Buzz March 2017 by Buzz Magazine

ON HA SSON T’T’ HA WW CH2020 AR 1717 CH AR MM

YEARS OF BUZZ

Gwanwyn \ Spring 2017

MAW 30 MAR EBR 1 APR

EBR 12 &13 APR

EBR 14 &15 APR

EBR 27 APR MAI 14 MAY

wmc.org.uk/westonstudio wmc.org.uk/westonstudio 029 2063 6464029 2063 6464

Mae croeso i chi gysylltu â ni ynMae Gymraeg croeso i chi gysylltu â ni yn Gymraeg

mar2017

buzz...

04roundup

“Be aware of construction work restricting access at certain times in the day”

publisher EMMA CLARK editor LUKE OWAIN BOULT listings/music editor NOEL GARDNER advertising EMMA CLARK Buzz Tv JAYDON MARTIN accounts TERESA CLARK social media CONNIE MATTHEWS design BUZZ

10upfront

contributors KEIRON SELF (FILM), GWYN THOMAS DE CHROUSTCHOFF (CLUBS), CHRIS ANDREWS, POPPY BACKSHALL, RAYMOND BANNISTER, MICHAEL BELL, ANGHARAD BISHOP, JOHN BOOTH, ZOE BROOKES, DYLAN CHAUNDY, JANE COOK, JON-PAUL DAVIES, MAT DAVIES, ALEC EVANS, BEN GALLIVAN, EMILY GARSIDE, CHRIS HAMILTON-PEACH, EMMA HARRIS, RACHAEL HUTCHINGS, MAB JONES, MONICA MARTIN, LUCY MENON, JACOB MIER, LYNDA NASH, BENJAMIN NEWMAN,DAVID NOBAKHT, LAUREN PHILLIMORE, CHARLIE PIERCEY, CAMPBELL PROSSER, RHONDA LEE REALI, NATHAN ROACH, OWEN SCOURFIELD, CHRIS SEAL, RUTH SEAVERS, WILL STEEN, CHARLOTTE TAYLOR, GRACE TODD, BEN WOOLHEAD phone number 029 2022 6767 general enquiries info@buzzmag.co.uk editorial editorial@buzzmag.co.uk listings listings@buzzmag.co.uk accounts accounts@buzzmag.co.uk

buzzmagwales

36film

Cinema has come a long way since Keiron Self’s first review for Buzz back in 1902. “La Voyage Dans La Lune is a visual feast from Georges Méliès, a veteran of more than five years’ cinematographic experience. The big moon with the telescope in its eye chews the scenery, but overall this nine-minute epic will have you breaking out the popped corn!”

38food&drink

We have a new recipe columnist starting this month! Her name is Ffiona with two Fs, a bit like William Hague’s wife, and you can also find her blogging as ‘The Thinking Woman’s Crumpet’. A term which few have thought about this century, like William Hague’s wife

42previews

BUZZ MAGAZINE 220C Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff CF5 1GY published EAC PUBLISHING contents DIFFUSION cover BUZZ COVERS

Buzz is 25 this year, and to celebrate finally being old enough to do volunteer work for the UN we’re having a nostalgic wallow in our archives while looking to the near future. Plus chats with Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin out of Yes, Stewart Lee and The Cuban Brothers

Following two instances of Appropriative Behaviour in this issue – the Cuban Brothers, who in reality are neither, and glossy professional mag Buzz offering workshops in how to make a DIY zine – the stage page compounds matters via Seanmhair, a play whose title is in Scots Gaelic but which was written by a Welshman. Gaels have already been heard to grouse

@Buzz_Magazine

BuzzMagUK

50reviews

While I was trying to think of something to write here, the new Father John Misty album had a bit where he sang “Still I dreamt of garnering rave reviews”. It hasn’t garnered any review in this issue because it’s out in April, but has already served a purpose

56travel

What with Wales being, on average, more visually striking than, for example, Gosport or Kilmarnock, lots of movies and TV shows get filmed in it. Here’s our guide to all the locations where, previously, camera-humping vultures have scared away all the falcons and trampled the chlorophyll out of the grass

58sport

Cardiff Becoming Epicentre Of Sport Broadcast Industry. It’s not just an unusually long headline for a half-page article, it’s a mantra. Roll it round your tongue, say it three times and click your heels, hire a skywriter to proclaim it up amongst the chemtrails

59listings

Worst band names in this issue: Acoumetal, The Undercover Hippy, Reality Bites Duncan, The Virginmarys, Cabbage, Nigel, Gemma & The Owl

78competitions

The default ‘two tickets’ comp prize: a form of tyranny against those poor souls who are repulsive to the rest of humanity. As such, in this issue you can also win a toy panda, the loner’s patron animal

buzzmagtv

Buzz Magazine

www.buzzmag.co.uk BUZZ 3

WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH.

BRIEFLY pic: Michael Mais

roundup

pic: digboston

FILM & COMIC CON CARDIFF It’s that time of year again: Film & Comic Con Cardiff is returning to the Motorpoint Arena to bring the masses of fans across the country to celebrate what they love together, whether it be sci-fi or fantasy, cosplaying, or video gaming. As ever, a vast number of special guests ranging from TV’s Game Of Thrones and Doctor Who to films like Star Wars and X-Men will be there to sign autographs, have a photoshoot with fans and answer your questions. You’ll want to book ahead to catch your favourite guest – they don’t all appear together and some are more expensive than others. Take a look for yourself on their website which days and times work best for you – if you can’t be there in person, check out their pre-order policy, where you can purchase an autograph from your favourite star without any worries.

pic: Jeremy Tarling

Film & Comic Con, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Sat 4 + Sun 5 Mar. Tickets: £8-£15. Info: 01908 671138 / www.filmandcomicconcardiff.com

An indoor meeting ran by volunteers of the Cardiff University Otter Project, an environmental surveillance scheme that’s been running since 1992, will be held at Llandaff Parish Hall in Cardiff on Fri 17 Mar. If you want to learn more about the importance of otter conservation and the research CUOP conducts, this event is a great opportunity as CUOP is the only such national monitoring project in Europe. The meeting will start at 7.30pm. Admission: £3 adults / £2.50 over60s / £1 students and under-16s. Info: www.cardiff.ac.uk/otter-project

#LAMBCAM

pic: Martin Pettitt

What better way to spend St. David’s Day than with our beloved sheep? #lambcam will carry on from 2016’s coverage and once again follow the unpredictable experience of birthing lambs from the St. Fagans National History Museum’s flock of rare breed ewes down in the restored 19th century Llwyn Yr Eos farmstead. Last year, the site ran its first ever lambing experience day courses, which organised tours for local schools with over 600 visitors coming to watch the birth of the lambs and garnered great feedback from children and parents alike, and are hoping to expand on that this year. Coverage will begin on Wed 1 Mar on the St. Fagans website ready to capture a hopeful 150 lambs being brought into the world. The experience will be accessible to watch in person at the farmstead, but be aware of construction work restricting access at certain times in the day. #lambcam, National History Museum, St. Fagans, from Wed 1 Mar. Tickets: £95. Info: 029 2023 0130 / www.museum.wales/lambcam BUZZ 4

MAGICAL! Enchant your evening with the Glories Of The Russian Orthodox Church, in the stunning surroundings of Llandaff Cathedral. The renowned Royal Welsh College Chamber Choir will be performing on Thurs 16 Mar, with superb choral music including Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy Of St John Chrysostom and Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil. Delve into heart felt and traditional pieces of music in this magical setting. Doors open at 7pm, and the concert starts at 7.30. Tickets: £15/£13. Info: www.rwcmd. ac.uk

ADMIRAL AFTER HOURS Ever gone to Techniquest on the insistence of your kids and ended up a hundred times more interested in the exhibits than they are? Ever wished there was a way you could come back without the kids and take everything in on your own time? That fantasy isn’t as impossible as you thought, for the Admiral After Hours programme allows you to do just that. As the website so excellently puts it, this experience will allow you to chill out and explore what the universe has to offer with these unique displays and brain teasers to be worked out away from the noise of the excitable kids, including the 360° planetarium space tours, the FameLab regional final and a talk with science presenter Neil Monteiro – all for £5.50 per person. If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, there’s also a fully licensed bar, so you can enjoy all that over a nice cold drink on what is easily one of the most enjoyable nights out Cardiff has to offer.

pic: Lidia Liu

Admiral After Hours, Techniquest, Cardiff Bay, Thurs 23 Feb. Admission: £5.50. Info: 029 2047 5475 / www. techniquest.org/afterhours

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL IN CARDIFF Hosted by a number of local authors, this year’s festival once again engages young children in a celebration of literature and creativity. The festival will take place in a number of venues across Cardiff, including some well-known landmarks such as the City Hall and the Old Library, and will celebrate reading and writing in both Welsh and English. The festival will comprise of 50 events that include authors reading from their books and workshops in creative writing for both children and adults, therefore providing an opportunity for a much more diverse appreciation of children’s literature, and inspire a new generation of writers and illustrators in the capital. Children’s Literature Festival, various venues, Cardiff, Sat 25 + Sun 26 Mar / Sat 1 + Sun 2 Apr. Tickets: £4. Info: 029 2087 2087 / www.cardiff-events.com

GUNG-HO! 5K RACE

Different to your average 5k race, Gung-Ho! offers a seriously fun and memorable day out. The world’s biggest inflatable course returns to Cardiff this year with 5,000 runners racing down the 200ft long thriller water slide, all in aid of raising money for charity. Children in Need being the race’s national charity partner, they are offering discounted tickets and a free t-shirt to those racing on behalf of Team Pudsey. The first stop of the 11-date tour of the UK will be in Bute Park, Cardiff. This location will guarantee a great atmosphere as it’s bang in the middle of the city. Entry includes a free bib and race number, not forgetting a Gung-Ho! t-shirt and headband ready for you to battle those inflatables! Early bird tickets have already sold out for this event, book now to get the best price and time you would like to race. Gung-Ho! 5k Run, Bute Park, Cardiff, Sat 18 Mar. Tickets £38£60. Info: www.begung-ho.co.uk BUZZ 5

roundup

WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH.

GRUFF RHYS Jaydon Martin speaks with Gruff Rhys about maintaining passion in music, song writing, and the future. Watch the full interview on Buzz TV.

Do you still feel like you have the same passion or love for creating music then you did in your 20s? It’s pretty similar in that I put the same amount of effort into every record. Or, every record means as much to me as any another record and some records will become popular, and people will have a different relationship to those records. But it’s hard to appreciate that sometimes, because for me some tracks mean just as much to me as anything that I’ve ever done.

After composing Set Fire To The Stars, do you think you’ll do more composing? I’ve done a few soundtracks now, I’ve got another two at least. The worry for me is that the more records I do the more they’ll sound like any other record I’ve done. So, I’ve got to do something I’ve never done before. It keeps it vital for me, it’s a learning process and I learn a lot from it. Hopefully that feeds into making something original so I don’t repeat myself too much. That’s my biggest worry: to repeat myself over and over again

Do you still think your best song is still unwritten? Yeah, that’s how I think. I’m working in a fairly conservative medium and writing sounds where thousands of sounds have been written. Within that I’m just trying to make something original and maybe I haven’t done that yet. It’s something I’m really trying to try to do. With bands it’s different because it’s about how a group of people make something that nobody can fully control.

How would you like to be remembered when all is said and done? I wouldn’t presume that I’m going to be remembered so I think the sounds are something like a document of life. They’re independent of me in a way, they’re not a representative of me in a way but it’s just like a document so that’s the purpose of them, just to continue the document of life. Like a diary, just through songs. But it doesn’t mean they’ll be remembered necessarily but they’re a good thing that keeps me going. Hopefully I don’t fuck things up too much and I’ll be remembered by my family, that’s all I can ask. See the full interview on Buzz TV. Info: www.youtube.com/user/buzzmagtv

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Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro Roots Unearthed 21.03.17

The Circus of Horrors The Never-Ending Nightmare 22.03.17

Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra 03.03.17

Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam 07.03.17

Lee Nelson Serious Joker 12.03.17

An Audience with Joe Calzaghe 11.03.17

Seth Lakeman Ballads of the Broken Few 08.03.17

Banff Mountain Film Festival 2017 30.03.17

Camille O’Sullivan The Carny Dream 23.03.17

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roundup

WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH.

BOOK NOW RHS CARDIFF FLOWER SHOW

Bute Park and Arboretum, Cardiff Fri 7-Sun 9 Apr 020 3176 5800 / www.rhs.org.uk –

YOU ME AT SIX

MANORBIER

SECRET SPACES: Cardiff-based playwright and poet Lisa Parry speaks with Buzz about her work and favourite Welsh secret. You have written plays for theatres in Wales, London and New York. Where do you get inspiration to write these plays from? It completely depends on the play. It can be a news article, a line from a book, something I spot in the street… There’s no go-to as such. But I think it’s important to try and keep the mind in a place where it can be inspired – usually by doing something completely different so it’s ready to want to work. You are the founder of the female playwright contingent Agent 160 and last year, you cofounded the Cardiff-based Illumine Theatre. Can you explain to us what these are and why you support them? Agent 160 was set up in response to the statistic that just 17 per cent of produced plays in the UK are written by women. We wanted to increase that percentage and so produced short plays by female playwrights from across the UK in Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Belfast. Then we produced more plays at Wales Millennium Centre. We also wanted to write about what we wanted to write about: a few of us felt pigeon holed into writing about certain issues because we were female. It’s still going but run by the writer Sandra Bendelow now although I remain a member. Illumine was set up by myself and director Zoë Waterman as a WalesBUZZ 8

based company last year. We’ve worked together off-and-on for years and wanted a way to continue to do this, whilst exploring ideas and work that creatively excited us. What are you most excited for at TEDx in Cardiff? Finishing, having remembered to say everything I want to without an actual script in front of me. And having known I got through so I can relax a bit! I love the format of TED and TEDx, the way everyone comes together. It reminds me of theatre. Though I’m not used to being the one on stage so we’ll see how it goes… If someone had never been to Wales before and you could only recommend one place, where would it be? Wales is too stunning to do that! My favourite places are Snowdonia – I love Dolgellau – and also Manorbier beach in Pembrokeshire with the castle backing onto the beach and the church and dovecot and ruined cottage… That said I love knocking around in Cardiff too. It’s such a brilliant city. Lisa Parry is speaking at TEDx Cardiff, Tramshed, Cardiff, Sat 22 Apr. Tickets: £25 (sold out). Info: www.tedxcardiff. co.uk

Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Fri 14 Apr Info: 029 2022 4488 / www.motorpointarena.co.uk –

THE SAW DOCTORS

Tramshed, Cardiff Mon 17 Apr Info: 029 2023 5555 / www.tramshed.com –

SISTER ACT

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay Mon 17-Sat 29 Apr Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk –

BILLY OCEAN

St David’s Hall, Cardiff Sun 23 Apr 029 2087 8444 / www. stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk –

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Grand Pavilion Theatre, Porthcawl Fri 28 Apr 01656 815995 / www.grandpavilion.co.uk

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03/02/2017 10:44

upfront

turns Buzz editor Luke Owain Boult looks back at the past 25 years of Buzz Magazine. STILL BUZZING Cast your eyes back 25 years to October 1991: Bill Clinton has announced he plans to run for President of the United States; Communist regimes collapse throughout Eastern Europe; Nirvana has just released Nevermind; and The Buzz!, which would later lose its love of exclamation marks and definite articles, is founded. Yes, I know it’s March 2017, which makes it more like 25 and a half years now, but the past issues have been too packed to mark it in any official capacity. Not to say that this issue isn’t packed. Ahem. Originally established by Emma Clark, Buzz filled a gap in the market after the closure of events magazine Venue, and aimed to provide South Wales with Time Out-style coverage of event, art, theatre, music, clubs, fashion, and sports. In spite of launching during a recession, the occasional break-in, risking closure after 10 years, and weathering the tumultuous changes in the publishing industry, Buzz continues to be a colourful reflection of a colourful country and its cultural scenes. Yma O Hyd indeed. Since then, it has built up a loyal following of readers and advertisers alike, forging a unique position within the independent Welsh media; growing and adapting with the times, the old front covers being monthly milestones in the history of aesthetic tastes. It’s not just the cover designs that have changed. As the technological revolution of the past two decades has unfolded, and continues to unfold, the way Buzz is created has evolved too. When it was initially launched, Buzz would have to be put together manually: cutting, pasting and spray mounting images instead of inserting them using the InDesign editing program, as we do today. Long gone are the days of waiting a week for press images in the post, with PR companies simply sending them now via WeTransfer and the like. From research to arranging interviews, sending our magazine to the printers to communicating with our dedicated writers, these changes have been extraordinarily helpful in making all of our jobs easier. Buzz is not immune to the necessities that now exist in the media, meaning that we have focussed on improving our site (with more plans ahead to improve it further) and creating online video content with our Buzz TV brand, reflecting all of the passion of the magazine and the events that we cover. In spite of these changes, our ethos remains the same: to provide extensive coverage of the Welsh cultural scene and provide the best listings BUZZ 10

around. Still, it’s always fun to reminisce, so here are banned contravenes human rights, the whole idea that a few of our highlights over the past 25 years. you can’t take a naturally occurring substance I just don’t understand. My main concern is that they don’t take any impurities. There are a lot of impurities being BLASTS FROM THE PAST mixed up with it these day.” Buzz has gathered a huge archive of magazines over the past 25 years, and to Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of chatting with record these for the future, we’re currently building some pretty interesting characters about their lives an online archive of every issue, which will be made and work. In fact, in the first ever issue of Buzz, we available for free later this year. spoke with the legendary American actor and director Clint Eastwood himself about his film Unforgiven, and WHAT’S NEXT? didn’t even put him on the cover. Speaking about the depiction of death in the 1992 Western, he says, “Each So after more than 25 years of shining a light on the time someone is killed, it has an effect on somebody. vibrant south Wales cultural scene, we look ahead to Killing has nothing glamorous. There is so much the possibilities the future holds with exciting plans gratuitous killing in movies today; they almost seem drawn up for the months to come. From Mon 1-Wed to imitate what I was doing in the 60s and 70s. Violence 31 May, we will be working closely with the Diffusion has reached such extremes that it’s time to take a step photography festival to deliver a programme of zine workshops and parties to help provide a community back and analyse its morality.” creative hub to help people gain experience in and learn about publishing, and of course have a great time. The festival itself, with the term ‘zeitgeist’ as its theme, will be a fascinating reflection of the interesting times we live in and the divisive issues that separate us from each other. We’re also creative media partners with the new Burning Lantern festival in St Fagans on Sat 12 Aug, which counts big names like The Shires Eastwood’s not the only big Hollywood name Buzz has and Tom Odell in its line-up, so keep an eye out for interviewed, and 10 years later spoke with George Clooney new attractions there! We’re going to be working with about Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. “She was the brilliant Iris Prize Festival (Mon 10-Sat 15 Oct), a huge influence,” he says speaking about his aunt helping to shine a light on the brightest LGBTQ film Rosemary Clooney who passed away after the film had talent around the world, while also working as media been made. “She taught me a lot about the trappings partners with Brecon’s biggest party from Thurs 17Sun 20 Aug: the Green Man Festival. of fame. She learned the hard way.” As ever, 2017 will continue our coverage of the best Over the years, Buzz has spoken with some of the most interesting names in popular culture, with interviews Wales has to offer, with special art, food, and music with everyone from Rik Mayall, who remarked “Did I issues planned, as well as our definitive guide to festivals mention I was astonishingly well hung?” in the April around Wales. But 2017 is also the Year Of Legends, so 2007 issue, to Enrique Iglesias who opened up about to mark it we’ll be working with Visit Wales to provide his childhood in May 2002: “I was a seven-year-old and video and editorial content celebrating our country, had to leave my mother behind to start a new life. The its history, landmarks, people, and legends. Last but food was different, everything was completely different. not least, this year will be one of change for us, with plans in place to increase our online presence, make For the first six months, all I did was cry.” In 1998 we spoke with Steve Coogan about Alan finding event listings online easier than ever, and show Partridge’s sexuality: “Alan is certainly not gay but off Wales to the world. concerned that he might wake up one morning and be Info: www.buzzmag.co.uk gay. That’s what worries him.” And in 2009, we spoke with Howard Marks about cannabis: “The fact that it’s

'Did I mention I was astonishingly well hung?' Rik Mayall

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upfront

DIFFUSION CARDIFF INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY Luke Owain Boult looks into the goings-on at this year’s Diffusion photography festival with its fitting theme: revolution. Every other year Cardiff welcomes the Diffusion photography festival, which was initiated by Ffotogallery in collaboration with partners around Wales, to its shores. Following on from 2015’s theme of ‘Looking For America’, which saw a range of fascinating exhibitions considering the nature of the USA and how it’s perceived around the world, this year, 100 years on from the Russian Revolution, Diffusion explores the theme of ‘Revolution’. The past century has seen a myriad of revolutions: from the consumer and sexual revolutions, to the cultural and digital revolutions, all of which have sent shockwaves around the world changing the way we work and interact forever. These transformations provide the inspiration for this year’s photography festival, a revolutionary medium in itself. Diffusion celebrates photography and the photographic images in all their forms, and recognises their immense power to change the world, and have aptly planned a series of exhibitions that capture the essence of revolution and analyse it in its widest context all around the world. Among them is State Of The Nations by kennardphillipps, a collaboration between one of Britain’s most important political artists and a leading photomontage practitioner, Peter Kennard, and Cat Phillips, who have worked together since 2002 in protest of the Iraqi invasion. Drawing inspiration from John Heartfield’s anti-Nazi montages in the 1930s, their work mirrors the sentiment of resistance and protest, with pieces made for the street, galleries, websites, newspapers, and magazines, striving for social and BUZZ BUZZ12 12

political change. Commissioned for Diffusion 2017, State Of The Nations remixes earlier work and creates new artworks that address Trump, Brexit, the refugee and migrant crises, nuclear proliferation, and their depiction in the media. Italian photographer Paolo Ciregia’s project Perestrojka focuses on the Kiev Uprising in Ukraine, with photos documenting the Ukrainian war from the riots in Maidan Square to the Russian annexation of Crimea. However, Ciregia has edited them to remove ‘improper’ elements of war photography, with his selfcensorship being a powerful tool of social condemnation. Argentine artist and human rights activist Marcelo Brodsky’s 1968: The Fire Of Ideas documents specific events to investigate social, political, and historical issues. Images of protests against war and military regimes around the world are annotated to deconstruct the movements and their motivations in this clever exhibition. John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins’ Taking Liberties series captures the emerging counterculture movement in 1960s Britain and its expression in music, protest, and art, with images of cultural and political icons like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Martin Luther King Jr and more. Hopkins was also instrumental in the establishment of the London Free School and subsequent Notting Hill carnival, the International Times and the legendary UFO Club, where Pink Floyd played as the house band. Slovenian artist Bojan Radovic investigates how the five-pointed star has been used as a symbol of revolution around the world in The Icon/The Star, identifying

how it has shifted from communist times to its use in various consumer contexts, and how the symbol itself is being commercialised. it has shifted from communist times to its use in various consumer contexts, and how the symbol itself is being commercialised. It’s not just political revolution that’s being explored though. Russian artists Danila Tkachenko and Tatiana Vinogradova’s works Lost Horizon and Days Of Melancholy tackle the futurism of Soviet cosmonauts and the lives of gay people and the intolerance against homosexuality in Russia respectively. Brazilian artist Laís Pontes explores the data revolution in Born Nowhere, exploring how characters and created and constructed on social media through experiments conducted on Facebook, Instagram and OKCupid. Meanwhile, David Garner will explore revolutions and changes in industry in Wales, while Dr. Russell Roberts will curate an exhibition on the controversial Free Wales Army. Also featuring will be the man dubbed the godfather of black British photography, Vanley Burke, while a special exhibition of works from the public, Zeitgeist will be curated to capture the spirit of our times, as well as exhibitions from the Delhi Photo Festival to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Indian independence. Diffusion: International Festival Of Photography, venues across Cardiff, Mon 1-Wed 31 May. Admission: prices vary per event. Info: www.diffusionfestival.org

1-31 May / Mai 17

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_Diffusion

Image © Laís Pontes Born Nowhere

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D O

B BB U UU Z ZZ Z ZZ

YOURSELF YOURSELF YOURSELF YOURSELF

BUZZ D.I.Y. WORKSHOP As part of the buzz25 celebrations this year, we've partnered with Diffusion Festival, and will be running a free DIY creative space all throughout May. Expect workshops, talks, debates and fiery round-table discussions and more, all under the theme 'Revolution'.

e’ve got a big announcement to make for 2017 to celebrate our 25th anniversary and say thanks to our brilliant readers. Over the past 25 years, Buzz magazine has seen its fair share of revolutions in technology. Since it first began in the early 90s, the internet, use of computers, and improvements in video production technology have all made Buzz what it is today, having to adapt in the ever-changing publishing industry. Fitting, then, that Buzz has teamed up with the internationally acclaimed Diffusion Photography Festival, whose theme for 2017 is ‘revolution’, to provide a hub at Cardiff’s Tramshed for the public to get creative. Offering workshops on self-publishing, zines, photography, graffiti, music, video, film, creative writing, and illustration, the collaboration allows individuals to develop their skills and creative projects under the guidance of experienced professionals. Taking place throughout May, the Buzz hub will provide a space for all people aged 16 and over of all levels of talent to produce their own zines (self-published DIY magazines) for free. The finished work will then be exhibited in the space, and will be made available online for all to share and read on the Buzz and Diffusion

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websites. But that’s not all! We’ll have film awards, hip-hop nights, film nights, food fairs, spoken word, art shows, BMX and skate demonstrations and more, all in a hub celebrating the creative spirit that makes Cardiff the city it is. All of these, of course, are for available to all for free. We’re also planning a parallel preview show of the Buzz25: Retrospective Exhibition – a look back at the magazine’s content and history over the past quarter of a century – to take place later in the year. We’ll be looking at the process of creating a self-funding

independent publication before the age of the internet, and the subsequent revolutionary transition into the digital and social media age. To sign up, visit our website and click on the ‘Diffusion’ banner to take you to the registration page. We look forward to seeing you there! Want to get involved? If you want to help others, and learn a whole lot in the process, why not become a Buzz DIY volunteer to help out in our workshops? With everything from zine-making to film-making workshops available, you can help your local community share in your passion. Not quite your cup of tea? The full listings of the events, workshops, and special nights, which include an absolutely massive range of DIY activities and more, will be announced in next month’s issue of Buzz, so keep an eye out for something that might just tickle your fancy. The full information will be available of course on our site, where there’ll be a special Buzz DIY hub to answer any questions you may have. If you want to get involved email editorial@buzzmag.co.uk with the subject line ‘Buzz DIY Workshops', we’d love to hear from you. Info: www.buzzmag.co.uk/diffusion / www.diffusionfestival.org

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upfront EXPERIMENTICA 2 0 1 7 Cadi Jones takes a look at what to expect from Experimentica, Chapter’s annual experimental arts festival. Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre’s annual live art and performance festival, Experimentica – the only one of its kind in Wales – is soon upon us. As the annual five-day festival returns, the centre will welcome local and international artists to captivate us with their provocative and immersive performances. Experimentica is curated following an open submissions process, so this is a chance for emerging artist to showcase their work and to push boundaries on the creative platform. The festival will continue to offer live elements to guide audiences through the artists’ visions. ‘Secret Language’ is the theme of this year’s festival, and participating artists must think about ‘Class, cool and secret codes. Artspeak, textspeak and slang.’ Who uses this language, and what say do we have? Do they control us or do we control them? An apt theme for the modern age. One highlight of the festival is Something Bigger, a piece where individuals engage using smartphones in an invasive experience. Canadian theatre makers Dustin Harvey and Adrienne Wong intend on making audiences question who’s taking part, and how people secretly interact in the real world. If you’re interested in an unusual exploration of the modern society, be sure to check out Harvey and Wong on Sun 2 Apr. Tim Bromage exudes strangeness in his performances, and his new theatrical experience in The Man Stands Alone In The Vortex will undoubtedly be as experimental and captivating as his last acts if not better. Expect props, costumes and something that’s even somewhat magical as he delves into the concept of a closed time loop. Also in the mix are performance researchers based in Wales, Heike Roms and Gareth Llyr Evans. Yr Ymarferiadur – What’s

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Welsh For Live Art? will explore the language of contemporary art. By offering a new dictionary of Welsh contemporary art terms, they will uncover Wales’ hidden history of performance. Both having performed at Experimentica several times before, what they will uncover this time round is one of the hotly anticipated highlights of the festival. Anti-Cool, a Japanese performance artist will present her feature film Plena Rondo. A film which records the artist’s process of learning the world’s easiest egalitarian language, Esperanto. For those unaware, Esperanto is a constructed international auxiliary language created in 1887, with the aim of becoming an international means of communication. From Japan to Buenos Aires, this experimental journey will uncover how languages live and die. Johnny Costen’s new piece aims to demonstrate how we are all linked and disjoined by focusing on the sense of hearing. Louder Is Not Always Clearer is an autobiographical exploration of Costen himself, and how he recognises this isolation in other people’s lives. After the success of last year’s work in progress, Chapter invites performance company GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN back for a full presentation of Frankenshow. On the opening night of the festival, this Chapter commission will explore the aftermath of creating something truly

awful. The London and Essex based performers work sits within various genres of theatre, live art, cabaret and stand-up comedy. It’s safe to say that this will be another captivating performance by this fearless and fittingly experimental group. Experimentica is a fantastic gateway for established artists and those who have ideas that aren’t quite yet fully realised . This will be the festival’s 16th year running, and to help continue the growth of the festival, Chapter are kindly asking for donations from supporters. If you are interested in preserving the experimental creativity Experimentica has to offer, text ‘EXPM17 £5’ to 70070 to donate. The festival works on a pay what you decide basis, and the full programme is available online. Experimentica, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wed 29 Mar-Sun 2 Apr. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www.experimentica.org

BUZZ 17

upfront

STEWART LEE Fedor Tot speaks with comedy master Stewart Lee about performing in Wales, his tour, and Welsh comedy. How are the audiences in Cardiff for you normally? Are they any different than elsewhere in the UK? It sounds like a lie but I’ve always loved performing in Cardiff, having worked up from small venues to St David’s Hall over nearly three decades. I did stand-up at student venues in Cardiff in 1990 first of all. When I was in the double act with Richard Herring in about 1995 our management booked us into St David’s Hall as some kind of joke, and about 100 people came. It’s nice to do it full. When did you first do a gig in Wales? It would have been in 1990 at either the Bangor University Students’ Union – which was very difficult as the nets office used to get the rugby team to heckle you off, and if you came off early he wouldn't pay you – or Trefforest campus which was great. The novelist Dan Rhodes was a student there then, and he tells me he came to see me. A few years ago you spoke out in favour of preserving the works of Welsh author Arthur Machen, held in Newport Library at a time when it was at risk of closure. How did you discover his work and what drew you into it?

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I read The Great God Pan because The Fall mention it in the song Leave The Capital. This was in about 1991 and it was very hard to find Machen as it was all out of print. Then about 16 years ago I read Pan, a novel about The Fall and Arthur Machen, co-authored by the New York beatnik Camden Joy and the Newport mystic Carlton B. Morgan, who is now my top South Wales friend. Around that time, as a gift, Alan Moore the writer enrolled me in the literary society ‘The Friends Of Arthur Machen’, and with their guidance Machen became a consuming passion. You’ve performed at the Machllyneth comedy festival over the years and you’re returning again this year. Do you enjoy the festival? It's great. Henry Widdicombe books all the comedians’ comedians like – sod the public – and because there's no hospitality, there’s no agents or press there. My kids love it too. It reminds me of Glastonbury and crusty rock festivals in the '80s, when there was a counterculture.

It’s such a small town that’s managed to become the focus of one of the UK’s most successful comedy festivals. Why do you think that is? Do you think it provides a blueprint for other places trying to set up something similar? Henry is very modest about it. He says he was lucky to get Mach going when online word of mouth still counted for something, before the medium got swamped. Even Trump tweets now. Are there any up-and-coming Welsh comedians you would recommend audiences to keep an eye on? I am out of the loop now, really. I’ve been mainly doing theatre shows of my own thing recently so I haven't done the sort of gigs at clubs where I see new acts. One of the nice things about Mach is, over the years, I always see new Welsh bands that I like in the music tent – Tender Prey, Climbing Trees. Do you ever wonder what Peter, the 31-yearold Welsh virgin from Fist Of Fun, is up to now? He’s a Hollywood whore, but a very good one. Stewart Lee: Content Provider, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sun 26 Mar. Tickets: £23.50. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk

LIVE COMEDY EVERY WEEK THE PERFECT WAY TO HAVE FUN AT THE END OF THE WORKING WEEK Choose from two British favourites freshly handmade in our kitchens and enjoy four superb stand-up comedians in a night of laughter and hilarity.

LIVE AT THE GLEE

TREAT YOURSELF TO AN EVENING OF AWARD WINNING LIVE ENTERTAINMENT The best comedians want to play The Glee so don’t miss out on a superb night of live entertainment that will keep you laughing until Monday.

COMEDY TOUR SHOWS MON 20TH MARCH

EDDIE IZZARD

3 SHOWS, 3 LANGUAGES, 3 HOURS THU 30TH MARCH

TOM ALLEN & SUZI RUFFELL WED 19TH APRIL

REGINALD D. HUNTER

WORK IN PROGRESS TUE 6TH JUNE

THU 6TH JULY

THE NOISE NEXT DOOR ‘UPROAR’ THU 14TH SEPTEMBER

CARL DONNELLY & CARL HUTCHINSON DOUBLE HEADER

THU 5TH OCTOBER

TOM GREEN’S EUROPEAN COMEDY LUISA OMIELAN THU 12TH OCTOBER ROAD TRIP EXTRA DATE NICK HELM

LIVE MUSIC SUN 9TH APRIL

THE SHOWHAWK DUO

MERMAID QUAY • CARDIFF BAY • CF10 5BZ BUZZ 19

upfront

FILM FESTIVAL ROUND UP This spring a number of film festivals are taking place across Wales, screening some of the most innovative cinema from around the world, and providing valuable screen space to excellent works that might otherwise struggle to be seen. Fedor Tot takes a look at what we’ll be watching.

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour The Banff Film Festival travels around the world from its headquarters in Banff, Canada, showcasing the best of ‘mountain’ films. Or to put it another way, you know those death-defying stunt clips of potentially insane skiers or wingsuit jumpers flying down mountainsides that pop up on your social media feeds from time to time? Banff tours a whole night’s worth of that. At each destination a series of short films are screened, varying from the aforementioned action-packed work to more reflective, thoughtful documentaries. In one night you can experience: La Liste, about Swiss skier Jérémie Heitz’s daredevil rides down some of the world’s steepest and most dangerous slopes; Locked In, detailing the 13-day journey a team of kayakers in Papua New Guinea make on a 40-kilometre section of the Beriman River, lined almost entirely by sheer cliffs; and Mira, which tells the story of Mira Rai, a Nepalese woman who dreams of becoming a successful endurance runner despite the challenges she faces from society. Throughout the spring, Banff will appear in places across Wales, including Cardiff, Llanelli, Brecon, and Porthcawl.

Wales One World Film Festival The Wales One World Film Festival is a truly international affair, bringing the best of what world cinema has to Cardiff from Fri 17 Mar, before rolling out to Aberystwyth, Swansea, Mold, and Cardigan. A long-time regular fixture for Welsh cinephiles, this year’s edition includes offerings from the acclaimed, prolific Chilean director Pablo Larraín, fresh from the success of Oscar-nominated Jackie, who has another biopic due to be released in Neruda. Master director Asghar Farhadi’s latest work The Salesman will also screen, as well as the relatively unheralded: Clash, from Egypt, depicts a nation in crisis from within the confines of the back of a police riot van, whilst Wulu tells of a Malian drug dealer’s rise to success, riffing on Scarface along the way, with movies from Finland, Argentina, Nepal and elsewhere to boot. Alongside its commitment to promoting the variety and breadth of what cinema has to give, WOW also runs a number of workshops, discussions, and musical events. With the festival’s mission to promote films that inspire us to engage beyond the darkened projection room, this year is built around the theme of ‘Voice Of Resistance’, focusing on films that, according the festival director David Gillam, “stress our common humanity, the rewards of diversity, and promote mutual understanding and tolerance”.

Wales International Documentary Festival In only its second year, WIDF aims to bring the best of documentary cinema from around the world to the heart of the Welsh Valleys. Held in Blackwood and split between the town’s newly refurbished Maxine Cinema and the historic Miner’s Institute, WIDF’s selection covers a wide selection of topics and issues. Atlantic, narrated by Brendan Gleeson, tells the story of fishing communities across the North Atlantic and their battles with major oil corporations as well as super trawlers overfishing the precious ocean waters. Hoda’s Story is a portrait of an exuberant Palestinian woman who became blind after being hit in the head by a stray bullet. On the lighter and more local end of the scale, The King And Dai looks at the successful Elvis tribute act festival in Porthcawl, as well as delving into its somewhat fractious inner history. The festival will also screen a number of shorts, microdocs and student films, alongside providing a number of networking opportunities, masterclasses, and Q&As with leading industry figures. Aiming to be not just a festival but a gathering of creative minds for the purpose of building bridges and creating great documentaries, WIDF is sure to be even better this year.

Banff Mountain Film Festival, venues across Wales, until Thurs 30 Mar. Tickets: £13. Info: www.banff-uk.com; Wales One World Festival, venues across Wales, Fri 17 Mar-Thurs 13 Apr. Tickets: prices vary per event. Info: www.wowfilmfestival.com; Wales International Documentary Festival, Maxine Cinema + Miners Institute, Blackwood, Wed 5-Fri 7 Apr. Tickets: prices vary per event. Info: www.widf.info BUZZ 20

Ebrill 3 - 8 April 2017

upfront

YES:ARW Cohen Medson speaks with Yes’ Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman about reforming with Jon Anderson and performing Yes songs again. You’ve done many things over the years, but what is it about this band that keeps bringing you back? Rick Wakeman: For me there’s two reasons: Jon and Trevor. Jon and I have done three albums together, two live and one studio album just as a duo called The Living Tree and The Living Tree Live. So together we’ve done three tours as well. We were talking about what we’d like to do and from day one when we started doing it in 2006, we just said the next stage has to be a band and it has to be with Trevor. I think Jon spoke to Trevor first of all, and when Trevor came over to England to come to see me it was – it might sound a bit hackneyed – but I think it was destined in the stars. I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for those two guys. We all have a great deal of respect for Yes’ music, and we feel that we can give it that special love and respect that the music deserves and that’s why we’re doing it. We’re not interested in what anybody else thinks, what anybody else is doing. It’s coming home and there’s never been a full Yes where Trevor and I have had the chance to really work together. We had the union tour with 80-odd shows, which was wonderful. We always said what we wanted to do was to work together and when you hear Jon sing in rehearsals or when Trevor, myself and the band are playing and John steps up and sings, he’s come home. We’ve all come home. BUZZ BUZZ22 22

Is Yes like a family as well? You’ve had plenty of different members come and go... Trevor Rabin: Yeah, it’s like a fraternity almost. There’s been so many people in the band I don’t know if anyone who could actually rattle off all the names, but I think the fundamental soul of Yes was what started when Rick, Jon, Steve, Chris and Alan and Bill started it off. It became so fundamental and influential in the entire music scene and then I came along in 1980-odd and we did a different version of something which worked in its own way. I concur with everything Rick says and it’s the most excited I’ve been about playing, I think. I can’t remember if there was ever a time when I was just as excited. Why is music so paramount to your existence? TR: Well it’s funny, although I’ve been in contact with Rick and always remained good friends, I’ve been doing film scores for almost 18 years, and it’s a very sedentary kind of existence. You sit down and you write, and when you’re doing the orchestra you stand up but for the most part you don’t move. So on stage, you move around a bit and it was funny in the first rehearsal because I was kind of uncomfortable. I was like “God, I haven’t played standing up for years!” but it really is a coming home thing.

