Before Scouting For Girls took to the stage, The Academy was warmed up by Leeds brothers “The Dunwells”. The duo stunned the crowd with beautiful harmonies and fantastic energy – a fitting warm up for what was to come. David Dunwell informed the crowd that they are “in for a great night” and that “Scouting For Girls will make you sing so loud, one of you might get hurt”. And that was no lie.

Between sets, the raucous concertgoers did not let their energy die. Following a medley of nostalgic tunes, the lights dimmed and the screams became deafening.
On stage cut outs referencing the Evolution of Man, an image taken from the band’s most recent album The Trouble With Boys, were illuminated in an exciting fashion as the group took to the stage. Opening with crowd favourites such as 'Heartbeat' and 'I Wish I Was James Bond', the crowd couldn’t help but get themselves as close to the action as possible.

Frontman Roy Stride told his fans that on the last tour, Dublin was his favourite show by a mile, and if this energy were anything to go by no one would argue otherwise. With t-shirts swinging, folks on friends’ shoulders and young lads jumping around with their arms around their peers, it wasn’t long before Stride admitted, “Dublin, you have been even better than last time.”

The band, now in their 40’s, matched the energy of their fans throughout the night and sounded just as good, if not better than they did back in their 2007 heyday.
Stride later stopped in his tracks to exclaim, “The King is dead – Long live the king”, before breaking in to 'Elvis Isn’t Dead', featuring a tasteful medley of The King’s own 'Hound Dog' and 'Can’t Help Falling In Love' with the crowd’s co-operation.

Before leaving the stage for a brief moment, the quartet thanked the “5th member of the band”; the almighty fans that no doubt made this night one to remember. “This has been the best night of the tour. Give it up for Dublin”, Roy admitted.

Eager to return to the stage, Scouting For Girls impressed us with riff heavy tune '1+1', quickly followed by their own Christmas song 'Christmas In The Air (Tonight)', showcasing their true range of musical abilities. After saying their final thank you’s, the band broke out in the infamous 'She’s So Lovely', and the crowd erupted once more, closing the night off with mosh pits, crowd surfing and everything in between.

In all, it’s safe to say that with the joint efforts of the artists and audience, this has been the most feel-good gig The Academy has possibly ever seen, and to quote Roy Stride once more “the best end to the decade."