Kids in Glass Houses is a five piece Welsh which formed in South Wales in the same fertile scene that also produced the likes of Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend and myriad others, Kids In Glass Houses rapidly rose to prominence after being championed by their peers as talented newcomers. 

Musicmuso were invited along to cover their 'Farewell Tour' at the Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre, here's how the evening unfolded.....

Newport based pop punk 5 piece Save Your Breath were fortunate enough to be selected by KIGH to join them on their ‘Farewell Tour’, we stood side of stage and watched them take to the stage and warm the crowd, ready for the main event. Consisting of the standard five piece (2 guitars, 1 bass, 1 vocalist and drums) these guys were on a mission to have a great time whilst entertaining the crowd at the same time, many of their tracks involved a lot of jumping about and waving arms in the air, the crowd lapped this up and were soon at the beck and call of uber tattooed frontman Kristian.

They slowed the pace and knocked out a ‘slow one’ that involved the crowd holding aloft their phones and swaying in unison, guaranteed to drain batteries faster than Billy Whizz speeding home with the latest copy of The Beano!

Looking at the front row, it consisted largely of females from the 14-18 age range, whilst they didn’t know many of the words, they happily jumped about in the right places and screamed themselves silly at the end of each song.

Towards the end of the set, there was some real energy coming from the crowd, the band caught wind of this and really went for it, giving the audience a performance they wouldn’t forget in a long time.

All in all, Save Your Breath is five young guys from Wales, doing what they love to do in a way that keeps everyone on their toes. From the dross that is pumped into our subconscious by the likes of ‘X-Factor’ and ‘B.G.T.’ these guys are a breath of fresh air, talented people up on stage, playing their own instruments, singing their own songs instead of a bunch of manufactured puppets held together by Simon Cowell’s production company being told what to do/say/wear at all times.

You could pass Save Your Breath off as ‘another bunch of tattooed pop punksters with coiffured quiffs and tight trousers’, then again, you could get your ass off the couch and go see them on tour with KIGH, you’ll be glad you made the effort!

Setlist

Maps

Whole

Fake It

DLMD

W O I Y

Skin & Bones

Touchpaper

Stay Young

Harrow Road

NWHCE

A 30 minute interval came and went, roadies frantically packed up gear and we managed to grab Kristian and Tom from Save Your breath and asked them a few questions (you can see the interview HERE)

The young ladies of the front row went and re-applied their makeup ready for KIGH, we snuck back into the auditorium and took our places, the lights dropped and some moody atmospheric music piped up. On came the band, followed by a leather jacket wearing Aled who clearly got the largest scream of the night! They burst straight into ‘Artbreaker’ which had the audience leaping about and mirroring Aled’s vocals word for word. ‘Me Me Me’ sent the crowd into another frenzy, much jumping about ensued causing the resident security guard ‘Dave’ to get worried about the front row getting crushed! Aled was working the room like a true professional, leaning over the stage, goading the audience into a chanting competition, left vs right (it was hard to tell who won….)

‘Undercover Lover’ started with a more laid back feel but built, slowly but surely into a fist pumping crescendo that exploded into life, the crowd singing back at the band with real passion, forgive me if I am wrong but I’m sure Aled slipped in an impromptu chorus from Lionel Richie’s ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’ which bemused the older folk, the teenies probably never even realised!

Track 10 (which I think was called ‘Animals’) was a much heavier rock affair, gone were the hands in the air moments, replaced with a raw rock guitar riff which really showcased the band’s talent. ‘Diamond Days started with an expertly played muted guitar line which again built into an orgy sized sing-a-long that appears to be KIGH’s trademark, nothing worng with that I hear you say and yes, I agree, it had the crowd eating out of their hands all night long!

It was getting very warm in the auditorium, Aled had since shed his leather jacket and I guess the front row were hoping for more clothes to be discarded as the lights beat down on their bodies, sadly they remained clothed for the duration of the show. Aled showed no sign of slowing down at all, he was spinning around the stage like a whirling dervish, like a possessed soul being exorcised by a priest, looking like any minute he would go crashing into the drums and bring the whole stage down around him, I salute his fitness levels, I was worn out stood at the side of the stage!

The band disappeared from the stage leaving Aled alone with a stool and an acoustic guitar, he admitted he was ‘knackered’ and went on to thank the crowd for coming out on a Monday night to see them on what was the second date of their final tour, certainly the last time anyone would ever see them in Exeter!  He then proceeded to play a lovely stripped down version of ‘Raise Hell’ which went down so well, everyone singing along and focussing on Aled, watching the front row, it took me back to when I was a teenager, standing at the barrier, wondering what life must be like as a touring rock star…..Aled ended the track by giving an entire verse to the audience who sang it back at him faultlessly.

It was during the encore that I saw my first crowdsurfer in a long long time at the Phoenix, Dave the trusty security guard was soon stood at the barrier helping her down to her feet, it wasn’t like that in my day, you would be unceremoniously dumped over the barrier and moved swiftly along by the tired looking security team who looked all pissed off as you had made them do some work, bloody Health and Safety eh?

After ‘Saturday’, Aled made a very emotional speech about how the last 8 years of his life with the band had been the best ever and how he would really miss the fans, for a second, I thought I saw a tear but he was adamant NOT to turn on the waterworks, something that he would no doubt be saving for their last ever performance in Cardiff on October 31st!

They ripped into ‘Matter at All’ which was THE track that the crowd had been waiting for, I’m sure that if you had stood outside the venue, you would have heard it being sung from all 4 corners of the auditorium. Aled was getting nearer the barrier during the track and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him launch himself into the crowd, luckily (and for the sanity of the very thorough security guard) this didn’t happen.

And then, as if by magic, it was over. 8 years, 4 albums, god knows how many singles and millions of happy fans, they gave a final wave to the fans and exited the stage.

There’s something about a band who achieve this level of success, have the fans eating out of their hands and manage to put on a brilliant live show that will be remembered by fans long after the band have gone their separate ways, which was a topic I quizzed Aled on after the show, click HERE to read the interview I did with him backstage a few minutes after he had got his breath back!

Setlist

Artbreaker

Me Me Me

Best is Yet to Come

Undercover Lover

Set My Body Free

Drive

Fisticuffs

Easy Tiger

Dance

Animals

Diamond Days

Sunshine

Raise Hell

Morning Afterlife

Hunt the Haunted

Artbreaker2

Peace

Young Blood

Saturday

Matters At All