Skunk Anansie, Cardiff Great Hall, 04/09/2019

Skunk Anansie, Cardiff Great Hall, 04/09/2019

On the 4th of September, 2019, we were lucky enough to be part of a pretty incredible show with Skunk Anansie in the Cardiff Students Union Great Hall.

Hailed as one of the most influential bands of the modern age of British rock, Skunk Anansie smashed out familiar hits such as 'Hedonism' and alongside their latest single 'What you do for Love'. The sheer power of the band and their performance was conveyed in the most real sense by an excellently deployed stereo hang of 9 L'acoustics KARA, with Lowe end support from 8 SB28 and 2 KS28 reinforcing the infra band.

Formed in the mid-'90s the incredible vocal talent of Skin is teamed perfectly with Martin "Ace" Kent on Guitar, Richard "Cass" Lewis on Bass and Mark Richardson on Drums, who expertly complimented their fierce front-woman in the Great Hall space.

Despite being a massive highlight for Spartan, it mainly meant a lot to our very own Tom, who's first show working as a System Tech/FOH was at the Newport Centre back in 1998 with Skunk Anansie. A lot has changed since then, but the absolute power-house that is Skunk Anansie are clearly as relevant today as they ever were. After all, as Skin has pointed out on social media, it was her and not Stormzy, or Beyonce to be the first black artist to headline Glastonbury Festival.

Ultimately, this show's electric atmosphere culminated in an utterly immersed Skin surfing the energetic mass of a diverse audience who were vibrating to the enrapturing beats.

Clutch, Cardiff University Great Hall, 16/06/19

Clutch, Cardiff University Great Hall, 16/06/19

Three years on, Clutch returned to the stage at The Great Hall, Cardiff University. It seems despite continually touring the globe; the Maryland quartet always finds their way back to Cardiff.

Performing off the back of an extensive set at Download Festival, they did not disappoint, with thunderous kick drums and super high energy; the atmosphere was instantly electric. Support came from our friends in Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, the perfect accompaniment to Clutch's brand of bluesy heavy rock.

We love getting out to shows like this, and practically all of us here at Spartan were thrilled to hear newer songs from their latest album; The book of Bad Decisions, as well as some classics through our very own L'acoustics Kara system, designed and deployed by us, for the hall.

The hall has notoriously been a difficult and at times unpleasant room to mix or enjoy bands in the past, but we've been working hard with all of the crew at the Students Union to reverse that trend over the past few years. Even coverage, much-improved clarity and a more comfortable listening level without a loss of power are now the starting point for any touring show in the space. All this we have achieved without a hint of psychic warfare, real, or otherwise.