What's On Weekly: 21/09/21

Welcome to this week’s What’s on Weekly here at KCL, where we provide our readers with up-to date information on what’s going on in and around Cardiff every week.

From pop-up markets to gigs and outdoor attractions running as restrictions ease, there’s plenty to do in the Capital, you just may not know about it! But that’s where we’re here to help and will be listing all the what’s on and any need-to-know information you’ll need to plan your week ahead. 

So, without further ado, here’s what you can look forward to this week!

Monday 27th

o   The Hunna, Cardiff University Students’ Union, 19:00

o   Ian Stirling- Falling Upwards, The Glee Club Cardiff, 20:00

o   Quids In- The Nugget Party, PRZYM Cardiff, 21:00

o   Lost Lands Cult 80’s, Corporation Yard Cardiff, 19:00

o   Jazz and Blues Club, The Bootlegger Cardiff, 17:00

Tuesday 28th

o   The Freshers House Party, Story Nightclub Cardiff, 23:00

o   Applebum/Cardiff/Freshers Jump Off, Cardiff University Students’ Union, 22:00

o   Courting, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 19:00

o   Clwb’s Alt Disco, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 23:00

Wednesday 29th

o   PRYZM presents Basshunter

o   Mo Gilligan 2021- There’s Mo To Life, St David’s Hall Cardiff, 20:00

o   Cipher: Cardiff Launch Party, Clwb Ifor Bach, 23:00

Thursday 30th  

o   Julia Bardo Live, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 19:30

o   Weird (in house disco), Vale Sports Arena ltd, 22:00

o   Vice City: Fleetwood Mac, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 23:00

o   Student Rocks with Sam Johnson from Love Island, Tiger Tiger Cardiff, 23:00

o   Cirque Du Soul, Cardiff University Students’ Union, 14:00

o   Gecko, The Moon Cardiff, 19:30

Friday 1st

o   Fix Friday’s, PRYZM Greyfriars Road Cardiff, 21:00

o   Marisha Wallace, Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall Cardiff, 19:10

o   Gwilym, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 19:00

o   Kanadia- Live after Lockdown, The Globe Cardiff, 19:00

Saturday 2nd

o   Inside Out Festival Cardiff, Bute Park Cardiff, 12:00

o   Journey: Trance Classics, Vaults Cardiff, 14:00

o   Graham Gouldman- Heart Full of Songs, The Gate Cardiff, 19:00

o   Dirty Pop, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 22:30

o   Cut Capers, The Globe Cardiff, 19:00

o   Boiler Room: Cardiff- open dancefloors tour, Tramshed Cardiff, 22:00

o   Basic State, The Vulcan Lounge Cardiff, 21:00

Sunday 3rd

o   Leo Sayer- The Show Must Go On, St David’s Hall Cardiff, 19:30

o   Squid, Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 19:00

o   COBO: Comedy Shutdown Black History Month Special, Uni 7a The Glee Club Cardiff, 18:00

Know of an event or activity on in Cardiff or the surrounding areas coming up? Let us know! If you’d like your event to be featured in our What’s on Weekly, then get in touch via: infocardifflive@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram @keepcardifflive, and for a £3 donation* via our website, we’ll include it on our list!

*All donations go towards running costs of the site which enables us to keep getting great content out for you to enjoy! If you’d like to support us, head over to the KCL website where you can find the donation box on the homepage. Thank you!

Review: Lightning Seeds at Bristol’s O2 Academy

It’s funny how the most unexpected events in life can often be the most memorable or enjoyable, hence why I never turn down any concert/gig tickets I’m offered, no matter how last minute or how little I know an artist’s repertoire. If I didn’t follow this idea, then I would’ve missed out on the glorious opportunity to see the Lightning Seeds.

Admittedly, and somewhat shamefully, my knowledge of the band amounted to three songs (yes, one of them being Three Lions). Although I could sing Life of Riley and Lucky You till the cows come home, I wasn’t all too familiar with the rest of the setlist. This was the bands tour in honour of their album ‘Jollification’ turning 25 years old, so there would be hits in abundance. I thought I’d leave the normal homework of brushing up of my song knowledge prior to the gig, and rather leave it to the night to absorb myself in their greatest hits live- oh am I glad I did. 

