3.30pm. Wheat beer. Bad idea.
Bec and Beth (and it would appear Sophie) take to the stage at 4 o’clock. No instruments, just the 3 of them singing. In French. I think. Maybe the wheat beer is already having an effect. A cello, acoustic guitar, small Irish drum thing and some oversized rattley coffee beans all make an appearance. There’s folk, sea shanties and a Merle Haggard cover. Nice way to start a Sunday afternoon.
Can of Grolsch.
Fredrick Stanley Star are fast becoming everyone’s favourite Cardiff band. It’s not hard to see why. Their shuffling melodies are rather hypnotic, like early Beta Band or those weird clips of the weather in Newport’s new Lloyds Bar (admittedly that’s quite specific – check them out). Aptly there are Super Furry Animals and Zygotic Mycis belonging to Gorky in attendance and it’s from a similar rock that FSS are hewn. This sort of music has a habit of coming from Wales (and occasionally Scotland), it’s hard to imagine anyone in and English inner city producing this kind of magical music. They’re getting better all the time too. Keep an eye on this rather lovely bunch of crazies, hopefully they’ll get the success they deserve.
Pint of Peroni.
Alun Tan Lan plays nice folky acoustic stuff. Sometimes in English, mostly in Welsh. He basically suffered from following Fredrick Stanley Star. He probably wishes he went on before them.
Bottle of Corona.
Euro Childs is brilliant. He’d’ve still been brilliant if he hadn’t played any songs such was the comic genius of his between song banter, New solo stuff and old Gorkys stuff sat nicely together, both being whacked out on a keyboard with rudimentary backing beats. The new album is out now and is quite probably his 112th. Most of you reading this will know all about him, if you don’t, go buy Barafundle and randomly pick a solo album at the same time. You can then back track through his catalogue buying an album a month for the next 7 years of your life.
Can of Strongbow.
Lots of folky weirdness and then Zwolf. This is a bit of a shock. Man, laptop, sythy boxes of musical magic. It looks like he’s fighting to make them work properly too which kind of adds to the live experience. It’s bleepy, glitchy type stuff that I have no reference points for. I wouldn’t usually consider this to be my kind of music but I really like it. My brother liked the women wrestling in foam being projected onto the screen behind. Everyone’s a winner.
Wheat beer again. Forgot it wasn’t very nice.
Islet (pictured) are fantastic. It’s the second time I’ve seen them, this time they have an Alex Stanley Star in the band which makes for slightly less instrument swapping. They still have three vocalists and, at times, two drummers though. The odd light is casting quality shadows onto the backdrop which makes their set seem all the more psychedelic. Or maybe I’m quite drunk. Either way they’re increasingly sounding like their records should be in Carl Rylatt’s DJing stash.
Back to Strongbow.
To end proceedings there’s a band who’s name I didn’t catch. They had Alun Tan Lan in them and probably thought they should be in Rylatt’s record collection. Their attempts at instrumental psyche rock left me a bit cold though.
Bottle of Bulmers.
Pint of Peroni.
Miss Millies.
