THE WYTCHES / WEIRDS | LIVE REVIEW
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Mon 24 Apr
Given the recent problems surrounding the future of Womanby Street, it’s comforting to see that the legendary Clwb Ifor Bach is a hive of activity tonight. There’s a gig in the bar downstairs, but the main room upstairs is buzzing in anticipation at the arrival of The Wytches and Weirds. The privilege of opening this evening’s events falls to Cardiff’s own The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk. Naming themselves after a Budgie song lets you know where this bands collective heart lies: old school classic metal, with a bit of psychedelia thrown in for good measure. Plenty of head-nodding from those assembled indicates a good start to the night’s proceedings.
Up next are Leeds four piece Weirds. Frontman Aidan Razzall leads his band through a storming set of psych-pop/grunge, which the crowd go mental for. If he’s not screaming in somebody’s face, he’s playing keyboard, or playing guitar, or just whipping the moshpit into a frenzy himself. The band lurch through track after track from their forthcoming album Swarmculture and the entire crowd respond, with raucous dancing. The pop bits are very poppy, the heavy bits are very heavy – like New Order jamming with Monster Magnet. They leave the stage to a wall of feedback and everybody in attendance agrees that they have just seen something a bit special.
A much needed break follows, allowing everybody to cool off, before they reassemble for tonight’s main event. The Wytches must be immensely confident, having to follow the Weirds performance every night on this tour, but follow it they do. An entirely heavier prospect live, than on the album, mainly due to bassist Daniel Rumsey’s Lemmy-esque tone, but comparisons with The Horrors are probably more accurate.
The band confidently plough through a crowd pleasing set mainly taken from last year’s All Your Happy Life and the Cardiff crowd show that they still have enough energy, with more wild dancing and crowd surfing. A great show, showcasing three British bands to look out for, because I think there’s definitely bigger things on the horizon for all of them.
words CHRIS ANDREWS