A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
GIG REVIEW: We Are Scientists @ Market Hall Caernarfon
A DECADE ago, We Are Scientists were quite literally everywhere.
Their songs were always on MTV, they were playing the main stages at some of the UK’s biggest festivals and you couldn’t step into a student union without seeing Indie kids dancing to their tunes.
So it was with great delight that I discovered a few weeks ago that the US rockers, who shot to fame with their album With Love and Squalor in 2015, were playing this little venue in my hometown of Caernarfon.
The gig was the brainchild of superfan Jack Peyton, who had staked his life savings on putting on the show - a move which the group themselves said required “a lot of moxie”.
Thanks to my local bus service’s cavalier attitude to timekeeping, I arrived late at the venue, missing support act CRY’s opening set entirely.
The talk around the bar made me wish I’d dug out my roller skates from the shed to make it there on time.
The alternative rockers’ “amazing” set had obviously won them a few fans in the crowd.
Next on the bill were local lads I Fight Lions, who have been described as the “shining lights” of the North Wales circuit.
And boy did they live up to their reputation.
With a set packed with killer riffs and driving rhythms, they warmed-up the crowd nicely warmed up for the main act.
We Are Scientists took to the stage with an energy and enthusiasm that had to be seen to be believed.
After greeting the crowd by jokingly referencing that famous use of the ‘C’ word, they stormed through firm favourites such as ‘It’s a hit’ and ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’ with the vim and vigour of a band headlining Glastonbury.
Numbers such as ‘After Hours’ and ‘Great Escape’ elicited a rapturous applause from the crowd as the Californian trio showed off an impressive back catalogue.
Lead singer Keith Murray even vaulted right into the middle of the crowd for ‘Textbook’, singing much of the track while precariously balanced on the shoulder of an enthusiastic punter.
A solid set and a thrilling performance from a band still with a lot to offer.
However, the real hero of the night had to be Jack Peyton, the man who brought a slice of the international music scene to Caernarfon.
Hopefully he can use this event as a platform to bigger and better things, or perhaps his actions can inspire others to do similar.
Either way, this was a night that will live long in the memory of the town’s music-loving fraternity.