On This Day 02/07/2005 Kings Of Leon

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On this day 2 July 2005, American rock band Kings Of Leon played the Cardiff International Arena. on the band’s Aha Shake Heartbreak tour.

The band's second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the Southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience.

The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns.

"The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl" was also used in the 2007 film Disturbia and the film Cloverfield in 2008.

The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello, and also toured with U2, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam during 2005 and 2006.

Setlist

Taper Jean Girl

Pistol of Fire

Molly's Chambers

Wasted Time

Razz

The Bucket

Soft

Milk

Rememo

Four Kicks

Velvet Snow

King of the Rodeo

Joe's Head

California Waiting

Spiral Staircase

Happy Alone

Trani

Encore:

Holy Roller Novocaine

Head to Toe

Slow Night, So Long

On This Day 01/07/2001 Belle and Sebastian

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On this day, 1 July 2001, Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian played Cardiff St David’s Hall.

Formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums.

They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake.

The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry later adapted for television.

The "Jonathan David" single, sung by Stevie Jackson, was released in June 2001 and was followed by "I'm Waking Up to Us" in November, which saw the band use an outside producer (Mike Hurst) for the first time.

Setlist

Le pastie de la bourgeoisie

There's Too Much Love

The Magic of a Kind Word

My Wandering Days Are Over

Like Dylan in the Movies

Jonathan David

Slow Graffiti

The Model

Don't Leave the Light on Baby

Simple Things

The Boy With the Arab Strap

We Rule the School

Family Tree

Sleep the Clock Around

No Matter What

(Badfinger cover)

I Love My Car

The Wrong Girl

Women's Realm

Legal Man

On This Day 30/06/1969 Pink Floyd

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On this day 30 June 1969 legendary prog rockers Pink Floyd played Cardiff’s Top Rank, playing the President’s Ball. The band had previously played the same venue in February and the Kee Club in Bridgend and the University College, Swansea in March.

The President’s Ball was part of the celebrations to honour the Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales.

Presented by Llandaff Technical College, the support band were Stop Watch and Pink Floyd played for 1-hour and were paid £100.

The band had released Saucerful of Secrets the previous year which reached number nine in the UK charts whilst the band had recorded some of their recent gigs for the release of Ummagumma.

The double album had one half of live recordings contain songs from their current set whilst the the other contained solo compositions by each member of the band recorded at Abbey Road Studios.

The album's title supposedly comes from Cambridge slang for sex, commonly used by Pink Floyd friend and occasional roadie, Iain "Emo" Moore, who would say, "I'm going back to the house for some ummagumma". According to Moore, he made up the term himself.

Setlist

Astronomy Domine

Green Is the Colour

Careful With That Axe, Eugene

Interstellar Overdrive

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

A Saucerful of Secrets

On This Day 29/06/2004 Suzanne Vega

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On this day, 29 June 2004, American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

In 2003, the 21-song greatest hits compilation Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega was released. (The UK version of Retrospective included an eight-song bonus CD as well as a DVD containing 12 songs). In the same year she was invited by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell to play at the Century of Song concerts at the famed Ruhrtriennale in Germany.

When Vega first emerged on the New York folk scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s, no one really knew what to make of her. Certainly, she wasn’t a folk artist in the traditional sense, or, perhaps more specifically, she wasn’t going to be restrained by the traditional definition of what a folk artist is supposed to be.

As Lenny Kaye writes of her early days in the liner notes to Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega, “she listens to Lou Reed as well as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen segueing Woody Guthrie, the Police, the Smiths. She is a modern girl, living in her present tense, playing a music that seems to venerate old-timey tradition. She thinks of herself as a ‘solitary troubadour,’ and wants to be on her own, to be able to ‘pick up my guitar, and get on a bus, and go anywhere, and play by myself”.

