Fucked Up @ The Well, Leeds

Playing last on a four-band bill that includes local punk ruffians Eagulls and the titanic roar of Black Lungs (a side-project featuring Alexisonfire’s Wade McNeill), the crowd is good and riled once Fucked Up reach the stage.

Striding out and spraying beer at the crowd, frontman Damian ‘Pink Eyes’ Abraham has already laid claim to their affections as they surge forward to be enveloped in sweaty bear hug by the big man, before returning to scrabble of the mosh-pit.

Appealing to the misfits and the disenchanted, the room is a mixed bag of seasoned punk rockers, skinny math geeks and those re-living misspent youth. Slightly embarrassed at not knowing all the words, I slink off to the side stage. But, as if through some act of rock telepathy, Pink Eyes seeks me out, clambering up the steps to poke his head through the bar room door to check for stragglers: No-one gets left behind at a Fucked Up gig.

Clamoring to reach the microphone for ‘The Other Shoe’ with sweat streaming down their faces, the fans explode with joy when Pink Eyes launches into the crowd. Still singing while riding on a wave of hands he could be the ultimate rock hero, and for tonight he definitely is.