Cerys Matthews

Since Catatonia’s heyday, Cerys Matthews has been through rehab, moved to Nashville, got married and had two children. There were times when she disappeared from view favouring anonymity to when she was plastered across the tabloids during the Britpop years.

The new millennium saw Cerys return to the studio and release critically acclaimed debut solo album 'Cockahoop’. Now, three years later she has once again she’s been drawn to create and has returned with her latest offering 'Never Said Goodbye'.

Following a summer of live dates across the UK Cerys has come home to where it began. On the banks of the Menai Straits a sell-out crowd gathered at the Galeri to watch the first night of her Welsh tour. Once the crowd were seated a demure figure came to the stage and took up a guitar. Welsh language artist Alun Tan Lan launched into beautifully structured songs sung entirely in Welsh, and those who didn’t speak the language could see that he is one talented artist. He switched between guitars for tracks like 'Tywod’ and 'Eira’, and was soon joined on stage by members of the band who accompanied him with guitar and melodica.

A stunning looking Cerys emerged without a formal introduction to join Alun and sing backing vocals. She was greeted with a muted cheer from the audience because without warning the band broke into one of her latest singles 'Elen’ and the cheer grew louder. It was a refreshing not to have any egos on stage and a real sense of fun amongst all playing there part. Being the first night of the tour there were mistakes, but each one was laughed off and added a roughness and spontaneity to the evening.

Cerys addressed the crowd in Welsh and English, sometimes beginning a sentence in one language and finishing it in the other. The songs were also bilingual as new and old songs were played side by side. We were fed delicious treats like her newest offerings including the bouncy 'Open Road’, as well as Cockahoop’s 'Only a Fool’, 'Arglwydd Dyma Fi’ and the popular 'Chardonnay’.

My personal highlight was a magical rendition the traditional Welsh language song 'Lisa Lan’ (as featured in the film Crash). Cerys has a voice which conveys emotion and can take you from exultation to despair in a moment and it was perfectly demonstrated in this song. There was something for the Catatonia fans too when Cerys intertwined the Irish ballad 'The Galway Shawl’ and the favourite 'Strange Glue’.

Experimentation was the underlining theme of the evening and because of it I experienced one of the best live performances I have been to in a long time. It really was a night with something for everyone. As the last few notes rang out the applause roared through the building and everyone made for home with a skip in their stride and a smile.