The noise that Yajé make swamps and gloops every surface like the tentacle monster from the end of Watchmen. The guitars make slicing, fuzzy waves of awkwardness, vocals beam in from some distant broom cupboard, moaning and shouting over the fractured effects pedal tidal waves. Yajé make songs located halfway between beer buzz and LSD freak out, weird and experimental yet scrappy and joyous, writhing around inside a giant, opaque jellyfish of sound. Champion dosers; monster thrills.

Course, rock music doesn’t have to made by nice people. Bitches look like they’d be more at home in Dalston, in vintage clothes, sneering. A good way to evaporate this slightly unfair air of suffocating cool though is to stomp on those effects pedals and make like a feral rock beast, and in this Bitches are at least partly successful. Blake, positioned in the audience, ignoring H & S with cavalier guitar neck swings, hacks out chunky, distorted bass riffs; Staz, on hard drums and off mic screaming, drives things with slightly unhinged energy. Their fuzzy rock is basic, harshly playful and has a seemingly random distribution of good/bad songs. On the whole, they beat the odds.

Jon Spencer, of Blues Explosion ‘fame’, once said playing live was like having all your pores opened, but he never set up four drumkits in the middle of a tiny basement and got the crowd in a circle around them. Of all the things to be said about Foot Village – their tightness, precision, megaphoned-in psycho ranting – the one thing that should be emphasised is how much fun the whole thing is. Games Workshop escapee men channel rolling thunder from their too close kits, call and response is batted between band and audience members keen to learn the benefit of shouting from the stomach, the drum workshop boils over and thumper Grace Lee lurches brilliantly around the outside of the circle, hooting and cooing head high over the rivers of rhythm. It’s like a demented workout DVD crossed with a superfun group therapy session. Once you’re plunged in the rolling, boiling racket you don’t want to leave, but you eventually get spat out with a dazed grin on your face.

LESSON NUMBER 1 PRESENTS:

WORMROT

World-smashing proper grindcore from Singapore. Recent album ‘DIRGE’ out on the legendary EARACHE records is chock full of blasting fury but you lucky people get to see it right before your eyes.
http://www.myspace.com/wormrotgrind

***********

EVISORAX

Triumphant return of the hotly-tipped fast-n-nasty-yet-technical blasters. Picking up from 2008′s Terrorizer magazine reader’s poll win with a tasty new lineup (featuring members of the legendary NARCOSIS) and even more brutal than before new music.
http://www.evisorax.co.uk/

***********
THE ATROCITY EXHIBIT

Kick-ass blend of doom and grind, with a side helping of gruesome crust. TAE just toured Europe with their bumchums ATOMCK and will be headed back out to play the super-underground awesomeness of Czech’s PLAY FAST OR DON’T festival. This lot pack 2 more instruments worth of meaty fury than any of the other bands on this show.
http://www.myspace.c…atrocityexhibit

***********

ATOMCK

Complicated and annoying grindcore straight outta’ Newport. Recently toured Europe and soon to be playing OBSCENE EXTREME J. Randall from AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED calls ‘em “The UK’s Answer to Discordance Axis” apparently.
http://www.kcmota.com/

SIX QUID

Pay attention:  if, like me, you have hitherto only sketchy knowledge of the solo work of Daniel Higgs, get familiar before the 28th.  Over eighteen years and eleven albums, his band Lungfish perfected emotional, combustible, transcendant post-hardcore before ceasing in 2005.  Since that time he’s made sporadic visits to the UK, mostly solo – here backed by two musicians – and beaten an idiosyncratic path through outsider/folk art territory taking in art, poetry and several albums thick with folkloric/religious/mythologic imagery and hypnotic, meditative drone-folk.  2010′s double album Say God is the apex of this journey, deep and spiritual, a mesh of banjo plucking, electronic drones and contemplative mantras.  Fascinating and rewarding stuff, should be an intense and rewarding listen up close.

Ratatosk is pretty much the most perfect counterpoint to Higgs’ work, his two self-released and utterly essential albums under that name presenting two sides of Rhodri Viney’s talents.  The instrumental swells of  Archipelago Vol. 1 are described as “the first in a series of diversions” from the dense, lyrical tales of high-seas madness, loneliness and desperation of C’est La Vie Tragique, but they’re no less affecting.  Building from simple loops of guitar and vocal with saw, pedal steel and melodica, they achieve stirring, uplifting results every time.  By contrast, Newport’s Lt. Meat revels in the simplicity of his one-man set up; bloke called Dave plays twangy surf-rock guitar and rowdy garage over self-made backing tracks played through his laptop.  Often he’ll be dressed in steampunk garb.  Always he’ll be an engaging stage presence with a bunch of lost B-movie soundtracks.

