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Leamington Peace Festival
19th June
Ok yes we know since when has Leamington been in Wales? Well it isn’t, but we were there so hey ho! This free 2 day festival is a real highlight of the year in the Midlands featuring live music and numerous local community groups. All free and all staffed by volunteers. Music is mostly local bands and the highlight this year was the ever excellent and thoroughly entertaining Misty’s Big Adventure. The band helped kick the festival crowd into life with their up tempo alternative pop classics such as Fashion Parade and Never Stops Never Rests. Songs from their new album such as Atonement sounded slightly more serious and less wacky but nonetheless extremely entertaining. Towards the end of their set the wild antics of stage dancer Erotic Volvo even prompted a mini stage invasion. We truly hope Misty’s Big Adventure never stop, never rest and definitely never end.
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Paper Aeroplanes at
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
11th June
When the groups album came out recently I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with the production. My recollection of having seen and heard Sarah Howells live didn’t seem to match the sound coming out of my CD player. It sounded a bit too polished and dare I say it sounded like it was veering dangerously close towards the Corrs territory. However, seeing the band live augmented by cello and violin has restored my faith in the quality of their songs, the purity and beauty of Sarah’s voice and their overall high standard of musicianship. The band is unlikely to appear on the radar of the uber cool music fashionsitas, but on the evidence of this near capacity crowd Paper Aeroplanes look set to take off big time.
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Gareth Pearson, Jimi Alexander & the Satellites, Bright Light Bright Light &
Jessica Lee Morgan
Chapter, Cardiff
30th May 2010
This was the first event organised by newsoundwales and it provided an opportunity for us to put on artists that we feel represent some of the best new music in Wales. Jessica Lee Morgan started the evening in grand style with some well appreciated stripped down acoustic versions of track from her excellent debut cd 'I Am Not'. Bright Light Bright Light are a significant shift in style from Rod Thomas' previous solo work. Any concerns we had that this new music might not go down so well with the Chapter crowd were soon allayed with the audience really taking to BLBL's emotion packed electro pop. Jimi Alexander & the Satellites began with just Jimi and Lucy on cello with some smouldering songs. Gradually the band stepped up and gradually the band started to cook. Highlight was a storming version of 'Burn A Little Brighter'. Last up was guitar maestro Gareth Pearson who really packed a punch with his virtuoso playing. He even put so much physicality into his playing that he fell over at one stage. Playing a mixture of originals and covers such as Paranoid Android Gareth kept the audience entranced and amazed by his artistry. Altogether this was a great night of music and we hope to put on more events in the near future.
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Lucy Wainwright Roche
Toucan club, Cardiff
22nd March
It must be a blessing and a bit of a curse to be the daughter of famous folk parents. However, Lucy doesn’t seem to have let this faze her too much. She has been touring the UK with the excellent ‘indie twang songstress’ fellow Brooklynite and old school chum Rebecca Pronsky. Together they make quite a double act. Rebecca was seen sharing her chocolate eggs around just before Lucy’s set – is that the ideal thing to be eating before starting singing??!! Either way it didn’t impede Lucy’s singing which is pure and sweet or she has a growing repertoire of solid and fairly traditional songs not too dissimilar in style to her Father Loudon Wainwright. She also shares with him a strong sense of audience involvement and her onstage banter with tales of late night visits to NHS hospitals with blind dates whilst introducing new song ‘Accident & Emergency’ were both funny and touching. Her performance of ‘Bridge’ was majestic and just as good as the 8 year old girl’s youtube cover version that she said had eclipsed her own! Lucy Wainwright Roche may never write an opera like Rufus or appear on stage at the Barbican singing Edith Piaf like Martha. However, she looks set to have a long and steady career ahead as a solid and dependable nu folk troubadour.
