As the middle of the year approaches, you’ve every reason to feel ‘glass half full’, especially if you filter the national and global media and focus on the local music scene instead. Here are our top ten Gigs of the Week.
Thursday 13th June
Jamie Cruickshank + That Dog Was A Band Now + Ketibu - Mothers Ruin
A night of alt-folk awaits at The Mothers Ruin, courtesy of the subtle Bristolian beauties of Jamie Cruickshank’s troubadour tales, especially from his recent EP, Worn Through.
Racehorse + The Unprecedented - Louisiana
Celebrating the release of their Long Odds EP, Bristol’s very own Racehorse grace The Louisiana with their melodic punk. Chances of this show disappointing are well over 150/1. Back this winner.
CharlstonRay + HANAH - Rough Trade
Proof that you can’t judge a band’s genre by its name, CharlstonRay sound nothing like Ray Charles, or popular 20s dance, the Charleston. Ambient yet energetic, infectious house beats are what you’ll get at Rough Trade.
Friday 14th June
Poirier Marshall Partners + Devon Loch + Galina Juritz + samb_rules + R.Karim + Kinlaw - Cube
Roméo Poirier and Michael Marshall build the sort of electro-acoustic music that feels like solid three-dimensional constructions in your presence. This is music you can almost see, touch and taste.
Saturday 15th June
Sidney Gish + Garden Centre + Pup Tent - Old England
Even if an act is unfamiliar, you can often make an early judgement from the company they keep. Bostonian Sidney Gish has supported the likes of Porches and Mitski with her quirky DIY alt-pop. Go and confirm the obvious hunch on Saturday night.
Birth Death Day Party - Mothers Ruin
Births, deaths and musical all-dayers are all inevitable events in this life. Beverly Shrills, Joy, MISS KILL, Beefywink, GINS, Dude The Obscure, Olive Haigh, Gyno, YONIC, Toza, Frances Pylons and Turbo Island play this weekend’s Birth Death Day Party. There’s also poetry and DJs. All sounds like an essential rite of passage to me.
Sunday 16th June
dj flugvél og geimskip + Copper Sounds + Domestic Sound Cupboard - Crofters Rights
They needed dj flugvél og geimskip at that American national spelling bee where they ran out of words. Her name would have provided an excellent tie-breaker, but her ‘electronic horror music with a space twist’ would have provided something genuinely interesting.
The Blue Aeroplanes + Belishas + Steve Bush & Fran Fey - Fleece
The Blue Aeroplanes have been a keystone in the Bristol music scene’s well-earned reputation for doing things that bit differently for many a decade now. Warming up for Glastonbury at their spiritual home of The Fleece, you can see them developing their festival swagger.
Tuesday 18th June
Zanias + Buzz Kull - Crofters Rights
Dark dance from Down Under awaits at The Crofters Rights on Tuesday night. Zanias used to be half of Linea Aspera, but now she creates looming, doom-laden electro tunes of her own.
Wednesday 19th June
Don Juan + Punch On! + Beheading + Ratbags - Café Kino
Don Juan take their name from the fictional libertine. Their namesake character had an irresistible charm and joie de vivre. They too are hard to shrug off lightly. Describing their output as ‘violent iambic pentameter’, they deliver a solid, truly-aimed alt-rock punch.
