Although unexpected, the foray into acoustic territory by Swedish doomsters Katatonia is actually no great surprise considering how melodic their recorded material has become over time.  Indeed, the crowd funded ‘Dethroned and Uncrowned’ – an acoustic/progressive reinterpretation of ‘Dead End Kings’ – was met with general acceptance and praise (https://www.echoesanddust.com/2013/08/katatonia-dethroned-and-uncrowned/).  So here we are, witnessing them embark on a European tour, during which most performances are in churches and other “highly unusual venues”.  They announced that this tour was to “Perform tracks from Dethroned and Uncrowned alongside atmospheric classics from their entire career, stripped and reworked”.  Should be interesting...

So my Friday night finds me walking up to the Islington Union Chapel.  And although I have listened to the album in question several times, I still don’t have much of a clue what to expect from the evening.

It is my first time at this venue, and I have to say I am impressed.  It has a very grandiose, yet spacious feel for a smallish venue.  It is an odd sensation, walking into the assembled throng of metal heads sitting quietly in the rows of pews as the support act for the tour Messenger takes to the stage.  They interestingly decide to play “full electric”.  The London act work their way through a pleasant, yet rather unexciting (for my non-prog tastes I will admit) and meandering progressive rock set.  But they certainly finish with a flourish, as the final track ends in a rather enormous postrock crescendo.

Intermission:  There is actually an ice cream vendor walking among the crowd.  There is also a bar, but you cannot bring alcohol into the main room - sigh.  So, instead, I opt for a cup of tea and bag of crisps (rocknroll!) and resume my position for the main event.

On stride Katatonia to a boisterous reception, taking their seats surrounded by dim lightning and flickering candles.  They certainly look the part, with Jonas Renkse taking center stage (with an electric guitar) flanked on both sides by Anders Nyström, Niklas Sandin, Bruce Soord (all on acoustic guitars) and JP Asplund (Percussion), with the latter two taking up live duties for this tour following the departures of Per Eriksson and Daniel Lijekvist.

They open with ‘In The White’ from ‘The Great Cold Distance’, and suffice to say it sounds glorious.  But for me, it is when they unveil ‘Teargas’ as the third track that the set really takes off.  It is one of my favorite tracks.  I love hearing something I have heard so many times when a completely different spin is utilised, yet there is no effect lost, and perhaps a lot gained.  After this Jonas informs us “we will play tracks that we have never played live before this tour” one of these treats is ‘Gone’ from ‘Discouraged Ones’.

Speaking of knowing a song inside and out, when they played ‘Sleeper’ I still kept anticipating the RIFF to start in the main chorus.

The set finishes with ‘Unfurl’, and after a thunderous standing ovation the band finally return with Jonas proclaiming “we have added more songs to the set as we went to due demand”.  These songs turn out to be great choices - including  ‘Omerta’ and a sublime ‘Evidence’.  To finalise the encore, they invite Silje Wergeland on stage to close out with a lovely ‘The One You Are Looking for Is Not Here’.

In a nutshell, watching one of my favorite bands playing familiar songs I hold dear in a completely different style and setting was such an amazing experience.  Side note: the show was filmed for a DVD release so make a note of that to add to your collection!

Setlist:

In the White
Ambitions
Teargas
Gone
A Darkness Coming
One Year From Now
The Racing Heart
Tonight's Music
Sleeper
Undo You
Lethean
Day
Idle Blood
Unfurl
------------
Omerta
Evidence
The One You Are Looking for Is Not Here (with Silje Wergeland)

First let me say, my opinion is rather biased in regards to this event.  I have attended it for the past three years, and without fail, always had a blast.  This year, the line up was entirely awesome.  As I was reviewing the festival, I was able to obtain a little more access to the awesomeness.

My experience started with the pre-party at Austin's Mohawk on Red River.  Mohawk has recently been putting on a lot of great shows.  It was the perfect place to have a pre-party kickoff for an awesome festival weekend.  The line up consisted of Holy Wave - who are an awesome band to see and captured the mood of Austin Psych Fest very well, Elephant Stone – another awesome band, Night Beats, Hollow Trees, Psychotic Reaction, The Wolf, Indian Jewelry, and Al Lover. 

The first day it was a cool eighty five degrees in Austin, Texas.  As my photographer and I pulled into the parking lot –  an open area filled with very helpful parking attendants – we knew it we were in for a treat.

Getting in was a little difficult - security was tight at the event, all with safety in mind I was told over and over again by the guards.  On entering, we were greeted with a number of merch tables, food vendors, and other goodies.  Carson Creek Ranch, I always thought, was a great venue for Austin Psych Fest.  The openness for the festival goer, to wander freely around from stage to stage to see bands or just to hang out in the shady treeline, gives it a nice, laid back vibe.  I have been to other festivals where it seems like they try to pack so much into one spot.  Austin Psych Fest and Carson Creek Ranch are just the opposite.

Highlights of the festival included seeing Shannon and the Clams, Graveyard, Kadavar, and the Zombies on the first day.  Shannon and the Clams put on a great show with their mix of indie, garage, do-wop music.  Listening to them was like stepping into a time machine.  The crowd, despite the Texas mid-day heat, danced furiously to their music.  From there, it was a great line-up of music.  Seeing Graveyard from Sweden was probably the best part of the afternoon - their bluesy rock and roll was perfect to cool down to.  Followed up by the Black Lips and Kadavar, the night was full of rocking music and good times.

The next day I had another full schedule bristling with heavy rock and roll, accompanied by that same Texas heat.  The venue was full of great food from local restaurant food trucks and drinks, especially the cold pressed juice. With my thirst quenched, I found myself enjoying amazing bands such as Barn Owl, Destruction Unit, Moon Duo, and Temple.  The main highlight, however, was seeing Mono.  They played in the evening, which really set the mood for their epic set and their atmospheric instrumental metal.  They put on an incredible great show - an awesome ending to the fest.

Three days of great music, food, and drinks.  Austin Psych Fest this year was great.  I highly recommend anyone and everyone to come and support this great little festival.  I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of round five next year!

Throughout the course of twelve studio albums, Drive By Truckers have proved themselves to be a heavy load of noise when it comes to this thing called rock and roll.  But nothing really prepares you for the thunderous rumble of their live show.  Puns aside, witnessing DBT live is like facing an eighteen wheeler on a Southern highway, as it revs its engines towards you.  You are faced with a three pronged attack of guitars lifted by a backing of bass, drums and the odd keyboard/organ part.  Its nothing short of stupendous, and can make you stand in awe at the sheer power of it all.

Hitting these shores on the back of new album English Oceans, this third show once again had a completely new setlist from the previous two nights.  The band delveed into their catalogue with aplomb,  delivering a masterclass in Southern fried rock.  Interchanging between the Patterson Hood songs and the Mike Cooley songs, and with phenomenal backing from Mike Patton (bass), Jay Gonzales (guitar/keyboards) and Bob Morgan (drums), they hit the ground running with 'Birthday Boy', a song from the Big To Do album.

Swiftly following this with a sleazy 'Girls Who Smoke', they soon slipped into gear, and by 'Self Destructive Zones' they were cruising.  It wasn't until new song 'Pauline Hawkins' that a change happened though.  And as the bittersweet tale of a nurse who shuts herself off to life reached it's coda, Gonzales' piano signaled a feedback drenched end that rose to a tumultuous finish.