To me, it was really a huge upheaval because for 17-odd years, I think it is, that’s all I’ve been doing, so it’s very exciting to be doing it with Rick and Jon. It’s like a bucket list thing. RW: We have a band and it’s the best lineup playing Yes music that I’ve ever been in. There’s some great musicians here. And I just want to put one myth to bed, which is for anyone who says “you’re doing it for the money”. You’ve only got to do your maths to work out that Trevor can earn far more sitting at home nice and peacefully with his family knocking out his film scores, great film scores... far more money. As a solo artist often I go out and do. If you think about it, instead of earning a fifth or sixth or whatever it is, you earn it all. I can earn more, Jon certainly with all the stuff he does with his guest appearances and can earn more. This is purely and utterly for the music. And if it was going to be for the money, we would’ve already had an album out. We would’ve collected our advances. All bought new cars and everything. No, this is for the music. Yes feat. Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Sun 12 Mar. Tickets: £40-£85. Info: 029 2022 4488 / www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk

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upfront

CUBAN BROTHERS Michael Keat and his alter ego Miguel, founder and frontman of the Cuban Brothers, speak with Luke Owain Boult about touring the world, spreading happiness, and forgetting your troubles.

o you find people react to the Cuban Brothers in different ways around the world? I think because it’s so physical, and we’re all dancers – we come from that discipline, we were break dancers first, me and Archie certainly, between us we’ve been dancing for 60 years, since the 1980s – I think that aspect of it travels well. So, we can go to places that don’t speak English or have a great command of the language and still do well, so that’s testament to the physicality of it. We put the show across and it’s not just the songs. Touch wood, we’ve never had a bad show or people not really getting it. We’ve been really lucky, we’re something of an anomaly in that sphere. We can go anywhere and get a reaction from it. The jokes are always on us. I always try to engage with the audience. Invariably I end up in the crowd, semiclothed or not. Have you ever taken the Cuban Brothers to Cuba? Yeah, yeah. We’ve done it a few times. We did a wee tour with a friend of ours, a guy called Yoel Romero who’s a big MMA fighter. He won a gold medal at the Athens Olympics. He was a big hero there and I became friends with him and we played a lot in Cuba. Initially my arse was twitching a wee

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bit. I was worried they’d think we were bastardising their culture, but because of the fact we were entertainers and we’re a comedic outfit, and the music is a mixture of hip-hop, Latin, and all that, they were really down with it. It was received really well out there. I was surprised because people thought I was Cubano as well. People were speaking away at me in Spanish and when they found out I was a half-Kiwi Scotsman they were amazed. Where did you learn Spanish? I learned Spanish in Mallorca when I was 18, when I came back from New Zealand. I went to the La Luna, which was THE club in Palma at the time and where I met Howard Marks, just before he went to prison. All my mates were Spanish. I’m not that great, but I can get away with it. In terms of your acting, are you working on anything at the moment? Yeah, we’re working on a Cuban sitcom! We’ve just done the pilot, and there’s interest from the BBC, and Channel 4 and Sky, so we’ll see! That’s what we’ve just been doing. I’ve been up for a lot of stuff but I’m busy with the Cubans, and we’re busy until September so it’s kind of difficult because you have to be available for shooting. If I wanted to do

more acting I’d have to rest the band for a while, and I’m not ready to do that. What would your message be to the good people of Cardiff coming to see Cuban Brothers? We’re always putting out a message of partying and peace. It’s a love thing. I know it’s a cliché but it’s what we want to do, especially in today’s political climate and in today’s world… I mean Jesus Christ. I have my political views and everything but I don’t bash on about it on stage, so it’s about forgetting all that shit. You’re at a party and celebrating something completely different and losing yourself for 90 minutes. Have a laugh, enjoy the show. I’ve always said (as Miguel) don’t be afraid to touch each other, it’s no problem. You’re adults, in this environment you try to have it off with someone. It’s up to you. Try to have it off with each other in multiply ways. It’s a mind bombing, not an actual bombing. Love and opportunity with a nice promotion of peace on the side. A piece of anything, a piece of ass or a piece of hash – it’s up to you. Cuban Brothers, The Globe, Cardiff, Fri 10 Mar. Tickets: £12. Info: 07590 471888 / www.globecardiffmusic.com

Chapter’s Experimental Theatre Festival

29 March / Mawrth - 2 April / Ebrill 2017

To find out more about this year’s festival and our new ‘Pay What You Decide’ tickets for Experimentica visit:

www.experimentica.org Buzz Half Page Experimentica Advert.indd 1

029 2030 4400 chapter.org 27/02/2017 09:11:13

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upfront EDDIE IZZARD: FORCE MAJEURE 333

Eddie Izzard will be performing his Force Majeure 333 show in three different languages over three one-hour shows at the Glee Club this March. With separate tickets for each language, the worldrenowned comedian will perform in German, French, and English. This is another chance for you to see this show if you missed out before his last tour in the run up to the EU referendum, and it showcases Izzard’s iconic off-piste approach to comedy that combines everyday scenarios with surrealism. Roughly meaning ‘Acts of God’ in French, the show will contain Izzard’s thoughts and musing on deities, antiquity, and sacrifice, having first performed the 333 show in Caen Normandy, for the anniversary of D-Day in 2014. Fancy practicing your French or German? The Force Majeure 333 tour sees one of the most admired comedians back in Cardiff for a single day performing, not just in one, but in three different languages. Since his West End debut show Live At The Ambassadors in 1993, Izzard has toured the world with critically acclaimed international tours including Dress To Kill, Glorious, Definite Article and Stripped, so these three Cardiff shows will undoubtedly sell out. This international show is the most widespread comedy tour ever, taking him to over 25 countries and five continents to everywhere from Tokyo and Honolulu to Budapest and Kathmandu. His absurd and surreal comic narratives have won him countless awards, including two Emmy Awards. Over his last tour, he did a string of shows in France performing entirely in French and another in Berlin that was performed entirely in German. Izzard understands his audience and is intending to perform this show in Russian and Arabic. There is no one quite like him out there on the comedy circuit, combining the colossal amount of energy he puts into his whimsical one-man shows with his love of language. CADI JONES Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure, Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Mon 20 Mar. Tickets: £18. Info: 0871 4720400 / www.glee.co.uk

GEEK MUSIQUE

St David’s Hall is to host two concerts for a nostalgic journey through the sounds of sci-fi and cult TV classics. The first feast of wonderful sci-fi music will be hosted by none other than Robert Llewellyn, or better known as Kryten from the hit sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf. Expect a weird and wonderful range of memorable themes, with Star Wars, Back To The Future, E.T., Terminator and more. The science fiction genre has seen many pioneering and classic film scores, and they’ll be on show from 3.30pm. Edwin Outwater is regarded as one of the most creative, dynamic and engaging conductors from North America, and he’ll be leading the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ Geek Mystique, offering a medley of 10 sci-fi soundtracks, including Planet Of The Apes, Independence Day, Alien and Avatar. The sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey’s score will be performed by the orchestra, for those of you interested in Alex North’s unused soundtrack. These legendary themes will satisfy any avid sci-fi fan, but music or film lovers will easily be able to sit back and let BBC NOW transport you to a galaxy far, far away. John Williams’s hit themes from E.T. and the Star Wars films will BUZZ 26

be performed by this magnificent Welsh symphony orchestra, showing just how integral a role their soundtracks played in making the films a success, becoming just as important as the films themselves. From 9pm, the Doctor Who house band will take audiences a second voyage back in time through the musical highlights of past cult TV classics. If the Doctor Who score is anything to go by, we are in for an absolute delight. One of the most notable electronic music studios in the world, the Radiophonic Workshop, will also be performing some of the most experimental and memorable melodies from the past half century. Equipped with vintage synthesizers and unusual sound effects, the evening transports audiences back in time to the 60s and 70s for some of TV’s most recognisable themes. CADI JONES Geek Musique, St David's Hall, Cardiff, Sat 25 Mar. Tickets: £15. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk

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KILLOLOGY

Cardiff sees the world premiere of Killology at the Sherman Theatre this March, brought to you by Wales’ award-winning writer Gary Owen and Sherman’s awardwinning artistic director Rachel O’Riordan. Rachel has directed well known titles such as The Lion, Witch And The Wardrobe, Romeo & Juliet and her recent collaboration with Owen, the tremendous Iphigenia In Splott. The duo won a plethora of awards for their story of a young woman living in poverty in Cardiff, winning the James Tait Black Prize and the Stage Award for Acting Excellence at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015 and the UK Theatre Award for Best New Play in 2015. This year brings a co-production with the Royal Court Theatre of London and Sherman Theatre that will look into the effects of computer games and internet violence on society. In line with Owen’s past projects, its dark nature will be as controversial as ever. It introduces a new video gaming world, where individuals score points for torturing others, as it’s seen as ‘creativity’. Focusing on revenge, family, and society, this play looks at the complications of responsibility and anguish of being a father and a son. Based on the morality of this new gaming experience, Killology will provide us with a moving and thought-provoking view into modern society. Darkest fantasies are played out but participants won’t be able to escape the consequences of their horrific actions. Killology expresses how someone’s life can be affected by virtual realities. The protagonist is a young boy who’s found himself in a hopeless situation. Owen is excellent at making these overlooked and vulnerable members central to his narrative to provoke audiences. His compassion and sensitivity to characters is moving Owen up the ranks into becoming one of the leading playwrights in the UK. The whole story sounds fascinating and after the acclaim and success of Iphigenia In Splott, Owen and O’Riordan have been proven to make an indestructible team. CADI JONES Killology, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Fri 24 Mar-Sat 8 Apr. Tickets: £8-£16. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www.shermantheatre. co.uk

BACON TO DOIG

An impressive private art collection from Ian and Mercedes Stoutzker has been loaned to the National Museum Cardiff. David Hockney, Francis Bacon, and Lucian Freud works are among the 20th century art pieces that will be displayed in the museum until the end of January next year. The Stoutzker's passion for art began when they married 50 years ago, and they have continued to collect over the decades. Before these artists became prominent names in the art world, Ian and Mercedes Stoutzker purchased works from weekly auctions throughout the 60s and 70s. The Stoutzkers were clever in buying before these pieces increased in price, with the collection being displayed proudly in the most famous galleries across the world, and it’s now on display in Cardiff. Ian Stoutzker’s Welsh heritage influenced him to put on this display in the museum, with his mother being a music teacher living in Tredegar until she was 25. His love of Wales has been passed down from his mother, and he and Mercedes are both delighted to share their incredible collection with us here in the capital. Irish-born Francis Bacon has now long been regarded as one of the greatest painters of our time. Two paintings from one of the most recognised painters of the modern period, Bacon, will feature in the display. Sculptures by artists that have never displayed at the museum before, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, will make a debut, not forgetting the celebrated works of Barbara Hepworth. Having all of these world-famous pieces under one roof makes for an extremely year ahead for the National Museum Wales. There will also be specially commissioned pieces from the Stoutzkers, a pair of vases from Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry, and a painting by Peter Doig made especially for Mercedes Stoutzker. Along with these famous names will be abstract works from Ben Nicholson and self-taught Lowry, and makes for a collection which is arguably one of the best to be shown in Cardiff for over a century. CADI JONES Bacon To Doig: Modern Masterpieces From A Private Collection, National Museum Wales, Cardiff, until Wed 31 Jan. Admission: free. Info: 0300 1112333 / www.museum.wales BUZZ 28

MAKE YOUR MATTER 25 MARCH 2017, 8.30PM JOIN IN TO SUPPORT ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

25 MAWRTH 2017, 8.30PM YMUNWCH Â NI I GEFNOGI GWEITHREDU AR Y NEWID YN YR HINSAWDD

#EarthHourWales wwf.org.uk/EarthHourWales

#AwrDdaear wwf.org.uk/AwrDdaear

Turn out the lights, take some time and make Earth Hour matter for you, your friends, your family and your planet. Diffoddwch y goleuadau, cymerwch dipyn bach o amser a gwnewch i Awr Ddaear gyfrif i chi, eich ffrindiau, eich teulu a’ch planed.

upfront

CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN Camille O’Sullivan’s not cabaret – unless you’re specifically thinking Weimar – and neither is her style burlesque. “I’m not removing any clothes so it’s definitely not that!” the Irish musician confirms, adding that she prefers “theatrical rock – someone who not only sings other people’s songs but tries to take them, own them and inhabit them.” O’Sullivan grew up listening to Jacques Brel, but it wasn’t until she lived in Berlin that she started listening to Kurt Weill. Here she found herself moved by “music you can inhabit, be provocative with the audience... it’s not about singing well and looking nice – which wasn’t an interest to me. I liked the darkness of it.” Returning home, her mother pointed out that her record collection was full of contemporary versions of Brel, such as Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Up until then, she had been singing older stuff but decided to “take the old and the new and rock it out; make it contemporary.” She also met German actress and singer Agnes Burnelle, who was performing residencies in Dublin singing Weimar-era songs. “I was sitting with her and she was having a whiskey and cigarette and I was like, ‘this is fantastic, this is my kind of lady’.” O’Sullivan cites Bowie as a big influence, and it’s to this end that O’Sullivan performs a “kind of love letter to him” to finish each night. “This show was about the question, ‘what are your dreams?’ and the notion that he made a dream come true for me, as someone that inspired me to be a singer. He’s so alive and present in our lives in what he wrote. Five Years [from the Ziggy Stardust LP] takes on a complete different meaning – it’s 40 years old and you’re like ‘wow, this is about now’.” Described, too, as chameleon-like, what can the audience at St David’s Hall expect from Camille O’Sullivan’s performance there next month? “An emotional rollercoaster that starts enigmatically – utterly bonkers. Love, life, sex, death, joy and sadness... have a glass of red wine. That’s what I want for my life but I only get it onstage!” she jokes. CHRIS WILLIAMS

THE RED SHOES

This Matthew Bourne ballet based on the Academy-Award winning 1948 film and Hans Christian Anderson’s original fairytale will bring a mesmerising masterpiece to Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, revolving around one girl’s dream to become the world’s best dancer. The Red Shoes is itself the name of the ballet in which the main character, Victoria Page, performs in this magical adaption by the internationally renowned choreographer Matthew Bourne, famous due to his reworking of classic ballets, such as Swan Lake, which featured an all-male cast. Focusing on passion and the lengths that an individual will go in pursuit of it, this is a moving tale of the love of art, and the beauty that ballet has to offer. Britain’s most successful choreographer, Matthew Bourne, will dazzle us again as he modernises what is considered to be the greatest dance film ever into a ballet production. After his 20-year long quest to stage this Powell and Pressburger 1948 film, he describes it as his love letter to the theatre. A decision forced on Victoria Page between love and art explores the themes of obsession and possession. It becomes hard for Page to escape from this crossroad of dance and desire, as the Red Shoes consume her in this dreamlike fantasy. The main character is played by Australian ballerina Ashley Shaw, who has starred in many of Bourne’s company’s leading lady roles since 2009, such as Kim in Edward Scissorhands, Lana in The Car Man, and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Famed for his notable collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles, the music of Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann will make for a remarkable performance. Arranged by Terry Davies, these scores will keep you on your toes in this bizarre telling of love and passion. Set designer Lez Brotherson reflects the 1940s theme of the film through his costumes and backdrops as they go hand in hand with the surreal aura of this enchanting tale. Similar to the themes explored in the cerebral drama Black Swan, The Red Shoes is a complex story of love and passion that will show the price of striving for perfection. CADI JONES The Red Shoes, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 14Sat 18 Mar. Tickets: £17.50-£45.50. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www. wmc.org.uk BUZZ 30

pic: Johan Persson

Camille O’Sullivan, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Thurs 23 Mar. Tickets: £19. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk

Prestatyn Pontins, North Wales April 21-23, 2017 butthole surfers / SHIRLEY COLLINS THE RESIDENTS / jeff mills & tony allen Craig Leon & Martin Rev OMAR SOULEYMAN / THIS IS NOT THIS HEAT ULVER / forest swords / OOIOO / ACTRESS MICHAEL ROTHER /blanck mass richard dawson / GAIKA ANNA MEREDITH / CHROME MARK ERNESTUS’ NDAGGA RHYTHM FORCE demdike stare / NURSE WITH WOUND GROUPER / HIEROGLYPHIC BEING DOPPLEREFFEKT / ISLAM CHIPSY & EEK karen gwyer / Princess nokia BRAINBOMBS / rezzett / warm digits the cosmic dead / basic rhythm / ATA KAK CIRCLE / horse lords / basic house CARLA DAL FORNO MOOR MOTHER asiq nargile / guttersnipe cloud becomes your hand / zs

plus marketplace, films, exhibitions & MORE Festival weekend tickets incl accommodation from £199pp tickets from:safeasmilkfestival.com socials: @SAFEasMILKfest

HAILEY TUCK “The soul of a Jazz Age libertine” Miles Raymer, Entertainment Weekly

Mae Hailey Tuck yn gantores jazz a chanddi lais unigryw a chyfareddol, llais sydd rhywle rhwng Billie Holiday, Regina Spektor ac Ella Fitzgerald. Yn enedigol o Efrog Newydd, mae Hailey wedi bod yn swyno cynulleidfaoedd ledled Ewrop a’r Unol Daleithiau, a bydd hi’n ymuno â ni yn lleoliad cabaret newyddaf Caerdydd yng Nghanolfan Mileniwm Cymru. Gyda choctels o’r radd flaenaf a phrydau swper amheuthun mae’r Ganolfan yn cyflwyno rhaglen wych o adloniant byw (jazz, cerddoriaeth gyfoes, comedi a chabaret) ar nosweithiau Gwener a Sadwrn. Hailey Tuck is a jazz singer with a uniquely captivating voice that is reminiscent of Billie Holiday, Regina Spektor and Ella Fitzgerald. New York born singer, Hailey, has been enchanting audiences across the United States and Europe and she joins us at Cardiff’s newest live music venue at Wales Millennium Centre. With killer cocktails, sassy supper dishes, the Centre presents a fantastic programme of live entertainment (jazz, contemporary music, comedy and cabaret) on Friday and Saturday Nights.

Mawrth 31 March Gyda drysau’n agor am 8pm / Doors open at 8pm I gael rhagor o wybodaeth a’r manylion llawn / For more information and full listings

wmc.org.uk/livemusic

upfront

EARTH HOUR 2017 Earth Hour unites millions of people from across the globe each year to switch off their lights for one whole hour in a symbolic display of environmental and economical awareness. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of WWF’s Earth Hour, and all over Wales preparations are being made to celebrate the cause. This year’s Earth Hour will take place on Sat 25 Mar between 8.30 and 9.30pm, so make sure to mark that down on your calendar. Last year, businesses and organisations across Wales took part in the annual event and this year that support is only expected to increase, with many of Wales’ most iconic landmarks joining the campaign. Following last year, Cynnal Cymru will again be showing their support for the campaign and turning off their lights on Sat 25. A notable recruit for 2017’s Earth Hour, meanwhile, is Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, which has also confirmed to go dark for the hour. Other places and Welsh landmarks that have pledged to participate this year campaign include St David’s Hospital (although I hope they leave the rest of the electricity on), the City Of Cardiff Council building, and Castell Coch. The WWF will also be awarding Local Authority Star badges to the councils that go the extra mile in supporting the campaign. Half of all Welsh local authorities have already signed up for the event and WWF anticipate more will to join as we draw closer to the big day. The interactive map for this year’s celebration shows all the businesses and organisations that have already signed up. So, if you’re looking to join the campaign yourselves, you can by going to the map on the WWF’s official website. Everyone from business owners, schools, and company offices to individuals sitting at home can take part in Earth Hour and show their support for our planet. WWF Cymru have also hinted at an extra 10-year anniversary event – “something very exciting for the people of Wales” to celebrate a decade of the campaign. Keep up to date with updates on the event via WWF’S social media. HODI HASSAN Earth Hour 2017, Sat 25 Mar. Info: www.wwf.org.uk/wales

CARDIFF MUSIC AWARDS This month we see the return of Cardiff’s annual music awards: the CMAs. This year will be the award’s second year honouring local talent. After receiving an overwhelming number of nominations, the final candidates have been revealed and voting has been open to the public for all categories via the Cardiff Music Awards website, with the ceremony kicking off in the Tramshed at 6.30pm on Thurs 30 Mar. Starting in 2015, the Cardiff Music Awards was a small project with no funding to speak of. Now returning for its second year, the awards promise to be bigger and better than ever. With more categories, a new nominations process and a ceremony held at a bigger venue, the Cardiff Music Awards sets out to be an unmissable event in this year’s social calendar. The awards are specifically designed to promote music in Cardiff, and the awards aim to celebrate creators and promoters of music in recognition of their hard work, as well as recognising and appreciating the music scene in the Welsh capital. By getting as many people involved as possible to collaborate on one major event to honour local artists, the awards bring more exposure and opportunities to Cardiff's wealth of musical talents. The categories for this year include: Best Group, Best Solo Act, Best Live Act, Best Breakthrough Artist, Best EP/Single, Best Album, Best Music Video, Best DJ and Best Producer. The nominees will be scored based on a combination of both the general public votes as well as being marked on criteria developed and created by the awards’ officials. For those with their tickets ready there’ll also be an after party to reflect on the night’s outcomes. And if that didn’t persuade you, your ticket includes free drinks; is there really a better way to spend your evening than with great music and an open bar? I think not. HODA HASSAN Cardiff Music Awards, Tramshed, Cardiff, Thurs 30 Mar. Tickets: £30 (includes food, two drinks and entry to afterparty). Info: www.cardiffmusicawards.co.uk

BUZZ 32

17-2 AUGU0 ST

PJ HARVEY

RYAN ADAMS

FUTURE ISLANDS

THE SHINS • MICHAEL KIWANUKA • KATE TEMPEST SLEAFORD MODS • THEE OH SEES • LAMBCHOP ANGEL OLSEN • CONOR OBERST • DANIEL JOHNSTON SHIRLEY COLLINS • LIARS • JULIAN COPE JOHNNY FLYNN & THE SUSSEX WIT THIS IS NOT THIS HEAT • BADBADNOTGGD • RONI SIZE JON HOPKINS(DJ) • FRUIT BATS • THIS IS THE KIT • FIELD MUSIC THE BIG MGN • ANDY SHAUF • JULIA JACKLIN HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF • ANNA MEREDITH • FIONN REGAN YORKSTAN THORNE KHAN • PICTISH TRAIL • JESSICA PRATT RICHARD DAWSON • MODDI • MELT YOURSELF DOWN • WOLF PEOPLE MASES BOYD • PUMAROSA • SUNFLOWER BEAN • LVL UP GRUMBLING FUR • MICHAEL CHAPMAN • ALASDAIR ROBERTS LAURA GIBSON • KARL BLAU • CHARLIE CUNNINGHAM JULIE BYRNE • CHRIS FORSYTH & THE SALAR MOTEL BAND GAELYNN LEA • HOLLY MACVE • GILL LANDRY • GIRL RAY TREMBLING BELLS • CIRCULUS ALDOUS HARDING • NADIA REID BIG THIEF • HAPPYNESS • GASPELBEACH • KIKAGAKU MOYA • SHAME DGMSQUAD • DEEP THROAT CHOIR • WARM DIGITS BENEDICT BENJAMIN • WARHAUS • NATHAN BALL • THE ORIELLES JIM GHEDI • LICE • ALED RHEON • H.GRIMACE • GINTIS HUW STEPHENS(DJ) • TAM RAVENSCROFT(DJ) EARTH RECARDINGS(DJ) • BERT JANSCH TRIBUTE > AND LOADS MORE! <

TUMBLE THROUGH TEN WILD LANDS OF LAUGHS, LITERATURE, ART, SCIENCE, MISCHIEF AND MUSIC

TICKETS AN SALE NOW! THE GUARDIAN

GREENMAN.NET

THE TIMES

profile

E X C H A N G E

H O T E L

Antonia LeVay speaks with Signature Living’s owner Lawrence Kenwright about renovating one of Cardiff’s most iconic buildings: the Coal Exchange. What sort of things are you doing to preserve the Coal Exchange’s ambience and the history? The Coal Exchange has all these little heads, artefacts, and dragons all over the place. We’ve taken a picture of every single one of them and we’re putting them in the bathrooms, on the tiles. So when you go to a tile there’s a QR code, which you scan, and it says “Can you find this artefact in the building?” So when you go round and find it, it gives you a question, you put in the answer, which goes to our website and comes back with if you’re right or wrong. If you’re right, you get a QR code for the bar, so you can go and get a free drink from the bar, so it makes you engage with the building. All we’re doing is making the most of what we’ve been gifted with. Is everything going to plan? This is one of 15 sites we’ve got on the go. This is the next one due, and it’s a very quick turnaround, time is money. The longer you take, the more it’s going to cost. There’s a desire among the guys, and today we’re taking all the local guys for a meal tonight. There’s about 60-odd working here. This is the first time they can remember all the docks boys working together. That’s a great thing for us. You have to understand the building because every building has its own DNA. You have to understand little things like how to get food from A to B without it getting cold. You’re shoehorning a modern standard

BUZZ 34

hotel into an old listed building – if you do something that you shouldn’t do, you could go to jail for it. How many rooms will there be? Two hundred and four. If we had knocked down walls, we could’ve done a hell of a lot more. But when I took on the job, I said I don’t want to knock down any walls unnecessarily and I want to keep the original DNA of the building as it was intended, just with a different use, and that’s what we’ve done. If I knock down walls, I’ll go to jail! I wouldn’t have planning permission. All the things that have been said, there’s actually no traction to them. What’s happening with the spa? It’ll be like the beautiful spa in Liverpool in 30 James Street, and we’ll create a secret passageway where you need a number to get in. It’s like a secret room, so you’ll be asked a series of questions – you have to get them right and then you’ll be sent the code to get into the passageway, to get into the spa. We’ve also got secret bathrooms, normal bathrooms and then we have funky, crazy, mad bathrooms. Again, if you can’t get the questions right you won’t get through. Are the rooms themed? All of them! We haven’t got the list of themes yet, a local historian is out doing research on Cardiff’s history.

Plus, we’ve got the Butetown History & Arts Centre going downstairs, so that’ll lend itself to be another point of interest in the building. When people come here, I think there’ll be a hard push to get them out. Our aim is still to open five hotels in Cardiff’s historic buildings, and I think I’ve found another building. There’s a building on the end of Bute Street, a beautiful building, but they won’t sell. It’d regenerate the area though. In truth, this is a great sweet in quite a poor wrapper. The surrounding area isn’t amazing, so we’re trying to get the government and the council to collaborate to put a couple million pounds into the public domain. It’s nothing to do with us – we don’t gain anything at all from it – but when we first came to this building, we were promised that they would do the public domain and as yet, I’m still waiting. Hold on, this is your city! Why’s it down to me as a Scouser? Exchange Hotel, Cardiff Bay, opening Fri 28 Apr. Info: www.exchangehotelcardiff. co.uk

FEB WINNER

WALES: RAYMOND BANNISTER

Next month's theme is 'MUSIC'

are you a photographer? want to showcase your work? go to: www.buzzmag.co.uk

buzz online photography competition

Buzzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photography section is an initiative to showcase Welsh photographers and their work. Photographers are invited to submit galleries by emailing (or sending via Dropbox) 5-15 pictures, numbering in the order they would like them to be displayed, along with a title of the gallery, and a subtitle. If you want more direction, please take a look at previous galleries on our site. Selected photographers will win exhibition space at a renowned gallery, a feature in Buzz and be featured as our Facebook and Twitter cover pictures. This month's theme was 'Resolution'.

If you have any queries, please email editorial@buzzmag.co.uk

film

by Keiron Self

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ****

Dir: Bill Condon (PG, 123 mins) After the box office bonanzas that greeted its live action remakes of Cinderella and The Jungle Book, Disney continues to plunder its back catalogue for remakes. The 1991 animated classic was nominated for an Oscar for best film, had superb tunes and charm to boot, this looks set to repeat the original’s success, but watch out for Ewan McGregor’s French accent. Emma Watson stars as Belle, the spunky independent young woman who ends up in the castle of Dan Stevens’ Beast, a prince cursed never to regain human form. Yes they fall in love, yes there’s the songs, yes the CGI looks superb, but the original accomplished all of this too. A fine supporting cast has fun, from Luke Evans as the vain suitor Gaston to Kevin Kline as Belle’s father, Emma Thompson and Ian Mckellen add their voices to the servants/teapots and clocks and Ewan McGregor has a stab at Be Our Guest à la ‘Allo ‘Allo. This take on the fairytale will no doubt transport you as it adheres to its roots and morals, but has this been made too close to its animated cousin? Thoroughly entertaining though this no doubt will be, let’s hope this tale as old as time has some tricks up its velvet sleeve. Opens Mar 17

DON’T KNOCK TWICE ***

Dir: Caradog W. James (15, 95 mins) Welsh director Caradog W. James and producer John Giwa-Amu’s Red And Black films return with another feature after the success of sci-fi thriller The Machine. This time taking on the horror genre, James turns his visual flair to a story that crisscrosses an urban myth with a family drama. Katee Sackhoff and Lucy Boynton are a mother and daughter trying to reconnect after years of being apart; Sackhoff had placed her daughter into foster care as she wrestled with her drug addiction. Added into this mix is a Candymanesque urban legend of an abandoned house occupied by a child-stealing witch who will wreak vengeance if you knock on her door twice. Cardiffians may recognise some locations in what seems to be another stepup for this Welsh film company. Knock down ginger will never be the same again. Opens Mar 31

FIST FIGHT ***

ELLE ****

Dir: Paul Verhoeven (18, 130 mins) Provocative and disturbing, the director of tabloid-baiting hits Basic Instinct and Showgirls, giddying violent adventures Starship Troopers and Total Recall returns with his most uncomfortable film to date. Isabelle Huppert is superb as an icy Paris video games executive, whose top selling game has such queasy highlights as orc rape. When she herself is assaulted and raped, she does not take the obvious route for revenge. Full of twists and turns with Verhoeven delighting in the shifts from horror to light comedy, dinner parties to assaults, Elle is a pressure cooker of a film. Huppert’s performance manages to anchor some of the excesses as she’s revealed to be the daughter of a serial killer and tries to get on with the day to day business of living, with the shadow of her assault always in the corner. Elle raises many problematic questions and answers few of them: how complicit is society in the rape of women, and is Huppert’s character empowered or not? Squirm-inducing stuff, it also works as a thriller of sorts, maniacally presented by Verhoeven. It enrages and challenges the viewer in ways films don’t normally do and is guaranteed to provoke vigorous debate. Opens Mar 10

Dir: Richie Keen (15, 91 mins) Very slim premise for a comedy: one teacher challenges another to a fight after school. Ice Cube vs Charlie Day, who obviously has little chance against the NWA rapper. Supposedly a mix between High Noon and a John Hughes film, this is neither – an often amusing, foul-mouthed vehicle for Cube to be aggressive, Horrible Boss’ Day to be angsty and then find his ‘manhood’ and various supporting characters to steal the show – Tracy Morgan’s PE teacher and Jillian Bell’s meth-taking guidance counsellor. Christina Hendricks adds some class to the classroom antics, but this has a lot of occasionally funny riffing on the script but often not so funny stuff too, like Ice Cube saying “fuck the police” in a lazy nod to his past. High on concept, muzzy in execution, Fist Fight is often funny but with no hilarious knockout blow. Out Mar 3

GHOST IN THE SHELL ****

Dir: Rupert Sanders (15, 120 mins) The manga cyborg/human identity epic from Masamune Shirow gets the big budget live action treatment and will hopefully be less baffling than its animated outing. Scarlet Johansson stars as the Major, a super cyborg who has been created to bring criminals and extremists to task, but along the way finds out more about her own identity. Boasting cutting edge visuals lifted from the original manga, and with Johansson in a body stocking for many action scenes – so she can be invisible, apparently – this will satisfy many hardened fanboys. Director Rupert Sanders has an action heroine with acting chops to match her ass-kicking, so Johannson should root this sci-fi epic. Strong support from Juliette Binoche and cult Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano adds class making Ghost In The Shell a Blade Runner-esque sci-fi prospect. Opens Mar 31

ALSO RELEASED MAR 2017: CERTAIN WOMEN (15) Kirsten Stewart stars along with Laura Dern and Michelle Williams in this intimate drama from Kelly Reichardt about three women. DON’T TAKE ME HOME (12A) Jonny Owen’s documentary about the Welsh football team at the Euros. Come on Gareth Bale! HEADSHOT (15) The Raid’s Iko Uwais does more hitting of people in this amnesiac action thriller. TRESPASS AGAINST US (15) Michael Fassbender tries to break free of his traveller family’s criminal ways, Dad Brendan Gleeson isn’t happy about it. VICEROY’S HOUSE (12A) Merchant Ivory-esque drama following Hugh Bonneville’s Lord Mountbatten as he hands India back to its people in 1947. Big period lushness, also starring Gillian Anderson. CATFIGHT (15) Anne Heche and Sandra

KONG: SKULL ISLAND ****

Dir: Jordan Vogt-Roberts (12A, 120 mins) King Kong is the granddaddy of all monster movies. The 1933 black and white original with the giant gorilla on top of the Empire State Building is an iconic movie moment. It’s been recreated twice, in 1976 with Jessica Lange and some cheesy puppetry and by Peter Jackson in 2005 with better if mixed CGI results. Now comes a twist on the original story as Warner Bros try and create their own monster franchise, sharing a world with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla – a showdown between the iconic monsters is on the cards in 2020. Set in the 1970s, an uncharted island has been found in the Pacific, and a scientific/military mission is launched to explore it. Along for the ride are a buffed-up Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and gung-ho Samuel L Jackson, along with dodgy John Goodman who’s out to exploit the creatures they encounter. The big gorilla may rule the island, but there are plenty of other monsters too, skullcrushers from underground, spiders, cows, and basically a lot of well-blended CGI. An unabashed popcorn film, this is an enjoyable rejigging of the original, that owes much to Jurassic Park and its previous Kong-carnations, but it nevertheless still excites. Opens Mar 10

PERSONAL SHOPPER ***

Dir: Olivier Assayas (15, 105 mins) An unconventional ghost story that examines spiritual crisis, Assayas’ film reunites him with emo queen Kristen Stewart after the excellent Clouds Of Sils Maria. Stewart plays a personal shopper to a celebrity, travelling from fashion house to fashion house to pick out expensive clothes for her boss to wear. This boring but well paid job allows Stewart to also be a medium. Her twin brother, with whom she shared a weak heart condition, has died and they’d promised each other that whoever went first would send a message from the other side. Soon, Stewart receives a signal by text message apparently from beyond which forces her to confront her fears, whilst also going on a fashion spree for her boss in London. Personal Shopper boasts a convincing performance from Stewart, who is often on her own here, but never fully delivers. Opens Mar 17

LOGAN ****

Dir: James Mangold (15, 120 mins) Hugh Jackman’s last hurrah as Wolverine marks a change in tone from his previous outings. More in the vein of Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan series of stories, with the elegiac feel of Westerns like Unforgiven, this has Logan stripped back to basics, vulnerable and no longer the fighting force he once was, as a beating that opens the film swiftly shows. It’s a future in which no new mutants have been born for two decades, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is infirm and disillusioned and Wolverine is scraping a living as a limo driver whilst cohabiting bizarrely with Stephen Merchant’s nursemaid Caliban. A woman comes a-knocking with a problem that will snap them back into life, and he takes a ferocious young girl under his wing played by Dafne Keen, who has some adamantium claws of her own – X-23 to comic book completists. Set in a grittier world than any of its X-Men cousins, this will be a violent, downbeat affair as the trio go on the run to evade Boyd Holbrook’s mutant hunter Frank Pierce. Stewart and Jackman should make a winning combo and freed from the confusing interconnectivity of the other X-Men films, Logan should offer a more satisfying, adult take on superheroism. Opens Mar 3

RULES DON’T APPLY ***

Dir: Warren Beatty (12A, 127 mins) An indulgent mess which still mostly entertains but remains unsatisfying, and may be 79-year-old Hollywood legend Warren Beatty’s last film. He plays Howard Hughes, the eccentric millionaire whose real mental health issues are unfortunately mostly played for laughs here, who employs Alden Ehrenreich as one of his drivers. He has to drive new starlets around as they try to make it big in 1950s Hollywood, but cannot become romantically involved with them – fine, until Ehrenreich meets Lily Collins’ Southern wannabe star. Their relationship is more interesting, but the film spends a lot of time following Beatty around in some hammy showboating road movie moments. Packed with famous cameos and great period detail, Rules... offers little of interest about Hughes himself and doesn’t give its romantic comedy duo time to breathe. Opens Mar 10

FREE FIRE ***

Dir: Ben Wheatley (15, 91 mins) Ben Wheatley, the director of off kilter but entertaining curios Kill List and Sightseers and less successful art house indulgences A Field in England and High Rise, returns with his most mainstream film to date. Essentially a shoot-em-up in a warehouse, this has a stellar cast, 70s fashion and dark comedy, but remains a B-movie that doesn’t fully deliver on its promise. 12 men and one woman take part in an arms deal that goes terribly wrong. Oscar winner Brie Larson is the woman, and the various hotheaded men for whom the gun is an obvious symbol of inadequacy include Armie Hammer, South African accented Sharlto Copley, IRA man Cillian Murphy, and Wheatley regular Michael Smiley. Once the first bullet is fired after 30 minutes of banter, Wheatley presents the rest of the violence in a mostly Tom and Jerry fashion. Irreverent fun. Opens Mar 31

Oh face off in this drama with catfights as these former schoolmates crave each other’s lives, fall foul of each other and exchange places. THE CHAMBER (15) Claustrophobic thriller, as a covert small submersible team get trapped beneath the Yellow Sea, next to North Korea. THE LOVE WITCH (15) Comedy horror very much in the 70s vein, luridly shot and played. Curate’s egg with sex magic. GET OUT (15) Race relations take a severe horrific turn as Daniel Kaluuya visits his white girlfriend’s parents. LIFE (15) Sci-fi drama with Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal. Life is found on Mars and kept alive on the International Space Station. POWER RANGERS (12A) Go go Power Rangers! The noisy, camp kung fu meets Transformers TV series gets a darker big-screen outing.

pic: Evan Wood

Sheree Altobelle

food/drink

KNIFE & FORK WINE CLUB

Your mother’s cooked you more meals than you can remember, although how good they were is a different matter! Now, it’s your turn to treat your mam to the best food in Wales. From city to country to coast, John-Paul Davies suggests three unique establishments that are guaranteed to impress the number one woman in your life.

Secret Wines Of Italy, The Old Swan Inn, Llantwit Major, Tue 14 Mar. Tickets: £20. Info: 029 2022 4373 / www.knifeandforkfood.co.uk pic: Jessica Cross

MOTHER’S DAY THE FOODIE WAY

Hosted by Charles Reardon Smith and Mike Roberts from Wales’ Academy Of Wine, the Knife & Fork Wine Clubs offer individual wine tasting events at different locations around South Wales. From a Masterclass of Champagne to Wines from the Garden of France, these clubs will help expand your wine knowledge. They run from 7-8.30pm, with the option of ordering the wines tasted at discounted prices on the night. Make sure you book as soon as possible as numbers are limited.

COMFY CITY CATCH-UP Barker is simply the best tea house in the city centre. Forget skinny lattes to go, Barkers offers fine teas for every taste, served in cast-iron pots, keeping your favourite brew hot for hours – perfect for a proper catch-up with mam in comfy high-backed leather chairs. We suggest the Afternoon Tea For Two to sample the excellent range of savouries and sweets. You won’t get full table service and this popular little place is prone to long queues. Go here for an intimate, relaxed and reassuringly informal treat.

FFOS LAS RACECOURSE BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL

Barker Tea House, High Street Arcade, Cardiff. Info: 029 2034 1390.

GET THE MOST FROM THE COAST Sat right on the sand, this is the best sea-view restaurant you’ll find in the Gower. Coastal but clean, it has all the charm of a beachside venue without uncomfortable sandy surfaces underfoot. There are plenty of long tables for big parties so book here if you want to get the whole family together. There is a set menu on Sun 26 Mar with gastronomic delights to suit all tastes. The restaurant is beside a pay-anddisplay car park, so make sure you have some pocket change. Go here for high-end food, a unique setting and plenty of room. Beach House Restaurant, Oxwich Beach, Gower, Swansea. Info: 01792 390965. BUZZ 38

ON THE WRIGHT SIDE OF COUNTRY LIFE More than just a café, Wright’s is a treasure trove of artisan breads, organic veg, good wine and local produce. The Emporium is the complete foodie experience with a veg shop, winery and bar. On a Sunday, there’s light lunches or the ever-popular cake table. They don’t take bookings so we advise you pop in on the way past. If they’re busy, kill time at a local castle, then come back. Go here for the day. If you haven’t bought a present yet, you’ll find something unique to surprise your mother with after you’ve gorged on coffee and cake. Wright’s Food Emporium, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire. Info: 01558 668929

Listen up beer buffs and cider connoisseurs, because this one’s for you! Forget the wintery weather and warm up with a tempting range of beers, ales and ciders specially selected from local breweries across Wales, as the Carmarthenshire racecourse team up with the Felinfoel brewery. Ffos Las is once again hosting their annual Beer & Cider festival this March, set in the stunning Welsh countryside. Place a bet, listen to some live music, and enjoy a relaxing Sunday with a cold pint of beer. May the odds ever be in your favour. Ffos Las Racecourse Beer & Cider Festival, Sun 19 Mar. Tickets: from £12. Info: 01554 811092 / www.ffoslas. co

TEA BRACK Words FFIONA MILLS

PLACES TO ROT YOUR TEETH IN SOUTH WALES Lucy Menon strikes back at dentists everywhere with this dangerous yet tasty list of the best places in South Wales to rot your teeth. Be careful. Don’t actually rot your teeth. Make sure to brush and floss for God’s sake. LOLLIES TRADITIONAL SWEET SHOP With shelves of jars filled with sweets of every description, this is the sort of place Willy Wonka would get his supplies from. From chocolate and fudge to old favourites like gobstoppers and kola kubes, this shop stocks everything you’ll need to sit on the seafront and indulge your sweet tooth as well as your nostalgia. 20 High Street, Tenby. Info: 01834 844472 / www.lollies-sweets.co.uk

I AM SUBZERO Back in the day, they were Mr Creemy, and they produced the most incredible ice cream. Now they’ve changed their name but not their secret recipe. Family run and using Welsh milk and cream in their products to make a large selection of flavours means they’re on to a winning combination. Definitely worth a trip out of town! 4 Ely Industrial Estate, Williamstown, Tonypandy. Info: 01443 441159 / www. iamsubzero.com

POOJA SWEETS & SAVOURIES Mostly made with cream and sugar, Indian desserts are sweet indeed. A lot is on offer here, including gulab jamun (small doughnuts drenched in syrup), jalebi (bright orange swirls of hard, crunchy batter soaked in, yes, more syrup) and carrot halva (something a bit like fudge). And, it’s all vegetarian, if not vegan! 3 Albany Road, Cardiff. Info: 029 2021 4987 / www.poojasweets.com

ST FAGANS SWEET SHOP This working replica of a sweet shop is a wonderful memento of times gone by. The theatre of weighing out sweets and having tiny paper bags is a wonderful reminder of when sweets were a true luxury, and sometimes it’s good to recall this! A decent range of confectionary, once again displayed in jars, allows you to eat with the eye too, and makes this a truly sweet memory. National History Museum, St Fagans. Info: 0300 1112333 / www.museum.wales/ stfagans

AMERICANDY With Lucky Charms cereals and Pop Tarts, you can start the sugar intake from breakfast. Things are a little pricey, to cover the import costs, but worth it for the novelty of items containing more unusual E-numbers, such as radioactive-green drinks like Mountain Dew, retro candy and all kinds of Reese’s chocolates. There’s bound to be something to sink your teeth into... if you’ve any left. 17 Upper Level, Queens Arcade, Cardiff. Info: 029 2022 3581

Take note: Mothering Sunday is fast approaching (Sun 26 Mar). Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent, a day when Lenten rules were traditionally relaxed: i.e. it was an excuse to have a massive slice of cake. Though nowadays Lent is perhaps not as stringently followed by society as it once was, any tradition involving cake is one worthwhile reviving. So this year, what better way to show your appreciation than putting in a bit of time into making something for the beloved maternal influence in your life? This cake is easy to make, keeps well and is incredibly moreish. The recipe below is my adaptation of an Irish tea-brack recipe given to me by my stepmother. If you’re exceptionally dedicated, take your mum a slice smothered in butter and accompanied by a pot of tea for a luxurious breakfast-in-bed.

INGREDIENTS • • • • • •

150g dried apricots 150g raisins 150g sultanas 150ml hot black tea 2 tbsps whiskey (optional) 225g dark brown soft sugar

• • • •

225g self-raising flour 2 tsps mixed spice 1 tsp ground ginger 2 eggs

METHOD 1. Place the fruit in a large mixing bowl together with the hot tea and whiskey. Cover with clingfilm and leave it to soak overnight. 2. After the soaking period, preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F or Gas Mark 4 and grease a 900g loaf tin. Line the base with greaseproof paper. 3. Add the sugar to the bowl of soaked fruit then add the flour and sprinkle the spices evenly over the top. 4. Add the eggs and beat well with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed and soft. 5. Transfer the mixture to the greased loaf tin, smoothing with a palette knife. 6. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm and springy to the touch. If the cake is browning too quickly halfway through cooking, cover the top of it with greaseproof paper. 7. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. When cooled, it’s ready to serve.

www.thethinkingwomanscrumpet.com @ffionamills BUZZ 39

NINE YARDS: MARCH UPDATES

MARCH FOODIE FOCUS

Words JANE COOK www.hungrycityhippy.co.uk ward-winning Cardiff blogger Jane Cook (of hungrycityhippy.co.uk) rounds up five of this month’s most interesting, must-try food and drink events that the city has to offer.

Sausages & Cider Fest at The Depot – Sat 4 Mar

Stoutfest at BrewDog Cardiff – Fri 17 Mar

As part of The Depot’s ‘street food siblings’ series, five sizzling street vendors will be serving up their favourite sausagebased delights – including a variety of vegan and veggie options. A wide range of complimentary ciders will be available on the bar, as well as the usual selection of craft beers, spirits and house cocktails. For more info, see www.depot.eventcube.io

This pre-St Patricks Day celebration of the moodiest brew around will include lots of guest stouts and porters from the UK and beyond; they’ll be available on BrewDog’s taps for the whole weekend. For more information, see: www.facebook.com/brewdogbarcardiff

Lia’s Kitchen Greek Cookery Class – Fri 10 Mar Lia’s intimate cookery classes aim to introduce people to some lesser known Greek flavours. Running every Friday, each week focuses on a different aspect of Greek cuisine, from the common herbs and spices you find in the Greek pantry, to the pies, cheeses, breads and salads she ate growing up. Tickets are priced at £37 per head, and the class is held in the cosy surroundings of Lia’s lovely home in Roath. For more info, see www.liaskitchen.com/events.

BUZZ 40

As the days get longer and sunnier, we here at Nine Yards, Cardiff’s favourite Italian deli, patisserie and prosecco bar, have a little something to make your mornings brighter. Our new breakfast menu, which is on offer between 7.30 and 11.30am Monday to Friday and 10am-12pm on weekends, has got to be one of the best starts to the day possible for busy commuters or other early birds in Cardiff’s city centre. For those who struggle getting up, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our early bird coffee offer: just £1 for a coffee between 7.30 and 8.30am, and £2 between 8.30 and 9.30am. As ever, we have our classic house dishes, beautiful seasonal and homemade dishes, light brunch bites, delectable desserts, vegetarian options, and the best cannoli around, so pop in and unwind with a taste of Italy. Struggling to think of places to treat your mum for Mother’s Day (Sun 26 Mar, by the way)? Nine Yards are offering a two-course set Italian lunch, with a free glass of prosecco for all mums, all for a bargain price of £15 per head. We’re taking bookings now, but be quick, it’s going to be a popular one. See you soon!

Beer & Cheese pairing with Penylan Pantry at Small Bar Cardiff – Sun 19 Mar Penylan Pantry are nuts about cheese, having recently opened a specialist cheese stall inside Cardiff’s Old Market. This month, they’ve teamed up with Small Bar Cardiff to bring together an evening of relaxed, indepth pairings that explore the relationship between cheese and beer. Tickets cost £15 per person. For more info, visit: www. penylanpantry.com/events/event/love-beercheese And finally… Word on the street is that local Cardiff food blogger @KitchenClonc is launching a series of secret supperclub events, starting later this month, catered by the man himself. Keep a close eye on his Twitter feed for more details.

NEW BREAKFAST MENU The dishes on offer include:

-Scrambled eggs with pancetta on toasted ciabatta A delicious Italian twist on a breakfast classic.

-Parmesan toasted ciabatta egg in the hole (v) A gooey egg cooked in perfect ciabatta sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

-Spicy avocado smash on toasted ciabatta (v) A healthy, wholesome, and most importantly, delicious start to the day.

