No Direction @ The Wig & Pen Swansea

On a rainy Saturday night I went along to the Wig & Pen in Swansea to see a band perform called ‘No Direction’.

I knew very little about this band and wasn't sure what to expect so I eagerly looked at their “About” section on their Facebook page and found only “No Direction are a Swansea based 4 piece covers band with a set list to suit any venue or occasion”. Besides that woeful insight I did a little more searching and my expectation was a rock band playing cover versions of hit music.

 On the evening there was a mixed crowd of people of varied age, from as young as 18 to couple of patrons in their mid 70's.

 

After a quick sound-check, the gig commenced at 9:15 rather than the advertised 9pm, after the band arrived somewhat drenched from the torrential showers of the evening. 

No Direction performing Buffalo Springfield For What It's Worth

No Direction performing The Foo Fighters hit Talk About It

They started with a full sound-check song and then snowballed into the rest of the set. Singing hit after hit with their unique rock styling, No Direction filled the place with some up- beat classics like a great version of ‘Purple Rain’ that got all listening into the mood for more.

No Direction performing The Lightning Seeds hit Pure

No Direction performing Chris Isaak's hit Wicked Game

Some of the songs performed that evening included;

Lightning Seeds – Pure

David Bowie – Heroes

Pink – Who Knew

Steve Earle – Galway Girl

Bob Marley – Don’t Worry

Oasis – Some Might Say

George Ezra – Shotgun

Elvis -Burning love

The Beatles – Twist & Shout

No Direction performing Pinks hit - Who Knew

What I really liked about this band’s set was the occasional addition of a trumpet to add a unique twist to the sound. I was also particularly impressed, by the band’s backing singer taking on a couple of guitar solos, appearing to play difficult pieces of music with ease.

No Direction performing Bad Finger's Baby Blue

 Even when people in attendance seemed somewhat unenthusiastic at times, No Direction didn't let this bother them, persevering to do everything they could to put on a great show.   

No Direction performing Prince's Purple Rain

No Direction performing George Ezra's hit Shotgun

All in all I have to say taken the risk to go and see a band I knew very little about was undoubtedly the best decision I've made. No Direction did a fantastic set that I'm sure most would approve of. They have a great ability of taking a song that isn't a rock genre song, adapting it, making it sound like a classic rock song.

I would recommend anyone who wants to ensure they have a good evening watching a great band perform some bit hits, they should definitely seek out the next No Direction performance.
If you want more information about No Direction or about future gigs at The Wig & Pen, see there pages below.

https://www.facebook.com/nodirectionbandswansea/
https://twitter.com/nodirectionrule?lang=en
http://www.wigandpenpub.co.uk/index