Villagers Live Review

Image Collette Johnson©

My wife (Collette) is a music obsessive and an avid gig-goer. She often plays stuff that I’m not familiar with. Recently, she played a number of tracks from yet another band that was previously unknown to me. She asked me if I liked the sound. I told her that I did , in particular, the singer’s voice, as it reminded me of Conor Oberst ( Bright Eyes) and Conor Deasy (The Thrills). She was pleased, as she then revealed we were off to see them, as a slightly early wedding anniversary treat. So, off we went, to Bristol, to see ‘Villagers’ play live.

This was my first gig in Bristol for a good number of years and the venue was one I’d never been to before. The ‘Marble Factory’ is somewhat unusually based on an industrial estate, about 20 minutes’ walk from the city centre. It is a quirky venue that somehow fits in well with the somewhat bohemian vibe of Bristol. With a capacity of 1600 people, its closest comparative Cardiff venue would probably be the ‘Tramshed’. It has a similar cosy feel, allowing for an intimate gig experience.

Led by the fascinatingly enigmatic and diminutive Conor O'Brien, fellow ‘Villagers’

(Danny Snow, Cormac Curran, Gwion Llewelyn and Mali Llewelyn) strolled on to stage at 8:30 pm, to be warmly welcomed by a healthy turnout of eagerly expectant Bristolians. It was to be a sublime performance…

Image Collette Johnson©

From the off, I was struck by the ability of Conor O’Brien to evoke emotional responses from those present. He has a captivating and compelling stage presence and his well-honed stagecraft pulls you into his world. He plays what appears to a three quarter size, gut-string guitar and has a fragile, fairly high vocal range. The beauty of this is that you need to listen fairly closely to what is going on, evoking a delightful intimacy and emotional connection.

Twice Mercury-nominated, ‘Villagers’ are fine musicians and deliver the well-crafted songs with aplomb. There is a real sense of light and shade to the set with plenty of dynamics and changes in mood. Perhaps the most dramatic moments were when Conor O’Brien occasionally shifted from acoustic guitar to trumpet. The audience reaction was truly a joy to behold!

It was during ‘A trick of the light’ that I first noticed just how captivated and mesmerised the audience actually were, silently mouthing the lyrics and slowly grooving along, in unison. Up until the final song in the set, every song had been fairly mellow and acoustic guitar based. That all changed dramatically with the powerful ‘Circles in the firing line’. For the only time all night, O’Brien turned to his Telecaster, to, out of nowhere, play a manic, visceral electric guitar solo. It was a stunning and powerful change of mood, a hugely effective climax, as the band left the stage.

Image Collette Johnson©

Clearly an encore was inevitable and they duly re-emerged to play ‘My Lighthouse’ and the beautiful ‘Courage’ before ending the night with the anthemic and moving ‘Nothing Arrived’. What a pleasure it was to bask in the sound of an enthralled and delighted audience singing ‘I guess I was busy’, repeatedly, as directed by Conor O’Brien.

Thank you, Collette. It was an unforgettable gig and ‘Villagers’ are a wonderful live act.

Gig reviewed by Steve Johnson

Depot In The Castle – Live Music Back In Full Swing!

Last weekend live music made a comeback at Cardiff Castle. For the first time in 18 months, we were once again allowed to enjoy the feeling of music being played in person rather than on a screen. Just a week before the festival, the Welsh Government confirmed its “Freedom Day” meaning the festival could go ahead.

There was plenty of choice for food and drink, a vast array of variety from burgers to tacos to ice cream and desserts. Even the bars were stocking variety, the classics like beers and wines but also a selection of cocktails such as mojitos and cosmopolitans. I didn’t taste any of the delicacies but from what I saw others having, they all looked beautiful and delicious which I imagine they very much were.

The line-up consisted of names like Ella Eyre, Tom Grennan and Kaiser Chiefs. Other names such as Gentleman’s Dub Club, Dodgy, Lottery Winners and Mr Wilson’s Second Liners were amongst the headliners. With tickets priced at just £45, you definitely got your bang for your buck there. 

