The next Riot Act gig takes place in Le Pub on 4th July and features the following assortment of talent:

7 Inch Giants
From a region where everyone sounds like the Sterophonics, 7 Inch Giants offer abreath of fresh air to the world of rock/metal. Cutting edge guitar playing, pumping rhythms and catchy vocals form aunique blend of rock/ metal that will peel your skin off and were not afraid ofa guitar solo either!!!

That’s it for the self promotion bit!!! The Giants were formed in 2004 when Jim, Matt, Greg got together with bassist Elliot with a mission in mind to play the music we wanted to play. All of us have experienced the pub/ club scene and were fed up with doing endless covers. With this in mind we basically locked ourselves in a room for a year writing and practicing our own original material. After a few support slots to gauge the public reaction we decided to go into the studio to produce our 4 track EP debut entitled Empty Stage. Our Influences vary from the Police to Metallica but our sound is our own!

Ectospazz
Ectospazz - formed 3 long years ago in Lor..o’s abattoir on a cold, grey, lazy day. Four social misfits realized their only chance of integrating into normal society would be to form an unstoppable, grooverama, metal fest of a band – then, and only then, would they be accepted…. Their mad dog image portrays their inbred, redneck characters to perfection – their lyrics reflect their no-nonsense attitude and their chunky, groovy, metal riffs can rip your head off from 20 paces!

Ectospazz are currently infecting every shack and barn across the UK with their unwashed raw talent. Not the kind of band to let you morbidly stand around – they get u off your arse and straight into the moshpit. Beware - Ectoplague is incurable!!

Starof 59
Fast preceding the rumblings of many of South Wales local talent Star of 59 have emerged as a prominent force in the live music scene in and around South Wales.Three years have seen the creation of three glorious EPs, causing a spark ofcritical acclaim from producers and DJs alike. The EPs have constantly sold out at gigs, and the boys most recent effort with Loz Williams at Stir Studio inCardiff garnered much deserved airplay on Radio 1.

Whatever your poison this band will surely have the cure.

Tickets £3.00 Advance from Diverse. Door £5.00

HELLS BELLS
No nonsense. Two words that pleasingly describe the music of AC/DC. Formed as a reaction against the rather nonsense-heavy prog-rock bands of the early 70s, AC/DC took rock back to its basics and unwittingly became one of the most influential bands of the decade inventing hard rock and heavy metal as they went on their merry way.

Known for their huge, powerful rock sound, Bon Scott's ear-bothering shriek and the onstage school uniform of guitarist Angus, AC/DC came from Australia and took on the world. With hits like Highway To Hell, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap and For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) and a host of stunning, ballsy albums like Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, Back In Black and High Voltage, AC/DC showed the 70s how to have fun without worrying about the size of your Stonehenge replica ever again.

Now of course, AC/DC still soldier on but their live outings are becoming less and less frequent. So, praise be for Hells Bells. Having extensively gigged all over the UK, Germany, and Ireland, Hells Bells are possibly the greatest AC/DC tribute band in the world.

Vocalist Jay Lee is an impressive front-man, full of energy and guaranteed to give a high-octane performance as he belts out the hits. If you need a night of pure rock thrills or if you're simply a fan of the 'acka-dacka', this gig is a must.

Tickets are available through Spillers Records (02920 224905/www.spillersrecords.co.uk), Ticketline (02920 230130) and The Point (02920 460873 /www.thepointcardiffbay.com) and are £11 in advance and £13 on the door. Doors 7:30pm.

Riot Act! Promotions present a couple of local nutters in the forms of Las Vegas Elvis and Johnny Trashed in TJs on Saturday 19th July. These are the men in their own words.

The Legendary Las Vegas Elvis
After two years working on an oil rig in the North Sea and season fishing for crab, yes I was on the TV series, world’s most dangerous jobs. I went overboard six times and our boat sank. I thought it was time to resurrect my backing band The Self Abusers. So the wedding, birthday, Christian concerts are back for me, The Real Las Vegas Elvis. For a few more songs for our fans, I had time to think 60,0000 Million fans can’t be wrong.
I look forward to sharing the stage with my good friend Johnny Trashed. If he is too good and steals my Limelight, it will push me to the limit of my physical and mental abilities. It will be a good show to remember so put it on You Tube!
Records, cds, dvds, are now in the pipeline, and t shirts are already printed. It’s good to be back in my Home Town, I have talked to Tom Jones, but he is busy. His Loss.
So to my fans come Worship and enjoy The King with us. No dress code Cheap, Fun, Punk Rock Elvis. We are Fans! Even if you do not like Elvis you will know the songs

Johnny Trashed
If the legend that is Johnny Cash was born in Wales and was in a Garage come Country band with Punk styling’s . . . He'd probably sound a lil something like this! Faithfully backed by the Taff trail three, think Johnny Cash on speed! Hey, hold your god-damn horses for a cotton pickin moment; he WAS on speed maybe that should be Crystal Meth then! Coming to a saloon near you real soon, Johnny Trashed.

