Well, having been told by my girlfriend that we were going to meet up with one of her best friends (who has been living in Sunderland for a couple of years) as her boyfriend's band Former Cell Mates were playing in Bridgend, didn't fill me up with a lot of enthusiasm.  Not because of her friend but - I didn't really fancy going to Bridgend!

Anyway, Hobos is a new venue in Bridgend, and what a great venue it is,  with two rooms -  one for gigs and another for disco's. Halfway through the half-dayer, the first band to hit the stage were locals Peach Fuzz, who I must admit were great.

If you like The Replacements, Husker Du and Soul Asylum, you will love the band. This band have got the songs - okay, as a trio the sound did suffer from lacking the extra punch - but nonetheless they will be on my 'ones to watch' list.

Next band up were The Great St. Louis. Now, they were a pretty good band who delivered a tight set - but they didn't do anything for me!

However, the next band on stage shocked me - Above Them came on with no fanfare and they went and give an awesome set to the waiting punters. A mention to the Travis Barker-esque drummer who was entertaining enough on his own. The type of Power Pop/Pop Punk they played was right up my alley...  Another for my list...

Then onto headliners Former Cell Mates - Now I've done this plenty of times myself, having gone to see a mate's band and being given the PR bullshit of how great they are and being serverely let down. However, with this band I knew nothing! Having only met the guitar player earlier on in the evening, I wasn't expecting anything - man, how wrong was I?! The FCM's were on form as they walked on stage and gave one of the performances of their lives.The best way to describe them would be The Gaslight Anthem with ten times more soul and songs! For fans of Americana (Gaslight Anthem, Jesse Malin, Ricky Warwick - Solo) this band will rock you...

So this night was a pleasant surprise, as I went in with no expectations and came away knowing I've seen the start of something new. And being suitably merched up, shall look forward to hearing more of the bands I just witnessed and to more visits to Hobos...