Hayseed Dixie 19/03/08

Ok, I might have to mention the venue this time around... The Point is an old church down by Cardiff bay which has been converted to house a stage and bar, and they seem to do pretty well on the band front: So far I've seen the Bluetones and Whole Lotta Led, and now Hayseed Dixie of course... And they have The Subways coming up on Thursday (gig report either that night or the next day, depending on whether my girlfriends stays that night...). And the sound is always good, sometimes find that sounds techs can be a bit rubbish some places, but the Point has been fine every time so far So go see a band there some time! You (probably) wont regret it!

Right, and on with the gig... I turned up a bit late, which I didn't expect to matter too much, but realised how wrong I was on arrival, as Instill were in the middle of their support slot - Those guys ROCK! They do a fun kind of metal, with one of their songs being called 'Stuck in the Mud', all about kids games as far as I could tell! They were great fun, and I was very saddened I missed the start, and that the crowd weren't up for jumping around at all... Luckily I was with a couple of friends and we made our own mini mosh pit... (Their myspace).

This was the second time I have seen Hayseed Dixie, and I was quite looking forward to it, as last time I had great fun jigging about to all their covers. this time around I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they've started doing some original material (other than 'Keeping Your Poop in a Jar', which I didn't like last time around, reminded me too much of a very childish acquaintance) which was really quite good! They obviously still play all their awesome covers ('Fat Bottomed Girls' is so good when folked/bluegrassed up!), just that now they are interspersed with some original stuff, such as 'Light Myself on Fire' - which is a song about stupid terrorists inspired by last years attempt to bomb Glasgow airport - and a song about the French (I'll keep quiet about the specifics in case Didier is reading ). Watching them take the stage was great, from the bearlike bassist, to the (comparatively small) 'metal' looking mandolin player, to the singer dressed in tie-dye dungarees and t-shirt! Like an explosion in a paint factory - Awesome! And they didn't just look great, they play like demons! Right up to the mandolin shredding behind the head they all played with so much energy it was infectious, the crowd were somewhat reluctant at first ,but with that kinda of energy in the room they could keep still for long! Sadly me and my friends were still the only ones going all out, but at least the rest were moving!

Hayseed Dixie are a band well worth seeing live if you get the chance, just make sure you've got your best dancing shoes on, else you'll miss out out on half of the experience! I'm looking out for a third gig of theirs to make it too, hopefully next time with girlfriend in tow as she's most jealous and might poke my eyes out otherwise :S

Gigs reviews coming up (pending me actually going to them ):

27/03 - The Subways

28/03 - Dodgy

01/04 - Gogol Bordello

17/04 - The Hives

18/04 - The Presidents of the United States of America

04/05 - The Zutons

05/05 - Spunge, support from May Contain Nuts

18/05 - The Bluetones

23/05 - Terrorvision

02/07 - Spock's Beard