Anticipating The Lightning Seeds’ return to Cardiff after what feels like a lifetime, the Tramshed was filled to capacity with fans of the 80s rock band. Kicking off the night was a delightfully calming set from indie musician Badly Drawn Boy, creating a chill vibe throughout the entire venue. He was alone onstage but his gorgeous voice filled the room and was a great choice of artist to start the evening with.
Upon entering the stage, The Lightning Seeds’ frontman Ian Broudie exclaimed ‘we’re The Lightning Seeds and we’re from Liverpool!’, immediately asserting their Scouse pride to the Cardiff crowd. Their setlist, according to Broudie, was a mix of old and new songs, meaning there was something for everyone that night. This tour celebrates the release of their latest album, See You in the Stars, but they split the focus on promoting their new releases and honouring old favourites. Although most of the crowd were there to listen to their older stuff, everyone still appreciated their new tracks.
Change and Lucky You were incredibly popular, with the crowd singing every lyric like it was their last day on earth. The band introduced See You in the Stars to the audience by performing Great to Be Alive, one of the singles from the new release. The optimistic nature of the track mirrored the tranquility of Badly Drawn Boy’s set, and it seemed that the album in its entirety celebrates the simplicity of life.
Some elements of the set were rather unique: the band performed a couple of covers, including Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric, which the crowd loved. Their hugely popular track You Showed Me is when The Lightning Seeds really came alive; their energy was electric and they clearly had fun onstage. During this song, Broudie broke into a short rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, which I did find slightly confusing but it was well received by the audience so it was a good decision on Broudie’s part. The lights were going wild, as were the crowd, and the band members shone.
They concluded their set with their new single Emily Smiles and beloved track Sugar Coated Iceberg. There was one question on everyone’s minds: were they going to play Three Lions in a Welsh venue just before the World Cup? The encore started with an acoustic singalong of Be My Baby by The Ronettes, and the night came to a close with an extended rendition of Marvellous. Considering the band were previously unfamiliar to me, I had a really good time and it seemed the rest of the attenders did too (and I think it was a wise decision to not play Three Lions!).
