dea Lesson No.1

Monday, June 15

BLACK STEEL IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS



As summer proper approaches we're off for our customary seasonal break for a month or two (read: counting our last pennies in a darkened room to a soundtrack of Slayer and tears). But not before this weighty weekend bastard, Sunday 21 June to be precise, probably our heaviest bill in five years of Lesson No.1.

Thou are from Baton Rouge in Louisiana and are one of the most talked-about bands coming up for air from the doom/sludge underground over the last 12 months. Why? Because they’re heavier than a ruined life, playing black metal-soaked slo-mo epics with riffs as thick as the glass on the Popemobile. If Electric Wizard quit eulogising about weed and extracted all the musical optimism from their songs, it might sound a bit like this. They also have a commendably busy release schedule (without going so far as to flood the market), with releases on Level Plane, Southern Lord (upcoming), Woodsmoke, Feast Of Tentacles and more. They all have amazing artwork that’ll make the aesthetically-minded bust a nut when they see them. Don’t miss this! Aural proof here.

Moloch make their South Wales debut (not for want of trying, but still); really great hardcore-infused sludge warriors from Nottingham, featuring dudes from Brain Dead and Army Of Flying Robots. Nihilistic raging gloom for fans of Eyehategod, Grief, Iron Monkey, Sourvein, yadda yadda. They have so far issued a demo, which is sold out, and a 10” single on Feast Of Tentacles/Shifty which you should be able to find in distros and whatnot. Ear abuse you say? Sure.

Ghast - formerly known as Souldust (hence their MySpace URL) - have got to be one of the most slept on black metal bands anywhere. Their debut album ‘May The Curse Bind’ is out now and goes to town welding that Darkthrone-esque cold guitar buzz to obese doom/death pummeling, played with a crusty punk anger. They don’t play round here that often so we're really looking forward to it. Get blackened.

Spider Kitten have been shadowy ambassadors for South Wales downer rock since the early part of the century, shifting focus over the years from an exercise in Earth worship to weirdly anthemic, industrially damaged doom rockouts. Vitus style solo-mo riffing meets the blank garage of early Sub Pop bands. They release all their records on their own Rugland label and can be contacted this way, which also includes tunes, yo...

The nuts and bolts: get down to Le Pub, Caxton Place, Newport from 7.30pm, hand over £5 and, erm, rock the fuck out. Why wouldn't you want to?

posted by The Lesson at 12:41 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 4

DARK STARS IN DAYLIGHT (UPDATED)



Afternoon. Believe it or not, Lesson No.1 are not the sole awesome gig putters-on in the fair city of Cardiff and the greater area of South Wales. And it's a pleasure to join up with one of a small handful of kindred spirits, Loose, for our next show this coming Thursday (May 7).

Experimental Dental School are a two-piece creating a cranky and rousing noise that sounds like it’s being made by more than two people. Hailing from Portland, something of an indie-rock haven, they make a complex yet accessible, sing-songy yet gnarly hoedown for fans of Deerhoof (who they’ve toured with), Melt-Banana (who they’re shortly to be on a split EP with), Les Savy Fav, Devo, Ex Models and the like. Releases on Cochon, Deleted Art, The Company With The Golden Arm. Normally at this point we point you MySpace-wards; well one up this time, because you can download the entire new EDS album right over here, you lucky, lucky people.

Riffmonster replace King Alexander, who have been sidelined with illness (hopefully not swine 'flu or whatever). This will be their first ever live performance. They are not monsters but they do have riffs. They play improvised rock music on guitar, bass and drums. They feature Sam from Zail, Mountain Men Anonymous and aka John Barnes, Andy from Derrero and Cymbient and Tom aka ZWolf. We are indebted to them for filling in at short notice. They are so new and spontaneous they don't have any online presence but feel free to look at the profile of a probably dreadful German band with the same name.

Pretty Girls complete the line-up, replacing Means Heinz, who have sadly flaked on this show. The band, as they say themselves, "consists of four leek eaters and a cockney who play dynamic punk, utilizing free improvisation, non-traditional usage of instruments and any other noise that can be harnessed through an exploration of our surroundings and the tools available to us. Two and a half drummers a bassist and a guitar, it's loud and has a good beat. Influences: Lightning Bolt, Boredoms, Polvo, Please Inform The Captain This Is a Hijack, Hoover, Unwound, 1.6 band, Melt-Banana, Fugazi, Pixies." Can't argue with that. This appears to be their first show, so fingers crossed all their chums turn up for the party! Thumbs up for stepping into the breach, have a wee listen.

