The Temperance Movement

After several years away and personal battles fought, tonight signals a triumphant return to the stage.

- Polly Glass

The cheers go on and on. The headliners have only just walked on stage, but it feels like the sort of reaction typically reserved for the Big Hit, or a surprise guest appearance from a Rolling Stone. It's the second night of the year's most anticipated rock reunion tour so far - and all five members are heading for the microphone.

Six years, a pandemic and (in the case of their frontman) a turbulent battle with addiction after their last gig, will they pull this off convincingly? Do they want to be here? Do they still... y'know, like each other after everything?

Affirmative responses seem to resound as Phil Campbell leans in and starts a tender, dulcet Chinese Lanterns. The singer - still one of 21st-century rock'n'roll's voices to beat - has been to rehab twice since we last saw them. Prior to 2025 he hadn't seen most of his bandmates in years. Now, clustered closely around a mic stand, they feel like old friends. Brothers, almost, with all the baggage, friction and love that comes with that.

"There's a feeling of: 'It's all okay," Campbell told us earlier. "We've come through it, and everybody's back into it again."

Rejoined by founding guitarist Luke Potashnick, there's a sense of the musical chemistry that made them so exciting when they appeared with a near-flawless debut in 2013. All five harmonise the chorus together, part rootsy gang, part barbershop quintet. Guitarist Paul Sayer - the clear ringleader, who kept in touch with all his bandmates during the split, even when they didn't speak to each other - accompanies them on an acoustic. It's a genuinely touching moment.

Pre-gig, when asked about the first time they got back together to play, Sayer tells us: "It was great. Straight away we were kind of like: 'Yeah, okay, we think this is gonna work.' And I sort of knew it would."