KODALINE | LIVE REVIEW
Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Thurs 3 Dec
It’s been a whirlwind few years for the Kodaline guys: sold out shows, bestselling albums and ever-growing festival favourites, and by the looks on the face of lead vocalist Steve Garrigan tonight, I’m not quite sure if the band can comprehend how far they’ve come in the last four or so years.
The Great Hall is another sell-out in what is a 90% sold out UK tour spreading across December, and a big bulk of that crowd arrive in time to catch impressive support acts The Beach and Seafret – who are back in Cardiff after taking part in last month’s Sŵn Festival. Some confident presence and impressive acoustic sounds on show early on.
A little after 9pm, the boys from the Emerald Isle take to the stage and fire through opening hits Ready, Way Back When and One. Not at all taking away from their recording sound; it’s great. But they sound even better again live and in the flesh. The amazing High Hopes and Brand New Day keep the crowd singing along, while Love Like This and All Comes Down sound beautiful. The stunning Love Will Set You Free brings the main set to an end, and the four-piece take a well-earned five minutes.
Screams and chants from the dead keen crowd coax the Dubliners back on stage for a deserved encore: crowd participation galore for Everything Works Out In The End, before a medley of Big Bad World, Talk, and Gogglebox theme Perfect World. Closing anthem All I Want sends a packed house home with their money’s worth and more.
A flawless gig from a hard working, deserving band. Hard to believe it’s Kodaline’s first gig in Cardiff, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be their last. As nice as it is to see and hear a band in a small, intimate venue, you can’t help but feel that these guys are on the verge of filling arenas – and so they should. If you have a ticket for this tour, make the most of it; Kodaline are going from strength to strength.
words OWEN SCOURFIELD