Bed of Nails Tour Chronicles: Florence Black’s Powerful Performance in Tufnell Park

February 13, 2024 rocknews

The Dome in Tufnell Park is quickly becoming one of our favourite venues. The intimacy of the space makes for a great atmosphere, and tonight was no exception as North London welcomed two of Wales’ most exciting bands.

James and the Cold Gun

“South Wales’ Loudest” James and the Cold Gun are making big waves in the rock world. Support slots with Those Damn Crows and a spot at Guns ’N’ Roses Hyde park show last summer has seen them reach bigger and bigger audiences. There were certainly a few JATCG T-shirts spotted in the crowd!

Appearing on stage to the strains of the Kate Bush song from which they took their name, we were treated to a high-energy set that included material taken from their latest, self-titled album. Latest single ‘Chewing Glass’ got the whole crowd bouncing with its crunching riff and driving drums.

By the time they got to closesr ‘Long Way Home’ from 2022’s ‘False Start’ the Dome crowd was well and truly warmed up.

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Florence Black

Tonight was the penultimate date on Florence Black’s ‘Bed of Nails’ tour. The three-piece from Merthyr Tydfil (vocalist / guitarist Tristan Thomas, bassist Jordan Evans and drummer Perry Davies) make an incredible noise between them. On stage they are extremely tight. Thomas’ vocals often put us in mind of James Hetfield, and the way Evans and Davies lock in as a rhythm section makes for an exhilarating live experience.

We got a total of ten songs from the new ‘Bed of ‘Nails’ album. The title track opener was a statement of intent – the ferocity of the vocals and groove of the drums and bass setting the scene for the rest of the set. Other notable highlights from the first part of the show were ‘On the Ropes’, ’’Taxman’ and ‘Back to the End’.

After a brief interlude, they were back for a five-song run taken mostly from 2021’s ‘Weight of the World’. ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Can You Feel It’ really got the crowd singing along before a cover of ‘Breadfan’ – originally recorded in 1973 by another great Welsh rock band, Budgie, and famously make popular by Metallica as a B-side of ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ in 1998, and then on their ‘Garage Inc’ album of covers. Fun fact: Breadfan is played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff during Welsh Rugby Union matches!

Another short break followed before the trio returned for an encore of ‘Sun and Moon’, its gentle opening strains giving way to that hard and heavy sound that left the Dome crowd happy and satisfied. The teenage girl stood at the front with her mum and dad – all three in Florence Black t-shirts – would certainly agree!

Keep an eye on the Florence Black website for upcoming gigs and summer festivals.