What is evident from the live show is that the songs take on a much more solid foundation.  More expansive than their studio counterparts, this is in no small part due to the tightness of the band.  Twenty years of playing together has made them a close knit unit, and amongst all the requisite rock poses there are little flashes of signals between band members to take on yet another solo or riff.  It's a joy to behold and allows the band to play off each other in ways that the studio wouldn't allow.

The acoustic 'Natural Light' signaled a bit of a hoe down as the Truckers reached out to Nashville before a mindblowing 'The Night GG Allen Came To Town' introduced the story elements that they are so well known for.  It also opened up the music from it's rock and roll foundation, letting a song like 'A Ghost of Most' breath in the cloying air.

The Ritz in Manchester is a sweaty venue, and it showed on the band who were absolutely dripping.  This heat was further intensified after a run through of 'When He's Gone' turned into 'First Air of Autumn' and a brilliantly balmy 'Sink Hole'.  When Cooley took to the mike to sing 'Space City' though, a hush fell over the crowd as he brought this heartbreaking song to life.  It was one of the many highlights. and also served as a calm before the storm.

That storm broke with the jangling riff of 'Dead, Drunk and Naked', and once again that three pronged guitar attack was off as the song built to a climax of unforeseen proportions.  Without a breath, they then burst into 'Guitar Man Upstair's which is pure giddiness in it's excitement.  'Lookout Mountain' increased the intensity in what is an unbelievable part of the show - you could literally feel the heat of the South rising amongst all the sweat and Skynyrd type guitars.  It goes to show how intense it gets as 'Shit Shots Count', a riotous Stonesy blues type rocker, was treated as a comedown from the preceding heavier material.

That intensity was ratcheted up even further for final song of the main set, 'Hell No, I Ain't Happy'.  The drawling lyrics of Hood came to a climax on each chorus as the houselights lit up and the crowd screamed the words back at the band.  You could feel the South rising again as the band cavorted around on stage, shifting from shadows to a full on, front of stage attack.  The rising chords signaled yet another solo - breathtakingly good, this could potentially top my 'best end to a gig' list ever.

Of course, there's always the encores, and DBT did not skimp as they came out all guns blazing with 'Women Without Whiskey'.  This was followed by a rare appearance for 'Steve McQueen' following a request from the audience - which consequently saw the band in fits of giggles as the words were shouted back to Hood, only for him to forget the lines.  It was this enjoyment of what they were doing that levied all the intense moments - you could feel that the band live and breath this music.

'Where The Devil Don't Stay' drove the crowd into further raptures, and then unfortunately it really was time for the show to end.  One last song saw us off, and what a song it is.  Dedicated to a close friend, 'Grand Canyon' is the epic closer on English Oceans.  In the live arena, this song becomes a colossal ode to Americana.  The emotion literally drips off every word.  At it's final denouement, when we all lifted our glasses to the great Grand Canyon, the coda kicked in and Gonzales took the solo.  One by one, the band slowly walked off - Hood first to cheers, leaving the band playing.  Cooley walked off to roars of approval, whilst the rest carried on playing.  Gonzales dropped his guitar abruptly, and walked off leaving just Patton and Morgan alone to carry the rhythm as the feedback erupted from the speakers.  Patton lifted his bass and walked off.  We were left with Morgan pounding out the beat on an empty stage until finally he walked off.  It was quite simply the best end to a gig that I have ever witnessed.

There's a saying about DBT that once you have heard one album, you get addicted and buy the rest. What the live show does is cement this addiction further, but also converts you to the true power of rock and roll.  They are one of the best bands, if not THE best band, you will ever see live.  And with their catalogue, who knows how many more classic gigs are in them.  Even if you only have a slight inclination towards DBT do yourselves a favour and next time they are in town...get yourself to the rock show.

Last week in Edinburgh was all about the mighty riff. When a band with the huge reputation such as Clutch play Edinburgh it is pretty much a big thing. Therefore it was no surprise really to see the Liquid Room sold out for weeks for this gig, regardless of the fact that the band played Glasgow the night after. Even the top part of the venue was open for the public and was pretty packed throughout the night. This was going to be a legendary night and gig; that much was set in stone before the band even crossed the Scottish border.

Even though I am a huge fan of seeing local bands getting the opportunity to support a big band like this, there wasn’t any local support at this gig. This actually works better at the Liquid Room, as this venue has a strict 10pm curfew and getting more than 2 bands on the bill easily reduces the set time the main touring band gets. So the support tonight came from Lionize, a band from Silver Spring, Maryland and signed to Clutch’s own label Weathermaker. I actually had not heard these guys before, but their set was very impressive and grabbed my attention completely. They play similar riffing rock as Clutch, but with a huge old-school 70’s feeling to it. Bass player Henry Upton especially was very impressive, playing groovy captivating parts, whereas keyboard player Chris Brooks was the perfect hybrid of Jon Lord and Ray Manzarek. Guitarist Nate Bergman played beautifully with lots of soul and drummer Mel Randolph provided the backing with some solid drum work. I loved how Henry, Chris and Nate all provided vocals, but the latter was with his blues and soul-like voice particularly enchanting. If you like some 70’s inspired blues rock with a huge dose of riffing, I’d recommend you listen to these guys.

Then it was time for the main act. I honestly don’t know when Clutch played Scotland or even Edinburgh last time, but the crowd was definitely ready for a long set of sweaty, riffing southern rock. This was my first time seeing them live, and I kinda expected to be thrown backwards by a huge wall of riffing guitars and loud pounding drums, but instead the band entered the stage to open their set with the rather slow bluesy ‘Gravel Road’ of their in 2005 released album Robot Hive/Exodus, with Neil Fallon playing some gentle slide guitar. It was a surprising opener, but the band quickly followed with the stomping rocker ‘Crucial Velocity’, the second track of last year released top quality album Earth Rocker.

This is when things started to kick off as expected. Neil Fallon is a true showman and a real rock and roll beast. Always looking into the crowd, almost wanting to make eye contact with every single person, Neil walks and stomps on stage throwing one arm in various poses while being one of the most articulate singers I’ve ever seen live. Every word that comes out of his mouth is clearly understandable while the music was pretty damn loud. The rest of the band is like the diesel of the band, steadily providing the bass lines, the rocking drums and all the riffs. This band doesn’t need any gimmicks, they just need amps and instruments and power to blast 19 amazing songs out of the speakers. 

The set they played was very varied, consisting of the best songs of their last 5 albums Robot Hive/Exodus, Beale Street to Oblivion, Blast Tyrand, Strange Cousins from the West and of course Earth Rocker. The audience loved every minute and when the band announced they were going to play a new track called ‘Sidewinder’, a roar of appreciation waved through the crowd. It was great to see so many people enjoying a great show and singing along to all the songs on the top of their lungs. Neil was visually enjoying the response and show too, occasionally sipping some whisky and changing his chewing gum every other song or so.

This was a top night, a quality gig and more like these in Scotland’s capital city please!

