Wednesday, 2 November 2016

A View From The Back Of The Room: RavenEye (Live Review By Paul)

RavenEye – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

Is there a better live outfit than the UK’s RavenEye? No. you are wrong. Having seen these guys at both this year’s Steelhouse Festival and a super support slot to the Blues Pills, RavenEye are just a bit special. As part of their UK tour in support of the brilliant debut Nova the band took in a show at Clwb which proved to be as epic as their other appearances in South Wales to date.

We missed openers The Caspiens but made it in time for local heroes Dead Shed Jokers (7) who brought a fair number of their supporters to swell the numbers. As it was billed as a Halloween party the band arrived on stage in fancy dress. Quite a confusing sight, we had Jimmy Saville, a Zombie, a Britney Spears Schoolgirl outfit and Velma from Scooby Doo. Yeah, go figure. The band’s performance was thankfully not as chaotic as their appearance and with a liberal sprinkling of new tracks they proved to be excellent main supports despite missing a guitarist.

As brilliant as they are on record, it’s in the live arena where Oli Brown, Aaron Spiers and Adam Breeze really excel. Crackling with energy from the start, Raveneye (10) have more energy than bands with double their numbers. What’s more, they have the tunes too. Mixing songs from 2015’s Breakout EP and Nova the venue was soon bouncing. A small disturbance in the crowd was dealt with efficiently by security and some solid action by other members of the audience, Oli and Aaron checking things were okay whilst keeping things motoring. By the time the band hit Wanna Feel You the intensity was off the chart.

Their engaging attitude is refreshing and whilst the fun is certainly a huge element in their show (including Oli’s chicken costume developing a hole in the most unfortunate location) they are technically excellent musicians. Gunner has given the band the maniacal engine room whilst Aaron doesn’t stop moving. Oli is a gifted guitarist and his fretwork during the evening was fantastic with Supernova a fine example. Finishing with the trademark walkabout in the crowd (Oli on Aaron's shoulders whilst they both continue to play) Raveneye proved once again that they are as good as anyone on the circuit today. If you’ve not seen them play yet, make sure you do it soon. You won’t regret it.

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