A couple of days later The Melvins played the Thekla, the flipping Melvins played Bristol! This was something I personally never thought I would ever see live, one of the true monoliths of the American alt rock scene and there was no way in hell I was going to miss this. As per usual I was like a kid who had been locked in a sweet shop, force-feeding himself gob stoppers. They were absolutely incredible – and loud – playing for pretty much the best part of two hours and ending with one of the funniest things I have ever seen at gig, the bass player and drummer singing over a house styled track about how they wanted a full English breakfast after doing a 10min lightning bolt bass and drums noise jam, that left me without hearing for about four hours.

Another gig which had a very funny and strange ending was Ringo Deathstarr at Start the Bus. They sound like all the best bits of My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain and Dinosaur Jr. They ended it by getting my friend Dan to replace their drummer and me their guitarist; I can’t play guitar, so we just created nasty noise and hoped for the best. To be honest, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in Start the Bus – full on wailing guitar drones of beauty. On that very same night I was given another example as to why Fence Collective are pretty much the best label in the UK, with a sublime gig from the Shivers, who sounded like an un easy cross between Bob Dylan and Lou Reed and the equally, if not more fantastic, Player Piano – who sounded a bit like early Fleetwood Mac playing R’n’B music with Robert Wyatt -just incredibly bouncy and brilliant.

Jon Hopkins completely fried my brains at Motion. Read my full review HERE.I saw Besnard Lakes who gave me a very special feeling, I could feel something in the water, maybe it was all the hallucinations I was having. The day after, my sister gave birth so there was definitely something in the water. I celebrated my sister’s sprog by going to see Shabazz Palaces, great fun leftfield hip hop, in the vein of a subtle Saul Williams, mixing cleverly worked lyrics in with psychedelic melodies. Read my Besnard Lakes review HERE.
I saw the Antlers and Vessels on the same night – doimg my usual gig sprint made possible by the Thekla’s early curfews! Vessels were amazing, although I have never seen so much gear on the Louisiana stage – 12 guitars, 6 pedal boards 4 synths – it was so ridiculous. I also did what I call Menage a Trois – where I managed to make it to three gigs on the same night – kick starting off with Pure Reason Revolution’s farewell tour at the Thekla. Playing their first two albums pretty much all the way through, it was pretty special. I followed that up by heading over to the Louisiana to see Swimming, who are a very underrated band in my opinion. They ooze 80s sounds like indie pop so well. Finally, I headed over to Start the Bus for Beaty Hearts.

I saw Billy Bragg play the Fleece for his Leftfield in Motion tour along with Akala and the Sound of Rum, who as many people will know is a band I have an obsession with. Kate Tempest is so amazing. It was the most people I have ever seen in the Fleece it seriously did feel like we were all sardines packed into a warm tin. And I also played Start the Bus, under my new pseudonym AAAutistic it stands for Angry Anxiety Autistic. It was a completely improvised set, like most of my sets are, I think it went pretty well. I had The Pen Wears The Trousers backing me up and I even tried to destroy people’s ears by singing and playing the violin. It got and interesting reaction.

Right, so December has started with Magic Band and The Vaccines as well as loads of other gigs, NYE parties and my AAAutistic set at the Fleece on December 8. Hope to see you there!

October will be mostly memorable for me, for making a twat out of myself in front of a number of female musicians. Firstly, there was me virtually not being able to speak in front of Alison from The Pierces. She did look very bemused and a little puzzled to see me stood outside the Anson Rooms in what was almost zero degrees. And then there was the Charlotte Hatherley incident, where the erstwhile female guitarist from Ash came and gave me a hug and I virtually blacked out, my little heart seriously couldn’t take it! It was pounding like a hamster at 5000bpm and I blushed heavily. It was also a great gig she played with Ash, which brought back lots of teenage-like dreams.

