The Hoosiers Live
WORDS: Tom Williams (Youth Editorial Group)
After interviewing The Hoosiers before their tour came to Cardiff, the day finally came to see them live on Wed 22 Oct in the CIA.
I am truly a fan for life after the concert, and I got blown away but just how far they exceeded expectations on every front. I would recommend their next visit to anyone. It was a long wait between the support bands and them, but all was forgotten within seconds when the veil was lifted and The Hoosiers came into view. They entered on The Trick To Life, the name of their current album and tour; and the house came alive. All the screaming you see on the television when the band comes on was amplified a hundred times in the CIA.?
I went in wondering whether their voices would be as good as their recorded versions or dangerously worse, but I can say they were not just as good as the recordings, but positively better. The sign of a true artist is if they can bring a recorded performance?to a live stage, and?The Hoosiers have perfected this. I challenge them to bring out a live CD so everyone can experience it. I know I certainly didn’t make some of the higher notes in the songs, but Irwin Sparkes, the lead singer, hit every one of them with ease.
The set was superb; the backing instrumentalists were dressed just brilliantly in some sort of space suit, which added so much to the fun that The Hoosiers bring with them; and the guitars were really classy ? particularly Irwin’s glittery silver one.
The?arena was about 80% full, which didn’t do the band justice. If people could have had some way of knowing how good they would be, then I am sure it could have sold out easily. The seats at the very back were practically full, but if more had been in the 'bowl' towards the stage, the atmosphere would have been better. Not everyone did the songs fair?by jumping up and down and getting as involved as they should have, but there were large patches of the crowd that did. We all know what it’s like when the people around you don’t get involved: it discourages you and others from doing so because you feel silly, which is bad for the atmosphere. Unfortunately there was a bit of this too. The band though was really good in getting the audience going, and when they beckoned, almost everyone responded.
The band played?two new songs, and the second one was particularly good. The moment it got going it just seemed to have the makings of a good song ? I reckon it will be a huge hit when it’s released, and it certainly got the crowd going at the concert. Considering they have only?one album, they were on stage for a really good length of time. Overall they played a good mix and they played a couple of classics, which the audience loved. It was a fancy dress concert along the theme of what we'll be when we’re grown up, and there was an interesting mix of builders, surfers, gorillas and?giraffes.
The ending was brilliant. They pretended they had already finished and walked off, which didn’t fool anyone, as we all knew that?their biggest hit?hadn’t even been played. It set the scene for an explosive ending and built huge anticipation. They ran back on and Goodbye Mr A blared out. It was the perfect ending ? the whole crowd bounced and sang as one. There were phones out and cameras going everywhere, as they had been the whole time, but everyone wanted to catch this. We all chanted the lyrics throughout the song, all the way through the merchandise stalls and all the way home!
The Support Bands:
The first was quite a slow and thought-provoking band; the second called Absent Elk, was truly nuts: very fast-paced and truly immense. They are releasing their first single at the start of 2009 ? look out for that name!
Links:
My interview with Martin from the Hoosiers for the Sprout
www.thehoosiers.com
