It is a reasonably mild Sunday evening in the capital tonight where Maisie Peters is headlining Tramshed. Main support Cate Canning, who “writes about her friends” – and also happens to be Peters’ housemate – comes across as very much one to watch, particularly on the body positivity ballad Can’t Wait To Be Pretty.
The lights go low, One Direction’s Best Song Ever blasts, strobes go crazy, Maisie’s band takes the stage and a pre-recorded spoken word intro invites the crowd to be as “unhinged as possible” before Peters herself appears and bounds straight into her belter of a recent single Body Better. “Good evening Cardiff! I’m very happy to be here!” Maisie says. “I’ve been on tour for a long time… will you be the loudest?” We’ll forgive her for flubbing the city name on stage and brushing it off by encouraging boos from the crowd (“that’s the only time you’re allowed to boo tonight”).
Peters’ charisma as a performer is undeniable as she bounds around the stage when not behind her guitar – it’s as if she hits every ‘performance 101’ checkmark while winding through the likes of Love Him I Don’t and Elvis Song. She even talks about how the last time she was in Cardiff (supporting Ed Sheeran at the Principality Stadium last year), it was her birthday and that she somehow got a concussion. “I hope tonight is going to be better…”
Canning returns to the stage for a great performance of Cate’s Brother before disappearing again, as a finely tuned pop show continues. The Taylor Swift vibes are undeniable in her lyricism and music, so much so that it feels almost tongue in cheek when at the end of some songs that are “so sad and so traumatising” she covers a snippet of Swift’s Dear John.
The thing is, even if you’re not a fan of Maisie Peters’ music (and there are a lot of dads in the crowd this evening), you cannot deny her infectious joy on stage, particularly during the likes of John Hughes Movie and Lost The Breakup which finish the main set. Returning for an encore of just Blonde, it’s no surprise with her energy that Maisie’s fans are already so dedicated, ahead of her second album The Good Witch arriving in June.
Maisie Peters, Tramshed, Cardiff, Sun 23 Apr
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS photos ANTHONY CONWAY