Fresh from playing her Newport launch party for Riot Act,
South Wales singer-songwriter Volenté returns with her long awaited second album entitled Butterflies Fall Away. After critical acclaim for her debut album, Cold Clean, Volenté returns with this new illuminating album.

Compared by critics to the likes of Bjork, cult indie favourites The Sundays, Lambchop and Kate Bush, this album presents us with Volenté's thoughts on life, love and loss over twelve haunting tracks, all written, produced, arranged and performed by Volenté herself.

Since starting out as a session singer in London in the late 1990s and after having collaborated on many musical projects, South African born Volenté has developed her own personal style as heard on Butterflies Fall Away and will throw off the shackles of being studio-bound to play live at a number of select gigs throughout 2008.

To hear some of the tracks from the album, surf to: www.myspace.com/volentelloyd. The album is released in the UK from 21st July 2008 on Dockrad and will be available online from digital shops such as itunes throughout the world from the same date.

Volenté album launches:

Mon, June 23 - Monkey Café, Swansea

Sat, June 28 – 1pm Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Thu, July 24 – Buffalo Bar, Cardiff

When Darren Hayman went solo I thought I’d never see Hefner having missed out in my youth, but once again Loose came good! The afternoon instore in Spillers became chance for Hayman to play some brand new material, do requests and to share some witty anecdotes which was appropriate to the more informal setting. The evening gig was reminiscent of a Twisted By Design night circa 2000, in a good way! The attentive audience were fully appreciative of this unique opportunity to hear some well loved songs from one of their most loved bands and was one of those rare occasions where nearly the whole audience was silent, result! While the crowd accompanied in fine voice on several occasions through the course of the night a couple of guys in The Wave Pictures also joined Hayter and Hayman on stage helping to flesh out the stripped down renditions of Hefner classics. “Ding Dong” indeed! (Ashli)

Labels: saesneg

What a difference to match days huh?! For one I don’t get accosted by face painters as I approach work today and the shoppers don’t feel the need to avoid town. The atmosphere is buzzing thanks to the hoards of Bruce fans in Cardiff this weekend and it seems that many have travelled from afar. For me, in Spillers this gig makes for a really jolly day, one where I serve a family from Egypt and masses of lovely Scottish people for some reason. A chance encounter with a German man the day before has yielded 2 tickets for the gig as he turns out to be part of the crew as a truck driver / lighting man. (Cheers Markus!)

After the customary build up of Mexican waves has been exhausted Bruce and all 8 members of his E Street Band take to the stage. The overwhelming impression that came across was that The Boss fucking loves his job. There was no sense that he was just going through the motions as he performed well know material from his back catalogue, and the same sincerity was in abundance in the new material off his recent album Magic. I took my dad who’d seen him a couple of times in the 80s and he’d recounted tales of Bruce gigs of yesteryear whereby whole songs would be performed while he pirouetted on his side WHILE PLAYING HIS GUITAR!! 20 years on and Bruce’s obviously not as flexible; the moves are still there but they are in a less irritating abundance!

It’s fair to say that from the off set Bruce is one of those American artists just made for the stadium setting. In a way I’m glad that I saw him now and not then as with the apparent mellowing of age he seems to have toned the theatrics down allowing the sentiment of the music to shine through. The upshot of this is that his backing band don’t get as overshadowed and rather than playing the role of ‘The Boss’ he’s more like ‘The Colleague’ and when your sharing a stage with the guitar talents of Nils Lofgren and Little Steven then that’s only the proper way to go about it!

Highlights : Because the Night / Devil's Arcade / Born to run / Mary's Place / The man who brought a music stand + lyrics with him!!

Lowlights: I didn’t see nearly as much stonewash denim as I’d expected…. (Ashli from Spillers)

Labels: saesneg

Hooray!! We're now selling tickets for Clwb Ifor Bach again. Check out the list for the gigs we have tickets for. Click on the image to enlarge it.