Despite myself and my boyfriend bringing down the average age of the audience by a good few years, we could not be in a better crowd. Full of fans carousing and swaying along to the rhythmic beats strummed out by lead Ian Broudie, it emphasised the joyful atmosphere of the O2, as not only great live music was on, but it was back! 

The Britpop era was back in full swing as the rock pop anthems echoed around the Academy, and Broudie showed that he’s still got it with his indie tones carrying perfect tune. You can tell they’re a band for the stage. The easy, natural flow they followed made it all seem effortless as great pop singles were blasted out, and it felt like we’d never been away from the party. 

The bands line-up this time around consisted of course of Ian Broudie, who was joined by Martyn Campbell on bass, Abi Harding on keyboard, Jim Sharrock on drums and none other than Broudie’s own son, Riley Broudie, who took to guitar along with his dad. Father and son touring together must make for a surreal yet special experience, and Riley has clearly taken after his dad with his love, and talent, for music and performing.  

Once the Jollification album was played in full, a short break ensued for the band to regroup and switch things around for the rest of the show, compiled with their greatest hits selection. Performing under the giant spinning strawberry, replicating the one made famous on the Jollification album cover, Broudie’s eternally youthful energy allowed him to bring his timeless tunes to the crowd in such a way you couldn’t help but smile and sway.

I found myself dancing away to songs I’d never heard and losing my voice to the ones I did. I didn’t quite know what to expect from this gig but having a smile on my face the whole time and jamming to the indie tunes wasn’t it. Finding new favourites in ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ and cheering at covers of classics such as ‘Be My Baby’ was success enough, but seeing the love in the room from people who have been waiting to see the band for years and it reciprocated by the band themselves cemented this gigs status as one of the firm favourites in my selection seen. 

What happened to be chance with last minute tickets offered by my godparents who could no longer go, resulted in a new musical experience which has enriched my musical collection for the better. Not only a fab evening full of great music and joyful crowds, but a host of new songs for my Spotify playlists.

Setlist:

Jollification

1.     Marvellous

2.     Open Goals

3.     Perfect

4.     Why Why Why

5.     My Best Day

6.     Telling Tales

7.     Punch & Judy

8.     Feeling Lazy

9.     Lucky You

Greatest Hits

10.  All I Want

11.  What If...

12.  Sense

13.  Whole Wide World
(Wreckless Eric cover)

14.  Flaming Sword
(Care cover)

15.  Ready or Not

16.  Sweetest Soul Sensations

17.  You Showed Me
(The Byrds cover)

18.  Waiting for Today to Happen

19.  Sugar Coated Iceberg

20.  The Life of Riley

21.  Pure

Encore:

22.  Be My Baby
(Ellie Greenwich cover)

23.  Three Lions

What's on Weekly: 20/09/21

Welcome to our first What’s on Weekly here at KCL, where we’ll be providing our readers with up-to date information on what’s going on in and around Cardiff every week.

From pop-up markets to gigs and outdoor attractions running as restrictions ease, there’s plenty to do in the Capital, you just may not know about it! But that’s where we’re here to help and will be listing all the what’s on and any need-to-know information you’ll need to plan your week ahead. 

So, without further ado, here’s what you can look forward to this week!

Monday 20th

o   The Hunna, Cardiff University Students’ Union, 19:00

o   Emo Boozy Brunch, Revolution, Cardiff, 16:00-03:00

o   Mason Hill, The Globe Cardiff, 19:00

o   Quids In Freshers Launch, PRYZM Cardiff, 21:00

o   Brian Wilson, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, 19:00

o   Priscilla Queen of the Desert, New Theatre Cardiff, 19:30

o   Blood Youth, Clwb Ifor Bach, 19:30

Tuesday 21st

o   Mode: The Gran Opening, Revolution Cardiff, 21:00

o   No Poetry Presents: Squidge & Sunset Sunday, 19:00

o   Genevieve’s Tuesday Night Open Mic Night, Porter’s Cardiff, 20:00

Wednesday 22nd

o   Bring Me the Horizon, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, 18:30

