Mike & The Mechanics Live In Cardiff. Review by Ceri Pascoe. Photographs by Lee Millward.

So, the Mechanics make it back to Cardiff at last! Last time they played here back in 1996 I wasn’t old enough to know who they were let alone go to the gig! The band appeared on stage and got things under way with a brilliant version of A Beggar On A Beach of Gold with new boy Tim Howar really belting out this marvellous Mechanics classic. This was followed by Get Up which sadly didn’t have the desired effect with the audience but it was only the second song of the night but Tim didn’t let that put him off as he really put 100% into his performance. Mike looked confident and relaxed, even smiling occasionally so things must’ve been ok.

Try To Save was next and here we got to hear Andrew Roachford for the first time and what an excellent singer he is, too! The contrast between his style and Tim’s really worked well throughout the evening.

It appears that the band had changed things around a little bit this year if the reviews in earlier issues of TWR are anything to go by and so the inclusion of Throwing It All Away took most of the audience by surprise but it got a great reception from the crowd as did the first of the evening’s Roachford songs, This Generation, a lovely soulful tune that everyone seemed to enjoy.

The title track to the band’s latest album came next and definitely sounded much more confident live than it had on record. The pairing of A Time And Place and Everybody Gets A Second Chance gave everyone a chance to get their breath back before the band upped the tempo with a brilliant version of Silent Running and a raucous Cuddly Toy.

The rest of the set managed to bring Genesis and Mechanics classics together as we got Follow You Follow Me, I Can’t Dance, Living Years and All I Need Is A Miracle it simply doesn’t get any better than this or so I thought but as usual, the band had saved the best ‘til last as they returned to the stage for the encores which were Over My Shoulder and Word Of Mouth both of which got the full Cardiff treatment as the crowd went nuts and ensured that everyone went home happy. Thanks very much for a smashing night.

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