I took some piccies of webmaster Jonny spazzing at this week's Frommars gig. There's a whole set at Flickr - including one where Mr J decides to have a little sleep. Enjoy!

Labels: saesneg

(This is the first of a series of reviews of Ashli Spillers' nutty last weekend. The other two will be posted over the next couple of days, enjoy! Saesneg)

Buffalo is not the ideal setting for live music since the shape of the room doesn’t make the essential part of seeing very easy. Luckily I made it close enough to the front in time to take in Il Goblini in all their ferocious and menacing glory. These Bristolians are a Goblin covers band and since I’ve not delved in to the realms of Goblin this seemed a good introduction as any. The playing was tight and held together with an intuitive dynamic between band members and put some context to acts I am more familiar with like Electrelane and Stereolab who seem to owe a debt to these so called ‘Prog’ bands. The stellar intensity and repeating themes of the set kept me hooked while the running video of ‘Spirited Away' just added to the mesmerising effect of the experience.

Truckers at this moment can do no wrong, but believe me, this is not hype. With an eagerly anticipated and well received EP under their belt they’re expected to do great things. They’ve built this following on the strength of their hard hitting and relentless live shows which generally leave the audience gasping for breath and always wanting more. On this occasion they fail to fully impact, through no fault of their own, but through the constraints of the venue layout. Having seen them around a dozen times I can vouch that you need to see the skill of the playing which is as vital as the sound. Though they treat us with some new tracks that sound promising I leave in anticipation of their next gig, in a venue where I can fully appreciate their talents and in search of some Goblin back catalogue.

Labels: saesneg

Now I don't dislike pitchfork... But god don't their reviews half go ruddy on. In the time it takes me to read the latest 1,000 word essay on the 50 Cent album I could have flown to the Channel Islands and back - probably. There's nothing wrong with a couple of well armed adjectives which tell you specifically what you need to know... And maybe a couple of clichés.

The massive cliché about Errors is that they are Mogwai, version 2.0 - like the original British-post mawkers have been reborn as young keyboard adept lads who know a thing or two about dance music. I mean, this isn't really dance music, I can't see how any of It's Not Something But It Is Like Whatever would work on a dancefloor outside of Clwb Ifor Bach or Ten Feet Tall, but it's certainly dance music informed. The glitch-rhythum running through Salut France gives a massive nod to electro, and 'Pump' reads like an 80s electronic epileptic fit, creaking through a ZX Spectrum and an Amiga. But there's as much here in common with the poppier end of math-rock - 'Toes' is almost Foals esque, without the repetitive and irritating stupid vocals - and its not all constantly boppy. There are many serene and quiet moments - although these often build into wall attacking mounds of out of kilter jerking. My favourite Oxbridge Garageband user George Pringle (bout time I wrote about her init) also contributes vocals on Crystal Maze, providing a post-party introspective interlude to the albums insecure hedonism.

However it can't be avoided that their bosses at Mogwai/Rock Action HQ also have a massive foot in the door. The sound the Scottish Band have perfected since 2001's Rock Action - which has built on Slint's formula of cinematics and turned it into something more sharp and to the point, achieving the same effect in half the time but without losing its atmosphere building qualities - is certainly the inspiration behind much of Errors' guitar work. It's not that they have ripped them off - infact its brilliant to see a band take Mogwai's sound and not hopelessly ape them for a change. Errors have actually moved Mogwai and the genre on, possibly to the point where Errors are completly un-genre pigeonholeable. The band criss-crosses math-rock, post-rock and any itchy form of electronic music you care to mention - giving plenty to unwrap and unfold on repeated listens. Its not just something, but it is like whatever, init?

Errors are playing Clwb Ifor Bach again on Saturday June 28. Said album is in Diverse and Spillers nowwww.

Labels: saesneg

Confusion night - bands upstairs, bands downstairs... Beards in both rooms I imagine. Sadly I don't know where who be where, so you'll have to work that out for yourself.

For £6 on the doors you can treat yourself to These United States, from merkin-land. TUS sound a bit like the Postal Service if they actually were any good, were a bit more folky and garagey and slowed down on the IDM pips a bit, swapping some of them with a bit of piano and, um, horse clapping. Like the the ole' Postal Service themselves TUS embrace both the future and the twee, while not falling so far into former they dissapear. You'll probably recognise the First Sight remix on the myspace - which seems to have been on every TV trailer in the last 12 months. Support from Cardiff's bilingual folky The Gentle Good.