Suzanne Vega’s self-titled debut, released in 1985, spawned a surprise hit in the UK with “Marlene in the Wall”; in fact, Vega performed the song at the Prince’s Trust 10th Anniversary Party.

Setlist

99.9 F°

Marlene on the Wall

Caramel

When Heroes Go Down

Gypsy

(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May

Penitent

Solitaire

Left of Center

Undertow

The Queen and the Soldier

Behind Blue Eyes

(The Who cover)

Pilgrimage

Solitude Standing

Blood Makes Noise

In Liverpool

Luka

Tom's Diner

Encore:

Small Blue Thing

Rosemary

On This Day 28/06/2009 James Taylor

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On this day 28 June 2009, American singer-songwriter and guitarist James Taylor played the Cardiff International Arena on his European “Down Home” Tour.

His band included Steve Gadd, Larry Goldings, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Landau, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCuller and Andrea Zonn.

The previous September Taylor had released his eighteenth studio album ‘Covers’ The album was recorded by Taylor's regular touring band.

Some of the tunes Taylor had been performing off and on in concerts for years, while others were new to his repertoire. The effort garnered modestly good reviews and two Grammy Award nominations.

Review: James Taylor at Cardiff International Arena

IT was a world away from the recent hyped-up showstoppers of Take That and Oasis, but American singer songwriter James Taylor achieved the same enthusiastic, appreciative reception as he stepped gingerly on to the stage.

He didn’t need special effects, fancy lighting or even a costume – with his exceptionally talented band and his reputation as an accomplished performer, he had all he needed – an adoring audience that lapped up his every word. He went even further to winning the Cardiff crowd’s hearts as he did his best to pronounce the brand of his bottled water (Brecon Carreg) and a seaside town he had once passed through – Aberystwyth.

Taylor’s mellow, genteel renditions of Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ from the musical Oklahoma, and George Jones’ Why Baby Why showed effortless capability. The 61-year-old musician made this gig as much about his band as it was about him, with Copperline featuring backing singer Andrea Zonn showcasing her breathtaking ability on the violin.

Next, soul singer in his own right, Arnold McCuller wowed the audience by blending Taylor’s 1976 classic Shower the People into an instant gospel classic.

Dressed casually in jeans and a buttoned-down shirt, Taylor made the crowd feel as if they were sitting in a cosy bar with a handful of spectators. As he prepared for folk ballads with a wooden stool and acoustic guitar, he allowed the arena’s silence to build until screams of “I love you James!” came from the corners of the hall. His endearing bashfulness only caused more adoration, with competitive heckles of “We love you more!” following. The band relished the opportunity to thrill the fans with hits from Taylor’s latest album Covers, with performances of Carole King’s You’ve Got a Friend and the Big Mama Thornton inspired Hound Dog.

And just when they thought it was time to go home, Taylor treated the audience to no fewer than three encores, with the Marvin Gaye favourite How Sweet it is to be Loved By You, his hit lullaby Sweet Baby James and Wilson Pickett’s I’m Gonna Wait ’Til the Midnight Hour.

The contented look on every fan’s face as they left the arena said it all – James Taylor knows how to work a crowd.

Sarah Bunney

Setlist

Country Road

Fire and Rain

It's Growing

(The Temptations cover)

Wichita Lineman

(Jimmy Webb cover)

Walking Man

Up on the Roof

(Carole King cover)

Everyday

(Buddy Holly cover)

Sweet Baby James

Mexico

Carolina in My Mind

You've Got a Friend

(Carole King cover)

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)

(Marvin Gaye cover)

Shed a Little Light

Steamroller

Shower the People

Whiskey Before Breakfast

([traditional] cover)

Hound Dog

(Big Mama Thornton cover)

On This Day 27/06/1981 Modern English

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On this day, 27 June 1981, new wave/post-punk band Modern English played Cardiff’s Nero’s night club.

