Opening act Holiday Oscar is, as he admits, an odd fit for a rock show. He plays laid-back folk music, and writes fun lyrics about the absurdity of detox diets and our addiction to our phones. It shouldn’t work in this setting, but because he’s so charming and talented, it does.

The main support act, Dead! are a major contrast. This is rock, but it doesn’t go down well with the crowd. The ‘singer’ mostly shouts and it feels like noise – there’s a place for this chaotic kind of music, but it’s not here.

When Deaf Havana walk onstage, they are met with applause, whoops, and whistles enough to cause an earthquake. We’ve been holding it all in for almost two years, it’s no wonder.

The band are evidently taken aback by this warm welcome, and both Veck-Gilodi brothers find themselves speechless in between songs. Yet, it’s exactly what they deserve, because new album All These Countless Nights is impressive, hefty and heartfelt, and it is a testament to their survival as a band. They showcase new songs aplenty tonight, including a spine-tingling, stripped-back ‘St Pauls’, and crowd-pleasing ‘Sing’.

Fan favourites ‘The Past Six Years’ and ‘Hunstanton Pier’ are the night’s highlights, and the 1500 people present could fill an arena with the sound of their sing-a-long. There is a special energy in the room, as if all the uncertainty and anxiety of the past few years has finally been released and everyone who cares so deeply about this band suddenly feels more alive. From the awe-struck grins on every member of Deaf Havana’s faces, they feel it too.This, above all, makes the night special. To see that these lads have finally found a smile. To know that they are loving it every bit as much as we are.

It is a truly triumphant return. 

Sophia Simon-Bashall

(Image: Kerrang)