Meanwhile... in the, err, other room and also for £6 is Attack Attack who are probably the most vaugly emo thing we've ever previewed. I mean, I say emo - really that's just a shorthand for any kind of metal-pop-punk type noise which appeals to Kerrang! readers (do they still exist? Send us a postcard). It says here they are not self-pitying for that though. If you need something simple and non-angsty on Tuesday then this lot may be, err, your lot.

Going to see These United States then? Good, that's what I wanted you to do. That's that confusion sorted.

Labels: saesneg

Ten Feet Tall gigs are getting better and better, get a load of this lot:

www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk presents:

GLISSANDO
The basis of Glissando has always been built around Elly May Irving and Richard Knox. Last year Elly and Richard's long term relationship broke down and Glissando's future was thrown into huge doubt. There was a lot of soul-searching to be done around that time but some light was found as a support slot to the wonderful Stars of the Lid was offered at the beautiful Holy Trinity Church in Leeds. This moment was too good to pass and the show was probably the best of the band's career to date. A corner was turned and Glissando's future suddenly looked a damn sight brighter. Plans were made to go and record in Leicester with Tom Morris (Her Name is Calla) and this period of enlightenment turned out to be the album 'With Our Arms Wide Open We March Towards the Burning Sea' released through gizeh records on the 23rd of June(featuring guests iLIKETRAiNS). With help from some beautiful friends, what once seemed destined for failure now has limitless ambitions.

"Some of the most poignant, haunting music we could ever wish to hear" Drownedinsound

"Elly May Irving has an unbelievably natural voice, but is diverse enough in her delivery to hint at both Kate Bush and Martha Wainwright in equal measures at times. The instrumentation is quite exceptionally perfect - at times the slight disonances are just enough to push you over the edge into some blissful but uneasy descent into madness - but the walls of bowed-guitar soundscapes are enough to keep you on your feet. Low meets Mogwai, only with fragments of Regina Spektor at her most restrained. Exceptional." Rockfood

HER NAME IS CALLA
Her Name Is Calla have been relentlessly touring the country with iLiKETRAiNS and The Twilight Sad and have been gaining scores of fans with their evocative, part ethereal, part ear shredding music. The excellent new mini-album 'The Heritage' is Her Name Is Calla's second release for Gizeh records and features various members of The Monroe Transfer on track 'New England'.

"…their sound builds and builds until it reaches an intensity which is almost too much to bear... and manage to pack in more raw emotion than many bands manage in a lifetime." - God Is In The TV

"why can't all artists be as ambitiously prophetic as this?" – Drowned In Sound

"mesmerising and haunting" – Tasty Fanzine

KUTOSIS
Kutosis are a young, angular, awkward band with a big noise and a lot to say for themselves. Raised in the murky depths of Cardiff, their frenetic gigs, intelligent lyrics and huge choruses helped them quickly build up a following. While some might spot the influence of local boys, Manic Street Preachers, in their lyrical concerns (American cultural imperialism, Venezuela, 21st century consumerism), their sound owes more to early Buzzcocks, The Clash and unjustly overlooked 80s left wing trailblazers (and faves of Nicky Wire), McCarthy.

"A spiky, snotty mess of Clash/Jam noise with a pitch-perfect Strummer sneer" - Jess Trash gig review

"A ragged cut-and-shut between the garage rock ramalama of the Von Bondies and snotty curled-lip punk of early Buzzcocks" - Radio 1's Bethan & Huw

LIGHTS TO LEAD US
Opening the show are the epic Five piece from Cardiff Lights To Lead us, big build ups with added laptops, for fans of Sigur ros, Explosions in the Sky and Minus the Bear. They've recently received airplay on Radio one's introducing in Wales programme. In a bit of a plug, they're also opening October's Joy which is headlined by Cats & Cats & Cats.

Plus DJs, including Twisted by design's Gary after the gig playing a bevvy of indie tunes...

Entry £5

Another cracker from Qu Junktions, this is an awesome sound clash, an MC driven turntable bass end party set arriving in the UK for the first time. Tropical dancefloor antics
from a duo founded in Brooklyn, New York but informed by worldwide
urban dancefloor action, featuring turntablist/blogger/radio presenter
& label boss DJ /rupture + Jahdan Blakkamoore, the reggae/hip hop
vocalist who is featured on classics like 'Soundbwoy Burial', 'D&D
Soundclash' as well as tracks with DJ Premier, Dead Prez & Tony Touch.