Info: 029 2022 9113 / facebook.com/ nineyardscardiff

food/drink

CHAI STREET

GREY

THE FULLING MILL

Hilton, Kingsway, Cardiff. 029 2064 6400 / www.greyrestaurant.co.uk Food *** Atmosphere *** Which people watch the people-watchers? The legions who walk past Grey, a glass box attached to the side of Cardiff’s Hilton hotel. It’s only been called Grey since last autumn, which also ushered in a new menu with a focus on regional ingredients, but there’s long been entertainment in strolling past, peering in the window and wondering about the interior lives of the diners. Now the tables have turned, and I get to judge passers-by while cradling an upmarket gin. Grey’s G&Ts are large, boozy – as they should be for £10 – made with Eccentric Gin from Llantrisant and last us both the whole meal. Bread and olives are paired with a paste of goat’s cheese and white beans. A ‘casual dining’ ethos means less than total demarcation between starters and mains. Apparently, my very good smoked haddock risotto is intended as an entrée, but is comfortably big enough to pass as a main course, so I end up treating it as one. Casual dining, see. While I’m not one to object to overlarge portions, it’s also three times the size of my companion’s starter: honey-roasted figs and Perl Las cheese on ‘proper toast’, whatever that is. Its roasted notes are barely detectable and it’s judged less than the sum of its parts. We get a bonus dish, a baked Perl Wen with crouton-crisp sourdough, brought to us in error and dipped into before we realise (honest), which amounts to cheese overload but roughly evens things up. Dragging the fromage theme to its resting place, my lemon and ricotta cake comes with extra mascarpone and is both playful and grown-up; an Eton mess gets nods of approval. Grey has many good points, but in a bustling Cardiff restaurant scene its main selling point may still be that it’s situated in the Hilton. NOEL GARDNER

High Street, Cardiff. 029 2039 9399 / www.chaistreet.com Food **** Atmosphere ***** From the award-winning Mint And Mustard team comes the second branch of Chai Street, following the success of their Canton favourite. Famed for serving up some of the city’s best Indian food, Chai Street provides an opportunity for Cardiff’s foodies to experience Indian street food culture, where eateries such as this provide the Indian equivalent of a coffee shop catch-up. This chilled-out, come one come all atmosphere is the first thing that really strikes you upon entry; stylish old Bollywood posters adorn its walls, with coloured lights and artwork making for an almost festival type ambience – a slice of vibrancy on the oftenbland High Street. After admiring the surroundings, my dining partner and I were sat down towards the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen with the sweet smells of spices wafting through the air. After deciphering the menu, we decide on a couple of drinks: a lychee concoction for myself and a Chai Street Punch. Both were bursting with flavour and were inventive spins on more traditional cocktails. Afterwards, we try some chicken lollypops and tawa fish to start. The chicken was beautifully cooked, with the tender meat falling off the bone, while the fish (tilapia) was well-spiced and just as succulent. Chai Street is great for indecisive people like myself. You have the option of choosing from a range of thalis (food platters), which include rice, curry, a veggie dish, dal, raita, naan, pappdads, and pickles. We went for the chicken and lamb thalis, with the lamb thali being exceptionally good – spiced for taste, not to make people feel macho – while there are also vegetarian and gluten-free options, all for staggeringly good prices. After nursing a mandatory post curry beer, I glance over the desserts and go for the gulab jamun (like small donuts drowned in syrup) and gajar ka halwa (grated carrots, whole milk, dried fruit, and nuts), both with ice cream. Both were lovely, but the unusual gajar ka halwa made for a perfect close on the night. Chai Street, along with the Hashery, is a sign of the High Street moving in the right direction. LUKE OWAIN BOULT

Mr Speakers Way, Tonypandy. 01443 430060 / www.stonehouserestaurants.co.uk Food: *** Atmosphere: *** Gastropubs may be guilty of many sins, but you can’t deny that they’ve helped to raise standards generally. No longer can pubs that market themselves as places to eat get away with bland, uninspired stodge. Despite being given an upmarket rebrand and a new name, the family-friendly Fulling Mill (formerly the Lord Tonypandy) couldn’t call itself a gastropub by any stretch of the imagination – too brightly lit, overly loud music, décor exuding a chain-y feel. Yet it’s evidence of the impact gastropubs have had on our dining options. At the bar there’s the merest of concessions to craft beer and only two non-local real ales, but our starters come served in miniature roasting dishes. Potato skins – not so much ‘with’ sour cream as drowned in it – are nevertheless crispy and crumbly but not greasy. Ribs, despite being slathered in generic BBQ sauce, are succulent without a hint of toughness. The table buzzer system allows you time to relax, digest and then ask for your mains to be prepared. A juicy burger with Louisiana melt ‘topper’, and a Mexican pizza – stacked with pulled beef, peppers, red onion, jalapenos, salsa, sour cream and guacamole – both hit the spot. Among the desserts, the baked banoffee quesadilla and the banana and chocolate ‘sweetizza’ imply a determination to get the most out of their pizza oven. Instead, we plump for chocolate meringue pie – which needs sharp lemon to counterbalance sweet meringue – and a warmed, gooey chocolate brownie. Fine dining is probably best sought elsewhere, but if it’s value for money – as well as exceptionally friendly, welcoming and attentive staff – you’re looking for, then the Fulling Mill comes up trumps. BEN WOOLHEAD BUZZ 41

art

DAVID JONES: ANGELS ON WASHING LINES

Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen Sat 18 Mar-Sat 13 May David Jones promises that there are no hidden messages to his work, but when you see his work showcased they are elaborate examples of his imagination. His latest work, Angels On Washing Lines, is to be exhibited at Carmarthen’s Oriel Myrddin later this month, where he aims to delight and entertain in a contemporary space that welcomes Welsh artists like Jones to present their work in a muchapplauded space. These designs are inspired by the normalities of everyday life, but it adds a playful touch. Angels On Washing Lines started life with folk art, with touches of illustration laced throughout the project. The focus points of the work stem from Jones’ childhood memories and a lifetime of daily observations. You will see clipped material placed onto washing lines, making up figurines of socks, shirts, pyjamas, unusual characters and more. Made from painted wood and MDF, the colourful display lets you into Jones’ bizarre world and a truly unique and innovative art form. This exhibit is perfect for families who want to explore a playful exhibition packed to the rim with imagination. Admission: free. Info: 012 6722 2775 / www.orielmyrddingallery.co.uk (FRJ) BUZZ BUZZ42 42

THESE ROTTEN WORDS

Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Sat 18 Mar-Sun 11 June If ever you’re in an arty mood on a rainy day, Chapter Arts is the place to be. For almost four months, the Chapter Gallery will be hosting a new exhibition in live art entitled These Rotten Words and will be coinciding with Experimentica, Chapter’s annual live art festival. Comprising of eight artists in total, this exhibition will explore exactly what it means to be ‘rotten’, with the gallery indulging in the discovery of new portrayals of art’s secret language and its effects on human life. Among the works on display are a wide range of very intimate, gestural art by some already very well established figures in this form. For example, Rebecca Ackroyd will be adding her input to the theory that gesture is the only language natural to the body, showing off her own adaptation of a bodily gesture. Given that much of her previous work has included a larger-than-life pair of human legs sans the rest of the body, this should be right up her creative street. I for one am hopeful that, should she choose to add some form of rotten gesture to these legs, she does it with a bit more intrigue. Anna Barham’s work is a lot more sensory, consisting of a single-screen video capturing the existence of an exotic insect whose wings provide something of a sonic camouflage, blending in to other noises around it. Joining her in this examination of sound over sight include Marie-Michelle Deschamps and Anneke Kampman, who similarly work exclusively with the sonic and acoustic properties of the human voice. Kampman’s piece is set to provide something of a narrative to the exhibition, which should be interesting since – in my own experience – art has no narrative structure. In a more traditional form of art, David Austen will be providing a series of figurative watercolours to accompany a text painting. Due to Austen’s previous work with watercolours often consisting of naked humans performing sexual acts upon each other, intriguing is one of many words I would use to describe this exhibition. Admission: free. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www.chapter.org MAXWELL JONES

SUPERBOWLS: INTERPRETATIONS OF AN AGELESS DESIGN

TERRY SETCH

BayArt, Cardiff Bay Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay Fri 31 Mar-Fri 28 Apr Sat 11 Mar-Sun 7 May Terry Setch is seen as an important We use bowls everyday. Either for your and influential figure in the Welsh art cereal in the morning or for decoration, scene. Most of his work was created after bowls are a household staple. But what 1980 and explores the theme of tension about ‘SuperBowls’? No, not the one with between society and nature. Sometimes, the notorious halftime show, but Craft In the tension morphs into a fusion between The Bay’s exhibition of talented artists the environment and synthetic elements. riffing on the surprisingly interesting theme Setch, like many artists, has strong political of bowls. opinions that he expresses through his art, Curated by Geoffrey Swindell, 14 UK and the devastating impact of pollution artists have collaborated in an exhibition is unsurprisingly frequently explored in celebrating the diversity of the timeless his work. Many Welsh artists are inspired kitchen essential. The collection of by this theme, likely because of Wales’ ceramics celebrates the simplicity of the own history and contrast of the beautiful bowl, whilst showcasing designs that countryside and historical mining towns. reinvent them inspired designs. Setch uses nature in his work in original Visitors to the exhibition can expect to see ways. He allows the elemental forces of the some of the finest pottery that UK artists beach, such as the wind and the seawater, have to offer, with the likes of Natalia Dias, to transform his materials. As Terry himself Paul Taylor, and Ian Rylatt contributing says, “The beach has the power to shape to this project. Swindell highlighted everything it touches into its own image.” basic guidelines for this display, with the This unusual artist’s latest exhibition guidelines being that the pieces should be is filled with pieces pursuing his active shallow, hollow, and connect stylistically to interest in unity and disunity, order and individual interests. disruption. However, his dark and chaotic To accompany the project, Swindell will pieces may not be for everyone. Without be teaching a masterclass in Throwing & prior appreciation of his thoughts on the Turning With Porcelain on Sat 18 Mar, and environment, his paintings resemble a early bookings are recommended. brown and grey mass. Come to BayArt to Admission: free. Info: 029 2048 4611 / judge for yourself. www.makersguildinwales.org.uk (FRJ) Admission: free. Info: 029 2065 0016 / www.bayart.org.uk (MM)

THE END IS BY YUR

Elysium Gallery, Swansea Sat 4-Sat 25 Mar The End Is By Yur is a three-week exhibition that explores the notion of the afterlife. Submissions having been open to all, the event dives deep into the ideas of heaven and hell, while being shamelessly playful in their blasphemy. This collection of dapper cadavers celebrates the morbid fun of surreal art and their night-time performances. Elysium encourages everyone to grab a pint and let the posthumous posse guide you through the underworld and satire of their gallery. Don’t be fooled though! Not every piece will be a goth’s dream. Some will be focusing on the ideas of the heavenly, providing calm alongside the chaos, suggestions of godly answers together with the constant human state of confusion. There are performers, as well as galleries, to get the audiences questioning their spirituality. Also, there’s a Performance Walk from 5pm starting at Hanbury Pub, while the actual exhibition lunches at 7pm. For those who don’t know, Elysium Gallery was first established in 2007 and now provides 60 creative spaces all over Swansea City, with anything from visual artists to designers, writers to photographers. Be there, and be part of Wales’ ever-growing artistic identity. Admission: free. Info: www.elysiumgallery. com (MM)

Buzz ad.qxp_Layout 1 10/02/2017 10:25 Page 1

Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd National Museum Cardiff Ardda

O Bacon i Doig

ng am dd osfa im Free exhib ition

Campweithiau Modern o Gasgliad Preifat

Bacon to Doig

Francis Bacon, Henrietta Moraes, 1966

Modern Masterpieces from a Private Collection

Parc Cathays, Caerdydd CF10 3NP www.amgueddfa.cymru/caerdydd

Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP www.museum.wales/cardiff

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stage

THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay Fri 24 + Sat 25 Mar Theatre practitioner Robert Lepage’s work is performed the world over, but rarely comes to Wales, but this is an opportunity to see his work The Far Side Of The Moon, performed by Yves Jacques. Lepage is one of Canada’s most acclaimed theatre directors/writers, his company EX MACHINA known for its multidisciplinary work encompassing film, performance, dance and innovative soundscaping. First presented in Quebec City in 2000, this production has toured over 45 cities around the world. The play concentrates on the conflict between two brothers, Phillipe and his twin Andre, who are trying to come to grips with the death of their mother. Phillipe is an introvert philosopher, looking to the stars for meaning in the universe, while Andre takes a much more pragmatic view on interplanetary mysteries than his brother. Using both the microcosm of the domestic situation between the brothers, and a far ranging philosophical approach that considers quite literally the limits of the universe, this is Lepage at his esoteric best. The performance draws parallels between their fraternal bitterness and the competition between the Soviets and Americans during the space race, referencing Russian cosmonaut Leonov, and reflecting on his coming face to face with the immensity of interplanetary space as he took his first steps out of the Soyuz spacecraft. Despite asking big questions and challenging audiences in terms of content and theatrical form, The Far Side Of The Moon is a beautiful and enigmatic one-man show which seeks to deliver a witty exploration of one of the great mysteries of our time. The performance promises a merging of Lepage’s unique theatrical approaches, fusing light, sound and form, alongside a witty, human, and engaging performance by Jaques. This epic production will be performed in only three UK cities, offering a unique opportunity for audiences outside of London to experience this unparalleled work. Tickets: £17-£22. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk EMILY GARSIDE

DREAMING THE NIGHT FIELD

Aberystwyth Arts Centre Sat 11 Mar As part of the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival, Adverse Camber present Dreaming The Night Field. From the creative team behind the much-loved Hunting The Giant’s Daughter, this new work, based on the legends of the Mabinogion, promises to be an intoxicating performance that artfully weaves Welsh and English together to make ancient voices and landscapes come alive. Gwydion, nephew of the King, a magician and storyteller, provokes a war between north and south Wales and unleashes a chaos of consequences. Blodeuwedd, a woman made out of flowers, is torn between duty and desire, with fateful results. Experience a world that’s bristling with life, filled with animals, people and constellations caught in stories of making and undoing. Presented through a combination of music and storytelling, this is a tale of honour, justice, magic and transformation, which all collide in this new work. Featuring one of Wales’ most engaging storytellers Michael Harvey, with singer Lynne Denman, this new work from Adverse Cymru promises to be a highlight of the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival. Tickets: £10-£12. Info: 01970 623232 / www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk (EG) BUZZ 44

EVITA

New Theatre, Cardiff Mon 20-Sat 25 Mar The award-winning Evita is coming to Cardiff! The story of Eva Peron, the wife of a former Argentine dictator, is told by Evita as the audience follows their journey from rags to riches. ‘The Spiritual Leader of the Nation’ earns her way to her iconic status in the eyes of the Argentine people through this heart wrenching story of a larger than life persona. Starring Louise Dearman and Seamus Cullen (BBC’s Any Dream Will Do), this wildly talented cast and crew should make a truly memorable performance. There’s more than just these two gifted stars, and are joined by Emma Hatton who has recently finished playing Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked, and Gian Marco Schiaretti is embarking on his first UK tour after playing in the titular role in Disney’s production of Tarzan. A Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber masterpiece, with iconic songs like Another Suitcase In Another Hall, On This Night Of A Thousand Stars, You Must Love Me and the one that everyone knows, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, this is a show you wouldn’t want to miss. So don’t cry for yourself and get a ticket, treat yourself to a classic show and a wonderful night. Tickets: £14-£40. Info: 029 2087 8889 / www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk (MM)

NEW 2017

Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff Tue 28-Fri 31 Mar The Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama’s Richard Burton Company present four pieces of new writing in the NEW 2017 season. For the fourth year running the college’s final years take on new writing from some of the UK’s finest playwrights. The plays premiere in Cardiff at RWCMD’s Burton and Bute spaces, before a run in Notting Hill. The season includes Simon Longman’s White Sky, a play about loss, violence, and a collection of characters who are looking for a world beyond a bypass. In Alison Carr’s Hush, a 999 call sets the wheels in motion and nothing can stay secret forever, at least not in this town. Current events take centre stage in Eve Leigh’s Spooky At A Distance which focuses on a real life antiimmigration protest which took place in Dover. Finally, Conor Mitchell’s The Last Ambulance is a piece set in the near future that examines the nature of determinism, control and sex crime in the rubble of Europe. This season with its combination of fresh writing and showcasing the strong performance talent of the Richard Burton Company is cementing the RWCMD’s NEW as a must-see in the theatrical calendar. Tickets: £7-£9. Info: 029 2039 1391 / www.rwcmd.ac.uk (EG)

SEANMHAIR

The Other Room, Cardiff Tue 14 Mar-Sat 1 Apr Seanmhair is the latest production to come to Cardiff's Other Room theatre. This unique pub-theatre venue specialises in presenting plays from the second half of the 20th century onward and producing new, young, Welsh talent. Although, at 36, playwright Hywel John is no spring chicken, he has all the fire of a young writer combined with the finesse of an experienced dramatist. Pronounced shen-a-var, Seanmhair is Scots Gaelic for grandmother, an enigmatic clue to the familial themes of this earthy epic. The play follows the story of Tommy and Jenny, two children who meet on the streets of Edinburgh. A perfect setting for a production, which will follow John's previous work Rose in transferring to the Edinburgh Festival the summer after its Welsh premiere. Directed by Kate Wasserberg, Seanmhair will benefit from a director who knows the space well. Wasserberg is Artistic Director at the Other Room, which opened in 2014. Resident in Porter's, Cardiff's theatre bar, the Other Room lives in an intimate 44-seat, space. The Welsh theatre scene is often keen to pick up the little names that made it big in Edinburgh the previous year. Take this chance to see big names in a small space. A little piece of Edinburgh in Wales. Tickets: £5-£12. Info: 029 2128 0189 / otherroomtheatre.com (JPD)

THE UNMISSABLE THEATRE EVENT

★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★

npt

DAILY MAIL

METRO

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

THE TIMES

‘A SUPERBLY GRIPPING THRILLER’ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘BLAZES THE BRIGHTEST OF ALL’ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘TERRIFYINGLY CONVINCING’ ‘A STAR PERFORMANCE’ EXPRESS & STAR

WHATSONSTAGE

A PLAY BY

14 - 18 MARCH 029 2087 8889 NEWTHEATRECARDIFF.CO.UK

BUZZ 45

AUNTIE FLO

clubs

JANE FITZ

Intrinsic @ Undertone, Cardiff Sat 25 Mar Jane Fitz seemed to emerge in the dance music press as a hyped DJ just a few years ago, but she’s actually been DJing and running nights since she set up the Peg parties in the late 90s, and has played records from New York to Bulgaria, Detroit to Berlin and Chicago to Provence. She’s become an admired stalwart of Freerotation festival, mid-Wales’ house and techno Mecca, as well as the patron saint of the exciting new out-of-London festival Field Maneuvers and has been of course been booked at other long-running and important spots like Berlin’s Tresor club and Paris’ Weather Festival. With Dom Ahtuam, she has begun producing music as Invisible Menders, which can be found on three records have come out so far, including the terrific, balearic Italo disco on the Porn Wax Eight disc, the ornate Detroit electro-techno of Fifth Time Lucky on Boe Recordings, and the chugging, flashing trancey trip of The Genie. With Jade Seatle, she runs a series of events called Night Moves, defiantly “not a brand”, but a party, in a private space. They do not flyer or advertise, there's no guest list. In the same ethos of truth and soul is her DJ style: slightly leftfield and off-kilter, deep, spacey, vaguely spiritual house music. And she is, by all accounts, providing a beautiful experience every time she does it. Tickets: £12/£8. Info: 029 2022 8883 (GTDC)

BUZZ 46

Blue Honey @ Level 2, Kongs, Cardiff Sat 4 Mar

I’m not sure why the Glasgow-hailing, London-based Brian D'Souza chose for his stage name a euphemism for menstruation; perhaps it’s because his music gets the blood rushing. One blood, you might say, considering his mission to combine rhythms and instruments from multiple continents into a modern nightclub sound, beloved by Gilles Peterson. On his debut record, Goan Highlife, released in 2011 by the label Huntleys + Palmers (itself named after a firm of biscuit makers and one of the world’s first global brands), one side was inspired by Nigerian highlife music, the other by the music of the Indian coastal area which was once a Portuguese colony. If all this sounds a bit like culturally appropriative, half-arsed fusion, then you should keep reading, and more importantly, listen to D'Souza’s music yourself – it’s got heart. His next release, Oh My Days, blended the polyrhythmic UK funky beat with another touch of world rhythms, splicing in the sampled slang of the title, with all its UK-centric cultural cachet; it was a big hit with DJs of the Hessle Audio, Four Tet and Joy Orbison school. Five years and two albums later, his most recent work shows how he’s settled into a style that sits near Henrik Schwarz and Âme, but with a bigger focus on jumbled, tumbling drums. The raucous aesthetics of South African kwaito and UK garage have somewhat dropped away for a softer-edged, more meditative energy. He has even been releasing on Japanese label Mule Musiq, one of the most serious and discerning 4/4 dance music purveyors around. There have been many remixes of his work, and his current tour is meant to showcase a compilation of such. But he won't be bringing any guests to Cardiff, but rather taking control of the soundsystem himself – perhaps an even more enticing scenario, when you consider a whole night of the handpicked records that have influenced his kaleidoscopic musical mind. And this will all be happening in the back room of Kongs, a newish retro arcade game’n’craft beer bar on Cardiff’s St Mary Street. Let the Blue Honey flow. Tickets: £5. Info: 029 2022 7974 GWYN THOMAS DE CHROUSTCHOFF

ROBYN CHAOS

Digidol vs Sub:Culture @ Inkspot, Cardiff Sat 4 Mar The so-called First Lady of the darkcore or darkstep drum’n’bass scene, Robyn Chaos, would be better titled just President. Over the past 10 years she's been a huge part of the dark, fast music that evolved out of jungle – like the black metal to jump-up’s ska-punk or liquid’s stoner hip-hop (stop me if I’m not making sense anymore). Have a listen to some of her mixes or the artists mentioned if you’re interested in this almost gothic, rhythmically intricate subgenre that revels in futuristic intensity. As founder of the Anger Management agency, Robyn Chaos has managed the producers who've defined the sound, including Tech Itch, Panacea and Limewax. As part of Faith In Chaos alongside partner Dylan, Robyn Chaos has been responsible for many important tracks herself too. Beginning as Chaos and Dylan’s wedding reception in 2002, the Therapy Sessions became a weekly event in London’s East End and have ended up taking place in a hundred cities from Ecuador to Russia. This ritual of darkness and bass will take place in a repurposed church in Splott… just perfect. Joining Robyn Chaos will be a selection of DJs from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen and Devon, playing acid techno, drum and bass and more, with the second room run by the Sub:Culture crew, playing deeper techno sounds to take the edge off. Tickets: £6/£5. Info: 029 2049 0254 (GTDC)

SMOKEY BUBBLIN B

Rhigol @ The Scene Club, Swansea Fri 10 Mar The second Welsh-monikered promoter this issue, and no Clwb Ifor Bach in sight! Rhigol (groove) is a regular party for Swansea’s lovers of house, garage, disco and the deeper sides of dance music. Previous guests include some of South Wales’ hardest working house heads, including veteran DJs, producers and label owners like Owain 124 of 124 Recordings, Graft boss and producer The Organ Grinder and Delete resident Marc Parsons – as well as newer producer and DJ Van Pelt, who’s involved with Cardiff’s Rotary Club parties. There have also been appearances from Dutch house’n’garage dude Joel Hemmen, Italian Londoner and L.I.E.S affiiate Fabio Monesi and Huddersfield’s deep tech-house guy Zare. Possible shisha user Smokey Bubblin B is travelling from South London to take Rhigol into a different direction this year, further from house and well into the realms of the original 4/4 garage and early 2-step sound. His inspirations are the likes of Grant Nelson and Nu-Birth, and he is a dab hand at rolling out the real “rhigol” – check his El-B styled 2-step remix of Novelist and Mumdance’s modern grime anthem 1 Sec. He's still a truly underground force, with many of his best tracks unavailable to the public and best heard on his regular Flex FM show or on his Soundcloud page, so more power to the Rhigol crew for making this booking. Tickets: £5. Info: events@thesceneclub. co.uk (GTDC)

VOIGTMANN

Platform @ The Scene Club, Swansea Sat 25 Feb Alongside Isis Salvaterra, DJ and producer Claus Voigtmann founded the Toi.Toi.Musik brand of London warehouse parties in 2010, and it’s become respected for the integrity with which they’re organised and run, not to mention the quality of the music therein – often house and techno with a deep, minimal and abstract edge. In Voigtmann’s own words, “Music needs to be challenging and to us, if it doesn’t have that element of risk and complexity leading to change, we are really not interested.” As well as hosting sets by the likes of Zip, Delano Smith and Move D and being invited to curate lineups at Fabric, Sonar and Rex Club, the imprint is an agency and a record label too. Voigtmann himself is similarly ambidextrous, running parties with one hand while operating the mixing desk and the turntables with another, DJing with reptilian control and producing suave, sophisticated techno for labels including Hello? Repeat. We’re sad to say this great booking marks the promoters of Platform exiting Swansea after sharp and unusual bookings over the past couple of years – another sad loss for the city's nightlife after the demise of Dogruff last year. Hopefully there will be more promoters to fill these two nights’ shoes, but for the time being, this is set to be another night of bittersweet jittering to deep, minimal techno. Tickets: £12.50/£10. Info: events@ thesceneclub.co.uk (GTDC)

BUZZ 47

GHOST

live

BARB JUNGR

The Riverfront, Newport Sat 1 Apr You could say life is a cabaret, as the song goes, for singer-songwriter and composer Barb Jungr. Starting out 40 years ago in alternative cabaret, she’s still belting out the best in her way of jazz, blues and soul. She has been called “the UK’s answer to Edith Piaf” and has garnered numerous awards for her work. The British-born chanteuse is known for her re-styling of classics by The Beatles, Jacques Brel, Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone and others. She’s toured with the likes of Sade and Julian Clary and has an impressive discography – over a dozen solo albums and over two dozen albums she either collaborated on or contributed to. She is, though, one of the foremost reinventors of the songs of Bob Dylan. You won’t find any cookie-cutter renditions on Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan: Every Grain Of Sand which is the title of her tour and best-selling CD (this cult favourite has been released on vinyl for its 15th anniversary and has been in Top 10 Jazz Albums Of The Year lists). Don’t think it’s sacrilegious of her, Dylan purists, to rework his music because the old master himself constantly does this. If like some, you can’t stand his voice but like the songs, then you’ll really want to roll on out to hear an exceptional vocalist do memorable arrangements of songs you only think you know. Tickets: £15/£13. Info: 01633 656757 (RLR) BUZZ 48

Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union Sat 25 Mar “Overall, it’s supposed to be a spectacle of joy: I want people to feel joyous.” This is not, perhaps, the description of a Ghost show that the uninitiated might expect to hear, given the Satanic Swedes’ diabolic aesthetic and lyrical subject matter (sample: “This chapel of ritual smells of dead human sacrifices”) but it makes a peculiar logic, when explained by one of the group’s enigmatic Nameless Ghouls. “We’re trying to emulate the feeling people experience going to a new-form, evangelical church. It’s supposed to be like a religious experience.” And with their leader, Papa Emeritus III, delivering satanic sermons from the stage, decked out from head to toe in macabre papal garb, flanked by his faceless brothers and sisters, it’s clear to see why fans may indeed find a Ghost gig the spiritually uplifting experience that’s described. The Nameless Ghoul on the other end of the phone is a charming, articulate man, with a soft Scandinavian accent and a considered approach to what his band does. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into how Ghost can provide a unique experience for their fans. “For years there’s been this debate about where we fit into metal, but I think the positivity of our shows is one of the things that separates us from the rest of that genre. Usually metal gigs have a darker feel, a cathartic, often angry venting, but ours are generally a euphoric experience; a space for positive venting.” The Ghoul is enthusiastic about playing Cardiff’s Great Hall in March, as part of a UK tour that sees them playing to bigger crowds than ever before and talks passionately about the sort of fans they’ll be playing to. “Our crowd is not the sort of homogenous group you might see at, say, a Saxon show. We pull in a 60:40 female: male audience, from young kids to senior citizens, and that variety makes it more fun for everyone. I come from an underground, extreme metal background, so 300 guys moshing in a tiny club is cool, but this broader, bigger crowd is so much fun!” Tickets: £25. Info: 029 2078 1458 HUGH RUSSELL

HARK

The Scene Club, Swansea Sat 4 Mar If Swansea doesn’t have exclusive, empirical claim to be Hark’s home city, there’s still none more apt to host the launch gig for the quartet’s second album, Machinations. The band’s singer and guitarist Jimbob Isaac grew up there, formed his first band of note – Taint, a mighty and much-loved heavy rock three-piece who disbanded in 2010 – there, and in recent years has lived variously between Swansea and Bristol. Machinations is Hark’s long-incubating follow-up to Crystalline, their 2014 debut album on French metal label Season Of Mist – who kept them on and have been rewarded with a superior product. A big factor here is Joe Harvatt, Hark’s second gutarist who joined after Crystalline and stamps his mark with a wealth of cheerfully indulgent solos. The Isaac/Harvatt dynamic, and often the sound, is similar to that of Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil in peak-era Soundgarden. Speaking to former quality newspaper the Independent (who also took the unlikely but pleasing step of streaming the album ahead of release), Isaac spoke in guarded but passionate terms about an attempt to “physically, mentally and spiritually destroy me” that went on to provide lyrical inspiration. Accordingly, Machinations crunches with depth and emotion, but works as a 47-minute blast of doomy hard rock heroism. This should be a belter, aided by support from Sigiriya and Vails, similarly heavy outfits from Swansea way. Tickets: £6. Info: events@thesceneclub. co.uk (NG)

THE XX

Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Fri 17 Mar When this show was announced back in November by the people behind the Swn festival, there were slaps on backs all round. A couple of months shy of releasing their third LP I See You to critical acclaim and with lead single On Hold as a worthy teaser, the promise of a first visit by The xx to the Welsh capital in almost five years had an enthusiastic crowd chomping at the proverbial bit. And it’s with good reason: the UK leg of this tour (outside of the slew of inevitable festival dates) is only taking in four cities, of which Cardiff is the last – coming as it does straight after a seven-date sell-out residency at the Brixton Academy. The news was obviously accompanied by some nervous tension surrounding the choice of venue. Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena is the music venue equivalent of Marmite. Some feel that The xx’s brand of strippeddown electronica and dreampop may get lost in this colossal sports hall-cum-conference centre – but on the other hand, where else are you going to put a band who have sold out the previous seven nights in one of London’s most respected venues? This promises to be a memorable show, especially now that the band are armed with a further album of magnificent songs to add to their already small but perfectly formed back catalogue. Tickets: £27.50 (sold out – check box office for returns). Info: 029 2022 4488 (BG)

ALASDAIR ROBERTS TRIO

The Parrot, Carmarthen, Fri 17 Mar; Noah’s Yard, Swansea, Sun 19; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Sat 25 Scottish folk balladeer Alisdair Roberts returns to Wales this month, part of a UK wide tour to promote his new album Pangs, released on Drag City. It features 10 new songs recorded by the power trio of Alasdair (guitars, voice), Stevie Jones (bass, keys) and Alex Neilson (drums). Added to multiple releases as Appendix Out and a long list of albums under his own name he’s got a huge back catalogue to explore. At Chapter, he will be delivering a unique pre-show masterclass before the gig, offering a chance to learn from the master of his innovative finger style guitar playing. Roberts is a musician’s musician, having collaborated with a broad cast including Will Oldham and Isobel Campbell. He’s covered and rearranged folk standards, as happy doing stripped down acoustic as he is electric and not scared to experiment. The last time he graced south Wales was as part of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awardnominated Furrow Collective. It was an exploration of the obscure world of folk balladry at its darkest and quirkiest; An Alisdair Roberts gig always has an intimate quality. Expect dense lyricism, melodies that will work their way into your psyche and an exploration of the rich folk tradition of his native Scotland with a good measure of electric experimentation. Tickets: £10 (Carmarthen); £6/£5 (Swansea); £10/£8 (Cardiff). Info: 01267 231012 (Carmarthen); 01792 447360 (Swansea); 029 2030 4400 (Cardiff) (GT)

TOM ODELL JACK SAVORETTI MARTHA REEVES

THE SHIRES

AND THE VANDELLAS

INTO THE ARK

PLUS MORE ARTISTS TO ANNOUNCE! Streetfood Village

Surprise Art Installations

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A NEW M U SIC EVEN T F OR ALL OF THE FA MILY I N 2017!

SATURDAY 12TH AUGUST 2017 ST FAGANS NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM, CARDIFF Tickets: 02920 230 130

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T I CKE T S ON S A L E NO W ! burninglantern.com

Lulu Tramshed, Cardiff

7th July 2017

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BUZZ 49

reviews albums ADULT. ****

Detroit House Guests (Mute) In this day and age, songbased collaborations can be signed off with the click of a mouse from the other side of this planet. Adult. took a different route and invited collaborative guests to their Detroit studio for three weeks at a time. Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas J McCarthy adds his vocal menace to a couple of tracks, while other guests include Michael Gira from Swans and Light Asylum’s Shannon Funchess. The 12 tracks are immaculate slices of innovative and twisted electro. DN

BARDO POND ***

Under The Pines (Fire) These insanely cool underground psychedelic dreamsludge Philadelphians have now existed for as long as The Rolling Stones had circa 1990, and have probably necked almost as many drugs. They don’t sound a day older than when their combo of somnambulant fuzz guitar, meandering flute and Isobel Sollenberger’s wailing vocals first hit the scene, either, although the six songs on Under The Pines aren’t quite as heavy and churning as days of yore. Not one of their classics, but Bardo Pond can still hit pleasure points. NG

CRAIG FINN ***

We All Want The Same Things (Partisan) In the absence of Craig Finn’s main band, The Hold Steady – they still exist, but their last album was over three years ago – the frontman’s third solo album should partway scratch fans’ itch for rollicking punky Springsteenisms and evocative storytelling. We All Want The Same Things is steeped in nostalgia: Preludes, the first song to emerge ahead of release, was described by Finn as “what I remember 1994 being like,” and God In Chicago spins a spoken-word reminiscence over languid piano pop. NG

DEPECHE MODE ****

Boom Boom via The Message. Arctic Monkeys and Florence + The Machine producer James Ford has helped the Mode make an album that will definitely rank amongst their best. DN

DIRTY PROJECTORS **** Dirty Projectors (Domino)

Church bells toll, mournfully morphing into the downbeat opening lines of Dirty Projectors’ eighth album: “I don’t know why you abandoned me, you were my soul and my partner...”, setting the tone on a record indelibly marked by the breakup of main-man David Longstreth from longtime bandmate, Amber Coffman. Cutting through the post-relationship fug, however, Longstreth demonstrates his undeniable talent for writing higher-level hooks: Death Spiral could be a cut from Justin Timberlake’s debut, with flamenco guitar, grinding synth and falsetto vocals. HR

GOLD *****

Optimist (Ván) You Too Must Die starts the third Gold album as it means to go on – dark and foreboding. The vocals may be gentle but the music escalates like a threatening storm. The Dutch experimental post-rockers know exactly how to create mood and atmosphere. Bass, drums and guitars work together seamlessly. Some songs, such as I Do My Own Stunts, are lighter than others but the heavy bassline runs through each track like a lifeline. LN

GRANDADDY *****

Last Place (30th Century)

Depeche Mode are clearly troubled by the changes that are currently happening globally. Spirit touches on the shockwave of anxiety and anger that can be felt worldwide: Backwards, Where’s The Revolution and Poorman are apt. Spirit’s multilayered sound has a similar sonic attack to John Carpenter’s Assault On Precinct 13 score meeting

to appreciate the nuances of each groove before swiftly moving on. Proof that the album concept still works. CPI

IDLES ****

LAURA MARLING ****

Brutalism (Balley)

Sempa Femina (More Alarming)

Take the sociopolitical rantings of Sleaford Mods, the drive and energy of Slaves, give it a less minimalist feel with crashing guitars and pulsating drums and you get this ferocious debut from Bristol’s Idles. Aggressively tearing through topics such as the NHS, working class struggles and pop culture, this politically charged, adrenaline-fuelled post-punk riot is so infectiously bitter you’ll want to go straight outside and slap a Tory, or possibly Mary Berry after listening to Well Done. GT

It was her project exploring feminine creativity that inspired me to give Laura Marling some attention. Drawing on Laura’s experience of the lack of female engineers, she started looking at why this was. (There’s a series of podcasts on the theme; the final one, a conversation between Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris is a joy – seek it.) Her sixth album is an ode to females, an empathetic exploration of gender and sexuality with a rich, fingerpicking guitar sound meets off-kilter pop. GT

JAZZANOVA ****

LEWIS WATSON *****

The Remixes 2006-2016 (Sonar Kollektiv)

Midnight (Cooking Vinyl)

The German DJ/producer collective serve up another batch of nu and house jazz remixes from various artists. Cool but with dashes of funk and soul thrown in, Jazzanova definitely improved so-so songs by Malika Ayane and Furry Phreaks by 100%. Choice selections made more upbeat include Ordinary Guy, Skybreaks and Parallels, even if the originals have a certain something that sets them apart. Forgotten gem Naze has gone from jazz/folk to electro, and kudos for taking on Hugh Masekela’s iconic Stimela. RLR

Oxford’s Lewis Watson doesn’t have to try too hard to please. His voice is effortless and his music isn’t in any hurry. Midnight is a collection of songs that are relaxing and full of emotion; even when he sings about love his lyrics are intelligent. Stand out track is the heart-felt When The Water Meets The Mountains but the single, Little Light, has a catchy riff and deserves airplay. In a world full of trite and stress, Lewis is a much-needed antidote. LN

JUTE GYTE ****

The Sparrow (X-Ray)

It’s been 11 years since Grandaddy released Just Like The Fambly Cat, but at last year’s Green Man festival, new tracks and the promise of a new LP featured in a set that was one of the weekend’s highlights. Opening track Way We Won’t would be at home on The Sophtware Slump, and is Grandaddy at their most joyful. Jason Lytle’s lyrics display their characteristic cadence, equal parts bleak and heartwarming with a sonic patchwork quilt of instrumentation. One of the good things to happen in 2017. GT

Jute Gyte is an American musician called Adam who self-produces, and mostly self-releases, albums of experimental, microtonal black metal and creepy ambient electronics at a prolific rate. The Sparrow is the first to be issued on vinyl and comprises two side-length tracks: a blurry, blackened symphony of tremoloflecked industrial brutalism (The Sparrow) and tectonically shifting ambient guitar that builds in disorienting layers (Monadanom). Not one for BM purists, Jute Gyte is more akin to, say, Glenn Branca and most intriguing for that. NG

HAUSCHKA ***

KARRIEM RIGGINS ****

What If is Hauschka’s rumination on how the world may look in 30 years. Based on some of the uneasy listening within it, I can only speculate that Bertlemann has imagined a world where Bieber is the prez, the Police Academy franchise is classic cinema and Kinder Buenos are banned. Familiar... and We Live are rich compositions, but much

The second offering from influential drummer/ hip hop producer Riggins is flush with fleeting instrumentals, akin to contemporaries such as the late J Dilla. These ditties don’t make a lot of sense on their own, but if you experience the record as one, you’ll doubtless appreciate the journey it takes you on. The fact that each track is so short is highly provocative, allowing just enough time

What If (City Slang)

Spirit (Columbia)

like the Brexit debate, the background noise can become a bit of a circus and the variations on the same old tune appear designed to irritate. CS

Headnod Suite (Stones Throw)

GAMES REVIEWS SEMISPHERES ***

Vivid Helix, PS4 Meditative indie puzzler Semispheres utilises minimalist art, audio and mechanics in smart, unique ways to produce a strangely compelling, chilled experience. Using both sticks, players manoeuvre a pair of peculiar little orbs through increasingly complex stealth puzzles. Mechanically, it does take a little getting used to, however, the difficulty is thankfully pitched nicely; levels are short and sweet and challenge you just enough to give your brain a workout without you pulling your hair out. DYLAN CHAUNDY

RESIDENT EVIL 7 *****

Capcom, PS4 What’s most refreshing about Capcom’s latest iteration of its critically lauded horror franchise is how much it still feels like a mainline Resident Evil game despite the series’ bold and courageous switch to a first-person perspective. Traditional RE staples such as green herbs, bizarre puzzles, cool bosses, ammo conservation and safe houses, all make a welcome return, and it’s because of this distinct re-focusing on its series’ survival-horror roots that REVII makes such a triumphant return. In many ways, it’s a modernisation of its old-school identity, cribbing ideas from other modern mainstream horror games, however, I’ll make no bones about it: this is where REVII desperately needed to go next. And it’s a bloody, harrowing classic! DYLAN CHAUNDY

BUZZ 50

THE PIGEON DETECTIVES ***

Broken Glances (Dance To The Radio) Don't go into this album expecting another catchy singalong collection from The Pigeon Detectives: Broken Glances is an eclectic collection of melodic sounds and soft echoing synths. Lyrics are dark and touching in places, transporting the listener into their world. Opening track Wolves is aggressive and brooding, filled with pain and angst. Enemy Lines most resembles The Pigeon Detectives we are familiar with, whereas Falling In Love is beautifully arranged, understated and haunting. DC

THE RESIDENTS ****

The Ghost Of Hope (Cryptic) Little bit of politics, folks? Sorry if the title led you to assume that, but nope – this latest album by clandestine pop conceptualists The Residents sets grim tales of old time train disasters to music. Music which is uncomfortably jaunty, electronics and ersatzsounding brass lending a vaudeville feel (The Great Circus Train Wreck Of 1918 is especially Tom Waitsian) to lyrical nuggets of spilled brains and blackened corpses. These guys, lineup alterations notwithstanding, have been at it for 45 years and are yet to lose their hardcore. NG

SHERWOOD & PINCH ***

Man Vs. Sofa (On-U Sound/Tectonic) Second album of machine unease from, respectively, longstanding On-U producer/avatar Adrian and Bristolian dub pup Rob Ellis. Man Vs. Sofa menaces gently, 40 minutes of stark bass music that’s sweatily claustrophobic but – bar the nervy, niggling Itchy Face and Gun Law’s rambling skank – oddly mannered. Highlights: a refracted, dreamy cover of Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence theme, while Martin Duffy’s piano splashes lend colour sparingly, most notably on the elegaic, Lee Perry-featuring Lies. WS

SPOON ****

Hot Thoughts (Matador) Spoon are undeniably consistent when it comes to solid song writing. The Austin, TX outfit’s ninth long-player doesn’t reach the heady heights of

their early 2000s material (Girls Can Tell thru Gimme Fiction are almost faultless) this slice of blues-influenced art-rock sees Britt Daniel and co returning to awesome form. The only hiccup on this record is Pink Up, a rambling, largely-instrumental jam which is thankfully sandwiched by plenty of stormers which will allow you to forget about it pretty quickly. BG

TRAGEDY ***

The Joy Of Sex (Beauty Rock) Described as an “all-metal tribute to the Bee Gees and beyond,” this Tragedy album is as wacky as it sounds. After the internet success of the parody video to Grease hit You’re The One That I Want, Tragedy have released this collection of 11 new flamboyant covers including Stayin’ Alive, Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? and Never Gonna Give You Up. Doesn't sound like it would work, but somehow it does; hard riffs and screaming vocals mixed with pop and disco gold can’t help but make you smile. DC

WIRE **

Silver/Lead (Pinkflag) Both the most influential and the best band to emerge from the punk era? Arguably so – but Wire aren’t ones to rest on their laurels, always more interested in moving forwards than looking back. Sadly, the legends’ 15th LP Silver/Lead, the swift successor to 2016’s stealthily impressive Nocturnal Koreans, is drearily workmanlike, plodding and non-essential – opening salvo Playing Harp For The Fishes and Short Elevated Period aside. A painfully pale shadow of former glories, I’m sorry to say. BW

singles

MANU DELAGO ****

Freeze (Tru Thoughts) A track from the celebrated Metromonk album, Freeze gently vents moody melodic patterns that skim freely across minimalist electronics to conjure a wistful, dreamy feeling. The transcendental sound of the hang with the gifted Manu at its helm provides the central focus, its beautiful soft percussive tones makinh for a very intriguing listen. CPI

THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS & DAN GHENACIA *** Disco Jam EP (white label)

You’d be stretching a genre-based point to call either of these two tracks disco, really, but you can still get down to them with abandon. Two big room house specialists team up for some analoguesounding early house-influenced tackle, with Disco Jam 2 nudging into minimal techno, two-hour-setapproaching-its-peak territory. NG

SPINNING COIN ****

Raining On Hope Street (Geographic) Proving there’s still the odd pearl in the worst of all, er, genre oysters – nice white boy indie – Raining... takes the lineage of all the swell bands of Spinning Coin's Glasgow hometown (Orange Juice, Teenage Fanclub, you know) and adds new blood that's dreamy, off-kilter, and weirdly romantic. B-side Tin rattles too. WS

demos CASHUW

facebook.com/cashuwmusic

“Cardiff’s own Boxia!” exclaimed the subject header when this widescreen techno producer’s publicity department emailed Buzz. Which is odd, as I’ve turned up no other evidence of him actually living here. Music like this – the chunky bass and gospel samples of Black; the hi-hat heavy and deep house-influenced Orange – can basically come from anywhere, such ‘tis its beauty. NG

One of those bands whose name barely has any Everything about this EP’s looks – jewel case with black tray, cheaply photocopied sleeve, even the Impact typeface – reminds me of how all demos were presented in about 2003, but Cashuw is actually a Cardiff University student named Rachel, so presumably too young to remember that era. Here, she crafts post-rockish ambience, slightly akin to Mogwai’s lower key moments, across five sleepy songs – with the added hook of field recordings, sampled on or around aeroplanes and tube trains, then edited. Quietly impressive.. NG

CURSOR MAJOR ***

DEMENTIO13

BOXIA ****

Colour Sequence (We Are The Brave)

Silent Disco Punch Up EP (Bellicose) Is singing “I am the final solution” wise, in these Nazi-punching times? The kookiness is inbuilt here, as South Walian, ex-Crimea member Andy Norton's bedroom pop project aims for skewed pop glory, only falling a little awkwardly between proper weirdness and melodic gold. It’s a high-sheen EP, briefly memorable. WS

HALF WAIF ***

Form/a EP (Cascine) This project of Pinegrove member Nandi Rose Plunkett is the polar opposite of that band. It’s intensely personal electronica where she expresses her moods especially through sound over admittedly gorgeous but slightly distant vocals. Short songs on relationships, communication, isolation and uncertainty about belonging and home, with melodic Indian roots coming through on Severed Logic. RLR

www.dementio13.com Paul Foster, a Lancastrian long resident in Cardiff, has been making atmospheric beat-based electronic music for a quarter-century or more, and releasing it digitally as Dementio13 for some of that. Shamefully, Broxen – his latest 13-track album – is my first encounter with him. It has a few vocal guest spots, including Jo ‘Laurence Made Me Cry’ Whitby, and concludes with a rebuilding of Squarepusher’s anti-Brexit Midi Sans Frontiéres; strongest, for me, are Foster’s takes on snaky Braindance rave like In Patterns and Voices. NG

LA FORME

twitter.com/laforme80 This Newport duo didn’t do a lot for me when I saw them live a year or so ago, but they emailed a couple of new songs before Christmas and I’m a sight more amenable to them. Was it the attempt to mildly flatter me by implying bands care about being reviewed in this section? Not really! Was it their take on icy, chart-minded 80s synthpop, equal parts Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys and with bold, precisely enunciated vocals? Indeed it was! NG