The fine print, you ask? Sure: Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff, from 8pm, £5 on the door. And for anybody dashing down to Minehead the next day for All Tomorrow's Parties, what better way to kick off your weekend of drinking and indie-rock? None, that's right...

posted by The Lesson at 2:16 PM 0 comments

Sunday, April 19

A WINNER EVERY TIME



And now, as people often witter, for something completely different. Well, sort of. Get your educated selves down to Chapter Arts Centre's Y Llofft space next Monday (27 April) for talk of fighting, but with a gentleman twist...

Eugene S Robinson is probably best known as the lead singer of San Francisco heavy blues-rock noisemakers Oxbow - you know the dude, the one often semi-naked, jostling in his jocks as if wrestling some kind of mythical snake. Well forget all that, because on this tour he presents his critically-acclaimed book Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Ass–Kicking But Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked For Asking. A spoken word performance with Eugene talking freely about the world of fight culture, expect a no-holds-barred chat with one of combat's most eloquent analysts. Don't just believe us; take it from somebody who knows a little more about this literature lark:

"Sort of a unified theory of unarmed combat, Fight pulls off the nifty trick of being thorough to the point of compendiousness while maintaining a core of bristling idiosyncrasy. Robinson is Bouncer Lit’s Norman Mailer. And occasionally in the time–warped, Finnegan’s Wake seconds before someone chokes him out, its James Joyce." James Parker, The Phoenix.

Plenty of examples of ESR's writing this way, please.

DC Gates delves into the world of solo spoken wordage in support. What will the Gindrinker frontman do? It's going to be a surprise to us, a surprise to you. Hear his words of wisdom, albeit put to Gindrinker's distinctive music, right here.

It all starts at Chapter from 8pm (Y Llofft is up a little staircase at the front right of the Arts Centre and you pretty much have to walk across the stage from the entrance so please arrive on time to avoid possible physical challenges from Mr Robinson). Tickets are £5, on sale now from this unwieldy URL. The capacity for this show is tiny (40-50 people) so advance tickets are definitely advised...

The necessary footnote: Y Llofft is a temporary performance space being used throughout the redevelopment of Chapter's facilities. Unfortunately, it is not accessible to wheelchair users and access is via a steep external staircase. Please call the Chapter box office on 029 2030 4400 for further details.

posted by The Lesson at 2:46 PM 0 comments

Thursday, April 9

SONGS FOR FAILED RELATIONSHIPS



After the minor disaster that was our Shitmat show (proving once and for all, in case of any doubt, that Facebook-based confirmations of attendance aren't worth the cyberspace they're written on) and the splendid but stressful Nadja show, allow Lesson No.1 to ease you from your Easter stupors with this rare treat on Monday 13 April (that's Easter Monday).

Matt Elliott first emerged as Third Eye Foundation from the mid 90s post-rock scene in Bristol, which also included names like Flying Saucer Attack and Movietone – bands that he was either in at one point, or remixed, or just generally kicked it with. Taking the then-still-pretty-new drum’n’bass template and mixing it with shoegazing fuzz and pure, invigorating noise, he released a bunch of albums and singles on the Domino label in the late 90s/early 00s before moving to France (and now Spain) and venturing further into the territory of dark, nervous breakdown folksong with walls of effects-laded gloom. And now he’s playing live in Cardiff for the first time since 2001, maybe 2002. Hear what he's been crafting.

Trembling Bells are a late but vital addition to the bill. They come from Glasgow and have some fine past form. Probably the best-known of the quartet is Alex Neilson, a fantastic drummer who’s played backing Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Alisdair Roberts, Six Organs Of Admittance and a ton of others, as well as having several other projects. Other members have been in, or still are in, Directing Hand, Scatter, Lucky Luke and Motorghost among others. Their debut album ‘Carbeth’, on the really ace label Honest Jon's, is a sideways look at 70s British folk-rock, with chewy jazz parts and the occasional freaky jam session. Take a listen.

Ratatosk is the moving ambient multi-instrumentalist project of Rhodri Viney (who also performs as, or as part of, Right Hand Left Hand, Vito, Broken Leaf and too many more to mention in full). He’s influenced by post-post-rock types and experimental pioneers, the likes of Eluvium, Tarentel, Steve Reich, Do Make Say Think, and is probably the person in Cardiff most excited by this Matt Elliott show, even more than the people putting it on. And we’re excited so y’know. Get excited too.