A groundbreaking collaboration because no one else right now is
combining the 'singjay' style practised by Jah Dan with the kind of
bashment via dubstep via inflected beats Rupture is laying down in
his re-styled sets. Rupture is not a DJ to rest on previous highs, but
who looks for new ones. This is a USA / Caribbean response to the
sound taking over the basements and clubs this side of the Atlantic.
Re-jigged, fattened up and dexterous.

DJ /rupture is one of the most informative and exciting artists to
call themselves DJs in the world. A border-crossing bass visionary,
his dynamic live sets simultaneously partyrock and suggest complex
political undertones. By juxtaposing an unlikely range of sounds from
across the globe he playfully explores the tensions and conflicts when
cultures collide and gives conventional notions of high/low culture
short shrift. He's performed in over 25 countries, released records on
Soul Jazz & Tigerbeat6, done two John Peel Sessions, and was turntable
soloist with the 80-member Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Bristolian
Yardcore, Japanese freak-out, tabla techno, Miami bass, industrialised
African, Brazilian booty – he be your man.

Jahdan Blakkamoore is a Brooklyn local hero. Beloved for his
charismatic stage presence, pointed lyrics and powerful voice Jahdan
brings the perspective of Rasta sufferation to the streets of Brooklyn
in the post-9/11 landscape. The artist born Wayne Henry in
Georgetown, Guyana, after crossing the border to the US alone and
undocumented at the ripe age of eight years old quickly began to
absorb the swirl of musics that thump out of car trunks and crackle
across the pirate airwaves of the borough of kings. Making his first
musical impact with NY legends the Boot Camp Clique, Jahdan has been
bridging the gap between hip-hop, dancheall and roots reggae ever
since, collaborating with artists ranging from DJ Premier and M1 of
Dead Prez, to Reggae singer Lutan Fyah and Branford Marsalis to his
own hip/hop reggae trio Noble Society.

Upon linking up with 77Klash and Team Shadetek for the street smash
'Brooklyn Anthem', Jahdan was introduced to the visceral sound of UK
grime. Excited by the viral success of that tune on both the
underground and mainstream level (including a dance craze amongst the
Carribbean teens of NYC), Jahdan continues his explorations into the
world of the international urban underground on the 'We Are Raiders'
EP and forthcoming album 'Buzzrock Warrior' on Dutty Artz. Not content
to simply revisit past successes, the EP finds Jahdan touching down on
deep, dub inflected Cumbia beats from Buenos Aires, angular and
synthetic Digital Dancehall from Vienna, and new riddims that reflect
and bend the UK dubstep sound into a new sound that Rupture/Shadetek
are calling 'New York Tropical'.

Release activity is going fill the column inches and blog spots in the
coming months, with the duo's debut EP & 12" out in June on /rupture's
& Team Shadetek's new label Dutty Artz, plus DJ /rupture's first mix
CD since 'Minesweeper Suite' out on Agriculture.

July '08 Tour Dates include:

Wed 09 SWANSEA, MONKEY CLUB
£5/6 / 8pm / 01267 235511 / www.tangledparrot.com

Sat 12 BRISTOL, RUFFNEK DISKOTEK @ THE CROFT
£5/£6 / 10pm / www.bristolticketshop.co.uk / www.myspace.com/ruffnekdiskotek

Fuck only knows what this will be like but I couldn't resist posting it. Spock's Beard are a progressive rock band with pop leanings, formed in 1992 in Los Angeles by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. They draw much influence from Genesis and The Beatles and are also well known for their intricate multi-part vocal harmonies and use of counterpoint much in the vein of Gentle Giant. The name comes from a Star Trek episode where the crew enters a parallel universe in which the parallel Mr. Spock is differentiated by his beard.

This adventurous band had built a solid and loyal following through a string of records before releasing the acclaimed epic concept album, Snow, in 2002, which also marked the departure of leader and main composer Neal Morse for a solo career as a Christian artist. The new line-up, with Nick D'Virgilio on vocals, has released three more studio albums: Feel Euphoria, Octane and their latest, Spock's Beard, which the critics are calling their best album yet.

