The Pigeon Detectives, O2 Institute 2, Birmingham - review

What? Hang on, 10 years? It is 10 years since that Reading festival tent where they had every man and woman bouncing in unison as Bowman screamed 'I'm Not Sorry' at the top of his lungs?

We suddenly feel a pang of horror at the thought of lost youth.

The Pigeon Detectives are now touring album number five. Bowman spoke to us in 2016 ahead of its release last month, and had hinted it could be their last.

And while it sounds like that won't be the case now with the nostalgia tour on the horizon, had this been their last visit to the Midlands it would not have been a bad way to bow out.

Supported by two bands, local outfit AutoPilots opened up for the young-ish crowd. Their wall of sound was somewhat lost on the speakers, over-distortion to the point of pain dampening what sounded like it could have been a strong undertone of sleaze rock.

While next act Franklin had it a little better, their Foals/Two Door Cinema Club approach to music with the breezy, jangling guitars and lots of counting to four grew a little tedious towards the end of their set.

We hope these boys do find a winning formula, though. Their warm personalities and obvious enjoyment of their craft made you want them to garner success just because they looked and acted like they really want it.

And so it was left to TPD to show us they weren't yet cooped up for retirement. They did.

Bowman's energy as a frontman is so infectious. He has you laughing along and readily admits he understands the crowd wants their earlier hits more than the newer stuff.

Latest release Broken Glances has a reflective feel to it, but their careful selection of tracks meant the set didn't jar alongside the brash and energetic earlier stuff. The aptly-named Wolves sounded suitably haunting with its off-kilter percussion and Bowman's softer approach to vocals.

The poppier Lose Control with its hard-hitting chorus went down well too, the crowd bounced throughout and Bowman fed back off this. He lassoed his mic and bounced off the speakers in his exceptional meerkat impression, hell, even crowd surfing at one point.

But he was right, it was the hits that got the biggest roars and sing-alongs. I Found Out had bodies rebounding off each other. Take Her Back was a giant party – the track that sounds most like the 00s indie kid explosion with its shouting chorus and chiming guitars.

This Is An Emergency, arguably their best track, slammed everyone into gig mode when it was dropped as the second number of the night, and, of course, I'm Not Sorry was as epic a closer as you would expect with that smashing outro and screamed refrain.

These pigeons aren't quite finished racing yet.