It's been a long old time since I've been to Y Muni in Pontypridd but I always enjoyed watching gigs there and since I last went they've had a big refurbishment so it feels very new but with that rustic charm of a being an art centre and theater.
What better gig to return to the venue with than one of my bestest buddies favourite artists playing his biggest album only two days before he got married to his dream girl. He, myself and our other friend caught the train to have a couple of lovely beverages, on the way meeting up with one of his colleagues, along with members of King Kraken and Pantheïst, clearly an eclectic crowd but worthy of the headliners stature and longevity.
Before all that though the night kicked off with Sister's Doll (6), an Aussie band who were picking up gigs around their second stage headline at Call Of The Wild, they are a very retro focussed act, ripped straight from the 80's with a bit of Bon Jovi, some Poison, a flash of Kiss and even Y&T heard in their sleazy rock anthems.
They captured the audience immediately with their stage presence, many I'm the crowd would have been around the first time these bands were popular, but while they do what they do slickly and professionally they're playing a tried and tested genre, that doesn't do much for this writer.
Still we were off, this was a rock gig after all though had you walked in during James Kennedy (6) you wouldn't have thought so. A solo Irish singer songwriter, he was the support for the whole tour and while I can appreciate that perhaps Mr Tate loves him and his music would be brilliant in a small Irish bar or indeed supporting Imelda May which he has done recently, in the middle of rock gig it did kill the vibe a bit.
James' charm and charisma were enough to keep the audience in the room, but to me it was a little odd, perhaps a switch around may have made it felt a bit more natural. Kennedy though is a gifted performer just stuck out between sleaze and prog metal.
The climax of the evening though was the reason everyone was here, the smile on Mr Hewitt's face grew larger as these fateful word "I Remember Now" came through the P.A and Geoff Tate (10) took to the stage to perform the seninal Operation: Mindcrime, in full, for the last time with his band of the same name. Striding straight into Anarchy X, you could hear Tate was on top form.
Vocally he still has power behind him, using a bit of technology to bolster the experience making it sound close to the record, but you can still hear his natural tone come through above it all. Tate's all about the performance, skulking and striding around the stage as he re-tells these well worn stories through anthems such as Revolution Calling, Spreading The Disease, Breaking The Silence and I Don't Believe In Love which all had the crowd belting them back at him.
Mindcrime is Tate's magnum opus and with his young gun band peeling off those old Queensryche riffs and solos, for many in the crowd this was pure nostalgia delivered with youthful exuberance. A special shout out has to go to Clodagh McCarthy who takes the role of Sister Mary and duets brilliantly throughout the night on Mindcrime and beyond.
Yes beyond as with Eyes Of A Stranger, Mindcrime for the last time was finished, but Geoff wasn't going to stop there, we got two form Mindcrime Part III which fit in perfectly with the rest of the album, but it was classic like Empire, Jet City Woman and Take Hold Of The Flame that made sure everyone was singing along, including our quartet!
It was the encore though that got the emotions running their highest with a massive sing along to the ballad that fans have been married too, alas Mr Hewitt is not one of those. Silent Lucidity is such a standard now it will follow Tate for the rest of his career but it always elicits a fantastic reaction.
To make sure things ended with a bang the final cut of the evening was Queen Of The Reich which is a brave choice for a closer, but was pulled off impeccably. So while we may never hear Mindcrime in full again, seeing it one last time with my best buddies made for a magnificent night in Pontypridd.
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