Tonight kicks off with Before The Storm, a local-ish band from Wrexham who play radio-friendly rock that crosses a number of genres. I didn’t catch any song titles but the band were competent and the music was OK. Personally I wasn’t keen on the vocals, the singer has a flat, nasally style that is like nails on blackboard to me. Don’t get me wrong, he can sing, he has both power and range, just not to my personal taste. Back to the music and there was some jangly guitar stuff going on that I liked – think in the region of Tom Petty or REM, along with a whole heap of classic-rock inspired boogie. I wouldn’t rush to see them again but I wouldn’t walk away from them either.

The Karma Effect on the other hand blew me away. I’ve not encountered them before, and I was very impressed. They have a definite 70’s vibe going on (even though I suspect none of them were even born then) with some Zep touches and even a little glam rock. They are happy and bouncy, and their set was uplifting and fun. They reminded me very much of Sweden’s Electric Boys, with their hard-edged funky groove. This vocalist I liked very much, he too has power and also a pretty impressive range. A word also about their keyboard player who was a riot of swirly hair and sit-down-dancing at the side of the stage – very entertaining. They did a ballad that could have been Rod Stewart if you closed your eyes, and a song about being taken down to the river that I also enjoyed. But. Why do bands always sing about going DOWN to rivers? You’re in Wales now boyo, the rivers all have waterfalls and you need to be taken UP! Anyhow, that aside I nodded along to the whole set like a Churchill dog, and I went and bought the album off them after the show too. Definitely a welcome addition to The List, I’m hoping I will catch them again before too much longer.

Headliners Scarlet Rebels have been around for a while now, and are currently touring to support their latest release “See Through Blue”. Fun fact, the album managed to get to #7 in the UK Rock Chart on release, making them the first band from their home town of Llanelli to get a chart place, ever. Yay! A fair chunk of tonight’s set features dongs from the album and even though (yet again) I didn’t catch titles it they appear to be good, strong, happy rock songs. This band’s strength lies in the quality of their songwriting and their vocal harmonies, but mention must also be made of their guitarist Chris, who is possibly the bendiest guitarist you will ever see. Ho doesn’t just bend strings, he manages to contort himself into some really amazing shapes to show off his prowess. Speaking of guitarists I’m still convinced that there used to be another one in this band, and indeed on checking the back of the album there appear to be 5 people in the band, but tonight as with previous times I’ve seen them there are only 4 on stage. Call Scooby-Doo! The mystery of the missing band member needs to be solved!

To be honest though it probably doesn’t matter. The band’s sound as a 4-piece is rich and satisfying, and it would be hard to imagine how the missing member could enhance it, so I stop worrying about it (apart from hoping that wherever he is he’s OK) and go back to dancing. I note that the crowd is enthusiastic, and a bit bigger than last week. I’m not sure of this is a sign of post-covid confidence improving or just that the Welsh like to support their own, but either way it’s a good thing. They still play a haunting cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ but now rather than the whole song it’s just used as an intro and segues effortlessly into one of their own songs. The latter part of the set has more of their earlier, more familiar songs and it’s like slipping on a warm cardi. Comfortable, comforting, safe. Wayne Doyle preaches that we are all in it together, and indeed we are. We raise our hands, we sing and chant, we feel all our feels. The main set finishes on one of their standards, ‘Take My Breath Away’, which is a personal favourite of mine, and then they come back out to offer us ‘Heal’, a power ballad that transcends and takes us to a happy place all by itself. Final song ‘These Days’ is a Bon-Jovi style romp (only, on recent video evidence, sung better) but in my head that’s not my main point of comparison for this band. Who else can provide commercial yet powerful rock with hooks and riffs and harmonies galore? Yep. If you want to find the UK’s answer to the Foo Fighters I don’t think you need to look past Scarlet Rebels, they have it all.