Bristol's Live Music Highlights: 13th - 19th March
Posted on: 13 Mar 2017Guitars are back in this week, as Bristol plays host to a slew of bands peddling their indie wares at several of its various venues. Things turn blue in the second half as the Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival swings back into town for another year. Feast your ears.
Glass Animals - O2 Academy, 15th March
Dave Bayley, singer of Oxford band Glass Animals, is in possession of a voice fragile enough to aptly befit his band’s name. He uses it to nimbly weave around the tales of acerbic social commentary gathered from their time on the road which the anthropomorphic quartet packed into last year’s standout second effort, How To Be a Human Being, which saw them grow into triumphant mainstream-beaters from the quirky indie darlings visible on their debut album ZABA. Expect to hear tracks from both when they roll through the O2 on Wednesday.
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Cloud Nothings - Thekla, 16th March
Cloud Nothings have been peddling loquacious lo fi indie pop ever since the release of their debut album Turning On in 2010. In the years following, the four-piece have made several voyages across the Pond from their Ohio home, with their latest Bristol appearance to take place when they drop anchor on HMS Thekla on Thursday.
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Van Zeller - Louisiana, 17th March
Last time we saw Van Zeller was on the eve of last Halloween, when they played with LICE and Bad Breeding in an abandoned church in central Bristol. And it was lucky that we did, as with absolutely no trace of the band online, they still exist very much on the down-low. That is likely to change very quickly, however, as their hook-laden brand of garage rock is absolutely listenable and sure to garner hype as it proliferates. Catch them in the Louisiana while you still can.
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Quantic - O2 Academy, 17th March
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Whilst the name Quantic might not sound synonymous with jazz and blues, the collaborative ethos and diligent ethic, with which Will Holland labours under this moniker, is. As such, the house producer is well worthy of his spot on the bill of the Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival which swings into town this week. Bringing an assortment of novel and classic tracks to the O2 Academy on Thursday, he will perform live with a virtuoso band and long time partner in crime Alice Russell.
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Macy Gray - Colston Hall, 19th March
I tried to write this preview without referencing one of Macy Gray’s classic hits - but I crumbled. Macy Gray is in possession of one of the most distinctive voices to have emerged in the new millennium, with her signature rasp enticing ears alongside Erykah Badu and the other prominent figures in the neo-soul revival. More recently she has embraced the bluesier aspects of her sound in the run-up to the release of her latest album Stripped, which has seen her work with a world-renowned jazz ensemble (including Russell Malone and Wallace Roney) to create pared-down versions of her classic songs, a perfect way to close the Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival.
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An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