Lesson #1 keep bringing this goodness to you.  Get down there and give thanks.

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THURSDAY 28 APRIL

LESSON NO.1 PRESENTS

DANIEL HIGGS TRIO
What can we say about Daniel Higgs? The ex-Lungfish legend and his banjo returns to the UK, this time as a trio on several of the dates, backed by Maya Dunietz (piano/accordion) and Ram Gabai (drums), after his jaw-dropping 2-disc release on Thrill Jockey last year, Say God – a record that is spare, spacious and quite possibly his most transcendental record to date.
After 11 albums (10 for the esteemed Dischord), Lungfish seemed to grind to a halt in 2005 following the release of Feral Hymns. Simultaneously, Higgs’ solo activities took off, leading to his series of hypnotising outsider excursions for Holy Mountain, Thrill Jockey and others.
Higgs is renowned as a hypnotising and charismatic live presence with a ferociously ardent following. If you haven’t caught the Higgs bug yet, get yourself to one of these rare and sporadic shows and feel it all fall into place.
http://www.myspace.com/danielaiuhiggs

RATATOSK
The most recent incarnation of Cardiff-based musician Rhodri Viney, Ratatosk (named after a creature from Norse mythology) is maybe his most DIY venture yet. He has recorded two full-length albums which you can buy at the link below. If you spring for the CDR versions you get really great fold-y card packaging and that, as well as a collection of songs featuring sad Francophile folk, wailing musical saw, ambient drifting, lots of loops and lyrics about mad sea captains.
http://ratatosk.bandcamp.com/

LT. MEAT
Lt Meat is a fellow from Newport called Dave who has been in several punk bands, but on his own he produces a combo of country, garage, blues and surf-rock. When he plays live, his feet bring the bass drum’n'cymbal stomps while his hands provide the upbeat twang. And his face tells jokes and relates tales. It is a fine spectacle.
http://www.steakrecords.com/ltmeat.html

ALL HAPPENING AT: 10 FEET TALL, Church Street, Cardiff
Doors 9pm
£6 on the door

lessonnumberone.blogspot.com
www.10feettallcardiff.com

Top barn-burning folk-punk ahoy!  VIALKA, returning for a third Lesson #1 show, are French by birth and location but global in sensibility and musical outlook.  Want glib comparisons?  Try the borderless gypsy folk of A Hawk And A Hacksaw, fiercely tight rhythms and agit-punk DIY spirit of The Ex and, on latest album La Poursuite de l’Excellence a spareness and lyrical intensity reminiscent of Wildbirds & Peacedrums.  Above all, they’re massively good fun, look ace and may even dance for you.  Or force you to dance.  Or both.

Both next week’s ‘local’ dates offer finely chosen support, too.  Bristol’s own BOXCAR ALDOUS HUXLEY do folk shanties and eerie circus clanging on all manner of unwieldy folk instruments; lo-fi recordings on their Myspace suggest the Decemberists playing along to Yann Tiersen soundtracks in the brig of a ghost ship.  Better still, the mighty Lesson #1 team Vialka up perfectly with THREATMANTICS‘ windmilling, viola-driven folk-punk and the lurching, winking majesty of slovenly curs BRANDYMAN.  They say it’s their penultimate gig, and it seems they mean it this time.  Clamouring vocals, lopsided harmonies and witty, perceptive storytelling; sounds like an ideal night out.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

VIALKA

BOXCAR ALDOUS HUXLEY

Tuesday, 1st March 2011

The Croft, 117-119 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3RW

Doors 20:00

£6.00 adv

http://www.vialka.com/

http://www.myspace.com/boxcaraldoushuxleyband

Buy tickets

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VIALKA

THREATMANTICS

BRANDYMAN

Wednesday, 2nd March 2011

Buffalo Bar, 11 Windsor Place, Cardiff CF10 3BY

7.30 – 10.30pm

£5.00 doors

The thoroughly welcome return to South Wales of this multi-discipline French duo, who we put on back in the dark ages of 2005 and 2006. A lady, Marylise, plays frenetic drums; a gentleman, Eric, kicks out border-traversing punk rock guitar jams. There are jazzy math-rock bits, Eastern European turbofolk bits, some gypsy dancing (if yer lucky – seen ‘em do it before) and Chinese-styled melodies from their time spent there. They are just TONS OF FUN. For fans of THE EX, SECRET CHIEFS 3, A HAWK AND A HACKSAW, MINUTEMEN, SUN CITY GIRLS… http://vialka.com/