On a quiet bank holiday Monday, London city breathed a sigh of relief as the threatened tube strike was cancelled at short notice. This enabled more than a few people to pop down to King's Cross to check out three bands who are pushing progressive and technical metal boundaries in intriguing directions. In a small room called Surya, ears soon began to ring...

First up, Leeds ‘with a bit of London’ neophytes Hieroglyph hopped onto the stage to give us a taste of their fresh material. Starting out with the A-side 'Parasitus' of their recently-released two-track, the instrumental section took the audience on a trip of heavy grooves and technical melodies, ticking all the right boxes on tight musicianship, memorable songwriting (‘Dubious Disc’ and ‘Weyland Yutani’ particularly tickled the fancies) and of course hair flailing everywhere. Sam Butterfield and Jamie Rutherford had every guitar melody under control, leaving bassist Helen Tytherleigh and drummer Bradie Nixon to smash out the rhythm section underneath it, also literally when one drumstick broke during the set.

Onstage wisecracks were also order of the day, mostly from the baseball cap-sporting Mark Howes. He had quite the knack for saying just the right one-liner before a track kicked in (my favorite was “this intro is another 20 minutes, so just talk amongst yourselves") between bellowing his lungs out fervidly. His vocal counterpart, Valentina Reptile, was the beauty to his beastly vocals, her clean tone soaring over the music, and some impressive high notes to boot. The band rounded out on the promising-sounding 'Tenebris', which packed a punch and left an unspoken question of when more material will surface. There’s a lot of promising stuff coming from Hieroglyph, so tech-heads should keep them on their radar.

Next it was the friendly proggy Irish lads from Shattered Skies, whom we interviewed recently, to display their exceedingly catchy blend of proggy and poppy groove metal. Things started out well with '15 Minutes' and other new favorites getting an airing, Sean Murphy’s vocals being on pinnacle form throughout. Ian Rockett’s guitar work was also a joy to watch as he tapped and riffed his way through, as was recently-recruited Jim Hughes who did a superb job on the technical bass work. 'As The Sea Divides' also went down a treat, with its headnodding chorus and piano flourishes.

Unfortunately, not everything went in the band’s favor; the laptop sat by drummer Ross McMahon decided to conk out during the intro of older number 'Attrition', which required a lot of fiddling around until that was eventually resolved. Unperturbed by this run of bad luck, the band pressed on to unveil some more of the material from upcoming début The World We Used To Know, including one left-of-field power-ballad that matched well with Sean’s penetrating gaze. As Ian remarked in the interview, this album has been a long time coming, and it will be interesting to see how the tracks evolved from their album form to the stage.

If anyone has a shadow of a doubt that instrumental metal can’t be utterly captivating onstage, they simply need to watch Chimp Spanner perform. As he took to the stage with his live band to whoops of applause, the air began to shimmer with the combination of heat and the intensity of the rhythms that emerged from the speakers. Jim Hughes, back onstage pulling double duty as live guitarist, was the almost-sane backbone that kept the other musicians from flying off the rails. Behind the drumkit, Boris Le Gal kept a concentrated grin as he crashed through each track, from the relentless thumps of 'Bad Code' to the flowing 'Supererogation', almost as much of a showman as the frontman himself.

As for this frontman, the Chimp himself was in superb form. Paul Ortiz admitted outside before going on that he felt ‘out of practice’, but the entire time he seemed in complete control of his jaw-dropping guitar skills. There was barely a dip in intensity, even when switching guitars to play new track 'Aura', and it was nigh on impossible not to nod along to the grooves. As the crowd eked one more track from the trio (bassist Adam Swan was absent), there was a palpable sense of satiation from both crowd and band, and, at least from these ears, a desire to experience this again real soon. A top quality end to a fantastic evening.

Many thanks to the bands and Nick Azinas from Peek From The Pit for the opportunity.

Esuna - The four lads hopped merrily up on stage, flowery shirts akimbo, looking relatively smart yet mysterious - what on earth were these guys going to be like?  They burst into a melodic pop punk. Rawness in their sound and technique was apparent from the off, with murky and distorted powerchords swimming underneath some beautiful bass lines.  The bassist seemed to be the glue that kept everything together for Esuna, eyeballing his fellow musicians to signal each change.

 With my eardrums positively warmed up, I dawdled back outside.  Gorgeous sun greeted me, along with the entire 'We've Been Talking' album by Enemies being pumped out over the sound system - perfection.  I slumped in my seat in total satisfaction, as if I were at a spa being pampered and treated like a king.

 

 

Cleft - Two lads timidly popped up on the outdoor stage.  As they descended upon their instruments, a crowd immediately gathered.  The atmosphere was rather tense as everyone awaited the unveiling of this math monster.  Cleft are insanely tight.  They rolled effortlessly from song to song, grinning to each other as they went.  Time signatures were thrown about like nobodies business.  And although there appeared to be only two people on stage, the sound was often enormous and thick, full in texture and colour.  Both John (drums) and Dan (guitar) boast highly refined skills, with which they encapsulate a chemistry that they bounce back and fourth off each other.  If you've never listened to or seen these guys perform then I give you a virtual slap in the face and tell you to sort your life out.  Go do it now.  Be gone with you!

 

 

Totem Terrors - I had heard a lot about this Cardiff two piece.  After gaining radio play from the likes of Adam Walton, and playing many shows in and around Cardiff, I was anxious to catch them.  Although they wouldn't find their way into my general everyday listening, Totem Terrors are certainly intriguing.  Using a variety instruments, they play to a backing track of electronic drums and textures.  In their quirky lo-fi electronica, there is often vast areas of untouched space, creating almost uncomfortable fragments of melody and rhythm.  After a couple of songs, I realised they weren't really my bag, though they were ballsy and well rehearsed.

 

 

How I Faked The Moon Landing - There was an immediate increase in buzz before these guys took to the stage, with a loyal following of young female fans prancing merrily about.  It was the first time I had the Cardiff five piece since their first ever show - and I was pleasantly surprised.  Huge improvement.  They seem to have found their feet as a band, their chemistry together and, perhaps most importantly, their style.  Their songs are definitely for the summer - little funky chunks of off-beat, clean guitars, punctuated by gorgeous flurries of warm bass lines and disco drum beats.  Get your dancing shoes on/mankini and move.

 

 

Her Parents - Away from the sun, Her Parents set up on the inside stage.  Every time I returned inside, I was surprised by the change of atmosphere.  It is amazing what contrasts in light can do to the feel of a performance.  And indeed, Her Parents are pretty much the polar opposite of How I Faked The Moon Landing.  Grimy, obnoxious and entirely loud.  The band were rather scrappy in their performance.  There were piercing screams and shouts, whilst every amp and speaker seemed to be pushed to breaking point.  For me, Her Parents were hard to digest.  Although, their performance was light-hearted and fun, with the singer lying down for an entire song at one point.  They seemed to be having a laugh on stage, and in return the crowd was all smiles too.

 

 

Radstewart - There is something undeniably charming and loveable about this mish-mash group of honest chaps.  With their stripped back, lo-fi pop-punk stuff, they bought another complete contrast in the line-up.  I noticed that they were practically atonal at points.  At first, I thought this may have been a deliberate scheme to further add to their quirky "who gives a fuck?" style.  Though, as the songs went by, the lead guitar seemed to get more and more out of tune.  Despite this, I really enjoyed their set, and the awkward chemistry that they seem to bask in.

