Dirty Wink & Windshake live at The Masons Arms Llanelli 16/09/17

Dirty Wink live 16/09/17 Llanelli

We had two regular visitors returning to the Masons last weekend; Windshake from Loughor who play there once a month and Dirty Wink from Vienna who play there once a year. I have already written many reviews of Windshake so I am starting to run out of things to say but I think the boys always like to read about themselves in the paper so I’ll give it a go. They still have one of the coolest bass players about in Ethan, his serious fringe, pencil moustache, tight trousers and expressionless face is in stark contrast to his exciting and busy bass playing. Vocalist Sam switches from quite melodic guitar playing and singing to getting close to screaming to give the band an almost performance art/rock feel. He may also suffer from being too cool, the only time he spoke to the audience was after their last song when he just about remembered to say “oh, yeah, we’re Windshake” into the mic.

Windshake live 16/09/17 Llanelli

This was Austrian pop-punk band, Dirty Wink’s third visit to the Masons in the last three years. It’s not easy for a European touring band to gain a following in a country that they only play in once a year but the boys told me that they always enjoy playing in the Masons as they always get a good crowd. Although not many people in the venue had seen the band before, there was a good crowd with a great reception for the band. The Mason used to have a reputation as a heavy metal pub but since the bands playing there have changed to more indie and cover bands, a new crowd has started calling there. The metal fans were always welcoming to the bands, getting down the front to cheer them on but they were replaced by a gang of women on a pub crawl last week who were just as enthusiastic. Before the gig, they asked me if the bands played any Bon Jovi and even though they were disappointed when I said this was unlikely, they still spent the night dancing away. The upbeat nature of Dirty Wink’s music helped. A friend of mine, whom I’ve always regarded as having a good taste in music, surprised me somewhat before the gig by telling me that there’s nothing wrong with a nice bit of pop-punk but I’ve got to agree with him there. I think the reason behind the popularity of the genre is that it is uplifting music with a lot of energy and this sums up Dirty Wink perfectly. They spent the gig bouncing around the stage with big smiles on their faces and that enthusiasm passed onto the crowd. The band had some great catchy choruses sung in harmony, Rodeo, being one of my favourites. I had a great chat with the band after the gig and have been listening to their album since. Oddly enough, the first band that my band played with in the Masons, were Zoo Harmonics from Tel Aviv and the similarities between their albums in uncanny. I’m not sure how bands from Israel and Austria ended up playing similar sets in Llanelli three years apart from each other but I’m glad that they did and that I was there for both. I look forward to seeing Dirty Wink again next year.