THREATMANTICS
It’s said by some people that bilinguals are just greedy, but that’s totally unfair on the Threatmantics, a band from Cardiff who sing in English and sometimes Welsh, and have done so since the middle of last decade. They have releases on the DOUBLE SIX, CIWDOD and AM labels and you can probably buy them somewhere. They tell great stories through the medium of punky guitar and screechy violin, like The Velvet Underground and dEUS and Gorky’s did. They also now feature Graf from GINDRINKER and many other bands. http://www.myspace.com/threatmantics

BRANDYMAN
About Brandyman
Biography
Retired early had triple bypass enjoying life to the full
Location
Orkney Islands
Interests
Touring and photography
Occupation
Retired
http://brandyman.bandcamp.com/

http://lessonnumberone.blogspot.com/

(Photo by Mei Lewis / Mission Photographic)

I’d like to start by stating that unless you were in a horrendous accident or someone you really liked ended up dead or something, you missed out on the best gig of this year.

Any self-respecting metal fan should already be familiar with Black Breath. Hailing from Seattle, backed up by Southern Lord Records and armed to the teeth with a brutal set of riffs and a drummer who could show Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s drum machine a thing or two, they’re truly the ‘Where the fuck did these guys come from!?’ band of the last few years.

I’d been looking forward to this show for months and to see a band that has been on tour across the states with Converge play in a small venue like Buffalo was a pretty cool prospect. The line-up for the show was ably beefed out by Swansea/London/Brecon hardcore stalwarts 33 and unpleasant metalcore types Shaped By Fate.

Due to being in work all day and living an hour away, I got to the gig just after 33 finished playing. You could have expected to hear some old-school 80’s hardcore  sung by some gnarly tattooed dudes with a lot of anger. Or maybe they’ve changed their style to some folk-rap metal crossover since the last time I saw them. This is pretty unlikely though, seeing as they’ve recently played a few dates with Gallows and Nails and they aren’t really into that sort of thing. I guess I won’t find out until the next time I  get the chance to see them play.

I was there in time to catch Shaped By Fate though. Somehow I had never seen them before and I can’t say I’d be in too much of a hurry to see them play again. The band is fairly standard metalcore/hardcore crossover and are renowned for their ‘energetic’ live show. Just before the band started playing, their singer asked everyone to move forward, then told everyone that they were going to be in harm’s way once they started playing.

Maybe the crowd wasn’t what the band was used to playing to, but their singer was extremely obnoxious in his demands to try and get people to go ‘fucking mental’ all the time and spent the majority of the set harassing anyone in the crowd who was actually bothering to watch the band. After nearly getting a glass bottle smashed into my face because of the singer trying to whip up an uninterested crowd, I decided to go to the bar. Surely being part of the hardcore scene means going to the shows and supporting the bands without someone telling you how you should be doing it? Musically, the band was pretty cool, but the singer left a bad taste in my mouth with his macho tough-guy posturing.

Black Breath came onto the stage with little fanfare and opened up with Black Sin (Spit On The Cross). The band all went at it flat out with heads banging and hair flying everywhere and it was like being transported back to one of the first metal gigs of your life. Black Breath have all the elements of an awesome metal band; long hair, beards, references to being evil that doesn’t take itself too seriously, fast drums, distorted guitars and throat shredding vocals.

For a band who are only one album and an EP into their career, there is no shortage of killer material to choose from. They have taken all the best elements of Swedish death metal like Entombed, hardcore punk like Discharge and the Kill ‘Em All era thrash of Metallica  and created a raging beast that only headbanging and beer can satisfy.

There was no real let up in the pace of the set, with the band playing more than half the songs from their Heavy Breathing album and half of the songs from their Razor To Oblivion EP. There was even an added metal Easter egg thrown in with the inclusion of a cover of Desperate Cry by Sepultura.