 

 

Playlounge - On hearing these guys, the penny finally dropped as to what Connor had done with the line-up.  Every band was entirely different to the one previous, giving the audiences no time to breath and relax.  Playlounge were no exception.  They blurted into reverb-heavy pure punk, and in lacking a bass guitar this really seemed rather empty.  Unfortunately, it was incredibly hard to pick much detail out of the constant pounding drums and muddy guitar.  Their entire set was very simple and straight forward, with little variation in texture and melody.

 

Nai Harvest - Another two piece that may benefit from a bass guitar - or am I just being old fashioned?  Lots of parts where the texture seemed thin and treble-heavy, with a lack of grounding and backbone.  Otherwise, I did enjoy their music.  There was a nice load of reverb on the vocals, which complimented the hazy guitar, creating an almost shoegaze feel.  Both the drummer and guitarist played with gusto and vigor.  Not too sure of the singers' glasses though...

 

 

Olympians - The second act of the day to blow me away.  I absolutely loved the three part harmonies that these lads were coming out with.  Overall, they put in a very tight and melodic performance.  There were majestic and almost royal vocal lines about bravery, honor and bayonets, along with some gorgeous woah-oh-oh-woah's.  One criticism, which probably isn't really valid - they seemed rather tired on stage.  Perhaps the result of a long journey to Cardiff?  That said, their performance was not compromised - polished and perfected.  I very much look forward to catching these chaps again.

 

 

 

Samoans - Although these guys are based in Cardiff, I had not before managed to catch them.  They had slipped through my claws on various occasions, and so I was adamant to get right at the front for them.  My long wait was worth it.  Samoans have a massive sound.  They create huge walls of distortion that are broken by well timed screams and melodic harmonies.  I think there might have been a few bleeding eardrums.  Their abusive banter on stage was permitted and almost encouraged by the crowd.  They are obviously a much loved and cherished local band, who I hope to see more of.

 

 

Woahnows - These guys were much more punky than I expected - for some reason I thought there would be a lot more subtlety and variation in dynamics.  In what was a rare quiet section, the instruments boasted lots of colour and detail.  But the majority of the performance was made up of loud and sweaty pounding on powerchords.  It was not the sound I craved after being subjected to the huge noise of Samoans.  However, Woahnows were extremely well rehearsed, and performed as if they were playing a headline show.

 

 

Tellison - Definitely the most mastered band of the day - sounding very polished and professional.  Without the rawness that was evident throughout all the other bands who performed, Tellison arguably lacked a certain oomph and flare.  But the songs were well crafted and brilliantly executed, with not a single bum note in sight.  They whipped from song to song, with little or no fuss in between, giving the audience barely a moment to think.

 

 

 

After being thanked over and over throughout the day by the bands, Connor was mentioned several times by Tellison.  Their persistence paid off as he made his way to the front of the crowd and joined forces with a fellow die-hard Tellison fan as they both danced and shouted the lyrics back to the band, huge grins beaming across their faces.  After such an incredible day of sun, beer and bands, to see the organiser enjoying himself to the full was the cherry on the cake.

 

Why are microfestivals getting more popular?  This was the question I put forward, but failed to answer, in my preview of the Jealous Lovers Club and Juxtaposed microfestival.  It is because, like any type of festival, there is nothing quite like the feeling of being at one of these events.  The atmosphere is undeniably incredible and unique.  Every single person that came out to Gwdi Hw on Sunday 4th May was smiling.  And why wouldn't they be?  It was so damn good.  It has made me positively excited for my next festival/microfestival of 2014.  May the fourth be with you.

 

The first weekend of May witnessed the inaugural edition of Temples Festival. And with such a colossal line up on offer, a small gaggle of Echoes and Dust writers made the pilgrimage down to Bristol to worship at this altar of riff. Here are their various thoughts.

So Desertfest happened again.  If you are unfamiliar with this ridiculous event,  it is basically every riff loving nutter on the planet descending upon Camden to break their skull in a variety of ways for three whole fun filled days.  Absolutely cracking line up this year as ever.  Here’s what went down.

Friday

Monkey3- This was one of the main attractions for me.  I’ve been listening to these four Swiss chaps for years but they seemingly never play the UK so I was a little disappointed to find out I would be peaking so soon.  Anyway, all minor complaints like that were quickly blasted away upon launch as they were absolutely off the scale.  They delivered spacey jams, too amazing for a mortal like me to begin to comprehend, and blew me away harder than I have ever been blown before.  Ultimate start!

Necro Deathmort – The Black Heart was more rammed than I have ever witnessed, making the temperature roughly around 83,000 °C.  Electric doom duo Necro Deathmort decided not to take any prisoners though, smashing out one of the heaviest and darkest set I have seen them do and it was gruelling (in a fucking good way)!  I’ve never had so much fun whilst fighting for my life before.  Top notch!

Sixty Watt Shaman – I used to listen to this band when I was seventeen, and, as they have not toured in about fifteen years, I was keen to check them out.  They play decent enough southern style stoner rock like Alabama Thunder Pussy – it was pretty heavy and they were enthusiastic but can’t really hold a candle to some of the boundary pushing music that’s happening in the scene in 2014.

The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic – I was pretty hammered by then, to the point where I didn’t even recognise Ed Mundell.  I have so many memories of him being this striking blonde bombshell in his Monster Magnet days.  He looks older and wider now, like the rock star life style may have caught up with him.  However, he certainly can smash out a riff and some amazing lead guitar.  They pumped out a very enjoyable, fun little set with some of the most ridiculous lead guitar you’ll ever witness.  Not too heavy or challenging, just what we all needed at that time of day.  I think they played an Atomic Bitchwax track too – sweet.

Horisont – The Black Heart as busy and boiling as when Necro Deathmort played.  I think I liked what I saw, but unfortunately needed to leave after about ten minutes because I thought I might actually die.

Spirit Caravan – Meh, I don’t want to sound like a complete heathen but I always find some of the founders of the scene quite boring.  They are obviously great musicians, but in all, a bit bog standard stoner rock for me really.  Not my cup of tea (or can of K cider) but the place was packed out and some of their fans seemed more than transfixed and delighted.

Saturday

Slabdragger – The Underworld was more packed than I saw it for the entire weekend, which is mental considering they were on first and they play London all the time.  Rammed with good reason though – absolutely ridiculous riffs ranging from spacey jams to filthy death metal.  They really looked like they were enjoying the shit out of it too.  Huge entertainment backed up with sheer power.  KABLAAM!

Arabrot – The Norwegians took to the stage with a completely new line up to what I have seen before including a rather crazy looking lady in a hospital robe or something.  Just wow… it was nuts.  Loud as tits and brutally maxed out, whilst ploughing through seething noise rock which almost sounded like a darker and pissed off version of The Melvins.  Mainly new material but was a nicely balanced set with real variation.  This was certainly the best I have ever seen them, finishing with the crazy lady walking around the stage screaming which, consequently, made me want to go home, hide in a cupboard and stroke my cat until it all blew over.