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The Hidden Cameras
The Gate, Cardiff
22nd March
It could and should have been the one of the gigs of the year. With PA problems, late opening, staff that seemed incapable of operating the lighting system this came close to being a wipe out. Cardiff band The School provided a short support slot and demonstrated why they are becoming one of the principality's hottest musical properties. Channelling classic 60s pop through a 21st century filter and you end up with a glorious sound and a band who really enjoy themselves on stage. With the house lights still on and almost unnoticed Joel Gibbs and his 8 piece indie orchestra emerged to the sounds of the title track from their slow burning recent album 'Origin:Orphan' . Featuring songs such as 'The Colour of a Man' and 'Walk On' (a number 1 in their Canadian homeland) made you realise just how far Joel Gibbs' song writing has developed since their last visit to the Cardiff Barfly 4 years ago. Gibbs has that incongruous and often disconcerting ability to sing sweet and innocent melodies over thoughtful, provocative and sometimes disturbing lyrics. Add an 8 piece band into the mix and you have an awesome sound. The band came up against the 11pm curfew and this only helped to increase the sense of drama with a defiant version of 'Ban Marriage' blaring forth as the Gate staff remonstrated with the sound engineer. The sound was eventually pulled at the peak of their encore with the revised uptempo version of 'Origin:Orphan'. However, the band played on valiantly and the defeated sound engineer joined the crowd with hands joyously waving in the air - nothing was going to stop the power of the Hidden Cameras and their gay church folk music tonight.
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65daysofstatic
Trinity Centre, Bristol
8 May 2010 reviewed by Rob Richards
Where do you find the most exciting music? Is it massive bass beats overlaid by a keyboard pattern, with irresistible hooks that loop and build into an ecstatic release? Or is it searing guitar and huge thrashing chords, driven by a drummer who hits the skins as if they have just done something unspeakable to his mother? Or is it all about timing; knowing when to build and when to drop out and start it all again? Is it possible for one band to combine all of these? If you saw 65daysofstatic in Bristol last Saturday, then you know the answer is a resounding YES!
If you can stop jumping up and down long enough to listen, you can detect elements of techno, metal, punk, minimalist classical and even jingles from old video games. What makes 65dos so special, is the way they layer all these different elements, so that they complement each other. That they can maintain the discipline to do this, at the speed and intensity with which they play, is truly remarkable. Then, just for a moment, everything drops out and they tantalise the audience with am little theme that is just so beautiful, before they overwhelm them with the next surge of power.
This is music which it is impossible to categorise. Maybe that is why they are not as massive as they deserve to be. It may also be that, while the band are clearly delighted that people love their music, their exchanges with the audience are minimal, to say the least. I sensed several times that the audience was ready to burst into uproar but the band seemed almost deliberately to frustrate this, either by obscuring the point where one number ends or moving so swiftly into the next one, that there was no time to applaud. Even the obligatory 'false' end to the set was fudged by some re-arranging of the kit, ready for the next number. Perhaps, their only concession to 'crowd-pleasing' was to save until last, the epic 'Radio Protector'. The number starts with a hauntingly beautiful piano intro, in come the big drums and the piano gets more excited before everything drops out to build again, this time with massive guitar chords over the top to add to the intensity, emphasis then switches back to keyboards for the fallaway at the end.
Their 2009 live album 'Escape from New York' does a pretty good job of capturing the excitement of one of their live gigs but if you want a real treat, see them for yourself.
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Erik Hassle Buffalo
Cardiff
30th March
This was an Island Records evening hosted by our own Pete Lawrie who is signed to the label. The room resembled something of a camera club night out with a host of tripods recording the evening for some sort of promotional exercise. With the house lights on this didn't create a particularly warm atmosphere. Lawrie is an assured and accomplished singer and will no doubt fit into the James Morrison niche when he is finally launched. Erik Hassle on the other hand has some truly excellent songs and a great pop voice. This was an unplugged performance sans his usual big electro keyboard productions. However, this served to illustrate just how good many of his songs are such as 'Hurtful' and 'The Thanks I Get'. His album has gone somewhat unnoticed in this country which is probably due to the focus on female singers at present. Erik Hassle is no FrankMusik and is a major talent in the making who deserves a bigger audience than he had on this occasion.
