As Fightstar walked to the stage in the Hanbury Ballroom past a forest of 16 year olds and flashing camera phones, the jury was still out.
The scepticism about ex-Busted frontman Charlie Simpson's "serious" project was fuelled by his announcement, for the first time ever, they would "play a chilled-out gig".
The band's usually abrasive angst-rock was duly replaced with gentler acoustic and piano-driven versions of their songs.
Despite the band collectively doing their best to look painfully serious and in places sounding strangely reminiscent of early Pearl Jam, it quickly became apparent the young Brighton crowd was completely hooked.
The one dissenting voice who asked for "the one about school" was glared at with a terrifying ferocity and the cheers which followed each song seemed to suggest Fightstar have put the ghosts of their singer's former band well and truly to rest
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