On the same night as Ash, I made my first voyage of the year to Motion – for the Blowpop In:Motion night. I don’t often go to Motion because I can’t often afford the ticket price but I reviewed this one for 247 Magazine, read my review HERE. I also fell in love with a three-piece all female psych folk band called Stealing Sheep, who I saw support Emmy The Great at the Fleece, and as per usual she really was great. Roddy Frame wasn’t bad either. In fact, I was given his lyric book – which made for interesting reading. And I thoroughly enjoyed Ghostpoet’s show at Start the Bus at the begining of the the month. There is something interesting about his songs and lyrical style. It is almost like he’s slurring his words, it’s a kind of slow, distilled style that he has, which has drawn comparisons to early Roots Manuva mixed in with maybe a bit of Saul Williams.

I saw Gold Panda play for the umteenth time with Dam Mantle, he is someone I can’t really put it down in words what I like about him, but his music is very infectious with almost psychedelic Flying Lotus style qualities. I remember the first time I saw him, I compared him to German electro film score style artist Ulrich Schnause, but thinking about it now, he sounds quite different really! The night after that I was having a bit of an electronica week, and so I was at the hipper-than-hip SBTRKT, whose audience was ultimately full of ‘being a dickhead’s cool’ styled Mockneys and one or two Bristolians. It was almost as bad as James Blake Gig earlier in the year. I don’t know why, but as soon as you put the word dubstep next to anything then you have all these London geezer neanderthals crawling out of the woodwork.

Speaking of electronic wizzardry, I saw Silver Apples – the guy who was pretty much responsible for the development of Krautrock and all forms of electronica. Basically, without him you could probably wave bye-bye to pretty much half of the music ever made. He played a cracking show at the Fleece, using mostly equipment he used on the original recordings from the 68-69 period. It was quite awe-inspiring watching his frail fingers orchestrating sound.

November is looking pretty exciting for me. I am foaming at mouth about going to see the Melvins, one of the bands that single-handedly kick started Grunge, The Dwarves, Shabazz Placaces, Turbowolf, Bastions, CW StoneKing, Pure X, Opeth, St Vincent and many more!

At times he toed the line of self-indulgence: crooning indeterminate lyrics over a near deafening baseline, or at the other end of the spectrum it sometimes didn’t feel like Jamie Woon in concert, it felt like Jamie jamming in the front room whilst we put the kettle on. Despite the band playing at full strength all of those around us were chatting: the atmosphere akin to that in the tea tent at Glastonbury where many may have first seen him.

His encore was a little underwhelming but an impressive idea: he created a vocal orchestra by recording and looping himself on stage. He had been welcomed onto the stage with cheers and said a humble hello and thanks before launching into the set. As he bobbed his head, his fringe falling carelessly over his face it was easy to the appeal of this seemingly quiet and reserved guy that nothing felt forced. Scanning the crowd there seemed to be no agenda of age or attire, just fans (and a few newcomers) here to show their appreciation. There were almost no sing-along moments, not out of disdain but because the crowd felt comfortable for Jamie to take the lead as we all basked in his sound.

This gig certainly wasn’t enough to affirm my fan status but as several of his current followers told me: his voice is his greatest gift and his band left no space for said voice to shine. Jamie is clearly exploring several genres and is not afraid of conforming to the expectations set by fellow male vocalists: whether this was the best occasion for such exploration is debatable but it was refreshing. And if last night is him ‘off-game’ I eagerly await a complete performance.

Words: Georgette Keane
Photos: Laura Palmer

There are, admittedly, a number of artists that have made me cry or feel intense emotions that recently, like Josh T Pearson, who reduced the 6ft 4inch giant of me to a rubble. His lyrics are just so powerful, all about break up of his marriage. Read my full review HERE.

There was also The Simple things festival with a line -up which featured ultra angry Gonjasufi (I don’t think anyone told him that Bad Brains weren’t really the order of the day, as he told anyone who doesn’t like loud music to F*** OFF! Nice.) A drool-inducing set from Jon Hopkins, whose performance was so intense it caused me to have wrong things going on in my trouser department! I probably shouldn’t have said that, but hey certain sonic intensities and flashing lights do things to me. There was also the extremely well dressed Daedalus, playing in a room which made it feel like we were all being baked alive – quite claustrophobic.

