Despite being a cold Welsh night in March, the Patriot in Crumlin saw the first date of a mini UK tour for Trixter Acoustic – Yes, THE Trixter that holds the accolade of being the last ever act to hit No.1 on Dial MTV, and one of last truly melodic rock bands of the early ’90s hair rock scene to release banger after banger, and many a Rock City dance floor filler.

So what does Trixter Acoustic look and sound like in 2024 – Well, the nucleus of PJ Farley & Steve Brown are present as well as drummer Martyn James, the musicianship that the crowd witnessed was breathtaking – given that the Farley & Brown only met the drummer that day and only had the one soundtrack to rehearse. But then what do you expect from half of a band that has rocked all over the world, as part of Trixter, and in Farley’s case Fozzy as well as Brown deputising for Def Leppard that saw him play Wembley Stadium over a few years ago,

Anyway, back to the first night of the tour, which saw local, well Swansea’s Casey Maunder warm up the crowd with his take on rock, which went down a treat. His songs telling the tales of yesterday with a modern twist and full of melodies – Definitely one to watch out for especially the banger that is Rolling At The Rathouse – which reminisces about Swansea’s own rock city – The Coachouse.

After what seemed like ages but in reality only 5 minutes of sound issues – the mighty Trixter hit the stage running with Rockin’ Horse and for the next hour plus – rocked the Patriot to the ground. Yeah, they might have been billed as acoustic but the electricity from the power trio was like lightning for the fans.

Interspersed with tales of their history together Steve along with quips from PJ, showcases the brotherly love and respect for each other and the music they created all those years ago. Stories from their heyday all the way to their last album ‘Human Era’ in 2015. This was an experience like no other for fans of the band.

How can one argue with a back catalogue and set list that included Heart of Steel, Road of a Thousand Dreams, Surrender, One In A Million, and from the reunion albums Tattoos & Misery and Human Era itself, which for me was the highlight of the night.

The set also featured 2 covers and a track from PJ’s debut solo album – Boutique Sound Frames  , i.e. Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and KISS’s A Million To One and the aforementioned Farley solo track You’d Stick Out.

The power pop rock trio left their biggest hit for last in the form of their hit single Give It To Me Good and for this fan and the fans that witnessed this tremendous show, live and in the moment – it was well worth the 34-year wait!!!

Author: Dave Prince