This is a superb progressive rock band in the Seventies' spirit that will appeal to many people, full of concentrated climates and complex compositions based on tortuous, audacious and elaborated instrumental developments. They combine strong melodies with intricate arrangements and superb musicianship. Spock's Beard will be playing only a handful of UK dates, The Point being their only Welsh date.

Tickets are £16 in advance and £18 on the door.

Important bit first. This year Tapestry Goes West plays host to John Power, Jeffrey Lewis, Fuck Buttons, Circulus, Clientele, The Beep Seals, The Duloks, Threatmantics, Kitty, Daisy And Lewis and many more that are listed lower down, just thought I'd grab your attention first. Now the blurb...

With the dawning of the festival season, praise be for Tapestry Goes West, a festival that offers something ever so slightly different from the main crowd. Yes, Tapestry Goes West is quite possibly the world's only Rock 'n' Re-enactment Festival.

At no other festival will you find a jousting display by Europe's premier horsemen, The Knights Of Arkley, a medieval village and roughly 50% of the audience dressed as mead-sipping knights or wenches. It's well medieval! And that's before we've even mentioned the eclectic line-up and the wonderful countryside setting, which includes a lords and ladies football tournament and archery. No other festival is quite like this one!

Originally taking place in Cornwall, the festival moved to south Wales back in 2006 and has had two successful years in Margam Park, a beautiful deer park in Port Talbot close to the golden sands of Porthcawl and the Mumbles peninsular. With great views and even a petting zoo, Margam Park is as good a festival location as you could possibly get.

Line-up wise Tapestry is as eclectic as ever. Highlights are to be found right across the bill and include anti-folk's anti-hero, Jeffrey Lewis, former Britpop fella John Power, Bristol noise merchants Fuck Buttons and Cardiff's violin-led 3-piece Threatmantics.

The full line-up is as follows (many more to be confirmed):

Alan Tyler, The Beep Seals, Big Boss Man, The Cherrybombers, Circulus, The Clientele, Danny And The Champions Of The World, Diagonal, The Duloks, El Goodo, Fuck Buttons, Jeffrey Lewis And The Jitters, The Jim Jones Revue, John Power, Kitty, Daisy And Lewis, Golden Silvers, Los Chicos, Radio Luxembourg, Smokey Angle Shades, The See See, Threatmantics, Tim Ten Yen, Tokyo Dragons, Wolf People, Zevas and Pepper and Zun Zun Egui. Plus DJ sets from The Vinyl Vendettas and Unemployable Welsh Scum.

It all happens at Margam Park, Port Talbot, South Wales, and is 60 quid including camping.

Now some nice quotes from some nice people. And the NME.

"The best festival ever," New Musical Express.

"Very strange and beautiful," The Guardian.

"An extraordinary event," The Times.

Hell's Bent is Cardiff's first ever gay-friendly indie disco. After a group appeared on Facebook called Who Wants A Gay Indie Disco In Cardiff?,it quickly become apparent that huge demand was there for such an event. Hell's Bent is the physical manifestation of that very group.
Avoiding all the gay clichés in the book (that's no drag artists, no rainbow flags and no euro house), Hell's Bent is Cardiff's first and only gay indie disco. And it's back with a special one-off night with bands, special decorations, cakes and table top sales especially for the summer season.
Get there early to see the live music, which comes in the shape of Gideon Conn, Andy Hickie And The Merry Maidens and Hemme Fatale.
Headliner Gideon Conn has been touring the country, attracting admirers like dropped ice creams do hungry seagulls, for a couple of years now. His folky, orchestral and jazz-toned philosophical hip-hop is one-of-a-kind stuff, worth arriving early for.
The meat in the sandwich of this live bill is Andy Hickie And The Merry Maidens, who only a few months ago, were winners of Q Magazine's Glastonbury New Talent Competition, winning them a slot at the festival itself. Kicking off proceedings will be Hemme Fatale, a 3-piece from Cardiff who promise to take Britney for a Wetherspoons once they're done with making ace electro-pop.
Once the bands are done, it won't take much rousing for you to get on the dancefloor to shake your things to the finest in all of the indie tunes that the world currently has to offer. As usual, the Hell's Bent DJs will be storming The Point to the max.
For £7 you get bands, you get DJs, you get a venue decorated like a tent, you get cake stalls and table top sales. It's a gay-friendly bargain! Arrive after the bands and pay reduced admission price of £5/£4 (concessions). £7 before

