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Much has been made of Fightstar's past, but tonight's show at London's illustrious Heaven shows that five years touring and three albums has really paid off. Finishing the tour in their home town to a sold out crowd of over 1600 rabid fans sounds like a pretty good way to wrap things up and celebrate the upcoming release of the deluxe edition of 'Be Human'.

Kicking the evening off is road-warriors All Forgotten. I swear that these guys live on the road now, jumping from tour to tour like a musical band of mercenaries. Although the sheer amount of shows and time touring has made them into a satisfyingly tight band, I find it hard to recall much of their show. Maybe it's due to the sheer number of pop-hardcore/screamo bands trying to break through at the moment but All Forgotten rarely manage to pull their heads above the tide.

Bristol's Cars on Fire follow with a much more convincing set. Musically they are fairly predictable, but their live show really works with their brand of no-nonsense hard rock and the crowd seem to react favourably.

Playing just before Fightstar take to the stage are The Xcerts. Now, this is the third time in the space of a year I've shot these guys - once at Southseafest and once again supporting Fightstar on their rescheduled Portsmouth date. Seeing them onstage tonight felt strange - because I didn't recognise this band. I've always felt they where a fairly typical indie-rock ground sporting a combination of the Arctic Monkey's and Weezer on their sleeves. Tonight, they seem to be trying their hardest to come across as a genuine rock band. Where this illusion falls is the banter in-between songs - without the confidence to say anything with any real importance (or even a cohesive sentence in one case) the bluster comes across as gimmicky. I like the guys, but they could have done a lot better.

The lights dim and a sample from 1976's Network starts - Fightstar are about to take to the stage. I have noticed that there are two types of gig: the type where everybody is there for the experience, and the show where people are hera for the headliner. The resulting wave of voices confirm tonight is the latter.

The band blast through five of the better known songs off 'Be Human' before taking it back to basics with the classic 'Paint Your Target'. Rather strangely they chose to leave 'Tannhauser Gates' off the setlist, finishing the main set with a rousing version of 'Palahnuik's Laughter'. Taking to the stage once more, they perform a rather touching cover of Deftones 'Be Quiet and Drive' before launching to the pit-inducing 'Deathcar'. This was the first time I've heard 'Be Quiet and Drive' live, and although the cavernous venue isn't suited to acoustic music I still feel that this was the emotional highlight of the set.