PrettyInScarlett

Back to Barfly last night, the disappointment of last time luckily not repeated! This time it was to see Howling Bells plus support Indigo Moss. For once, a decent support band! Indigo Moss are a bit hard to categorise, low fi with country tinges? It worked anyway! Their sound is a mixture of original material and arrangements of traditional songs, and an equally interesting style - one of the female members had a vintage floor length dress on... but I digress. All obviously competent musicians; with the exception of the bass player and drummer, the other members kept swapping instruments. Very enthusiasic response from the crowd, at times it seemed as if they were more popular than Howling Bells!!! I purchased their EP straight after the set, & their album may find its way here too... For more info see their website or myspace . By the time Howling Bells took to the stage, Barfly was pretty much full! Another excellent set. Howling Bells are one of the current bands du jour and

Bit of a catch up today. First up Goo Goo Dolls from last Thursday 12th October at Cardiff Union. Again a good atmosphere & completely sold out, mostly by 5'0'' freshers at our end! Supported by Tinder Box who were quite similar - good modern sound, kind of Goos meets The Killers. Quite a professional sound and manner compared to many support acts. Check out their myspace or website . Excellent set by the Goos - one of my few gripes that it wasn't long enough! Set list included: Stay With You (first?), Let Love In, Can't Let It Go, Better Days, Feel The Silence and Become from current album Let Love In; and of older songs, Iris (after having a dig at Ronan Keating's cover), Name, Laughing, Broadway, plus Smash & Tucked Away from the Gutterflower album. I would have preferred more songs from Gutterflower, but I imagine that theirs is a dynamic set list. Encore was Give A Little Bit. Great lighting as well, obviously designed for a larger venue as the st

Does absence make the heart grow fonder? in relation to Barfly anyway.... M and I headed to Cardiff Barfly last night after a very long break, to see The Sunshine Underground ( see also previous post Au quatrieme fois ). Some bits of the cellar venue looked a bit smarter, others as scummy as ever!!! Say no more.... but crowd control barriers?? We were treated to 2 support bands, so no complaints on value! First up (breath in), Shut Your Eyes & You'll Burst Into Flames, were, sorry to say, an obvious rip off of TSU but not in a good way! On a positive note, they didn't hurt the ear drums, but mostly samey and easily forgettable, except maybe the bouffant hair and energy levels! Next up Foreign Islands (I think this is their myspace ) who were much better, although I was a bit bemused by the singer's face mask for first track. By the time The Sunshine Underground took the stage, Barfly was pretty much full and with a very enthusiastic audience! Perhaps the venue suited t