Told you it was going to pick up a bit. Shortest month it may be, but February’s local listings are stuffed to the gills with excellent-looking gigs and, hearteningly, several have sold out weeks in advance. Good work you lot. Keep it up. As a brief hover over the images above and text below will demonstrate, there’s plenty more beyond the bigger name stuff this next 28 days…
First up, sincere thanks are due to those who came to our jointly hosted night with Drum Eyes, H. Hawkline and Bear-Man last week. Three cracking sets and a welcome and healthy crowd, especially given that there was other stuff on across town and in Bristol that was well worth seeing too. Cheers. We’re at it again this month, and that Hawkline chap is heavily involved again. Indeed, Mr Huw Evans has put together a stellar evening of psychedelic treats (Clwb, 11th) headlined by one MC Taylor, formerly of gently baroque Americana outfit The Court & Spark (their Bless You LP was a gem, check it) and now charting solo explorations as HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER. Stirring in deep Southern Soul, gospel and hushed folk, he’ll be joined on guitar by Rick Tomlinson AKA Voice Of The Seven Thunders, which is ruddy awesome news. Not only that but CATE LE BON will support, with a full band and a stack of new songs, and H. HAWKLINE himself opens with a solo set. We’ll be trying not to ruin proceedings with shit music when we join the quality DJ line-up on the middle floor afterwards. Seriously, all nepotism aside, do not miss this. Neither should you sleep on a belting night of outer-limits noise and invention at CAI (20th) care of NZ blackened dronemeister OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY THE WORLD, with electro-acoustic improv from TEAM SPORTS and epic ambient shoegaze vibes from MARS TO STAY in support. Turn up, heathens, and thank Murray the promoter when you leave.
On a completely different tack, we’re also back in Undertone and teaming up with Loose again on the 28th. This time there’s a cracking double bill with sibling duo EUX AUTRES, all bilingual French/English cooing, Brill Building songwriting chops and Aislers Set-style indiepop cool, and STANDARD FARE, who, I repeat, are the best band of their ilk in the country right now. We’ve also nabbed THE JELAS and THEM SQUIRRELS as supports, both for their first Cardiff show in ages, and the twitchy post-punk Bristolians have a highly attractive hometown album launch at Cafe Kino (26th) with the splendid WET DOG among others. Yet more DIY spirit on offer at Undertone on the 7th, too, where the perma-touring LOVELY EGGS (also playing Mothers’ Ruin in Bristol on the 3rd) are supported by a solo debut for Joy Of Sex multi-instrumentalist ROSIE SMITH and the utterly unique improv/toytronic/picnic spectacle that is STACKING CHAIRS. Not to be missed, I’d wager.
One of the most impressive things about February’s listings, though, is that Cardiff seems for once to have wrestled the most mouth-watering medium to large alternative gigs from Bristol (or, at least, convinced the bands to play both cities). Hats off to Swn, in particular, who have a crazy eight gigs this month. Top coup is the first Welsh show for LES SAVY FAV (Globe, 23rd), consistently great US indie-rock dark horses on record but transformed into utter must-sees live. You cannot see this band often enough. Plenty of architectural features at the Globe for Tim Harrington to climb up/hang off too. TRUCKERS OF HUSK‘s glacially-paced re-evolution continues with a tasty support slot so get there early. The night before (Globe, 22nd), wonderfully euphoric Danes EFTERKLANG return to the scene of one of the Point’s last great shows; they’ve sanded away their more experimental edges on record of late but as their Green Man closing set showed they’re still a joyous night out. ATP film director Vincent Moon’s Efterklang piece An Island will show beforehand, and is also aired alone at the Cube on the 21st. Before all that, Swn cap a hectic week with the debut Cardiff show for Euros Childs and Norman Blake’s hot new combo JONNY (Clwb, 8th, support from one-man folk orchestra HUW M) – splendidly, this one’s already sold out, but check returns (or see them at the Cooler in Bristol the night before). The album’s dreamy, should be a lovely old night. The other twin pillar of questing Welsh psychedelic pop, GRUFF RHYS, takes his Hotel Shampoo on the road this month with the mighty Y NIWL as support and backing band; they call at Bristol St Georges on the 28th. Preceding the Jonny gig are Swn shows for Jose Gonzalez’ dayjob band JUNIP, with well-chosen support from sweetly folky Canadian indie troupe WOODPIGEON (MMH, 6th) and the, er, Australian Seasick Steve CW STONEKING (Globe, 7th). Phew.
Loads more impressive names where that lot came from, though, the most mouth-watering of whom is MOGWAI. Last time the consistently awesome post-rock doyens were here, their blistering volume crumbled the very ceiling of the Coal Exchange; shame there’s no venue deemed more suitable than the Uni Great Hall (18th) or the 02 Academy (19th) this time, but you can’t have it all. Suitably epic, Krautrock-tinged support comes from THE TWILIGHT SAD. BRITISH SEA POWER double up too, their Bunnymen pomp and Dad’s Army eccentricity blending nicely at Clwb (7th) and Thekla (8th). RACE HORSES support at both dates, with HAIL! THE PLANES opening the sold-out Clwb date. Elsewhere, WIRE tour their best album in 20 years (Fleece, 10th) and will, rest assured, be much louder than you expect. THE HOLD STEADY are another wildly uplifting live band who’ve been treading water a little in the studio, but even in the o2 Academy (5th) it should be ace boozy, air-punching fun.
