Tuesday 02/06/10 Stereophonics @ Brighton Centre, Brighton

Never has the title of a band’s latest album rung more true than last night when the Stereophonics’ front man, Kelly Jones was forced to ‘Keep Calm & Carry On’ after he forgot the words to one of their most iconic tracks: ‘The Bartender & the Thief'.

“Sorry about the **** up,” he candidly shouted over the mic at the adoring revellers, who appeared to find it as amusing as fellow band members, Adam Zindani (lead guitar) and Richard Jones (bass player) before returning to the start of the second verse.

And I think it was a welcome flaw, which saw Jones momentarily break out from a seamless and somewhat mechanically 90 minute set which included back-to-back hits from the last two decades including: ‘Have A Nice Day’, ‘Just Looking’ and ‘A Thousand Trees’.

There was a definite break for beers, the toilet and a quick fag, when despite the choice of plethora of top ten hits from an impressive seven albums, they insisted on dimming the lights for the melancholy ‘Mr Writer’.

However, die-hard Phonics fans were soon bought back to life when the intro to the eagerly anticipated ‘Local Boy in a Photograph’ rang through the West Sussex venue, prompting vocals from the entire audience.

While the likes of Lady Gaga and Madonna are hailed for their record number of costume changes, Jones will undoubtedly go down in history for his impressive number of guitar swaps. And the sweltering heat and minimal air con at last night’s venue proved no exception, as he played his way through more than ten different guitars including a limited edition Gibson acoustic which looked like in weighed in heavier than the pint-sized rock star himself.

Eighteen years on there is still no doubting the distinctive tones of this band’s front-man, and their safe, reliable melodies, that have come to be synonymous with the Stereophonics live on. I think it’s fair to say, what the band lack in energy and charisma on stage is, as always, over-ruled by their ability to collectively pen some of the best lyrics of our time and their raw musical talent.
 
Their polished performances and consistent failure to disappoint will no doubt continue to see them fill arena like the O2 and Wembley for another 18 years to come. However, the fact they still choose to play venues as small and intimate as the Brighton Centre ensures they keep close to their die-hard fans, and remain the humble Welsh band that made good.