I went on a bit of a quietish alt-country tinged week, with the NME tour featuring Anna calvi, who has got one of the best voices out there on a major recording label, positive indie popsters Grouplove and Big Deal, who were like The Slow Club crossed with The Lemonheads. The next day was Shelby Lynne, who is better known as Alison Moorer’s sister. She sung passionate country for about two hours, full of regret and emotions leaving everyone spellbound with her tales jealousy, love and the death her parents, (her dad shot their mum and himself).

But the week after brought on a heavier turn, with the likes of Fucked Up, Rolo Tomassi and Atari Teenage Riot (reviews of all of which are available HERE), all of which could be in my view contenders for gig of the year. I mean Fucked Up put on the kind of show that remind me of why I got punk and rock’n’roll music in first place. It was sweaty fun, with Fucked Up’s singer spending a majority of the show in the audience giving people bare (sic) hugs, (literally the sweatiest hug I have ever received). He is the kind of person that is intent on spreading positivity.

Rolo Tomassi are a band I am never going to miss live, with their proggy mathcore jazz metal mix. And Atari teenage Riot, well sounded like riot and took me 5 hours to regain relatively normal breath. I also got to say hello to Yuck who were awesome in a kind of Dinosaur Jr meets Pavement nerdyness.

The night after was Warpaint and Connan Mockasin. Warpaint were much better than I expected but this was all about Connan Mockasin for me. I am a massive fan, and buy every record this guy releases because in my view he is a genius and one of a few people who can honestly pull off the 60s rare groove feel.

June brings a myriad of festivals. I can hear the dinosaur that is Glastonbury wheezing about how it is the greatest festival out there. Sure,it is a lot of fun (apart from last year when I got mugged) but, as per usual, the mainstage is ultimately the Radio 2 fest. So, it is the smaller stages that have some of the more exciting live acts, such as Foolsgold, Little Dragon, Twilight Singers, Jimmy Cliff, The Pierces and some of the lesser known stuff.

Speaking of dinosaurs, has anyone seen the line-up for Hop Farm? Hop Damn digity, they have only gone and got the Eagles, 10cc, Lou Reed, Iggy and the Stooges, Patti Smith, Chrissy Hynde, Bryan Ferry and Prince! I am going to have to whore my body out for this one, you see most of those are on my list of to see before I die. Bristol has the We The People festival, full of more dance related acts, like Streets, Doom, Gaslamp Killer, Example, Dels amongst so many others.

Also there are the secret warm up shows, like Erasure at the Fleece, the Fleece is getting a lot of very good bands at the moment like Mono and Boris which I am very excited about.

Last time I saw Frank was at Strummerville. The gig was in a rammed disused East London car park and the crowd was very merry and somewhat sweaty from several hours of drinking and dancing. Here we found ourselves seated in the ornate St George’s church off Park Street, an altogether different proposition. Frank came on stage and seemed a little surprised at the refined setting but took it in his stride and it wasn’t long before the crowd responded in the predictable way of clapping, singing and eventually, standing and dancing. It was touted as ‘An Evening With Frank Turner…’ and that it was.

He opened with I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous, bare and exposed on the grand stage a lesser act could’ve appeared a bit rabbit in headlights but Frank is a seasoned performer (that Strummerville gig was his 1,000th gig) and he belted out the soaring folky number. From here he upped the tempo with Try This At Home where he spat the lyrics ‘cos there’s no such things as rockstars, there’s just people who play music and some of them are like us and some of them are just dicks.’ True that. In fact, that’s probably why Frank Turner is so likeable. He’s getting bigger with every tour (a few years back he was supporting the Levellers in Bristol, he then migrated to the Anson Rooms and here he is at St George’s) but still he remains down to earth, still his gigs inevitable culminate in a mass singalong where he stands shoulder to shoulder with his awestruck fans. That’s how you connect with your audience!

My only criticism is that sometimes his lyrics and songs sit on the wrong side of cheesy, especially in the recent I Still Believe, where he croons ‘who’d have though that something as simple as rock’n'roll could save us all,’ while standing coyly under an old painting of Jesus Christ. Music is our religion hey?! And when he slows things down with Better Half it drags with a 90s throwback sound, like one of those forgettable Supernaturals album tracks. This signified a slight lull in the set and his new offering Balthazar Impressario failed to impress.

