Pedair - 28 November 2024

Pedair (means 'four' in Welsh) are Siân James, Gwenan Gibbard, Meinir Gwilym and Gwyneth Glyn, each an individual Welsh musician steeped in the traditional music of the country who have formed a 'supergroup'. Having seen them perform on 'Nosen Lawen' I was keen to see them live. I wasn't expecting that they would conduct the entire show without a word of English nor that the audience would be entirely Welsh speaking , apart from us, but that's the way it seemed. With Siân James on electric piano and harp, Gwenan Gibbard on harp, Meinir Gwilym on guitar and Gwyneth Glyn on guitar but most of all with all four on beautiful vocals this was a memorable gig. I don't know the names of the songs but the whole thing was an extraordinary event, just one beautiful and moving song after another. Sometimes both harps were on the go at the same time, sometimes it was keyboards, harp and guitars but always the voices - usually all four were featured in some way on each song. It ended with an audience participation which raised the hairs on the back of the neck - the final song was basically sung by the whole audience, beautifully in tune. I felt I was in the middle of a Welsh choir which in fact I was. A great finish to the 2024 gig schedule.

Hannah James & Toby Kuhn - 23 November 2024

We'd seen Hannah James before with her Jigdoll Ensemble which featured a lot of clog dancing and soft shoe stuff. This time it was as a duo with a Belgian cello player. He played a beautiful sounding cello often plucking in addition to bowing. She sang, played accordion, also occasionally a small electronic instrument and added in some barefoot clog dancing if there is such a thing! Near the end of the gig she put on some tap type shoes and added some percussion and dancing to tracks. The highlight of the first set was a song called 'Three Ravens' and the second set included some fantastic cello/accordion instrumental stuff near the end. Varied and unusual this gig absolutely enthralled the audience - me included.

Calan - 9 November 2024

What a treat to be in the front row at the delightful Borough Theatre for this Welsh band. This was the fourth time we have seen them but probably one of the last as they are quitting as a band after this tour. (We do now have tickets for the Cardiff leg next year!). First up were the Marcellas, two sisters one on bass and vocals the other on a minmalist drums and vocals and their uncle on guitar. I always like sibling harmonies and all told this was an excellent support act - all competent musicians and the voices blended nicely. Calan gave their usual high energy performance and after twenty years of playing together they were just as tight as you would expect. The current line-up is a foursome namely: Bethan Rhiannon – accordion, piano, vocals, step dancer Sam Humphreys – guitar Shelley Musker-Turner - harp Patrick Rimes – fiddle, pibgorn, whistle, bagpipes They are all excellent musicians who seem to generate a great fusion between tradional Welsh music and a modern approach and sound. I am particularly taken with Bethan's clog dancing - just one dance this evening, but stunningly executed. Looking forward yto a final Calan gig in Cardiff next April......

Public Service Broadcasting - 26 October 2024

I realised it had been seven years and several new albums since we last saw PSB and with front row balcony seats and the excellent sound in the Beacon Hall this was one gig I was really looking forward to. First up was Halo Maud and she was much better than I expected based on the sample video I had seen. The guitar and drums were dense, the voice was sweet and rose above them and I enjoyed the set. PSB came on mob handed compared to the first time we saw them as a support act when there were just two of them - now the cast list is eight musicians including a female vocalist (Era) and a trio of horns. They kicked off with three tracks from their latest album about Amelia Erhart and as expected the videos showing on multiple screens built into a huge aeroplane cockpit structure were superb. The problem started in the middle of 'The Pit' from the 'Every Valley' album. There was a power cut and the band went off stage. The delay was about 20 minutes I guess and then they started again and managed to complete a couple more tracks from 'Every Valley' The second power cut occured a couple of tracks into the second segment of 'The Last Flight' songs. Eventually they came back and managed to complete the gig albeit we missed out on four songs and had two cut off midway through. Delighted that they managed to paly 'Spitfire' without interruption and really enjoyed the space themed songs and the Berlin songs. Actually enjoyed it all and while the flow and build of the gig was degraded the band and the audience handled it well. Era was a great singer and the drumming from Wrigglesworth was excellent. Very enjoyable despite the difficulties. Towards the Dawn Electra The Fun of It The Pit - abandoned like the pits! People Will Always Need Coal Progress The South Atlantic Arabian Flight - abandoned partway through - second power outage Blue Heaven Spitfire Go! Sputnik People, Let's Dance Gagarin Everest