To see a band like Black Breath playing in a small venue packed out full of people pretty much made my year and I can’t remember the last time I went to a show where I consistently banged my head like I was 16 again without giving a shit what anyone else thought. With the metal/hardcore scene becoming more and more about fashion and coolness, it’s a massive breath of fresh air to find a band that’s made up of a genuine bunch of guys who love to play, drink a few beers and rock out with their audience.

There’s no bullshit or pretension and I found myself with a shit-eating grin plastered across my face from the start to the finish of their set and wished for once that there would be an encore. Everyone was having a good time, I didn’t have some jerk trying to push me over or punch me in the face and I can’t think of a time where seeing a band play made me feel so glad to be alive.

Their singer asked for the disco ball hanging from the ceiling to be turned on before they finished up their set with WeWhoCannotBeNamed. People slammed into each other and had a blast under the same disco lights that would be shining on an altogether different crowd of people for the dubstep stylings of James Blake, who was playing after them.

Anybody who missed the band this time around should hand in their membership card to the Metal Club ™ and kick themselves for missing out on the best metal band of the last decade.

Shouldn’t really need to emphasise the compulsory attendance of this show; the Lesson No. 1 kitemark of quality is proudly emblazoned hereon and, as you might have come to expect, it’s headlined by a genius U.S. outfit of raging metal brilliance.  Seattle’s BLACK BREATH, for it is they, combine breakneck thrash, furious hardcore, jaw-droppingly ace, technical soloing and a bit of black metal throat-clearing for good measure.  It’s often easy to recommend this stuff purely on the basis of Lesson No. 1′s perfectly-pitched descriptions and the pedigree of the bands, but seriously, check this lot out; if you remotely enjoy any of the above genres you’ll have a total boner for Black Breath.  If you’re merely curious, it’s genuinely, weirdly accessible enough to grab you and hurl you across the room.  The album Heavy Breathing is totally brilliant and you should buy it.  There.

Naturally the supports are tight as all fuck too; pummelling metalcore-as-it-should-be-done locals SHAPED BY FATE, soon to drop a follow up to nasty, hulking debut The Unbeliever – think Converge, Dillinger, usual suspects when I’m previewing this stuff – and Swansea-bred hardcore stalwarts 33, presently touring with Gallows and offering up 80s NYC-inspired thrash and tasty crowd interaction.

Heads up – this one’s an EARLY show, 7.30 – 11.00, with James Blake’s much-salivated-over Cardiff debut directly following it. If I’ve recovered from an operation on the broken wrist some twat recently inflicted on me, I’m doing both. Why don’t you?

(awesome poster below by BVRSERK. awesome image above from the remarkable metal/baking crossover blog METALCAKES)

THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER

LESSON NO.1 PRESENT:

BLACK BREATH (Southern Lord, USA)
…http://www.blackbreath.com/
http://www.myspace.com/blackbreath
Incredibly raging bulldozer metal godliness from Seattle, featuring (ex) members of SHOOK ONES, GO IT ALONE, BLUE MONDAY and other bands they don’t sound like. On their two releases to date – 2008′s ‘Razor To Oblivion’ EP, re-released last year by Southern Lord, and 2010′s Kurt Ballou-produced debut album ‘Heavy Breathing’ – they mash up old skool Swedish death metal, crossover thrash, Japanese hardcore, crust and a bunch of other ish. Dirty and hairy but also impeccably focused. If you like metal, don’t even think about missing this.

SHAPED BY FATE
http://www.myspace.com/shapedbyfate
Rare-ish hometown show for Cardiffian gentlemen who have spent much of 2010 writing and recording their second full-length album. Pretty sure it’s going to bang. They take influence from nasty hardcore, nastier metal and helpfully enough nasty metalcore (the sort that is good and doesn’t have dayglo merchandise) and their shows tend to be mad lively. You may already know all that.

33
http://www.myspace.com/33aregods
Also making a fairly rare South Wales appearance, 33 started in Swansea and are now also based in Brecon and London. They feature current and ex-members of a bunch of bands, notably CAPTAIN INSANO, IRONCLAD, SAVE YOUR BREATH and DUKES OF NOTHING (Tony Sylvester, their newest member, used to be in them. Anyone see DoN with Scissorfight in Swansea? That was great). They play fast and uncompromising hardcore nodding to the early 80s New York and Michigan scenes, among others. Respec’ knuckles for having only one 30-second song on their Myspace, imo.

