Bristol's live music highlights: 10th - 16th April
Posted on: 10 Apr 2017Here we are again, music fans, at the outset of another seven days of incredibly eclectic musical offerings in Bristol, with a series of experimental outfits giving it large in the city this week. Feast your ears.
Rick Astley - Colston Hall, 10th April
In what is the exact opposite of a rick-roll, a performance of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ is exactly what fans will be expecting at Colston Hall this evening. Three decades before he became the unsuspecting subject of a ubiquitous internet trend, Rick Astley was becoming an overnight sensation on account of his deep, rich vocal, and the perfectly-crafted pop songs with which he housed it. On the road again, he will unfurl all of the hits written across the years between - and almost certainly won’t let you down.
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Chainska Brassika - Thekla, 10th April
Who would have thought that a chainsaw massacre would be a reference point for the name of a ska band? The sense of pointed fun that this suggests, however, goes a long way to explaining the mischievous ethos with which Chainska Brassika operate. The brass-addled rabble from Lewisham have been throwing forth their horn-driven ska all over the place, sending crowds skanking wherever they go. Join them as they clamber aboard HMS Thekla this evening.
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Nubiyan Twist - Fleece, 13th April
Blending influences as diverse as Fela Kuti and J Dilla into a dubby, jazzy take on hip hop, Nubiyan Twist’s music caresses the ear whilst aiming directly for the hips. As such, the London collective have grown in notoriety for staging perpetually engaging live shows. Boasting a trumped up brass section swinging above a toe-tapping rhythm ensemble, these aspects take to the fore when the mesmeric Nubiya Brandon is not on the mic.
Giggs - O2 Academy, 15th April
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Giggs is making some of the most important noises in grime at the moment, a fact attested to by his two appearances on Drake’s More Life playlist. He does this whilst sounding completely different to everyone else operating within the genre; his is an austere take on grime, with the marriage of ascetic beats to his own laconic flow working a treat in proffering massive hits like ‘Lock Doh’ and ‘Whippin Excursion’. Expect to hear these (as well as the other belters from last year’s Landlord) set against time-tried classics like ‘Look What the Cat Dragged In’ during his South West stopover at Bristol’s O2 Academy.
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STUFF. - The Old Malt House, 15th April
There isn’t much middle-ground between broken hip hop, pared-down electronica and jazz-infused future funk. But STUFF. have colonised that middle-ground and occupy it with aplomb, using it as a base from which to release tracks of groove-laden instrumental goodness. Spend a Saturday night with them at The Old Malthouse, where they will be supported by Bristol favourites Cousin Kula.
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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.
