Tonight marks the beginning of a journey, a musical jaunt through the valleys of South Wales for what is to be known as “The Road To Merthyr”, a coming together of bands, venues and promoters in the build up to MERTHYR ROCK 2014, which returns after a year’s absence to the grounds of Cyfarthfa Castle on August 17th. However, for now we must turn our attention to the old town hall, recently refurbished and re-branded The Red House, it plays host to the first of four very special shows by none other than KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES, who announced earlier this year that they were hanging up their instruments and calling it a day. Not only do fans get one last chance to see them in such an intimate and personal setting, they've brought along two support bands to really make a show of it. This is going to be special.
First to perform are a young band called PAINT HAPPY [6]. The unsigned Merthyr 5-piece get the honour of officially kick starting this promotional road to Merthyr Rock and grab the opportunity with both hands. With a mixture of influences, they combine an upbeat rock style with the swagger of urban, hip-hop beats to make for an energetic performance. The young lads are full of confidence and play some decent original material, the only downfall they have is that they are playing to the early punters and can’t quite get the crowd going. It was enjoyable though and they received a respectable reception. That being said, they have a little more success than Cardiff’s SAMOANS [5] The alternative rock 4-piece are clinical in delivery, offering tracks off their début album “Rescue” and playing a tight set, but while they may be great live musicians, between tracks there was very little life in them at all. Each gap in their set was full of a lot of awkward silence and their lack of crowd interaction failed to carry forward any momentum gained by tonight’s openers, and their overall performance was ever so slightly flat because of it.
If ever then there was a band capable of turning things around, it would be KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES [8]. With each and every fan understanding this is going to be one of the last times, if not THE last time they get to see the Welsh heroes on the live stage, the atmosphere is charged with positive energy, a sense of celebration and gratitude and the band, fronted by vocalist Aled Phillips, feed off every cheer, every clap and each word sung back at them. With a set list comprising of fan favourites such as “Saturday”, “Fisticuffs”, “Give Me What I Want” and rarer live tracks such as “Black Crush”, it acts as a brilliant retrospective of the bands four album career and serves as a testament to how much they’ll be missed once that final show is over, come October. KIGH’s journey maybe reaching its end, but this is one hell of a victory lap. The great thing as well, is that this journey is only just starting, there’s still plenty more to come along the Road To Merthyr…
PAINT HAPPY: https://www.facebook.com/PaintHappy
SAMOANS: https://www.facebook.com/samoans
KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES: https://www.facebook.com/kidsinglasshouses
First to perform are a young band called PAINT HAPPY [6]. The unsigned Merthyr 5-piece get the honour of officially kick starting this promotional road to Merthyr Rock and grab the opportunity with both hands. With a mixture of influences, they combine an upbeat rock style with the swagger of urban, hip-hop beats to make for an energetic performance. The young lads are full of confidence and play some decent original material, the only downfall they have is that they are playing to the early punters and can’t quite get the crowd going. It was enjoyable though and they received a respectable reception. That being said, they have a little more success than Cardiff’s SAMOANS [5] The alternative rock 4-piece are clinical in delivery, offering tracks off their début album “Rescue” and playing a tight set, but while they may be great live musicians, between tracks there was very little life in them at all. Each gap in their set was full of a lot of awkward silence and their lack of crowd interaction failed to carry forward any momentum gained by tonight’s openers, and their overall performance was ever so slightly flat because of it.
If ever then there was a band capable of turning things around, it would be KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES [8]. With each and every fan understanding this is going to be one of the last times, if not THE last time they get to see the Welsh heroes on the live stage, the atmosphere is charged with positive energy, a sense of celebration and gratitude and the band, fronted by vocalist Aled Phillips, feed off every cheer, every clap and each word sung back at them. With a set list comprising of fan favourites such as “Saturday”, “Fisticuffs”, “Give Me What I Want” and rarer live tracks such as “Black Crush”, it acts as a brilliant retrospective of the bands four album career and serves as a testament to how much they’ll be missed once that final show is over, come October. KIGH’s journey maybe reaching its end, but this is one hell of a victory lap. The great thing as well, is that this journey is only just starting, there’s still plenty more to come along the Road To Merthyr…
PAINT HAPPY: https://www.facebook.com/PaintHappy
SAMOANS: https://www.facebook.com/samoans
KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES: https://www.facebook.com/kidsinglasshouses
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