WE'VE BEEN WATCHING... RUBBER Canal+ (available on Amazon Prime) Robert is a murderous car tyre. With aesthetically pleasing Hannibal-like camera shots, and satirically funny character lines, this movie looks like it should be an indie masterpiece. One main character, Lieutenant Chad, explains to the audience the ideas behind ‘no reason’, and then precedes to do not-quite-random actions. ‘No reason’ means here to ‘go diagonal’ to preconceived ideas. ***MM MIDNIGHT DINER: TOKYO STORIES Netflix (available on Netflix) Based on the award-winning manga Shinya Shokudo, the Japanese Netflix original Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is a philosophical, funny, and thoughtful series that uses food to explore social issues in Japan. The diner, which opens at midnight, is tended by the Master, who makes whatever his regulars want provided he has the ingredients, with each episode centred around a different dish. ****LOB TRAILER PARK BOYS OUT OF THE PARK: EUROPE Netflix (available on Netflix) Following on from the cult Canadian mockumentary style series about three troublesome Nova Scotia trailer park residents, this spin-off sees the boys taken on a free tour around Europe where they have to complete a range of tasks in each stopover. This is much better stuff than their ‘you probably had to be there’ live shows, where it felt like they just kept repeating the same old jokes. ***LOB LOOK WHO’S BACK Constantin Film (available on Netflix) David Wnendt’s adaptation of the German novel of the same name sees Adolf Hitler return in the modern age, and was a hit in German cinemas for a good reason. The film uses the premise of Hitler waking up in modern Berlin to interact with unsuspecting members of the German public in a very Sacha Baron Cohen-esque way, highlighting the dangers of populism. *****LOB TRANSPARENT Amazon.com (available on Amazon Prime) If you’re yet to watch this Golden Globe-winning Amazon original series, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s an American comedy-drama based on one family’s discovery that their father, Mort, is transgender. However, despite this being the crux of the series, the subsequent changes which occur in each of the other characters is tremendous. Poignant, raw, sad and brutally funny. *****EH HYPERNORMALISATION BBC (available on BBC iPlayer) If you’re in the mood for a long watch and some intense reflection, this latest documentary film by Adam Curtis could be the answer. This gripping and often frightening political masterpiece presents the case that our world is no longer real and is instead a fake one built by politicians, governments and technological giants. *****EH BRAINDEAD CBS (available on Amazon Prime) Laurel, a young Capitol Hill staffer working for her senator brother, finds out that aliens have invaded Washington D.C. and are eating the brains of members of Congress, putting them under their control, and bringing D.C. to a standstill. Part comedy meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, BrainDead has an acutely current script, worthy of a bingewatch. ****EC

BUZZ 51

pic: Kirsten Mcternan

music news EXTRA

Concerns about the future of two of Cardiff’s flagship cultural venues, St David’s Hall and the New Theatre, appear to have been allayed following the confirmation that the capital’s City Council will retain control of both. The prospect of them being sold to an outside bidder was first discussed three years ago, during a round of budget cuts; however, a lengthy review of their finances has concluded that both were capable of continuing in their current fashion. Substantial savings remain on the agenda, however – £547,000 over the forthcoming financial year – but this news will come as a relief to fans of opera and classical performances, likewise anyone who enjoyed the recent Gruff Rhys show in the New Theatre Cardiff is also to get its own international Opera School, a collaboration between the Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama and Welsh National Opera. Set to open in September 2018, it promises to train students in all areas of the artform, from music to direction and set design. To an extent, the Opera School will act as a streamlining of already-existing opportunities: WNO already offers training under leading names from the opera

world, and often operates in tandem with the RWCMD [such as 2016's production of Falstaff, pictured], but it’s also said that there’ll be extra scope high-level tuition and live performance, including touring of small-scale productions The Vale Of Glamorgan Festival has announced its 2017 programme, and it’s a typically intriguing clutch of concerts. Running from Fri 19-Fri 26 May in various venues across Cardiff and the Vale, it bills itself as “the UK’s only festival dedicated to the work of living composers,” and this year gives specific focus to Wales and the United States. Guto Puw’s new opera, Y Twr, launches proceedings at the Sherman Theatre; Puw will also have work performed outdoors, at Barry Island’s Eastern Shelter. Other notable concerts include Grand Band, a six-piano ensemble from New York, whose two performances will tackle both Steve Reich and the Mario Kart soundtrack Laura Bryon, a Cardiff musician latterly recording as Tender Prey, has a busy spring and summer on the horizon. First up is the release of Falling Off Chairs, the second TP album, on Fri

21 Apr. Issued on her own Tequila Worm label, it was recorded in Powys by John Thomas of Islet; anyone who enjoyed her 2015 debut Organ Calzone should feel similarly about its successor, although it swaps some lo-fi grit for an embrace of the studio’s potentials. Bryon is then flying to Borneo in June, to work with sustainable development charity Raleigh International for three months. She’s also fundraising for them; go to www.justgiving.com and search ‘Bryon in Borneo’ if you want to contribute to her £2,000 target Fri 21 Apr also sees the first release in 25 years by Newport’s indiepop originals, The Darling Buds. One of the more commercially successful bands of that ilk in their heyday, full-scale hits nonetheless eluded them, and they split in 1993. Singer Andrea Lewis reformed the band with a scratch backing group in 2010, before a proper Darling Buds reformation in 2013 with mainly original members. Following a steady stream of gigs and festival appearances, four-song EP Evergreen is out next month on the Odd Box label – which recently relocated to Cardiff, and whose owner Trevor McCabe is shortly to open Pop’n’Hops, a shop selling craft beer and vinyl, on Whitchurch Road

ONE TO WATCH... JAXSON PAYNE

In the previous instalment of this column, I extended the bumpable fist of thanks to talented folks who leave faraway climes to come and live in the area Buzz covers. This month, it’s deja vu in the form of Jaxson Payne – a musician and sound artist (and, by trade, a gardener) who has recently moved to Cardiff. He played his first live show in the capital last month as Dtub, using a MIDI drum kit to fashion a set of live, human-powered house/techno, and it was a unlikely Sunday night delight. Jaxson’s dad, Davey Payne, is a British free jazz doyen and former saxophonist for Ian Dury’s Blockheads, so he had some grounding in experimental pastures. Launching Koept, a micro-label and art collective based in Cornwall, in the early 00s, Jaxson has built up a healthy catalogue of releases: Leisure Time Explosion, a 2010 album, has a dignified, haunted beauty comparable to James Kirby’s releases as The Caretaker. Dtub, meanwhile, grew out of his Derehctub (‘butchered’ backwards) incarnation, glitchy IDM of a type abundant in the previous decade. As well as occasionally moonlighting on drums for London rave-punk wildmen Gum Takes Tooth, he introduced live percussion to his sets, with Dtub being less about crazy breakbeats and more focused on dancin’ feet-friendly rhythm patterns. Midi-Drum Compositions-1, a cassette/download album released in December, was apparently all performed in one take, and has the throb and wonky clatter of early acid house/pre-rave techno. It’s a total joy to witness live, and hopefully Jaxson’ll offer more opportunities for that in due course. www.jaxson.net BUZZ 52

one louder YOU’VE all heard of ‘dry January’, well January 2017 was especially dry, in the modern British yout slang sense. Everything that happened was either bad or seemed to exacerbate already-existing badness, apart maybe from that Nazi getting punched on camera. Which only happened because of a bad state of affairs, ie a major news network considering him worthy of interview. Just as the month was nearly done, though, the Buzz inbox rang with the sweet peals of south Walian job creation. Trago Mills, a mini-chain of department stores in the southwest of England, is expanding its horizons and building an outlet in Merthyr Tydfil – which the press release we were sent claims will create 400 jobs. (It also had a litany of other cheerful statistics, many of which sought to establish the ‘football pitch’ and the ‘full-sized Olympic swimming pool’ as official measurements of surface area and volume.) What with Merthyr, and its employment levels, frequently invoked as a symbol of post-industrial hopelessness, the positive aspects to this development are clear. If you’re not from the south-west of England, you probably don’t know about Trago Mills, or why I might want to write about it in this column. They’re basically gargantuan Walmart-style discount emporia with the sort of gaudy architecture and garden features a retired England footballer might put on his house. Now I bow to no-one in my enjoyment of these sorts of shops (note to self – future column idea, ‘great bargain purchases I have made in TK Maxx’?), but despite that, and my Cornish upbringing, I don’t remember Trago Mills for its shopping experience. Its founder, Mike Robertson, was a hardcore Eurosceptic who decorated his stores with anti-EU signs [pictured] and made a song and dance about selling things in imperial measures, in defiance of mostly imaginary continental rulings. He also took out a full-page ad every week in the local papers with no pictures, just thousands of words of tiny, dense text. Half of it would be a rundown of their latest shipments of shonky goods, the other half Robertson’s own op-ed column about his various grievances (which, avoiding specifics for a moment, I actually think is an ingenious marketing gambit). This was one thing when he insisted, again and again for several years, that the Germans were plotting a Fourth Reich via EU assimilation. What got him into Advertising Standards Authority hot water were his views on homosexuality, namely his call for the compulsory castration of gay men. This column, by the way, ran in 1997 – less a reminder that the late 90s was a bygone era, more a betrayal of Robertson as someone only coerced out of the 1950s by the literal passing of time. Thankfully, the vile old bigot has now been dead for 15 years, although his son Bruce took over both the family business and the xenophobic soapboxing. Needless to say, Bruce – a major donor to UKIP, a virtually unknown party in his dad’s day – was publicly jubilant about the EU referendum result. Something he has in common with many people far poorer than he, in both Trago Mills’ Westcountry homestead and their soon-come Welsh location. The Merthyr development has been in the works since Robertson senior was still alive, but its arrival feels glumly timely. Trago should have no problem finding local employees who back the company’s politics, but it remains to be seen what tack the placards and statue inscriptions at their first Brexit-era store will take. Maybe a series of demands for it to get harder and harder, like a perverted drill sergeant, fingers in ears as the world catches fire. ME AND MY FRIENDS (Gwdihw, Cardiff, Fri 3 Mar), BORIS A BONO, ANI GLASS and more (Cardiff MADE, Sat 4), HAMELL ON TRIAL (Le Pub, Newport, Sun 5), AFRO CLUSTER (Chapter Arts Centre, Sat 11) and EVA LAZARUS (Gwdihw, Fri 24) are the highlights of some slim spring pickin’s. NOEL GARDNER

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books COMPASS Mathias Enard (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

BOOK OF THE MONTH

A contemporary premise and captivating plot form the basis to this unique novel from French writer Mathias Enard. Having received critical acclaim for his previous work, the novel was awarded the Prix Goncourt prize, France’s oldest and most prestigious literary accolade when it was first published in French in 2015. The English-language story, translated by Charlotte Mandell, surrounds Franz Ritter, an insomniac musicologist who relays past stories from his sickbed in Vienna during a turbulent night, drifting between dreams and memories. As he recounts his travels between Istanbul, Damascus, and Tehran, the tales of well-known cultural figures provide insightful musings. From writers to artists and musicians to academics, they appear at random intervals to provide cultural interludes. At the heart of the novel is the main character’s love interest – Sarah, a French scholar who inhabits his thoughts and the interactions between them, whether we are to believe the narrator or not. Some aspects of the narrative are complex – particularly as the character’s dreams and memories merge into occasional disorientated ramblings. However, the poignant prose manages to convey the heightened sense of feelings and sets the scene with confidence, transporting the reader with the atmosphere of the various locations, whether it’s within the heart of Paris or the Middle East. Overall this is a clever and ambitious piece of work about the interactions between the Western and Islamic worlds. However demanding the prose appears, the underlying emotive themes provide insightful accounts into the fraught journeys and relationships during the course of the novel. RHIANON HOLLEY Price: £14.99. Info: www.fitzcarraldoeditions.com

JOSEPH VAN PEARCE AND THE PROPHECY OF THE DRAGON’S HEAD MEDALLION

THE DAUGHTER OF LADY MACBETH Ajay Close (Sandstone Press)

C.C. Brampton (Brampton Publishers Ltd)

This fantasy novel is definitely aimed at the younger generation. This judgment is not based off the age of Joseph (the main character who is 15), or off the assumption that fantasy novels are childish (if you haven’t watched/read Game Of Thrones, you’ve probably heard of it and that is not one for kids), but because of the simple language and unnecessary explanation for commonly understood parts of life. Even the excessive use of adjectives gives off a very childish tone. The story follows many common tropes from the fantasy genre. The lonely child from a dysfunctional family is chosen by an ancient and other worldly prophecy. He must figure out what his destiny is through the information that was passed from generation to generation. Add generic title here. MM Price: £6.99. Info: www.ccbrampton.com

The relationship between parent and child is always fraught with tension, but for Freya, things are even more complicated. She has never known her father and her mother remains reticent at divulging any information about him. Freya’s mother, Lilias, has never conformed to the stereotypical mother, constantly remaining aloof. Freya is forced to resort to a private clinic to start her own family, and the novel becomes a tangled web as history repeats itself in strange parallels. Though mainly told from Freya’s perspective, the narrative is also interspersed with flashbacks to 1972, revealing insights into Lilias. Real empathy for the characters is created by situations that force emotions to breaking point. Even at their most deplorable, something excruciatingly real compels an appreciation of the motivations behind their actions. An extremely engaging and absorbing novel. LM Price: £8.99. Info: www.sandstonepress.com

THE MAIAS

Eça de Queiroz (Dedalus) Like many of de Queiroz’s work, The Maias is about a family and their struggles. This time the family is told to us through three generations, just like Gilmore Girls. And just like Gilmore Girls, there’s a grandparent who thinks they know best, a lost and whimsical parent who makes mistakes in their love life, and a child of the family who does great in their education, living the life the grandparent wants, but also fails in their love life just like their parent. The beginning of the novel portrays a fast-paced and intriguing family struggle. But as the story focuses on the youngest member of the family, that exciting drama falls to a slow plunge of information. Even the storyline becomes predictable, losing the shock value in the reveal. That being said, this book was first published in 1888 so should be given the same amount of slack you would give the Brontë sisters in terms of plot. MM Price: £14.99. Info: www.dedalusbooks.com BUZZ 54

LIT

@mabjones

Spread The Word Literature Festival is hosted by the Stephens And George Charitable Trust and is now in its fifth year. The festival is held every year on World Book Day – Thurs 2 Mar – and each year the festival has a different theme, with this year’s theme being Harry Potter. Over 2000 children attend the event from schools across Merthyr Tydfil, ranging from pre-school children to college students. To find out more, please contact Helen Hughes on 01685 375331 / 07940 094638 or by email: helen.hughes@stephensandgeorge. co.uk. Keeping the focus on the kids, Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival is now also in its fifth fabulous year. It begins on Sat 25 Mar and is spread out over two weekends, with events in both English and Welsh. It looks to celebrate the very best in contemporary children’s books, and offers a host of events featuring the very best and most loved children’s authors and illustrators. Please see the Literature Wales website for further details, check out their Twitter account @ CdfKidsLitFest, or even give them an oldfashioned ring on 02920 230 130. If you feel that writing for children is something you’d like to try, then renowned writer Jon Blake will be running a six-week workshop in Bute Park Education Centre from Sun 5 Mar. Jon is the author of over 60 books and his course is suitable for writers of any level and experience. Take a look at Jon’s website www.parkwrite.com for further details. And, if you fancy having a go at writing in general, for any age group, and no matter your own experience, then Free Write monthly meet-ups may be the thing for you. A dropin for writers to have a chat and work on something new or in progress, this popular event began in Cardiff about two years ago, and has since expanded to cover Pontypridd. The Cardiff event runs on the last Friday of every month at Chapter Arts Centre, from 101pm and is run by Will Ford. The Pontypridd event is held at Muni Arts Centre on a Wednesday in the middle of every month – Wed 15 Mar this time – and is run by me, Mab Jones. Both events are entirely free to attend. Do get in touch with me at mabananajones@ gmail.com if you’d like to know more.

lifestyle

Total Body Massager Body Shop, £10 www.thebodyshop.com

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MOTHER’S DAY GIFT IDEAS

LUSH, £9.95 www.uk.lush.com

Heads up, Mother’s Day is on Sun 26 Mar this year. To avoid feeling like a bad child and to help you give your mother the day she deserves, we’ve come up with this guide to give you a few ideas.

Chocolate Teapot Firebox, £24.99 www.firebox.com

Isotoner Ladies Fair Isle Bootie Slippers Debenhams, £7.50 www.debenhams.com

Wine Bottle Glass Prezzybox, £14.95 www.prezzybox.com

Family Tree Book Amazon, £27 www.amazon.co.uk

Go The F**k To Sleep Amazon, £7.69 www.amazon.co.uk

Mother’s Ruin Sloe Gin Mother’s Ruin, £14.50 www.mothersruin.net

Surprise Baby Powder Candle

Colourtronic: A Kaleidoscopic Colouring Challenge

Flick Candles, £14 www.flick-candles.myshopify.com

The Works, £5 www.theworks.co.uk BUZZ 55

travel WALES ON FILM

pic: Les Haines

From Pembrokeshire to Snowdonia, Nathan Roach highlights some of Wales’ top filming locations to visit this year.

pic: Ben Salter

pic: Graeme Churchyard

pic: Suzanne Gielis

pic: Andy Walker

pic: Hefin Owen

DUNRAVEN BAY

CARDIFF

MERTHYR MAWR SAND DUNES

Known as Southerndown beach to the locals, this beach is known for its breathtaking views, the odd fossil hidden beneath its stones, and the busy clickerclatter of studio hands, having previously welcomed Doctor Who, Sherlock, and the voice of protest himself, Bob Dylan for Hearts Of Fire, to its shores. Info: www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

Torchwood, Doctor Who and Sherlock fans from all over the world know that Cardiff has played a vital role in the never-ending conflict between good and evil. Alien invasions have been just one of many monstrous events to hit the renowned Welsh capital. One climatic cinematic exit that not many know about however, involved the ravenous infection of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later. Originally meant to be filmed in Wembley Stadium, the end scene of the zombie sequel was actually moved to the Millenium Stadium due to final major reconstruction delays in the previous arena. Info: www.visitcardiff.com

Looking for somewhere to walk on a sunny day? Just a few of miles outside of Bridgend lie the largest dunes in Britain, which were used in the filming of David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece Lawrence Of Arabia. You won’t need the pastel robes that Peter O’Toole wore to tromp over the sand dunes, but it might be worth bringing a coat in case the winds pick up. Candleston Castle, Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend. Info: 01656 786639

BRECON BEACONS The picturesque mountain range is a must-see for any fan of the great outdoors, but you might just want to keep some silver on you if you go exploring this wooded wildness. An American Werewolf In London may have been shot in the area over 35 years ago, but who knows what you might see out in the mountains. There are even rumours from the locals that they’ve seen dinosaurs about, filming for Jurassic World 2. Info: www.breconbeacons.org FRESHWATER Sitting in Pembrokeshire, this lovely corner of Wales makes for a fantastic day out for the family. While the adults can enjoy the fresh sea air, the kids can explore the shoreline and its cinematic landmarks. The east of the beach is the resting place of everyone’s favourite house-elf from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2, whereas the west was once host to the bloody battles of Robin Hood and Snow White & The Huntsman. Info: www.visitpembrokeshire.com BUZZ 56

SWANSEA A quote from David Hughes’s Magic Of Place reading ‘Ambition Is Critical’ is seen on a daily basis by train commuters, carved outside the seaside city’s station doors, is considered one of Swansea’s most prized possessions, and is just one of the areas made well-known in the celebrated film Twin Town. Whisked away by the hilarious (but dark) plot line, the film boldly flaunts its land with a proud, warped patriotism. Mayhill, Bonymaen Rugby Club, the Gower Peninsular’s Langland Bay and the strength of a real male choir are all on show in the Welsh classic. Info: www.visitswanseabay.com

SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK Over 3500 feet in height and pure ecstasy for hikers, climbers and ramblers alike, the National Park offers endless views, over 100 shimmering lakes to enjoy, and the epic settings of King Arthur, Lara Croft and James Bond’s adventures. Info: www.eryri-npa.gov.uk CAERPHILLY CASTLE As medieval fortresses go, Caerphilly castle has had professional make-believers run through its courtyards for as long as it’s been open to the public, with a thick mix of children and actors gallivanting inside its stone walls. Hollywood heartthrob Robert Downey Jr. is just one of the heavyweights to film there, having stepped back in time into the 17th century for the filming of Restoration, the time of King Charles II. Info: 029 2088 3143 / www.cadw.gov.wales

BUZZ 57

sport

CARDIFF BECOMING EPICENTRE OF SPORT BROADCAST INDUSTRY

“The sporting revolution won’t just be televised, it’ll be tweeted and streamed live on Facebook and You Tube, viewed through VR glasses and then carved into short-form content and shared, liked, packaged-up and podcasted.” That’s the view of Course Director, Joe Towns, the former TV producer-turned-academic, setting up Cardiff Metropolitan University’s brand new Sport Broadcast Masters Programme. “Everything is changing in Sport Broadcast. The whole industry. The way we watch sport, where we watch it, the way we engage with it online, the different sports we choose to watch and the way in which broadcasters choose to cover them. That’s why we’ve created this new academic course at Cardiff Met to try and satisfy and serve a rapidly changing job market.” Cardiff, now considered one of the sporting capitals of Europe, a Champions League host city no less, has always been a fantastic place to come and study to be a Sport Broadcaster. The School Of Journalism at Cardiff University (JOMEC) is one of Britain’s most respected journalism institutions and has provided BBC Wales, ITV Wales and Wales Online with so many of their current frontline sports journalists. The University Of South Wales has recently launched their own Sports Journalism undergraduate degree programme and now Cardiff Metropolitan University, a centre for excellence already in so many other areas of elite sport, has launched its new Sport Broadcast MSc. The Sport Broadcast MSc, which starts on the Cyncoed Campus in October this year, is the only one in Britain and has been designed with the help of industry experts. The new course will cover the production techniques required in creating digital, radio and television content. There will be a focus on Sports News, Sports Features, Sports Documentary and Live Outside Broadcasting. The programme is designed to offer students the exposure to all of the roles found in a modern sport broadcast environment. Sport Broadcast MSc. Starts September 2017. Info: @ MetBroadcast (Twitter) / www.cardiffmet.ac.uk

DON’T TAKE ME HOME FILM

Wales’ triumphant performance in the Euros last year feels like a distant dream, and we still almost can’t believe it. If you want to relive their historic victory, this film will definitely succeed in doing so. Following the epic journey of Chris Coleman’s side, this film will bring back memories that will last a lifetime. Named after the song bellowed by Welsh football fans across France in the Euros, Don’t Take Me Home – made by Welsh film-maker John Owen (Svengali, I Believe In Miracles) – shows how the manager, players and fans carried Wales into the semi-finals. Wales had failed for 60 years to qualify for any major football tournament, making this a true underdog story, and as the Welsh side continued to reach miraculous heights in France, so did the number of Welsh supporters. Watch as fans travel to France in their thousands, to fill stadiums and take their place in the red wall. Don’t Take Me Home isn’t your average rags-toriches story, as Portugal sadly beat us in the semis, but this inspirational tale shows how a squad came together after the tragedy of previous manager, Gary Speed’s death. When Chris Coleman stepped into the shoes of his best friend as manager five years ago, the Welsh squad couldn’t foresee the impact they would make in the Euros 2016. The team brought a nation together, with the tagline ‘together stronger’ being used throughout the tournament, this is a testament to what can be achieved when we unite. Capture the greatest moments in history of Welsh football on the big screen across cinemas in Wales. The film will be released across the UK on Fri 3 Mar, but if you can’t wait until then, like us, there will be limited screenings taking place on St David’s Day. A perfect boost for anyone still saddened by the English defeat in the rugby. CADI JONES Don’t Take Me Home. Opens Fri 3 Mar. Info: www.dont-takeme-home.com BUZZ 58

pic: John Candy

pic: Alessio Bragadini

listings

Inclusion in Buzz listings is free. Send via email (listings@buzzmag.co.uk) or post (220c Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff CF5 1GY) by the 17th of the previous month. Buzz takes no responsibility for material sent or any errors made after this date.

* – recommended u – repeated

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff / National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, Sun 12 Mar Admission: free. Info: 029 2039 7951 (Cardiff) / 01792 463980 (Swansea) / www.wenwales.org This international celebration of the achievements and contribution of women and the women’s movement will take place on Sun 12 Mar in both Cardiff and Swansea. Following the UN’s ‘Be Bold For Change’ theme, the focus for this year’s programme events will be on the theme of ‘Creating An Equal Future’ by The Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales and Fizzi Productions. The voices of younger women and girls will be the main emphasis, alongside increasing awareness of equal rights. The event will also celebrate the incredible contribution women have made to Welsh society. Both locations will offer an exciting programme of workshops, live performances, exhibitions and talks. Performing at both venues will be alternative pop singer Della Lupa, from Brighton. Joining her are spoken word artists Hanan Issa and Durre Sharwar [pictured], along with circus performers, comedians and much more, all in aid to inspire by sharing their stories. In Cardiff, there will be a special International Women’s Day ticketed event in the Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre from 7.30-10pm. This event will hold interviews with inspirational participants from guest speakers, artists, dancers and more. To inspire the next generation of female musicians, BBC presenter Bethan Elfyn has called on various people from the UK’s music scene to attend this year’s event. Individuals from BBC 6Music, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing and record labels will share their thoughts and musical inspirations. An incredible event for women from South Wales to come together to share and be inspired.

CONTENTS pg 60 pg 62 pg 64 pg 69 pg 75

art clubs events live stage BUZZ 59

* – recommended

art

art Aberystwyth Arts Centre

University Of Wales, Aberystwyth. Free. Mon-Sat 10am-8pm. 01970 621903 / www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre Edgelands A collection of contemporary painting celebrating the forgotten margins of our landscape and considering how we perceive the world. (Until Sat 18 Mar) Aberystwyth Illustrators: Pumed Gainc / The Fifth Branch Exhibition organised by Peter Stevenson and coincides with the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival 2017; it focuses on the dark secrets of the Mabinogi. (Until Sat 25 Mar) Bruce Cardwell ‘Yma O Hyd’ Art in the cafe area. (Until Sat 25 Mar) Haul: The Art & Friendship Group Works by participants of the weekly Art & Friendship group run by Martine Ormerod. (Until Tue 28 Mar) *Stitched Voices Arpilleras, wall hangings, quilts and memorabilia from the international Conflict Textiles collection; Mexican handkerchiefs produced by the Embroidering For Peace movement and a collection of Welsh quilts and banners made by local artists and activists. (From Sat 25 Mar

until Sat 13 May)

Albany Gallery

74b Albany Road, Cardiff. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm. Free. 029 2048 7158 / www.albanygallery. com Maggie Brown, Sian McGill & Stephen Jon Owen Three artists deeply inspired by the Welsh landscape: Brown from Pembrokeshire, the Pontypoolborn McGill and Owen, who lives in Caernarfonshire. (Until Sat 11 Mar) Gwyn Roberts Solo exhibition portraying dramatic mountains and coastlines. (From Thurs 16 Mar until Sat 8 Apr)

The Andrew Buchan Bar

Albany Road, Cardiff. Free. facebook.com/ andrewbuchanbar Landscape 6 Painting from Gigi Jones (Rhymney Valley), Christine Williams (Brecon) and Mrs Dawson (South Wales); photography from Sian (the valleys), Yusef (Cardiff) and Glyn (Port Talbot). (Throughout March)

Andrew Lamont Gallery (Theatr Brycheiniog)

Canal Wharf, Brecon. Open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. Free. 01874 611622 / enquiries@ brycheiniog.co.uk / www. brycheiniog.co.uk Brecon Women’s Festival

Art Show Annual show featuring work from over 20 female artists, coinciding with International Women’s Day on Wed 8 Mar. (From Fri 3 until Wed 29 Mar)

Arcadecardiff

Queens Arcade, off Queen Street, Cardiff. Usually open Wed-Sat 12.30-5.30pm. www.arcadecardiff.co.uk Johana Hartwig ‘Three Rivers Wide’ A look at our relationship with, and the characters of, Cardiff’s three rivers: the Taff, the Ely and the Rhymney. It features use of embroidered, fabric, symbols and works transferred from physical to digital and back again. (Until Sat 4 Mar) Richard Higlett ‘After & Before’ Drawing on D.P. Mitchell’s Palette Of Planets, the gallery will contain 20 unhung canvases representing the average colours of planets and moon in the solar system. Visitors are invited to add, remove and swap work on the walls. (From Mon 6 until Sat 25 Mar) Sahar Saki ‘Have You Ever Worn A Stadium?’ Contemporary jewellery artist with a new collection inspired by the Principality Stadium. (From Thurs 27 Mar until Sat 15 Apr)

Art Central

Barry Town Hall, King Square, Barry. Tue-Sat

11am-4pm. Free. 01446 709805. Women’s Arts Association Exhibition Open exhibition for International Women’s Day, draws together an eclectic mix of artworks by women from across Wales, celebrating diversity and equality across all artforms. (From Mon 6 until Sat 25 Mar)

Art In The Attic

The Factory, Jenkin Street, Porth. Mon-Fri 10am-4pm. Free. 01443 687080 / www. facebook.com/ thefactoryvenue Marion Cheung-Webber ‘Lost Connections’ Emotive mixed media paintings that challenge our relationship with technology and the environment. (Until Fri 17 Mar)

Attic Gallery

37 Pocketts Wharf, Maritime Quarter, Swansea. Tue-Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 10am4.30pm. Free. 01792 653387 / www.atticgallery.co.uk Glenys Cour Solo exhibition of new work, following on from a highly praised retrospective at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. (From Sat 4 mar until Sat 1 Apr)

Barker Gallery / Torfaen Gallery

Pontypool Museum, Park Buildings, Pontypool. MonSat 11am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm. Free Wed/Sun 2-5pm. 01495 752036. See You In The Park In August Images of the awardwinning Pontypool Park from the museum and private collection. Plus local artists work for sale. (Until Sun 15 Oct)

Bay Art

54 B/C Bute Street, Cardiff Bay. Free. 029 2065 0016 / www.bayart.org.uk Power In The Land Responses through video, photography, sound, sculpture, installation and alternative photographic processes to try and come to terms with the conundrums of nuclear power, our future energy requirements and environmental concerns. (Until Fri 17 Mar) Terry Setch Welsh painter who’s worked since the 1980s, often in this very gallery and generally in the Bay area. See Art. (From Fri 31 Mar until Fri 28 Apr)

Boundary Art

THE WAKELIN AWARD 2017 Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, until Sun 9 Apr Admission: free. Info: 01792 516900 / www.glynnviviangallery.org This year’s Wakelin Award recipient Phillip Eglin will have his work, titled Six Jugs, featured in the Glynn Vivian Collection. These pieces, a series of stoneware jugs Eglin made in 2012, have been chosen by Andrew Renton, Keeper Of Art at Cardiff’s National Museum. The pieces showcase a wide range of influences including traditional ceramic works inspired by 16th century paintings and English medieval pottery. Eglin’s pieces, however, also have a strong contemporary prospective through its referencing of consumer and popular culture in these pieces. The fusion of both contemporary and historical clay works make these pieces visually striking and thought-provoking to boot. Open to the public until the second week of April, show support for Welsh clay art by paying a visit.

BUZZ 60

3 Sovereign Quay, Havannah Street, Cardiff. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 029 2048 9869 / www. boundaryart.com Ping Gang Cheng ‘Poetry’ A combination of ink painting, calligraphy and philosophy from this contemporary Chinese artist. (Until Sun 12 Mar)

Cardiff Story

The Hayes, Cardiff. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am4pm. Free. 029 2034 6214 / museum@cardiff.gov.uk Tiger Bay Brawlers Exhibition offering an introduction to Cardiff’s first and most successful roller derby team. (From Thurs 2 Mar until Sun 28 May) From Wembley To Wales: Celebrating Cardiff City’s

1927 FA Cup Victory Discover the stories behind the objects at this rare opportunity to see original artefacts from Cardiff City’s 1927 FA Cup match. (From Sat 4 Mar until Mon 4 Sept)

Chapter Gallery

Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff. Tue, Wed, Sat + Sun 12-6pm; Thurs + Fri 12-8pm. Free. 029 2030 4400 / www. chapter.org These Rotten Words Via photography, painting, sculpture, sound and moving image works, the artists featured here – Rebecca Ackroyd, David Austen, Johann Arens, Anna Barham, Marie-Michelle Deschamps, Foundation Press, Anneke Kampman, Joanna Piotrowska and Devlin Shea – focus on the physicality of textual, gestural and vocal forms of communication. (From Fri 17 Mar until Sun 11 June)

Craft In The Bay

The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff. Mon-Sun 10.30am-5.30pm. Free. 029 2048 4611 / www. makersguildinwales.org.uk Anna Noel ‘Telling Tales’ Touring exhibition initiated by the Mission Gallery and featuring this artist’s ceramic animals. (Until Sun 5 Mar) Hand Made Individual interpretations of medals, created by Second Year students studying on the Artist Designer: Maker course at Cardiff School Of Art & Design. (Until Sun 2 Apr) SuperBowls: Interpretations Of An Ageless Design Curator, Geoffrey Swindell has invited 14 UK artists working in clay to create bowl-like art pieces. See Art for more. (From Sat 11 Mar until Sun 7 May)

Cwtsh Community and Arts Centre

226 Stow Hill, Newport. 01633 664498 / www.cwtsh. org. Concentric Nine women artists, showing work here to coincide with International Women’s Day. (Until Sun 26 Mar)

Dylan Thomas Centre

Somerset Place, Swansea. Daily 10am-4pm. Free. 01792 463980 / dylanthomas.lit@swansea. gov.uk / www.dylanthomas. com Love The Words Ongoing, permanent exhibition dedicated to Dylan Thomas, with lots of interactive features and voiceovers from people including Prince Charles and Richard Burton.

Elysium Gallery

16 College Street, Swansea. Wed-Sat 12-5pm. Free. www. elysiumgallery.com The End Is By Yur Collaborative exhibition with theatre group Shellshock, as part of Elysium’s 10th anniversary. It will feature many innovative performances and events relating to the topic of death. (From Sat 4 until sat 25 Mar)

Fountain Fine Art

Rhosmaen Street, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire. Mon-Sat

u – repeated

10.30am-5pm. Free. www. fountainfineart.com Martin Llewellyn & Mary Edwards An exhibition of rugged landscapes from Martin that form a backdrop to Mary’s more intimate rural farm scenes. (From Sat 4 until Sat 25 Mar)

Futures Gallery / Oriel Gallery

Pierhead Building / Senedd, Cardiff Bay. Daily 10.30am4pm. Free. 0845 0105500 / www.pierhead.org The Usk Tapestry Instigated by local craftswoman Margaret Turner to express some of the beauty of Usk and surrounding area, the Tapestry was designed by local artist Susie Martin, supervised by Sarah Windrum and measures 6x9ft approximately. (Until Sun 5 Mar) Gerard Kress ‘Inanimate People’ Visual artwork and poetry in which Kress references the parallel life of statues, puppets, shop mannequins and stationary shop assistants. (Until Fri 24 Mar) Dorothy Russell ‘Textiles In Transition’ Stitched textile/quilt work that aims to blur the lines between quilting for practical purposes and for craft. (From Mon 27 Mar yntil Fri 21 Apr)

Y Galeri, Caerffili

Lower Ground Floor, The Visit Caerphilly Centre, The Twyn, Caerphilly. Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. Free. 029 2132 2570 / www.ygalericaerffili. co.uk Urban Rural Mixed work from a number of artists who take their inspiration from either an urban or rural perspective. Supporting this show is a profile of wall-hung and free-standing glass. (Until Sat 11 Mar) Cymru Am Byth! A profile of ceramic Welsh ladies., just in time for St David’s Day. (Until Sat 11 Mar) Mark Youd 'Universally Human' Experiments in etching, inspired by his model Anna Storey (who is also an artist, if memory serves). (From Tue 14 Mar until Sat 8 Apr)

The Gate / Y Gat

Pentre Road, St Clears, Carmarthenshire. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-3pm. Free. 01994 232726 / thegate@carmarthenshire. gov.uk Chris Rees New photographs by art lecturer and ex-music video maker Rees. It looks back at the people and places in St Clears that he has known and grown up with over the years. (Until Sat 4 Mar)

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

Alexandra Rd, Swansea. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Free. 01792 516900 / www. swansea.gov.uk/glynnvivian Lindsey Seers ‘Nowhere Less Now 7’ Video work tracing the journey of a relative of Seers who sailed the seas in the Royal Navy over 100 years ago. The ‘7’ of the title is actually written like ‘to the power of 7’ but the font I use for these listings isn’t having it. (Until Sun 19 Mar) The Moon And A Smile Responses to a period in the 1840s and 1850s, when

art Swansea – and in particular, the Dillwyn family circle – was at the centre of early experiments in photography worldwide. Greta Alfaro, Anna Fox, Astrid Kruse Jensen, Neeta Madahar & Melanie Rose, Sharon Morris, Sophy Rickett, Helen Sear and Patricia Ziad are the artists here. (Until Sun 23 Apr) Philip Eglin Recipient of this year’s

tion (this always strikes me as a dangerous game to play). (Until Sat 25 Mar) Lucy Brasher ‘The Cat In The Shoe’ Craft showcase focusing on the animal form incorporating the human element, created using reclaimed and repurposed fabrics. (Until Sat 25 Mar) Jodie Hook Jewellery showcase from a designer who has worked with

If you tend to think of sculpture as a delicate, distant medium, Eli Acheson-Elmassry's Mediterranean exhibition (Oriel Mwldan, Cardigan, until Sat 18 Mar), featuring flexible latex scultpural works, may change your mind. Wakelin Award, Eglin is a ceramic artist with an international reputation working with clay, and influences drawn from 16th century painting, English medieval pottery and the flat-backed figurative ornaments of Staffordshire. (Until Sun 9 Apr)

Grand Pavilion

The Esplanade, Porthcawl. Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Free. 01656 815995 / www. grandpavilion.co.uk Tis Art Three local artists – Len Calvert, Lynn Rickets and Geoff Stone – present an exhibition of their paintings and pyrography, commonly known as ‘poker work’, which is the art of burning marks into wood and other materials. (Until Sun 19 Mar)

King Street Gallery

33 King Street, Carmarthen. Free. 01267 220121 / gallery@kingstreetgallery. co.uk Geoff Yeomans ‘Renitence’ Paintings, drawings and etchings by Geoff Yeomans from several periods of his career. (Until Wed 8 Mar) Spring Show New and diverse work by the Gallery’s members. (Until May) Rob Newell An exhibition of new work by landscape artist. (From Thurs 9 Mar until Wed 5 Apr)

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

St. David’s Rd, Cwmbran, Torfaen. Mon-Sat 10am5pm. Free. 01633 483321 / www.lgac.org.uk Hidden Now Heard Exhibition focusing on the stories of former staff and patients from Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital, allowing the public a glimpse of life in an institution. It has been interpreted using interviews, recreating parts of the hospital, historical documents, images and donated artifacts. (Until Sat 25 Mar) Aidan Moesby’s Periodic Table of Emotions Live installationtype application, designed to capture the mood of a city. It is based on sentiment analysis of live feeds and those who tweet directly to the applica-

various fashion houses and designed pieces for Famous Celebs. (Until Sat 25 Mar) Selection From The LGAC Permanent Collection Small exhibition in the café, featuring work donated to the collection from the Contemporary Art Society Of Wales. (Until Sun 9 Apr)

at Swansea College of Art UWTSD to experience, engage and respond to Swansea International Festival. (Until Sun 2 Apr)

National Museum Cardiff

Cathays Park, Cardiff. TueSun 10am-5pm. Free except where noted. 029 2057 3500 / www.museumwales.ac.uk/ cardiff Nature’s Song: Chinese Bird And Flower Paintings On show in the UK for the first time, this show reveals the development of this art form in China from the late Ming dynasty at the end of the 16th century to recent decades. (Until Sun 23 Apr) *Bacon To Doig: Modern Masterpieces From A Private Collection The collection in question belonging to Ian and Mercedes Stoutzker, and featuring two Francis Bacon paintings as well as works by Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Grayson Perry among others. It’s on loan here for nearly a year, as well. See Upfront. (Until Wed 31 Jan)

National Waterfront Museum

Oystermouth Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea. Daily 10am-5pm. Free. M.A.D.E. Gallery 01792 638950. 41 Lochaber St, Cardiff. Joe Murphy ‘Ebbw Vale Wed-Sat 10am-6pm. Free. Steel Works’ photographs 029 2047 3373. showing an historic episode RIP / DIY? Exhibition explor- within what was once a major ing two of Cardiff's pioneerindustry in Wales. (Until ing temporary art spaces, Sun 2 Apr) Hope In The TactileBOSCh and the Abacus. Great War New exhibition (Until Sat 4 Mar) Ruth telling the wartime story of Packham 'Lives Down The six heroic lifeboat rescues Lane' Felted sculptures and through family-friendly, interpictures by Ruth Packham, active displays. (Until Sun with talks, interactive space 23 Apr) Waste Not! Want and workshops on Fri 24 and Not! Recycled objects, many Sat 25. (From Wed 22 Mar of them ingenious as well as until Sat 1 Apr) practical, made both throughout the ages and cross the Martin Tinney Gallery world. (Until Mon 1 May) 18 St Andrew’s Crescent, Cardiff. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Newport Museum & Art Sat 10am-5pm. Free. 029 2064 1411 / mtg@artwales. Gallery John Frost Square, com Shani Rhys James ‘I Paint Newport.Tue-Fri 9.30am5.30pm, Sat 9.30am-4pm. Therefore I Am’ Ninth Free. 01633 656656 / solo show at the MTG from museum@newport.gov.uk a painter who first exhibited Images From The Stone here in 1992 and has since A selection of prints chosen shown work in San Francisco from a group of lithographs and Brussels among other acquired by Newport Museum places. (From Thurs 2 Mar from London’s Redfern until Sat 1 Apr) Gallery in 1953. (Until Sat 3 June)

Mission Gallery

Gloucester Place, Swansea. Tue-Sun 11am-5pm. Free. 01792 652016 / www. missiongallery.co.uk Anne Gibbs ‘Still’ Third exhibition in The Language Of Clay: Part One initiative; a Mission Gallery National Touring Exhibition, curated by Ceri Jones. (Until Sun 26 Mar) Sarah Worgan Maker In Focus show. Sarah uses clay to generate abstract, mixed media, colour compositions which create interplay between two and three dimensions whilst seeking to evoke a fourth. (Until Sun 2 Apr) Art & Design Foundation UWTSD Residency Outcomes Work in the [...] space resulting from Art & Design Foundation students

Off The Wall

The Old Probate Registry, Cardiff Road, Llandaff, Cardiff. Tue-Fri 9.30am5.30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. Free. 029 2055 4469 / art@ galleryoffthewall.com Be Bold For Change Mixed women’s show celebrating International Women’s Day (on Wed 8 Mar), it will feature work from Sally Williams and Elaine Milford among others. (Throughout March)

Oriel Canfas

Glamorgan Street, Canton, Cardiff. Tue-Fri 1-4.30pm, Sat 10.30am-4.30pm. 029 2066 6455 / www. orielcanfas.co.uk City Limits Five paint-

ers working on the border between abstract and figurative painting: Chris Nurse, Lara Davies, Catrin Llwyd, Gordon Dalton and Jo Berry. (Until Sat 11 Mar)

Oriel Davies

The Park, Newtown, Powys. Mon-Sat 10am-5.30pm. Free. 01686 625041 / enquiries@orieldavies.org Kelly Best ‘Vanishing Point’ Cardiff artist’s debut exhibition proper, working in mixed media and forging interconnections between sculpture, painting and drawing in order to consider site, space and surface. (From Sat 11 Mar until Wed 10 May) Rory Duckhouse ‘Instructions For Imagined Spaces’ Duckhouse, also from Cardiff, presents a series of instructional guides, which riff on the general idea of visiting an art gallery, and play on the attendee’s previous experience of such. (From Sat 11 Mar until Wed 10 May)

Oriel Mwldan

Bath House Rd, Cardigan. Mon-Sat 10am-8pm. Free. 01239 621200 / helena@ mwldan.co.uk Eli Acheson-Elmassry ‘Mediterranean’ AchesonElmassry works across a range of sculptural, digital and painted media including latex to create coloured flexible ‘Supple-Body’ sculptures and installations which are a kind of meta-object. (Until Sat 18 Mar)

Oriel Myrddin

Church Lane, Carmarthen. 01267 222775 / www. orielmyrddingallery.co.uk John Abell ‘Lost Conquastidors And Other Works’ A series of watercolours and woodcuts, depicting the journey of a fleet of Spanish soldiers as well as more contemporary scenes. (Until Sat 11 Mar) David Jones ‘Angels On Washing Lines’ Sculptures, installations and linocuts inspired by folk art, outsider art, illustration and commercial art. See the Art previews. (From Sat 18 Mar until Sat 13 May)

Oriel Q

The Queens Hall, High Street, Narberth. Wed-Sat 10am-5pm. Free. 01834 869454 / www. orielqueenshallgallery. org.uk On The Edge Work by artists from Borth, curated by Gwenllian Ashley. Oriel Fach: ceramics by Katie Scarlett Stairs: photographs by Jane Eve Dixon. Main gallery 3D area: assorted ceramics and jewellery by students and well-known artists. (Until Sat 25 Mar)

Oriel Y Bont

University Of South Wales, Pontypridd. Mon-Thurs 8.30am-5.30pm, Fri 8.30am-5pm. Free. 01443 480480 / www.gallery.southwales.ac.uk Coal Society Exhibition examining aspects of the south Wales coalfield, including the work of artists ranging from painters Jack Crabtree and Ernest Zobole to photog-

raphers Levi Ladd and I C Rapoport. Part of a collaboration with Wolfson College, Cambridge. (Until Fri 14 Apr)

Pontypridd Museum

Bridge Street, Pontypridd. Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm. Free. 01443 490748 / www. pontypriddmuseum.cymru Pop-up Ponty Fifteen micro pop-up museums inside the non-popping museum, the work of 15 students from the University Of South Wales: Helena Allen, Susan Akins, Katie Thomas, Jasmine Venables, Kirsty Smith, Lucy Bateman, Laura Honeybun, Samuel Caradog Davies, Christopher Hopkins, TanyaMarie Gillett, Jasmine Evans, Jordan Sallis, Kira Corns, Melissa Welch and Ffion Wilding. (Until Thurs 27 Apr)

Redhouse

Old Town Hall, High Street, Merthyr Tydfil. Free. 01685 384111 / info@ redhousecymru.com Robert Alwyn Hughes ‘returntotheABSTRACT’ new exhibition of large abstract paintings from a Welsh artist in his 80s. It’s influenced by childhood memories, with numerous references to Welsh landscape and culture. (Until Sat 15 Apr)

The Riverfront

Bristol Packet Wharf, Newport. Mon-Sat 10am8pm, Sun 10am-6pm. Free. 01633 656757. Artur Conka & Billy Carey ‘Rarebit Please’ / ‘All-Fur Coat’ Installation of specially commissioned work, part of the Gypsy Maker project – an initiative that supports the development of innovative works by established and emerging Gypsy, Roma and Traveller artists. (Until Sat 25 Mar)

Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama

Castle Grounds, Cathays Park, Cardiff. Free. 029 2039 1391 / www.rwcmd. ac.uk Gridding Up Works by our second year Design For Performance students and MA Scenic Art students, scaled up from small images. The exhibition also includes a sound installation by RWCMD composer Naomi Wright, inspired by the artwork. (Until Tue 28 Mar)

Spit and Sawdust

Unit B, Rhymney River Bridge Road, Cardiff. Free. 029 2049 4741 / www. spitandsawdust.co.uk/ *John Lawrence: ‘The Solar Pessimist’ Large light and sound installation for The Kim Fielding Award’s second £5000 prize. It’s a site-specific work which combines a performed spoken-word monologue with a cyclical, rhythmic soundscape. (From Sat 4 until Sun 12 Mar)

Swansea Grand Theatre

Singleton St, Swansea. MonSat 10am-5pm. Free. 01792 475715 / www. swanseagrand.co.uk Ally Jay Phillips ‘The Whole Woman’ Details TBC.