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Lady Gaga
Cardiff Arena
3rd March
Lady Gaga has come along way in the past year. Last time she was in Cardiff was to support the Pussycat Dolls. How times have changed. She has now joined the premier league with her Fame album recently going diamond for sales of over 10 million. This was a full on spectacular with numerous set and costume changes, snogging centurions and giant monsters. Camp, humorous, stirring and thought provoking. She gave us ‘Just Dance’ early on and kept us waiting for her big signature numbers ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Paparazzi’. In between costume changes were provocative Leigh Boweryesque images were projected onto a backdrop which indicates that she will always push the boundaries and wishes to be seen as an artist rather than just a musician. Throughout our journey to the Monster Ball she engaged with and worked the audience. She knows which buttons to press to get a sell out crowd to adore her and feel part of her monster family. She has studied her heroes well. You sensed we were part of a tour that will go down as the start of Lady Gaga’s transition from disco pop hit maker to global superstar. Move over Madonna your successor has arrived.
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Johnny Flynn & the Sussex Wit
Clwb Ifor Bach
2nd March
When Johnny Flynn last played Cardiff he was hotly tipped as the bright hope of nu folk with a real buzz building around him. After a relatively quiet 2009 I wasn’t sure if things had gone slightly off the boil and if acts such as Mumford & Sons had stolen his thunder. I was wrong. The sold out Clwb Ifor was rammed to the rafters with a mixed crowd crossing the generational divide. Rather than standing still Flynn has developed his style and much of the set was new material from his forthcoming album due in May. The new songs sounded more rootsy and even with a touch of afro beat at one stage. Flynn’s guitar playing has also improved dramatically and at times he even had a touch of TomVerlaine about his playing. Old favourites such as ‘The Box’ & ‘The Wrote & the Writ’ went down as well as you would have expected, but new material was fully embraced by the crowd which seemed genuinely excited and drawn in by the band’s performance. Towards the end an inebriated voice in the crowd shouted ‘The new album’s going to be fucking awesome’. That remains to be seen, but on the evidence of tonight it could certainly prove to be a marked progression from his debut and may well win over some of the more cynical critics around.
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Chris Hicks/Any Other Day & Kadesha
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
16th February
I first saw Kadesha doing a support slot at the Globe last year and being duly impressed we ran a feature in our new artist section. She has come along way in 12 months and now has an impressive array of songs, such as the infectious Jack Johnsonesque ‘Happy’, and a relaxed and confident stage manner. However, what impresses most is her voice. It is has improved by miles in the space of a year and has great character, power and control. She is due to be recording with Colum Regan in the coming months and he seems an ideal musical partner for her. Backed by a band in a few years time Kadesha will be headlining to packed houses without a doubt. Any Other Day seemed nervous and ill at ease. Their sound improved as the set went on, especially when switching to acoustic guitar. Time spent working on their songs and presentation should help a lot.
Chris Hicks did something I have never seen before at a gig – he gave the audiences boxes of chocolates to share out! He has an interesting voice and is a relaxed and accomplished guitarist. However, I’m not sure the style of music he plays suits his personality or voice. There seems to be a torch singer lurking in there waiting to be let out. His own material showed maturity and his songs are well constructed. However, more theatrics and drama would really bring them to life. David Ackles rather than Nick Drake and Jacques Brel rather than the Stereophonics. If he steps things up a gear, shake us emotionally, even disturb us then he could be on to something.
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Jimi Alexander & the Satellites
Buffalo, Cardiff
11th January
When you light a coal fire it takes a while for the flames to work through and do their magic. There is a brief period where it begins to smoke and smoulder and you wonder if it is going to need a few more fire lighters and then all at once the flames burst through and the heat pours out. That is how this gig felt to me.
Jimi Alexander & the Satellites are a fully formed band of greatness in waiting. They have some truly magnificent songs, they are all excellent musicians and Jimi has to be one of the best vocalists to have emerged from Wales since Kelly Jones. He has a voice so full of passion and emotion that the walls crackle with its intensity. Tonight’s set featured some of the best songs from the band’s debut album such as Baby Don’t, Burn A Little Brighter and a stunning stripped down, acoustic Queen of Denmark. There were also some promising new songs Rain and the majestic sounding April Fever.
The band are off to SXSW in Texas in March and it will be fascinating to see what the crowd over there makes of their music. Even if that trip doesn’t act as their breakthrough, it can only be a matter of time before they get the audiences they deserve. You somehow feel the bigger the audience they play to, the bigger and bolder the performance is going to be. Smouldering and almost on fire!
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Archive
Live Reviews 2009