It was down to the 'Greatest Music Cafe In The World', The Chattery in Swansea, yet again, to see Chicago musician Chris Mills with his band The Distant Stars.
Now officially my favourite Swansea venue with lovely welcoming people and a friendly, homely vibe, The Chattery continues to attract some great musicians to this great little venue.
The evening kicked off with some able support from Welsh band Rugfire - minus their lead guitarist, they played some music from their current album - The Difficult Second Album. They had plenty of support in the room and played music that reminded me of early Crowded House (no bad thing).
It was then time for Chris Mills and The Distant Stars. Introduced to me by a friend who also likes to seek out new music, Rob Hurley, Chris has been around for quite some time. From the Mid 1990s, Chris has produced some lovely LPs with a sort of folk, country & Americana sound.
Chris and the band are on tour supporting their latest album
When I listen to Chris, I hear the influences of The Replacements, Tom Petty & even Jonathan Richman but his music is not really derivative of any of those great artists - he has cut his own path.
Looking mean and lean and ably supported by his tight band, Chris performed songs from throughout his career and varied the pace to great effect.Chris has played The Chattery before and was obviously at ease in the venue and this showed in the performance. He was among friends tonight.
Chris has been getting some great reviews for the new album Alexandria and the songs take on another dimension live.
Chris brought the gig to a close with a cover of the Big Star song, Thank You Friend.
The end to another great evening of music at The Chattery.
So take my advice, if you get a chance to see Chris play live, GO. You'll be glad you did.
Twitter - @chrismillsmusic
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