Upstaging the thunderous weather with their absolutely thumping set, Tigercub roared into The Key Club and more than left their mark on the Leeds venue.

The running behind of the gig’s soundcheck times led to a shorter set for Wolforna, the opening act. But although they had to cut a song from their set, their explosive arsenal of crowd-pleasers was intertwined with an on-the-cusp-of-release new tune, which packed quite a punch. The room was heaving from the off and particularly riotously applauding after BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing favourites, ‘22 Degrees & Sunny’ and ‘Break You’. And the high-energy ‘Zombie Knife’ and ‘Bucket’ flooded the band’s track catalogue with dynamic movers and shakers that pierced into slightly angsty punk territory.

I was sold on James and The Cold Gun as soon as I’d heard their first song at soundcheck; their heavy, shredding riffs served up a super second instalment of the evening. And although, at first, Leeds uncharacteristically didn’t play ball when the band tried to summon a mosh pit, the crowd got more and more on board as their slot went on — not least when their frontman came and sang in the centre of it. Although they grappled with sound issues and the knock-on effect of delayed start times, they ferociously demonstrated why they’re dubbed ‘South Wales’ loudest’ — and I’ll tell you something else; the Cardiff rockers are one of the UK’s nicest outfits, too. A four-piece of legends I’d gladly see again soon.

Tigercub’s headliner was primarily to promote their latest album, ‘The Perfume of Decay’, though they’d done a solid job of interspersing new with old. Their core following still went bonkers for offerings such as ‘I.W.G.F.U.’, ‘Stop Beating on My Heart (Like a Bass Drum)’ and ‘Control’, but the entire room bounced emphatically for ‘Show Me My Maker’, ‘You’re My Dopamine’ and ‘Until I Forget’.

You could just detect that they’d enjoyed every minute and they were grateful for the turnout, though Tigercub really put on a swaggering rock show as well. They were confident in their art and so it’s no surprise they’re just touring and touring. Plus, with a ‘Cold as Ice’ walk-on choice and a bit of ABBA to round them out, there was certainly a dose of fun to their setup, too.