THE sound of the Valleys rumbled through the Concert Hall on Saturday with the brilliant Rhod Gilbert and his distinctive comic style.

To kick off, the full house was treated to warm-up guy Lloyd Langford, who gave a full and frank description of the highs and lows of Port Talbot with great comic timing and wit. Despite off-stage abuse from Rhod, Lloyd gave the audience more than enough to giggle and guffaw over and left the stage to huge applause. The gentle comic wave was soon ended by the appearance of Rhod, who launched into his routine, beer can in hand, and delivered punch after punch to the funny bone. With several established TV gigs, Rhod’s return to his stand-up roots were welcomed like a prodigal son – only with anger issues. This current tour – entitled Rhod Gilbert and the Cat who Looked like Nicholas Lyndhurst – details unhappy events in the life of Rhod this year. His “minor irritations” included stroppy washing machines, panic buying and uncaring doctors. His relentless tirade was both hilarious and cleverly written, the full horror story all making perfect sense at the end of this intensive therapy session.

For someone still relatively new to the comedy circuit, Rhod is original and intelligent in his comic style – argue back at your peril and don’t let him near a washing machine. Ever.