Gigs whose setlists bypass the hits and draw solely on songs from specific albums can be offputting for some, but judging by the turnout at The Globe in Cardiff this evening, the Sangui-Tour is proving very popular for goth rockers Creeper. Tonight’s sold-out show sees the Southampton band celebrating their two most recent albums, Sanguivore and Sanguivore II: Mistress Of Death – and Cardiff is here for it, to an almost uncomfortable degree.
As support band The Howling finish their set, any attempts to get refreshment at the bar prove fruitless. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is at fever pitch, and a wall of noise greets Creeper as they tear into Mistress Of Death and Blood Magick (It’s A Ritual) back-to-back. Decked in matching biker jackets and corpsepaint, the band resemble zombie versions of the T-Birds from Grease.
Singer Will Gould, sharing risers with guitarist Ian Miles, leads the band through a set pulled from the two Sanguivores. The almighty singalong ignited by Headstones seems to genuinely take the band aback, and Gould takes a minute to applaud the Welsh crowd.
Keyboard player and second vocalist Hannah Greenwood steps forward occasionally to take on lead vocals, including a fantastically intimidating version of Razor Wire during which she swings a spikey medieval mace. This is followed by a rousing drum solo from drummer Jake Fogarty, before Gould – slicked-back hair now back intact – takes centre stage once again to conduct us through crowd favourites Parasite and Love And Pain. An emotional, dramatic More Than Death takes us into a short break, but the theatrics continue with the nine-minute-plus epic Further Than Forever, before one final bout of crowd participation with the anthemic Cry To Heaven.
Creeper’s Misfits-meets-Sisters Of Mercy musical stylings, along with a penchant for theatrics and an unhealthy interest in vampire lore, appeals to a wide demographic judging by tonight’s audience. But whatever the persuasion, Creeper have impressed Cardiff tonight – and with promises to return soon, it seems that Cardiff has also impressed Creeper.
Creeper + The Howling, The Globe, Cardiff, Tue 14 Apr
words CHRIS ANDREWS photos COAL POET MEDIA
