Waxahatchee @ The Angel Hotel
The final day and the hour arrived for our final gig of the festival; I'm glad to say it was an absolute corker. Actually the signs weren't good beforehand - an odd line-up quirk put a gap between the sets of Swearin' and Waxahatchee, to see the two sister's bands back to back would have been superb, instead the room emptied out for Sivu - a Keane-style indie band with little to offer. Those assembled were on a high from Swearin's set and just wanted more of the same.
Luckily, even though it felt for a time like Waxahatchee's set might wind up being a damp squib, the room quickly refilled while her and her band were setting up and the atmosphere took a turn for the better again. Starting with some quieter tracks - just Katie and guitar she immediately captivated the audience with her fantastic voice and when the band joined in, those scuzzy, grungy guitars giving a 90s feel, the sound was fantastic - moody and intoxicating, just what we'd all been waiting to hear.
The only slight gripe with the set was not Katie's making - a shameful amount of talking at times from the crowd threatened to ruin the atmosphere on the more minimal tunes, luckily someone shushed them into silence towards the end so we could properly sink into the music. This was a rare and brilliant opportunity to see both Waxahatchee and Swearin' in Cardiff, and from the rapturous applause at the end it seems like most agreed. Hopefully Wales will now be on their regular tour schedule as we're already dying to have them back.