(From Tue 7 until Fri 17 Mar) Photographing Antiquity Showing in conjunction with the Egypt Centre. (From Tue 21 Mar until Fri 7 Apr)

Taliesin Arts Centre

Singleton Park, Swansea. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 12pm-6pm and performance evenings 6pm8.15pm. Free. 01792 295526 / www. taliesinartscentre.co.uk Photographing Antiquity Showcasing the the top 30 images taken in The Egypt Centre’s 2016 photography competition. (Until Fri 10 Mar) David Hockney: Original Prints Bringing together work from this worldrenowned British artist: the Grimm’s fairytales suite of etchings, the Cavafy suite and some original posters. (Until Sat 1 Apr) Roxanne Walchester ‘Through The Park To The Beach’ photographic exhibition celebrating Swansea landmarks Brynmill Park, Singleton and the sea. (From Fri 17 Mar until Fri 21 Apr)

Tenby Museum & Art Gallery

Castle Hill, Tenby. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, £4/£3/£2 kids. 01834 842809 / www. tenbymuseum.org.uk The Welsh Group A venerable artists’ collective, with the purpose of exhibiting and “giving a voice” to the visual arts in Wales. They have their 70th birthday next years and, prior to that, are showing work here and then Llantarnam Grange in June and July. (Until Sat 18 Mar) Linda Thompson ‘Tenby Enchanted’ / Bill Thompson ‘It’s All Subjective’ Details TBC, I’m assuming this is a husband and wife duo but I could be wrong! Very easily! (From Sat 25 Mar until Sun 7 May)

Theatr Hafren

Llanidloes Road, Newtown, Powys. Mon-Sat 10am5.30pm. Free. 01686 625007 / boxoffice@ theatrhafren.co.uk Elfyn Roberts Multidiscipline artist with skills in drawing and painting, printmaking, Raku ceramics and sculpting in foundry cast bronze. (Until Wed 31 May)

Tower Gallery

49 High Street, Crickhowell. Wed-Sat 10am-5pm. Free. 01873 812495 / www. towergallery.co.uk Dick Chappell + Richard Renshaw Joint exhibition by two guest artists, featuring paintings by Chappell and stone sculptures by Renshaw. Also showing work by all members of the Usk Valley Artists’ Co-operative. (Until Sat 4 Mar) Sue Hiley Harris An exhibition of weaving, collage and drawing by guest artist Harris. Also showing work by all members of the Usk Valley Artists’ Co-operative. (From Wed 8 Mar until Sat 6 May)

Tower Gallery

Oriel Y Parc Landscape Gallery & Visitor Centre, The Grove, St Davids, Pembrokeshire. Free. 01437 BUZZ 61

* – recommended

clubs 720392 / info@orielyparc. co.uk Reading The Rocks: The Remarkable Maps Of William Smith discover the story of William Smith, the man who developed what is regarded as the first true geological map of any country – A Delineation Of The Strata Of England And Wales, With Part Of Scotland, published in 1815. (Until Sun 26 Mar)

Velindre Hospital

Whitchurch, Cardiff. Open 24/7. Free. 029 2075 2251. South Wales Art Society – Permanent Rolling Exhibition Members’ works are available to view in the corridors and restaurant of the hospital at any given time. 20% of all sales go to the hospital.

Victoria Fearn Gallery

6B Heol y Deri, Rhiwbina, Cardiff. Mon-Sat 9.30am5.30pm, Sun 10am-3pm. Free. 029 2052 0884. Louise Collis Paintings in oil. (Until Fri 24 Mar)

Volcano

27-29 High St, Swansea. 01792 464790 / www. volcanotheatre.co.uk Illustration Featuring work from students at Swansea College of Art and University Of Wales Trinity St David. (From Tue 21 Mar until Sat 1 Apr)

Malm ‘Bolt Poetry’ Metallic art from a Scandinavian blacksmith. (From Thurs 9 Mar until Sat 15 Apr)

Wyeside Arts Centre

Castle Street, Builth Wells. Tue-Fri 12.30-9pm, Sat + Sun 2-9pm. Free. 01982 552555 / www.wyeside.co.uk Rhayader Art Group Twelfth anniversary show for a group founded with the aim of providing a focal point for local artists in Rhayader, and the surrounding district, to meet and enjoy art. (Throughout March)

clubs The Attic

5-6 Castle Bailey St, Swansea. www.facebook. com/theatticswansea Fri 31 Twizted Carnage 6pm-3am, £5. Featuring Jay Sw!tch, MC Restless. Also ft Chris Fear, Unique, Corby and Twizted Carnage. This looks to be some sort of hardcore breaks type night.

The Big Top (above 10 Feet Tall)

Bute Place, Cardiff Bay. Free. 029 2063 6464 / www. wmc.org.uk Tiger Bay Tales Interactive exhibition/project inviting you to follow our digital map into the heart of Tiger Bay where you can listen to interviews from community members and see historical images and videos of the area. (Throughout March)

11a + 12 Church Street, Cardiff. 029 2022 8883 / thisis10feettall@yahoo.co.uk Fridays Soulection 9pm3am, £3 after 10. Soul, boogie and the like from Blue Honey DJs. Fri 3 Hey Mary 10.30pm, £5. The return, in a new venue and set to happen every month, for Cardiff’s top gay/queer/drag/etc night. Saturdays Under A Groove 9pm-3am, £3 after 10. Funk, neo-soul and Motown with music from James MorganRees & Alex Moxham.

West Wharf Gallery

Blind Tiger

Wales Millennium Centre

Jacobs Market, Cardiff. Thurs-Sat 10am-5pm. Free. westwharfgallery@gmail. com Geraldus John Retrospective exhibition of work, also featuring a selection of new work by Shirley Anne Owen. (Until Wed 29 Mar) Donne Feroce International Women’s Day-related exhibition featuring eight artists: Geraldus John, Jacqueline Alkema, Georgina Peach, Sarah Featherstone, Patricia Ziad, Penny Hallas, Kay Keogh and Marilena Fineanno. (Throughout March)

Workers Gallery

99 Ynyshir Road, Ynyshir, Rhondda Cynon Taff. Thurs-Sat 10am-5pm or by appointment. Free. 01443 682024 / wood4tt@gmail. com Martin Harman ‘Reimagining Stonehenge’ Bristol-based ceramic artist shows new work. (Until Sat 4 Mar) Sit & Spoon Featuring handmade furniture by Chris Williams, traditional and contemporary lovespoons by Sion Llewellyn, mixed media decorated spoons by Patricia Clifford, ceramic spoons by Susan Zeppellini and wire art spoons by Lucy Lawrence. (Until Sat 4 Mar) Tobbe BUZZ 62

disco house stuff from DJs Daryl Finn, Eben Rees, Brynn Salter and Andrew Lambert. Fri 2 Aperture 10pm-4am, £10/£8. Monthly drum’n’bass blowout, headlined by A-Sides with GLXY, G>coin, Bandit, 1Time, Erb and hosted XL. Fri 31 Hideaway 10pm4am. Interesting fact about south London dance producer Ross From Friends: he chose that name to guarantee I would never listen to his music. Nevertheless he is getting quite popular and plays live here tonight, with KGW the other special guest. Saturdays The Shake Up 10pm-4am, £3. Pop, chart, house, r’n’b funk and soul from residents over two floors. Plus, when you order a drink from the bar you roll a dice and, if you roll a double, it’s half price. My commiserations to this venue’s bar staff for having to put up with this.

Cardiff University Students Union

Park Place, Cardiff. All listings apply to term time only. 029 2078 1458 / studentsunion@cardiff. ac.uk Wednesdays YOLO 9pm2am, £4/£3 adv/free before 11. New midweek club night promising both your favourite tunes and great offers. Good name, really on trend. Fri 3 Hannah Wants 9pm-4am, £25 adv. Breakout house

head from Birmingham visits CDF with guests Shadow Child, Sam Divine, Bram Fidder and Jack Swift. Fri 24 Bedlam 9pm-4am, £22.50 adv. Featuring My Nu Leng & Dread MC, Chris Lorenzo b2b DJ Zinc, DJ Q b2b Champion (bet that’ll be ace), GotSome b2b Fine Art, Klose One, Notion b2b Mr Virgo, Barely Royal b2b Bunnie and Bedlam Family DJs. Saturdays Juice 10pm-3am, £5/£4 NUS. Chart, dance and pop.

Club Oxygen

1 Northampton Lane, Swansea. 0844 8849171 / www.globaloxygen.co.uk Fri 3 Release 11pm-4am, £3/free before 12. New venue, indeed a new city for this pumping house and techno night. DJs for thus’un are Gorilla-Matic, Boy Griff, Madame Twisted and Corey S & Dan 3man. Fridays Dance Anthems 11pm-6am, free. House and commercial music all night from Big Al, Nicky G, 3 Bird, Jordan Steins, LJ Isaac and Tom Chizzy. Fri 10 Lockdown 11pm-4am, £2. Future house, Melbourne bounce and minimal is promised here. I wonder how much this ‘minimal’ has in common with the type I’m familiar with. Anyway the DJs are D-Grove, Angel Eyes v Ben Chambers, Matt Damage, Rob EJ, Vinnie G and Limey. Saturdays 10pm-6am, £5/ free before 1.

Clwb Ifor Bach

Womanby St, Cardiff. 029 2023 2199 / www.clwb.net Mon 3 Apr Triple Cooked 11pm-4am, £4-£10. Three creative spaces of live art, unique decor, live music and DJs doling out disco, house, bass, garage and grime. Thurs 2 Good Life 11pm, from £6. Themed parties, aimed at students I imagine. This one is a ‘deep sea journey’ and has things like LED jellyfish and mermaids on stilts. Thurs 16 Propaganda 11pm. UK-wide indie disco institution, also featuring pop-punk pizza party night Slice on this occasion. Thurs 30 Brooklyn Zoo 10pm-3am, £5/£4. Hiphop and grime night aimed at students. Fridays (bottom) Zerox 10.30pm-3am, £4/£3 NUS. A “party jukebox” night. With DJs, though, not an actual jukebox. Fri 3 Head Room 11pm. Manchester techno bloke Cleric headlines this newish night. Fri 17 Helium 11pm-4am, £15/£10 adv. Toolroom Records house fellow Weiss is the main name in the frame here. Fri 24 Concrete Junglists 11pm4am, £6-£10. Drum’n’bass, natch. Room 1: Subzero feat. MC Juiceman, Undersound, Substance, Ransom, Beeson, Ebbens, Reload, Low and host Comma Dee. Room 2: Submerge present Blokeye, Pedeadstrian, Effigy and Kloc. Fri 31 C-Y-N-T 11pm. UK

house mainstay and longterm Fabric resident Craig Richards is tonight’s maid of honour. Saturdays Dirty Pop 10pm4am, £5. Three floors of fun: The Vinyl Vendettas’ top floor resident indie shindig; Dirty Pop and Mr Potter's proper disco.

Courtyard

48 Cambrian Road, Newport. 01633 213161. Wednesdays Wild Wednesdays Upfront dance anthems and “Urban Vibes”. Fridays Spotlight Sessions / The Kickstart 5pm, £3/ free before 9. Classic anthems and drinks deals. Part of the NPCLUBHOP price deal which also includes entry to Blind Tiger, Meze Lounge and Lambaba. Saturdays Mischief Beat-driven anthems is the ambiguous description for tonight’s music policy. Sundays Sunday Shisha Sessions 8pm, free. DJs til late and the weekend’s sports highlights.

Fuel

5 Womanby Street, Cardiff. 07970 063107 / www. facebook.com/fuelcardiff Thursdays FUBAR 10pm2am. Rock, metal and alternative clubnight. Fridays + Saturdays Rock and metal anthems each weekend, plus special guests when such types are in town.

The Full Moon

Womanby Street, Cardiff. 029 2037 3022 / info@ thefullmooncardiff.com Wed 22 Womanby’s Clubbing 5.30-8pm. Monthly clubbing events for adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. Run in partnership with Student Volunteering Cardiff. Fridays Gigantic Free. Funk, punk, rock’n’roll, hip-hop, indie, reggae, soul until 3am. Saturdays Five Dollar Shake Free. DJ Puddlefunk with bebop, funk, soul, Motown, hip-hop, reggae, ska and everything in between.

49 Cambrian Road, Newport. 01633 243500. Wednesdays Wild Wednesdays Cocktails, drink deals and tunes as part of a cross-city midweek session. Saturdays Koncept & Friends 11pm, £3-£5. House, techno and bass music with guest DJs, breaking producers and residents from Wales’ freshest nights.

The Garage

47 Uplands Crescent, Swansea. 01792 475147 / http://www.whitez. co.uk/#garage Sat 4 + Sat 1 Apr Dead Of Night 10pm-3am, £3. Goth/ alternative club night, on the first Saturday of every month. Now moved from The Scene back to its original location!

Buffalo

11 Windsor Place, Cardiff. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-3am, Fri + Sat 11am-4am, Sun until 4am. 029 2031 0312 / www.buffalocardiff.com Mondays Bump & Grind 10pm-3am, £4/£3 before 11.30. 90s r’n’b/hip-hop night. Tuesdays Knee Socks 10pm-3am. An eclectic mix of indie, pop, electronic, synth and “good grooves”. *Wed 15 TQD 10pm-4am. A launch of some kind for the collaborative album from Royal T, DJ Q and Flava D. This is a great booking, fair play! In Swansea’s Sin City tomorrow. Thurs 2 Carnival Cardiff: Sean Paul Special 10pm-3am, £3-£5. Sean isn’t going to be there or anything, they’re just playing a bunch of his music. Thurs 16 Get Funky 10pm-4am, £3-£5. Funky

u – repeated

DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS Rotary Club @ Undertone, Cardiff, Sat 18 Mar Tickets: £10/£8. Info: 029 2022 8883 Pray, what does that name mean? It’s two men, Dan Lurinsky and Kenny Grieve, with a penchant for cheerful house hoedowns which colour outside the genre lines. It’s also their record label, on which the pair release 12”s by producers like Marquis Hawkes and Dennis Sulta. And it’s a Glasgow street where they used to live, in the course of becoming one of the most feted names on the ever-bouyant Scottish club scene. Dixon Avenue Basement Jams parties are known to go off like milk on a radiator, and this month Rotary Club – a similarly-minded bunch who moved up to Cardiff from Cornwall in 2015 – are bringing them to south Wales for demonstrative purposes.

Glam

Greyfriars Road, Cardiff. 029 2022 9311 / info@ glamnightclub.co.uk Mondays The Fest 10pm3am, £3.50. Two floors of charts, dance and student anthems (room one) and r’n’b, hip-hop, urban and funky (room two). Fridays Deep Inside present The Gold Den Sessions 9pm3am, £4 adv. House and techno every week, with a monthly special guest. Saturdays Vanity 9pm-3am, £5-£10. Two rooms of quality music, everyone catered for it is claimed.

The Glascoed Pub

Off the A472, Usk, Monmouthshire. 01291

clubs 673275 / www. theglascoedpub.com Sat 25 Blackwood Soul Club 7pm-2am, £5. Info 07789 582491. With special guests TBC plus residents Nigel Graham, Alun Kent and Leon Brown.

Gwdihw

6 Guildford Crescent, Cardiff. 029 2039 7933 / www.gwdihw.co.uk Tue 14 Them & Us 9pm2.30am. New night inviting people to “get together, dance (a lot) and celebrate what we can achieve when we unify, work together and celebrate diversity”. DJs on this noble mission are Andy Richards, Comfort, Sissy Boy Tears, Ed Jones and Jimanoli. Sat 11 Sure Shot 9pm. With a lineup TBC. Sat 18 Mise En Bouche 9pm. With, again, a lineup TBC. Sat 31 Pleasuredome 9pm, £4/£3 before 11. Cardiff’s only dedicated 80s electronic night, with electro, synthpop, Italo disco, new wave, funk and more.

Inkspot

The Old Church, Newport Road, Cardiff. 029 2049 0254 / www. inkspotartsandcrafts.com Sat 4 Digidol & Sub:Culture 10pm-3am, £6/£5. See Clubs for more on this event, which is headlined by drum’n’bass maven Robyn Chaos. Justmyday, Darkcity Sistas, Audio Autopsy and Sub:culture residents also feature. This space is a former church that until recently sold art supplies, but they seem to be serious about turning it into a venue – sweet!

Jacob’s Market

West Canal Wharf, Cardiff. 029 2039 0939. Fri 10 Decibel 10.30pm5am, £8-£10. House and techno night, the second of its kind in Cardiff. eNAHS (Elrow Music) headlines over Iglesias, Brynn Salter, Eben Rees, Elliot Mitchell and Genitive. Fri 17 Teak 10pm4am. With a headliner TBC, most likely announced after the listings deadline for this issue (just like in the Feb edition). Disco and house stuff anyway.

Karma

75 St Mary Street, Cardiff. Fri + Sat 8pm-6am. karmaclubcardiff@gmail. com Sat 25 Dancehall Nice Again 10pm-6am. Local dancehall promoters serve up Big Crumb & Don Dee (Radio Cardiff), Tony V Sound (Bristol) and Empire Flipz (Newport).

Level 2 @ Kongs

114-116 St Mary Street, Cardiff. info@kongsbars. com / www.kongsbars.com *Sat 4 Blue Honey 10pm4am, £5 adv. See Clubs for more on this night, which is headlined by Scottish global beat dude Auntie Flo and takes place in the back room of a retro arcade games bar which really needs to have more barstaff.

Mary’s

89 St Mary Street, Cardiff.

Mon-Thurs 4pm-2am, Fri 4pm-3am, Sat 12pm-3am, Sun 12pm-1am. 029 2066 8647 / www.maryscardiff. co.uk Sundays Mary’s Mad Sundays 12pm-1am, free. Cabaret and cocktails with Mary Mac.

Metros

Baker’s Row, Cardiff. 029 2039 9942 / www. metroscardiff.com Wednesdays Cheapskates 9pm-4am, £5. Hywel plays ‘alternative mayhem’ and old skool cheese. Fridays Freespirit 9.30pm-3.30am, £3 with flyer before 10.30pm. Drinks promos, no dress code. Rock, punk, metal and alternative beats. Saturdays Cherry Bomb 9.30pm3.30am. Indie, electroclash (!) and good time rock’n’roll.

Meze Lounge

6 Market Street, Newport. 01633 259144 / facebook. com/mezeloungenewport Fridays Panic! Alternative anthems, pop-punk, hardcore and guilty pleasures. Saturdays Rock You! 10pm, £3-£5. A selection of anthems across the decades plus party/ covers bands each week.

Minskys Show Bar

Cathedral Walk, St David’s Centre, Cardiff. 029 2023 3128 / www.minskysshowbar.com Fridays & Saturdays 8pm1am. Dancing and cabaret with regular drag acts including Tina Sparkle, Miss Babs and Jolene Dover.

Missoula

84-86 St Mary Street, Cardiff. 029 2037 1315 / www.missoulabars.co.uk/ missoulacardiff Fridays Unfunkinbelievable Half price drinks from 5-10pm. What I find ‘unfunkinbelievable’ is that there’s a club night called ‘Unfunkinbelievable’ in the year 2016. Saturdays ‘Miss’ Behaviour Music, cocktails, party. All these things are found here.

Mocka Lounge

Mill Lane, Cardiff. Mon-Sat 11am-late. 029 2022 1295 / www.mockalounge.com Thursdays The Social Affair 9pm-3am. Over-25s night with chart hits through the ages. Fridays Timeless DJ Dan Nicholas plays r’n’b, funk, disco and old skool. Just old skool. Saturdays Decorum Soulful and upfront house, plus funk, disco etc, from Sinky and Styles. Sundays VIP Chris Evans (My Playhouse) plays club classics, funky house and r’n’b.

Mozarts

Walter Road, Swansea. 01792 649984 / www. mozartsswansea.co.uk Fri 31 Rebel Yell 11pm3am. Punk, ska and alternative rock. Sat 4 + Sat 1 Apr Can’t Touch This 10pm-2.30am, £2/free before 12. Nineties revival night, prevously known as Rewind.

The Neon

Clarence Place, Newport. 01633 533666 / www.

theneon.co.uk Sat 25 Perc 9pm-3am, £8 adv. Newport techno promoters with their first night in UKIP-affiliated venue the Neon. Ulster DJ Phil Kieran is the headliner, with the bill being completed by The Organ Grinder, Paul Blandford, Owen Kilby, Richie Moulton, Billy Jordan and Chris Cain.

The Pen & Wig

Stow Hill, Newport. 01633 666818 / www. jwbassettpubs.com/thepen-wig Fri 31 Port Electro 7pm, free. Electro, synthpop and indie music from the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Popworld

96 St Mary Street, Cardiff. Mon, Tue + Thurs 9pm3am; Wed 8pm-3am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 1pm-3am. 029 2023 5825. Mondays Pop Rocks 9pm. A night of what they call alternative pop but their examples (Green Day, Blink, Linkin Park) seem to suggest will be pop-punk and nu-metal. Ah, it’s all just names at the end of the day. Wednesdays Giggle Free before 12. Student night. Thursdays Poptails. 9pm-3am. Non-stop pop with DJ Lyndon and 2-4-1 cocktails deals. Fridays + Saturdays Until 3am. Drinks deals from 5-11pm (Fri) and 3-8pm (Sat).

Popworld

Wind Street, Swansea. MonFri + Sun 8pm-3am; Sat 3pm-3am. 01792 470676. Mondays Society Wars The name sounds pretty interesting but sadly it actually refers to university societies. There are however various cheap drinks to ease your disappointment. Wednesdays Toast Student night where drinks are £1 and they give you free toast. Thursdays Destination Popworld Lots of cocktails, 2-4-1 offers and, naturally, pop music. Fridays + Saturdays Ain’t No Party Like A Popworld Party 8pm-3am, £2-£4 (Fri)/£3-£5 (Sat).

Pryzm

Greyfriars Road, Cardiff. 029 2023 3854 / www. pryzm.co.uk/cardiff Mondays House Party 10pm-3am, £4 “Imagine the greatest ever house party, with 2000 mates, the best drink deals, the freshest tunes and craziest entertainment you could ever imagine!” I... I can’t. Fridays + Saturdays 10pm-3am, £4. Three music arenas, VIP booths, other stuff. Saturday is in conjunction with Jongleurs comedy club, which also takes place here. Fridays Smack. 9pm3am. Weekly student event described by one enthusiast as “lit Friday nights with chilled fam bams and regular bants”. Was in nearby Glam until recently.

Pulse

3 Churchill Way, Cardiff. 029 2064 1010 / www. pulsecardiff.com. Gay venue. Wednesdays Warped 10pm-4am. Join DJ Craig W on a journey through time

with the best hits from the last two decades. Fridays Pulsetastic 10pm-5am, £4/£3. With live PAs once a month. Saturdays Pop Til You Drop 10pm-5am, £5/£4 b4 11. The very best chart remixes and classic hits all night long.

Sat 4 Riddim 10pm-4am, £5/£2 before 10.30. Featuring UK garage type Donaeo. Saturdays Sink 10pm-3am. Hip-hop, drum’n’bass, dubstep etc, with special guests plus resident DJs Dubman, Swiss Elf and South.

The Rainbow Rooms

St Mary Street, Cardiff. 029 2037 3363 / www. sodacardiff.com Thursdays Thursday Club 10pm, £4. Live music, live DJ and live games. Saturdays Soiree 9pm-4am. Three rooms including the Attic which is “the social playground for the high flyers and social elite, really the only place to be seen.” Imagine catching your reflection in the mirror just after writing that.

12 High Street, Gorseinon, Swansea. 07563 111225 / www.the-rainbowrooms.com Sat 4 Logic Xtra Hard 13 Hour Rave 4pm-5am, £20 adv. Hard dance, same as it ever was. Featuring DJ Thera, Mark EG & Proteus, Dark By Design, Calybr, Ed ET & DTR, Jason P v Juice,The Corruptorz, Deimos, MCP, Mad Dog, Narcotic Smugglers, Snatch, Leg3ndz, Jamo & Angel Eyes, Rob Rees and

Soda

Gorseinon's Rainbow Rooms hosts a day and night (4pm-5am!) of hard dance on Sat 4 Mar. DJ Thera, Dark By Design and Mark EG all feature. hosts K-ner & Venom. See Clubs.

Revolution

Castle Street, Cardiff. Open from 11am. 029 2023 6689 / www.revolution-bars.co.uk Tuesdays Mode 9pm-3am, £4 adv. Popular student night returns. Fridays + Saturdays 9pm-3am. DJs, drinks offers, free area hire.

Room 112

3-6 St Mary Street, Cardiff. Thurs 9pm-3am, Fri + Sat 10pm-4am. 029 2066 7996 / www.room112.net Fridays Bedrock 9pm-4am, £10/£5 before 12. R’n’b, hip-hop and dancehall. Saturdays Cliché 9pm-4am, £10. Old and new skool r’n’b and hip-hop is this night’s deal.

The Scene

Plymouth Street, Swansea. events@thesceneclub.co.uk / www.thesceneclub.co.uk Fri 10 Rhigol 11pm-4am, £5 adv. A garage special (both US and UK varieties) featuring Smokey Bubblin B and Richie Curran. See Clubs. Sat 25 Platform 10pm4am, £12.50/£10. Minimal techno kinda night, the last one under this name for the foreseeable future in fact. Voigtmann, Gyan Bhatia and Dan Knight are yer men. See Clubs, again.

Sin City

Dilwyn Street, Swansea. 01792 468892 / www. sincityclub.co.uk Tuesdays Hustle 10pm3am, £3/£2 before 12. Motown, r’n’b and hip-hop. Tues 14 TQD 10pm-4am. See Buffalo listing on the last page. Thursdays Sin Savers 10pm-3am, £3. Student night. Fridays Monsters Of Rock 10pm-3.30am, £4/£2 before 12.30. Indie in room 1, metal in room 2. Fri 10 Silent Disco 10pm-4am, £3.

Tiger Tiger

Friary House, Greyfriars Rd, Cardiff. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-2am, Sat 12pm-3am, Sun 12pm-12.30am. 029 2039 1944 / www. tigertiger-cardiff.co.uk Every Day Lucky Voice Karaoke From £2.50 per session. The UK's leading private karaoke experience each day of the week. Wednesdays Shotgun Rules 10pm-3am, £5/£3.50. Exclusive midweek student party, now transferred from Revolution. You don’t need NUS to get in though. Fridays Tic Toc 10pm-3am, £4. Saturdays Kanaloa Polynesian style area with cocktails, VIP booths, dancers etc.

Undertone (basement of 10 Feet Tall)

11a + 12 Church Street, Cardiff. 029 2022 8883 / www.undertonecardiff.com Tue 28 The Mixtape 10pm. Student-y night with DJs TBC. Wed 1 Wild Cardiff Launch Party 10pm, £3. New student event, dance music, themed nights. Thurs 16 Havin’ It 11pm-4am, £4/£3. Bassling and jungle. New night. Fri 3 Groove Theory 10pm, £5/£3 before 12. Residents night. Fri 10 La Fiesta 11pm, £4. Spanish music from Adam Herrera. Fri 24 Unity 11pm, £5. House and techno from Oliver Harvey, Richard Anthony Moulton, Jon Williams and Owen Kilby. Another new night. Fri 31 Temple & Shelter 10pm. Eclectic student night and monthly drum’n’bass night team up, lineup TBC. Sat 4 Roots #5 10.30pm, £10. Bodhi play a three-hour set, their pals play slightly shorter ones, there’ll be visuals and other cool stuff. Sat 11 Paranoize 10pm, £8/£6. Milton Keynes drum’n’bass DJ Blackley headlines. Benny Bootleg, Blockeye, Mowgli,

Apollo, Cod, Zippy and host XL also feature. Sat 18 Rotary Club 11pm-4am, £10/£8. Scottish house entity Dixon Avenue Basement Jams are tonight’s marquee name. See a boxout I will have written by the time you see this. *Sat 25 Intrinsic 10pm-4am, £12/£8. London DJ Jane Fitz, who I think City Bass hosted in this venue a few years back, headlines the third Intrinsic night, with Kerbo and JV also appearing.

The Vaults

The Old Natwest Bank, 113116 Bute Street, Cardiff Bay. www.vaultspresents.com Fri 3 Concept 10pm-5am, £12 adv. Cellar Door’s new drum’n’bass spinoff returns with a headline set from Aphrodite, plus MC Eksman, Nu Elementz, Rogue One, DJ Low & MC Chew, Stu Grady, Kyam and Kalo. Room 2 features DJ Pabz, T-Bone & MC Deadly Knightshade, Joe Blow, DJ Bason, D:reaper, Luke Ebbens and Synysta plus MCs Jaydee and more TBC. Sat 18 Cellar Door 10pm-5am, £12 adv. Back in their original venue and up to business as usual: techno in room one, house and disco in room 2 and cartoons/chillout in room 3. Attendees are also invited to dress up as Smurfs, for no clear reason other than it being lolrandom. Sat 1 Apr Shangri-La 11pm-5am, £10 adv. Popular UK techno duo Dense & Pika head up a bill also featuring residents in the main room; Mi Casa guests in room 2.

Warehouse 54

54 Cambrian Road, Newport. 01633 213161. Fridays The Good Time Social Club 11pm, £3. Laid back Bar beats and live sessions to kick off the weekend. Entry fee also grants you entry to Courtyard, Blind Tiger, Meze Lounge and Labamba. Saturdays Viva R’n’b and club classics.

Wow Bar

4 Churchill Way, Cardiff. Gay venue. Free all day Sun-Thurs; before 11pm Fri + Sat. 029 2066 6247 / www.wowbarcardiff.com Wednesdays Wish You Were Here Free. Student night with “inflight entertainment” from Lambrini Rampage and Mary Golds, plus music from DJ Krys. Thursdays The Night With No Name Free. DJ Craig and Mary Golds offer “mad games and crazy entertainment.” Fridays The Greatest Show In The City Free before 11. With WOW Showgirls Miss Kitty and Marcia, plus special guests every week. Saturdays The VKend Free before 11. With DJs Craig and Krys. You can get cheap deals in VK. £6.50 for a fishbowl. £6 for a jug of WKD. Settle down now, kids. Sundays The Cuckoo Club Free. DJ Krys plays the tunes until late.

events EVERY MONDAY BUZZ 63

* – recommended

events EVERY MONDAY

Ballet The Gate, Cardiff. 6-9.30pm, £6.50/£5.50/£3 taster. Info 029 2048 3344. Beginners 6-7pm; intermediate 7-8; advanced 8-9.30. Runs until Mon 3 Apr. Bharatanatyam Dance Classes For Adult Beginners Bayview House, Cardiff Bay. 8.15-9.15pm. Info 029 2075 1158. Cardiff Inter Varsity Club Meeting The Plum Tree, Canton, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £5 (three-month trial membership). Info 07526 141392. A friendly social group offering the chance to “liven up your social life and meet new friends” through a varied events programme including theatre, live music, walks, badminton, table tennis and pub nights. More info at www. cardiffivc.org.uk. Cardio Climb Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 6.307.15pm, £5. Info 029 2048 4880. High intensity workout combing cardio and climbing. Children’s Ballet The Gate, Cardiff. 4-7.30pm, £6.50/£5.50/£3 taster. Info 029 2048 3344. Ages 4-6 4pm; 6-8 4.45; grade 1 5.45; grade 3 6.45. Runs until Mon 3 Apr. Children’s Ballroom Dancing Classes Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7-9pm. Info 01495 243252. Community Choir Sessions Cornwall Street Church Hall, Cardiff. 7.30-9.30pm, free. Info 07952 752823. Led by Pauline Down and taking place every Monday during term time. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-8pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Boxing-based high-intensity workout with a house soundtrack. Today’s lineup looks like this. Ware-house, Swansea: Bootcamp 6-7 + 10-11am; Funkypump 5-6 + 6-7pm; Warehouse ABC 5-7pm.Ware-house, Port Talbot: HIIT 5-5.45pm. Rainbow Rooms, Gorseinon: Funkypump 6-7pm. First Choice Fitness, Llantrisant: Funkypump 6-7 + 7-8pm. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Funkypump 6-7pm. Elympia Fitness, Ely, Cardiff: 6.15-7.15pm. Funkypump Fitness, Carmarthen: Funkypump 6.157.15pm. Making Music The Gate, Cardiff. 6-10pm. Info 029 2048 3344. Learn how to play improvised rock and pop grooves and basic chord sequences. Beginners 6pm; improvers 8pm. Runs until Mon 3 Apr. Musical Theatre The Riverfront, Newport. 6.158.30pm, £6/£5. Info 01633 656757. 7-11 years old: 6.15-7.15pm; 12 and up: 7.158.30pm. Newport Badminton Club Bettws Active Centre, Newport. 7-8.30pm. Info 07789 965285. One of the largest badminton clubs in South East Wales. Also on Thursdays. Official Guided Tours – Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. Tours of the centre running daily for one hour. Advance booking recommended. Pilates The Gate, Cardiff. 10.30am-1.30pm, £5.50-£7.50. BUZZ 64

Info 029 2048 3344. Gentle fitness for the first hour, general for the second two. Runs until Mon 3 Apr. Pilates And Core Stretch Conway Road Methodist Church Hall, Cardiff. 6.457.45pm, £30 for six sessions. Info info@burlesquecardiff. co.uk. With Stephanie. Ruff Folk Dance Club St Andrew’s Methodist Church Hall, Birchgrove, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2051 3440. With Ian Lewis. Salsa Classes Horse & Groom, Cowbridge. 8-10pm, £5/£4 NUS. Info 07800 565651. Beginners for the first hour, then improvers/ intermediate. St Donats Atlantic Chorale St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 7.30pm. Info 01446 799100. Choir rehearsals. Tango Dancing Argentine Barocco, Cardiff. 8-10.45pm, £3/£1. Info 029 2023 7332. Tang Soo Do Chapter Arts Centre, Canton, Cardiff. 7-9pm. Info 07734 557767. Learn traditional Korean karate; beginners welcome. Yoga Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay. 12.301.15pm. Info 029 2087 7959. On tomorrow also. Yoga With Valerie Price St Mary’s Church Hall, Canton, Cardiff. 6.30-9.30pm. Info admin@yoga-works.co.uk. 6.30-8pm: intermediate; 8.109.30pm: beginners.

EVERY TUESDAY

A Ballroom Dance Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7-11pm. Info 01495 243252. Acrobalance The Gate, Cardiff. 8-10pm, £7/£5.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Combining elements of partner lifts, poses and transitions that involve two and sometimes more people. Runs until Tue 4 Apr. Adult Give It A Go Climbing Session Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8.30pm, £10. Info 029 2048 4880. Every Tuesday to Thursday. Aikido Village Hall, Heol Syr Lewis, Morganstown. 8-10pm. Info 07790 167560. Every Tuesday and Friday. Beginners Show Girl & Burlesque Dancing Market House Dance Studio. Chapter Art Centre, Cardiff. 6.157.15pm, £6. Info www. cardiffcabaretclub.com. With Steph. Belly Dance Market House Dance Studio. Chapter Art Centre, Cardiff. 8.15-9.15pm, £7/£30 for five sessions. Info www.cardiffcabaretclub.com. With Steph. Contemporary Dance The Gate, Cardiff. 6-8pm, £5-£6.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Beginners 6-7pm; intermediate 7-8. Runs until Tue 4 Apr. Extend The Gate, Cardiff. 10am, £3. Info 029 2048 3344. Exercise to music, aimed at over-60s and people with a disability. Runs until Tue 4 Apr. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-8.15pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Ware-house, Swansea: TRX & Kettlebell 6-7am; Buggy Blast 10.30-11.30am; HIIT 1.151.45pm; Funkypump 5.15-6 + 6-7pm; Funkypump Kidz 5.15-6pm; White Collar Boxing

Training 6-7pm; Funky Pump Lite 7-8pm. Ware-house, Port Talbot: HIIT 6.30-7.15pm. Rainbow Rooms, Gorseinon: Bootcamp 6-7am. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Bootcamp 6.15-7.15pm; Bags 7.15-8.15pm. Ufit, Cardiff: Funkypump 6-7pm. Daleon Fitness, Merthyr: Funkypump 6-7pm. Gitananda Yoga St David's Uniting Church, Pontypridd. 7-8.30pm, free. Info 01443 408065. Glam Dram St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 7pm. Info 01446 799100. Amateur theatre company for adults. India Dance Wales – Bharatanatyam Classes Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 5-6pm. Info 07410 977427. Beginners’ class. India Dance Wales Classes Rubicon Dance, Adamsdown, Cardiff. 6.30-8pm. Info 029 2075 1158. From beginners to grade 2 and for all ages and abilities. Irish Dance The Gate, Cardiff. 6.15-8.15pm, £6.50/£5.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Taught by Riverdance and former Lord Of The Dance cast member Nicola Dempsey. 6.15-7.15pm: advanced; 7.158.15pm: intermediate; 8.159.15: beginners. Runs until Tue 4 Apr. Jazz Workshops For Beginners Atradius Offices (4th floor), Cardiff Bay. 6.208pm, £10. Info 07806 625717.

All instruments and ages welcome. Karate Classes Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.15-8.15pm. Info 029 2087 7959. With Emma Robins. Laughter Yoga Llandaff North Community Centre, Cardiff. 7.15-8.15pm, £5 (suggested donation). Info www.sparklylaughter.co.uk. “No experience required, no stretching and no mats needed,” promise the organisers. Learn To Rock’n’Roll 50s Style JK Club, Neath Rd, Briton Ferry. 8-10.30pm, £5. Info 07400 080101. Hosted by Frank, who also runs a similar class in Pencoed each Thursday. Lessons are from 8-9pm; there’s a disco from 9-10.30. Life Drawing Little Man Coffee Co, Cardiff. 6-8pm, £7.50. Info 07830 381930. Hosted by Cardiff Life Model. Moved from 10 Feet Tall Lindy Hop Dance Classes & Social Swing Dancing The Garage, Swansea. 6-10pm. Info 01792 475147. Music Tots The Riverfront, Newport. 9.45-10.30am, £3 per session. Info 01633 656757. Energetic music and movement class. Off Centre Silver Dragon, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 5pm, free. Info 029 2063 6464. Adult drama group meeting weekly to develop performance skills. Official Guided Tours –

Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. Open Mic Night Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Pilates: Beginners The Gate, Cardiff. 6.30-7.30pm, £5.50-£7.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Runs until Tue 4 Apr. Pregnancy Yoga Om Studio, Partridge Lane, Cardiff. 6-7.15pm, £35/£30 (five-week blocks). Info kalavathi@ omstudio.co.uk. Salsa Classes Kapu, Cardiff. 7.30-10.30pm, £5/£4 NUS. Info 07800 565651. Beginners’ class starts 7.30pm; improvers 8.30; bachata 9.30. Tai Chi / Qigong Shibashi Continuation St Mary’s Church Hall, Canton, Cardiff. 6.30-7.30pm. Info 07772 657692. Yoga Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay. 5.30-6.30 + 6.45-8pm. Info 029 2087 7959. Yoga Classes Om Studio, Partridge Lane, Cardiff. 7-8.30pm, £9. Info 07727 139379 / www.omstudio.co.uk. With Kalavathi Devi. Yoga Share M.A.D.E. Gallery & Shop, Cardiff. 5-7pm, £4 (suggested donation). Info 029 2047 3373. Led by Ashtanga practitioner Sarah Cleary. Yoga With Tori Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8pm, £5. Info 029 2048 4880. Every Tuesday and Wednesday. Yoga With Valerie Price

CWLWM CELTAIDD Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl, Fri 10-Sun 12 Mar Tickets: £25 (three days). Info: 01656 815995 / www.cwlwmceltaidd.org AKA Wales’ Inter-Celtic Festival, this annual event ushers stout citizens of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle Of Man – and interested parties from elsewhere too, rest assured – down to the Porthcawl seaside for three days of folk-derived music and dance, workshops and general merrymaking. This year, proceedings start on Fri 10 with regular Cwlwm Celtaidd guests, Welsh quintet Jamie Smith’s Mabon – who’ll be playing after Wales v Ireland in the Six Nations – and continuing with boisterous folk group Calan on Sat 11, supported by Cat’s Claw. Sun 12 boasts a full day’s bill of music, with Morfa and Cesar Joughin Band among acts from 1pm. Visit the Cwlwm Celtaidd website for more info on workshops and competitions, should your interest be piqued.

u – repeated

Llandough Institute, Penarth. 8.30-9.30pm. Info admin@ yoga-works.co.uk. Mixed level class. Zumba: Dance Exercise Classes Fairwater Social & Athletic Club, Cardiff. 6-7pm. Info 07891 712344. Led by Irene Davies, as is... Zumba: Dance Exercise Classes St Faith Church Hall, Llanishen, Cardiff. 8-9pm. Info 07891 712344.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Adult Give It A Go Climbing Session Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8.30pm, £10. Info 029 2048 4880. A Tea Dance Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 2-4pm. Info 01495 243252. Ceramics For Adults The Riverfront, Newport. 6-8pm, £30 (five weeks). Info 01633 656757. Ceroc Dance Class Dockers Club, Swansea. 7.45pm-12am, £6/£8 freestyles. Info cerocsouthwales@gmail.com. City Of Cardiff Rotaract Meeting Refectory Cafe, Windsor Place, Cardiff. 6.30pm. Info 07768 108394. An 18-30s community group that integrates young professionals, students and refugees through community projects and social events. Drop-in Exploring Drawing Workshop Workers Gallery, Ynyshir, Rhondda. 7-9pm, £10. Info 01443 682034. With tutor Chris Williams. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-8pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Ware-house, Swansea: Bootcamp 6-7 + 10-11am; Bag Circuit 5-6 + 6-7pm; Warehouse ABC 5-7pm; Abs 7-8pm. Ware-house, Port Talbot: HIIT 6.30-7.15pm. Rainbow Rooms, Gorseinon: Bootcamp 6-7pm. First Choice Fitness, Llantrisant: Funkypump 6-7 + 7-8pm. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Funkypump 6-7pm. Funkypump Fitness, Carmarthen: Funkypump 6.157.15pm. Newport Youth Dance The Riverfront, Newport. 4.156.30pm, £3 per session. Info 01633 656757. 5-10 years old: 4.15-5pm; 11-14: 5-5.45pm; 14-18: 5.45-6.30pm. Official Guided Tours – Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. Pilates The Gate, Cardiff. 7-7pm, £5.50-£7.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Beginners session 7pm; advanced 8pm. Runs until Wed 5 Apr. Pub Quiz The Pilot, Penarth. 8pm. Info 029 2071 0615. With Hayley. Salsa Classes Rhiwbina Recreational Club, Whitchurch, Cardiff. 8-10pm, £5/£4 NUS. Info 07800 565651. Yoga Classes Om Studio, Partridge Lane, Cardiff. 9.3011am, 1-2.15pm + 7-9pm, £9/£8. Info 07727 139379 / www.omstudio.co.uk. Yoga Trwy Gyfrwng Y Gymraeg Insole Court, Llandaff, Cardiff. 7-8.30pm. Info admin@yoga-works. co.uk. Yoga With Tori Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8pm, £5. Info 029 2048 4880.

events Yu-Gi-Oh Tournaments The Freaks Geeks and Autographs Store, Swansea. 5.30pm, £3.50. Info 07914 683534.

