Admiral Sir Cloudlsey Shovell, The Moon Club, Cardiff
This venue is becoming somewhat of a haunt for underground rock and metal and once again it was time for some down and dirty rock music, so with Mr Perry we ascended the stairs, got some libations and waited for the first band
Lacertilla
Another gig in The Moon another Lacertilla gig, this Welsh quasi-supergroup seem to be becoming the house band for the club and that is no bad thing as they do seem to get better every time. Yes the set was similar as it has been before but with pulsing riffs, a huge stoner vibe and psychedelic tendencies the band are a great mix of Orange Goblin, Neurosis and even Desert bands like Kyuss, this comes across in the guitar of Mike who plays technical melodies over the storming rhythm section of Neal's bass, Carl's drums and Lucas' guitar, together they make a cacophony of noise, even without Neal's bass which had a catastrophic failure during the middle of the set. The band have weight, and power and get all the heads in the room, especially the head of front man Fry, who is part shaman, part maniac spending most of the time on the floor with the crowd and on final song Higher he spent a lot of time on the floor. He is somewhat of a tour-de-force and is the perfect visual foil for the mostly static riff machine playing behind him. If you want to experience live music at it's purest then check out Lacertilla, you will soon be worshipping at their altar. 9/10
Dead Shed Jokers
I last saw Dead Shed Jokers at Steelhouse Festival 2013 and I said that they were a 'left field choice' because they didn't really fit on the hard rock bill of that festival. Once again the DSJ were a band on the wrong bill as they seemed to be the odd band out on this bill too. The band are 'alternative' rock but they do defy genre tags, with heaps of QOTSA genre hopping, angular guitars from Nicky and Chris, funk-laden bass from Luke, smooth jazz lines from Ashley's drums and some Mars Voltaesque vocals from Hywel. Much like the American prog mentalists, Dead Shed Jokers are a bit of an enigma and indeed and acquired taste (Mr Perry didn't enjoy I'm afraid) however I quite like them and they are a refreshing change and on the right bill with the right audience they would be an extremely interesting band to watch, their merging of huge metal riffs, jazz influences and some strong psychedelia to create a aural treat that drew the crowd in but did seem to be a bit out of place (once again) 8/10
Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell
My first glimpse of the Admiral was across the road form this venue when they supporting Orange Goblin and they were a meat and potatoes burly biker rock straight out of the 60's and 70's with elements of Motorhead, Blue Cheer, Vanilla Fudge and the (obviously excellent as they're Welsh) Budgie mixed with the early boogie of Quo and Stray. The band ambled onto the stage like three throwbacks to bygone days and burst straight into Do It Now. Which started the rampaging riff fuelled rock, the band drew their set from both of their album and they just ploughed through them with verve, the drums of Bill clattering behind the bass of Louis and the snarling punk rock guitar playing of Johnny. The band look like Motorhead fronted by Phil Taylor and they play like it too, with Captain Merryweather, Bulletproof, Scratchin' And Sniffin', The Thicker The Better all smash you in the head with pure retro riffage, the band's stage banter was a quite frankly rubbish and nonsensical which did lead to some gaps in the proceedings but as the finale of Red Admiral, Black Sunrise (perhaps their finest hour) rang out the fully lubricated crowd sang out every line of the song. The Admiral are a fierce, fiesty old school rock and fucking roll band best enjoyed with beer in hand. Go see them as the band say Do It Now! 8/10
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