Being stuck on the M4 for over an hour prior to tonight's main event due to an unfortunate accident I consoled myself with the fact that I'd probably not catch any of tonight's support acts. Part of me felt slightly deflated until I began to recall the horrendous support acts at the LA Guns gig in the same venue only a couple of weeks ago. Suddenly I thought maybe being stuck on the motorway wasn't maybe such a bad after all.

However after finally arriving in Cardiff and entering the venue I realised that I may have misjudged the situation as Doncaster rockers Velvet Star were storming into a pretty impressive cover of Iggy Pop's 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'. With it being an almost Halloween gig the band were curiously split in the fashion stakes with half the band kitted in fancy dress garb, and particular interest has to be steered towards frontman Danny Jones, who is seemingly a perfect hybrid of Iggy and Scott Weiland in his stage presence, which along with his pretty impressive six pack out for the girls in the house, he's whetting more than just their appetites with his cocksure swagger.

As the band tore into their final number I felt a bit disappointed that I had missed the rest of their set as their perfect blend of Eighties metal fused with garage rock was winning me over, almost by the second. Velvet Star are definitely a band to watch out for in the future.

Next to hit the stage were Faster Pussycat's current touring buddies Lola Firecracker, and with a name as sensational as theirs you just know that they come recommended by Taime Downe and will be a sleazy sensation...right? Well sadly they are not!

Okay, to be fair they are not bad by any means, it's just that they aren't very exciting. Their frontman sporting a black beanie and shades reminds me of a rock star wannabe that you see on various US reality talent shows (the type of show that Tracii Guns tends to pick his lead vocalists from these days). They also happen to be so middle of the road music wise that I begin to smell roadkill in the air, that is until they rip out an impressive cover of Misfits' 'Attitude', sang by current Faster Pussycat guitarist AJ, before finishing their set with a rather average cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax'.

It may be a cold dark Sunday night but I was still shocked by the poor attendance here tonight in Cardiff, but it was now time for the headliners and those brave enough approached the stage in preparation for Taime and co. After a long, tedious intro, (and to quote Faster Pussycat themselves I felt like turning to the person next to me and saying "Wake Me When It's Over"), the band finally took to the stage, after a few more minutes Taime finally arrived as the band headed straight into 'Jack The Bastard'

These days Taime may more than slightly resemble Barry Humphries alter ego Dame Edna Everage dressed in a military peaked cap along with the numerous chins, as he continually clutches an unlit cigarette between his black lips throughout the performance. There has been a lot of criticism of the band in recent years over the fact that Taime is the only original member from their Eighties heyday but to be fair to the current band - guitarist Xristian Simon, bassist Danny Nordahl and drummer Chad Stewart - are actually the longest serving members in Faster Pussycat as they now celebrate a decade in the band.

The last time the band played South Wales (in Swansea almost two years ago), the band appeared to be upstaged by their ex guitarist for hire Michael Thomas, thankfully tonight Taime is back as the sleazy ringmaster. Being a fan of the band since the beginning, witnessing them playing sold out shows in larger theatres over the years, the number in attendance may have dwindled somewhat but the songs remain as enjoyable as ever for yours truly.

Taime still possesses that same whisky soaked, cigarette fuelled voice that I have always adored in the past. The band have also been accused in the past of using backing tracks to enhance their sound, whether this is true or not I cannot confirm, but tonight that certainly wasn't the case as they played stripped down, down and dirty rock 'n' roll just like it's supposed to be played. Rolling out all the hits 'Cathouse', 'Where There's A Whip', the huge MTV hit 'House Of Pain' along with tracks from 2006's underrated album 'Power And The Glory Hole'.

Okay, I would have loved to hear 'Don't Change That Song' and 'Smash Alley' but you can't please everybody all the time can you? The band ended their set with my personal favourite 'Babylon' a version that quite frankly has never sounded so good.

Faster Pussycat will always remain my guilty pleasure even though after tonight's poor attendance you can't help but wonder if this may have been my final time seeing them live in the UK...I certainly hope not.