Sivu, Live at Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff
4th March 2015
The night begun with a mellow acoustic performance by the talented Daniel Glover who blew the relatively small crowd away with his husky vocals that accompanied the melodic tune of his songs. He tells the crowd that he had recently been writing a lot of sad songs, but does not fail to include more upbeat acoustic songs in his excellent set. Shortly after his performance Hannah Grace and her guitarist take the stage with her performance of ‘Starlet Of A Silver Screen’, an absolutely stunning performance to initiate her set. Throughout her set she is able to impress the audience through her powerful vocals that are truly flawless with her ability to hold on to every high note she performs. She is able to show confidence and ease in her vocal abilities due to the versatility that she exhibits vocally throughout the set. She receives a huge round of applause after the finishes her last song of the set even though the room is still not at all very crowded. This was a shame due to the fact that those who had turned up later had missed out on two very excellent acts that are most certainly worth taking note of.
More people however, do pour into the room for the main act SIVU, who had released his debut album Something On High in October last year. He begins his set with a performance of his track ‘Sleep’ and it is easy to notice that he sounds exactly as he does recorded which is extremely impressive. His performance is followed by an introduction to Lucy who plays a variety of instruments throughout the set and even adds her beautiful backing vocals to songs such as ‘God Speaks In Tongues’. SIVU’s set up for the show is relatively simple, only the two of them and some guitars, keys and computerised drum beats that make up for the lack of a drum kit in the venue during the more upbeat songs. James Page, who is SIVU himself, does not lack talent in any form—he shows a range of musical abilities to the crowd during the set and plays the guitar on most songs and keys on songs such as ‘Feel Something’. Throughout the performance, it is evident how laid back and chilled the performance is. The tempo of his songs, prompted fans to sit back, relax and take in the the beauty of the performance as opposed to standing around which is not common at most gigs. Page, also actively engages with the crowd through explaining quite a number of stories behind songs that he performs, such as ‘Cold Hands’ which he explains to be about being with someone for a long time, that you both hate and love them at the same time.
After a good selection of songs, he ends his set with two of his oldest songs, ‘Better Man Than He’ and ‘Family Tree’ which had everyone in the crowd singing along. At the end of the show, SIVU’s performance felt oddly almost like a spiritual experience—like an hour of mediation and reflection, except the laid back atmosphere allowed you to truly appreciate and reflect on the beauty of the show along with everything that was occurring on the stage. Overall an excellent line up and performances to all those on the bill.