Hey Colossus – These seven chaps don’t look like a Desertfest band.  In fact, they barely even look like a band.  However, what they lack in aesthetics they make up for in pure awesome.  They opened with ‘Hot Grave’, which was unreal, and then took us on an incredible trip whilst sounding unlike anyone else at the festival, or the world at large for that matter.  Lots of wonderful electronic noises floating in the background of some jaw dropping riffs whilst the vocalist kept looking increasingly menacing, saliva dripping off his face.  One thing is clear, Hey Colossus are a ‘don’t give a fuck’ juggernaut rock music machine which will never be stopped by anyone or anything.

11 PARANOIAS – Ahh perfect, one of Mike from Bong’s bands who make a right horrible racket.  Mike stood with his back to the crowd as they assaulted everyone with rather maxed out riffs.  The vocals were pretty snarly and disgusting, whilst the guitars basically threw brutal riffs at us.  That said, there was the occasional respite when it got a little spacey.  Incredible drumming too.  HUGE!

Weedeater – They hardly ever play the UK so no surprises that the ballroom was utterly rammed for these chaps.  Good job too, because they created an intensely special moment for us all.  The drummer was positioned down the front so we could all enjoy the hugely entertaining, hurricane of thing that he is.  All this with far out weedy visuals happening in the background.  Wino even came on for a jam and delivered a flawless Lynyrd Skynyrd cover.  It was impossible not to just stand there and smile (and maybe even shed the odd tear).

Kvelertak – I love Kvelertak.  The most enthusiastic band ever simply smashing out their stupidly fun tunes, whilst a circle pit the size of Wales caused utter destruction.  Not an unpumped fist in the house.  What is better than a heavily tattooed man with a beer belly standing there bare topped with an owl for a head?  Nothing, that’s what.

The Cosmic Dead – I’ve seen this band four times in the last year but by god I was not expecting this.  They absolutely tore the Black Heart a new one with a sonic onslaught of pure exhilaration.  The crowd went bat shit mental, resulting with someone landing on my face and blood pouring down my nose.  I was left holding my coat, nursing the wound with one hand and a pumping fist of the other.  The band literally just floated around the crowd or the last few minutes.  In the meantime, we were all left to piece together what life was like before we witnessed this stunning performance.

Sunday

Pombagira – I’m not sure if it was too early in the day but I could not get into this two piece doom band.  I found their last album a little unfocussed, and found the live performance to be much the same.  I feel that all doom should be powerful, like it’s being played through a storm on the side of the mountain.  This wasn’t.

Grime – This Italian doom power house were fierce.  A cosmic smattering of relentless riff combos which made my brain curdle and my face cry.

Radio Moscow – Yes this was great.  Three chaps seemingly beamed in from the seventies to entertain us with their fantastic retro rock'n'roll jams.  The bassist could not have looked any more cool.  Whilst all the delightful little riffs bounced around the room  we all just stood there catching them like psychedelic butterflies.

Eagle Twin – Really quirky doom backed up by some of the most ferocious jams I have heard all year.  A truly unique performance, and a great example of a band taking it to the next level in 2014.  That’s exactly what all this is about!!!

Church of Misery – Wow, these guys were monstrous.  A total slice of annihilation – loud, crushing, hair everywhere.  The crowd could barely cope and went berserk.  Church of Misery are heavyweight legends, and I'm not sure if I’ll ever recover.

Boris – Amazing.  The drummer was concealed for large part of the set through the smoke, but when he finally emerged with that huge Japanese gong it was one of the best moments ever.  They did everything, from the most hypnotic doom jams to the most beautiful of post rock.  It got stupidly loud right at the end – I think they stole every amp at Desertfest just maxed them out, demoting me from a tired moron to a twitching corpse.  Perfect end to the perfect weekend.  See ya next year!

Everybody must have been there at least once. You come home from a gig and your wife/husband/partner/friend (delete/add appropriately) asks you how the gig was and you answer that it was the best gig you’ve ever seen, to which the other person starts laughing whilst saying that you always say that after having been to a gig. Well, when Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats played in Glasgow last Wednesday, it definitely was the best gig ever! Well, at least until the next gig probably. But on paper this gig was made of win, with The Admiral Sir Cloudseley Shovell and Black Moth on the same bill as Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. That’s a huge ‘oooompf’ factor right there for you.

This was also my first time at the G2 venue in Glasgow, which is basically The Garage’s second, smaller venue. It’s a great space actually, giving lots of good standing space for the people to see most of the bands. It does however have a couple of overly annoying pillars on the front middle of the stage and in the middle of the crowd area.

Anyway, first on the bill was The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, all the way from Hastings in the South-East of England. I knew their music, especially their latest release Check ‘em Before You Wreck ‘em has been getting quite a lot of spins lately, and these guys play the perfect no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll, throwing riffs, psychedelic bass lines, great drum fills and awesome shredding guitar solos all over the place. This was the first time I ever saw them live or actually got to see what they actually look like and I couldn’t help but giggle a bit by the appearance of especially Johnny Gorilla on guitar (Gibson Flying V no less) and bassist Louis Comfort-Wiggett, with the latter drawing an amazing comparison to Wayne’s World’s Garth, and the whole band appearance drawing similarities with Spinal Tap. The amazingly funny stage banter (best I’ve seen in a while in fact) certainly made it difficult not to think about these comic comparisons, but luckily their music spoke more than words. 

They opened with the great song ‘Undead King Of Rock’n’Roll’, which has a great intro, building up towards the bit where Harriet came walking on stage, wearing a Deep Purple shirt, and started mesmerising the crowd. They released their first album two years ago on the great label New Heavy Sounds and they played ‘Blackbirds Fall’ and ‘Honey Lung’ of this album and ‘Tree of Woe’, which was released on a 7” last year. But we were also treated to some newer tracks of their next album that will be released later this year. Overall they played very well, but I don’t think this was the best line-up for their music and show to be honest.

Then it was time for headliners Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats to take the stage. This was definitely the band that people came to see this night. They recently supported the mighty Black Sabbath on a big European tour and based on the number of Black Sabbath t-shirts and patches it was pretty clear they made a good impression back then. Actually, Uncle Acid’s music draws a lot of parallels with Sabbath, as they sound very retro, very doom rock similar to Sabbath when they were on top of their game. This was a bit of a special gig for Uncle Acid (Kevin Starrs), who actually is from Glasgow, so this was like his homecoming show.

Under extreme low, atmospheric lights (not pleasing the many photographers present too much) the band played an amazing show playing all the best songs of their releases Blood Lust and Mind Control, opening with the cracker of a song ‘Mt. Abraxas’, the opening track on last album Mind Control. The audience instantly loved it and the sound was phenomenal. The dual guitar playing between Starrs and Yotam Rubinger was absolutely amazing, and the heavy pounding drums by Itamar Rubinger and psychedelic bass lines by bassist Dean Millar provided the most solid rhythm section any band could wish for. This was pure fuzzed out psych rock!

