Stereophonics – Commodore Ballroom – October 6, 2013
Stereophonics returned to the Commodore Ballroom for their first time since they played the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Touring in support of their spring 2013 release, “Graffiti On The Train” this is the first tour with new drummer Jamie Morrison, who did a commendable job replacing original drummer Stuart Cable and his replacement Javier Weyler.
From start to finish, the Welsh quartet of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani and Morrison keep the sold out room alive with songs from throughout their 16 year history. Hearing one of their earliest singles, “A Thousand Trees” sung along to by the 1000 fans in attendance was an epic start of how the night would evolve. New tracks, “Graffiti On The Train”, “Violins & Tambourines” and “Indian Summer” fit in nicely with their classic tunes like; “Have A Nice Day”, “Mr Writer”, “Vegas Two Times”, “Maybe Tomorrow” and “Local Boy In A Photograph”. As with all Stereophonics gigs, the audience was enraptured with the show and hung on every note, dancing and singing their hearts out.
Excitement seemed to have gotten the better of a few of the fans as one girl vomited in the front row and another passed out. While the band may present the uber-rockstar swagger, they are actually quite nice, stopping the show to make sure they were alright. Similarly, I recall meeting them once and they were most concerned with making sure my friend and I got home alright in the snow.
Over the course of the nearly 2 hour show the Commodore’s famed sprung dance-floor got a work out, especially during the encore’s “Bartender & The Thief” and “Dakota”, as the audience wanted the night to never end.
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