Stereophonics prove they are not stuck in a rut

The "21st century Status Quo" jibes have always been mostly cheap but their world is undergoing a seismic shift. That album, Keep Calm & Carry On, broke a run of five British chart- toppers by somehow failing to breach even the Top 10.

Ironically, their sales demise comes at the very moment that they’ve finally mastered the arena-sized gig.

Pop’s boundaries remained resolutely untested by Wayne Rooney’s favourite band but last night’s performance veered fairly wildly from Beerbottle’s insidious hypnotic groove to the punk thrash of Trouble, with a slew of hearty anthems as ballast, most rousingly a sterling The Bartender And The Thief and a genuinely exciting Just Looking.

Seemingly liberated by his commercial well running dry, where once Kelly Jones was sweary, bitter and unafraid to share his disappointment at having to venture within the M25, he appeared more at ease with himself. Reassuringly, he still swore like a trooper with Tourette’s, but when he evoked playing the Dublin Castle and Borderline before the elderly Same Size Feet, it was a genuinely touching moment.

If they can steady their current wobble, just like the poor and weekend closures on the Underground network, Stereophonics will always be with us.

Stereophonics: Word Gets Around
O2 Arena
Millennium Way, SE10 0PH