Words and photos by Ashley Thieme
Although The Aces have previously undertaken their own headline UK tours, this was their first time performing for a Welsh audience. Originally The Blue Aces ÔÇô releasing a few extended play releases under that name since 2012 ÔÇô the band have been playing shows as The Aces since changing their name in 2016. Hailing from Utah, United States, the alternative pop band who identify themselves as queer are made up of two sisters Cristal Ramirez on lead vocals and Alisa Ramirez on drums, and hometown friends McKenna Petty on bass and Katie Henderson on lead guitar and backing vocals. The band released their first studio album When My Heart Felt Volcanic in 2018 and their second album Under My Influence in 2020 and we were lucky enough to hear songs from both albums along with a new release from June of this year.
Although The Aces were supporting The Vamps on their Greatest Hits Tour for their 10 year anniversary, they managed to make it feel like you were at their own show and filled Cardiff International Arena with a high energy performance that made the standing crowd in the ÔÇÿWow PitÔÇÖ jump and dance along with every song and had the seated audience moving their feet too which can be hard to do as an opener. Henry Moodie opened up the show before The Aces with two original songs and a cover of Taylor SwiftÔÇÖs Blank Space which the audience loved because as he said, ÔÇ£who isnÔÇÖt a Swiftie in 2022?ÔÇØ. This was his first time touring as a solo artist which comes with its own pressure but he really knew how to work a crowd.
The Aces took the stage soon after with a five-song set which honestly wasnÔÇÖt enough, I could have watched them for their own headline show. Opening with Girls Make Me Wanna Die, everyone that had left their seats to grab drinks soon rushed back to this up-tempo anthem. The song is a new release from the band this year, and despite this they were completely familiar with the song as if it had been in their repertoire for years. As this song went on and the audience became familiar with their sound, the high energy from Cristal came through as she moved around the stage and down the walkway in the centre which parted the pit to interact with the audience. Bassist McKenna moved to the right of the stage to watch a fan in the pit jump to the beat of the song, which was evidently her favourite.
Volcanic Love, a much more mellow song from their first studio album came next. The band were settling into their own, and the red lighting lit up the walls of the arena, encompassing the wholesome nature of the message within this song about a passionate love that is of course, volcanic. Introductions came next from Cristal as the audience welcomed each band member with screams and cheers. This acted as the perfect segue into a section of audience interaction for My Phone is Trying to Kill Me, a song about the need to check your phone screen every few seconds when youÔÇÖre missing someone from their second studio album. As an audience we had to sing the line ÔÇ£my phone is trying to kill meÔÇØ during the chorus. During this song Cristal bounced along the walkway of the stage as far as the lead of her microphone would let her travel, getting as close to the audience as possible.
Daydream, also from their second album, came next and this one was my favourite. We got a good look at Cristal as a front woman, with dancing and interaction with bassist McKenna, her stage presence could be likened to that of Hayley Williams of Paramore ÔÇô which is a bold claim. Vocally, the performance was perfect with not a note out of place, sounding exactly like their studio vocals. Their set ended with Stuck and ending on a song from their first album made it feel like we were going on a full circle journey with them. Ending on such a fast-paced song with a strong drumbeat got the crowd ready for The Vamps.
The Vamps (who never disappoint) put on a brilliant show with flashbacks from their career in between. When The Vamps came on, the crowd was still on a high from The AceÔÇÖs set. The Aces have got to be one of the best support acts IÔÇÖve seen, between the crowd interaction, high energy, and each induvial memberÔÇÖs personality coming through in the performance, the crowd felt comfortable enough with them to really let loose. It felt like I was watching one of their own shows and canÔÇÖt wait to see them in the future!