Thankfully things picked up again with the iconic Love Ire and Song, Long Live The Queen and The Road. These songs alone made the gig worthwhile. The kind of classic songs which you know you’ll be hearing for years to come. It was by this point that the whole place was on it’s feet, clapping, grinning, singing and stomping along to the rhythmic punky folk anthem – think a more credible, relevant Levellers. But it was his most well known hit, Photosynthesis, which stole the show and captured the hearts of pretty much every 20 or 30 something in there.

For most of the gig, Turner cut a lone figure on the stark stage but the encore saw support acts Ben Marwood and Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady) join their tour buddy on stage for some awesome covers – including a cover of The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service and Song To Woody by Bob Dylan (whose birthday it was that day). Check out Frank on Youtube and you’ll see that he pays endless homage to his influences in the form of covers songs which prove more hit than miss. Better than that though, go catch him live!

Words and video: Laura Williams
Photos: Laura Palmer

One of the first acts we caught was Little Victories at The Louisiana. Having toured Bristol before in previous incarnation Farthing Wood, Little Victories bring their eclectic brand of folk-pop to the mix, adding a violinist and female vocalist to the line-up. The vocal harmonies of Samantha Gould and Lewis Doyle perfectly compliment one another, whilst being more than ably supported by a menagerie of merrymen, in particular Richard Jones on fiddle, who shone brightly from the back of the stage. We couldn’t help but draw comparisons between the handclappy, upbeat, Sunshine Bus tunage of Little Victories with Cardiff folksters Los Campesinos! and this seems to be a bit of a sore point for the band, given that they dedicated their whole set to their lead singer Gareth, the ‘complete dick’.

One of the more intriguing performances of the day saw 50s prom-rockers Various Cruelties play to a lucky handful of people upstairs in The Louisiana. Despite the lacklustre turnout, it was an extremely assured performance, fronted by Liam O’Donnell, a man soaked in affrontery and gusto, dressed in leather jacket and winklepickers – he really doesn’t break the front-man mould, but thankfully that’s a good thing. The simple rhythm and catchy lyrics reminded us of previous modern day advocates of 1960s psychadelic pop-rock. But is the world ready for another The Coral?

Next up was Braids at The Cooler. Altogether more alt-beat and Bjork-esque, Canadian wall-of-sounders Braids slowed things down and transfixed a knowing audience with a performance of outstanding vocal ability and post-rock sensibility. Similar to Animal Collective and Boards of Canada in spirit and musical style, they failed to overcome a seriousness that detracted from the otherwise calming offering. A heavy reliance on electronic beats and samples further distanced Braids from their generic counterparts, but it didn’t always work, sometimes sounding to the untrained ear like a record played underwater.

Continuing the lo-fi soundscape, surf-rockers Dom drew an impressive crowd given the size of the room upstairs at the Thekla at 8pm, perhaps in most part due to the media-buzz around the Massachusetts foursome of recent time. The hype seems to have credence, given that their shoegaze sentimentality and driving rhythms evoke memories of a summer atmoshpere, a barbeque with friends. Catchy lyrics coupled with falsetto delivery took us to a place nso different to the mud dock bathing not in New England sunshine, but pissing rain. It was a shame to face that depressing reality.

But one of the main draws, The Joy Formidable, proved their worth at the Anson Rooms later that night. There isn’t much we like more than a female fronted rock group. Except, that is, a good one. Ritzy Bryan characterises everything you want as the singer-guitarist of a alt-rock band – energy, pizzazz and a no bullshit attitude. Having said that, when the songs stop, she is perfectly polite, interacting with the crowd and seeming genuinely humbled by her audience’s reaction to the debut EP The Joy Formidable are showcasing that night. Having been active for 4 years, TJF seem to be finally getting a reward for their hard work and it’s not a surprise given their ability to pen very decent tracks, all with thick, textured noises and clear, shimmering pop hooks. We wanted to end the evening on a high and that is just what happened.

The thing with Dot to Dot is that the effort you make dictates what you get out of it, the more you put in, the better it will be. Be prepared to queue, after all there are some high quality acts on show, but don’t plan things too much. It’s the unpredictable path to new bands that make this festival surprising and special.