The rest of the hour-long set consisted of ‘Mind Crawler’, ‘Crystal Spiders’, ‘I’ll Cut You Down’, ‘Death’s Door’, ‘Poison Apple’ (dedicated to Charlie Manson, while memories of Sharon Tate were present in the shape of her image on Yotam’s bass drum), ‘Valley of the Dolls’, ‘Over and Over Again’ and ‘Vampire Circus’, with the latter one plus ‘Crustal Spiders’ taken of their first release Vol 1. This is the type of band you can’t get enough of. These guys feel each other perfectly on stage, playing extremely tight and having loads of fun, rocking the Glasgow audience to the max. Of course they had to come back for a couple of more songs, which they did and they ended the gig with ’13 Candles’, ‘Withered Hand of Evil’ and ‘Desert Ceremony’.

This was another phenomenal gig and night. In my book Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats are pretty big already, but it won’t take long before they will be even bigger. And The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and Black Moth are certainly bands that are on the rise as well. When the audience walks out of the venue with everybody having huge grins on their faces and a big mass of people in front of the merch desk you know it was a pretty successful night. More like these please!

It was pleasing, if slightly surprising, to see Denovali Swingfest return to London this year.  Despite an immense 2013 line-up, including the likes of William Basinski, Fennesz and Andy Stott, the event had attracted few attendees.  Thankfully, Denovali decided to give the festival another shot, with a switch of venue from Scala to Village Underground and Cafe OTO on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Having been somewhat delayed by First Capital Connect, it was the hazy sounds of Witxes that greeted my arrival at Village Underground on the Friday.  Pulsating static merged with devastating peaks of noise were present particularly during the middle of the set, which saw Maxime Vavasseur unleash some of the most uncompromising of visceral sonic avalanches.  The crowd thickened in time for Ulrich Schnauss, the German accompanied by visual artist Nat Urazmetova for a set of disappointingly directionless techno.  I once read somewhere that Schnauss’s music is “dance music for people who don’t listen to dance music” - harsh but, given some of the almost amateurish transitions and dull beats on display here, perhaps not entirely inaccurate.  The visuals were mostly made up of ultra-zoomed in footage of things now rendered unidentifiable, which is seemingly the done thing nowadays?

Saffronkeira was a late addition to the bill after Hidden Orchestra were unfortunately forced to cancel.  Distant and dark ambient soundscapes were the order of the day for Eugenio Caria’s project, complemented rather well by the sombre trumpet of Mario Massa.  Following Caria and Massa was Swedish singer-songwriter Anna von Hausswolff, who stood out on a bill dominated by ambient and drone acts.  Providing a triumphant set accompanied by her magnificent band, von Hausswolff’s powerful voice and organ performance veers in definably proggy territory on occasion, yet that has not stopped her winning plenty of attention.  Village Underground was at its busiest for her set.

Those unfamiliar with the darkness that encompasses so much of Denovali’s musical philosophy were soon left shellshocked when The Haxan Cloak arrived on stage.  Bobby Krlic’s one man post-industrial project has always been atmospheric, and often loud, but this performance saw him in particularly pulverising form.  The sheer force of the kicks was sickening, affirming that Krlic is rapidly approaching Sunn O))) and Swans in the volume charts.  The fact that only around a quarter of those who watched von Hausswolff remained for Krlic's set was unsurprising.  Legendary ambient dub duo Porter Ricks could hardly have hoped for a more comprehensive support performance.  Their watery, distant beats struggled to emerge above sea level during a brief, and sadly rather underwhelming, half hour headline set that was witnessed only by two dozen or so remaining punters.

Cafe OTO was packed by the time the venue’s own digital producer Oli Barrett, aka Petrels, kicked off a shorter second evening’s programme of music.  Barrett, providing electronics, was not alone.  He was joined by both a drummer and guitarist, who injected some extra intensity.  Recent LPs Onkalo and Mima have both been huge steps up for this project and Denovali will be hoping that Barrett provides more excellence for them to release in the near future.  Origamibiro came next, their meditative post-folk ambience being accentuated by some delightful live visuals that made use of weighty tomes and a typewriter in equal measure.

Piano Interrupted were greeted as if performing a headline show, with every track enthusiastically applauded.  The band’s jaunty, jazz-inflected approach made a refreshing change to a bill that was mostly slow and brooding, although some tracks in their repertoire seem to be a lot more engaging than others.  Thomas Köner, looking a lot more content than during the Porter Ricks set the previous evening, neglected track divisions in favour of a solid wall of ominous noise.  Disorientating more than disarming, Köner’s status as one of the world’s top current sound artists made him the perfect choice to close such an esoteric festival, one that I hope much returns to London in 2015.

In case you hadn’t noticed yet, it’s European festival season. And I’m not talking about T in the Park or any of those pish mainstream festivals, no I’m talking about the more underground, non-mainstream festivals. We just had another great edition of the infamous Roadburn Festival and also the more instrumental music orientated Dunk! Festival and StrangeForms, and we’re now working towards Desert Fest, Temples Festival, Heavy Days in Doom Town, Hell Fest and many more. Even if you don’t manage to get to go to any of these festivals (like myself), it’s still good times as most overseas bands will combine a smaller club tour with their festival appearance. One such band is The Body from Portland, Oregon, who travelled to Europe for their first overseas visit ever in their long existence.

At their Glasgow gig at Audio they were supported by three local bands, Voe, Headless Kross and Buried Sleeper, with the latter kicking off the gig. I recently saw Buried Sleeper when they supported Space Witch in Edinburgh and I wasn’t very impressed with Bryce Sutherland’s vocals at the time as they sounded out of tune. I hereby apologise to Bryce and the band as last night Bryce’s vocals were near perfect in tune and this was the first time Buried Sleeper convinced me as a live band. The whole sound they had was great, loud and very beefy. They opted to play only two tracks, both of their Colosseum release, which were ‘Pale Blue Dot’ and ‘Temple of Nothing’, and they played these tracks really well. I’m really looking forward seeing them again sometime soon now!

Next up were Headless Kross, who seem to be supporting every touring heavy doom band at the moment when they play Glasgow! But this is not a bad thing as each time they play this three piece has some fine bluesy tinted doom metal on offer for the audience, and they get better and better each time I see them. Their doom vairant is complimented with great spaced-out guitar playing, with Tommy Duffin adding plenty of solos to the mix, whilst Jonny Montgomery’s steady drumming builds the foundation for Derek Sexton’s heavy bass playing. Derek also throws in the occasional rough sounding scream, making it the type of psychedelic doom I’m very appreciative of. They played two long songs that haven’t been recorded yet, ‘Rural Juror’ and ‘Even the Destroyed Things Have Been Destroyed’, but I believe these will be recorded later this year for their next release. I’ll sure be looking forward to that!

Third band on the bill was Voe, a band I was totally unfamiliar with. I only knew of them as a couple of my friends know them quite well and have been mentioning them a few times. Voe is a four piece, playing with two guitarists, a drummer and a singer, but both guitarists also take regular vocal duties on board. Before I say anything else, this is my new favourite band in Scotland. There are a lot of great heavy bands around at the moment, but Voe sounds like they’re taking the best elements of Neurosis and Amenra and mixes these together to create their own blend of atmospheric post-metal sludge. Voe’s singer Martin Friel has a very similar voice to Amenra’s Colin H. van Eeckhout, hitting comparable emotional levels, while the two guitarists aggressively throw out heavy sludge riffs. It’s not all aggression and sludge though as a couple of the tracks have very soft sounding guitar parts, adding just the right level of atmosphere to the mix. They recently released Rvst (available on limited edition tape through the fantastic Dry Cough Records) and their set mainly focused this release, as they played ‘Dead Air Pt One’, ‘Last Days Of Burden’, ‘Beyond The Sea’ and ‘Rust’, before they ended with a new song. If post-metal atmospheric sludge is your thing I recommend you get onto this pronto!

