Funeral For A Friend
Solus, Cardiff University Students Union, Cardiff
22 July 2010
Surrounded by sweaty, long haired guys and girls with Bridgend's finest emo-rockers creating a multi-sensory musical atmosphere, I felt slightly like I'd entered the twilight zone. This is because last time I was in there was 7 years ago, and was likely to have been at Drink The Bar Dry - eleven solid hours of drinking accompanied by my amazing uni friends and hundreds of other randoms to a cheesy mix of seventies, eighties and nineties classics. So to say it was odd to be in Solus (which literally hasn't changed one bit), with someone who I didn't go to uni with to see a metal band is a gross understatement.
The night was one of two special gigs put on to say farewell to their fantastically talented guitarist, Darran Smith who was leaving the band after nine years. 'Shuffle' buttons on things like ipod's bug me because I'm a big believer in listening to a complete album as it's been made as a piece of musical art for a reason. This gig didn't use a shuffle button on their greatest hits, but instead played the whole of Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation, followed by an encore of other classics.
Casually Dressed is my favourite FFAF album, and on the shortlist for my favourite ever album, and hearing it played loud in it's complete state was awesome. I've not had the luck to see FFAF before, but I imagine they always play with tenacity and a huge sense of passion: they certainly did this time. They were alive, and the crowd responded, mirroring the passion and the shared revelry for the soon-to-depart Darran.
The night was a reminder that albums don't have to include those typical 'album filler' tracks - they can be created completely of single quality songs, it just takes time and talent. Each song was fantastic, there wasn't one moment when I thought it was a track they should have skipped.
It was a magical night: having the opportunity to hear live one of my most beloved albums was an incredible experience. Thank you Darran Smith, for being part of a band that left bruises round my heart, and left me begging for more.
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