Still on headline-grabbing names, but with fewer lumpy blokes in plaid, the irksome but impressive CRYSTAL CASTLES and overcooked dubstep ‘supergroup’ (ugh) MAGNETIC MAN are the pick of the NME Tour line-up (Cardiff Uni 13th; 02 Academy 15th). That money’s far better spent on the thrilling future-R&B of JANELLE MONAE (02 Academy, 24th) or one of two supreme bills upcoming in Bristol on the same weekend. First up is a Border Community label night at Thekla (18th) with label boss, high profile remixer and author of progressive-techno gems JAMES HOLDEN and genius protege NATHAN FAKE. Even better is the following night’s line-up at the Arnolfini where, if their recent live album is any indicaction, MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO will totally slay with live dubbed-up fx and spacey kraut-techno-jazz workouts. Near-uncategorisable bass explorer ACTRESS and spooked-out drone/dub/out-music duo DEMDIKE STARE fill out a bill which is currently making me kick myself from one end of the office to the other for the fact I can’t go. Do not be as stupid as me. More dancefloor-friendly activity (or opportunities to crane your neck at dudes with laptops) can be found with DARKSTAR‘s full-band versions on dubstep (CAI, 24th or Start The Bus, 25th), much-vaunted dubstep-friendly R&B newcomer JAMIE WOON (Start The Bus, 20th) and the still fun tartrazine rush of THE GO! TEAM (MMH, 27th, with Banjo Or Freakout or Anson Rooms, 11th). If you go to that Arnolfini gig, you’d better bloody enjoy it. Grrr.
Too much to fit in this month really, so here’s a few more recommended gigs before the round-up begins. FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS and CLOUD NOTHINGS is a pretty excellent double bill of cheeky Dexys/Futureheads soul-pop and frighteningly precocious lo-fi pop nuggets respectively; plus, the Cardiff gig is (a) hosted by Britain’s Nicest Man Huw Stephens and (b) winningly taking place in Dempseys (25th). Attend, or there’s F&TH on their own in the Fleece on the 27th. LA SERA, who feature Katy Goodman out of Vivian Girls, hit these shores for the first time at Start The Bus (19th) – first on with two slightly ropy electropop turns though, so travel early. THE PHANTOM BAND‘s curious mix of Beta Band experimentation, Alasdair Roberts’ questing Scottish folk tradition and bassy main-stage rock should work nicely at the Fleece (5th). Shirt-spurning, soundman-bothering Joy pals ACTION BEAT bring their endless hall-of-mirrors guitars and drum setup to the Croft (25th) where Qu Junktions and How Come present another epic bill. Qu also have Joanna Newsom sideman RYAN FRANCESCONI and NANCY ELIZABETH team up at the Cube (20th) where THE BALKY MULE support; elsewhere on Bristol’s teeming DIY scene THIS IS THE KIT and THE MIDDLE ONES play Cafe Kino on the 20th and 27th respectively and Liverpudlian psych nutbags MUGSTAR return to the Louisiana on the 4th. Those in or near Newport should unquestionably join Gathered In Song and Balloon at Le Pub (13th) for Americana treats with DOLLY VARDEN and MAGNOLIA SUMMER, writers, poets and booze; they should also check out Throwing Muse-y Dutch types LABASHEEDA who we’ve reviewed before and who play Meze on the 18th. Last words: go see THEE VICARS‘ stylish garage facsimiles (Gwdihw, 4th), SAMOANS‘ tumbling prog/math epics (Buffalo, 9th, with SURVIVALISTS in support) and TWIN SHADOW‘s navel-gazing 80′s-indebted sad-pop (Cooler, 18th). Or don’t, whatever.
Round-up time, or Stuff I Either Forgot To Mention Or Wasn’t That Bothered About. Are you stuck in the 90s? Big whoop, ULTRASOUND are laying into the riders again (Thekla, 13th) and DAVID MCALMONT is maybe playing that one song (Fleece, 13th). Choose! Or, go see bluesy Brit classicists WOLF PEOPLE (Cooler, 14th), eerily popular minor Wainwright JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN (Thekla, 5th), absurd twin bass drum metal gods NILE (MMH, 8th), doom brethren GHAST (Croft, 3rd), MEIC STEVENS‘ last ever Welsh gig (Clwb, 12th), ho-hum indies THE DUKE SPIRIT (Clwb, 15th), evergreen wordsmith and total dude JOHN COOPER CLARKE (Globe, 12th, with GINDRINKER no less), Wichita Linesman JIMMY WEBB (St Georges, 2nd), top Mekon JON LANGFORD (Newport Barnabas Arts House, 5th) or singing anthro-PC MR HOPKINSON’S COMPUTER (Cube, 14th). Happy Valentine’s Day if you’re going to that one, weirdos. Happy February to the rest of you. Get out there.
