OK, this is either a very good or very bad night depending on your ability to afford to pay for both and run up and down stairs.

We'll start upstairs where P4 Music present Micah P Hinson.
Micah P Hinson has known trouble. Raised in Abilene, Texas, as a teenager he became addicted to painkillers. In early 2000, he was caught forging prescriptions and sent to county jail, losing his car, his home, his money and all his possessions. By the age of 20, Hinson was a bankrupt ex-con, living in a motel and working in telemarketing. But as news of this gifted singer-songwriter began to spread on the strength of his 2004 debut album, …And The Gospel Of Progress, a tap on the back from a friend on a night out bizarrely resulted in a dislocated vertebrae – and more pain medication. …And The Red Empire Orchestra – his latest and greatest collection of sparse, yet beautiful country songs, delivered in his inexplicably timeworn burr – is the record that almost wasn’t.

The now-27-year-old returned from touring his second album …And The Opera Circuit, with chronic back pain from complications to his slipped disc and worsening health. Afterwards, it was clear something had to give – Hinson returned to Austin, Texas with plans to take a year off, writing new songs occasionally in between visits to doctors. As time passed, Hinson began contemplating his next move; the life of a touring musician was becoming a memory and, though he was concerned about losing his public, he was unsure when – or how – to make the next move. One day, a letter arrived from producer / engineer John Congleton (The Polyphonic Spree, Explosions in the Sky, Black Mountain, Antony and the Johnsons) expressing interest in working with Hinson, and it proved to be a pivotal moment for the Texan trouble man. “This letter pulled me out of the rut I had found myself in,” says Hinson. “Once I got this letter, something felt right and I knew the calling was there.” The artist and the producer started talking about how to proceed, agreeing to meet up for a week in Carrollton, Texas, where they pieced together ideas using recordings Micah had made during his year off as the basis for a new album. “In my mind, it was a strange experience,” says Hinson. “I wasn't used to being told whether I was doing a shit job or not. I would be in the booth, trying my damnedest to make a good take, and here would be this man in my earphones saying, ‘Ah hell, you can do better than that, I really didn't believe you there.’ It was a good thing. It felt as if we were making this record out of clear and pure intention.”

The album was finished in another week and a half, this time in Oak Cliff, Texas, in a studio built in a converted funeral home. Strings are an integral part of Hinson’s sound, but here was a problem: Hinson’s regular arranger Eric Bachman was unavailable, so they relied on Congleton’s contact book, recruiting members of The Polyphonic Spree, The Paper Chase and The Drams and a veteran of the opera circuit Nick Phelps. “These characters came in over the length of a few days and they proceeded to destroy my songs,” says Hinson. “I knew in my heart that we had something on our hands. The Red Empire Orchestra had finally turned into a proper monster, which in my mind, needed to be reckoned with.” It’s here, then, that we find Micah P. Hinson in 2008, confidence restored and life back on track – he even proposed to his girlfriend live on stage at Islington’s Union Chapel in December 2007. The wedding took place at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene on 6th April 2008. “Damn right I am happy. I have won! the race is over! I truly have found the love of my life and a woman who loves me unconditionally!” “I find myself ready to take on the world again, and show them what I have up my sleeve,” he says.

Support comes from the wonderful Absentee who I witnessed opening the first End Of The Road festival. If lovetorn tunes and baritone vocals are your thing (do you flick between Leonard Cohen and The Tindersticks on your itunes?) then you'd best get there early.

Doors 7:30pm | £9.50/£10.50. Tickets for this one available in Diverse for the people of Newport. Spillers in Cardiff and probably somewhere online for those of you that hate record shops.

And now on to downstairs where Shape Records are putting on an equally good show. Headlining is Yacht.

YACHT is a lot of things. It’s kind of a band, but it’s mostly a genre-and-media-spanning life project founded and led by Jona Bechtolt of the Northwest’s very own Portland, Oregon. Bechtolt (and new member Claire L. Evans) make anthemic power jams, play them backwards and soak them in nearly-psychedelic cherry cola. YACHT’s heart is the shows: uncluttered, inspiring sessions of damaged dance moves and synchronized crowd-waving, backed by constantly changing elements -- PowerPoint presentations, audience Q&A sessions, and shamanistic video environments.

Support comes in the form of The Jelas and Zissou. A special mention to Zissou as they've played at Joy twice and I've really enjoyed them on both occasions. Think quirkly, upbeat indie pop, Flaming Lips being possibly the most mainstream reference point I can think of. Again, get there early. In fact, always go to gigs early, you're paying your money, go see as many bands as you can!!

Doors 7:30pm | £5/£6

Labels: clwb ifor bach, joy, micah p hinson, shape, yacht, zissou