Review & Photography by Lindsay Smith for MPM
The 10th anniversary Christmas Jam promised to deliver an excellent night of music from many genres of rock and it did not fail to deliver.
It was a bitterly cold night and thermals were needed in the Patti but no one seemed to mind. Live music has been sorely missed by so many, both performers and their audience, the expectation was simmering nicely as the first band of the night, FEVERJAW took to the stage.
The South Wales, alternative 3 piece warmed up those watching with their guitar driven sound. You couldn’t help but hear influences of the Manics and Steriophonics but that was certainly not a bad thing.
Next up was another band with a strong local following, PHILO BEDDOE BAND, the 5 piece from Merthyr Tydfil have been around since 2012 and had brought a strong following with them to the Patti.
A musical style infused with country blues, songs that had everyone moving, enjoying the set which was played with flair and professionalism worthy of the applause and whoops of appreciation.
Another quick changeover by the efficient stage crew and the temperature picked up as REVIVAL BLACK exploded onto the stage with guitar fuelled , hard rock. I’ve seen his band a fair few times and tonight they were tighter than ever.
Splintering riffs, pounding beats and of course the melodic vocal from Daniel. A. powerful set, masses of hair (yes I have hair envy) but the big win of the night was the quality of the songs and the energy generated on the stage, These Liverpool boys can rock.
A late addition to the line-up was ‘riff meisters’ SUNS OF THUNDER. This was loud, this was heavy, a chunk of grunge metal left in a smouldering heap on the stage by the guys. They certainly added to the variety of music genres on display and kept the warm with some serious noise emitting from the PA’s.
The anticipation in the Patti was off the chart as the crowd moved forward to the barrier. This was HAND OF DIMES first gig in 2 years and we had missed them. Blues dipped rock and roll from a band with a pedigree too large to list here. One word ‘Nev’. That voice is nothing less than stunning.
A band that always look relaxed and happy (despite a technical hitch), Neil, Dino, Mark and Colin played the songs that melt your soul and sooth your senses. The room was full of smiling faces, singing along and sheer appreciation for the Welsh band.
I could wax lyrical all day about how fabulous HAND OF DIMES are, how simply fabulous they sounded and how you should go buy their music, seek them out on YouTube, eagerly await new music and more live performances but I really shouldn’t (oops).
The headliners SON OF MAN are led out on the stage by George Jones, son of Micky Jones (Man) and the cheers and applause rang around the room. That was before a note was played.
SON OF MAN had some fabulous bands to follow tonight and they absolutely did. Glenn, Dominic, Marco, Bob and George fill the air with waves of prog rock magic while Richie tops the whole thing off with his smooth vocals and together they really are phenomenal.
This was my first time watching the band live and I can now appreciate why so many people were here tonight. A band who looked so comfortable on stage after so much time away from live performing, professional musicians at the top of their game delighting all at The Patti.
I’ve seen most of the guys play before in their other bands and they seemed to gel seamlessly in Son of Man. The band can all sing and play to an extraordinary level, swathes of melody and music intertwining with each other and kicking the cold out of Patti, warming your toes as your feet shuffle in time to the music, the enjoyment of everyone was clear to see.
I’ll be back next year for Micky’s Christmas Jam, I hope to see you there. Thank you to Aled and Big Day Productions for putting such a stellar gig on. Fabulous night!
