It’s not often I arrive at Rock City before the doors open, but as I hopped off the Rainbow One and onto Talbot Street, the queue was small enough to tolerate standing in for a few minutes.

Once inside, the venue was predictably empty, a surreal sight for such an iconic venue. Fear not, it would soon fill up for sure, but I was greeted with instant access to the bathroom and bar. I ordered a 0% Guinness to continue the sober run. A chance to enjoy the calm before the Sandstorm.

I was also fortunate to chose my viewing location for the evenings proceedings. After two visits to Nottingham already this week, I opted for a spot on the usually unattainable balcony. I proceeded up the steps and got comfortable to the right of the stage.

Inner Circle were listed as the support act, and although I hadn’t heard of them before, a quick search of Spotify earlier in the day surfaced some familiar songs that I was looking forward to hearing live.

Scrap that. When the support band arrived on stage and started playing, it sounded a lot different to the earlier playlist I had.

‘We’re the inner circles – cheers Ticketmaster!’ the singer confirmed as he addressed the crowd. There were some good tunes from the band, hearing these for the first time. I was notably impressed with the solid bass playing and the lead singer was more than happy to exchange with the crowd between songs.

They closed with a cover more familiar. C’mon feel the noise which was a great way to end.

Cast, fronted by the legend John Power were greeted to rapturous applause by a near sold out crowd.

They opened with one of my favourites, Sandstorm and instantly got the crowd on side. Love is the Call sounded superb live and blended seamlessly with the tunes of old. Despite their long established career, this was my first time seeing them live. With rumours that they might be next to be announced as support for Oasis UK shows next year, there will be another opportunity for sure.

Love You Like I Do was Beatles-esque and the song Bluebird acoustic provided a moment of calmness to proceedings. Walkaway was also played much earlier in the set than I expected and Tomorrow Call My Name was the last song before encore.

The encore started with Starry Eyes, followed by History.

The technicians perfectly executed a lightshow to match the fine time that enthused on the stage.

They closed with Alright before John praised the crowd and showed genuine appreciation for the fans turning out in what is becoming a tough industry for live music and the number of recent venue closures.

I guess they’re alright.

Review by Lee Francis

Photo credits – Faye Stacey – View From The Pit Photography