At this point the stage got completely redone as The Body was preparing for their show. Chip King uses an impressive amount of amps, which were all shifted to one half of the stage, while the drum kit was moved towards the other half, and slightly turned to get a more ‘intimate’ set-up for this two piece. On drumming duties wasn’t The Body’s main drummer Lee Buford, but Matt Melon, who usually hits the drums hard and fast with his black death metal band Pissgrave from Philadelphia. Apparently Lee isn’t a very happy flyer and decided to stay at home in Portland, and being a good friend of the band Matt suggested he’d go along on tour.

The Body played a short set of 30 minutes, but these were probably one of the most intense 30 minutes I’ve ever experienced. If you’re familiar with The Body’s music then you would probably have a good idea what I mean. If you’re not then try and imagine the soundtrack to some amazingly scary horror movie, with slow camera changes, grainy images and your heart beating heavily in your chest trying to anticipate what might be coming next. The Body’s music is very heavy, with lots of slow heavy drumming and noisey, sludgey guitar parts being borderline drone. What makes it dead scary though is Chip’s high shrieking, howling vocals that penetrate your eardrums while the heavy music hits you in the guts. It’s not for the faint hearted and in that respect 30 minutes is probably the perfect length, as most people would probably not be able to endure more of this ultimate musical hell. The Body is pushing the boundaries of heavy music and it is truly brilliant stuff.

I was so soaked up in the loud wall of spewing noise that I only managed to recognise one song, which was ‘The Ebb and Flow of Tides in a Sea of Ash’, taken of their Master, We Perish EP, but I’m nearly sure that 'The City Of The Magnificent Jewel', of their self-titled release, ‘To Attempt Openess’ and ‘I, the Mourner of Perished Days’, both of their latest Thrill Jockey release Christs, Redeemers, were some of the other songs on their setlist. I think so at least, but it doesn't really matter as The Body is an experience you just need undergo and not bother about details like these too much. 

This is one of those gig reviews I find very hard to write.  It is no secret that I love Arms and Sleepers, and that Ceremonies - the last album EF released - was among my favourite albums of 2013.  Consequently, seeing both bands play at the same event was extremely exciting and the whole experience made my journey to the venue definitely worthwhile.

For me, listening and writing about music is one thing, but to experience it live and meet the people behind these sounds is completely different.  This is the reason why I took the plunge and transported myself for a two-day music festival called Strange Forms in Leeds and immediately after, travelled to Switzerland to watch Arms and Sleepers alongside EF.  I have been to Zurich only once before, and so I was excited to revisit the city.  I arrived in the afternoon and had a long nice walking in its fresh air to the building where Alte Kaserne is located - a renovated and modern open space, just a few blocks from the lake promenade.

I had been looking forward to seeing Arms and Sleepers (from Boston, US) since their European tour was announced.  On my arrival, I found Mirza Ramic at the merch desk talking to people - a sign of the ease with which he forms a bond with groups of strangers as he moves from city to city.  Arms and Sleepers kicked the night off in a beautiful style, and when Mirza got behind the laptop he began painting cinematic landscapes on my mind.  Lights were near to darkness and the choice to open with ‘The Afternoon Child’ immediately followed by ‘Greetings From Tokyo’ was a great one, drugging us into a world we already know and appreciate.  From there, Mirza served a bunch of new songs from the awaited new album, wetting the audience's appetite.  He played also the tracks ‘Hurry Slowly’ and ‘Unshield’.  The new songs, however, were my absolute highlights.  I already know that I am completely in love with the beats they developed.  I cannot wait to have my very own copy of the new record.  

Those of you that are already fans of Arms and Sleepers know that they produce that kind of music which makes you wonder whether their albums can translate to the stage.  In Zurich, Mirza gave proof of his vast live experience, answering any questions and smoothing any doubts.  The visuals behind him were an additional dimension to the whole experience, helping to create a warm and captivating atmosphere.  After watching them perform, there is no doubt in my mind that Arms and Sleepers are capable of reproducing their incredible music live.

Nearing the end, the melody of ‘Antwerp’ and ‘The International (Arms and Sleepers remix)’ seduced the audience.  Mirza's performance was immaculate.  He played and danced frantically in front of an audience that was moving at his rhythm.  He finished off his set with ‘Tusk’ and yet another new song, leaving the crowd both in awe and hungry for more.

After a brief break, during which I was able to grab a swift coke, the show continued with the performance by EF, the Swedish band that last year released Ceremonies to celebrate their decade anniversary.  The stage configuration was totally different and equally powerful.  EF took to the stage with the familiar 'Lake Vaettern', and the audience found themselves witnessing one of the best postrock performances around.  Right from the first song, they injected energy with the power and grace of the last album.  The audience, still in trance from Arms and Sleepers, was transported into a sort of paradise.
The wonderful guitar tones of 'Delusions Of Grandeur' blew our mind, and the moment when Tomas Torsson started singing was sublime.  The joy was clearly visible on everyone's faces - not just the audience but the band too.  As a result, the music was engulfed with high emotions.  Believe me folks - this song is excellent, yes, but played live is something unforgettable.  And I won't forget it.

The Swedish band performed all tracks with vigor and stunning effect.  What makes EF such a great live band is the enthusiasm and energy they have on the stage.  They move, they crash and collide, and they enjoy every moment of the show with a contagious energy.  The swells of the strings combined with the stunning vocals are proof that this band is able to create astonishing moments.  

With huge waves of sound, the show achieved its peak before gently offering the stunning harmonies of 'Longing For Colors'.  Whilst they closed with 'Tomorrow My Friend', I felt complete adulation for the band.  The magic enchanting postrock music of EF delivered something extraordinary.  They make the complexity of their music seem simple, and the artful easy.  The end was a sort of music celebration with Tomas, Daniel, Erik and Emanuel moving all together on the stage in a theatrical way, and Niklas walking from each side of the stage with a drum in his hands, playing it like a music preacher.

Any concert is a unique moment in time, a singular experience that remain with us as something to be remembered or forgotten. That night in Zurich with Arms and Sleepers and EF was truly fantastic and absolutely something to be remembered. If these guys ever comes through your town, get ready, be aware and join in. Or face the consequences of being left not knowing what hit you...

Arms and Sleepers Setlist (the band is working on the new song titles so I list them as ‘new song’)
The Afternoon Child
Greetings From Tokyo
New song
New song
Unshield
Hurry Slowly
New song
80/20
New song
The Cooler
Antwerp
The International (ARMS AND SLEEPERS REMIX)
Kepesh
Tusk
New song

EF Setlist
Lake Vaettern
Delusions Of Grandeur
Final Touch / Hidden Agenda
Bear
Bells Bleed & Bloom
Longing For Colors
Tomorrow My Friend

The microfestival – the ever growing and rapidly multiplying condensed musical extravaganza.  Are we living in the age of the microfestival?  Left, right and centre, events are sprouting and using the broad sub title of microfestival.  So, the question is, why are these events becoming more and more popular?  Perhaps we can answer by exploring the confines of a new microfestival that, at a glance, looks like it will be an absolute hoot (I apologise in advance).