John Barnes is otherwise known as Sam Arnold, currently found hurting a guitar in instrumental power duo Zail (featuring former members of Mountain Men Anonymous). He plays a very rare show under his football-inspired pseudonym, for which he will no doubt put breakcore, avant-classical and prime IDM in his old kit bag, which is actually a laptop bag probably. Releases can be found on the Fire, Boobytrap, Machine and No Ground Processes labels. Might be a bit of a treasure hunt finding them these days, but still, have an aural butchers here.

All of this is at Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff - 8pm doors, just £5.

Thanks to Lesson No.1's man in Eire, Mr Keith Tormey, for the fine poster above. He's also lining up a beauty for Eugene Robinson's spoken word show - more info on that here shortly. But for now, guarantee you can get in by buying your ticket for this super-limited capacity gig from the link right here. Thanking you...

posted by The Lesson at 12:33 PM 0 comments

Friday, February 27

ONE FOOT IN THE GLASS (UPDATE #2)



The INTERNETZ ate entirely the first lengthy attempt at posting this, so let's keep things simple in case of further failure: Oxford Collapse was great last week, thanks to all; next up is double trouble, with these two ear-breakers imminent for March. CHECK IT:

1. WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH (UPDATED WITH FINAL LINE-UP - DON LEISURE/JAMAL ADDED)

Shitmat, aka Henry Collins, plays his first Cardiff show for a few years. Hopefully it won’t be the last, at least for anyone who likes his overdriven, straight-up rofflin’ brand of breakcore, rinsin’ jungle, rave and mashed pop samples as much as Lesson No.1 does. He was going to ‘die’ at the end of this (very long) tour, presumably something to do with the release of his new album ‘One Foot In The Rave’ on the Planet Mu label, but guess he isn’t now. Whatever. This will be a midweek blast to the power of infinity. Get Shitty.

Don Leisure/Jamal are two guises of the Cardiff-based producer/DJ best known by the latter alias. Spanning everything from electronica to, latterly, dubstep, drum & bass is where Jamal made his name, however. Aligned with Cardiff's Aperture crew, Jamal worked for Dillinja & Lemon D’s Valve Recordings while living in London, but is now back as a resident of Wales's capital city. He's just had a single out on DJ Hype's Ganja-Tek label, which to these ears sounds like jungle being messily fed through a dubstep steel crusher, oiled with a love of thumping hip-hop beats. Peep those very tracks and more here.

Soundfiend is one of the major pushers of dubstep in Cardiff thanks to his nights Mud and, brand new on the block (in the Tafod venue), Phase Two. James Lawrie, as the government knows him, has spent a few years now honing his large, rumbling, dancefloor-friendly yet subtly steppin’ dubstep jams. He even got Radio 6 airplay recently. This should be great! Sounds of the soundboy here.

Parasite is a hero of the Bristol electronic scene with a hand in promo (the Toxic Dancehall and Bashout nights), a label (the awesome Death$ucker Records) and a distro (the equally awesome DSWAT). His set here will probably smash together jungle, breakcore, ragga and anything else you can link up with those genres. Get bitten.

Demon Cabbage is proof that when you make inroads into the music genre ‘breakcore’ you are likely to encounter some silly names. Steel yourself and wade in, though, because it can hide some pretty corking ruff jams. Based in Bristol, Demon Cabbage is one of the faces behind Shitmat’s excellent Wrong Music label; he will offer laptop-based live turnouts encompassing jungle and breakcore, we'd wager. Get, erm, Cabbaged.

There is more than likely one more name to be added to this line-up, but in the meantime: fly on down to Basement/Undertone (the basement club of 10 Feet Tall), Church Street, Cardiff, 9pm-3am, £5 on the door.



2. FRIDAY 20 MARCH (UPDATED - FALLEN PAINTING CANCELLED, REPLACED BY BLACK CESAR!)

Nadja are a man with a beard and a lady who looks like a character from a webcomic, hailing from Canada and in Wales for one night only. While here they intend to send you into paroxysms of pleasedness with a really fantastic musical meeting of shoegazing, ambient drone, doom metal and electronics. Releases on rad labels like The End, Profound Lore, 20 Buck Spin and others. Skyscraping sounds here.