The wonderful people at Forecast bring Krautrock legends Faust to The Point in Cardiff on Thursday 19th June.
The genre commonly known as 'Krautrock' has been chronicled better than no one other than Julian Cope. And when he says "there is no group more mythical than Faust", you know it's time to sit up and take note.
Born in the mid-70s with bands such as Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!,Cluster and Tangerine Dream, Krautrock mixed typical rock band instrumentation with an avant garde, more electronic sensibility. Defining musical characteristics of the genre became psychedelic jamming, ambient soundscapes, repetitive, mechanical grooves and, typically, a 4/4 motorik rhythm. The sound went on to influence the likes of Brian Eno, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine and is also seen as a pre-cursor to entire genres such as post-rock, post-punk and techno.
Faust fitted into the genre by being there at its birth and producing some of the most daring experiments on rock music ever to gain credibility and/or sales. Signing to Polydor in 1971, they released their eponymous debut in a transparent sleeve on clear vinyl to few sales but great acclaim. Their 2nd album, Faust So Far, earned the group a contract with the fledgling Virgin label, who daringly issued their 3rd album, a collage of their home recordings, for the price of a single. The Faust Tapes went on to sell 100,000 copies but did not chart because of its low price. During the period between their split and disappearance from the musical landscape in 1975 up until their reformation to tour in the late 90s, Faust's cult and myth only grew whilst their music spread far and wide gaining countless curious new fans.
Now reformed with original members Jean-Herve Peron and Zappi Diemaier, this is a rare chance to get to see some genuine legends of one of the most influential genres in alternative music.
Support on the night comes from Bagio. Tickets are £12 in advance or £14 on the night. Doors are 7.30pm.

Riot Act's latest gig features Cardiff's Don’t Tread On Spiders. They are a trio with a love of lo-fidelity rock ‘n roll....try throwing the terms 'indie', 'post punk', 'arty' and even 'pop' at them, it all sticks. Founded in the Summer of 2007 they've been working hard on home-made material such as the angular “My Week In Shinjuku” and folksy “Together Again”. Radio Wales DJ Adam Walton played the“My Week In Shinjuku” demo only five days after it was uploaded on MySpace, and new demo 'Get Up and Go' has also just received some air play.

Influences include a mixture of Velvet Underground, The Kills, White Stripes and David Bowie......all beaten and whisked by a piece of Beatles White Album vinyl.

In previous incarnation 'The Days', DTOS has appeared on the Twisted ByDesign’s “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The 22 Of Us” compilation, and were NME Number 1 Breaking Band in November 2006. They've also had a song used by BBC Wales for it’s Arts Mundi programme, and have been invited to play in some uber-cool London venues, including the living room sized Betsy Trotwood and Libertine's haunt Rythm Factory.

Don’t Tread On Spiders have a diligent ambition to become one of the scene's top indie acts, and will continue to write and release more songs either independently or preferably with a record label over the coming year.'

Support on the night comes from Lil Deaths and Black Chalk. Tickets are £3 (plus booking fee) in advance from Diverse and £5 on the night.

Click on the image to enlarge.

This one has had people excited for a while. For years Hefner summed up a nights listening to Peelie. I wasn't a huge fan - some of their material missed the bar for me - but they certainly produced more than a couple of indie classics in their time, with the Hymn for the Cigarettes ringing in my ears still now - locking in strong confessional and humorous song writing obessed with love and shagging, with electric folk tunes. Their career lasted six years, in which time they produced four long players and a spasm of compilations and endless entries on Festive 50. Bands like Hefner summed up late 90s indie for many people, where awkward boys and girls would about pulling each others hair. Aged 15, this was all essential bedroom listening - but now seems like a distant memory. Gone are the days where Radio 1 could foster a movement, and indie is much cooler than it ever was - not so scruffy anymore. Hefner, and other bands like Belle and Seb, The Delgados & Ballboy, were fostered in specific circumstances and in a certain time and place. Apart from George Pringle's shy rhymes over garageband loops, I'm not hearing anything like this anymore.

Since they split in 2002 Hefner have only played together once but original members Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter are to grace Clwb Ifor Bach on Sunday night with the songs of Hefner, courtesy of Loose. Their London shows sold out in half a day, so assume there aren't many tickets left for Clwb. £7 from the usual bricks and motar & t'internet outlets.

