Buzz Magazine July 2013 | Page 36

live

pic : EVA GNATIUK
TREMBLING BELLS & MIKE HERON The Globe , Cardiff Mon 22 July Folk music . There ’ s a lot of it about these days . Or , as Alex Neilson , drummer , singer and songwriter for Glasgow ’ s Trembling Bells , puts it : “ The levering of a trowel under the mossy rock of folk culture seems to happen every few years or so as it seeps back into the popular imagination .” He goes on to add : “ My own attraction to it was partly brought about by its sheer difference to modern life as I understood it . Folk music seemed to speak of a culture more in tune with the rhythms and rituals of the land and one unencumbered by the stroboscopic bleatings of modern technology that can be alienating from real human interactions . Maybe other people look to it for similar reasons ?” Since 2009 debut album Carbeth , Trembling Bells have ploughed a furrow that has led them from straight-ahead folk to something beguilingly unique , incorporating deeper psychedelic influences and seemingly endless others . “ I guess Trembling Bells came to similar conclusions as Fairport Convention . You are right to cite Krautrock as an influence , along with psychedelia , rural blues , country music , medieval music , crooner music , free jazz and numberless poets , native landscapes , flowers and cascading church bells . I ’ ve been equally influenced by Roy Orbison and Roy Harper .” Trembling Bells have taken an open-minded approach to collaboration , previously recording an album ( The Marble Downs ) and touring with American folkist Bonnie ‘ Prince ’ Billy . And now they ’ ve teamed up with Mike Heron of psych-folk pioneers The Incredible String Band . The sense of continuity between these very different musicians is strong , and there is almost a feeling of a baton being passed . So where does Alex see Trembling Bells ’ restless experimentation taking them ? “ I am still trying to achieve a long cherished goal of enacting on traditional British melodies what Albert Ayler did to archetypal American tunes – exploding them and tossing their shards into the atmosphere in hails of glory and disorientation .” Whether he succeeds or not , it ’ s certainly beautiful to watch . Tickets : £ 12 . Info : theglobevenue @ gmail . com DAVID GRIFFITHS
pic : JO LOPEZ
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Millennium Stadium , Cardiff Wed 23 July As well as hopefully more sunshine , July will see the return to Wales of Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band , 17 months into a globe-straddling tour in support of the musically diverse and righteously angry long player that was Wrecking Ball . Although never having been one to do things by halves , the tour has been one of Springsteen ’ s most ambitious ever . On the road and onstage for far longer than anyone could reasonably expect a 63-yearold to be , with shows routinely running to three-plus hours , the ranks of the E Street Band have also risen to an all time high of 17 . Amidst their number is saxophonist Jake Clemons , nephew of dearly departed founding member Clarence Clemons . As ever with The Boss , expect a surprise or two . From this most recent European tour alone there has been performances of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town , Born In The USA and Born To Run albums in their entirety , pre-show acoustic mini sets for those early-arriving devotees , and unsurprisingly for one with such a vast expanse of music to call on , there has been a steady stream of rarely heard cuts from throughout his remarkable career . Most remarkably , a request for Tougher Than The Rest was taken from the belly of a pregnant fan , a novel approach but if you must daub yourself just make sure it ’ s not permanent ... Tickets : £ 62.50 /£ 55 . Info : 08442 777888 ( NM )
RHONDDA ROCKS
The Factory , Porth Fri 2-Sun 4 Aug Back for another year having launched in 2012 , indoor festival Rhondda Rocks takes over Porth venue The Factory for three days of local and national bands . The festival celebrates everyone from local talent such as Cardiff ’ s Islet [ pictured ] to well-established acts like British indie veterans The Primitives . For 2013 , an extra day has been added , organised by the Young Promoters Network and focusing on youthful , emerging talent from the region . Highlights for Saturday include Cardiff trio Houdini Dax , a band continuing to cause a stir in the locale with their energetic mix of psychedelia and 60s rock ‘ n ’ roll ; labelmates The Keys , a band once labelled by Blur ’ s Alex James as “ the best new band in Britain ,” will also proffer a modern reading of classic 60s pop . The line-up for Sunday features 90s indie hitmakers Space alongside the jangly melodies and peculiar outlook of Sweet Baboo , a Cardiff-based north Walian artist with a quintessentially British sound . The festival organisers promise the event to be “ an explosion of local and national pedigree over one weekend ”. With this in mind , Rhondda Rocks continues to stick with the ethos of providing a platform for local talent , and its growing reputation has expanded the lineup to include internationally renowned artists . Tickets : £ 15 ( weekend )/£ 5 ( Fri )/£ 10 ( Sat + Sun ). Info : 01443 687080 ( JR )
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
Sin City , Swansea Fri 12 July As the contemporary music scene encompasses an increasingly a diverse mix of genres , bands might find it easier to get a foot in the door – but harder to produce something truly new and exciting . However , Public Service Broadcasting are a band set for big things . The London-based duo , made up of men calling themselves J . Willgoose , Esq . and Wrigglesworth , offer up a completely unique live experience : sampling old public information films , archive footage and propaganda before weaving it around electronics and melodic pop riffs . It sounds like an overly wacky concept but surprisingly , it actually works . This summer PSB will be taking their intriguing sound on tour , in what they describe as “ a quest to inform , educate and most importantly – entertain .” Their Welsh leg of the tour takes them to Swansea ’ s Sin City , and audiences are guaranteed a spectacle with their on stage audio-visual ‘ transmissions ’. To the sounds of plucky guitar riffs and insistent drum patterns , the archived films are screened , resulting in a sound The Independent has called “ powerfully evocative of a disappearing Britain ”. Their live shows promise to be dynamic and truly spell-binding , with the manipulation of all aspects of digital media creating a futuristic sound like no other . Tickets : £ 8 . Info : 01792 468892 ( JR )
VISAGE
The Glee Club , Cardiff Bay Sun 21 July Anyone trying to fill the void that the Sex Pistols left by imploding in the late 1970s would have likely tuned in to the John Peel show on a cheap transistor radio under their bed sheets on a school night in 1979 . They might remember hearing Visage ’ s dark and futuristic sounding debut single , Tar . Initially a studio project made up from a motley crew of moonlighting musicians from post-punk stalwarts Magazine and moody new wavers the Rich Kids , Visage bridged the gap between postpunk and new romanticism with style . Shortly after moving from Caerphilly to London , Visage vocalist Steve Strange founded the infamous Blitz club in 1979 . If Lady Gaga was transported back to the period , she would more than likely be turned away from entering the Blitz for being too conservatively dressed . David Bowie became aware of Strange and nabbed him for a walk-on part in his Ashes To Ashes video , not that he needed Bowie ’ s endorsement to get noticed as Visage ’ s first two albums sounded pretty damn fine . In fact , they still do today and although the bands line-up has changed , Hearts And Knives still has that made-fortomorrow sound . Hopefully the Glee Club has a more relaxed dress policy than the Blitz had , but one thing is for sure : it ’ s definitely not going to be a mere night of nostalgia with Steve Strange at the helm . Tickets : £ 11 . Info : 0871 4720400 ( DN )
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