The festival was well managed, queues were handled very well upon entrance. Only downside was that before the festival everyone had to have a Covid-19 lateral flow test done which was uncomfortable but luckily the whole experience was worth it. I got into the Castle about 15 minutes before Ella Eyre performed, finding a spot was hard but luckily there was a spot in front of the sound desk which gave us a pretty decent view of the stage.

Ella Eyre played a great set, hyping up the audience in the right way with Waiting All Night. I’d say the majority of the audience were up on their feet, singing along and dancing. That particular song changed the atmosphere in a brilliant way. From then on, she had the Castle roaring. 

Tom Grennan similarly put on a good set, his vibe is different to Ella’s but regardless he too knew how to hype a crowd. Playing some of his most famous songs, such as Sober and Found What I’ve Been Looking For, they had people dancing and singing along too.

The stand out performance had to be the headliners, the Kaiser Chiefs of course. Arguably the band most had gone for in the first place, and they made it known. They praised the acts before them, which was nice to hear. By this time it had started to go dark, which actually helped because the light show was pretty spectacular. I Predict A Riot caused the most ruckus from the crowd, it was such an amazing feeling to be in amongst that kind of atmosphere again. It was the exact kind of serotonin boost that was needed for post-lockdown. 

Overall, I would say the festival lived up to expectations. Good management and brilliant entertainment, what more could you possibly need for a good festival!

Ffi Edwards

WILL LIVE MUSIC GO BACK TO NORMAL?

Student Ffion Harris asks the question we are all thinking about regarding Live music.

What are your thoughts?

Drop us a line at infocardifflive@gmail.com or join in the conversation on Social Media.

The Corona Virus pandemic over the past year meant that people had to stay indoors and any live music event was canceled. Music artists and bands had to postpone their tours until either the end of this year or until next year.

​When concerts start again I think that it will take a lot of time until they go back to normal.

At first, I don't think there will be as many people in the audience but I think that even after a while, smaller venues will suffer as there won't be as many people allowed in.

I think that concerts will be the last thing that will be allowed to start up again because there will be so many people in one place.

I also think that smaller artists that play smaller venues will suffer at first because venues will be more interested in bigger artists.

Many of the smaller venues have suffered in the pandemic as they haven't been able to cope financially.

It will take a while before things get back to normal but I cannot wait to start going to concerts again soon as it is a completely different experience and atmosphere to just listening to music on a phone.

Blog- A Cypriot in Cardiff

Copyright KCL

Have you ever imagined that a pandemic will appear one day and make us forget whatever we took for granted in our lives? It has been almost a year.

These thoughts made me feel the need to write something and share it with you, because like everyone else, I miss the normal days... 

Before Covid-19 people could visit some enjoyable music venues, something that unfortunately you cannot do in this period.

Cardiff has been declared as the first music city in the United Kingdom.

As a foreign student who studies in Cardiff, I can say that Cardiff has a big culture in music.

Since 1990s, Cardiff musich has been dominated mainly by rock music with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music.

Womanby Street in Cardiff, is one of the streets, where people could meet and experience Live Music of many types.

The street used to be full of tourists, locals and students who would enjoy themselves drinking and dancing.

Copyright KCL

I visited Womanby Street a few weeks ago and captured some pictures of this silent street…

It has been a while since we have been in lockdown and I hope everything will finish as soon as possible and everyone will have the opportunity to visit this Legendary and Cultural street. 

Soon again I am hoping we will be able to enjoy the little things that make us happy! 

Perhaps it is a time to reflect at the moment, a time to enjoy as much as we can our Families and Friends (even if it’s on Zoom!).

Being patient and doing things that make us happy, learning new things, exercise,having a walk, and if you are in Cardiff Centre don’t forget to have a walk in Bute Park and take some fresh air.

Bute Park is one of my favorite places in Cardiff, it really makes me calm and I enjoy a relaxing time in Nature! 

Everyone is looking forward for this to be a better year, the best is yet to come! Soon again we will be able to enjoy the little things that make us happy! For the time being, I hope everyone is Well and enjoying Life as well as they can in this very difficult time.

Constantina Hamali

Constantinas visit to Womanby Street was Prior to Lockdown