dea Lesson No.1: November 2005

Wednesday, November 23

A CAR IS A WEAPON



Neptune at Chapter Arts Centre, November 20th, shot by the good folk of Bologna Pony/Souvaris. Thanks too to The Voices, and Neptune themselves, who had amusing stories about shooting junk with Will Self and some of the most mouth-watering merch (home-shattered CD cases, vinyl sleeves covered with polaroids and watercolour artwork secured in place with masking tape) that you ever saw.

But enough of such metal-fused fripperies! In the Lesson No.1 universe, time moves inexorably on, and tonight - TONIGHT - is the debut excursion of our 'alternative' pop quiz. Hosted by Gindrinker's DC Gates, it's approximately 50 questions long, boasts a 'Seven Deadly Sins' round, features topics about AIDS and child molestation, and will culminate with a banging DJ set by Ian from Death Of Her Money. Not much like that quiz they have in the Pen and Wig, then. It's £1 a head with maximum teams of 6, and the prize is a big pile of random punk/hardcore/noise CDs, a Queens Of The Stone Age DVD, a bottle of spirits, and probably some other stuff too. The place is Buffalo on Windsor Place, doors open at 8pm, and the quiz kicks off at 9pm. Come down! It'll be, as they say in the pub quiz trade, 'a laugh'

posted by The Lesson at 10:39 am 0 comments

Thursday, November 17

INTIMATE LIGHTNING



Boston trio Neptune could teach you a thing or two about DIY. And industrial. And hardcore. Sculptor-musicians, over the period of about ten years, they've built their own musical equipment out of scrap: bike wheels, radiators, bits of cars, saws. One of their guitars weighs about 50lbs. No messing. Over time, however, they've hammered their sound from a clangerous Einstürzende Neubauten racket into a noirish avant-rock racket that points to Shellac, Gang Of Four, This Heat, and in the quieter moments - which are typically rather brief - none other than Slint (listen out for 'Spiderland' homage 'A Little Spider'). Or right now, actually listen to the track 'Bro Bounce', using your real actual ears. It's that easy.

Anyway, being of an artsy bent, Neptune are the band joining Lesson No.1 to pop our Chapter Arts Centre cherry. Chapter's only about 15 minutes walk from the centre of town, if you're one of those Roath dwellers, so don't sweat it. It'll be fine. And it's this Sunday, kicking off at 7pm, with tickets retailing for £5. Support on the night comes from South Wales’ finest shoegaze/dreampop/smackdrone revivalists The Voices, two guys and a lady offering total drone blissout a la Spacemen 3/Jesus And Mary Chain/My Bloody Valentine. They've an album out on My Kung Fu this month, so keep an eye out. And also, Bologna Pony, a Nottingham ultradrone duo who are a spinoff of cool post-rock band Souvaris. They create improv guitar pieces out of feedback, drone etc – think Sunn0))) or Glen Branca. Listen to a bit here. And then come to the show. Come on. Be brave. Bring a beret.

posted by The Lesson at 11:11 am 5 comments

Wednesday, November 16

THANK YOU, THIS ONE'S CALLED



Melt Banana, Clwb Ifor Bach, November 15th 2005

Download a short video here and here

posted by The Lesson at 5:24 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, November 2

HIGHWAY TO HELLA



Well ooh, look at us: we just went and booked one of the most exciting rock bands in the United States of America, and this time, they're not even playing Bristol first. Aquaint yourself, if you will, with Sacramento's Hella - the calculus-clever prog-math tag-team act of guitarist Spencer Seim and drummer Zach Hill. Coming to British shores at the behest of The Mars Volta, who've booked them to play the December All Tomorrow's Parties, we'll have them fresh from the blasted shoreline of Camber Sands and ready to beat out the kaleidoscopic party jams.

Oft mentioned in the shame breath as Orthrelm, Lightning Bolt, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hella's recent double album 'Church Gone Wild/Chirpin' Hard' is the sumptuous Turkish delight to LB's rock-hard 'Hypermagic Mountain' jaw-breaker. We're not talking some nerdilicious underground sensation, though: 2005 has seen these boys playing arenas with System Of A Down and Mars Volta, and Hill has even played sticksman-for-hire by acting as cog in Deftones man Chino Morena's Team Sleep project. This means we might even have some kids with Limp Bizkit hoodies and goatees in. Lord, just imagine! And while you're imagining, check out this video of 'Biblical Violence', or if you'd rather, this MP3 of 'The Mother Could Be You'. Spazzy, hmm? It's all going down in Dempseys on December 5th, anyway. More to follow.



Also, right, we're going to be holding hands with our friends in Forecast for a show forthcoming at the Buffalo. Fursaxa is Philidelphia's Tara Burke, a solo musician dubbed "the psychedelic Nico" for her minimal, unfolding experiments in droney acid-folk. Her album 'Lepidoptera', out now on ATP Recordings, is one of the year's best, and with support coming from fellow labelmates Alexander Tucker and Sharon Krauss, you're guaranteed a night of soporiphic, pagan mediations and meditations that awakens primal feelings deep in your psyche... for all the family! That's coming November 21st, with tickets in the region of £6. Should be sweet.

Also, for no real reason other than that we might have them back in February, check out this Grabba Grabba Tape video. Love those guys!

posted by The Lesson at 8:56 pm 4 comments