Well, where do I start?? Another gorgeous hot weekend, which is a non entity in the UK, but make the most of it eh!! A trip to Wales was on the cards to see the Welsh songstress Cerys Matthews.

My other half is a massive Cerys fan, so after getting up at the crack of dawn and pounding the treadmill at the local gym, we packed up our kit bag, [but in this case, it was a cool bag with an enormous picnic in it], and we headed off to sunny Wales.
It was a baking hot day, air con on full blast in the car for the three hour trek from Brum to Aberystwyth. The winding roads and the trek through Snowdonia national park did nothing but make me casper white and reach for the sick bag, terrible thing travel sickness is. The views on the journey were immense and the actual view of the beach and the sea made the trip worthwhile, as well as a promise of a ‘99’ with juice and nuts.
We headed down to Aberystwyth castle ruins as this was where all the bands were performing. The festivities kicked off at 1.00pm, we eventually got there at 3.00 after driving up and down the sea front seeking out a parking space. A 15 min trek to the castle from the car with a 13kg backpack full of camera equipment and the kitchen sink, including the picnic!!

The ruins were spectacular, what a fabulous place to have an outdoor gig, we found a decent spot in front of the stage, picnic blanket laid out, bags dropped on the floor and shoes and socks off as the heat was absolutely baking: sun tan cream at the ready: The heat was unbearable, especially for my other half who’s Ginger, only the glimmer of sun and she goes a beetroot red!

The venue was packed and everyone was enjoying the surroundings and the sunshine, the music was fair to middling, but unfortunately not to my liking, in all honesty we only travelled to the show to see Cerys, I have to be honest.

I was wishing 9pm would hurry up and arrive as I was getting a tad bored, even pulling grass and throwing it up in the air like a little kid. We decided to take our picnic and go for a wander back to the car, taking in the smell of the fresh air from the sea and grabbing a few memorable snaps of the breath taking view.

The promise of a 99 was fulfilled and so scrummy, as well as an ice cold slush puppy, I was ready to fight my way through the crowd with my other half to the front to get a good view when Cerys came on. We moved to stage Left and once it was nearing Cery’s arrival the crowd all stood up and jostled about, we had the fattest tattooed man in front of us and his other half looked like Plug from the Dandy Magazine, I was scared half to death!!

Cerys graced the stage with a lush black outfit on which was accessorised by Yellow sunglasses, the crowd went absolutely Bonkers, screaming and shouting, this is the first time I’ve seen her with a full band and it was stupendous. Song after Song after Song, she never ceases to amaze me with her live sets, her vocal range is actually suprising, I still think back to when I first saw her live at the Glee Club in Birmingham not so long back, and in all honesty I didn’t wanna go, only went to please my other half, BUT I was so taken aback at how good Cerys is live how can I turn down trips to go and see her live!! I CAN’T, she is absolutely amazing live.

The set list was similar to what she’s song before at the last few gigs I’ve been to, this included:
Smash the Glass, Morning Sunshine, Chardonnay, [Yes I did singalong], The good in goodbye, Daio, and the audience went mental when the chords struck up for Road Rage, a 16 song set with an encore to die for, the crowd were heckling and shouting Cerys throughout the set, at one stage shouting Mulder and Scully, which for some unknown reason she refuses to play.

The band only complemented Cerys, can’t wait for the full live set and to hear the new album, ssshhhh don’t tell anyone but I think I’m actually becoming a fan!
The set came and went, obviously a few die hards in the audience who knew every single word, at one point during Blues song Cerys sang to one of the guys from the crowd, he was ecstatic, who wouldn’t be though eh!

As Cerys pounded her way through the set the sun was setting and the view became even more amazing, nothing like it, the night was ended with an impromptu fireworks display.

I never ever tire of hearing Cerys Matthews live and look forward to seeing her again on her forthcoming UK Tour.

Review by Michelle Owen