EVERY THURSDAY

Adult Give It A Go Climbing Session Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8.30pm, £10. Info 029 2048 4880. Alexander Technique & Yoga M.A.D.E. Gallery & Shop, Cardiff. 11.30am-1pm, £16/£80 for six sessions. Info 029 2047 3373. American Line Dance The Gate, Cardiff. 1.15-3pm, £3.50. Info 029 2048 3344. Runs until Thurs 6 Apr. Art Club Penarth Pier Pavilion. 4.15-5.15pm, £5. Info 0844 8700887. Creative fun for 5-11-year-olds with tutor Becky. Bachata & Bachatango Classes O’Neills, Cardiff. 7.30-9.30pm, £4-£7. Info 07800 565651. Beginners 7.30pm; improvers/intermediates 8.30. Free bachata dancing from 9.45pm-12am. Ballet Academy Wales Classes – Children 6-11 Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 4-5pm, £4.95. Info 07837 937351. Bingo Market Street Club, Barry. 8.30pm. Info 01446 733863. Biodanza Bishop Of Llandaff High School, Cardiff. 7-9pm, £6/£5. Info antoinette@ biodanza4all.com. “A fusion of music, movement and feeling” taught here by Antoinette Lorraine. Breakdance The Riverfront, Newport. 6.15-7.15pm, £3.50 per session. Info 01633 656757. Learn break dancing styles, uprock, freezes and power moves. For ages 8-18. Ceroc Dance Class Lysaght Institute, Newport. 7.3010.45pm, £8/£6 NUS. Info cerocsouthwales@gmail.com. Children’s Latin/Ballroom Classes Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 4.30-8pm. Info 01495 243252. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-8.15pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Ware-house, Swansea: TRX & Kettlebells 6-7am; Buggy Blast 10-11.30am; HIIT 1.151.45pm; Funkypump 5-6 + 6-7pm; White Collar Boxing Training 6-7pm; Funkypump Lite 7-8pm. Ware-house, Port Talbot: HIIT 6.30-7.15pm. Rainbow Rooms, Gorseinon: Bootcamp 6-7am. Ufit, Cardiff: Funkypump 6-7 + 7.15-8.15pm. Elympia Fitness, Ely: Funkypump 7.158.15pm. First Choice Fitness, Llantrisant: Funkypump Lite 6-7pm. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Funkypump 6-7pm. Funkypump Fitness, Carmarthen: Funkypump 6.157.15pm. Hand Drumming Group Canton Uniting Church, Cardiff. 6-6.50pm, £15 (five weeks). Info 01446 401209. Hosted by Laura Bradshaw. Hard Côr Japan Room, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, free. Info 029 2063 6464. Join the Centre’s urban choir who blend choral singing with hip-hop. Every Thursday and Saturday; contact takepart@wmc.org.uk for further details. Hatch The Riverfront, Newport. 4.30-6.30pm, £8 per

session/£60 per term/£220 per year. Info 01633 656757. New youth theatre programme organised by the Tin Shed Theatre Co. Age 5-8 4.305.30pm; 13-21 5-6.30; 9-12 5.30-6.30. Learn To Rock’n’Roll 50s Style Pencoed Rugby Club. 8-10.30pm, £5. Info 07400 080101. Hosted by Frank. Lessons are from 8-9pm; there’s a disco from 9-10.30. Newport Badminton Club Pill Millennium Centre, Newport. 8-10pm. Info

depotcardiff.co.uk. This is now on every Friday and features street food, a wheel of fortune and “rubbish prizes”. Cardiff Aikikai The Dojo, Roath, Cardiff. 6.30-10pm. Info mcaluan@cardiffaikikai. co.uk. Cardiff Table Tennis Community Club Upper Hall, Sport Wales, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. 7-9pm. Info 01446 412352. Featuring 16 table tennis tables; players of all ages and abilities are welcome. Check in advance

The wild antics of Attack! Pro Wrestling returns to Cathays Community Centre, Cardiff on Sat 4 Mar. This one is subtitled ‘Kris Travis Tag Team International’. 07789 965285. Coached by Rhys Pritchard who represented Wales at the Junior Commonwealth Games. Newport Junior Badminton Club Pill Millennium Centre, Newport. 7-8.30pm. Info 07789 965285. Coached by Rhys Pritchard. Official Guided Tours – Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. Pilates Kings Road Studios, Pontcanna, Cardiff. 6.157.15pm, £7/£6. Info 07774 601544 / sarasclasses4@ gmail.com. Every Thursday. Qigong For Winter Church Hall, Minster Rd, Roath, Cardiff. 12pm. Info 07772 657692. Quiz Night NosDa, Cardiff. 8pm, £1. Info 029 2037 8866. With money, beers and pizza to be won. Salsa Dancing Classes Revolucion De Cuba, Cardiff. 8-10pm, £6/£5 NUS. Info 029 2023 6689. Salsa, bachata, zouk and kizomba. Story And Rhyme Time In Welsh For Babies Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenafon. 10-11.30am, free. Info 029 2057 3650. Every Thursday during term time; aimed at 0-4 years. Tai Chi / Qigong Moorland Rd Community Centre, Splott, Cardiff. 10.15-11.15am. Info 07772 657692. The Alexander Technique M.A.D.E. Gallery & Shop, Cardiff. 11.30am-1pm, £16. Info info@yogaskies.co.uk. Small group class hosted by Mike Young. Yoga Classes Cardiff Steiner School, Llandaff North, Cardiff. 6-7.15 + 7.15-8.30pm, £8/£6.50. Info info@ yogaskies.co.uk. Hosted by Mike Young. Yoga Classes Om Studio, Partridge Lane, Cardiff. 7-8am + 1-2.30, 6-7.15 + 7.308.45pm, £9/£8. Info 07727 139379 / www.omstudio.co.uk. 11am: Mums & Baby yoga; 7.30pm: Pregnancy yoga.

EVERY FRIDAY

Aikido Village Hall, Heol Syr Lewis, Morganstown. 8-10pm. Info 07790 167560. Bingo Lingo The Depot, Cardiff. 6pm, £5. Info www.

on the sessions as the hall is occasionally booked by someone else. Children’s Tap/Ballet Classes Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 10.30-11.30am. Info 01495 243252. Community Choir Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 9.4511.45am, £72/£48 (12 weeks). Info 01446 401209. Dance Tots The Riverfront, Newport. 9.30-10.05am + 10.15-10.50am, £3 per session. Info 01633 656757. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-7pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Warehouse, Swansea: Bootcamp 6-7 + 10-11am; ABC 5-7pm; Kettlebell 5.15-6pm; Bag Circuit 6.15-7pm. Ware-house, Port Talbot: HIIT 6-6.45pm. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Funkypump 6-7pm. Rainbow Rooms, Gorseinon: Bag Circuit 6-7pm. Newport Photographic Club Skip Jennings Hall, Maindee, Newport. 7.30pm. Info 01633 400685. Official Guided Tours – Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. Older Adult Dance/ Exercise The Riverfront, Newport. 11am-12pm, £3. Info 01633 656757. Low impact dance and exercise class aimed at the over 50s. Reggae Yoga Breakfast Club Anna-Loka, Cardiff. 7.30-8.30am, £10. Info 029 2049 7703. Vegan cafe launches new session, on every Friday, where you do yoga (with one Yogi Bare) and listen to reggae. Rhiwbina Farmers Market The Butchers Arms, Rhiwbina. 10am-1pm, free. Info 029 2022 7982. Tango Argentine Chapter Arts Centre, Canton, Cardiff. 7.30-8.45pm, £7/£4. Info 029 2023 7332. No experience or partner required. Zumba: Dance Exercise Classes Sbectrwm Community Centre, Fairwater, Cardiff. 1-2pm. Info 07891 712344. With Irene Davies.

EVERY SATURDAY

African Drumming Sessions Penarth Pier

Pavilion. 10.30-11.30am, £5. Info 0844 8700887. Ballroom Dancing Class Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 10am kids / 11am adults, £4 per class. Info 01685 384111. 10am: kids; 11am: adults; 12pm: private tuition. Children’s Climbing Classes Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 10-11.30am, £15. Info 029 2048 4880. Every Saturday and Sunday. Family Give It A Go Climbing Session Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 12, 2 + 4pm, £15. Info 029 2048 4880. Every Saturday and Sunday. Family Saturdays Foyer, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. Free. Info 029 2063 6464. Craft workshops for kids and parents. Funkypump Fitness Various venues across south Wales. 6am-7pm. Info www. funkypumpfitness.co.uk. Ware-house, Swansea: Abs 8-9am; TRX & Kettlebells 9.15-10.15am; Funkypump Kidz 10.30-11.30am; Bag Circuit 10.30-11.30am. Ware-house, Port Talbot: Bag Circuit 10.30-11.30am. Ufit, Cardiff: Bag Circuit 9.3010.30am. Funkypump Fitness, Ammanford: Bag Circuit 10.30-11.30am. Funkypump Fitness, Carmarthen: Boot Camp 8-9pm. Hard Côr Sony Room, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 11am, free. Info 029 2063 6464. India Dance Wales Classes Lewis Street Methodist Church, Ystrad Mynach. Info ym.natyam@gmail.com. New classes from beginner to Grade 3 level, every Saturday morning – email to confirm specific times. Mini Musical Theatre The Riverfront, Newport. 10-11am, £6. Info 01633 656757. Run by Defying Gravity, professional tutors will teach ballet and drama to kids aged 3-6. Movement For Children Volcano, Swansea. 10am12pm, £4. Info www .volcanotheatre.co.uk. Energetic classes with a focus on creativity, supporting physical development and building confidence. Ages 4-7: 10am; 8-12: 11am. Performance Academy Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 10am-1pm, £10. Info 01685 384111. Offering professional theatre and performance coaching in dance, acting, musical theatre and singing. Roath Real Food Market Mackintosh Sports Club Car Park, Roath, Cardiff. 9.30am1pm, free. Info 029 2022 7982. Sewing Workshops Barnabas Arts House, Newport. 10am-1pm. Info 01633 673739. Hosted by Ellery Design – see www. ellerydesign.com for details of how to book and/or contact them. St Mary Street Cardiff Market St Mary Street, Cardiff. 11am-5pm, free. Info 029 2019 0036. Selling artisan foods, vintage clothing, antique furniture and bric-a-brac. Yoga Classes Om Studio, Partridge Lane, Cardiff. 8-9.30am, £8. Info 07727 139379 / www.omstudio.co.uk. With Kalavathi Devi.

EVERY SUNDAY

Ballet Academy Wales Classes – Adults Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 12-1pm, £6.50. Info 07837 937351. Bridgend Undercover Car Boot Sale Multistorey Car Park, Bridgend Town Centre. 7am-12pm, free (selling cars £6; selling cars with trailers £10). Info 01656 661338. Children’s Climbing Classes Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 10-11.30am, £15. Info 029 2048 4880. Cooper’s Quiz Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm, £1 to play. Info info@porterscardiff.com. Hosted by Ben Cooper. Draw Somebody’s Sunday Body Little Man Coffee Co, Cardiff. 1.30-3.30pm, £7.50. Info 07830 381930. Hosted by Cardiff Life Model. Family Give It A Go Climbing Session Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 12, 2 + 4pm, £15. Info 029 2048 4880. Farmers’ Market National History Museum, St Fagans. 10am-4pm, free. Info 029 2057 3500. Welsh producers sell their wares every week. Lindy Hop Dance Classes & Social Swing Dancing Pontardawe Arts Centre. 6-10pm. Info 01792 863722. Official Guided Tours – Every Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. £5/£4. Info 029 2063 6464. *Riverside Farmers’ Market Fitzhammon Embankment, Cardiff. 10am2pm, free. Info 029 2022 7982. Always worth a trip. Sunday Board Games Cardiff Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 3pm, free. Info 029 2030 4400. Weekly session featuring a mixture of competitive and co-operative games.

WEDNESDAY 1

uBeginners Show Girl And Burlesque Dancing Conway Road Methodist Church Hall, Cardiff. 8-9.15pm, £7/£60 for 10 weeks. Info www. cardiffcabaretclub.com. With Steph. Every Wednesday until 22 Mar. uBlack Kettle Collective Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 3.30-5pm, free. Info 01792 516900. The Gallery’s Young People’s group for anyone aged 14 to 24. Also on Wed 15 and Wed 29 this month. uDark Sky Wales – Life In The Universe Penarth Pier Pavilion. 7.30pm, £8. Info 0844 8700887. Course introducing astronomy, the universe and the work currently being done to explore space, on here for two more Wednesdays (having ran throughout last month). Today’s topic is ‘Contact’ and Wed 8 is ‘The Origin Of Life On Earth’. Fairtrade Cake Break Exchange Cafe, Environment Centre, Swansea. 10am-4pm, free. Info 01792 480200. Event taking place as part of Fairtrade Fortnight. Games Wales Cardiff March Meet-Up & Quiz The Big Top, Cardiff.6pm, free. Info 029 2022 8883. Album launch gig for south Wales rockabilly type. I liked his last album. Hyper-Local Tap Takeover Brewdog, Cardiff. 5pm, free. Info 029 2023 1684. St David’s

Day special, guest brewers TBC. uLambing At Llwyn Yr Eos Farm National History Museum, St Fagans. 10am5pm, free. Info 029 2057 3500. On every day this month, available to view either IRL or via the #lambcam (see Roundup) on the Museum website. uOpen Level Chair Dance Conway Road Methodist Church Hall, Cardiff. 6.307.45pm, £7/£60 for 10 weeks. Info www.cardiffcabaretclub. com. With Steph. Every Wednesday until 22 Mar. Reminiscence Monthly Cardiff Story, The Hayes, Cardiff. 11am-1pm, free. Info 029 2034 6214. Come to the museum and share your memories of Cardiff, on the first Wednesday of every month.

THURSDAY 2

uAn Introduction To Geology National Museum Cardiff. 3-4.30pm, £60 for five weeks. Info 029 2039 7951. Illustrated, detailed lectures exploring rocks, minerals and fossils, with plenty of hands-on opportunity. Every Thursday this month. Bwydiful Kitchen Takeover Brewdog, Cardiff. 5pm, free. Info 029 2023 1684. ‘Artisan’ burgers and more. Cardiff Animation Nights The Big Top, Cardiff. 8pm, free. Info 029 2022 8883. Screenings of short films titled Cold Coffee, Waiting For The New Year, Coda and Ruben Leaves. uEssential Llandaff Ghost Walk City Cross, Cathedral Green, Llandaff (meeting point). 8pm, £8. Info 07538 878609. By Cardiff History & Hauntings. Also on Thurs 23. First Thursday Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £2.50. Info 029 2030 4400. Readings by Eric Ngalle Charles and Nicky Arscott. Guest Chef’s Night Beach House, Oxwich Bay, Gower. Info 01792 390965. With Bryan Webb from Tyddyn Llan. uThe Wearable Art Show Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 4 + 7.45pm, £6-£11. Info 029 203 1391. An avant-garde catwalk show set to Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring. On tomorrow also. Winter Tales Lectures: Dave Horsley Boulders, St Catherine's Park, Cardiff. 7-8.15pm, free. Info 029 2048 4880. The last of three lectures in this series from extreme runner and adventurer Horsley. World Book Day Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. 10am-3.30pm, free. Info 01792 463980. 10am-1pm: schools & nursery group sessions. 1.303.30pm: family drop-in event including stories, crafts and facepainting. World Book Day Festival Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 10am-3pm, free. Info 01685 384111.

FRIDAY 3

Aberration Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.45pm, £7.50. Info 01970 623232. Return of this popular multi-discipline LGBTQ night. An Evening With Professor Bernard Knight And Gillian Brightmore BUZZ 65

* – recommended

events

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in the days before Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor and The Voice provided a shortcut to fame and fortune, would-be career musicians learned their trade and paid their dues by spending their formative years travelling the country in a clapped-out Transit van, playing gigs to three men and a dog, and slowly working their way from the bottom up. Thankfully some musicians still choose that option, among them a rising star of the acoustic roots scene, the supremely talented acoustic roots and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Martin Harley. Described as ‘British Americana’, Martin’s sound is influenced by delta blues and gypsy swing and features his prowess as a slide guitarist, played in part on his 100-year-old Weissenborn (a Hawaiian acoustic lap guitar). Balancing a solo career with that of his British blues trio, The Martin Harley Band, Martin tours extensively in the UK and has also been developing a steady solo career in the US where, in 2015 he met American double bassist Daniel Kimbro at Hippie Jack’s music festival in Crawford, Tennessee. Following a brief backstage rehearsal, Martin and Daniel performed an hour of largely improvised music and a few weeks later went into iconic Southern Ground Studios to record the critically acclaimed album Live At Southern Ground where Martin’s superb guitar work was accompanied by the plucking, beating, scratching and bowing of Daniel’s double bass which added an unexpected array of textures and sounds to their heady mix of blues, Americana and folk. Earlier this year the pair released a second album entitled Static In The Wires. Recorded in Nashville, it also features guest appearances from 14-time Grammy winning dobro player Jerry Douglas, drummer Derek Mixon and pianist Micah Hulsher. Touring throughout March and April to promote the album, Martin and Daniel will be at Cardiff’s St. David’s Hall on Tue 21 Mar for what promises to be something truly special.

Buzz also recommends Oysters3. Songs and stories from the three founding Oysterband members. Pontardawe Arts Centre. (Fri 17) Tony McManus. Superb Celtic guitar. Rhosygilwen Manor, Cilgerran, Pembs. (Sun 19) Alasdair Roberts. Highly regarded Scottish singersongwriter. Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. (Sat 25) Please send your folk and roots listings to listings@ buzzmag.co.uk or phone them in to 029 2022 6767

BUZZ 66

Discussing Crime Fiction Cwtsh Arts Centre, Newport. 7pm, free. Info 01633 664498. Booklaunch: Mark Mayes Octavo’s Bookshop & Cafe, Cardiff Bay. 6pm. Info 029 2049 1220. Launch of The Gift Maker, published by Urbane. Cardiff Inter Varsity Club Meeting Park Plaza Hotel, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £5 (threemonth trial membership). Info 07526 141392 / www. cardiffivc.org.uk. Meeting here on the first Friday of each month. Exploring The Collection Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 2-3 + 3.30-4.30pm, free. Info 01792 516900. Introductory talk about this Gallery’s art collection, plus a chance to visit the new Library and Archive service. Book in advance please. Farmers Market High Street, Merthyr Tydfil. Free. Info 01685 725106. Quality produce from no more than 50 miles away, on the first Friday of each month. Let’s Get Quizzical The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £2 to enter. Info 01497 821762. Pub quiz. Little Mice Club: Wales & St David’s Day National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 10.30am-12pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Bilingual playtime for babies/ toddlers. Milieu Flute & Tankard, Cardiff. Info 029 2023 5091. Quarterly art and literary event, with confirmed writerly names for this one including Phil Jones, Sarah McCreadie, John Lavin and Holly Müller. uMuseum Ghost Walk National History Museum, St Fagans. 7pm, £15. Info 029 2057 3500. Presented by Cardiff History & Hauntings. Also on Sat 4, Sat 11, Fri 17, Sat 18, Fri 24, Sat 25 and Fri 31. Peter Alliss Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £18-£21. Info 01656 815995. Famed golf commentator. uPremium Ghost Tour Cardiff Castle. 7.15pm, £15. Info 07538 878609. By Cardiff History & Hauntings. Also on Sat 4, Sat 11, Fri 17 (this one is a midnight ghost tour, starting at 10.15pm), Fri 24 and Thurs 30. Simon King Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 7.30pm, £15/£12 under-16s. Info 01600 772467. Naturalist and TV presenter. St David’s Day Coffee Morning Swansea Museum. 10.30am. Info 01792 653763. Hosted by the Royal Institution Of South Wales. Storytelling Suppers Kemi’s, Pontcanna, Cardiff. 7pm, £14. Info 029 2037 2055. With special guests Michael Harvey and Pauline Down. Entry fee includes food. Swansea Bay Business Life Awards Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 7pm. Info 01792 475715. Do you live the Swansea Bay business life? Yes? Then come down tonight and pick up your award from the venue. Toddler Days Techniquest, Cardiff Bay. Info 029 2047 5475. Monthly term-time events for toddlers and their parents, this month’s theme

being ‘fairytale frolics’. Welsh Wrestling Blake Theatre, Monmouth. 7.30pm, £12/£9. Info 01600 719401. In Neath on Sat 11. uWorkshop Bike Sale Cardiff Cycle Workshop, Gabalfa, Cardiff. 1-5pm. Info www.cycletrainingwales.org. uk. Adult bikes on sale from £60; kids’ bikes from £10. On tomorrow also (from 10am12pm), and every Friday this month.

SATURDAY 4

uAttack! Pro Wrestling: Kris Travis Tag Team Invitational Cathays Community Centre, Cardiff. 7pm, £14 adv. Info 029 2037 3144.. An eight-team tournament across two-days, with a highlight being the appearance of El Ligero & Martin Kirby aka Project Lucha. This takes place in the big, currently vacant bingo hall behind the main building and is on tomorrow also at 5pm. Bar Boot Sale Le Pub, Newport. 12-4.30pm, free. Info socialclubvintagenewport@ gmail.com. Vintage and craft fair. Classic Fish Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 9.30am-3.30pm, £170. Info 01443 222716 / www.angelagray.co.uk. Enfys Craft Fair St. Francis Millennium Centre, Barry. 10am-4pm. Info 01446 792149. Every first Saturday of the month. uFilm & Comic Con Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 9am, from £8/£4 kids/£15 before 11. Info 029 2022 4488. On tomorrow also. Barod: How To Manage Music Social Media, Messaging & Data The Big Top, Cardiff. 12-4pm, £15. Info 029 2022 8883. Part of Barod, the Swn-affiliated series of music industry tutorial sessions (another is on Sat 11). Price includes lunch. Craft Fair Coffee Cove Cafe Bar, Barry Island. 10am3.30pm, free/£10 to set up a stall. Info 07948 399111. Every first Saturday of the month. Creative Writing Barnabas Arts House, Newport. 11am12.30pm, £6. Info 01633 673739. Monthly class With local poet and tutor Mair De Gare Pitt. Dewch i Ganu National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 11am, free. Info 01792 463980. Join musician Delyth Jenkins and learn Welsh through song. Eclectic Crafters Centenary Hall, Maryport Street, Usk. Info eclectic. crafters@gmail.com. Craft fair held on the first Saturday of each month. Football: Barclays Premier League – Swansea City v Burnley Liberty Stadium, Swansea. 3pm. Info 0870 400004. Jiwa, The Soul Of Malaysia Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 6.30pm, £10-£15. Info 01970 623232. Music, dance and food presented by the Malaysian Student Society. Journalism Workshop Volcano, Swansea. 2-4pm, free. Info www. volcanotheatre.co.uk. For ages 11-18 and hosted

by Evening Post Senior Reporter Nino Williams. Kidsmarkets Family Sale YMCA Plas, Roath, Cardiff. 11am-12.30pm, £1/kids free. Info 07760 802088. Featuring 30 stalls of great quality new and pre-loved baby and children’s items. uMars Techniquest, Cardiff Bay. £1.50 after admission fee. Info 029 2047 5475. Take a closer look at what this planet has to offer. (Every Saturday and Sunday until Sun 26) Oil Painting Workshop Carnegie House, Bridgend. 10am-4pm. Info 01656 815757. With artist and tutor Bryan Shambler. For beginners and all abilities. Open Haus The Printhaus / The Boneyard, Canton, Cardiff. 10am-2pm, free. Info 029 2022 0349. Monthly open studios here, an opportunity to meet the artists and makers in this creative community. On the first Saturday of every month. uPremium Llandaff Ghost Walk City Cross, Cathedral Green, Llandaff (meeting point). 7.30pm, £11. Info 07538 878609. By Cardiff History & Hauntings. Also on Fri 17, Sat 18, Sat 25 and Fri 31. Saturday Craft Workshop For Adults Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. 10.30am1pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Monthly session. Saturday Family Workshops Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 10am-1pm, free. Info 01792 516900. Explore the new exhibitions and draw inspiration from Richard Glynn Vivian’s life. Book in advance please. uSpace Hunters Techniquest, Cardiff Bay. £1.50 after admission fee. Info 029 2047 5475. Go on a treasure hunt in space to meet an astronaut, ride on a comet’s tail, look for an exploding star and more. Suitable for under-7s. (Every Saturday and Sunday until Sun 26) Spring Market Caldicot town centre. Info 07716 557289. St David’s Day Party National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 12-4pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Crafts, live music and twmpath. uSwitched On Techniquest, Cardiff Bay. Info 029 2047 5475. Explore how visible light and light we cannot see plays a part in all our lives. (Every Saturday and Sunday until Sun 26) The Lure Of The Archive: Falmouth University Photography Symposium Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 10am-5pm, £15/£10. Info 01792 516900. Coinciding with the launch of the exhibition The Moon And A Smile. Book in advance please. uYoung Person’s Film Academy 2017 Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 10.30am2.30pm, £12. Info 029 2030 4400. Return of this popular course for ages 9-12. Also on Sat 11.

SUNDAY 5

Cardiff Storytelling Circle Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 8pm, £4. Info 029 2030 4400. Cardiff’s Vintage Weigh

u – repeated

& Pay Tramshed, Cardiff. 10am-5pm, £1.50 adv/£3 adv before 11. Info 029 2023 5555. Another of these things where tons of old clothes are brought to a venue and purchased by weight, £15 per kilo. The organisers add that the clothes they sell are good, unlike other similar events, which by implication are crap. Charity Tug Of War Coopers Field, Cardiff. 9.30am, £50 to enter per team of eight. Info www. mpct.co.uk. Hosted by the Motivation & Learning Trust, nd with a £100 prize. Cwmbran Craft Fayre Our Lady’s School Hall, Cwmbran. 1-4pm. Info cwmbran_crafts@hotmail. co.uk. Every first Sunday of the month. Dolls House & Miniature Fair Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 10.30am, £2.50/50p kids. Info 01656 815995. uEssential Ghost Tour Cardiff Castle. 7.15pm, £11.50. Info 07538 878609. Cut-price 85-minute tour, by Cardiff History & Hauntings. Also on Thurs 9 (starting at 8pm) and Sat 11. Mediterranean Kitchen Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 9.30am-3.30pm, £170. Info 01443 222716 / www. angelagray.co.uk. Newport Half Marathon Commercial Street, Newport (starting point). 9am, £30 to register. Info 01633 851051. Six Gong Sound Bath Village Hall, Gwaelod Y Garth, Cardiff. 2-5pm, £8. Info 07726 360584. “Relax and experience the healing effects of Singing Bowls, Great Resounding Gongs, Crystal Bowls, Solfeggio Pipes, Rattles, Bells, Chimes etc.” You know what, one day I will actually do this. But maybe not today.

MONDAY 6

uAdvanced Cabaret Classes Conway Road Methodist Church Hall, Cardiff. 8-9.30pm, £7/£60 for 10 sessions. Info www. cardiffcabaretclub.com. With Steph. Every Monday until 20 Mar. An Evening With Honno Welsh Women’s Press Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 6-9pm. Info 01970 623232. International Women’s Day fringe event, where you can hear from Welsh women writers about their work and experiences of writing and publishing in Wales. An Evening With Levison Wood Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £20.50/£15.50. Info 01792 475715. Author, photographer and TV presenter. uBeginners Saxophone Class Upstairs at The Park Hotel, Barry. 7-9pm, £15. Info 07806 625717. With Beverley from Sax For Fun. Every other Monday; also on Mon 20 this month. Gwd Mondays: Musical Bingo Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, free. Info 029 2039 7933. uWrite On Writers Morganstown Village Hall. 6.30-8.30pm. Info 07512 235758. An open group of

events writers who encourage others to write and also critique work. Also on Mon 20 (it takes place here every first and third Monday of the month).

TUESDAY 7

Creating An Equal Future: A Conference For International Women’s Day 2017 Aberystwyth University. 11am-5pm. Info 01970 623232. Hosted by the Women’s Equality Network Wales. uEarly Years Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 10.3011.30am, free. Info 01792 516900. Explore movement, sound, language, textures, shapes and colours. For kids aged 0-4. Also on Tue 21. uExplore Books National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 10.30am, free. Info 01792 463980. Discuss books and authors in a casual setting (no obligation to have read the books in advance). Every Tuesday this month. International Women’s Day The Riverfront, Newport. Info 01633 656757. Featuring guest speakers, films, performances, workshops and demonstrations. Missionaries And Doctors And The 1911 Revolution Swansea Museum. 6pm, free. Info 01792 653763. A Griffith John talk, by Jenny Childs.

WEDNESDAY 8

BAFTA Cymru: On Screenwriting Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. Info 029 2030 4400. Helen Raynor and Cath Tregenna talk about their approaches to screenwriting in conversation with producer Laura Cotton. Films And Wine: Amy The Gate, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £7/£5 adv Info 029 2048 3344. Screening of the Amy Winehouse documentary movie, plus the chance to drink wine while you watch – ironically, as her name has the word ‘wine’ in it! Also alcohol was a major contributory factor in her death. Friends Of The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 6.30pm, £5. Info 01792 516900. Featuring Mel Gooding talking about modern art. Ignite Cardiff Deluxe Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, £10/£5 adv. Info 029 2063 6464. Featuring 12 five-minute talks by members of the public on various stuff. uScriveners Writers’ Group Royal Exchange, Brynmawr. 8pm. Info 01495 753629. Also on Wed 22.

THURSDAY 9

uAberystwyth Storytelling Festival Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 6.30pm, £35. Info 01970 623232. A weekend of tales, films, exhibitions, talks, and music inspired by Y Mabinogi Project 2015. Participants include Michael Harvey, Lynne Denman, Stacey Blythe, Cath Little, Guto Dafis, Jez Danks, Dafydd Davies Hughes, Phil Okwedy, Mikey Price, Gwilym Morus, Fiona Collins, Sian Parry, Bethan Mascarenhas, Maria Hayes and Naomi Heath.

(Until Sun 12) Afternoon Dance Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 1.30pm, £4. Info 01792 475715. Coach Trip To National Maritime Museum Chepstow Castle car park (meeting point). Info 01291 625981. This is to see the exhibiton Emma Hamilton: Seduction And Celebrity in London. Fairtrade Coffee Morning Pontardawe Library. 10am12pm, free. Info 01792 862261. Fairtrade Fortnight event. uHowl Mozarts, Swansea. 8pm, free. Info 01792 649984. Poetry open mic, every second and third Thursday of the month (also on Thurs 16). Jay Rayner Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £17.50 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. Last year Observer food critic Rayner took some mostly deserved shots at Cardiff in one of his reviews and lots of low grade Twitter accounts with 150 followers and personal brands based around where they live got pissy at him, so he said he wouldn’t come back. Except

Friday Talk: Meeting Our Ancestors National Museum Cardiff. 1.05pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Dr Mark Redknap on his latest research concerning the people of Early Medieval Wales. My Greek Kitchen – The Greek Flavours That Nobody Tells You About Venue TBC, central Cardiff. 6.30-9.30pm, £35. Info 07870 131558. Class hosted by Lia Moutselou. Rugby Union: RBS Six Nations: Wales v Ireland Principality Stadium, Cardiff. 8.05pm, £40-£95. Info 08442 777888. Wales’ second and final home match for this year’s Six Nations. Sold out. Tea Dance St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 2pm, £5. Info 01446 799100. With Alan Taylor.

SATURDAY 11

An Audience With Joe Calzaghe St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £22.50-£65. Info 029 2087 8444. Two members of the band The Overtones interview Welsh boxer. Top ticket price gets you a seat in the first four rows and some other bumph. Barod: How To Manage

Join a family-friendly 5K run around Cardiff Bay on Sun 12 Mar, starting on Pierhead Street and raising money for George Thomas Hospice Care. now he is. Assuming you count Pentyrch as Cardiff. Lecture: Heraldry For Dummies Cardiff Castle. 6pm, £8. Info 029 2087 8100. Lecture by Stephen Slater. SWDFAS Lecture: Children’s Book Illustrations Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 2pm, £6. Info 029 2030 4400. Talk by John Ericson Young Art Force Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 11.30am-2.30pm, free. Info 01792 516900. Open art class for anyone aged 14 to 24 to explore and respond to the Gallery’s exhibitions and collections.

FRIDAY 10

Community Cafe Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 12.30-1.30pm. Info 01792 516900. David M. Turner, Professor Of History at Swansea University, on ‘disability and blindness in Glynn Vivian’s Britain’ Book in advance please. Dinky Dragons Cardiff Story, The Hayes, Cardiff. 10am-3pm, free. Info 029 2034 6214. Family fun day for 0-5-year-olds on the second Friday of every month. F1 For Schools National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 11am-3.30pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Design a mini Formula 1 car. Fairtrade Walk: Bananas And Bairds Oxfam, Castle Street, Swansea (starting point). 10am-12pm, free. Info www.fairtradewales.com. Fairtrade Fortnight event.

Your Money The Big Top, Cardiff. 12-4pm, £15. Info 029 2022 8883. With advice from Cardiff-based chartered accountants Ton Cyf, who have music-y clients including Leona Lewis and Gruff Rhys. I saw Gruff in the post office the other day sending out copies of his own records, which presumably saves money on having a merch person. Boxing: Cyclone Promotions Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 4pm, £62/£42. Info 029 2022 4488. With cruiserweight title bout between Craig Kennedy and Matty Askin at the top of the bill. uCaerwent Craft Fayre Caerwent Village Hall, Monmouthshire. 2.304.30pm. Info cwmbran_crafts@hotmail. co.uk. Every second Saturday of the month (also on Sat 25 in March). uChepstow Farmers’ Market Cormeilles Square, Chepstow. 8.30am-1pm, free. Info 01291 626370. Every second and fourth Saturday of the month (also on Sat 25 in March). Chris Needs & Friends Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £16/£14. Info 01792 475715. uCwlwm Celtaidd Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. £25 (two days). Info 01656 815995. A family festival of music, song and dance from the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland, Isle Of Man, Cornwall, Brittany, Asturias & Wales. As well as concerts by

Jamie Smith’s Mabon on Fri 10 and Calan on Sat 11 (see the Music listings for those), there are music and dance workshops and performances roday with spoecial guests TBC. Tomorrow features the Young Musician Of The Festival competition, a Children’s Choir Competition and performances. Dreaming The Night Field Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01970 623232. Storytelling/ music performance inspired by The Fourth Branch Of The Mabinogion. Part of the Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival (see Thurs 9) but can be purchased separately. Essential Bike Maintenance Cycle Training Wales, Gabalfa, Cardiff. 9.30am-4pm, £65. Info www.cycletrainingwales. org.uk. Exploring Gamelan St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 9.30am5pm, £35. Info 029 2087 8444. One-day course presented by Arts Active. Farmers’ Market Twyn Community Centre, Caerphilly. 9.30am, free. Info 01656 658963. Every second Saturday of the month. Football: Sky Bet Championship – Cardiff City v Birmingham City Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff. 3pm. Info 0845 3451400. uFundamentals Of Improv Comedy: Weekend Intensive The Arches, Cardiff. 11am-5pm, £95 (two days). Info 029 2087 7959. Two-day course (on tomorrow also) run by Nathan Improv. Funky Craft Fayre Ostreme Hall, Mumbles, Swansea. 10am-4pm. Info nigel.mason@ntlworld.com. Taking place here on the second Saturday of each month all year. Ice Hockey: League – Cardiff Devils v Dundee Stars Ice Arena, Cardiff Bay. 7pm. Info 029 2038 2001. Lazy Crafternoons: Teapot Sewing Kit National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 1.30pm, £5. Info 01792 463980. Mumbles Produce Market Seafront Car Park, Mumbles. 9am-1pm, free. Info 01792 361012. Every second Saturday of the month. Newport Craft Fayre The Gallery, Newport Indoor Market. 9am-4.30pm, free. Info 01633 656656. Every second Saturday of the month. Nimble Fingers Craft Fayre Victoria Hall, Mumbles, Swansea. 10am4pm, free. Info 07790 298913. On the second Saturday of every month. uSaturday Adult Art Classes Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 11am-4pm, free. Info 01792 516900. Today: Bookbinding sessions. Also on Sat 25: explore items in the collection through language to create poems and works of short prose, with Poet In Residence Sharon Morris. Book in advance please. Spoken Word Saturday Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 3pm, £3. Info 0845 2263510. Super Science Saturday National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 12-4pm, free. Info 01792 463980.

Demonstrations, hands on activities, experiments and 3D science shows. Thrifty Kids: Bottle Top Fish National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 10.30am12.30pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Welsh Wrestling Gwyn Hall, Neath. 7pm, £12/£9 kids. Info 0300 3656677.

SUNDAY 12

Barry Island Handmade Market Barry Island train station. 11am-3pm, free. Info facebook.com/ barryislandhandmademarket. Every second Sunday of the month. Bay 5K Pierhead Street, Cardiff (starting point). 10am-10pm, £10 to enter. Info info@gthc.org.uk. Family-friendly run around Cardiff Bay. A George Thomas Hospice Care charity event; suggested sponsorship to raise is £50. Book Club Spit And Sawdust, Cardiff. 4-6pm, free. Info 029 2049 4741. Bi-monthly informal book club, this month focusing on Silence by Shusaku Endo. uChapter Sewcial Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 1.30-3 + 3.30-5pm, £40 (six sessions). Info 029 2030 4400. Sewing classes for ages 8-12 (earlier) and 10-14 (later). Also on Sun 19 and Sun 26 this month. Classic Meat And Poultry Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 9.30am-3.30pm, £170. Info 01443 222716 / www.angelagray.co.uk. Fairtrade Fortnight: Fun Fair And Un-Fair National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 12-4pm, free. Info 01792 463980. A village hallstyle fete to highlight the benefits of Fair Trade versus other trading systems. International Women’s Day National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 11am3pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Featuring live music, speakers, workshops, exhibitions and market stall traders with Marina Markets (see below) and Oxfam’s Fair Trade Fortnight (see above). Newport Baby & Toddler Show Coldra Court Hotel, Langstone, Newport. 11am4pm, £3/£2.50 adv. Info www. newportbabyandtoddlershow. co.uk. Featuring 40 stands packed with products and information for new and expectant parents, plus free activities all day. Lee Skeet Supper Club Brewdog, Cardiff. £40. Info 029 2023 1684. Cornish seafood specialist with March’s instalment of a series of supper clubs which run until July. Book here: www. leeskeet.com/shop. Marina Market National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 10am-4pm, free. Info 01792 463980. uTuneless Choir Cardiff Aspire Fitness, Canton, Cardiff. 7.30-9.30pm, £10 first session/£7 drop-in/£40 for eight weeks. Info 07745 683723. Choir, led by Mei Gwynedd, for people who want to sing but can’t carry a tune. Also on Sun 26, and every fortnight after that.

MONDAY 13

An Evening With Iolo Williams Canolfan Beulah, Rhiwbina, Cardiff. 7pm, £8 adv. Info 029 2052 0884. Ruggedly rural Welsh TV fella visits Cardiff courtesy of hosts Victoria Fearn Gallery. Entry fee includes a glass of wine. Elliecoptor Hoops Hula Hoop Class Plasnewydd YMCA, Cardiff. 6-7pm, £5. Info elliecoptor@hotmail. com. Second Monday of every month. How To Hack Your Home National Museum Cardiff. 6.30-7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 029 2039 7951. Engineer Danielle George will show you how to use modern tools and technologies and things from your home to have fun and make a difference to the world around you. uJoy Of Living Mindfulness Group Meeting Gaia Yoga Studio, Roath, Cardiff. 7.30-9pm, free (donations welcome). Info 07412 346054. On the second and fourth Monday of every month (also on Mon 27 in March). uVelotech Cycle Training Wales, Gabalfa, Cardiff. 9.30am-4pm, £495 (four days). Info www. cycletrainingwales.org.uk. (Until Thurs 16)

TUESDAY 14

Digital Innovation In The Arts Conference Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. Free. Info 029 2063 6464. One-day showcase event profiling the Digital Innovation Fund For The Arts in Wales, inclouding its recent work with G39, Bombastic, Artis Community, Arts Alive and Hijinx. Discover Dance Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 1pm, £5. Info 01874 611622. Introduction to dance, courtesy of National Dance Company Wales. Kathy Miles & Glyn Roberts Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £3. Info 01792 863722. Poetry session. Secret Wines Of Italy The Old Swan Inn, Llantwit Major. 7-8.30pm, £20. Info 01446 792230. Tasting evening hosted by Charles Reardon-Smith from Wales Academy Of Wine. Spirituality Cafe The Gate, Cardiff. 7.30pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2048 3344. Second Tuesday of every month.

WEDNESDAY 15

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £13/£11. Info 01874 611622. Action sports film compilation evening. In Porthcawl tomorrow; Llanelli on Fri 17; Cardiff on Thurs 30. Open Mic Spoken Word Extravaganza 38 Ye Olde Murenger, Newport. 7.30pm, £5/£3. Info 01633 263977. Featuring poets Hannah Stone and Stephen Payne. uSláinte! Irish Beer Festival Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 5pm, free. Info 029 2030 4400. Offering the best in Irish craft beer, they say. On from 12pm until close on Sat 18. (Until Sat 18) BUZZ 67

* – recommended

events Tea Dance Miners Theatre, Ammanford. 2pm, £5. Info 0845 2263510.

THURSDAY 16

BAFTA CYMRU MARCH 2017 The Cymru Awards open for entries in March so check out the website for further details – by the April edition of Buzz the deadline will almost be upon you! The key thing to note this year is that individuals are encouraged to self-nominate – if you need any advice on the rules and guidelines contact the BAFTA Cymru office. Events wise, we kick off with a biggie: An Audience with Gareth Edwards. The Rogue One, Godzilla, and Monsters director, whose family is from Pontypool, will join actor and writer Celyn Jones for a conversation about his career to date. The event will be a celebration of Welsh talent on St David’s Day and is hosted at BAFTA headquarters in London. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we will be hosting a conversation between acclaimed screenwriters Helen Raynor (Mr Selfridge, Baker Boys) and Cath Treganna (Law And Order UK) at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff on Wed 8 Mar – a chance for any budding or existing writers to hear more about the screenwriting craft and business from Helen and Cath’s perspective. We’ll be screening the nominated BAFTA Shorts at Pontio Arts Centre in Bangor on Wed 15 Mar and cohosting a screening of the documentary Shadow World with a Q&A as part of the Wales One World Festival on Fri 17 Mar, again at Chapter. We return to Bangor on Thurs 23 Mar for an audience with Hilary Bevan Jones, whose producing career spans Red Dwarf, Blackadder and Cracker and features The Girl In The Café and The Boat That Rocked. Hilary, originally from North Wales, will offer insights into the industry to a public and invited audience at the beautiful National Trust Penrhyn Castle. Finally, to wrap up the month, we are previewing new Welsh thriller Don’t Knock Twice, followed by a Q&A with producer John Giwa-Amu and VFX Supervisor Christian Lett. Most events are open to the public (at a cost) or members for free. We’re also still accepting membership applications and you are able to join now for 17 months at special rates. Have a look at all the benefits of membership, including free cinema, on our website. Info: www.bafta.org/wales

BUZZ 68

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7pm, £13/£11.50. Info 01656 815995. Board Game Night The Parrot, Carmarthen. 8pm. Info 01267 231012. Ffoton Photography Social The Big Top, Cardiff. 7pm, £2.50. Info 029 2022 8883. John Bilsborough Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £6.50/£5. Info 0845 2263510. A fellow also known as ‘The Funny Poet’. Lecture: The Incredible Life Of Dr William Price Cardiff Castle. 6pm, £8. Info 029 2087 8100. Lecture by Dean Powell. Open Mic Night Imperial Hotel, Merthyr. 7.30pm. Info mjenkins1927@gmail.com. With special guest Matthew Francis. Open Space: Jo Verity, Elizabeth Porter & Crystal Jeans Central Library Hub, Cardiff. 5.45pm, free. Info 029 2038 2116. Three local women authors read from their novels. I watched amateur wrestling with Crystal Jeans once, she probably doesn’t remember though. Royal Institution Of South Wales St David’s Day Lecture 2017 Swansea University Singleton Campus. 7.30pm. Info 01792 516900. Prof. Lyn Evans from CERN talks about the Large Hadron Collider. Stoutfest Brewdog, Cardiff. 6pm, free. Info 029 2023 1684. St Patrick’s Day special, guest brewers TBC. Swansea Sports Awards Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 7pm. Info 01792 475715. Not sure what the categories here are or how to vote, but on the offchance that it’s possible to flood the polls with votes for Bob Bradley as a sort of prank, I for one would not endorse that sort of childish behaviour.

FRIDAY 17

Ash Dykes Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £13/£11. Info 01874 611622. Adventurer sort presents a talk titled ‘Surviving Madagascar’. Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £11.50. Info 0845 2263510. Cardiff University Otter Project Meeting Llandaff Parish Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £1-£3. Info 029 2087 4046. A chance to learn more about the importance of otter conservation and the research CUOP conducts. Friday Talk: British Science Week National Museum Cardiff. 1.05pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Joe Swift Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.45pm, £15/£12. Info 01686 614555. Garden designer from TV talks of himself and other things. So You Think You’re Smart? Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7pm, free. Info 01495 243252. Quiz night, every third Friday of the month. St Patrick’s Guinness Fest 2017 Brangwyn Hall,

Swansea. 12pm-12am, £15 adv. Info 01792 475715. Hard to believe that today. the purest of all the saint’s days, might be tainted by corporate sponsorship, but that looks to have happened here. You can spend 12 hours drinking Guinness’ small range of liquid products and eating related foodstuffs (editorial aside: Guinness crisps are actually pretty good). A U2 tribute band, U2-2, also perform. Talk: Lan A Lawr Lôn Las Y Ganolfan, Pontypridd. 8pm, free. Info marian.rowland@ btinternet.com. With poet Cyril Jones. The Map And The Clock Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7pm, £10-£15. Info 01970 623232. Launch event for a poetry anthology of that name. Readings come from the Saint & Greavsie of contemporary British verse, Gillian Clarke and Carol-Ann Duffy, plus Imtiaz Dharker and more TBC. Toddler Time Foyer, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 11am-2.30pm, free. Info 029 2063 6464. Monthly activity programme for kids aged 0-5. Wheelbuilding Cycle Training Wales, Gabalfa, Cardiff. 9.30am-4pm, £95. Info www.cycletrainingwales. org.uk. uWOW Film Festival Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 11.30am-10.30pm. Info 029 2030 4400. Annual event, also taking place in Swansea and Aberystwyth this month. Today features screenings of The War Show (11.30am); By The Time It Gets Dark (2pm); Shadow World (6pm, also featuring a panel) and Neruda (8.30pm). Sat 18 features The Black Hen (11.30am); The Colours Of The Mountain (2.30pm); Clash (5.30pm) and Wulu (8.30pm). Sun 19 features Ambulance (11.30am); Those Who Jump (1.30pm); Demain (3pm); The Future Perfect (7.20pm) and The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki (8.40pm). See www. wowfilmfestival.com for more. (Until Sun 19)

SATURDAY 18

Blaenavon Little Monthly Market Bethlehem Court, Blaenavon. 10am-2pm, free (£10 to set up a table/£5 if you bring your own table). Info 01495 792878. Sellin crafts, bric-a-brac, bits and pieces and breads/pastries, Also on Sat 22 Apr and Sat 20 May. Brecon Craft Fair Market Hall, Brecon. 9am-4.30pm. Info 01495 753782. Every third Saturday of the month. Bridgend Fairtrade Festival Carnegie House, Bridgend. 11am-3pm, free. Info 01656 815757. Featuring Fairtrade bake off, cake stalls, storytelling and drumming workshops. Drop-In Knotwork & Beadwork Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay. 10.30am-4pm, £5. Info 029 2048 4611. Monthly class, normally on the second Saturday of the month but a week later this time round. Football: Sky Bet Championship – Cardiff City v Ipswitch Town Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff. 3pm. Info 0845 3451400.