Formed in Colchester, Essex in 1979 by Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitar, vocals), and Michael Conroy (bass, vocals) (born 9 August 1962),

Modern English were originally known as The Lepers. The group expanded to "Modern English" when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) were subsequently added to the lineup of the band.

After a single on their own 'Limp' label in 1979, the band signed to 4AD the following year; with two further singles released, and a session for John Peel of BBC Radio 1 recorded before the band's debut album, Mesh & Lace, in 1981.

On This Day 24/06/2010 Elvis Costello

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On this day 24 June 2010, Singer and Songwriting legend Elvis Costello played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Elvis Costello

St David's Hall, Cardiff

By Tony Woolway

Two musical greats hit Cardiff this week playing vastly different venues, yet both eagerly awaited by fans to whom both have acquired a somewhat god-like status.

Pre-empting McCartney at the Millennium Stadium this evening, the equally talented and highly acclaimed Elvis Costello played the smaller and more intimate St David's Hall.

Unaccompanied and armed only with an array of fine guitars, his stripped down versions of classics from one of rock's most celebrated and extensive bodies of work was a real treat.

There are very few figures from the era that spawned punk still treading the boards today as regularly as Costello, and certainly no one nearly as creative or as productive.

It was a low-key entrance from the man.

And with no need for grand introductions, it was straight into his first number "45," followed swiftly by "Either Side Of The Same Town" and "Veronica," a number co-written by Costello with former Beatle McCartney.

It was proving to be the perfect setting which ideally suited what had become a laid-back, living room experience.

And Costello's good-natured banter and chat about his songs and experiences was certainly an added bonus in what was quickly becoming a memorable evening.

The interesting thing about an evening with Elvis is the likelihood of hearing something never heard before or hearing an oldie dusted down and re-worked.

Costello didn't disappoint, producing a manic version of "Watching The Detectives" before moving effortlessly into "Radio Sweetheart," with a touch of "Jackie Wilson Said" thrown into the mix.

The encore produced some real gems with the excellent "Sulphur To Sugarcane" followed by a bitter-sweet "Alison" and then the classic anti-war anthem "Shipbuilding" in what was a quite exceptional evening.

Setlist

01. 45

02. Either Side Of The Same Town

03. Veronica

04. Down Among The Wines And Spirits

05. Suit Of Lights

06. Condemned Man

07. Good Year For The Roses

08. Everyday I Write The Book

09. Bedlam

10. Jimmie Standing In The Rain

11. A Slow Drag With Josephine - off-mic

12. Watching The Detectives

13. Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said

14. God's Comic

15. I Hope

16. Sulphur To Sugarcane

Encores

17. Girls Talk

18. Alison - including The Wind Cries Mary

19. All Or Nothing At All

20. Poison Moon

21. Black And White World

22. Shipbuilding

23. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?

24. One Bell Ringing

Start time: 7.52pm

End time: 9.38pm

On This Day 23/06/1989 Anthrax

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On this day, 23 June 1989, American thrash metal band Anthrax played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their State of Euphoria tour.

State of Euphoria is the fourth studio album by Anthrax. It was released on September 19, 1988 through Megaforce/Island Records.

Anthrax spent nearly a year touring in support of State of Euphoria. Prior to the album's release, the band supported Iron Maiden on their Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour in Europe, and opened for Ozzy Osbourne on his No Rest for the Wicked tour in the United States from November 1988 to January 1989. The band also opened for Metallica on their Damaged Justice tour.

Anthrax continued touring in 1989, playing six shows in the UK with Living Colour in March, and headlining the Headbangers Ball Tour (with support from Helloween and Exodus) in April–May.

Following the Headbangers Ball tour, Anthrax toured Europe with Suicidal Tendencies, King's X and M.O.D., which took place in June–July 1989.

Setlist

Be All, End All

Madhouse

Metal Thrashing Mad

Now It's Dark

Indians

Antisocial

(Trust cover)

I Am the Law

Medusa

Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

Finale

Caught in a Mosh

I'm the Man