Past gigs in Cardiff, UK.

Hello all. This is the sum of all the gigs i went to for the past two months. I know, i know....it took me so long. To the extent that i don't remember much about these gigs so this is going to be written with my vague memory of them. For that, i am truly sorry. This is not exactly a gig review but yeah.



Eighteen Visions at Barfly

Date: 15th (Tuesday) & 16th (Wednesday) March 2005.
Venue: Barfly, Cardiff.
Time: Doors opened at 7:30pm.
Price: 7 pounds.
Bands: Eighteen Visions + Emanuel + Misery Signals.

Barfly was packed. Both shows were sold out and so going around was a little difficult without being in contact with another body. I didn't get to see the first two bands performed (Note to self: Come early to shows. Come early to shows. Come early to shows.).



Eighteen Visions walked to the stage accompanied by the famous Phantom of The Opera music and then they proceeded to open with the first track from their latest album, 'Obsession' (both the title of the album and song). I had a friend to copy down the song list but i went back to Brunei and brought that with me and yeah, i forgot to bring it back. :( Eighteen Visions belted out mostly their latest songs but they sang a few songs from their past albums, too. They also did a cover of Guns 'N' Roses' Paradise City.



You can check the rest of the photos from the Eighteen Visions gig here. Enjoy.



Mortiis at Barfly
Date: Tuesday, 19th April 2005.
Venue: Barfly, Cardiff.
Time: Doors opened at 7:30pm.
Price: 9 pounds.
Bands: Mortiis w/ NFD + Panic DHH.

Tuesdays are not a good time for me to go to gigs as my classes on Tuesdays ends at 8pm and it takes me about an hour to go the venue from my Uni. Again, i missed the opening bands; Panic DHH and NFD.

I don't remember much about this gig, too vague. I did take pictures but they were all so bad, i'm ashamed to put it up. Due to height problems, i could only make out Mortiis' neck upwards. One of his ears fell off during their set, that was apparently amusing. There wasn't much of a mosh pit, people were staring intently at the band while they played. Their performance was great and i liked the fact that their long hair were blown back by some unseen fan/something; it gave a vibe that they were outside on the grass. Pretty cool.

For some extra info, click here. I was quite amused and plus, it's kind of humorous.



Paddy Casey at Barfly
Date: Thursday, 21st April 2005.
Venue: Barfly, Cardiff.
Time: Doors opened at 7:30pm.
Price: 8.50 pounds.
Bands/Artists: Paddy Casey + Nerina Pallot.



Admittedly, i went to this gig to accompany my friend to see Nerina Pallot. I've heard some very fantastic stuff about her songs and the words lived up, she was amazing. Her voice was so mellow, you can't help but picture yourself listening to her while curling up on your couch and reading a book. She was alone on the stage, playing either the guitar or the keyboard. I was impressed. Though people were loud and already drunk at 9pm, i was front row and could hear and see her very well. Pictures are not so good though. I took them with my cameraphone.



When her set ended and Paddy Casey went on, people were being as loud/drunk as ever. Paddy Casey was entertaining though, people pushed around to get to the front and I ended up being pushed back so I've no clear pictures of Paddy Casey. Their set, however, was too long and because of transportation problems, i left in the middle of their 3rd last song during their 'encore'.



Give It A Name '05 at Alexandra Palace.
Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 2nd May 2005.
Venue: Alexandra Palace, London.
Time: Doors opened at 1pm.
Price: 25 pounds.
Bands: Mewithoutyou + Fightstar + Mae + Alexisonfire + Rise Against + Coheed & Cambria + Finch + Funeral For A Friend.

Stage times were:
Mewithoutyou - 1:40pm to 2:10pm
Fightstar - 2:30pm to 3:00pm
Mae - 3:25pm to 3:55pm
Lucky Nine - 4:20pm to 4:50pm
Alexisonfire - 5:15pm to 5:45pm
Rise Against - 6:15pm to 6:45pm
Coheed & Cambria - 7:15pm to 7:55pm
Finch - 8:25pm to 9:10pm
Funeral For A Friend - 9:40pm to 10:30pm

MC Lars was the...MC. He introduced the bands and stuff like that. I was suprised to hear an American accent but when i looked up, there he was on the left end of the stage, doing his thing.

I missed Mewithoutyou because during their set, i was still q-ing to get in. The line was well past around the building. There were so many people, it was crazy. I came in around 2:45pm and saw Fightstar belting out a few songs before leaving the stage.



I got to the front just in time to see Mae. It was easy to get to the front as Mae was apparently not that known here. They were great! It was their first time touring the UK and they did a good job. I loved it. There was just something about the lead's voice. He sounds awesome.



Lucky Nine was also great. Again, not a lot of people were willing to push to the front so everything was calm at the front. Truthfully, I don't really know their music so i couldn't say much about it. Their set was good though.



When Alexisonfire came on, i think i was almost crushed. Everybody was pushing around to see them. Everyone around me was singing and screaming along to every word. It was impressive. They were impressive.

Rise Against came and they killed. I was pushed to the back from the 2nd row to the 11th row or something. It was crazy and I couldn't really hear them that well because I was trying to save myself from being trampled to death. But from all the screaming, crowd-surfing, pushing, they definitely shredded.

Coheed & Cambria. One word: AMAZING. I loved their set. Their performance was awesome but i couldn't really sing along because I didn't remember the lyrics well and they sang some songs in their one album that i haven't really heard of. By this time, i was pushed from the 11th row to the 30++th row. I gave up in trying to prove my reign over the mosh pit.

All the pictures aren't clear especially for Rise Against and Coheed & Cambria so that's why i'm not posting up any for those two. Too many moshers.

And as for Finch & Funeral For A Friend. I didn't get to see them. Let's just say... it is still a very painful experience to look back on.



Silverstein at Barfly.
Date: Tuesday, 10th May 2005.
Venue: Barfly, Cardiff.
Time: Doors opened at 7pm.
Price: 6 pounds.
Bands: Silverstein + The Black Maria + Aiden.

This is probably the most anticipated gig for the month for me. I think I've commented a lot about it in the entries here, that was how stoked i was about it. Again, my class ended at 8pm and I arrived at the gig around 9pm. I missed Aiden. The Black Maria took over the stage and they were too many people so I didn't bother to go in the mosh pit just yet. Then I missed most of The Black Maria set due to some merch/'Quinn' problem/distraction.



A few minutes before Silverstein came on, I dragged my friend to the front and we couldn't get through the first 3-5 rows so settled behind them, right next to the self-destructive kids who were hardcore dancing. I didn't get nice pictures but i got some awesome video footage (which i basically watch every now and then :D) and because the pictures suck, i'll take shots from the footage. They were awesome. I enjoyed every bit, even when some kids elbowed me; the bruises are cherished.



They opened with 'Smashed Into Pieces', i think, and played most of their set from the 'When Broken Is Easily Fixed' album and about two to three songs from their new coming album. I think they came in late for soundcheck so they didn't have a proper one because the mic kept on going offkey when the singer was talking (not when he was singing, thank god) and the instruments made funny noises now and then. Nothing too serious though and the band did apologized. It didn't really affect their playing though, they were still impressive. I don't have much to say about it, i was just so blown away that i ended up grinning to myself throughout their whole set (and during the bus ride home, too).



Those are all the gigs that i went to. :) They were all enjoyable in one way or another. Since my course is finished, i might just go to local bands' gigs to check them out or something. I've got time to kill so why not. Any particular suggestions are welcomed. Take care all.