Recently, I was invited to join the team putting together the Freenode Podcast – Free as in Node as one of the guest presenters. It’s been an interesting departure for me, as I usually prefer working behind the scenes. Those who know me won’t be surprised to find me reciting a bad joke at the end of the two episodes we’ve recorded so far.

During an idle afternoon on the web, I began clicking through the Twitter pages of people I follow for anything particularly interesting. One of the things that grabbed my attention was the Welsh music tweeters. I’ll confess at this stage that I’ve been horribly out of touch with the whole thing since I left Bethel for Aberystwyth. I’d had passing contact through various friends whilst at Aberystwyth (as well as the rather fabulous Castell Rock festival). I resolved to try and catch a few more live music events.

With that in mind, I ventured out last night to see The Mams play live at The Telfords Warehouse in Chester. The band, a 4 piece music combo from Llanelli in South Wales, had quite a decent mix of tracks on their MySpace page, which meant I felt slightly less of a prat going there on my own.

The set seemed to start a little quieter than I’d expected, which I think explains the rather muted response from the crowd. It did however build up quite quickly, getting on to tracks such “Respect your Elders”, “I’m not a work in progress” and “Never say never but no”. The tunes seemed to get a bit more anthemic, which drew in a few more people onto the dancefloor. The encore “No Fun Anymore” was a fine finish to a very good set. Definitely one to see live if you get the chance, had quite bit of an 80s feel, quite lively and certainly a lot of fun to watch.

The Mams – Telfords Warehouse 28th March 2009 – Set List:

1. Better Opening
2. I was fine until I met myself
3. A Bridge (in Betws y Coed)
4. You’re no fun anymore
5. I’m not a work in progress
6. Never say never but no
7. Respect your Elders
8. Neighbourhood Watch

Encore:

1. No Fun Anymore

Adam Walton (BBC Wales) wrote a rather more comprehensive review on his personal blog – Wham Bammed by The Mams.

Bryn