Nigel, Zed Motel & Windshake in Rock Scene’s first gig of the year!!

We had some new faces in town for the Masons’ first gig of the year. First up were Cardiff band, Nigel. This four piece band of youngsters were quite raw to start but got tighter as the gig went on. I won’t say that they got better after their singer took his short off as that may give the wrong impression but they did seem to relax into the set as the night went on. After speaking to the band, I could tell that they were very ambitious and enthusiastic and I look forward to hearing how they develop.

Next up were Masons’ regulars, Zed Motel. The band have played in town numerous times as a two piece band but this time there were three of them as vocalist Katie joined them. This was only Katie’s third gig ever, the second being that afternoon in Cardiff, but her talent did manage to come through in a number of songs, particularly, Scratch, which reminded me of female fronted rock bands of the 90s such as Whale and Boss Hogg. Maybe it was because guitarist Chris was wearing a Pixies t-shirt that he bought at their gig in Cardiff at the end of last year but I thought that the band had a more Pixies-esque grunge compared to when I have previously seen the band. Again this is another band who has evolved since I first saw them.

Headlining the night were Swansea indie band, Wind Shake. Again this band reminded me of the early 90s despite the fact that this was also about the time that the members of the band were born. However, unlike the American grunge sound of the first two bands, Wind Shake were more reminisce of the Brit pop era indie bands. I enjoyed talking to the band before the gig due to their exuberance but this actually turned into a cool confidence on stage, in fact, one member of the audience even told me that he thought that may have been the coolest bass player that he had ever seen live. This was another good new young band who, I believe, are destined to develop into an excellent band over time.