On This Day 22/04/2005 The D4

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On this day, 22 April 2005, New Zealand rock band The D-4 played Cardiff’s Barfly. Support was provided by The Caves and the Little Unknown.

The group was assembled by vocalist/guitarists Dion Palmer and Jimmy Christmas, who put together a collection of songs and built a four-piece combo, featuring founding members English Jake and Rich Mixture, during late 1998 and started playing at the Frisbee Leisure Lounge parties along Symonds Street, followed shortly thereafter by inner city pub gigs. They have also played at the Big Day Out and at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

The group's debut EP was released by Flying Nun Records in 1999 featuring the tracks "Girl" and "Come On!". The band was later enhanced by members Vaughan Williams (Vaughn) (bass) and Daniel Pooley (Beaver) (drums). The D4 went on a UK tour supporting The Hives.

As of May 2006, Breakfast announced that after eight years, the D4, would be taking an indefinite break from the music industry. After the split, Rich Mixture went on to replace Paul Robertson as the drummer of The Rock n Roll Machine, bassist Vaughn joined Shocking Pinks, an Auckland-based indie pop act and Jimmy Christmas formed the rock group Luger Boa who have supported Shihad on tour. Most recently, Dion has moved to NYC, formed a new band called The True Lovers and also plays bass in A Place to Bury Strangers.

On This Day 12/04/2010 Chapel Club

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On this day, 12 April 2010, indie-synth band Chapel Club played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Initially named Palace, the newly formed five-piece began rehearsing and gigging around London. As another band was already using the name Palace, the band changed their name to Golden Age before they stopped gigging to focus on writing and recording.

In August 2009, the band recorded 'Surfacing' with US producer Chris Zane at Strongrooms Studio in Shoreditch, London. With their debut single finally recorded, the band, having struggled to choose a new name for the band, settled on Chapel Club, inspired by Bowman's interest in religion and religious imagery and by the proximity of the band's rehearsal space to St. Luke's Church on London's Old Street. The single was scheduled for release in October through their management's label East City Records, however despite being named BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' and gaining radio play on stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6Music, XFM and NME Radio, the single was cancelled due to a copyright issue regarding the chorus lyrics from the song "Dream a Little Dream of Me". The copyright wrangle was later resolved with the original song's publisher, allowing the band to release the song in the future.

Autumn 2009 saw Chapel Club's first gigs under their new name, as they hosted their own residency at the Shacklewell Arms pub in Dalston, London. The gigs attracted significant media attention that led to interest from several independent and major record labels. In November 2009 and after just 3 gigs under their new name, the band signed with Universal Records imprint Polydor.

The band denied press reports that they had signed for large amounts of cash, claiming that their deal favoured creative control and long-term commitment over financial reward. In the same month, the band recorded 'O Maybe I' with Claudius Mittendorfer, at Atomic Heart Studios in New York. The song was recorded and produced in a day and a half. The single, now serving as the band's debut single, was released in February 2010 on Polydor on 7" and digitally via the band's own website. The single was named Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' as well as 'Record of the Week' on Steve Harris' XFM show.

In April 2010, having tried out several producers, the band began work on their debut album with Paul Epworth at The Pool in South London. The album sessions produced a further eight tracks, including follow up single, 'Five Trees' which was released in May 2010 entered the NME chart at number six. The album was mixed and mastered in June, but release was delayed due to Polydor wanting the band to go out on tour to build up a fanbase first.

On This Day 31/03/2006 The Organ

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On this day, 31 March 2006, Canadian post-punk band The Organ, played Cardiff’s Barfly.

The Organ were conceived in 2001 by frontwoman Katie Sketch in Vancouver, BC. Sketch's musical training started at the age of three, when she began classical training on the violin. Her childhood was spent largely in ignorance of the underground sounds of The Smiths, The Cure, and Joy Division, whom The Organ would later often be favorably compared to. "Tiffany and Bon Jovi – that was my take on '80s music."

