good if they carry on like this.

The atmosphere wasn’t quite as good as Wednesday, but then it was a smaller venue which I don’t think was sold out either. That said, I’ve enjoyed both dates immensely, and the new material sound really good live. I just need to make it to Reading or Leeds next year…