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Zuton Fever

Many smiles last night for The Zutons' long awaited gig at Cardiff Students Union. And the rain held off as well...

Once inside (note to self - get real tickets next time!), we were entertained by 2 supports. First on were The Grates. Quite an interesting sound from this trio (plus occasional keyboardist), between a style reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more 'jangly indie' leanings. I preferred their louder songs, which seemed to show off singer Patience's voice better than the 'janglier' bits (though it may be said singer's dancing that put me off at times...). Even a bit of banter with the audience! Not bad for a support slot, samples at their myspace. Second on, The Little Flames. Personally, I'd rather they hadn't bothered, not impressed at all with their songs (tune, anyone?). But as I'm generous, they have a link too.

Thankfully The Little Flames were off by 9pm leaving 30 minutes for the crowd to get very excited! Too excited for some who insisted on spraying the crowd with beer - I just don't get that. The Zutons started off with a bang, first track was current single Why Won't You Give Me Your Love. Most of the second album made the set list, along with old favourites. As much as I can remember, tracks included Havana Gang Brawl, Pressure Point, Tired of Hanging Around, Dirty Dancehall (dedicated to the city of Cardiff for assisting in Liverpool's FA Cup success), Oh Stacey, Hello Conscience, Confusion, Its The Little Things We Do, You Will You Won't. Plus the encore: Zuton Fever, next single Valerie plus an instrumental. Oops - it seems I've missed posting any comments on said second album - excellent! I think I may actually prefer it to Who Killed The Zutons?, especially Valerie :)

M and I really enjoyed this show - highly recommended but I think their tour's sold out... Much more polished sound than previously (the dark days of January 2004 if I remember right), and improved 'working the crowd' skills.

Other bits & bobs, Keith Richards seems to be recovering from his well-publicised fall, still hoping that the tour makes it to Cardiff on time! And speaking of current bands, The Kooks are touring again in the autumn, coming to Cardiff on 10th October. Hoping to get tickets this time... been a while since December's slot with The Subways...

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