Labels: saesneg

Also known as the hardest working band known to man, there's not an evening without Kaskie, Williams and Charles's The Death of Her Money making ears bleed somewhere in South Wales. They headlined at Le Pub on Saturday, this weekend they're doing the same in TJs... And when they're not somewhere in Newport somebody in Cardiff is putting them on - usually noise-promoters Pedigree Falcon. Amazingly, the band first got together at school in 1997 somewhere in the Rhymney Valley, although they didn't stay playing gigs until 1999. They have released a drip-feed of material, and finally produced an album this year - Spirit of the Stairwell.

DoHM is what happens when the building blocks of metal are melted down and stretched till things like chord progression and other technical music terms which I've never understood are destroyed and whittled down to what sounds like the audible equivalent of the black slab in the 2001 movie - a looming, ominous object with no hate but pure force behind it. Listening to Death of Her Money live is like being exposed to 101 rather solid steam rollers built with a purpose to push forward and topple you, while Darren's growl is almost another instrument in itself, building on the band's ambience. And there's something oddly settling about it - although it is essentially metal DoHM's sound hangs in the air (in a good way, not like a fart) and hangs you up in a nice and non-noose way. As someone described to me at the weekend, they're throbbing.

DoHM play TJs June 7 with Zonderhoof, Black Cesar, Spider Kitten and Atomck. Tickets £5.

Labels: saesneg

This very website and Diverse Music are proud to present the launch of The Clay's debut 7" single at Meze Lounge on Thursday 5th June. The boys played their second ever gig for Joy and are back to promote the release of "What They Told You". It is one of those timeless wall-punching anthems that demand the right to do anything you want to do... whether that thing is to kick out the jams or just watch Sky Sports at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.

It's released on 1965 Records, the label that brought you The View, The Metros and The Draytones, on 21st April 2008. The Single will be available on iTunes digital download and as a strictly limited edition 7" vinyl from Diverse Music (we even have some signed copies).

The Clay are brothers Anthony Hill, aged 20, and Jonathan, 17, (guitar/vocals and drums/vocals, respectively) grew up playing music together, while 21-year-old Dougie Humphries (bass), who lives in the same street as the boys, joined them to form this - their first band. Their influences stem from Newport of the glorious mid-1990s, when punk-pop giants like 60ft Dolls and Elastica's Donna Matthews carried the 'new wave of new wave' banner through the blood and piss-stained streets of the 'Port.

They cite the Dolls as their elder statesmen influence, alongside laudable three-minute pundits such as The Clash, The Jam, The kinks, Supergrass, Manic Street Preachers and The Who. And while they may share a monicker with 'Orange County' TV hunk Clay Adler, these lads claim more allegiance to the rough and tumble career of Newport County Football Club than to any of the nonsense coming out of Newport Beach, California.
They've spent their winter rehearsing and recording a debut single, "What They Told You" b/w "Your Summer Son" and are now ready to join the, um, new wave of new wave of new wave.

Anthony said: "My dad, Chris, is into his music big-time. When we'd come home from school he'd be playing the Dolls at full blast and we decided pretty early on that's what we wanted to do."

Support on the night comes from Cwmbran's The Novocaines who come across as South Wales' answer to Bloc Party, all angular guitar work and jerky rhythms culminating in sing along choruses and Caballero who you may well have seen at one of Riot Act's shows across town in Le Pub.

Doors open at 8pm and it's £4 entry on the night.

Hello, Mr Super Lazy Blogger here, taking a break from our new copy of Rock Band (you can sing along and drum along to Wave of Mutilation - why do anything constructive on a Sunday afternoon?). David Brewis already has a band, called Field Music, but like many others he's a greedy so&so and has decided to launch another one so he can horde all the attention like a rain bucket. (Actually I'm sure that's not his intention....) The rest of the band is here, helping out with prodution, but School of Language is mostly a Brewis solo effort. Here I should mention they're from Sunderland. So I have.

The key thing that stands out from single Rockist Part 1 is the layered vocals and instrumentation. Listening to songs' from the outfits' debut Sea from Shore is like unpacking a pandora's box of experimentation. It's not that he's trying to make new types of songs, but instead fiddling with the ways you can make them. What should probably just sound like one voice sounds like 45. On the surface Brewis is making actually very accessible songs, but in a intensly intellectual way - like a slightly stoned sound engineer who has got their hands on a pop album.

School of Language play Ten Feet Tall on June 25 with Munch Munch and Lovely Ghosts in support, curtesy of Kruger and Shape Functions. £5 in advance from Spillers, £6 on door.

Labels: saesneg