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Gig Review: Razorlight at Cardiff International Arena - Oct 28
review
The music scene is besieged with bands clamouring to join the indie-rock trend that has gripped the nation’s ears. It’s easy for these new bands to blur into each other, with similar thrashy guitar sounds, heady lyrics and bounce along beats.
Thankfully, there are a few bands out there that set themselves apart from the rest. And Razorlight is one such example. It would be fair to say that they are one of the bands ‘of the moment’.
Currently touring the UK and visiting a handful of venues, they are doing what indie bands tend to do best – performing live in front of their somewhat alcohol intoxicated fans.
By the time Razorlight appeared onstage in Cardiff, their awaiting audience were a borderline boisterous bunch. Well, as lively as is possible for an indoor gig with pretty lights, intricate balconies and a cosy air temperature. Not exactly the setting you would expect Razorlight to grace with their presence.
Yet here they were on a spacious stage decorated with a trail of white lights looped around the speakers, complete with an expansive curtain draped behind them which soon fell to the floor. Front man Johnny Borrell was wearing a white top and tight fitted white trousers; his guitar securely strapped across his chest.
Opening with ‘In the Morning’, taken from their latest album, his blunt distinctive vocals lured the crowd in towards the stage.
Performing ‘Vice’ and ‘Rip it Up’ from their 2004 debut album release, ‘Up All Night’, they pulled the strands of this together with tracks from their latest self-titled offering.
Interaction with the crowd was in short supply, but this didn’t seem to matter. Their performance was engaging, sparky and got the crowd going.
‘Golden Touch’, a popular sing-along-song with the audience, was accompanied with fiery red and glowing orange lights that illuminated the band throughout the duration of the track. This contrasted with the subdued blue beams that cascaded onto the stage and up into the rafters of the arena during ‘America’, their recent UK number one hit.
One fan described Johnny as a ‘charismatic front man’ - one reason as to why the band ‘works’ and has attracted a dedicated legion of fans. He certainly owned the stage throughout the concert with his wide eyes fixed straight ahead as he strummed on his guitar.
Undoubtedly to the delight of many a female fan, Johnny later removed his top, with his ruffled hair hanging round his face as he paraded across the stage, stepping up onto a speaker in a rockeresque pose and singing whole heartedly into his microphone.
Whilst beads of sweat rolled over Johnny’s body, band member Andy Burrows sat behind his glittering blue drum kit looking slightly more chilled, with his hair blowing about in a wind swept manner.
And just to be a little bit different, the band strayed from normal concert etiquette and had two encores. Finishing the first with ‘Stumble and Fall’ and then returning onstage to finish the show with ‘Somewhere Else’ - this tune was a definite crowd pleaser judging from the swathes of arms in the air.
Razorlight gave an electrifying performance – showcasing their catchy lyrics and distinctive sound to an eager audience. But I couldn’t help but think that to fully appreciate the band’s stage aura - a less conservative venue would be a more apt setting. But for any fan, old or new, the concert was brilliant nonetheless.