o   Hannah Grace, Clwb Ifor Bach, 19:30

o   PRZYM Presents: Jonasu Live, PRZYM Cardiff, 22:00

Thursday 23rd

o   Invicta Audio Tour x Pull Up: Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach, 23:00

o   TNT Freshers Launch, Walkabout Cardiff, 22:00

Friday 24th

o   Cardiff Rugby vs Connacht, Cardiff Arms Park, Westgate Street Cardiff CF10 1JA, 19:35

o   Bing Lingo, Depot Cardiff, 18:00

o   Intirave Cardiff Reggaeton International Freshers, Revolution Cardiff, 22:00

o   Shake: freshers welcome party with Danny T, Story Nightclub Cardiff, 22:00

Saturday 25th

o   Walk for Parkinson’s Cardiff, Bute Park Cardiff, 10:00

o   Cardiff Devils vs Guildford Flames, Ice Arena Wales Olympian Drive Cardiff CF11 0JS, 19:00

o   Concert in the Parc- #RMFestival2021, Clos Parc Radur Cardiff, 11:00

o   TDC Presents: Bandicoot, Tiny Rebyl Cardiff, 19:30

o   Midnight Tornado Cardiff Live #1, Fuel Rock Club, 18:30

Sunday 26th

o   An Evening of Queen, Glamorgan Cricket Ground Sophia Gardens Cardiff CF11 9XR, 19:30

o   Cardiff Freshers UV Neon Rave, Story Nightclub Cardiff, 22:00

o   Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, St David’s Hall Cardiff, 20:00

o   Andrew Peterson, Highfields Church, 07:00

Know of an event or activity on in Cardiff or the surrounding areas coming up? Let us know! If you’d like your event to be featured in our What’s on Weekly, then get in touch via: infocardifflive@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram @keepcardifflive, and for a £3 donation* via our website, we’ll include it on our list!

*All donations go towards running costs of the site which enables us to keep getting great content out for you to enjoy! If you’d like to support us, head over to the KCL website where you can find the donation box on the homepage. Thank you!

Daily Nuisances

Today it’s a bit of a rant on our blog. Not a full-blown end-of-the-world type rant. Just a little moan to get stuff off our chests, stuff that is not doubt very relatable to many.

It can be the little things in life that gets to us, can’t it? As a nation, we’re renowned for complaining but often lack the ability to stand up and right our grievances face-to-face. We may not be too impressed with our main course at the restaurant, but God forbid we let the chef know! ‘Oh yes it was lovely, thank you’, we mutter as we flash a false smile and proceed to leave a tip out of sheer panic that anyone may think we didn’t enjoy ourselves.

Whether we like it or not, nuisances are riddled throughout daily life. Take not being able to find the matching sock to complete your pair, now that’s an all too familiar scenario come Monday morning. Why can we not seem to keep the same colour together instead of inevitably resorting to odd socks for the day? 

The smaller an issue, the more annoying it can often be. It’s a bit like when stubbing your toe on the bed can feel so much worse than any other pain you’ve experienced, we often sweat the small stuff and get more annoyed the pettier the issue. 

But why do we get this way? What causes us to feel these frustrations over life’s niggly nuisances? Is it because we simply enjoy complaining? Personally, I have another theory.

When there’s a big problem, and I’m talking big picture things like real emergencies and incidents in life, it can feel like things are out of our control, like we’re helpless. We have a better way of accepting that we can’t do anything, but when it’s something smaller, more trivial, we get annoyed as it could’ve been prevented easily. There’s more control in those situations, and we perhaps struggle with the fact that something so silly can happen. 

I feel that is where our true frustrations and nuisances lie. Lapse of control in the most trivial of momentary problems. We could’ve thrown away the 50 chargers that don’t work so that they’re not clogging up our draws. We could try a better job of keeping our matching pairs of socks together. We could even check replace the loo roll BEFORE we go to the toilet. But these things have a sneaky habit of escaping our busy schedules of life, and come back in the form of daily nuisances when forgotten. 

Return of the blog and exciting times ahead!

Well, hello, and welcome back to the KCL blog!