Black Cesar are fine late in the day replacement for the had-to-pull-out Fallen Painting (aka solo experimental folk type Nickie Charles). Black Cesar are not experimental folk, but they are folk who like to experiment with the doom, sludge, stoner and hard rock formalities a bit. Chiefly instrumental, their spacey, riffy jamouts have a strong backwash of country blues. For fans of Clutch, Fatso Jetson, Kyuss and Grand Funk. Split 7" with fellow local instru-metalists Zonderhoof, soon come. Tunes this way; the MySpace address suffix says it all, you'll find.

Caricatures are Bristol-based doom sludge exorcists with members of a bunch of bands from around the way (Mea Culpa and Rose Kemp's band). For fans of Khanate, Swans, Monarch, Neurosis. It's good this, isn't it? Even though we basically could just be listing chocolate bars. Damage your ears now, so you don't need to later.

For this fine triumvirate, the place to be is Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff, 7.30pm-10.30pm (get there early), £5.

Yeah? Yeah!

posted by The Lesson at 4:36 PM 3 comments

Wednesday, February 4

REMEMBER THE NIGHT PARTIES



Welcome to 2009, Lesson No.1 style. Okay, so we're a month late here, but everybody needs a Christmas break, right? Get back ON IT with this imminent little beauty on Monday 16 February...

Oxford Collapse come from Brooklyn and are signed to Sub Pop and basically play indie rock. Don’t make that face – if the wind changes, y’know. Oxford Collapse stay a country mile away from ‘generic and sappy’ and park their bus in ‘kicking and vital’ by virtue of sticking some frickin’ PUNK ROCK in there. Oddball punk rock like Meat Puppets and Husker Du and the Wipers. Mix that with the melody x noise = LOVE equation that serves/served The Thermals, Yo La Tengo and Superchunk very well and you have a dope band in our opinion. They were great at Le Pub last year. More people better come see them this time though. Get listening.

Exit International are one of two bands on the bill with the ‘people from a bunch of bands just starting out in another one check it out’ thing going on, featuring members of Midasuno, Space In The 50s, The Martini Henry Rifles and Stray Borders. This is one of their very first gigs – the first was in late November – and it will showcase their two-bass no-guitar rock tackle. We do believe they’ve been listening to some Girls Against Boys records, as a sensible boy or girl oughta. Check for yourself.

Markers are the other band on the bill with the ‘people from a bunch of bands just starting out in another one check it out’ thing going on. Some might describe them as Cardiff punk royalty, ex-Douglas (Doug to you oldies) and The Take no less, with Boom In The Diamond Industry (who weren’t from Cardiff) personnel also herein, offering up tunes for days. Six minutes’ worth on their MySpace page, anyhow. You can refresh the page when they finish. Catch 'em while they’re young! Listen before you go deaf!

The only way you can grab all this for the sweet price of £5 is head on down to Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff from 8pm. We're going to try and run this a little late too for all those hopeless romantics who want to watch Cardiff City's FA Cup replay with Arsenal.

Also, it should be mentioned, you can now find Lesson No.1 on Facebook, so come stave off the inevitable loneliness of your own life by being our friend, yeah? For shame...

posted by The Lesson at 11:27 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 19

TERROR & DREAD



So our Sŵn show has come and gone (apart from Indian Jewelry, who failed to show; anybody who knows why, please get in touch, because we still are none the wiser!). But there's no let up, because this Friday (November 21) one of Lesson No.1's favourite bands return.

The mighty Racebannon are Bloomington, Indiana cult heroes back here for the second time, having played a mega dope set in June '06. Since then they’ve moved labels, from hometown imprint Secretly Canadian to Southern, who’ve just released their fourth studio album ‘Acid Or Blood’. It is a teethgrindingly intense assault on the senses through the mediums of noiserock, 90s screamo and hardcore. Don’t miss a thing. Go the usual MySpazz route or download the wonderfully-titled 'Sister Fucker' from 'Acid In Blood' in full.

Human Race are a new hardcore battering ram from South Wales, featuring members of other bands from round here who went out in a blaze of glory. Old dirty NYC hardcore style with low down metal guitars – get in. Debut cassette demo is out now on CCHC, which you can pick up at Cardiff's ever-great Damaged Records or download from their MySpace.

Brown Wings are a raw, cussing raucous duo of noise nomads based in Cardiff and Swansea. Honourable upholders of the aesthetic contained in many bands on the Load and Skin Graft labels over time. First show for Lesson No.1! Which makes it sound like getting a scout badge, or something like that you accomplish. Well. Get an earful here anyway.

So get yo' sweet Friday night asses down to Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff from 7.30pm. The damage? £5. The experience. Priceless. Or something...

posted by The Lesson at 11:36 AM 0 comments