ALL HAPPENING AT: Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff

7.30pm doors
£6 adv from here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/96654

]]> http://www.thejoycollective.co.uk/blog/preview/lesson-no-1-present-black-breath-shaped-by-fate-33-buffalo-bar-cardiff-25-11-10/feed/ 0 http://www.thejoycollective.co.uk/blog/preview/keiths-swn-preview-unrealistic-schedule-of-what-to-see-this-weekend-cardiff-21-24-10-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=keiths-swn-preview-unrealistic-schedule-of-what-to-see-this-weekend-cardiff-21-24-10-10 http://www.thejoycollective.co.uk/blog/preview/keiths-swn-preview-unrealistic-schedule-of-what-to-see-this-weekend-cardiff-21-24-10-10/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:26:46 +0000 keef http://www.thejoycollective.co.uk/blog/?p=8200

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Assuming you like running at pace around various Cardiff venues, that is, and if you don’t you’re in the wrong place.  There’s a massive amount of ace new music to explore – trust me, I’ve spent the last fortnight on Myspace seeking it out – so spreadsheets at the ready, and off we go…

Thursday packs a punishing amount into six hours and seven venues.  Christen the festival in familiar style with Threatmantics (Clwb), currently on career-best form – loud, delirious folk-rock with cracking tunes.    Or try Dad Rocks (Y Fuwch Goch), belying an awful name with intricate plucking, mournful trumpet and lyrical quirkiness.  Kutosis kick off a fine evening with the Barely Regal label, bringing whipsmart indie punk tautness to Dempseys; dip in there then back to Clwb for Sweet Baboo’s country-rock reboot of his endlessly charming songbook before taking in Sun Drums (Model Inn), alternately blissed-out and uneasy with spooked vocal hiccups woven into pitter-patter electronica.  Your appetite for some mid-evening beats duly whetted, Chad Valley’s beautifully melancholic Balearic euphoria – think Tough Alliance, Dolorean etc – should be a must, and Nedry’s marriage of Bjork/Fever Ray ethereal gloom to dubstep wobble in CAI wil stop you in your tracks.  An alternate route can be found via Spectrals’ bus station doo-wop fuzz  (Clwb) or Right Hand Left Hand’s ever-brilliant math-rock genius (Dempseys), followed by either the redoubtable, insidiously eerie pop of Clinic (Clwb) or Attack + Defend’s one-off live return (Model).  Three choices, all excellent, and it’s only Thursday evening.  Whichever you choose, haste ye then to Lesson No. 1’s showcase at the Model in time for Nordic tundra-metal titans Arabrot; from there, White Ring’s foggy, bad-acid slo-mo electronica (Undertone), Talons’ fret-tappy post-rock epics (Dempseys) and Samoans’ widescreen, Aereogramme-recalling math-prog (Fuwch) would all be fine options before taking in the twisting, soul-baring tension/release and Shellacian tautness of Bellini (Model).  That seems an ideal point to close the first day.  You’ll need your rest, after all.

Don’t know how to tell you this, but Thursday’s just an icebreaker.  Friday stretches the legs and the stamina still further, typified by the corking one-two across the bows that is Drains‘ cheeky, grungey hood-wearing punk (Chapter) and the magnificent Jesus Lizard creep and flex of the splendid Brandyman (Clwb).  A gentler introduction lies with Lucky Delucci (Undertone), reborn as gently anthemic folk-rockers.  Standard Fare‘s last Cardiff appearance was blighted by braying goons sharing the venue; their smart, vulnerable and hugely catchy indie-pop deserves better and will be one of the day’s treats.  Skip across town to Chapter for more big-hearted joy from Steve Baboo and Rob Voluntary Butler Scheme’s supergroup Wickes, perhaps; followed by a sly outside bet in the form of Stricken City (Undertone), all strident Polly Harvey/Zola Jesus vocals and luminous reverb-soaked, darkly inviting odd-pop.  Clwb, meanwhile, sees the re-energised Truckers Of Husk showcase new additions to their supremely catchy math-pop catalogue, and from there half an hour of Bastions‘ furious North Walian hardcore should naturally follow.  Plenty of top-drawer electronica once again today – Dam Mantle‘s glitchy, stuttering breaks and burbling dubstep-not-dubstep synths and the sublime Warp Records IDM classicism of Quinoline Yellow go back-to-back at CAI, while the skeletal Nintendo beats and Zomby-esque bleeps of Becoming Real are a hot tip for excellent leery, bassy fun at Buffalo.  Hang on there for Visions Of Trees, perhaps, whose horrid name hides an unexpectedly lovely, ghostly North Africa-goes-R n’ B take on Telepathe’s crystalline darkness.  Or take in a rare visit from legendary Dutch anarchist post-punks The Ex (Clwb), restless experimental visionaries as relevant now as ever.  Lesson No.1 strike again, there.   The confident, gleaming psych-pop classicism of The Keys will be a revitalising pop rush for tired ears and legs, so stop in at Y Fuwch Goch for that before deciding between Raffertie‘s queasy, rollercoaster dubstep/rave hybrid (Buffalo) or the Ras Kwame-helmed late-nighter at Clwb where grime don P Money holds court.  Or both.  No work tomorrow, y’know?