We had a bit of a summer hiatus, along with most, to enjoy the rare days of sunshine, listen to our favourite tunes and make the most of the nation being on summer holidays. Now our blog is back and better than ever, as we have a lot of exciting stuff in the pipeline here at KCL! 

You may have already heard our new student podcast, Natter Chat, which launched a few months ago. It’s not one to be missed, especially for students, as topical discussions are had, freshers talk is rife and plenty more information and advice is given for students.

We’re also launching our TikTok, so keep your eyes peeled for plenty of visual content across our social channels as we document not only musical happenings but what daily life in Cardiff can look like.

We will also be bringing back our weekly blog, but with an extra feature. Our ‘What’s On Weekly’ will list what’s going on in Cardiff during the coming week and can be referred to when in need of some inspiration of what to do in the city!

As we head into the Autumn months full of crunchy golden leaves, pumpkin spiced lattes and Halloween costumes being prepped, there’s another thing we at KCL are getting especially excited about, the return of live music! After what has felt like a lifetime away from seeing our favourite artists, dancing in mosh pits and swaying along to songs with friends, we can get back to the good old days and find some sense of normality amongst the ‘new normal’ we’ve had to get used to. 

With many of our team at KCL already getting back to live gigs, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for reviews, features and opinions shared on performances and experiences!

It’s not only gigs we’ll be going through open doors to again, but theatre is back in full swing too. With many of us being fans of musical theatre and plays alike, there’s sure to be at least a few reviews from this sector of the arts. As the curtains continue to open for performers, fingertips itch in excitement to get back to writing about them,

It’s an exciting time not just for us as a population to return to some sense of normality, but for the arts and hospitality industries, who have been especially impacted by the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19. 

So, let’s get back to losing our voices at festivals, showing off our air guitar skills with the bands and appreciating musicians and performers more than ever, not taking for granted the specialness of live performance ever again, and stay tuned for lots more from Keep Cardiff Live!

Magical Mystery Tour On The Mersey

Ever since I was a young teen. I knew The Beatles were the band for me. And with my 18th birthday looming in a couple of years, I knew I wanted to have my first ever pint in the iconic arches of the cavern club in Liverpool.

Years went by and I realised that this dream of mine ever happened. I’d been to Liverpool hundreds of times before but never really been into the cavern either because the crowds were too big or various restrictions stopping me doing so I had a mindset of “it's not that far from my home (Wrexham) I'll come again soon and do it” ...but it never happened, until my 24th birthday when my girlfriend surprised me with a trip to Liverpool.

Living only about an hour away from Liverpool did not impact my excitement because I love the city. I'm always sharing pictures of Liverpool on Facebook which my friends and family are probably sick to the bones of.

We booked to go to Liverpool in April and unfortunately had to postpone the trip due to various restrictions and then one day we were talking about what to do in a fortnights time some time mid-may and we said together lets book Liverpool and do that! So we booked our train from Cardiff to Wrexham to stay with my parents for one night and then a train from Wrexham to Liverpool.

The train journey from Chester to Liverpool central for me can only be enjoyed properly with a BLT meal deal and The Beatles on shuffle in the headphones. I've done it for years when I fancied a day trip in the city.

We arrived in Liverpool on the 2nd of June. And the first thing that came to my mind was “bloody hell it's hot” we got off at lime street which was new for me. It seemed like we were told to go through an underground network of tunnels just to find the exit.

From Lime Street, we had planned a little bit of a walk to see some sights before we could check in to our hotel room. We saw the bombed-out church of St Lukes, fought our way through the busy bond street, and headed south through Chinatown and that's where the first of many Beatles themed things were.

We saw an abbey road mural spray-painted on the side of a mini-golf centre, We were able to pose as if we were The Beatles walking across the iconic crossing itself.

From there we made it back into the city centre where our hotel was. It was an ibis hotel with each floor a different theme to a stage in The Beatles’ life. It was fantastic.

The views from the room were not great but I didn't care because I was finally staying overnight in my favourite city.

The next day was the proper start of our Beatles trip. We had a voucher for The Beatles story down at the Albert Dock for the two of us to go to, The museum is fantastic for the rich history of how The Beatles were born into the world all the way up to their solo careers. It's definitely worth going if you're around the area. The museum trip ended with a freezing cold drink and a slice of cake in the cafe that was playing Beatles songs continuously (what else?)

