The destination for today’s gig is an absolutely packed Cardiff as final preparations for the Champions League final are in full swing, however, that is not what we are there for, as we head out to The Globe for tonight’s show; Madina Lake on the last date of their reunion tour. Everyone well and truly got their knickers in a twist when the news of the alt-rockers return to celebrate the tenth anniversary of that infamous debut album From Them, Through Us, To You including appearances at Slam Dunk.
First up are Chicago rockers That Lying Bitch, a band I had never heard of prior to tonight, however, a band that I well and truly fell in love with. Although how on earth vocalist/guitarist Darren Vorel managed to keep his leather jacket on throughout the set is a mystery! Their catchy rock tracks are great live and they put on a great show, getting the crowd warmed up well.
Next up is Lacey, the Nottingham alt-rockers picked up where That Lying Bitch left off with catchy tracks and great stage presence. They kept the crowd entertained and gave us a play of new single Answer. While they may have been more familiar to the crowd than the opening band, it is sure that they left with more new fans.
The moment we’d all been waiting for as Madina Lake take to the stage. The quartet power through tracks from their debut album From Them, Through Us, To You and delight the crowd, who don’t hesitate in screaming every word back to them. Tracks including aruagbly their most popular single Here I Stand, Pandora, Welcome To Oblivion and Now Or Never were the stand-outs and there’s also a cover of Blink 182‘s What’s My Age Again. Sadly for bassist Matthew Leone, there wasn’t much for him to climb on so he had to make do with climbing on the drums multiple times. You can see the excitement and love for performing in each member’s eyes and you could tell they were loving being back on stage.
Nobody wanted such a brilliant set to finish although all good things must come to an end. But now we just have to wait until next year for the reunions’s reunion!