Lethargy, Pearler, Fallen Temples & Heavy On The Ride, Patti Pavilion, Swansea
Hmm well what can I say? I know that seems a weird way to open a review but if I'm honest 24 hours after this show I'm still processing it. It was supposed to be a glorious return from a band that should have made it had their been any justice, but maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the crowd, maybe it was the sound (more on that later) I'm still having to think about it. Firstly though to the venue itself, having arrived in Swansea earlier in the day we managed to find some food and a brew (alcoholic and non) it was time to head to the venue which lays a little way outside of Swansea town centre. It's a unique place that held gigs in the past and has recently been revamped by new owners accompanied by quite a swish looking Indian restaurant next door. It's a cavernous space with huge ceilings, large arches and chandeliers. It's a wide room with a reasonably high stage, bar at the back merch and seats on either side. it looks like it could hold quite a large crowd and is also perfect for the events that I assume it holds when gigs aren't being staged. Now as we entered the main area there was a mix of punters and band members mulling around with the organisers Big Day Production doing some pre-gig scurrying.
Unfortunately as the first act Heavy On The Ride (7) took to the stage the crowd didn't really increase that much, in front of a sparse crowd, the three piece opened the night with some fuzz drenched desert rock on what was the first special performance of the night. This was to be memorable because it was drummer Sean Mahoney's final show with the band, possibly due to his focus on main band Deadshed Jokers who have just released one of the albums of the year. Here though he battered the kit as the band played grooves as desolate as Arizona with the guitars and bass of Jordan Huxtable and Michael Bale locking in for some woozy riffs and instrumental jams as all three played like powerhouses. After 30 minutes of being taken to another world it was time to end with the band re-establishing their position as one of South Wales' premier desert rock merchants, sending off their drummer on a high.
Now then to the sound, throughout Heavy On The Ride's set they called for numerous adjustments to the on stage sound and this trend continued with second act of the night Fallen Temples (9), so much so that they managed to mess up the beginning of their songs, as drummer Joe Stirland couldn't hear what either of his compatriots were playing. Now if you've seen Fallen Temples before you'll know this pretty much never happens, they are one of the slickest bands around on our scene, they've played Bloodstock after being specially invited after the final of this years Metal To The Masses, they will also be playing with Skindred at the massive show in Cwmbran Stadium later this month. Tracks like Cut The Wire, Phoenix hit hard, riffs for days, grooves deeper than the Mariana Trench from Joe Lewis and some slinky guitar solos from Adam who this time was not being attacked by a smoke machine so could deliver his gutsy vocal delivery perfectly, they were the first band of the show to bring people to the barrier as their 70's influenced hard rock style appeals to a broad audience and they play like veterans treating each gig as an arena show, Lewis especially stalks the stage when given the room to do so as Stirland has definitely got Lars Ulrich syndrome standing up whenever possible. Laying down a challenge to every band to come Fallen Temples were on top form here, winning over the crowd from the first heavy riff and keeping them there until the last.
So with a small change over next it was time for the two local acts. The first were a band who I have seen before a few times and always leave me vexed. I've mentioned that visually they're mismash of 90's grunge and 80's LA Sleaze metal but sound wise it's heavy groove rock. However despite this Pearler (6) seem to have a fanatical following, much of this is in part due to the bands tongue in cheek attitude and their publicity machine putting their innuendo-ridden catchphrase "You know when you've had one" on every piece of merch, every poster, every social media post and even in the M.C's introduction of the band. It means that when they came to the stage they were guaranteed a big ovation from the partisan crowd who lapped up their humour. Unfortunately musically they are not the most interesting, perhaps as they followed that incendiary show from Fallen Temples, or maybe even the anticipation of the more progressive musical style to come. Pearler so often leave me a little unstimulated, to use their own innuendo, but with their promotional skill and broad appeal, their fan base lapped it up.
I will say that the sound on the stage seemed to cause issues, throughout the evening but for Pearler it was a little better as at least they could hear themselves. For us in the audience, the sheer volume meant everything was a little muddy, as the sound engineer seemed to have a "louder is better" attitude to a rock show which is not always the case especially in a venue which is so high, sometimes if the volume is toned down a little it means the band can hear without needing the monitors full and the sound from the stage can carry making it sound impressive but not deafening.
Still thankfully for the headliners, there seemed to be a little more cohesion. This was needed as Lethargy (8) have always had a complex sound that brings together grunge, rock and prog. This was their second show in nearly 10 years, the first being the previous evening in Neath. The band were signed to Classic Rock's record label Powerage and were tagged with the "next big thing" label. To be honest had there been any justice they would have been huge, they were probably the best band signed to that label but issues arise and the band split. Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Andrew Hunt and his brother drummer Gareth went on to form Buffalo Summer (Gareth also pounds the skins for Pearler), with bassist/vocalist Marc Trevelyan Jones and lead guitarist/vocalist Phil Humphreys pursuing their own individual careers. But here in Swansea in front of friends and family members the band I saw for the last time in 2011 returned to the stage drenched in one heck of light show and dove into a set made up of songs from that Powerage debut Purification and their new album After All This Is Gone (review coming soon). Songs from the new album like Redefine sat with earlier numbers such as Bleachin' Bones as the band showed a little rust but for anyone who hadn't seem them the riffs were big and those gorgeous vocal harmonies were as good as ever. Lead vocals are split between Phil, Marc and Andrew and all of them gave their all Andre, Gareth and Marc locking in as they once did so Phil can blaze away with some great solo sections. It was great to see them back in full flight I for one hope this wasn't a one (two) off as it would be great to see Lethargy do more shows and maybe even reach those heights promised.
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