Saturday.  Plenty of ways to start day 3 in relaxed fashion, with Ballad of Britain taking a Welsh slant on the UK’s folk music history in the company of Trembling Bells and Richard James.  That’s in Chapter, with DJs and Scrabble in Dempseys; hardier souls will dive straight back in to the live tackle.  Undertone hosts H. Hawkline, now offering chewy psych-folk songwriting with krautrock leanings, and the lo-fi Welsh language glam-pop of Mr Huw.  Throats‘ overdriven math-metal lunacy is the pick of an earthier line-up at Clwb.  One of the year’s must-see bands play twice today; Y Niwl‘s expertly turned out surf twang will have you twisting in the aisles at both CAI and the Model.  See ‘em twice, pausing inbetween to take in the a nice counterpoint of Still Corners (Buffalo), whose glowing girl group balladry recalls trashy death-disc sadness and Broadcast’s exquisite poise.  Nice.   Tough choices abound come the evening, and weariness may play a part.  The Legendary Meic Stevens (TM), the increasingly ace stirring folk of Evening Chorus, the sweet acoustic sampledelia of Huw M and The Gentle Good‘s reliably pretty Welsh folk tales all feature on a great  bill at Chapter, where the day’s standouts Trembling Bells later bring awesome, soaring Incredible String Band folk-rock.  Do. Not. Miss.  Cate Le Bon clashes directly with them, which is truly gutting as her bucolic, earthy psych is ever a treat.  She’s on in Buffalo, and should you be in town you can also catch Let’s Wrestle and their endearing, shambolic lo-fi heartbreak pop, or the return of elusive Peel faves Melys (Clwb).  Spector-worthy pop thrills abound in Clwb, too, with the way-underrated wistful C86 joys of The School and the unnervingly young Magic Kids‘ Sesame Street Beach Boys vibe.  Clutch them to your weary bosom, before racing off to the Model to catch some of Beach Fossils‘ insidiously catchy, chiming indie pop, then to Dempseys where Veronica Falls offer expertly poised girl-group angst and smart male/female harmonies.  James Blackshaw should not be missed, should you be able to get into the MMH; his staggering 12-string guitar mantras would ideally be showcased at Chapter, but that’s my tough luck.  Whether you’ve chosen some of the above, or Perfume Genius‘ much-vaunted exploration of crushingly bittersweet Sufjan Stevens balladry, shoegazey FX and Antony Hegarty’s glassy vulnerability, do whatever is necessary to cram into the Model Inn for Islet‘s closing set.  Surely hopelessly oversubscribed, their feverish, joyous polyrhythmic attack and crowd-bothering interaction will echo the crazed scenes of last year’s Strange News and Right Hand Left Hand shows.  Those forking out the extra dollar can move on to catch the once-in-a-lifetime realignment of Swans at the MMH; the rest will drag their sorry frames to Clwb, or to the Silent Disco, and reconvene at Dim Swn (Gwdihw) on Sunday to drink away the pain to the strains of Gruff Rhys and Pete Fowler’s soothing DJ sets.  I’ll be there.  I might need a hug.

Owing to the unfortunate postponement of Racebannon’s tour until January 2011, the second time in a row fate has prevented them from levelling Buffalo with their sludgy blooze-punk attack, this Lesson #1 event has become a bargain-priced showcase for a clutch of new bands with fine local pedigree and plenty of noisy promise.

