Undertone in Cardiff, a small floor show venue in the heart of the city centre, welcomes Southampton goth-punks Creeper.
First up was Weatherstate, the punk-rock quartet made the short journey over the bridge from Bristol to start the show with a bang. Their Blink 182-esque set including songs such as Dead Ends and with class vocals from Harry Hoskins, I was momentarily transported back to my early punk-rock days, however, this is the present and there’s definitely a long and successful career ahead for the young Bristolians.
Up next is Essex punk/hardcore quintet Giants. From the get go, vocalist Harvey Freeman was off the makeshift stage and into the crowd as he belted out tracks including Misguided. A set complete with riffs galore and melodic metal, bringing some serious energy to the night. The raspy vocals complimenting the riffs perfectly and showing why they’ve shared a stage with acts including Architects. Ending the set with Another Day Another Year reminding me slightly of Parkway Drive. Another great set.
Taking a break from their support slot with The Misfits, Creeper gave the packed venue a great insight into why they were snapped up by Roadrunner Records and asked to tour with the horror-punk legends. A flawless performance of tracks from both debut EP, “Creeper” and up-coming EP “The Callous Hearts” gave the crowd exactly what they wanted and needed as the riffs from guitarists Ian Miles and Sina Nemati provided the energy to get the crowd going, joining vocalist Will Gould in relaying the dark and relatable lyrics to incredible tracks including Gloom, Lie Awake, VCR alongside an old favourite that is rarely played live Into The Black. Will then beautifully leads a sing-along of an AFI cover before closing the show with a rousing rendition of my personal favourite Novena. Also props to Will for managing to keep his leather jacket on until the last song in what was one of the sweatiest gig environments I’ve ever been in.
Tonight’s set was definitely a taste of what’s to come from the talented quintet, showing why they are vastly gaining recognition including support from Motley Crue and Sixx AM bassist Nikki Sixx. I recommend seeing these guys as soon as possible as there is no way they will be doing shows of this small size for much longer!