Words: Annie Scott & Matthew Tickner
Photos: Laura Palmer

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We The People looks set to be THE Bristol event of the Summer with some mega acts lined up for both the Saturday and the Sunday – including The Streets, who are breaking up at the end of the festival season, Chase and Status Live, Example, Annie Mac, Lee Scratch Perry, Redlight, Roots Manuva, Beardyman and more. There’s also a heavy local Bristol flavour with Smerin’s Anti Social Club, Carnyvillains, Futureboogie, DJ Derek and more. Gates (to the Bristol Harbourside site) open at 2pm with plenty of after parties going on across the city. Tickets £35adv or £40otd More info at www.wethepeoplefestival.co.uk

We gave away a pair earlier as part of the April 247 West and Wales mag festival guide and mass giveaway (Rachael Andrews, from Bristol, bagged that pair of tickets!) but for anyone left disappointed, here’s your chance to win again. Simply fill in your full name, address and phone number on the form below – making sure you put WE THE PEOPLE in the subject line. Deadline is 10am this Friday (June 3) Winners will be informed by email on Friday. Good luck![contact-form-7]

Photo by JF 1234 via Flickr

First on, Bristol band Schnauser played to a smattering of early arrivals with a hard task on their hands. To their credit, they took it in their stride, offering an assortment of quirky tales over the top of a catchy blend of indie-pop and geek-rock, bolstered by some well-thought boy-girl harmonies. Yes, there was the occasional awkward silence between songs and one or two tunes fell foul to some self-indulgent guitar mastery but with more shows under their collective belt and a refined setlist you’ll no doubt be hearing more from this trio.

Hitting the stage 10 minutes before their allotted time, the Rural Alberta Advantage appeared eager to get started, ploughing through opening track Luciana, from home-recorded debut album Hometowns, in fiery fashion. The disappointing turnout seemed irrelevant as frontman Nils Edenloff, towering over his microphone, led the early stages of the band’s set through the denser and more intense tracks of new record Departing, like Under the Knife, Muscle Relaxants and Tornado ’87, channeling Jeff Mangum and Neil Young in a vocal style he’s almost made his own. Almost. More impressive, though, was how the three-piece moved from the understated, borderline-country tracks in their repertoire (Two Lovers, North Star) to the more frenetic and glossy sounds of songs like Stamp and Frank, AB with minimal fuss. Aided only by a drum kit, keys and Edenloff’s guitar, all three went well beyond the call of duty, producing a sound you’d normally except of an alt-country collective to make with half-a-dozen bodies on stage.

The crowning moment, however, was in the final moments of the gig when the three Canadians moved from the stage to the middle of the crowd for closing number Goodnight . Backed only by the occasional chord on Edenloff’s acoustic guitar and Paul Banwatt’s floor tom, you could’ve heard a pin drop as the band’s frontman and backing vocalist Amy Cole delivered note-perfect harmonies to create a moment everyone present will find it hard to forget anytime soon.

Words: Michael Inglis
Photo: Sarae via Flickr

Self-styled “ambient soundtrack doomrockers The Ocean brought their unique mix of progressive metal and classical sensibility to proceedings. Asking for the lights to be turned completely out and the mic volume to go as low as it can – we knew we were in for a forcefully ramshackle performance. Recent raptures from Rock Sound and Terrorizer et al are hard to argue. The Ocean’s aggressive vocals, relentless percussion and melodic guitars make for a curiously exciting outfit.

Stars of the show however were undoubtedly Maybeshewill. The Leicester four-piece brought their wonderful blend of post-rock, metal and electronica to a criminally short set. Releasing new album I was here for a moment, then I was gone this month, they would have won many new fans on the Thekla deck. The two recent singles on that album Critical Distance and To the Skies, From a Hillside were the stand-out songs of the night – across all bands. Ever-increasing crescendo from over-driven guitars and dynamic bass sit perfectly alongside melodic breakdown from piano and violin and subtle percussion. Electronic samples punctuate the closing track Co-conspirators and it is the perfect close to their set-list. On Saturday night, Maybeshewill were co-conspirators no more, they became head of the gang.

Words: Matthew Tickner & Annie Scott
Photo: Adam ASW909 via Flickr