The main draw here is BRANDYMAN, whose six-song, 18-minute cameo at our Action Beat show last week damn near stole the gold.  A jagged, muscly take on 90s alt-rock with sheet-metal Jesus Lizard guitars and the fevered, declamatory narration of Gindrinker frontman DC Gates, they’re loud, witty, catchy and tight as the proverbial.  Vivers’ breathless review of their free-to-download Adam Walton session will tell you more.  Look out for the cover version, it’s splendid.

Your defacto headliners A THOUSAND ARROWS mine a similar seam of crushing post-hardcore riffs and 90s influences – At The Drive-In notable among them – and have form in Panel and Raging Speedhorn.  Some tasty-sounding demos at their Myspace.  Newer still on the block are THE MILK RACE, whose demo offering is remarkably lo-fi but betrays a recent past in the likes of International Karate Plus and Heck – short, choppy, new-wave influenced indie rock.  Be there early to witness the spectacle that is BOOZE – their first performance, rescuing a similarly late-changing bill, saw the ensemble legless and the chief howler licking cheap spirits off the floor of Clwb.  Something to behold.

MONDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

LESSON NO.1 PRESENTS:

A THOUSAND ARROWS
Newish but building a rep day by day, A Thousand Arrows is where dudes from bands you know – SHAPED BY FATE and RAGING SPEEDHORN notably; PANEL, THE SLOWDANCE and THE HUMAN RACE more than worthy of mention – act out their love of (mostly) 90s bands like HELMET, SNAPCASE, QUICKSAND and CAVE IN. Solid metal riffs, cane sugar melody. Three demo tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/athousandarrowsuk

BRANDYMAN
Dudes ex and current of other Cardiff bands – TRUCKERS OF HUSK, FTSE100, JOY OF SEX, GINDRINKER – plus, in the case of the drummer, THE ACTING PROFESSION (not a band). Brandyman have been active since the start of the year and play wicked tight math-rock with ZZ TOP b(l)ooze riffs and lyrics to make you giggle, and think. This is where you can hear them: http://brandyman.bandcamp.com/

THE MILK RACE
These fellows number three and have served in these bands. Ready? THE MARTINI HENRY RIFLES, SPACE IN THE 50S, MO-HO-BISH-O-PI, THE INTERNATIONAL KARATE PLUS and NAMELESS. So they are old hands in the realm of indie-rock and punk and garage and sweating. They purport to be influenced by DEVO and THE WIPERS this time out, so that’s good. They have one rehearsal here: http://www.myspace.com/themilkrace cos they’re that new! Turn it up loud.

BOOZE
Legends in their own liquid lunchtime, BOOZE feature members of The Death Of Her Money and Dan Lazenby, who has played in quite a few bands. Their M.O. is to get really really drunk before playing, then go and play trashy rock music and fall around a lot. Ace.

ALL HAPPENING AT: Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff

7.30pm doors
£4 on the door

http://lessonnumberone.blogspot.com/ or search ‘Lesson No.1’ on Facebook
http://www.buffalocardiff.com/

LESSON NO.1 & PUS PRESENT:

CONAN
Slow’n’low bottomed-out doom metal juggernaut from Liverpool who have been round a few years but have only recently cooked up their first proper release – ‘Horseback Battle Hammer’ on the Aurora Borealis and Throne labels. Its four long tracks are manna from Valhalla if you like ELECTRIC WIZARD, MOSS, FLOOR or EYEHATEGOD. They are also an object lesson in how to use heavy metal iconography without looking naff or trying too hard. http://www.myspace.com/conandoomconan is the place that backs my statements up.

SPIDER KITTEN
South Wales veterans (been around for the best part of a decade now so I’m calling it) who have shifted, release to release, between EARTH-hailing drone, mucky proto-grunge, big-booted doom and shimmery psychedelic rock. This is apparently an “improv drone set” which you can expect to move a lot of air. They have put several tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/spiderkitten

PUS
Initially the project of two fellows from Merthyr named Rob and John, PUS swiftly added members and, in the last few months, have been witnessed playing sets of buzzing, feedback-consumed blackened punk sludge, as well as recording a 30-minute demo of the same. The battle at this show to play the slowest and puke the most distortion out of the amps will begin keenly. Check out http://www.myspace.com/pushatesyou/

ALL HAPPENING AT: Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff

7pm doors / 10pm finish. FIRST BAND ON AT 7.30PM SHARP – THIS IS A SERIOUS CURFEW YOU GUYS.
£5 on the door

http://lessonnumberone.blogspot.com/
http://www.buffalocardiff.com/