On November 14, 2005, The Organ appeared live on BBC Radio 6 Music with their new bass player. They gave a brief interview and performed live renditions of the songs "Nothing I Can Do" and "Love, Love, Love." On the 27th, a little over a week later, The Organ announced via their website that they had just been signed to Too Pure Records, through which Grab That Gun would be available throughout the world in February 2006.

The album cover was designed by David Cuesta at 7th Avenue house, and is based on a grid constructed around the Fibonacci sequence, to match musical scales. He also designed the logo based on sketches by Katie and Jenny.

On August 23, 2006, the band released a statement on MySpace saying they were canceling the remaining portion of their UK tour which included dates at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reason given was illness to a band member and they assured fans the band were not splitting up.

On December 7, 2006, the band released a statement on their MySpace and official site stating that they were breaking up. The statement read:

"We are sad to announce that we're breaking up. We want to thank our friends, fans, and family for all the support you gave to us. Thank you.

Shelby, Jenny, Katie, Debora, and Shmoo."

In an interview on CBC Radio 3 the following day, Jenny declined to discuss the reasons for the breakup saying that there were issues they preferred to keep private but implied that it had little or nothing to do with either geography or Katie's modeling career. "There were," she said, "so many reasons," she "wouldn't know where to start."

On This Day 12/03/2004 The Killers

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On this day, 12 March 2004, American rock band The Killers played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Hot Fuss tour. Support was provided but Stellastar*.

The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bassists and drummers, Mark Stoermer (bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion) joined in 2002.

On August 19, 2003, the song "Mr. Brightside" premiered on DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the UK. The Killers traveled to London the following month to spend a week playing at live music venues across the city. On September 29, 2003, the song "Mr. Brightside" was released in the UK on a limited number of CDs and vinyl records.

Critical reviews of both the song and the shows were positive: NME noted the band's retro sound, commenting "The Killers steal so smartly, and with such mind-boggling variety". As a result of the buzz generated in the UK, a number of major labels in the US began showing strong interest in the band and they were invited to play at the ASCAP CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. They eventually signed with the record label Island Def Jam.

The band finished recording Hot Fuss in November 2003 with Jeff Saltzman. They decided to keep many of the previously recorded demos as they felt they had a spontaneity that re-recordings would not have. Shortly afterwards they returned to London, having been invited to support British Sea Power on their UK tour. The band also worked with Alan Moulder at Eden Studios and Townhouse Studios mixing tracks for their upcoming album.

They continued playing support slots during the first half of 2004, including touring both the US & UK with Stellastarr and opening for Morrissey on two occasions. The band filmed their first music video for the Spring 2004 release of "Somebody Told Me" which was to be the band's debut single in the US and second single in the UK. The band's first headline tour started in the UK in May 2004. During the spring and summer of 2004, the group played well-received sets at festivals across Europe and North America.

On this day, 24/02/2002 Haven

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On this day, 24 February 2002, Cornish band Haven played Cardiff’s Barfly. The band had just released their debut album Between The Senses which peaked at #26 on the UK album charts.

The band formed after Gary Briggs moved to Cornwall and met Nathan Wason in a record shop in Penzance in 1996. After recruiting drummer Tom Lewis and London born Iwan Gronow, the band moved to Manchester in 1999 after being discovered by the former Smiths' manager Joe Moss set them up with a regular slot at The Night and Day Café.

In 2001, drummer Tom Lewis left the band and was replaced by Manchester drummer Jack Mitchell. Through Moss's Smiths connections they also played support slots for Johnny Marr's band The Healers, and others including Badly Drawn Boy. The band's first release was the Til The End EP in May 2001, with further singles following, including the top-75 UK hit "Let It Live" and their top-30 breakthrough "Say Something".They also appeared on New Music Television, presented by Marc Almond for ITV1 in 2001.

