As part of Focus Wales 2019, an international event taking place in Wrexham that showcases both local acts and acts from further afield, Newport’s finest Skindred were announced to headline a performance in William Aston Hall, with support coming from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Shot Of Hornets and Evander.
Admittedly, the lineup didn’t feel like the best-matched one (although to be fair, Skindred is a difficult band to match up with other bands as they’re so unique!) but all four bands put on good shows. Pop-punk openers Evander, who were playing their final show, gave a good performance and although their music didn’t have a massive amount of variety and uniqueness to it, there was still a good enjoyable quality to it – so it’ll be interesting to see what new projects the band members have up their sleeves for the future. Meanwhile, alt-rockers Shot Of Hornets were up next, and kept the pace going with a strong set. The vocals were especially powerful, giving the music a good amount of body, and everything about the set was so tight and together – the band was clearly very well-rehearsed and in-sync with one another.
Main support came from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, who admittedly I was a little more excited about seeing than the headliners! MWWB’s sublime brand of sludgy doom is right up my street and ever since they first appeared on my radar in 2016, I’ve been rather eager to see them live. Sadly, they suffered from poor sound quality for the duration of their set but it didn’t dampen the band’s spirits and the performance was mighty from start to finish. With a set consisting of three songs (yep, their tracks really are that long!) the hypnotic and mesmerising quality to the music captivated me from start to finish, and definitely left me wanting more as the closing chords rang out across the venue.
Skindred, whilst enjoyable on CD, is definitely one of those bands that needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated. In a live environment, their music has a special quality to it and with frontman Benji feeling like a stand-up comedian at times with some of the stuff he comes out with, you can always expect to have a fantastic time at a Skindred gig – and this performance was of course, no exception to this.
Coming onstage to the Imperial March from Star Wars, Skindred wasted no time in progressing into opening track Big Tings, and the crowd was immediately onside, singing along and jumping about to the music. Indeed, the crowd was soon given the name of the “Wrexham Choir” as we undertook several back-and-forths with Benji as he gave us several song snippets to sing back at him. There were plenty of moments for crowd interaction, with Benji frequently giving comments and quips to people in the room, and his speech of how we need to keep the younger generations listening to metal music was inspiring.
Later track Nobody, arguably the band’s most famous song, invoked perhaps the biggest reaction of the night, with a lot more people moving about and partying along to the track, and of course another highlight of the performance was the closing track Warning, complete with as many people as possible doing the Newport Helicopter – and it’s always a sight to behold to see so many people waving their shirts around in a circle above their head!
All in all, a fantastic night. Skindred delivered, just like they always do, and the supporting lineup also helped in making it a gig to remember. If any of these bands are gigging near you, then make sure you head over and give them your support!