Increase Your Energy By Changing Your Thinking Ty Rhiw Community Centre, Taffs Well, Cardiff. 2-3.30pm, free. Info www. brahmakumaris.org. Workshop led by Helena Foggitt student and teacher with the Brahma Kumaris. A related workshop takes place elsewhere in Cardiff tomorrow. Kidsmarkets Family Sale All Hallows Church Hall, Miskin, Pontyclun. 11am12.30pm, £1/kids free. Info 07760 802088. Featuring 22 stalls of great quality new and pre-loved baby and children’s items. Made It Market St David’s Church, Neath. 10am-3pm, from £15 to set up a stall. Info 07971 242730. Quarterly craft and produce fair. Also on Sat 17 June, Sat 30 Sept and Sat 18 Nov this year. Masterclass In Throwing & Turning With Porcelain Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay. 10.45am-3.30pm, £95. Info 029 2048 4611. With Geoffrey Swindell. Monastic Wales National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 11am, free. Info 01792 463980. Professor Janet Burton discusses the Monastic Wales project. Organised by the Historical Association Swansea Branch. Museum Friends Lecture National Museum Cardiff. £10. Info 029 2039 7951. ‘Why Study Fossil Plants?’ by Professor Dianne Edwards. Poetry Workshop Volcano, Swansea. 2-4pm, free. Info www.volcanotheatre.co.uk. For ages 13-18 and hosted by Poets On the Hill. Saturday Morning Kitchen Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 10.30am12.30pm, £15. Info 01443 222716 / www.angelagray. co.uk. Sing Like A Bloke Canton Uniting Church, Cardiff. 10am-4pm, £28. Info paulinedown7@gmail.com. With James Sills and Chris Samuel of the Spooky Men’s Chorale, who perform in a different Canton church later today. NB you don’t have to be a ‘bloke’ to attend. uVoices Of The Archetype Of Myth Workshop Llanrumney Hub, Cardiff. 10am-5pm, £90/£70 (two days). Info 029 2078 0994. an exciting way to expand and liberate vocal colour, range and expressivity, held over two days with Frankie Armstrong. Go to www.frankiearmstrong. com to find out how to book a place. On tomorrow also.

SUNDAY 19

Beer & Cider Festival Ffos Las Racecourse, Trimsaran, Kidwelly. 12pm. Info 01554 811092. Brain Games National Museum Cardiff. 11am-4pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Interactive event on the subject of the human brain. Cardiff Mini Film Festival Networking Party The Big Top, Cardiff. 7pm, £7/£5 adv. Info 029 2022 8883. Ice Hockey: League – Cardiff Devils v Fife Flyers Ice Arena, Cardiff Bay. 6pm. Info 029 2038 2001. Junk Modelling Workshop National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 12-4pm, free. Info

u – repeated

01792 463980. Meditation For Peace Natural Health Clinic, Cathedral Road, Cardiff. 6-7.45pm, free. Info www. brahmakumaris.org. Guided meditation workshop. Nuno Felt Scarves Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay. 10.30am4.30pm, £85. Info 029 2048 4611. With Claire Cawte.

MONDAY 20

Gwd Mondays Quiz Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, free. Info 029 2039 7933. uLambing Day Courses National History Museum, St Fagans. 8.30am-4pm, £95. Info 029 2057 3500. Learn how to care for pregnant sheep, recognise labour and help with births, should that happen while you’re there. (Until Thurs 23)

TUESDAY 21

An Audience With Tim Brooke-Taylor And Chris Serle Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £16.50. Info 01495 227206. Former Goodies member chats with broadcaster Serle. BIHR Human Rights Tour Small World Theatre, Cardigan. 10am-3.30pm, free. Info 01239 615952. Pop-up event aiming to raise awareness about human rights and their relevance in everyday life, and to provide a space for debate and discussion. Philosophy Cafe The Gate, Cardiff. 7.30pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2048 3344. Third Tuesday of every month. Script Cafe Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £4.50. Info 01792 863722. With Janine Jones. Tea Dance Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 2.30pm, £6. Info 0845 2263510.

WEDNESDAY 22

CICC: Big Questions In Science & Faith The Gate, Cardiff. 10am, £10/£5 limited means. Info 029 2048 3344. One-day course in partnership with the Faraday Institute For Science And Religion. Blurb has this passive-aggressive rhetorical tone that reminds me of Jack Chick comics: “How can any intelligent person today believe in God? Haven’t Dawkins and Hawkins [sic] proved that faith is finished?” etc. Spice Preview Night Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. Info 07429 598414. Monthly evening offering a chance for you to go along and see what you might get out of this adventure, activity, sports and social group.

THURSDAY 23

After Hours Techniquest, Cardiff Bay. 6.30-10pm. Info 029 2047 5475. Adults-only nights where you can goof around on all the exhibits and drink a beer or whatever. Testing For Truth In A World Of Fake News Great Hall, Swansea Bay Campus. 7.30pm, £12/£5. Info 01792 602060. Lecture by journalist Heather Brooke. WOW Film Festival: Shadow World Small World Theatre, Cardigan. 7-9pm, £6/£5. Info 01239 615952. Screening a documentary about the global arms trade and its various tentacles of

live music horror and corruption, with special regard to Britain’s grimy role therein.

FRIDAY 24

20th Sir John Lloyd Memorial Lecture Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7pm, free. Info 01874 611622. ‘A Poet’s View of Henry Vaughan’, by Rowan Williams. Book in advance please. Friday Talk: Hoyle’s Mouth And Little Hoyle Caves National Museum Cardiff. 1.05pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Elizabeth Walker on the results of the Museum’s excavations at said caves, near Tenby. Lunch Club Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 10.30am-2.30pm, £37. Info 01443 222716 / www. angelagray.co.uk. Poet In Residence Talk Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea. 12.30-1.30pm, free. Info 01792 516900. Sharon Morris discusses her practice and Glynn Vivian Residency. Book in advance please. Superstars Of Welsh Wrestling Maesteg Town Hall. 7pm, £9. Info 01656 733269. Valleys Folk Ceilidh Blaenavon Rugby Club. 7.3010.30pm, £3. Info 01495 790446. uWOW Film Festivsl Aberystwyth Arts Centre. Info 01970 623232. Following on from the Cardiff instalment of this festival last week, the timetable for this week-long fest is as follows. Today: The Colours Of The Mountain (5.45pm); Shadow World (8.15pm). Sat 25: Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind (2.15pm); By The Time It Gets Dark (5.30pm); Neruda (8.15pm). Sun 26: Those Who Jump (2.30pm); The Future Perfect (5.30pm). Mon 27: Ambulance (5.15pm); Wulu (8.15pm). Tue 28: Clash (5.45pm); The Salesman (8.15pm); Wed 29: Nostalgia For The Light (2.30pm); The War Show (5.45pm); Tomorrow (Demain) (8.15pm); Thurs 30: Memories Of Underdevelopment (5.45pm); The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki (8.15). More info at www.wowfilmfestival.com. (Until Thurs 30)

SATURDAY 25

Baked To Perfection Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 9.30am3.30pm, £170. Info 01443 222716 / www.angelagray. co.uk. Barnabas Book Club Barnabas Arts House, Newport. 11am-12.30pm, free. Info 01633 673739. This month’s book is Cover Her Face by PD James. Booklaunch: Peter Thabit Jones National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 2pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Swansea poet launches and reads from The Fire In The Wood Boxing: Crunch Time Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre. 6.30pm, £35-£60/£10 under16s. Info 0117 9496699. Top billin’: the vacant Welsh welterweight title bout between Tony Dixon and Dale Evans. uBoutique Gift Markets Norwegian Church Arts

Centre, Cardiff Bay. 10.30am5.30pm. Info 029 2087 7959. On tomorrow also. uCardiff Children’s Literature Festival Various venues, Cardiff. 10am, £4 per event. Info 029 2087 2087. Annual multi-venue, activity-packed celebration of words returns. Today: Maz’s Mythological Mayhem (City Hall, 10am); Words and Pictures with Nick Sharratt (National Museum, 10am); Dan Anthony, The Bus Stop At The End Of The World (Old Library, 10am); Alun Saunders, story writing workshop (Cardiff Story, 10am); Atebol Interactive Story Session (Central Library, 10am); Andy Stanton, You’re A Bad Man, Mr Gum! (National Museum, 12pm); Anni Llyn, Bardd Plant Cymru (City Hall, 12pm); Viviane Schwarz, Counting With Tiny Cat (Central Library, 12 + 3pm); Mike Dilger, Wildlife In Your Garden (City

each other tomorrow, thanks to the – let’s say – quirks of this league’s fixture list. uLaughter Yoga Leader Training Llandaff North Community Centre, Cardiff. £225 (two days). Info www. sparklylaughter.co.uk. Two-day event providing certified professional training covering the acquisition of the many personal benefits and benefits to others of the Laughter Leader role. On tomorrow also. uMaking Soap With Mum: Mother’s Day Special National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 11.30am, 1pm + 3pm, free. Info 01792 463980. On tomorrow also. Writing Crime Fiction Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. 2-4.30pm, £4-£10. Info 01792 463980. With Katherine Stansfield, a novelist and poet living in Cardiff. uWriting In The Wild RSPB Newport Wetlands. 10am, £120/£96 RSPB members. Info 01633 636363.

RSPB Newport Wetlands has a course on ‘Writing In The Wild’ on Sat 25 and Sun 26. Author Lucy Christopher provides guidance on how a snatched glimpse of cormorant might cause the creativity to flow. Hall, 2pm); David Melling, Hugless Douglas Is Back! (National Museum, 2pm); Laura Sheldon, Adventures Through The Fairy Door (Cardiff Story, 2pm); Robin Jarvis, The Witching Hour (City Hall, 4pm). Sun 26: Ben Bailey Smith and Sav Akyuz, I Am Bear (City Hall, 10am); Joe Berger, Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble (Old Library, 10am); Lyn Gardner, Rose Campion And The Stolen Secret (Cardiff Castle, 11am); M.G. Leonard & Dr Sarah Beynon, Beetle Mania (City Hall, 12pm); Barti Ddu (Old Library, 12pm); Tiger Tiger Papercrafting with Jonny Lambert (Old Library, 12 + 4pm); Sharon Marie Jones, Grace-Ella: Spells For Beginners (Cardiff Castle, 1pm); Joe Berger, Lyttle Lies (Old Library, 2pm); Alison Brown, Little Owl’s Story & Crafts (Cardiff Story, 2pm); a family quiz (City Hall, 2pm); Chris & Andrew Judge, Draw Your Own Adventure (Cardiff Castle, 3pm); Delyth George, Doing The Animal Bop (Old Library, 4pm). Also on Sat 1 and Sun 2 Apr. Craft Fair Community Hall, Neath. 10.30am-3.30pm. Info ariancrafts@hotmail.co.uk. Craft Fair St Hillary’s Church Hall, Killay, Swansea. 1.30-4.30pm, £10 to set up a table. Info pearl.heenan4@ hotmail.co.uk. Craft Fair Tabernacl Chapel, The Hayes, Cardiff. 10am4pm. Info uniquefairs@gmx. co.uk. Ice Hockey: League – Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants Ice Arena, Cardiff Bay. 7pm. Info 029 2038 2001. These guys are also playing

Two-day course (on tomorrow also) with bestselling author and academic Dr Lucy Christopher. Young People’s Film Making Project Small World Theatre, Cardigan. 10.3011.30am, free. Info 01239 615952. Wales One World Film Festival and CASA Media present inspiring short films made with young people in west Wales and Zanzibar.

SUNDAY 26

Ice Hockey: League – Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants Ice Arena, Cardiff Bay. 6pm. Info 029 2038 2001. Kidsmarkets Family Sale The Paget Rooms, Penarth. 11am-12.30pm, £1/kids free. Info 07760 802088. Featuring 30 stalls of great quality new and pre-loved baby and children’s items.

MONDAY 27

Cricket: Friendly – Glamorgan v Gloucestershire SSE SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff. Info 029 2040 9380. David Starkey Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £18. Info 01792 475715. TV-happy historian talks about the reign of Henry VIII and its parallels to the modern age. “His life pitted religion against politics as brutally as in our own age of Isis,” says the blurb, teeing David up with an opportunity to be racist.

TUESDAY 28

uCricket: MCCC University Match – Glamorgan v Cardiff MCCU SSE SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff. Info 029

2040 9380. (Until Thurs 30) Exhibition On Screen – The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism The Drill Hall, Chepstow. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 01291 625981. Fundraiser event for Cheptow Museum.

WEDNESDAY 29

Elliecoptor Hoops Hula Hoop Class / Hoop Jam Plasnewydd YMCA, Cardiff. 8-10pm, £5/£8 both classes. Info 07934 011061. Last Wednesday of every month. The class is from 8-9pm and is followed by a hoop jam from 9-10. Gardening Course: Growing Flowers From Seed National History Museum, St Fagans. 10am1pm, £30. Info 029 2057 3500. Hands-on workshop session teaching you how to get the best from your flower seeds and seedlings this spring. Science Cafe National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. 7.30pm, free. Info 01792 463980. Simon Yates Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £14/£12. Info 01873 850805. Noted mountaineer and explorer. Skill Builder: Pasta Angela Gray’s Cookery School At Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale Of Glamorgan. 6-9pm, £90. Info 01443 222716 / www. angelagray.co.uk.

THURSDAY 30

Banff Mountain Film Festival St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £13/£11.50. Info 029 2087 8444. Cardiff Music Awards Tramshed, Cardiff. 6.30pm, £30 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Debut of a new city-specific award ceremony with many, many categories. There’s an afterparty until 2am, additionally. Ticket price gets you entry into that plus street food, two drinks and a gift bag. Darts: Betway Premier League 2017 Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 7pm, £23-£41. Info 029 2022 4488. Lecture: Cardiff Castle – New Discoveries, Photographs And Research Cardiff Castle. 6pm, £8. Info 029 2087 8100. Lecture by Matthew Williams. Also on Sat 4 Apr. Taith Iaith National Museum Cardiff. 1.05pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Welshlanguage tour of the Nature’s Song exhibition.

FRIDAY 31

A Day In The Lambing Shed Humble By Nature, Penalt, nr Monmouth. 10am12.30pm, £65. Info 01600 714595. Flowers For Your Home Humble By Nature, Penalt, nr Monmouth. 10am-4pm, £105. Info 01600 714595. There are other courses at Humble By Nature this month but they are all sold out well in advance, indeed these two might be too by the time you read this. Friday Talk: The Collection Challenges For Conservators In Rewiring St Fagans Castle National Museum Cardiff. 1.05pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Fused Glass – Wall

Hanging/Bowl Craft In The Bay, Cardiff Bay. 10.30am4.30pm, £75. Info 029 2048 4611. With Bill Swann. JDRF Ladies’ Night Cornerstone, Cardiff. 7pm, £30 adv Info www. cornerstonecardiff.org. Charity event in aid of Type 1 diabetes charity JDRF. Will include a cocktail on arrival, a buffet, live music, talks from JDRF speakers and more. Superstars Of Welsh Wrestling The Welfare, Ystradgynlais. 7.30pm, £10/£8. Info 01639 843163.

live WEDNESDAY 1 WEDNESDAY 1

Andrew Goodwin Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 12.45pm. Info 01792 475715. Organ recital. Ani Glass Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. uBandaoke Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. “Sing with a fully rehearsed band and become the Popstar you always dreamed of being.” Also on Fri 17. BBC NOW: St David’s Day St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5-£37. Info 029 2087 8444. Featuring conductor Gareth Jones and soprano Rebecca Evans. uBella & Gareth Blues Duo Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2038 7026. Also on Wed 8 and Wed 29. Brass Bands And Choirs Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7pm, £10-£15. Info 01656 815995. SDD (St David’s Day) concert. Bridgend Big Band Jazzland, Swansea. 8.3011pm, £10. Info 07802 912789. Camilla George Quartet Old Market Tavern, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £7/£5. Info 029 2037 1263. Jazz in the upstairs function room, brought to you by the folks who were until last month resident in Dempseys. Acoustic Open Mic Night Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 7-11pm, free. Info 01685 384111. Cardiff University Big Band Whiteheads Sports & Social Club, Bassaleg, Newport. 8pm, £8. Info malc@dancebands.plus. com. South Wales Big Band Society gig. uOpen Jam Session The Andrew Buchan, Cardiff. 8pm, free. Info 029 2021 2509. Every Wednesday. Expect to hear jazz, blues, rock or ska here. uOpen Mic Market Street Club, Barry. 8pm. Info 01446 733863. Every Wednesday. Sinfonia Cymru The Riverfront, Newport. 1pm, £5. Info 01633 656757. *Sirene 1009 The Queens Head, Monmouth. 8.45pm, free. Info 01600 712767. Free jazz band from the UK featuring Dom Lash among others. Sounds great. Wish I lived closer to here! St David’s Day National Museum Cardiff. 12pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Music in the main hall. St David’s Day Concert Borough Theatre,

Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £8/£7. Info 01873 850805. With the Blaenavon Male Voice Choir. St David’s Day Concert Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 029 2039 1391. With the Royal Welsh College Brass Band. St David’s Day Lunchtime Concert Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. With singers and harpists. St David’s Day Music Extravaganza Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen. 7.30pm, £10/£8. Info 0845 2263510. Featuring Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin, Huw Chiswell and Heledd Cynwal. Stornoway + Brasstronaut Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £16 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Farewell tour from the headliners, a folky indie band who I always have (had?) to remind myself are (were?) from Oxfordshire and not Scotland. The Answer The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15 adv. Info 07590 471888. Ulster hard rockers. The Little Unsaid + People Poems + George Boomsma Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £4/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. A Folk In The Owl’s Nest night. Tom Martin + Bryony Seir + Violent Hearts NosDa, Cardiff. 8.30pm, free. Info 029 2037 8866. Presented by U&I Radio.

THURSDAY 2

Abbamania Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £20. Info 01874 611622. Tribute show. In Swansea tomorrow; Newport on Thurs 23. Back To Bacharach Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £20. Info 01495 227206. West End singers and a live band perform some of Burt’s best known songs. Black Star Riders + Gun + The Amorettes Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £27/£24 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Hard rock headz. Brooks Williams Lyceum Tavern, Newport. 8pm. Info 01633 858636. A Lyceum Folk Club night. Central Band Of The RAF Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.15pm, £12. Info 029 2039 1391. Ceri Rhys Matthews Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen. 6.308.30pm, £8/£5 for Welsh learners. Info 01267 222775. Folk songs and stories by member of Welsh band Fernhill. Ezio The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12.50 adv. Info 07590 471888. Acoustic duo whose bio doesn’t mention the fact Tony Blair was a fan, as it used to. Hackensack Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £5-£10. Info 029 2038 7026. Local jazz combo. You can pay £5, £7 or £10 depending on what you think their performance is worth. James Kennedy The Pear Tree, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2025 2042. Presented by Nailed It Events. Jane’s Calamity Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. An evening of singing along to songs from the musicals round the piano. John Hassall & The April BUZZ 69

* – recommended

live music Swansea. 7.30pm, £26/£24. Info 01792 475715.

FRIDAY 3

Abbamania Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £20.50/£18.50. Info 01792 475715. Anonymous Iconoclasts The New Crown Inn, Merthyr Tydfil. 9pm, £2. Info 01685 387925. Aubrey Parsons Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Becky Price St Fagans Village Hall. 7.30pm. Info 029 2023 2970. Pentreffest Noz monthly folk session. Big Country Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £20/£18 adv. Info 01792 863722. Catrin Finch Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 029 2039 1391. Cove + Heriot + All To Ruin Sin City, Swansea. 7.30pm, £5 adv. Info 01792 468892. Ffli Friday Open Mic Night The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm. Info gigs@ thedragonffli.com. Free drink for every performer. Fund The Mind Ebbw Vale Institute. 8pm. Info 01495 708022. Bands and singersongwriters in aid of mental

health charities. Kamikaze Millionaires The Patriot, Crumlin. 9.30pm. Info 01495 247178. Kevin Jones Beaufort Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 234447. Presented by Nailed It Events. Like A Lion Ty Newydd, Barry. 9pm, free. Info 01446 407767. Presented by Nailed It Events. Live Acoustic Night The Pilot, Penarth. Free. Info 029 2071 0615. On the first Friday of each month. Lucy Spraggan + Katie London Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union. 7pm, £14.50 adv. Info 029 2078 1458. Martin Carthy & John Kirkpatrick Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 01792 602060. Me And My Friends Gwdihw, Cardiff. 9pm, £6/£4 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. “Golden-ear 1970s West African and Caribbean music with fingerstyle guitar afrofolk” is promised here. That sounds quite good! Meilyr Jones The Gate, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2048 3344. Sound Nation present a gig by a Londonbased Welshie and minor breakout indie-orchestral pop star of last year. Previewed in

pic: David Boni

Rainers + Jack Perrett + Bandicoot The Full Moon, Cardiff. 8pm, £6/£5 adv. Info info@thefullmooncardiff. com. This Feeling present Libertines bassist Hassall’s new band. Kast Off Kinks Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 01873 850805. Kinks tribute band who feature Mick Avory, John Dalton and Ian Gibbons. Yeah, I also instantly recognised those guys as former members of the actual Kinks. Martin Carthy & John Kirkpatrick Memorial Hall Theatre, Barry. 7.30pm, £16/£14. Info 01446 738622. Iconic folksters in duo form. In Swansea tomorrow. Sleeptalking Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £4/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. Presented by Xpress and Juxtaposed. The Americas + The Caspiens + Parish Undertone, Cardiff. 8pm, £5/£3 adv. Info 029 2022 8883. uThe Hold Up Open Mic Sessions Grassroots, Cardiff. 1-4pm, free. Info 029 2023 1700. Mixed style sessions hosted by Steve BeSpoken, also on Thurs 9, Thurs 16, Thurs 23 and Fri 31 (this one is on in the evening). The Sensational 60s Experience Grand Theatre,

THE STRANGLERS Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union, Mon 27 Feb Tickets: £25. Info: 029 2078 1458 / www.cardiffstudents.com “Now the old punk bands, they couldn’t really play their instruments could they? Apart from The Stranglers, they were different.” “The Stranglers, a punk band? It’s just pub rock really. No edge!” Two opposing, yet equally bad, opinions about a group who predated the London punk uprising by a couple of years, and had a more pronounced psych and garage influence than others in the scene – but were a formative influence on postpunk, and pioneers in the bleeding of icy synth sounds into punk’s makeup. In the game for 43 (!) years uninterrupted, The Stranglers now tour with a half-original lineup – vocalist Hugh Cornwell left in 1990 and drummer Jet Black appears to have retired, but given he’s 80 (!) next year probably deserves to put his feet up.

the Feb issue also. Mike Andrew Canton Liberal Club, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £5 adv. Info 029 2022 7725. The world’s #1 Robbie Williams tribute, apparently. I saw the poster for this show while on my lunchbreak and took a photo – which other listings editors are that dedicated to their task? Not the ones you like, I can tell you. uOpen Night The Ivy Bush, Pontardawe. 8pm. Info huwpudner@ntlworld.com. A Valley Folk Club night. Also on Fri 31. Paul Lamb & The King Snakes The Met, Abertillery. 8pm, £12. Info 01495 355800. Blues. Roulston & Young Cabaret Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Londonbased musical cabaret. Schubert Ensemble Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6 adv. Info 029 2039 1391. Shanty + Town Of Cats + Conners & The Con Men + Berenice & Beatbox Hann The Full Moon, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Playing as part of the venue’s fifth birthday celebrations, which also incorporates gigs tomorrow and Sun 5. Steve Mason The Tabernacle, Talgarth. 7.30pm, £3 adv. Info info@ thetabernacle.co.uk. The latest of Alan McGee’s intimate, bafflingly cheap gigs for acts who are pretty well known. I wonder if it’s like that thing where it’s free to get into a strip club but you have to pay £200 for a beer. Apparently. Talking Bird Collective Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Local jazz combo play the opening night of this new bar on Womanby Street, which will serve up jazz, blues and country in the main, plus cocktails. Talon Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 7.30pm, £15.50. Info 01633 868239. Eagles tribute band, plying acoustically in this instance. That Guy We Saw Last Night Hen & Chickens, Abergavenny. 9pm, free. Info 01873 853613. Presented by Nailed It Events. The Amazons + Cupids + Himalayas Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. If you like upbeat indie bands named after things you were taught about in primary school, you won’t want to miss this gig. The Fugitives Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4/£3. Info 029 2038 7026. Blues. The Kenny Driscoll Band Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. The Ramonas + Deathtraps Slipping Jimmy’s, Newport. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 07745 059936. All-female Ramones tribute band. The Urban Voodoo Machine The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £11.50 adv. Info 07590 471888. Self-described “bourbon-soaked gypsy blues bop’n’stroll”. Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra St David’s Hall,

u – repeated

Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8.50-£39.50. Info 029 2087 8444.

SATURDAY 4

A Foreigner’s Journey + Reece Ebbw Vale Institute. 7.30pm, £11 adv. Info 01495 708022. Headliners are a Journey/Foreigner twin tribute. Allan Yn Y Fan Penarth Pier Pavilion. 7.30pm, £6/£5. Info 0844 8700887. Playing a twmpath night. Annisokay + Griever + Nightlives + Ferinus Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5 adv. Info 07970 063107. Annual St David’s Day Concert Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. 7pm, £10/£8. Info 0800 0147111. Featuring the Cwmbach Male Choir. Bartoune The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Gypsy jazz type stuff. Bayside Boogiemen Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. Blackhouse Meze Lounge, Newport. 10pm, £4-£5. Info 01633 259144. Playing as part of the Rock You! night. Chains Of Fleetwood Mac The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £5. Info gigs@ thedragonffli.com. Tribute band. De La Soul Tramshed, Cardiff. 7pm, £25 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Hip-hop legends. Hence this being sold out. Dictaphone Devil Cockett Inn, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 588748. Presented by Nailed It Events. Electric Soup III M.A.D.E. Gallery & Shop, Cardiff. 7-11pm, £5/£4. Info 029 2047 3373. Experimental/electronic/improvisational music from & Friends, Boris A Bono, Ani Glass and the Swansea Laptop Orchestra. Elvis In Ponty District Club, Pontypridd. 7pm, £8-£12. Info 01443 402550. Not one, not five but FOUR Elvis tributes: Pete Graceland, Ponty Presley, Johnny Elvis and compere Paul Campbell. Hannah Rose Platt + Christopher Rees + Blind River Scare Barnabas Arts House, Newport. 7.30pm, £6. Info 01633 673739. Playing the Down By The River night. *Hark + Sigiriya + Vails The Scene Club, Swansea. 7pm, £6 adv. Info 07730 432166. Album launch gig for Swansea/Bristol metallers Hark, supported by two likeminded sorts. See Music. Hip Route + Heavy Quartet + Kookamunga + Captain Accident (Solo) + Harri Davies The Full Moon, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. James Kennedy Birchgrove, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2031 1319. Presented by Nailed It Events. John Otway Le Pub, Newport. 8pm, £12 adv. Info 01633 221477. Venerable UK acoustic rocker type. uJon Crespo Quartet Café Jazz, Cardiff. 9pm, £2 after 11. Info 029 2038 7026. Every Saturday. Jumpin’ Jimmy & The Nice Guys Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com.

Keith Thompson Band Cwmbran RFC, Pontnewydd, Cwmbran. 7.30pm, £10/£8. Info 01633 483238. Borough Blues club gig. Killer Queen Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 8pm, £21.50. Info 01970 623232. Tribute band. Levitating Crow Party The Roath Park, Cardiff. 3pm-3am. Info 01495 708022. The people behind sometime promo venture Levitation present an alldayer (and someofthenighter) with these bands: Dub The Earth, Sendelica, Smiler, Reality Attack, Black Light Secret, Monsterometer and ATOT plus Levitation and Crow Posse DJs. Mike & The Mechanics + Ben McKelvey St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £32.50£37.50. Info 029 2087 8444. I generally forego descriptions when I list this band, on account of having nothing at all to say about them, but it appears that Roachford, from the 90s, is now a member of Mike & The Mechanics. Although I don’t really have anything else to say about that either. One Night Stand Blinkin’ Owl, Cwmbran. 9pm, free. Info 01633 484749. Presented by Nailed It Events. Pauline Kaytannau Wood The Red Dragon, Bridgend. 9pm, free. Info 01656 654753. Presented by Nailed It Events. Rhianedd Hen Dderwen, Sketty, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 203631. Presented by Nailed It Events. Rhiannon The New Crown Inn, Merthyr Tydfil. 9pm, £7/£6 adv. Info 01685 387925. Fleetwood Mac tribute. South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £14.50. Info 029 2039 1391. Performing a set of popular American songs. Soweto Kinch Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £16/£14. Info 01792 602060. UK jazz luminary. St David’s Day Concert Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 6.30pm, £5. Info 01495 243252. Featuring the Celynen Silver Band. Swansea Gospel Male Voice Choir Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 6.30pm, free. Info 01792 475715. The Dole Age + Adrenaline Animals + Soviets + Drowning Flowers Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 01685 384111. Single launch gig for headliners. The Jokers + On The Edge The Patriot, Crumlin. 9.30pm, £4. Info 01495 247178. The Monochrome Set + he Hepburns The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 07590 471888. Literate postpunk/ indie sorts, formed in 1978 and reformed in 2010. This gig has been moved from The Moon Club. The Satellites Rhondda Hotel, Porth. 7pm, £4 adv. Info 01443 682388. Punk covers band. The Undercover Hippy Snails Deli, Rhiwbina, Cardiff. 7pm, £20 inc buffet. Info 029 2062 0415. In Hay on Fri 24. Tia McGraff & Tommy Parham Burnett’s

JUST ANNOUNCED FOR APRIL: ROSS THE BOSS (The Scene Club, Swansea, Sat 1) YORKSTON THORNE KHAN (The Big Top, Cardiff, Thurs 6) SHOWHAWK (The Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Sun 9) THE BEAT + THE SELECTER (Tramshed, Cardiff, Fri 14) YOU ME AT SIX + TONIGHT ALIVE + BLACK FOXXES (Motorpoint Arena, Sat 15) THE BIG MOON (Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Fri BUZZ 70

live music Hill Chapel, Martletwy, Pembrokeshire. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 01646 651725. US country duo. Tom Harrison Quartet Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £12.50 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. Sax man plus band. Tuk Tuk Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Cardiff jazz combo. Vant Sin City, Swansea. 7pm, £11 adv. Info 01792 468892. Who’s Next The Dolls House, Abertillery. 7.30pm, £7. Info 01495 213300. Who tribute band.

SUNDAY 5

Capa Mana The Queens Head, Monmouth. 8.45pm, free. Info 01600 712767. Balkan styled band. Classical Revolution Little Man Coffee Co, Cardiff. 4-6pm, free. Info 07933 844234. Monthly session of classical music in an informal setting. If you’re interested in performing, email classicalrevolutioncardiff@ gmail.com. Dan Reed Network The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £18 adv. Info 07590 471888. Hamell On Trial Le Pub, Newport. 2pm. Info 01633 221477. Raucous American folk-rock geezer returns to Wales after a gap of, oh, not terribly long. Got a horrible feeling I’ve been spelling his name ‘Hammell’ all this time. Milk + Tree House Fire + Clay Statues + Palomino Party + Godbomber + Acoumetal The Full Moon, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Revolution Solution Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2039 7933. Monthly music and poetry night with Novacoda, Fader, Rufus Mufas and DJ Auricom performing this month, plus an open mic. These guys have a truly dismal Facebook page consisting of dozens of inane wake-upsheeple memes with a Milo Yiannopolous and Paul Joseph Watson fascist garnish. Oh and Immortal Technique Youtube links of course. Tamara Stefanovich Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 2pm, £15-£19. Info 029 2039 1391. Recital from Yugoslavian pianist. The Elvis Years St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £22.50/£20.50. Info 029 2087 8444. Musical, with a live band. uThe Great Unknown The Windsor, Penarth. 9pm, free. Info 029 2070 8675. Every Sunday this month.

MONDAY 6

Dick Hamer Quartet Noah’s Yard, Swansea. 8pm. Info 01792 447360. Live jazz, acts playing here every Monday. uUkulele Session The Andrew Buchan, Cardiff. 8.30pm, free. Info 029 2021 2509. Every Monday, with The Plucking Fourstrings.

TUESDAY 7

Acoustic Tuesday South Riverside Community

Development Centre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5. Info 029 2030 4400. Regular event led by pioneering local musicians and singers. uCommunity Samba Band – Practise Dates Llanfrynach Village Hall, Brecon. 7-9pm, £4/£2 under16s. Info sambabrecon@ yahoo.co.uk. Every Tuesday. Dave Mason St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £32.50.

491424. Second Wednesday of every month. Jam Night The New Crown Inn, Merthyr Tydfil. 8pm, free. Info 01685 387925. Jim Bainbridge Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club. 7.30pm, £8/£5. Info 01443 226892. A Llantrisant Folk Club night. Sam Bailey Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £25-£75.50. Info 01792 475715. X Factor

Cardiff's M.A.D.E. Gallery has an evening of experimental electronics on Sat 4 Mar. Ani Glass, Boris A Bono, & Friends and the Swansea Laptop Orchestra make the noises. Info 029 2087 8444. The guy out of Traffic that isn’t Steve Winwood. Man & The Echo Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. A glampop outfit from Warrington, it says here. They don’t look very glam in their promo pics. uOpen Mic The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, free. Info 01497 821762. Every Tuesday. uOpen Mic Night Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Every Tuesday. Retro Youth + Rabid Young Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 07970 063107. RY the first are an “alt trio” while RY the second are “electro rockers” from Vegas. Simon Rowland Jones & Tim Horton Cardiff University Concert Hall. 7pm, £10/£8/free NUS. Info 029 2087 4816. Surprising to see a dead Canadian ice hockey player and doughnut saleman popping up on the piano here, unless this is a different Tim Horton, which I doubt. Taupe Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. Jazzy punk band from Newcastle. The Society Jazz Band Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4.50/£4/£2 NUS. Info 029 2038 7026.

WEDNESDAY 8

Afuriko The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, £7/£5 NUS. Info info@thefullmooncardiff.com. African-inspired jazz funk type thing featuring Eddie Parker on flutes and Steve Buckley on saxophones. In Cafe Jazz tomorrow and the Cardiff Uni Concert Hall on Fri 10. BBC NOW: International Women’s Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £10-£12. Info 029 2063 6464. Xian Zhang conducts an all-female lineup. Celebrating Edward Gregson Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6 adv. Info 029 2039 1391. Gregson himself conducts the Royal Welsh College Brass Band. Folk Night Clwb Y Bont, Pontypridd. 7pm. Info 01443

winner. Top rate tickets get you some meet’n’greet stuff. Seth Lakeman St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7pm, £22.50. Info 029 2087 8444. Nice folk man. Sing A Story Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 10.30am + 1.30pm, £2. Info 01686 614555. Sinfonia Cymru present a musical show for kids. Songhouse Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Jazz. Steve Williams Trio Jazzland, Swansea. 8.3011pm, £10. Info 07802 912789. The Skyliners Big Band Whiteheads Sports & Social Club, Bassaleg, Newport. 8pm, £8. Info malc@dancebands. plus.com. South Wales Big Band Society gig. uThe X Factor Live Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 6.30pm, £20-£55. Info 029 2022 4488. On tomorrow also.

THURSDAY 9

Afuriko Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2038 7026. Benn Willis The Pear Tree, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2025 2042. Presented by Nailed It Events. Blaze Bayley Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 8pm, £12/£10 adv. Info 07970 063107. He was Iron Maiden’s singer for a few years, but if he pulls a pint or two after the gig a photo probably won’t appear in the local paper. Capital City Jazz Orchestra St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 8pm, £13/£11. Info 029 2087 8444. Hiding From Girls Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Jazz and blues. Howard Jones + Rachael Sage Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £23.50. Info 01656 815995. KoKo The Unicorn, Pontypool. 7.30pm, £3. Info 01495 751304. Folk band fronted by Liz Mullins.Playing the monthly music sessions ran by the folks who previously did Open Hearth Acoustic. Les McKeown Bay City Rollers Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. 8pm, £22.50. Info 0800 0147111. Mass Collective Porter’s,

Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. uOpen Mic Night Lyceum Tavern, Newport. 8.30pm. Info 01633 858636. Every Thursday except when there’s a guest on – also on Thurs 16, 23 and 30 this month. Royal Welsh College Chamber Orchestra Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 029 2039 1391. Saints, Songs And Celebrations Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 7pm. Info 01792 475715. Slightly late St David’s Day celebration concert featuring over 300 kids.

FRIDAY 10

Afuriko Cardiff University Concert Hall. 7pm, £10/£8/ free NUS. Info 029 2087 4816. Eden Roots Reggae Band Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4/£3. Info 029 2038 7026. Elbow + C Duncan Newport Centre. 7pm, £35 adv. Info 01633 656757. Avuncular Lancastrians. Might be sold out. Feel Good Horns Gwdihw, Cardiff. 9pm, £4/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. Jamie Smith’s Mabon + Ofelia + Morfa + Achrann Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7pm, £8/£5. Info 01656 815995. Playing as part of the Cwlwm Celtaidd folk festival. Jazzabelles The Parrot, Carmarthen. 8pm. Info 01267 231012. Carmarthenshire jazz duo. Lost In Chemistry The Full Moon, Cardiff. 10.30pm, free. Info info@thefullmooncardiff. com. Playing after the rugby. Lynsey Pugh Riverside Tavern, Newport. 7.3010.30pm, free. Info 01633 439166. Soul/pop cover artist. Motley Crue’d The Patriot, Crumlin. 6.30pm, £7 adv. Info 01495 247178. Tribute band. New Roads Beaufort Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 234447. Presented by Nailed It Events. Paul Dark Ty Newydd, Barry. 9pm, free. Info 01446 407767. Presented by Nailed It Events. Peter Verhoyen Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. Piccolo recital. There’s something you don’t get many of round these parts. Rough & Tumble 01 The Big Top, Cardiff. 10pm, £5. Info 029 2022 8883. Roughion present a music showcase night featuring live bands and electronic acts, names currently TBC though. Spanner + Primeval Soup Le Pub, Newport. 7.30pm, free. Info 01633 221477. The Boom Sons + Sticks And Stones + In Requiem + Forget Me Forever Hobo’s, Bridgend. 7pm, £2. Info www.hobosmusicvenue. com. The Cuban Brothers The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12 adv. Info 07590 471888. See Upfront. The Rumblestrutters The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 01497 821762. The Trends Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965.

Welsh Sinfonia & Swansea University Orchestra Great Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus. 6.30pm, £15/£12. Info 01792 602060.

SATURDAY 11

Afro Cluster + Levi+ Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 8pm, £10. Info 029 2030 4400. Cardiffian funky hip-hop band headline. All Time Low Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union. 7pm, £28.50 adv. Info 029 2078 1458. Pop (as in popular, because they’re dead popular) -punk band from the States. Amber Le Pub, Newport. 7.30pm, free. Info 01633 221477. BBC NOW: Scheherazade Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 7.30pm, £15-£20. Info 01792 475715. Xian Zhang conducts a programme of Britten, Shostakovich and RimskyKorsakov. Calan + Cat’s Claw + Harp Ensemble + Maquarries + Toms Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7pm, £16 adv. Info 01656 815995. Playing as part of the Cwlwm Celtaidd folk festival. Cameron & Hannah The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Candelas + Chroma + Cpt. Smith Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 8pm, £7 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. Presented by Twrw. Cantemus Chamber Choir Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £16/£12. Info 029 2039 1391. Casio Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@porterscardiff.com. Felix Subway + Joel Morgan + News From Nowhere The Scene Club, Swansea. 7pm, £3. Info 07730 432166. Fired Up Riverside Tavern, Newport. 8pm. Info 01633 439166. Cover band whose nicknames I am pleased to share with you: Andy ‘Bing’ Crosby, Daz ‘Daz’ James, Andy ‘Chilli’ Carney, Mark ‘Pikey’ Peters and Ian ‘Balmy’ Balm. Fred’s House St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 01446 799100. UK folk-pop outfit. Hazel O’Connor Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £22.50 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. Henry Marten’s Ghost Cockett Inn, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 588748. Presented by Nailed It Events. James Kennedy Three Horse Shoes, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2069 4630. Presented by Nailed It Events. John Paul Birchgrove, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2031 1319. Presented by Nailed It Events. Kaia Kater Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Canadian folk sort. Kikamora + Everyday Heroes The Patriot, Crumlin. 9.30pm. Info 01495 247178. Laura Jurd Dinosaur Cardiff University Concert Hall. 7pm, £10/£8/free NUS. Info 029 2087 4816. Jazz quartet led by trumpeter Jurd. Mike & Jenny Clark + Jonathan Searle Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7pm, £5. Info 01495 243252. Presented by

the Salvation Army, for some reason. Peter Jagger The Red Dragon, Bridgend. 9pm, free. Info 01656 654753. Presented by Nailed It Events. Plasterscene + Old Samuel + Dysphoria The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £2. Info gigs@thedragonffli. com. Prognosis Earl Haig Memorial Club, Cardiff. 9pm. Info 029 2062 6015. Covers band tackling the poppier end of prog rock: Genesis, Toto, Supertramp etc. Good niche idea. Quay Street Cellar Bar, Cardigan. 8.30pm, £5.50£8.50. Info 07818 056599. Showaddywaddy Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 8pm, £19. Info 01970 623232. Sinfonia Cymru Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.45pm, £12/£10. Info 01686 614555. Skylab 3 Undertone, Cardiff. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 029 2022 8883. Smiling Ivy The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. St David’s Celebrationm Concert Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £16/£14. Info 0845 2263510. Alwyn Humphreys conducts a 100-strong male voice choir. Stiff Little Fingers Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £18.50 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Sold out. Ten Fé Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7pm, £6 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. The Firm Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. The Revamps Meze Lounge, Newport. 10pm, £4-£5. Info 01633 259144. Playing as part of the Rock You! night.

SUNDAY 12

ARW Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 8pm, £35-£75. Info 029 2022 4488. That’s Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman, playing a Yes-centric set of classic prog. See Upfront.. BBC NOW: Music In Vienna 1700, 1800, 1900 Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 3pm, £5. Info 029 2063 6464. Andrea Quinn conducts a programme of Haydn and Beethoven. uFolk Music & Song Session Arvon Ale House, Llandrindod Wells. 4pm. Info 07477 627267. Every second and fourth Sunday of the month (also on Sun 26 in March), with an extra acoustic session now on the third Sunday (Sun 19) too. Glyn Knight Earl Haig Memorial Club, Cardiff. 6-8pm. Info 029 2062 6015. Hot Club Swing Café Jazz, Cardiff. 6-9pm, £4. Info 029 2038 7026. Local musicians are invited to join in for an acoustic ‘gypsy jazz’ jam from 6.30-7.30pm. International Women’s Day The Bucket List, Swansea. 7-9pm. Info 01792 470480. Live music and spoken word from acts TBC. International Women’s Day Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 6-10pm. Info 029 2063 6464. Glanfa stage, 6-7pm: free live music

21) BRYDE (St John’s Church, Cardiff, Fri 21) THE WYTCHES (Clwb Ifor Bach, Mon 24) SHAKIN’ STEVENS (St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Mon 24) JAMIE LENMAN (Clwb Ifor Bach, Fri 28) JUST ANNOUNCED FOR MAY: EDDIE READER (Tramshed, Tue 2) DAN PATLANSKY (The Globe, Thurs 4) KRS-ONE (Sin City, Swansea, Fri 5) THE VIEW (Tramshed, Fri 12) MAXIMO PARK BUZZ 71

* – recommended

live music and spoken word. Weston Studio, 7.30-10pm: live music, speakers and workshops. Morfa + Cesar Joughin Band + EOS + Aneurin Jones + Dylan Cairns Howarth Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 1pm, £5 adv. Info 01656 815995. Playing as part of the Cwlwm Celtaidd folk festival. Ragtime Jug Band The Queens Head, Monmouth. 8.45pm, free. Info 01600 712767. Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama Students National Museum Cardiff. 1pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. The Ed Sheeran Encounter + Taylor Bradley The New Crown Inn, Merthyr Tydfil. 6.30pm, free. Info 01685 387925. Tribute act. This Is Tom Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 8pm, £17.50. Info 01600 772467. Tom Jones tribute by Andy Wood.

£6-£10. Info 029 2087 8444. Dave Smith Quartet Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4.50/£4/£2 NUS. Info 029 2038 7026. Ian Stoutzker Prize: SemiFinal Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7pm, £12/£10. Info 029 2039 1391. Mike Tramp Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7pm, £8 adv. Info 07970 063107. Danish hard rock survivor. Remi Harris Trio Muse Arts Centre, Brecon. 8pm, £10/£8 members. Info 07791 654799. Presented by Brecon Jazz Club. Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama Showcase The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, £7/£5 NUS. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Presented by Cardiff Jazz. Stone Cold Sober Jam The New Crown Inn, Merthyr Tydfil. 8pm, free. Info 01685 387925.