Their debut album, Between The Senses, was released in February 2002, and reached No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. A second album was released in 2004, and the band constantly remained on tour. Their record label merged with another and the band were asked to record a third album. However, with the deadline set soon after the tour, Haven did not manage to record enough material to complete what the label wanted. They were subsequently released from their recording contract, and the band split up in 2006.

On This Day 02/02/2008 Dark Tranquility

On this day, 2 February 2008, Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Great British Fiction Tour.

They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates - regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009.

After a nearly three-decade long collaboration of four founding members frequent lineup changes between 2016 and 2021 have left only vocalist Mikael Stanne as an original member, together with long-time keyboardist Martin

In 2007, Fiction was released, which in turn, saw a return of Stanne's clean vocals, and the first female guest vocalist since Projector. The album also saw writing style that combined the stylings of Projector and Haven, with the more aggressive traits of Character and Damage Done. At this time, Dark Tranquillity toured with The Haunted, Into Eternity, and Scar Symmetry for the North America Metal for the Masses Tour.

They also toured the UK in early 2008 along with Omnium Gatherum. They returned to the US during spring 2008 with Arch Enemy.

Setlist

Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)

The Lesser Faith

The Treason Wall

The Wonders at Your Feet

Lost to Apathy

Hedon

Inside the Particle Storm

The Endless Feed

Focus Shift

Misery's Crown

Punish My Heaven

ThereIn

Blind at Heart

My Negation

Final Resistance

Lethe

The New Build

On This Day 14/01/2010 Warbringer

On this day, 14 January 2010, American thrash metal band Warbringer played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Infected Nations Tour.

Formed in 2004, Century Media Records signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign Warbringer instead.

Early in 2009 the band went to Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California to record with Gary Holt (Exodus) as producer and Zack Ohren for mixing and mastering. The record was completed in 12 days and the band went on two more North American tours with Soilwork back to back with Kreator and Exodus. The tour lasted over 3½ months. During the last half of the tour, Nic Ritter broke his arm and John Gensmer of Epicurean filled in for the band.

In July Warbringer embarked on a headlining tour of Europe and as support for Onslaught and Testament in the UK. This was Ben Bennett's last tour and in August he was replaced by the band's original bass player, Andy Laux.[10] The band continued touring heavily in the US, opening for Obituary, Vader, and a show with Slipknot before the end of the year.

In 2010 Warbringer returned to a Europe/UK tour, co-heading with the U.K.'s Evile and the Israeli The Fading. Later, Warbringer and Evile returned to the States to support Overkill's Killfest 2010 tour.

On This Day 20/07/2005 Dogs

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On this day, 20 July 2005, post-punk-influenced indie rock band Dogs played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Their first album, Turn Against This Land, released on 19 September 2005, was recorded at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, produced by John Cornfield. It was released by Island Records and received critical acclaim from the UK press. It contained the singles "London Bridge/End of an Era" (double A-side), "Tuned to a Different Station" and "Selfish Ways", each charting in the UK chart top 40. Dogs returned during 2007, under Weekender Records, with three singles: "Soldier On", followed by "This Stone Is a Bullet" and thirdly "Dirty Little Shop", released on 18 June 2007. The song "Chained to No-One" was released at the end of 2007 as a download-only single.

The band released their second album, Tall Stories from Under the Table on 25 June 2007. On 19 November 2008, it was announced that original drummer, Rich Mitchell had left the band amicably to join the band Chapel Club and a replacement found in Paul Warren. On 18 August 2009, it was announced that rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist, Luciano Vargas, had left the band amicably to pursue a family lifestyle. Luciano's replacement was found in rhythm guitarist Kevin Iverson, previously frontman of the band Springtide Cavalry. Iverson announced in December 2010 that he would be leaving Dogs for personal reasons.

The band released an EP on 14 June 2010, entitled We Are The Dogs, released independently without any label or PR output. Also, in early 2011, Dogs released a free seven track EP through their Facebook page entitled Fly Like Eagles.

On 21 June 2011, lead singer Johnny Cooke announced that the band were separating via a message on their official forum.