Sŵn Various Venues, Cardiff 23-25/10/09
5/5
By: Sofie Jenkinson
So, as Sŵn approached we were staring straight down the barrel of three days of wall-to-wall musical mega greatness.
The day came, our feet hit the glittering, rain splattered streets of the beating heart of Cardiff city centre and our brains screamed, “BRING. IT. ON. Our and the third annual Sŵn featival was underway. We could almost smell the adventures.
THURSDAY 22/10
Them Squirrels took the beautifully dark and sticky upstairs room of Dempseys pub in hand with their outrageously closely knit brand of zestful guitar trickery thread through with ethereal female tones. It was completely breathtaking and stole the attention of every sense.
[WILD BEASTS]
Up next, after a moderately exhilarating dash across the city, past some of Cardiff’s finest kebab shops, we found ourselves in an all-new venue, The Gate to see the mighty Wild Beasts. A majestic and beautifully renovated old church where the walls bleed an atmosphere so sticky that it clings to every note and holds it, shining above everything.
Standing before the parapit of the stage the operatic tones of the Beasts darted between the layers of different weighted sounds. An amazing mellow, rounded sound developed as it hit the teak soaked wood lining of the ceiling and flowed over everything. It was hard not to be blown away.
FRIDAY 23/10
The downstairs floor of Clwb Ifor Bach played host to the Big Scary Monsters showcase, first up were Talons, a three-piece of epic noise proportions, who sketched out grandiose, progressive melodies knotted together with rage. It was a truly sublime start to the evening.
[PULLED APART BY HORSES]
This was shortly followed by Pulled Apart By Horses, who clattered onto the stage next, ripping apart any sound left hanging in the air. With guitarists knee deep in audience each cadence come out dripping with sweat and vigour . It was a solid ‘Horses performance laid upon the hot bricks of this Friday evening.
Across the road at newly renovated Y Fuch Coch, buzz band of the festival Girls prompted a queue that stretched the length of Womanby Street (in the rain). Wowzers. Their subtleties were, unfortunately, lost at times but each wave of gentle, gritty, heartache tinged melody was drenched in a certain awkward beauty as it hit the back of the room.
After hosting a Sŵn seminar earlier in the day Daedelus was the talk of the town and now it was his turn to show the walls of Clwb Ifor Bach what he was made of. It was dirty and had a particular sense of depth as he used his electronic weave to bundle together so many remarkable sounds and whipped up the very top of Clwb into a glorious, multicoloured froth of zeal.
The whole day was topped off with a Mary Anne Hobbs shaped cherry. Who came to teach Cardiff a lesson in how to have a good bloody time in a mess of off kilter electronica and fat dub undertones. Her totally infectious lust for every inch hot, black, spinning wax bled out into the throng of heaving bodies and everything was ignited.
SATURDAY 24/10
The night that we had truly been looking forward to was the return of Los Campesinos! to their ‘home’ town after a long wait. And with them they brought a merry band of fine musicians to line the walls of The Gate with.
First up into the silence filled hall was Sparky Deathcap, a long time friend of the band who has just finished accompanying them on their UK tour as both a support act and as the eighth member. Equipped with a MA in Illustration Sparky’s set is peppered with fantastic snippets from the inner working of his mind including a full power point presentation on Halloween to go with his first song.
When you know that the person on stage singing to you thinks that lightning is “proof that the sky likes AC/DC” and that “Cyclops ghosts are just ponchos and only idiots war ponchos” it becomes almost impossible not to love every moment.
His dark tones and refreshing, slightly awkward bluntness, both of which can be found on recent EP Tear Jerky, are both well-crafted and intoxicating to watch. On said EP the multilayered and deep sounds are all brought about my Sparky’s fair hand and so live he calls upon his backing band, (Los Campesinos!) to take the stage – “whoever these kids are!”, he mutters. These extra layers of instrumentation galvanize his understated abundance of talent with bright, white gold. And it makes you wonder how long it’ll be before this interesting fellow takes over the world.
Next on the main stage came, Copy Haho who are surely one of the most enjoyable bands around at the moment. A sound wound so tight it jerks about and creates a kind of kinetic energy that infects your feet. Sandwiched between songs you find their razor sharp, deliciously blackened and dry on stage banter, which serves as the perfect side dish of juxtaposition to their vigorous sound. New single ‘Wrong Direction’ showcases their strength and character in perfect snapshot form. They are absolutely worth seeing on their up and coming tour.
The waters were already primed for the next band, the beer/cider/wine was flowing and the church was positively overflowing with excitement. And there was no other band suited better to this moment than Dananananaykroyd who not only thrive on such electricity between people but also lit the touch paper and took the level from excitement to total insanity. The now famous wall of cuddles got everyone further acquainted before they took everything apart and put it back together again. Over the wave of slapping wardrums flew neat little pockets of perfectly taut guitar, peppered subtly with intelligent lyrics. When a band is enjoying something this much it just makes sense.
[LOS CAMPESINOS!]
Los Campesinos! have not actually played a gig in their collectively adopted home town for a good long while. The excitement bubbled over in every note that they played and they seem genuinely humbled by the privilege of playing in front of many band members, friends and influences alike. The new band line-up is now installed and they seem more ready than ever before to show us what they’re made of.
The track listing and title for new album ‘Romance is Boring’ had been leaked that very day and so after giving us the inside scoop they launched straight into what we should expect from them in the next year. New single ‘There are Listed Buildings’ is so majestic and full of heart that it needs no introduction, it is their best yet and easier to fall in love with than your average vampire. The desire to shout “I think I’d do it for love if it were not for the money” kicks in after only hearing the chorus once and if that isn’t a sign of a great single then colour us stupid.
Their sound has mellowed with age and now sits with more conviction and poise than it has done previously – giving them a more powerful and all encompassing sound. And the overarching sense of fun that had weaved itself through all the great music in the old church on this night was at its peak throughout their performance – culminating in the most energetic version of traditional finale song ‘Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks’ ever seen, which and saw band members from all corners floating above the crowd and taking the stage including Alexei (Johnny Forgeiner) and Calum (Dananananaykroyd). It was incredibly vivacious, totally impressive and a fitting comeback into Cardiff’s little music nook.
Silent Disco
The closing party was taken on by the legendry Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens, among others, who spun a tapestry of the good, the bad and the truly sublimely ridiculous. From ‘Killing In The Name Of’, to Brand New and Jimmy Eat World, The Limp Bizkit version of George Michael’s Faith and Beyonce – it was impossible not to go absolutely nuts to a song at one point or other. It was a totally perfect and heart stopping way to end a great weekend full of exciting music, great people, great bands and adventure. We all crept off into the night at around 4am for even more adventures and with memories of Sŵn 2009 firmly burnt onto the surface of our hearts.
Artists in this article: Pulled Apart By Horses, Los Campesinos!, Wild Beasts
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