first of all, never trust directions off the internet to get you to Merthyr. lies, all lies...
still, we get there in the end after at least two major diversions, walk into the gig and are promptly told by a rather sheepish gig promoter that the bands haven't turned up yet but the pub downstairs is open if we'd be kind enough to hang about for a bit. mildly panicked by the idea that they're not gonna turn up after we've driven over from Swansea (yeah, i know it's not that far...) to see them we get a pint in and settle as best we can in the, it has to be said, deeply uncomfortable bar.
about an hour or so later with a crowd that has now swollen to the intimidating throng of a full fifteen people including myself and my two friends, Undergroove newbies Lack take to the stage. i'd never heard any of their stuff before and the news of their signing had been met with distinctly mixed responses on the UG forum so i wasn't sure what to expect. the words 'not getting my hopes up' would probably be the most appropriate.
the first song starts ok but certainly doesn't do all that much before it finishes some minutes later and that's probably the best summary i can give of the entire set. don't get me wrong, they're enjoyable enough and all the songs are well written but just really don't seem to go anywhere fast. that coupled with the diabolical sound in RMs (vocals? rythem guitar? hello...?) means that the set is enjoyable in nothing more than the most general, head nodding kinda way. that said, the only actual 'low point' of the set comes not from the music but rather from the vocalist first trying to flog their album then suddenly going off on an entirely uncalled for 'your taxes are paying for the bombs being dropped on Iraq' rant. baring in mind that me, my two friends, the five members of Eden Maine and possibly one or two of the bar staff are the only ones in the room old enough to actually pay tax it was a bit of an own goal... the long and short of all this is that i think i'd need to hear the album or see a decent gig before i can form an educated opinion.
Eden Maine, however, i'm very fond of and 'To You The First Star' has been on heavy rotation on my discman since finally getting round to buying it about two months ago. unfortunately they encounter problems before even playing a single note as the PA, albeit rather briefly, decides it doesn't want to play anymore. after the sound guys have spent a few minutes doing the whole 'shining a torch at it usually works' thing everythings back on and my first question of 'will they play 'The Hunter and The Hunted' is immediately answered as it opens the set. this makes me very happy as that song is about as good as Hardcore based music gets in my opinion, why so many bands end up sounding like Dillinger or Converge when they could write music like this will baffle me til my dying day.
tight, precise and putting in the effort despite the abject lack of an audience, the EM boys tear through their set sounding exactly the way a good live band should, ie, like the album but with the extra energy of a live show. tragically this is somewhat sabotaged by the again absolutely fucking horrendous sound. i don't know if the engineer was local or brought in with the bands but he was having serious problems either way. on top of all this, the only people there enjoying the show are me, my two friends and... er... Eden Maine (who themselves are understandably rapidly losing interest with playing to what realistically equates to an empty room) as, believe it or not, the crowd actually gets smaller after they start playing!!! now i'll admit i've never been to Merthyr before but from what i've seen and been told there is nothing better to do there on a saturday night than go the RMs rock night even if there isn't a band playing, let alone one as good as Eden Maine, so what the fuck was going on with this is beyond me.
after about five/six songs the sentence 'this is our last song' is muttered, far too early for my liking, into a microphone and they finish with album closer 'Disinformasia'. with one big final push they throw everything at it despite the total apathy that meets each chord and it builds and builds to a monsterous climax that leaves me ever so slightly shell-shocked but happier for it. predicatably, the first crowd enthusiasm shown all night comes from three teenage girls who descend on vocalist Adam the instant he steps off stage. mind you, having said that, my mate Shelley had admitted she was having difficulty concentrating as a result of those ridiculously tight jeans he was sporting...
i meet guitarist Phil and bassist Nick to thank them for the gig and i'd also promised to buy Phil a coke for reserving me tickets (oh the irony, how we laughed) and they're lovely guys which makes it that bit nicer again. i apologise on behalf of my adopted country's frankly pathetic turnout and they tell me it's exactly this reason that they'll only be doing supports for a while. i start getting misty eyed about how good 'To You The First Star' is and have to make my excuses and leave before i embarass myself any further.
in summary: Eden Maine deserved better than tonight. better sound, better support and a much better crowd.
i shouldn't really complain mind, it rocked whilst it lasted and at least they bothered to come out this fucking far in the first place, eh?
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