It was just in time as we reached the picturesque West Wales village of Reynoldston in the Gower Peninsula in Swansea to catch Stornoway play an intimate gig at the village hall. before the remnants of ex hurricane Bertha hit the West Wales coast and brought the wind & rain. But nothing was going to dampen the spirits for tonight's Stornoway performance.
With lead singer and guitarist Brian Briggs now living in a nearby village, it was the first in a short series of gigs as a warm up to their festival dates for Greenbelt and the Big Feastival later in August.
Supporting tonight were the Welsh/Dutch duo Trwbador - which features Angharad Van Rijswijk on vocals and loops and Owain Gwilym on Guitar and electronica.
Playing a sort of Electro/Folk/Dance music, they warmed up the crowd nicely although I wished the crowd could have been a little quieter to hear the delicacy of Anharad's vocal. I would like to hear Trwbador play to their own crowd.
The band are about to release their second album Several Wolves and are well worth checking out.
Currently working on their new album, Stornoway were probably glad for the chance to play live again and with such an intimate venue and Brian's new neighbours leading the support, the gig had a mini festival feel about it with tiny children and people of all ages in attendance.
The band kicked off the set with a new song When You're Feeling Gentle. The new material the band played tonight was excellent and bodes well for the new album.
They dusted off the cobwebs of the studio as they ran through live favourites such as Farewell Appalachia & Fuel Up.
Next up was another new song, Lost Youth. The band are funding their new album via Pledge Music (see link below)
and I've got to say that the quality of all the new songs that they've played tonight will bring a smile to the Pledgers (including me) who have yet to hear them. Trust me Pledgers, you will be blown away by the new album.
These songs were then followed by another new song The Road You Didn't Take.
Brian was then left alone for some solo work which included a lovely version of November Song
The band then came back to join Brian for acoustic versions of Josephine & We Are The Battery Human.
Then it was time for another new track, Sing With Our Senses before ending the set with the crowd pleasing I Saw You Blink.
But the band had one more surprise and the encore produced a final track which was also a new one - Love Song Of The Beta Male - it is an epic song and has various changes in tempo and had the crowd bouncing up and down like demented chickens.
So, an excellent evening for all the Stornoway fans who got a chance to hear how the new album was progressing and some live favouites thrown in for the uninitiated.
Twitter - @StornowayBand
Twitter - @trwbador
Love this band , with Zorbing one of my all time favourite singles. Yet to see them live. I liked the second lp a lot but it did suffer the not quite as good as the debut syndrome. Part of this was the production , which didn't sound as sharp as the debut. Thin line between warm and fuzzy
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