We then made our way upstairs to the gift shop where there was everything and more a Beatles fanatic could ever want! Having spent a sizeable chunk of my Liverpool budget in The Beatles shop, we made our way around the iconic Albert docks. A vibrant, buzzing community of small shops, cafes, and restaurants bookended by the Tate art gallery.

We only visited the Tate Gallery gift shop and popped into a few Liverpool-themed gift shops where what's on offer can range from the superlambanana all the way to a small model of a purplebin.

From the Albert Dock, we ventured shortly towards the amazingly built museum of Liverpool, a truly iconic building along the Liverpool waterfront. With free admission, it was silly not to go inside as this trip wasn't just for me.

Occasionally the museum will house themed exhibits and one year I went it was about John and Yoko's quest for peace. This year it was focussing on Liverpool in the blitz. Subjects on the war fascinate me but this experience was something else. Seeing photographs from the public about the devastation the bombing had done to the homes, community, and lives of Liverpool and surrounding areas. We must've sat watching the informative film for about 40 minutes. We then decided to explore the rest of the museum and surprisingly, there are not that many Beatles-related objects in the museum. Probably due to The Beatles story being nearby and the British music experience being nearby but I'll touch on that in another paragraph.

A firm favorite of mine to do in Liverpool is to take a tour from the Albert docks stopping at the iconic landmarks of Beatles history such as their first homes, the roundabout on penny lane, strawberry fields gates, penny lane road sign, and more! We decided not to do that this time around as it was ever so slightly out of our budget and we didn't really have the time to visit it.

The good thing about our hotel was that it was 5 minutes away from the cavern quarter, the area in which surrounds the cavern, and other areas of Matthew street. We walked Matthew street every day and we said to ourselves that we’ll wait another day to go into the cavern as it was rather busy. On one night we walked past a statue created by half sixpence star Tommy Steele. And for some reason, I had been singing ‘flashbang wallop what a picture” in my head and unsure why so to see Tommy Steele's name on the plaque was very spooky.

On our last full day, we booked to go to the British music experience. Located in the building next to the Liver building my girlfriend and I was both excited to visit this museum as we are both music lovers. As soon as we walked into the doors we could hear the roaring sound of Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood with two tribes shaking the ground. It was a grand hall with a big screen playing clips of Frankie Goes to Hollywood in the 80’s we were told that if we distance ourselves from other customers we could take our mask off and one individual was not only not wearing a mask but can only be described as power dancing with genuine excitement and rave as if she was hearing the song back in an 80’s nightclub for the first time. It was incredible to watch and really did bring the museum to life a bit.

The museum featured artifacts from all varieties of music starting with skiffle in the 1950s and ending with pop in the 2010s. For me, the key items that really popped out to me were the front door of the old apple corps building in Saville row which housed or more roofed the iconic Beatles rooftop concert. The door was covered in graffiti but not of vulgar language; it was a biro pen and felt tip marks of The Beatles lyrics. Another item that I loved to see was a smashed acoustic guitar from Coldplay (it didn't say which member smashed the guitar although let's face it it was probably Jonny) and a handwritten lyric sheet for the legendary song “yellow”.

After the BME experience was over, we headed into the gift shop which there wasn't a heck of a lot that really caught my eye apart from a poster which was £180, and my wallet was already starting to resent me so I moved on thinking I need that. After we exited the shop, we sat on the waterfront and we were lucky that we had timed to see the dazzle boat coming in to dock in Liverpool after having just left Birkenhead to compete yet another iconic trip“ferry cross the Mersey” that Gerry and the peacemakers sang about in their hit. We didn't do that either as I had done it before and my girlfriend gets seasick so probably not a good mix to do in the end.

After a day at the waterfront we headed out for dinner and on our way, back we decided to finally queue up outside the cavern, and thank god we queued up when we did. We waited in the main tunnel with the stage at one end and the bar on the other. We ordered a drink and listened to what seemed like live music but I thought to myself “no it isn't, they wouldn't have live music with the pandemic on” but thankfully I was wrong!