In the heart of the Welsh capital lies a venue with the most weird name – Gwdihŵ.  Translated from Welsh, the term means owl (I really am sorry).  It is soon to be the home of the Jealous Lovers Club and Juxtaposed microfestival.   Twelve bands, two stages, one day.  As a regular frequenter of Gwdihŵ, I am thoroughly excited to be attending the microfestival and seeing how it is pulled off.  It is a rather quaint and quirky venue, with fantastically random decor - like the washing line of multi-coloured bras that dangle nonchalantly down above the bar.  The space, although somewhat tiny, boasts fantastic sound, top notch techies and on the whole friendly and talkative staff.  The perfect place for a little festival then eh?

On observing the line-up, it is immediately evident that this is not a random handful of bands thrown onto a stage together.  Au contraire, the line-up seems to have been put together with care and attention.  It is a product of two established names in South Wales music promotion pooling their resources – Jealous Lovers Club, a promotion company and now record label ran by Connor Cupples, and Juxtaposed, a weekly indie night held at Gwdihŵ.

Timing is perfection.  Each band on the line up has recently hit some sort of peak.  Top-of-the-bill Tellison boast a position high up the ArcTanGent roster as well as slots at The Great Escape and Handmade Festival.  Local Cardiff five piece How I Faked The Moon Landing recently released a four track EP called “Things You Can Do Without” – a collection of their best tracks to date.  Every band, from the first to the last band on, has some degree of buzz about them.

Not only are all of the bands very current, when positioned side by side in such a line up they somehow start to complement each other.  Samoans, for example, inject a raw strength and intensity that is bold and compact, with huge guitar licks, solid drum beats and powerful vocals.  The Cardiff four piece have just announced they will be undertaking a June tour with Olympians – another band on the bill.  These young fellows are adventurous in their compositions, with layers of keyboards creating rich textures, percussive detail that clicks and clacks and sits alongside fabulously folky vocal harmonies.  Both bands are signed to Cardiff based label Barely Regal Records and seem to be maintaining a strong following of loyal fans whenever and wherever they perform.

Cleft inject a whole different level of interesting into the music on offer at the microfestival.  The band is constructed of but two members.  Yet, Cleft boast a masterful complexity.  They bring with them a ballsy mathrock flex of brainpower and ability that is unrivalled by most. Their songs often spurt to life through what is sometimes an uncomfortable burst of power and energy.  On finding their groove, they wander off on a tangent of effortlessly tight but hugely complicated stabs of musical excellence, leaving me giggling in boyish excitement and recognition of their musical talent.

We are then given another dimension, one that comes in the form of Woahnows.  They utilise a more subtle, warmer and perhaps a less brash intricacy.  Tricky spurts of brilliance seep into the guitar work, pinching and clean in its tone.  The bass guitar is given a slack leash and is allowed to break into flurries of melodic playfulness.  Drums are lively and almost whimsical in their sudden stops and starts.  Woahnows are, essentially, bad ass.  Their signing to Oxford based label Big Scary Monsters positions them amongst some of the crème-de-la-crème of the UK music scene.  Woahnows are another band that have not long released a fantastic piece of music called “Watching Accidents”, which is available for free on their bandcamp.

Speaking of current bands, Radstewart have found their way onto the bill.  These guys have recently been on fire.  This might have something to do with them being taken under the wing of Connor Cupples, who also manages Samoans.  Although not exactly brand new and musically groundbreaking, they seem to be ticking a lot of the right boxes.  Their trebly tone, simple pounding percussion and nonsensical shouty vocals have stolen the hearts of many.  The four lovely boys have just played Wales Goes Pop festival after coming back off tour with Jonny Foreigner.  Their raw and rasping lo-fi punk has found its way to Green Man festival, and is probably set go a long, long way in 2014.

Playlounge are also on the bill.  They utilise that familiar combo of jangly guitars and raucous vocals that can be heard in the likes of Radstewart.  Their songs are short, snappy and stripped down, with no messing about.  Simplicity is the name of the game, yet there is something undeniably interesting and rather nostalgic about the band’s music.  No wonder they have been lovingly placed alongside the other acts to make up this stunning line up.  Another two piece called Nai Harvest are set to play the microfestival.  They are similar to Playlounge in some respects.  However, in their grungy spiral of distortion, they manage to hold a whole lot of depth in terms of harmony.  Her Parents could perhaps be likened to these bands, and are also set to play the festival.  Constructed of Internet Forever, Stairs to Korea and Dananananaykroyd, Her Parents show no lack of experience when it comes to performing.  Fingers crossed their punky, and quite frankly abusive, set of songs will make for some fun viewing.

Totem Terrors, yet another two piece, are also part of the line-up.  These guys have earned the backing of loveable BBC Radio Wales DJ Adam Walton.  They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, as they occupy the space between the weird and wonderful.  Simplicity, again, is the key.  Minimalistic textures are left bare, emphasising the vast difference between styles that the male and female vocals utilise.  Their lo-fi art pop is certainly unlike anything you are likely to have heard.

Esuna is the final act I have yet to mention. Who, according to their Tumblr page, are four guys from Cardiff making night-time driving music..  From what little I have heard of Esuna, I am entirely excited to watch their set at the microfestival.

Phew, that’s all the bands covered.  I seem to have somewhat digressed from working towards an explanation of why microfestivals are becoming a more familiar sight.  In my defence, the bands and the music should surely come first.  Anyway, it seems quite apparent that the microfestival is the lovechild of Connor Cupples.  Many of the bands on the bill have worked with him in the past at least to some extent – whether they are under his management like Radstewart and Samoans, or they have merely played at a Jealous Lovers Club gig long ago.  Either way, the line-up looks to be a product of years of hard work and dedication that Connor has relentlessly endured through Jealous Lovers Club.  So are these types of all day gigs becoming more common due to healthy relationships made between artists and promoters?  I’d love to think so.  Perhaps there are other, more obvious parts in play – a microfestival would certainly be cheaper to put on than a full weekender with fewer bands to pay, fewer stages to set up, fewer staff to hire.  I could go on but you get the jist.  Maybe though, just maybe, Jealous Lovers Club and Juxtaposed have created this festival out of love for the bands they have on the line-up.

Yet, when all is said and done, it is fantastic to see people who share a love for music collaborating and getting along.  In my experience, there is too much animosity between music promoters, labels and managers.  Shows are postponed, or even discarded all together, due to people getting touchy about standing on each other's toes.  So when a little festival is put together and promoted by the combined forces of two of Cardiff’s top names in promotion, it really is rather refreshing.  Not only are they pulling this off, but they have got Circuit Sweet (a “music media outlet”) and Quench Music (a Cardiff University magazine) involved, both of who are sponsoring the festival, giving it further coverage and exposure.  What lesson shall we take from this microfestival then?  Join forces!  Help a brother out, and a brother might help you out.  Work with your fellow musicians to create something special, just like Jealous Lovers Club and Juxtaposed have done.