A View From The Back Of The Room: Ten (Simon Black)

Ten & Powell-Payne, The Patriot Crumlin, 08.11.25



I had forgotten what a well thought out venue The Patriot is. For those who have not been here, The Patriot seems to be a somewhat off the beaten track venue to host the bands of the stature that it does. Crumlin being a small town up in the hills north of Newport, in the last 25 years has become the kind of live venue that bigger neighbours in Newport, and indeed Cardiff, can be righteously envious of. 

It knows its target market (old farts like me who love our classic rock and Metal), it’s damned good value for money for both tickets and drinks and has the best parking options anywhere in South Wales (because free parking anywhere bigger is a dream). It’s also been very well designed, and the recent expansions have allowed the ultimate luxury for an old hack like me – to stand at the back of the room chatting to folks, whilst leaning on the bar with an uninterrupted perfect view of the proceedings.

Support tonight is from local AOR supergroup outfit Powell-Payne (10), who I had not come across before but who frankly hit the back of the net very hard from the get-go. When these kinds of projects come together it is easy to assume that they are simply intended as a passage of time side-line whilst other acts are on pause (particularly if a label like Frontiers is involved, given their propensity for mass-producing these sorts of things). 

Powell-Payne may be built around drummer Mark Powell (formerly of Psycho Kiss) and frontman Adam Payne (Serpentine, Airrace or Tidal – take your pick, they’re all worthy of a spin) but this is a living breathing proper band, not a Frontiers collaboration made up of session players.

And it shows, because this band have the local crowd onside very quickly and are selling a lot of shirts and CD’s tonight. With a set list built around their Voilà debut it rapidly becomes clear why these guys have a huge amount of potential. The headliner always wisely chooses their support acts, but this is the first time I have been concerned that they might upstage them. 

Blessed with a crisply perfect sound mix, the band deliver their set with confidence, polish and absolute professionalism. I was curious to see how Payne delivered his well-layered vocals live, and the answer is ‘consummately’. This boy is blessed with a powerful set of pipes, an excellent microphone technique and the charisma to take the crowd with him. I’m impressed enough to buy the CD and wondering how the headliner is going to follow that.

With style it would appear…

When Ten (10) came back from the wilderness to a show in Cardiff last year, I was lamenting the fact that such a classic band didn’t pull the audience in, but The Patriot has a good publicity machine and the turn out is strong, and not just because the support band is a local South Welsh one. 

Ten are a band with a uniquely loyal bunch of fans, and much like going to a Magnum show, there are faces I see there and only there, who travel the length and breadth of the country to catch as many shows on a tour as possible. It is a reunion each and every time, and part of the joy of seeing them.

This tour is all about celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the band, and the set list is an impressive rollcall of their extensive discography, with some deeper cuts making an appearance alongside the staple rabble rousers. When I saw them last year they were on form, but tonight they are positively stellar. Having a good turnout, a great venue and a support band that have already loosened the roof sees Ten dial it up as well. 

The band are looking great, with frontman Garry Hughes energetically prowling every inch of the stage like it was still 1995 and the crowd loving every minute of it. It’s a spot on performance from a band that is tighter than a gnat’s backside tonight, and I can’t see one face either on the stage or around the room that doesn’t sport a huge grin throughout the ninety-minute set which is delivered faultlessly.

If I have a negative, it’s that the sound mix didn’t quite match up to the support bands’ (with the drums tending to be a bit too proud in the mix, and the guitars and vocals sometime disappearing in and out of the mix), but that didn’t affect either mine or anyone else’s enjoyment of the performance one iota because the band gave it all, the crowd appreciated every drop of it. 

Here another advantage of the layout of this venue is that you only have to slightly change location to experience a completely different sound mix, and another reason to be grateful for the care in the design of the layout is that you can move around very easily – which is why it is such a minor niggle.

Ten dialled it up to eleven tonight. They have also been working on a new album, and I am hoping that we will see them back here sometime next year.