The Story So Far, The American Scene, Gnarwolves @ Clwb Ifor Bach

This was The Story So Far’s third appearance in Cardiff, it is clear that they have made an impact on Wales as this Clwb Ifor Bach sold out prior to the event.

In support were California’s indie rockers The American Scene and UK’s rising pop punkers Gnarwolves.

Gnarwolves kicked the night off around 8pm with their own aggressive take on the genre of pop punk. They played a varied set with songs from their EP’s Fun Club and CRU as well as including three new songs. They received a very positive response from the crowd throughout who sang along to their songs and took a shine to Gnarwolves unique sound. They provided a perfect opening to the gig and successfully warmed up the crowd for the other acts to follow.

Unfortunately, The American Scene received a very different response from the crowd. The American Scene’s sound was refreshing but felt somewhat out of place between two bands with an aggressive and in your face sound. Their set consisted mostly of tracks from their Safe For Now LP. I personally enjoy their music on record, but live their songs lacked the energy that was needed for a pop punk show. The band were consistent throughout their performance, but I feel it wasn't the right show for them to be performing at, they would be much better suited supporting acts such as Into It. Over It. or Hostage Calm.

The Story So Far have been complimented for their live performances, tonight is no different. Their setlist was a perfect mix of songs from both LP’s and with the addition of 680 South the crowd definitely had a night to remember. Every song sparked a frenzy in the crowd, constant crowd surfing and stage diving certainly made it a an active set for all fans, it may have gotten out of hand when a dude received an unfortunate injury while attempting to get on stage; this did give everyone time to get their breath back before the onslaught of crowd activity continued. The tracks from their recently released album ‘What You Don’t See’ went down very well and the crowd were very familiar with the new album, ‘Empty Space’ was a particular favourite of the night for my personally. The set concluded with ‘Quicksand’ which sent nearly every single person into delirium which it so often does in The Story So Far shows. It provided an excellent ending to a very fun show.