The waiter then approached our table and said “if you'd like to go through now” well I leaped at the chance to see some actual music, not on a screen! It was late and I said that we'd go after one song but we ended up staying for about 10 songs in total. Two notable songs were “he ain't heavy he's my brother” by the hollies and “this time tomorrow” by the kinks.

The latter resonated with me a lot. I loved the song and to finish this trip off with such a nice song and a pint in hand listening to live music after 13 months with no gigs or live events, this trip meant more to me than it was intended for and it was perfect.

By Jordan Simmons

Depot In The Castle – Live Music Back In Full Swing!

Last weekend live music made a comeback at Cardiff Castle. For the first time in 18 months, we were once again allowed to enjoy the feeling of music being played in person rather than on a screen. Just a week before the festival, the Welsh Government confirmed its “Freedom Day” meaning the festival could go ahead.

There was plenty of choice for food and drink, a vast array of variety from burgers to tacos to ice cream and desserts. Even the bars were stocking variety, the classics like beers and wines but also a selection of cocktails such as mojitos and cosmopolitans. I didn’t taste any of the delicacies but from what I saw others having, they all looked beautiful and delicious which I imagine they very much were.

The line-up consisted of names like Ella Eyre, Tom Grennan and Kaiser Chiefs. Other names such as Gentleman’s Dub Club, Dodgy, Lottery Winners and Mr Wilson’s Second Liners were amongst the headliners. With tickets priced at just £45, you definitely got your bang for your buck there. 

The festival was well managed, queues were handled very well upon entrance. Only downside was that before the festival everyone had to have a Covid-19 lateral flow test done which was uncomfortable but luckily the whole experience was worth it. I got into the Castle about 15 minutes before Ella Eyre performed, finding a spot was hard but luckily there was a spot in front of the sound desk which gave us a pretty decent view of the stage.

Ella Eyre played a great set, hyping up the audience in the right way with Waiting All Night. I’d say the majority of the audience were up on their feet, singing along and dancing. That particular song changed the atmosphere in a brilliant way. From then on, she had the Castle roaring. 

Tom Grennan similarly put on a good set, his vibe is different to Ella’s but regardless he too knew how to hype a crowd. Playing some of his most famous songs, such as Sober and Found What I’ve Been Looking For, they had people dancing and singing along too.

The stand out performance had to be the headliners, the Kaiser Chiefs of course. Arguably the band most had gone for in the first place, and they made it known. They praised the acts before them, which was nice to hear. By this time it had started to go dark, which actually helped because the light show was pretty spectacular. I Predict A Riot caused the most ruckus from the crowd, it was such an amazing feeling to be in amongst that kind of atmosphere again. It was the exact kind of serotonin boost that was needed for post-lockdown. 

Overall, I would say the festival lived up to expectations. Good management and brilliant entertainment, what more could you possibly need for a good festival!

Ffi Edwards

Review: ‘When Paris Calls’ single by Emma Mae

Singer/songwriter Emma Mae has released her second single of 2021, ‘When Paris Calls’, and it’s the summer pop-bop we needed.

Leicester-born Emma has taken a slightly different path from her previous single, ‘Boys in Bands’, switching up the slowed-down, chilled out strumming for a quicker tempo and latin beat to make for a catchy song. 

Mae’s penned her lyrics about someone discovering their partner has done the dirty and cheated with a woman named, you guessed it, Paris. Her lyrical brilliance captures both the bitterness and sadness of the affair but portrays it in such a way that you can’t help but chuckle with admiration at the lines, one notably being ‘when Paris calls you run to her, getting over me, under her.’  

Before the track’s release, a series of murder-mystery style teasers were released across social media, with fans being left to put the pieces together and figure out the answer to the question ‘who’s calling’? With three suspects named and shamed, Destiny, Summer and Paris, it was ultimately the latter that was on the other end of the telephone, and the winner of the guessing game can now proudly pin an ‘Emma Mae think I’m awesome’ badge to their jacket.

Full of catchy notes, upbeat rhythms and Emma’s gentle, dulcet tones, this buoyant break-up anthem is the perfect song to have blasting in the car on a summer day (or when you’re singing bitterly in front of the mirror over your ex). 

You can listen to it here on Spotify!