As part of the Blackpool Live series of gigs, which has brought a great selection of bands to the town, The Enemy arrived at the Winter Gardens last Friday to a crowd that was clearly ready for a lively night. 

It did not take long to establish exactly what sort of evening this was going to be.

With an expletive-filled introduction designed to whip the audience into a frenzy, lead singer Tom Clarke shouted, “Blackpool, are we f**kin’ on it tonight or what?” before launching straight into Aggro, from their 2007 debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.

It was a pretty appropriate way to start. Plastic pint glasses were already flying around the mosh pit, making it fairly obvious that nobody had mistaken The Enemy for Enya. 

From there, they went straight into Away From Here, one of the band's best-known songs and a top-10 single from 2007. The urgent bass, driving drums and sharp guitars immediately lifted the room, while the huge “away, away, oh-oh-oh” chorus gave the Blackpool crowd exactly what it wanted. The response was loud, enthusiastic and very much in keeping with the song.

There was barely any time to catch a breath before Pressure arrived. Its bouncing, slightly ska-influenced rhythm gave the song a different feel, but the relentless delivery kept the momentum going. The repeated “Pressure, pressure, step into the pressure” hook was another opportunity for the audience to join in, and they did.

Then came Had Enough.

After Clarke shouted, “Here we f**king go!”, that instantly recognisable riff rang around the Winter Gardens. The crowd needed little encouragement to join in with the opening “Hey, hey, what's the matter with your face, face?”, and the song showed just how strongly The Enemy's sound is rooted in that classic British indie tradition. There is plenty of The Jam and Paul Weller influence in there, but The Enemy give it their own louder, rougher and more frantic edge.

“Are we having a good time, Blackpool?” Clarke asked before giving a shout-out to support act We Are Scientists, asking the audience to “make some f**kin’ noise” for them.

The pace then eased slightly with You're Not Alone.

Compared with the full-throttle songs surrounding it, this was a more restrained and anthemic moment in the set. The song carries a particularly strong connection to The Enemy's Coventry roots, having been inspired by the closure of the Peugeot factory in the city and the thousands of jobs affected. That gives the song an added weight when heard in the context of the band's wider themes of working-class life, hometowns and the frustrations that come with them.

It also gave everyone a chance to breathe.

That did not last long.

“You all alright? Blackpool, we've been doing this 20 years now,” Clarke told the crowd, reflecting on the fact that both the band and many of the people watching them are now considerably older than when The Enemy first broke through.

Then came Technodanceaphobic, which immediately flipped the switch back to full speed. It is a short, sharp blast of indie-punk energy and sounded every bit as frantic live as you would expect. After the slightly more reflective You're Not Alone, it was a welcome jolt back into the chaos.

Clarke also took a moment to praise the Winter Gardens, explaining that the band had never played the venue before and admitted they had not known quite what to expect. He thanked the people running the venue for looking after them so well, which seemed to go down well.

The band continued with 40 Days & 40 Nights, before reaching the emotional centrepiece of the evening, We'll Live and Die in These Towns.

The title track is arguably the song that best sums up The Enemy. While much of their material is driven by frustration, aggression and youthful energy, this song has a more melancholic quality. It feels less like an angry shout and more like an acceptance of where you come from, even when that place is far from perfect.

Live, it became a real crowd moment.

The audience clapped and stomped along while voices from around the room joined the band in singing the title line, before everyone joined in with “Don't let it drag you down.” For a band whose songs are so closely tied to place, identity and everyday working-class life, it was easy to see why these words still resonate with people nearly two decades after the album was released.

That brought the main set to a close, although there was clearly no intention from either the band or the crowd to call it a night just yet.

The encore was substantial, beginning with Be Somebody, followed by Gimme the Sign / Saturday and Happy Birthday Jane 

The band then carried on with No Time for Tears before bringing proceedings to a closing point with This Song.

Final thoughts

The passion of the Blackpool audience was probably one of the biggest things to take away from the night. This was a crowd who clearly knew the songs, knew the words and, more importantly, genuinely cared about the band.

Perhaps that is because many of The Enemy's songs have themes that still feel familiar to the people who grew up with them. There is something very relatable in their writing about towns, work, frustration, getting older and trying to make sense of where you come from.

If you want to be right in the thick of the action, the front and mosh-pit area is definitely where you need to be. If you prefer your gigs a little more relaxed, staying further back would probably be advisable. The Enemy's live show is not exactly designed for sitting quietly with a cup of tea.

Musically, though, the impressive thing is how controlled the band remains while delivering such aggressive material. Their fast-paced indie-punk songs sound chaotic, but the playing itself is anything but. The guitars, bass and drums lock together tightly, allowing the band to sound loud, energetic and occasionally downright frantic without ever losing control.

There is a real precision underneath the mayhem.

After 20 years, The Enemy may no longer be the young band tearing through the charts that they once were, but live they still have the ability to make a venue feel like a sweaty, packed-out indie club. The songs have aged, the audience has aged, and the band themselves acknowledged that fact, but the energy certainly has not disappeared.

For a Friday night in Blackpool, it was loud, rowdy, nostalgic and thoroughly entertaining.

And judging by the state of the mosh pit, the crowd wouldn't have had it any other way.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and chief editor of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.