I’ve always been a massive fan of The Presidents of the United States of America or PUSA as they shall be known for the rest of this review. So when I had the chance to see them for the first time in almost 8 years I jumped at it! I’m normally quite a professional person when it comes to reviewing bands and gigs but tonight I have lots of friends coming along so I let my hair down a little. Unfortunately this meant having to miss the start of Straight Lines set as we were in the pub too long thus meaning I couldn’t get any photo’s which is a shame as I’ve seen them a few times before and they’re always fun to shoot as they really put themselves into they’re music! Although I missed the start I still caught the majority and I was thoroughly impressed, this band keeps getting better and better. They’re confident on the stage and now demand to be watched; even if the audience tonight isn’t all that keen they’re still getting respect. Singer Thomas Jenkins says “We know you’re here for PUSA but here to get you warmed up, you may not like us, but if you do please check us out!” which wins over lots of people who are on the edge, as these nice farmers from South Wales have a good rapport which is different from many bands out there at the moment. Overall they’re rocky emo anthems go down well, people are moving but they’re just not letting themselves go, that task is for PUSA.
There is a nice gap between bands which turns the Wulfrun from a room where everyone has space around them to move and talk into a hot and sweaty pit of people all ready to jump and rock out to PUSA’s unique style of rock which is very basic and very random but utterly enjoyable! The band come out to strong applause and burst into ‘Rot In The Sun’ which gets the crowd moving up and down. They sound amazing, the vocals are clear and personal, the guitar, bass and drums levels are great and all complement each other. Now when I mentioned that PUSA are basic this is due to their instruments, the bass has only 2 strings and the guitar just 3, meaning that they’re never going to be technically amazing, but what they do with so little is just fantastic. They have guitar and bass solo’s mixed into long drum brakes and you can tell that this band of almost 20 years have just got better with age, they’re masters of the art and also mix in singer’s Chris Ballew’s witty lyrics and great crowd interaction you can’t get better. They play a few more songs including ‘Some Postman’ and ‘Tiki God’ before getting to the main event. 
As it has been a few years since PUSA graced our shores, they decided to play their iconic debut self-titled album in full which they do in style, playing all the songs perfectly adding little stories in-between songs, which is great as it gives this hot and sweaty crowd a chance to get their breath back! After ripping through the album they play a few more hits from old and new before leaving the stage to the amazing cover of The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio star, which some people might remember from the Adam Sandler film ‘Wedding Singer’. The crowd have loved tonight, and aren’t ready to go home just yet, to PUSA come out and play ‘Jenifer’s Jacket’ ‘Nothing But Love’ and ‘More Bad Times’ which breaks into a reprise of ‘Kick Out The Jams’ to end the night in fantastic style! Tonight has been great, Straight Lines where good but PUSA where immense, they tore the place down! Everyone went home happy, so if you’ve never heard of PUSA go and check them out now as you’ll love they’re catchiness and hopefully it won’t be too long before they come back!
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