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A rainy South Wales valley in autumn can be a bleak miserable place but today a special double bill rolled into town and brightened up the weekend, the first date of a national tour.
The venue – Pontypridd Muni(cipal) Arts Centre – received a reprieve from government cutbacks when a band of volunteers stepped in and this quickly sold-out gig bodes well for their future.
I saw special guests Wayward Sons at the Steelhouse Festival a few months ago and there is now a much more cohesive feel to the band led by Toby Jepson.
A generous 45 minutes which resulted in a nine song set fully culled from their debut release ‘Ghosts Of Yet To Come’, the highlights being ‘Crush’ and the ‘Until The End Of Time’ two songs that could have blessed any of the Little Angels albums back in the day. It is so good to see Mr Jepson back on stage where he belongs, commanding a crowd again.
Since the release of their second album in the early part of the year, things in the Inglorious live camp have been a little dormant apart from a few festival appearances, a bittersweet one at Steelhouse if I am honest, tonight they set the record straight and let the music do the talking and not a kimono in sight…
Having had a brief chat with Nathan earlier in the afternoon, you genuinely can see how excited and humble the frontman is, there are no airs and graces just a huge smile and a warm welcome, he appears genuinely surprised at how quick this wider recognition has happened.
I am always left in awe what range this guy has in his vocals, it appears effortless, and left a few other musician friends in the crowd speechless as they hadn’t seen him live before. What is more apparent at this show is that there are less theatrics and more emphasis on the balls out rock frontman, a formidable force that would rival the likes of Coverdale, Rodgers etc.
On each occasion Inglorious raise the bar in their shows and with two albums to draw upon you realise how many great songs they have in their repertoire. Songs from the second album make up more than half of the 17 song set and – for me – come to life far better in a live arena than on the album. ‘Taking The Blame’ and my song of the year ‘I Dont Need Your Loving’ are as good as anything you will hear all year.
Mention too of the band’s formidable rhythm section Phil Beaver and Colin Parkinson whilst the two guitarists Andreas Eriksson and Drew Lowe kept the riffs coming, the latter showed his depth on a couple of acoustic renditions.
The band may not have expected the first night glowing reaction in the rainy valleys but were totally convincing. Grab yourself a ticket if you can, this could well be the tour of the year.
Review and photos by Darren Griffiths
Inglorious Tour Dates (special guests, Wayward Sons except those dates marked *)
Sat 30th September 2017 , Pontipridd, Uni Arts Centre
Sun 1st October 2017 , Southampton, The Brook
Tues 3rd October 2017 , Belfast, Limelight*
Wed 4th October 2017 EIRE, Dublin, Academy Greenroom*
Fri 6th October 2017 , Buckley, Tivoli*
Sat 7th October 2017 , Bilston, Robin 2
Sun 8th October 2017 , Newcastle, Academy 2
Tues 10th October 2017 , Glasgow, Classic Grand
Wed 11th October 2017 , York, Fibbers
Thurs 12th October 2017 , Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Fri 20th October 2017 , London, Electric Ballroom
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