MONDAY 13

WEDNESDAY 15

Cardiff County & Vale Of Glamorgan Junior Music Festival St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7pm, £6-£10. Info 029 2087 8444. Future Blood Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7pm, £3. Info 01792 863722. New local bands. Tommy Harris Quartet Noah’s Yard, Swansea. 8pm. Info 01792 447360.

TUESDAY 14

Against The Current The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15 adv. Info 07590 471888. Cardiff County & Vale Of Glamorgan Music Service Spring Showcase 2017 St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7pm,

Andy Collins Open Mic Night Cockett Inn, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 588748. Presented by Nailed It Events. Blues Duo Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2038 7026. Bobby Shew & Dave Cottle Trio Jazzland, Swansea. 8.3011pm, £12. Info 07802 912789. Gerry & The Pacemakers The Riverfront, Newport. 7.30pm, £22. Info 01633 656757. Llywelyn Ifan Jones Maesteg Town Hall. 3pm, £5.50. Info 01656 733269. Harp recital. Maire Nì Chathasaigh & Chris Newman Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club. 7.30pm, £8/£5. Info 01443

live review BUSTED

Newport Centre, Thurs 9 Feb

226892. Irish harp/guitar duo. A Llantrisant Folk Club night. Marlene VerPlanck & The Capital City Jazz Orchestra Whiteheads Sports & Social Club, Bassaleg, Newport. 8pm, £8. Info malc@dancebands.plus. com. South Wales Big Band Society gig. Mozart Serenade Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. With the Royal Welsh College Chamber Winds. Naomi Rae Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Patsy Cline: The Concert She Never Gave Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £18-£21. Info 01656 815995. With Sandy Kelly as Patsy, plus guest vocalist George Hamilton IV. In Cartmarthen on Fri 17. Plini + Disperse + David Maxim Micic The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £11 adv. Info 07590 471888. I think these people are shred guitar/ virtuoso types. Also I thought the first guy’s surname was Roman numerals. Although MICIC wouldn’t be an actual number would it. The Strawberries Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5/£3 NUS. Info 029 2039 7933. Hosted by Luckyman Records. Tuk Tuk The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, £7/£5 NUS. Info info@thefullmooncardiff.com. Presented by Cardiff Jazz.

THURSDAY 16

BBC NOW Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £5-£22. Info 01970 623232. Otto Tausk conducts a programme of

Janácek, Mendelssohn, Smetana and Dvorak. Ben Haenow The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12.50 adv/£25 VIP. Info 07590 471888. This guy won the 11th season of X Factor in 2014 and as a result is now living out his lifelong dream of playing a 350-cap venue in Wales. How do you get a surname like Haenow? Did he have ancestors who calmed down situations for a living? Chali 2na & Krafty Kuts Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 029 2023 2199. Teamup of Jurassic 5 rapper and nuskool breaks don. Chris Kelly The Pear Tree, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2025 2042. Presented by Nailed It Events. Craig David Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 7.30pm, £38/£35. Info 029 2022 4488. This place is bigger than the ones he was playing first time round, right? Heck of a comeback from big Craigy. John Gibbon Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2038 7026. Maire Ni Cathasaigh & Chris Newman The Angel, Llandeilo. 7.30pm. Info 01558 822765. A Llandeilo Acoustic folk night. Glories Of The Russian Orthodox Church Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 029 2039 1391. Featuring the Royal Welsh College Chamber Choir. Jane Williams & Pete Mathison Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Jazz Jam Night Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com.

u – repeated

Oysters 3 Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01239 621200. UK folk group who formed from the discarded grit of the Oysterband. So to speak. In Pontardawe tomorrow. Pi & Hash Showcase The Full Moon, Cardiff. 8.30pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Sinfonia Cymru Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5-£16. Info 029 2039 1391. Featuring conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy and soloist Jess Gillam. In Newport on Sat 18. The Everley Brothers & Friends Triubte Show Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £16/£14. Info 0845 2263510.

FRIDAY 17

*Alasdair Roberts Trio + Sound Of Yell The Parrot, Carmarthen. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 01267 231012. Scottish alt-folk champ with a band including Alex Neilson, also a champ. See Music. In Swansea on Sun 19; Cardiff on Sat 25. Analogue Noise + Jack Perrett + The Devil In Virginia The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £2. Info gigs@thedragonffli.com. Applied Science + Moose Funk Squad Gwdihw, Cardiff. 9pm, £5 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. Album launch party for headliners. also featuring Levi+, DJ Jaffa, DJ Auricom and DJ Alkemy. Arno Bornkamp Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. Recital of 20th century saxophone compositions.

Castalian Quartet St John’s Church, Canton, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15/£12.50 adv. Info 029 2022 9683. Youthful classical ensemble. Cat’s Claw Whitchurch Rugby Club, Cardiff. Info 029 2061 2477. Ceilidh band, with caller Ned Clamp, performing for St Patrick’s Day. Dansette Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4/£3. Info 029 2038 7026. Blues. Dinner On The OPrient Express Hamptons, Penarth. 7.30pm, £39. Info 029 2070 5391. With a five-course meal plus Claire Hingott singing with the Graham Watkins Jazz Trio. Elliot Galvin Trio Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Youngish Brit jazz. Might be decent. Fighting Caravans The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info info@thefullmooncardiff.com. Florence Black Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 7.30pm, £5 adv. Info 01685 384111. Forever Jackson Maesteg Town Hall. 7.30pm, £20.50. Info 01656 733269. Michael J tribute. Gigspanner St Augustine’s Church, Rumney, Cardiff. 7pm, £15 adv. Info derek@rumneyfolkclub.co.uk. A Rumney Folk Club night. James Kennedy Beaufort Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 234447. Presented by Nailed It Events. Lee Calaway Ty Newydd, Barry. 9pm, free. Info 01446 407767. Presented by Nailed It Events. Lewis & Leigh Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2089 0862. WelshAmerican country-rock duo.

Noughties pop-rock trio James, Matt and Charlie announced early in 2016 that they were reuniting, to the delight of the inner teenager inside all of us late-20s/early-30s fangirls. A packed Newport Centre welcomed in an old and new generation of excited fans. Not to be compared with their double-headliner tour from a few years back with not-so-rival band from back in the day McFly, this is less a tour of reminiscence and more an introduction to their new, ‘edgier’ and more ‘mature’, material. Opening with tracks from new album Night Driver, Kids And Computers and On What You’re On had hints of the catchy hooks you would expect from a Busted song filtered through an 80s soft rock sound. The rising lull in the audience made it obvious this was not what the crowd was here for. However, Busted managed to win back their favour by jumping quickly into old favourite Air Hostess, ties wrapped around heads as bandanas: this is what you expected to see at a Busted gig. After that little teaser, the trio revert to new stuff, a guest sax player coming and going. Busted have not only decided on trying out something new, they’ve dived into it all guns blazing – gone is the ‘teenage boys playing in their parents’ garage’ sound that made them famous. Yet it just felt a bit silly, out of place and more dated than their original material. Nerves were sinking in for newly reconciled member Charlie Simpson, who seemed to forget his lyrics on several occasions. Always seen as the lead singer, Charlie left poor Matt and James high and dry back in 2004 when he elected to go it alone. Being a mere trio, they had no choice but to disband, ‘pop-rock duo’ not having quite the same ring to it. To the delight of the audience, though, Busted finished with an indulgent stroll down memory lane, finishing with all the golden oldies: Sleeping With The Light On, Crashed The Wedding and an encore of their debut hit What I Go To School For. If you were to compare this with the hugely successful McBusted tour, chalk and cheese come to mind. It was low-budget and underwhelming in comparison. Still, all credit is due to a band known for their novelty pop-rock to tour under the alias of Busted, seemingly in the hope that we would now see them as something rather different. words DENIECE CUSACK photos ARABELLA ITANI

(Tramshed, Tue 16) SAM BAILEY (St David’s Hall, Wed 18) MIKE PETERS & THE ALARM (Cardiff University, Fri 19) WHISKEY MYERS (Tramshed, Wed 24) RYLEY WALKER (The Globe, Fri 26) THE BESNARD LAKES (The Globe, Tue 30) JUST ANNOUNCED FOR JUNE: JESS GLYNNE (Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, Sat 3) MELT-BANANA (The Globe, Sun 4) RICHARD & ADAM (Princess BUZZ 72

live music Sold out. Like A Lion Hen & Chickens, Abergavenny. 9pm, free. Info 01873 853613. Presented by Nailed It Events. Much Ado Llanwrda Hall, Llandovery. 7.30pm. Info 01550 720483. Twmpath night, hosted by Llandovery Folk Dancing. NC Sessions Nolton Corner, Bridgend. 7.30pm, free. Info 01656 655015. Live acoustic acts, every third Thursday of the month. Oysters 3 Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £17/£15 adv. Info 01792 863722. Pama Int’l The Globe, Cardiff. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 07590 471888. Trojan Records night with this reggae outfit plus DJs. Patsy Cline: The Concert She Never Gave Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen. 7.30pm, £21/£19. Info 0845 2263510. Peter Hook & The Light Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £20 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Don’t laugh right, but how have I spent 20+ years enjoying the music of Joy Division and New Order yet never processed the fact that they both have an album called Substance? Until reading the listing for this gig, in which Hook and band will be playing both albums. This is really bothering me. Punchline The Duke Of Wellington, Cowbridge. 9.30pm, free. Info 01446 773592. Presented by Nailed It Events. Rachel Podger Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £18/£16. Info 029 2039 1391. Violinist, with the Royal Welsh College Strings, recites Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Rag Mama Rag West End Club, Barry. 7pm, £10/£8 adv. Info 07561 143114. A Roots N’ All gig featuring old timey country duo. Shirley Bassey Tribute The Victoria Park, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2037 4212. By Kaytannau. Presented by Nailed It Events. The Bella Collins Band Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. The Happenings Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. The Hennesseys Cornerstone, Cardiff. Info www.cornerstonecardiff.org. Cardiffian folk group play for St Patrick’s Day. The XX Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 7pm, £27.50. Info 029 2022 4488. See Music. This looks to be sold out! UK Guns N’ Roses Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7pm, £2-£5. Info 07970 063107. Tribute band.

SATURDAY 18

Chris Kelly Birchgrove, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2031 1319. Presented by Nailed It Events. Death Remains + Brunel Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7pm, £4 adv. Info 07970 063107. Dillie Keane Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £19.50. Info 029 203 1391. Bawdy songs and suchlike from one of the Fascinating Aïda cast. Donna Marie The Red

Dragon, Bridgend. 9pm, free. Info 01656 654753. Presented by Nailed It Events. Evil Turkeys Hobo’s, Bridgend. 8pm, free. Info www.hobosmusicvenue.com. Fingertrap + Soviets The Full Moon, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info info@thefullmooncardiff. com. Hawkwind The Neon, Newport. 7.30pm, £22 adv. Info 01633 533666. British space rock legends. I for one would not be surprised to see Neon owner and UKIP party member Andrew Byers running to the front whenever they play something from before 1973. James Arthur St David’s

8965. The Derellas + Ambition Demolition + The Setbacks The Dolls House, Abertillery. 7.30pm. Info 01495 213300. The Endellion String Quartet Great Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus. 7.30pm, £15/£12. Info 01792 602060. The Harry Fontaine Band Meze Lounge, Newport. 10pm, £4-£5. Info 01633 259144. Playing as part of the Rock You! night. The Mystery Room Cockett Inn, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 588748. Presented by Nailed It Events. The Osmonds Grand

Afuriko are a jazz-funk ensemble inspired by West African music. They play three Cardiff dates from Wed 8-Fri 10, in the Full Moon, Cafe Jazz and University Concert Hall. Hall, Cardiff. 7pm, £35/£29.50. Info 029 2087 8444. Previous X Factor winner – one of at least three to appear in this month’s listings – whose new album is titled Back From The Edge. Keen to hear more about his notion of ‘the edge’ for sure. Sold out. Junior Conservatoire Foyer Concert Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.45pm, free. Info 029 2039 1391. Lilygreen & The Love Machine Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Lower Than Atlantis Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union. 7pm, £16 adv. Info 029 2078 1458. UK rock band. Getting pretty big maybe. Martin Roscoe & Liza Ferschtman Rhos Y Gilwen, Pembrokeshire. 8pm, £17. Info 01239 841387. Violinist and pianist. Max Unity + Brywm + Victor Cougar + Telecumus Egg + Laz Lazerus + Reality Bites Duncan Cathays Community Centre, Cardiff. 7pm, £5. Info 029 2037 3144. Fundraiser gig for Sound & Vision Collective. Monsterometer + Red & The Hogweeds + Becky The Bullet Cellar Bar, Cardigan. 8.30pm, £5.50£8.50. Info 07818 056599. Nearly Dan The Globe, Cardiff. 8pm, £14 adv. Info 07590 471888. Steely Dan tribute band. Scuffed Up Boots The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Sinfonia Cymru The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £6-£17. Info 01633 656757. Take To The Skies The Scene Club, Swansea. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 07730 432166. Enter Shikari tribute band. Maybe the first, maybe the last too. The 4th Kind Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039

Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £35. Info 01656 815995. They were playing the Motorpoint Arena a few years back, and proclaiming it to be their last ever tour. This is somewhere a tenth of the size. Possibly because Donny isn’t involved. That concludes all the thinking I wish to do about the Osmonds today. The Plums + The Tin Men Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 7.45pm, £6.50 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. The Real Kings Of Spain + Kingson The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £2. Info gigs@thedragonffli.com. The Shakes Hen Dderwen, Sketty, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 203631. Presented by Nailed It Events. The University Singers Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 8pm, £2-£9.50. Info 01970 623232. David Russell Hulme conducts a programme of Puccini, Vaughan Williams and Handel. The Welsh Camerata St Woolos Cathedral, Newport. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info www.welshcamerata.org. Performing music from 17th century composers from north-east Germany. In Cardiff on Sat 25. Vice Squad + Brassick District Club, Pontypridd. 7pm, £12/£9 adv. Info 01443 402550. Punk veterans headline. Punk Forever are the promoters and this gig has been moved from The Moon Club. uWelsh Brass Band Championships Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 10am. Info 01792 475715. Aiming to reach the finals of the National Brass Band Championships Of Great Britain. On tomorrow also.

SUNDAY 19

Acoustic Session Arvon Ale House, Llandrindod Wells. 4pm. Info 07477 627267. Alasdair Roberts Trio +

Chris Cundy Noah’s Yard, Swansea. 7.30-10.30pm, £6/£5. Info 01792 447360. Presented by NAWR. More info at www.rwan.cymru. Bare Knuckle Parade + Tendons + Georgia Paterson Band The Full Moon, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £7/£6 adv. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Chapter Four Jazz Quartet Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2030 4400. Jazz in the bar. Junior Hacksaw Earl Haig Memorial Club, Cardiff. 6-8pm, free. Info 029 2062 6015. Marti Pellow Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £27.50-£75.50. Info 029 2063 6464. He is looking a little bit Morrissey these days, and also a little bit Pat Nevin. I think it’s a middle-aged man/bushy brows thing. Red River Blues The Queens Head, Monmouth. 8.45pm, free. Info 01600 712767. Old Strafford The Brunswick, Swansea. 9pm. Info 01792 465676. Sonata Arctica Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £19 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Some sort of cheesy metal band. Tony McManus Rhos Y Gilwen, Pembrokeshire. 8pm, £12. Info 01239 841387. Celtic guitarist. Welsh National Opera Orchestra St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 3pm, £8.50-£39.50. Info 029 2087 8444.

MONDAY 20

Bill Kirchen & Austin De Lone + Glas Earl Haig Memorial Club, Cardiff. 7-10.30pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2062 6015. Austin used to be in Eggs Over Easy who were the first UK pub rock band. Although at the time I think this just meant they played in pubs. as they basically sounded like country & western from what I recall. Jango Haze Noah’s Yard, Swansea. 8pm. Info 01792 447360. uOlly Murs Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 6.30pm, £55/£39.50. Info 029 2022 4488. On tomorrow also. uThriller Live Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £13-£32. Info 01792 475715. M Jackson and Jackson Five tribute, previous West End hit. On at 5 and 8.30pm on Fri 24; 4 and 8pm on Sat 25. (Until Sat 25)

TUESDAY 21

Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral Choir St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 1pm, £5-£7. Info 029 2087 8444. Geko Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7pm, £12 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. Not sure who this guy is but he has impressively sculpted facial hair and is here as part of a six-date UK tour. Gerardo Núñez & Carmen Cortes Quartet Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £18.50/£17.50. Info 01239 621200. Flamenco guitarist and gypsy dancer. In Brecon Wed 22; Swansea on Thurs 23;

Aberystwyth on Fri 24. Mallory Knox + Lonely The Brave + Fatherson Tramshed, Cardiff. 7pm, £16 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 8pm, £15/£14. Info 029 2087 8444. A Roots Unearthed gig. Spike’s 5 & Dime Band Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4.50/£4/£2 NUS. Info 029 2038 7026. Students Of Atlantic College St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 3pm, £6.50. Info 01446 799100. Cafe concert. The Washboard Resonators Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm. Info 029 2039 7933.

WEDNESDAY 22

Celtic Guitar Journeys Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £13/£11. Info 01873 850805. Featuring Soig Sibéril from Brittany, Ian Melrose from Scotland and Dylan Fowler from Wales. In Builth Wells tomorrow; Swansea on Fri 24; Barry on Tue 28; Cardigan on Wed 29; Maesteg on Fri 31. Chamber Philharmonic Europe Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £10-£15. Info 0845 2263510. Gerardo Núñez & Carmen Cortes Quartet Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 01874 611622. Jelly Roll Jones Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm. Info 029 2038 7026. Martyn Wyndham-Read & Iris Bishop Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 8pm, £7. Info 01970 623232. Folk duo, Martin having solid pedigree (played with Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick). Phil Dando Big Band with Heather Castle Whiteheads Sports & Social Club, Bassaleg, Newport. 8pm, £8. Info malc@dancebands.plus. com. South Wales Big Band Society gig. Royal Welsh College Harpists Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. Performing Paul Patterson’s works for harp, which evoked the subject of insects (it says here). Sarah Meek Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Snake Davis Band Jazzland, Swansea. 8.3011pm, £13.50. Info 07802 912789. The Beatles & Friends Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7pm, £5.50-£8.50. Info 01239 621200. Performed by pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn.

THURSDAY 23

Abbamania The Riverfront, Newport. 7.30pm, £21. Info 01633 656757. Camille O’Sullivan St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 8pm, £19. Info 029 2087 8444. See Upfront. Celtic Guitar Journeys The Wyeside, Builth Wells. 8pm, £13/£12. Info 01982 552555. Deadbeat Deluxe The Full Moon, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info info@thefullmooncardiff. com. Playing after the rugby. Discount Columbo +

Fingertrap + Carolines + Mahouts Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7pm, £5. Info 029 2039 7933. Georgia Paterson The Pear Tree, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2025 2042. Presented by Nailed It Events. Gerardo Núñez & Carmen Cortes Quartet Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £16/£15. Info 01792 602060. Gethin Liddington Quartet Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Nathan Grisdale + Raffer + John Nicholas Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30-10.30pm, £10 adv/£30 VIP. Info 029 2023 2199. As you can guess from the VIP ticket option, Nathan Grisdale is one of those sappy acoustic dingbats who got popular on Youtube. All those guys are hiding dark, dark secrets and it’s just a matter of time before we find out what they are, The Virginmarys Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. “Old school rock’n’roll from Macclesfield”. Oh yeah? Name five Macc Lads albums then. Bet they can’t. Three Beats Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 8pm, £9.50. Info 01656 815995. Jazz trio led by clarinettist Pete Allen. Tim Garland Electric Quartet Queens Hall, Narberth. 7.30pm, £5-£15. Info 01834 869323. Jazz saxist plus band. In Cardiff tomorrow. T. Rexstacy Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen. 7pm, £21. Info 0845 2263510. Tribute band.

FRIDAY 24

Aubrey Parsons Beaufort Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 234447. Presented by Nailed It Events. Bear’s Den Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £16.50 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Some sort of beige acoustic folk stuff that is also sold out thanks to your willingness to settle for less, culturally speaking. Beth Blade & The Beautiful Disasters The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £2. Info gigs@thedragonffli. com. Catrin Finch’s Classical Cafe Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £10/£7.50. Info 029 2089 0862. Celtic Guitar Journeys Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.45pm, £13.50/£10.50. Info 01792 475715. Darren Eedens & The Slim Pickins Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407. Deadbeat Deluxe The Full Moon, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info info@thefullmooncardiff. com. Playing after Ireland v Wales in the football. Denmark Street Big Band Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 0845 2263510. In Blackwood tomorrow. Derek Nash, Dave Cottle, Alan Vaughan & Martin Fisher The Open Hearth, Pontypool. 8.30pm. Info martin.fisher1944@hotmail. co.uk. A Jazz At The Open Hearth night, which are back on every month having gone away for a bit. Eva Lazarus + Timbali +

Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, Fri 9) UB40 + LEVEL 42 (Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, Sat 10) TAKE THAT + ALL SAINTS (Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wed 14) JOHN OWEN-JONES (Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Fri 16) TOM CLARKE (The Globe, Sun 18) BEVERLEY KNIGHT (St David’s Hall, Thurs 22) MADBALL (Clwb Ifor Bach, Mon 26) JUSTIN BIEBER + HALSEY (Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Fri 30) BUZZ 73

* – recommended

live music Tone Poets + Mansfield Green Gwdihw, Cardiff. 9pm, £8/£6 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. British hip-hop and related jollies, presented by Starving Artists. Ferocious Dog The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £13.50 adv. Info 07590 471888. Folk-punk band. Genevieve & The Trio Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@porterscardiff.com. Gerardo Núñez & Carmen Cortes Quartet Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £14/£12. Info 01970 623232. Gordie Mackeeman & His Rhythm Boys Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 8pm, £12/£10. Info 01686 614555. Roots music from Prince Edward Island Harmonic Brass Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. Munich ensemble. John Monday The Dolls House, Abertillery. 7.30pm. Info 01495 213300. Miss Hope Springs Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £15. Info 029 2063 6464. Vegas-style cabaret singer from London. Monico Blonde Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £5 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. One-time Houdini Dax members crack on under new name. Music In Vienna St Augustine’s Church, Penarth. 7pm, £5/free NUS. Info 029 2087 4816. Cardiff University Chamber Choir present a concert focusing on the Viennese Baroque. Rachel B Ty Newydd, Barry. 9pm, free. Info 01446 407767. Presented by Nailed It Events. Submarine Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. Surfer Blood Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7pm, £8.50 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. American indie band whose singer has been arrested for, and charged with, domestic abuse. They also have a new album called Snowdonia. Go and visit the actual Snowdonia instead. Surreal Panther The Scene Club, Swansea. 7pm. Info 07730 432166. Steel Panther tribute band. The Beach Boys Band Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 7.30pm, £17/£15adv. Info 01600 772467. “So you’re telling me that’s all we need for an acceptable tribute band name? Just the actual name with ‘BAND’ at the end?” “Yep” “Wow, this lark is easier than I expected!” In Cardiff tomorrow. The Bella Collins Band Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4/£3. Info 029 2038 7026. Blues. The Bug Club + Rob Lear Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2030 4400. A ChapterLive gig in the bar area. The Chalk Outlines + Deadly Nightshade The Parrot, Carmarthen. 8pm. Info 01267 231012. Ska party band headline. The Matt Monro Story Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £18-£21. Info 01656 815995. Tribute to top crooner. The Undercover Hippy The Globe At Hay, Hay-On-Wye. 8pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Thunder + Cats In Space Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 6.30pm, £26.50. Info 029 2022 BUZZ 74

4488. Enduring hard rockers headline. Tim Garland Electric Quartet Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12. Info 029 2039 1391. Valleys Folk Ceilidh Blaenavon Rugby Club. 7.3010.30pm, £3. Info 01495 790446.

SATURDAY 25

2 Tickets 2 The Gun Show Meze Lounge, Newport. 10pm, £4-£5. Info 01633 259144. Playing as part of the Rock You! night. Alasdair Roberts Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 8pm, £10/£8 (£15 with evening class). Info 029 2030 4400. Third of AR’s Welsh dates this month, presented here by The Wyrd Wonder and also featuring a pre-show masterclass at 6pm. Aubrey Parsons Three Horse Shoes, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2069 4630. Presented by Nailed It Events. Bay City Rollers Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 7.30pm, £20-£23. Info 01656 815995. Bigfoot + Everyday Heroes + Pilgrim + The Johnstown Flood + Black Water Chemistry The Dolls House, Abertillery. £10. Info 01495 213300. Blossoms + Cabbage + Rory Wynne Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £17.50 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. This is the NME Awards Tour sponsored by VO5, the styling product whose slippery consistency will prevent you from ripping your hair out in anguish when I tell you this gig is sold out. Blowin’ In The Wind Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £18.50/£17.50. Info 01874 611622. Tribute to 60s folk-rock. Brand F & Paul Weir The Heath, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8/£5 kids. Info 029 2039 4207. A RUFF Ceilidh night, also featuring a guest spot from Cobblers Awl. Denmark Street Big Band Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 01495 227206. Foo Fakers Riverside Tavern, Newport. 8pm, £7 adv. Info 01633 439166. Foo Fighters tribute band. Geek Musique: The Sound Of Sci-Fi / Cult TV Classics St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 3.30 + 9pm, £5-£15 per show. Info 029 2087 8444. See Upfront. Get Ready! Cockett Inn, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 588748. Presented by Nailed It Events. *Ghost + Zombi Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union. 7pm, £25 adv. Info 029 2078 1458. See Music for an interview with a ‘Nameless Ghoul’ from Ghost. Would it be good or bad if it turned out they got record label interns to do these interviews, like how Damien Hirst gets helpers to do his paintings? Not sure. Oh and Zombi are good, get in early for ‘em. Higher-On Maiden Rhondda Hotel, Porth. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 01443 682388. Iron Maiden tribute band. Hotsteppers Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Kill The Lights Hen Dderwen, Sketty, Swansea.

9pm, free. Info 01792 203631. Presented by Nailed It Events. Knight & Day Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 6.30pm, £8/£6. Info 01495 243252. Variety concert starring Robert Knight and Beverley Davies, plus Newbridge Ladies Choir and soloist Bethan Rose Davies. Leading Ladies: A Night At The Movies & Musicals Gwyn Hall, Neath. 7.30pm, £12.50 adv. Info 0300 3656677. Songs from the movies performed with a live band. Magic: A Kind Of Queen Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 7.30pm, £18. Info 01633 868239. Tribute band. Mike Dennis The Full Moon, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. Minus The Inferno + Rollin Sixes + Live Rounds The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £2. Info gigs@thedragonffli.com. Moongoose + D’orange The Globe At Hay, Hay-OnWye. 8pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Nigel + Hodad Le Pub, Newport. 7.30pm. Info 01633 221477. Two bands from LLantwit Major and Cardiff. Hodad are good. Rachel B Birchgrove, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2031 1319. Presented by Nailed It Events. Rodney Branigan Snails

The Red Dragon, Bridgend. 9pm, free. Info 01656 654753. Presented by Nailed It Events. Xpresstival Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 4pm. Info 029 2023 2199. Cardiff University radio station presents a day of, I assume, bands. You’ve Got A Friend The Riverfront, Newport. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 01633 656757. Tribute to James Taylor and Carole King. Sung by two different people? I’m going to say “Probably!” In Blackwood on Thurs 30.

Orchestra: The Spirit Of 1917 Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. uSouth Powys Youth Music Gala 2017 Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 11am, 2.15pn + 7pm, free. Info 01874 611622. Annual celebration of local young musicians. On tomorrow also, at 2.15 and 7pm. Tobias Robertson’s Jam Night Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@porterscardiff.com.

SUNDAY 26

WEDNESDAY 29

Black Mountain Jazz The King’s Arms, Abergavenny. 7.45pm. Info 07958 612691. Monthly night with acts TBC. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes The Globe, Cardiff. 7pm, £14 adv. Info 07590 471888. Former Gallows and Pure Love man’s new band. Sold out though. HMSG 125 Anniversary Concert St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 5pm, £12/£8. Info 029 2087 8444. That’s Haberdashers’ Monmouth School For Girls, performing music by Stravinsky, Khachaturian and Karl Jenkins. Go to this so you can say you were there when one of the girls reappears in the Tory cabinet in 40 years’ time. Steve Tarner The Hanbury, Caerleon. 9pm, free. Info

Manu Delago plays the hang, the instrument that doubles as a kitchen utensil, is signed to Tru Thoughts Records and is at St John's Church, Canton, Cardiff on Fri 31 Mar. Deli, Rhiwbina, Cardiff. 7pm, £20 inc buffet. Info 029 2062 0415. Swansea University Student Showcase Great Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus. 7.30pm, £5-£10. Info 01792 602060. The Beach Boys Band The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12.50 adv. Info 07590 471888. The Hold Up Oner Signs, Cardiff. 12-5pm, free. Info 029 2037 1231. Monthly hip-hop session inviting MCs, beatboxers, DJs etc down to jam. The Navarones Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. The Riff + 2Rude + Chordie Barry Island Sports & Social Club. Info 01446 735173. Local mod and ska type bands. The Swansea String Band Vivian Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 516194. Presented by Nailed It Events. The Welsh Camerata St John’s Church, Canton, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12/£10 adv. Info 029 2022 9683. Performing music from 17th century composers from north-east Germany, as with their Newport concert last week. Whitehall Parade Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2089 0862. Wright Hear Wright Now

u – repeated

01633 420361. Presented by Nailed It Events. The Forfeit The Queens Head, Monmouth. 8.45pm, free. Info 01600 712767. Tomos Power + Cal Hillan + Dippy + Cardiff Uni Acapella Society Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £4. Info 029 2039 7933.

MONDAY 27

Gwd Mondays Open Mic Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, free. Info 029 2039 7933. The Stranglers Y Plas, Cardiff University Students Union. 7pm, £25 adv. Info 029 2078 1458.

TUESDAY 28

Alba Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £4/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. Bristol post-rock band. Ashley John Long Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4.50/£4/£2 NUS. Info 029 2038 7026. Beth Prior Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.30pm, £2.50. Info 01686 614555. Celtic Guitar Journeys Memorial Hall Theatre, Barry. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01446 738622. Raúl Prieto Ramírez St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 1pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2087 8444. Lunchtime concert on the organ. Royal Welsh College Wind

At Last – The Etta James Story Tramshed, Cardiff. 7pm, £27.50 adv. Info 029 2023 5555. Tribute show starring Vika Bull. Borders + Faces Of Eve Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7-10pm, £6/£4 adv. Info 07970 063107. Celtic Guitar Journeys Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £3-£13. Info 01239 621200. DB Big Band with Lee Gilbert & Clare Hingott Whiteheads Sports & Social Club, Bassaleg, Newport. 8pm, £8. Info malc@dancebands. plus.com. South Wales Big Band Society gig. Instructions + Lilygreen’s Sky Machine The Full Moon, Cardiff. 8pm, £5/£4 adv. Info info@thefullmooncardiff.com. Jonathan Gee Trio Jazzland, Swansea. 8.3011pm, £10. Info 07802 912789. Sarah Brown Bootlegger, Cardiff. 7pm, free. Info 07495 657407.

THURSDAY 30

Amber Arcades Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8 adv. Info 029 2023 2199. Swn present a solo artist who lives in the US, or the Netherlands, or possibly both. Could be good. Gemma & The Owl Gwdihw, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £4/£3 adv. Info 029 2039 7933. EP launch gig. Ian Poole Quartet The Pear Tree, Cardiff. 9pm, free. Info 029 2025 2042. Presented by Nailed It Events. You’ve Got A Friend Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £19.50/£18.50. Info 01495 227206.

FRIDAY 31

AD/HD The Dragonffli, Pontypool. 7pm, £5. Info gigs@thedragonffli.com. AC/ DC tribute. BBC NOW: Beethoven 6 Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. 7.30pm, £15-£20. Info 01792 475715. Jun Markl conducts a programme that features Strauss and Mozart as well as Beethoven. BBC NOW: Music In Vienna Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, £5. Info 029 2063 6464. Mark Eager conducts a programme of Webern, Strauss and Mahler. Celebrating Peter Reynolds Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2039 1391. Compositions by a friend of the RWCMD, who died in Ocrtober last year. Celtic Guitar Journeys Maesteg Town Hall. 7.30pm, £9.50. Info 01656 733269. Courtney Pine Tramshed, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £24.50/£22. Info 029 2023 5555. UK jazz bigwig, joined here by UK soul

bigwig Omar. Doomsday Outlaw + Everyday Heroes Fuel Bar, Cardiff. 7pm, £5 adv. Info 07970 063107. Double Or Nothing The Twelve Knights, Margam. 9pm, free. Info 01639 882381. Presented by Nailed It Events. Elvis Legacy Hamptons, Penarth. 7.30pm, £39. Info 029 2070 5391. [talking over the act while my five-course meal goes cold] Well actually, I think the ‘Elvis legacy’ is in many ways quite problematic! Gwilym Bowen Rhys Ty Tawe, Swansea. 8pm, free. Info 01792 456856. Hailey Tuck Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £15. Info 029 2063 6464. Retro jazz vocalist. Joy Oladokun + Waldo’s Gift + Harri Davies + Brawd The Big Top, Cardiff. 9pm, £6/£4 before 10. Info 029 2022 8883. Larger Than Life! Hen & Chickens, Abergavenny. 9pm, free. Info 01873 853613. Presented by Nailed It Events. Magenta The Globe, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12 adv. Info 07590 471888. Blustery prog band. Manu Delago (Handmade) St John’s Church, Canton, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 029 2022 9683. Hang player and sometime collaborator with Björk. He also has a single reviewed in this issue. Fizzi present this one. Morfydd Owen: Portrait Of A Lost Icon Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £18/£16. Info 029 203 1391. Soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, sings the songs and reads the letters of this infamous Welsh composer, accompanied by Brian Ellsbury. Motörheadache Hobo’s, Bridgend. 7.30pm, £10/£8 adv. Info www.hobosmusicvenue. com. Tribute band. NIDUM Ensemble Rhos Y Gilwen, Pembrokeshire. 8pm, £12. Info 01239 841387. UK chamber music group. Organ Recital National Museum Cardiff. 1pm, free. Info 029 2039 7951. Peter Jagger Beaufort Arms, Swansea. 9pm, free. Info 01792 234447. Presented by Nailed It Events. Rachel B The Duke Of Wellington, Cowbridge. 9.30pm, free. Info 01446 773592. Presented by Nailed It Events. Supersonic 70s Show Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £18/£16. Info 01873 850805. Am kind of interested in why 1970s cover shows like this seem to treat glam rock as the unquestioned musical essence of the decade. Maybe that book Simon Reynolds did a while back tackles this? Teenage Mutant Single Mothers + The Low Blows + Iron Gosling Mozarts, Swansea. 7pm, free. Info 01792 649984. The Leylines + Whitehall Parade + Nick Parker The Full Moon, Cardiff. 7.30pm, free. Info info@ thefullmooncardiff.com. The Replicas Kiwis, Cardiff. 10pm, free. Info 029 2039 8965. Zion Road Café Jazz, Cardiff. 8pm, £4/£3. Info 029 2038 7026. Reggae and ska.

stage

WEDNESDAY 1

All The Little Lights Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £10/£8. Info 0845 2263510. Poignant, dark play presented by Fifth Word and Nottingham Playhouse. Alyssa Edwards + Jujubee Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7pm, £30-£60. Info 029 2064 1010. More RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni tip up in Cardiff. It’s presented by Sickening Events, also features Jolene Dover and Heidi Wurst, and looks to be sold out. Clwb Ifor Bach have ANOTHER show featuring Alyssa here on Thurs 9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7.30pm, £8/£6. Info 01495 243252. Performed by a new theatre company, Marvellous Pretenders. (Until Sat 4) Count Arthur Strong Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 8pm, £20. Info 01600 772467. This guy is in the £20 bracket now, huh. uIesu Theatr Soar, Merthyr. 1 + 7.30pm, £7/£6. Info 01685 722176. Jesus Christ Superstar, performed in Welsh by Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun. On tomorrow also, at 7.30pm only. Max Boyce Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot. 7.30pm, £25. Info 01639 763214. Sold out, and you are a damned fool if you expected anything else on this, the most important day of the year. Mike Doyle Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £14-£18. Info 01792 475715. uThe Romans In Britain Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12. Info 029 2030 4400. Howard Brenton’s powerful play, first performed in 1980 and presented here by Everyman. £12.50/£10.50 on Thurs 2 and Sat 4; also on at 2.30pm on Sat 4. (Until Sat 4) uThe Wedding Singer New Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £11-£26. Info 029 2087 8889. Musical version of the 1985set Adam Sandler movie. £13-£32 on Wed 1 and Thurs 2; £11-£36 on Fri 3; £13-£36 on Sat 4. On at 5pm and 8pm on Fri 3; 4pm and 8.45pm on Sat 4. (Until Sat 4) uViva La Dance Dolman Theatre, Newport. 7.15pm, £6. Info 01633 263670. Dance show from GLD. Tickets are £7 on Fri 3 and Sat 4. (Until Sat 4) uYfory Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £7.50-£15. Info 029 2064 6900. New play based on the Welsh Assembly circa last year’s elections. In Cardigan on Sat 4; Aberystyth on Tue 14; Pontardawe on Thurs 16; Llanelli Fri 17. (Until Fri 3)

THURSDAY 2

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7.30pm, £8/£6. Info 01495 243252. (Until Sat 4) Chekhov’s Shorts Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £14/£12. Info 029 203 1391. One-act plays, presented

FRIDAY 3

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7.30pm, £8/£6. Info 01495 243252. (Until Sat 4) Comedy Club Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £10. Info 0845 2263510. Presented by Killforaseat and with acts TBC. uDave Fulton + Christian Schulte-Loh + Dave Johns + Jenny Collier Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, £15.95/£8 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. On tomorrow also (£17.95/£10 NUS). Discover Dance Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 1pm, £8. Info 01970 623232. Ninety-minute introduction to dance aimed at families and schools. uDrones Comedy Club Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £3.50. Info 029 2030 4400. Also on Fri 17. Mike Doyle Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £17/£15. Info 01873 850805. u‘Stute Comedy Nights Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 8pm, £12/£11. Info 01495 227206. With standups TBc. Also on Fri 31.

SATURDAY 4

Alice In Wonderland Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 2.30 + 5.30pm, £9. Info 029 203 1391. Kids’ show presented by the Immersion Theatre Company. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 12.30 + 7.30pm, £8/£6. Info 01495 243252. (Finishes today) Golden Thread Playback Theatre Chapter Arts Centre,

Cardiff. 1pm, £3-£7. Info 029 2030 4400. Stories from the audience are acted out on the spot. Max Boyce Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £25.50/£22.50. Info 01792 475715. Seann Walsh Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £16/£14 adv. Info 01792 863722. Semele Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7pm, £19/£17. Info 01874 611622. Opera, presented by Mid Wales Opera. Simon Bligh + Jamie Dalgleish + Mark Simmons Jongleurs, Cardiff. 7pm, from £16. Info 08700 111960. The Proposal Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 12.30pm, £6/£4.50. Info 01792 475715. Chekhov play, presented by Theatre In Focus. Transitions Dance Company: Triple Bill Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £12/£8. Info 029 2063 6464. New works by choreographers Cristian Duarte, Oded Ronen and Charles Linehan. Yfory Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £11/£10. Info 01239 621200.

SUNDAY 5

Gareth Richards + Rob Coleman + Coral Haliwell + Chris Chopping Buffalo, Cardiff. 7pm, £6 adv. Info 029 2031 0312. Presented by Buffalo Comedy. uLive Cabaret Market Street Club, Barry. 8.30pm. Info 01446 733863. Every Sunday. Treasure Island Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 12 + 3pm, £12/£10. Info 01970 623232. Family producrtion with people from CBeebies.

in the 1880s. In Abergavenny on Fri 17. Meet Fred Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01239 621200. Hijinx’s acclaimed comedy drama about a cloth puppet and the prejudices it faces. In Brecon on Fri 31. Ruby Wax Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £20.50. Info 01792 475715. See Upfront. In Cardiff tomorrow. T42 Dolman Theatre, Newport. 2pm, £7. Info 01633 263670. Rehearsed reading. The Magic Flute Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 01970 623232. Presented by Mid Wales Opera. uWorld Domination Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. 6.30pm, £12.50. Info 029 2064 6900. New play by Lesley Hart, the latest in the A Play, A Pie & A Pint series. So called as you get a pie and a pint in the price. (Until Sat 11)

WEDNESDAY 8

Comedy Den Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@ porterscardiff.com. Hosted by Charlie Smith. Comedy Night The Parrot, Carmarthen. 8pm. Info 01267 231012. Hosted by Coral Halliwell. uEvita Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £12. Info 01873 850805. Musical production by Concept

Players. Not to be confused with the production we’ve previewed in our Stage section this month. Also at 2.30pm on Sat 11. (Until Sat 11) (F.E.A.R) Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £10/£8. Info 01970 623232. Mr & Mrs Clark present a new one-man show, the man in question being middle-aged in in the throes of an midlife identity crisis. In Cardigan on Sat 11; Aberdare on Thurs 16; Newport on Wed 22-Fri 24. Grainne Maguire The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £13/£11 Info 01633 656757. Irish comedian whose appearance here is part of the Riverfront’s all-day programme of International Women’s Day events. Killing Time Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £14/£12. Info 029 203 1391. Dark comedy about an elderly woman in her final days, featuring live cello and projections. Ruby Wax Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £22. Info 029 2064 6900. Sold out. The Ensonglopedia Of Science Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £5-£10. Info 01792 863722. Wilde Without The Boy Gwyn Hall, Neath. 7.30pm, £18. Info 0300 3656677. Dramatisation of Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis.

THURSDAY 9

Alyssa Edwards Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. 7pm-3am, £12. Info 029 2023 2199. This show by Alyssa (following on from one on Wed 1) is presented by Rest Is Drag, also features Felix Love & Sam and DJing from Sissy Boy Tears, and is sold out. Chekhov’s Shorts Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.45pm, £11/£9. Info 01686 614555. Dewch Gyda Fi / Follow Me Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 11am + 2pm, £13/£11. Info 01874 611622. Kids’ play based on the tale of the Pied Piper and adapted by Mike Kenny. In English first, then Welsh. In Newtown on Fri 10; Swansea on Wed 15; Ystradgynlais on Thurs 16; Milford Haven on Sat 18; Aberystwyth on Sun 19. uDuets Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 7.30pm, £10. Info 01600 772467. Four one act plays by Peter Quilter that examine the world of love and relationships. (Until Sat 11) George Egg + Alexander Bennet + Diane Spencer Queens Hall, Narberth. 8pm, £8-£12. Info 01834 869323. Comedy Club night. uJoseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat Beaufort Theatre, Ebbw Vale. 7pm, £8. Info 01495 355800. Presented by Blaenau Gwent Young Stars Musical Company. Also on at 2.30pm on Sat 11. (Until pic: Piet-Hein Out

stage

here by the European Arts Company. In Newtown on Thurs 9. Comedy Night The Neon, Newport. 7.30pm, £10 adv. Info 01633 533666. Newport’s top UKIP-affiliated venue present three standup comics. In timeless Brexiteer style, they’re selling tickets even though most of the details are unconfirmed. Danza Contemporanea De Cuba Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £14.50-£37.50. Info 029 2063 6464. Cuban dance troupe with a show described as “pungent blend of Afro Caribbean rhythms, jazzy American modernism and inflections from European ballet”. Pungent! uProfundis / The Green House Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £14/£12. Info 01970 623232. Double bill of new work from National Dance Company Wales. On tomorrow also at 1pm. In Brecon on Mon 13. Rob Beckett Maesteg Town Hall. 8pm, £15.50. Info 01656 733269. The Wizard Of Oz Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £12. Info 0845 2263510. Performed by SA15 Stage School. Also on at 2.30pm on Mon 6. (Until Fri 10) Watchers Of The Skies The Globe At Hay, Hay-OnWye. 8pm, £10. Info 01497 821762. Theatre show (with live music) concerning Edna Leigh, who lives through the American Depression before arriving in the UK post-WWII.

MONDAY 6

uRicky Gervais Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 7.30pm, £27.50/£25. Info 029 2022 4488. With a new show, Humility. On tomorrow also... but both dates are sold out. uOliver! Torch Theatre, Milford Haven. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01646 695267. Presented by Milford Haven Amateur Operatic Society. (Until Sat 11) uSteel Magnolias Little Theatre, Neath. 7pm, £8. Info 01639 643462. Robert Harling’s play, directed by Jan Francis. (Until Sat 11)

TUESDAY 7

Crafty Laughs The Cambrian Tap, Cardiff. 8pm, free. Info 029 2064 4952. Free standup comedy of the night every first Tuesday of the month. uFamily Dance Festival Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 4 + 6pm, free. Info 029 2030 4400. One-hour performances for families. On tomorrow also at 12, 3 and 5pm. uGive Me Your Love Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8-£12. Info 029 2030 4400. Ridiculusmus with a play which, while absurdist in many ways, tackles PTSD and the potential of MDMA as a treatment for it. On tomorrow also; in Aberystwyth on Wed 15; Builth Wells Thurs 16; Cardigan on Sat 17. Lakme Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £7.50-£22. Info 029 2064 6900. Léo Delibes’ opera, set in India

CIRQUE BERSERK! Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 28 Mar-Sat 1 Apr Tickets: £18-£28. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk Cirque Berserk! is an electrifying circus performance and experience for everyone and anyone. Combining the thrilling stunts and tricks of the traditional circus and adapting them for the stage, Cirque Berserk takes live entertainment to daring new heights. The show includes one of the world’s most dangerous circus stunts, the infamous motorcycle-based Globe Of Death. Along with the large number of international talents the troupe employs, such as acrobats, jugglers and the obligatory clown, Cirque Berserk! is guaranteed to be a night full of wonder and amazement. Tickets are still available, so if you’re feeling the urge to being taken to – and over – the edge of your seat then look no further: the circus awaits.

BUZZ 75

* – recommended

stage Sat 11) Music Hall Tavern Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £21/£19. Info 01792 475715. Comedy drag variety show. Nolton Comedy Nolton Corner, Bridgend. 7.30pm, free. Info 01656 655015. With standups TBC, every second Thursday of the month. Socks Do Shakespeare Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.45pm, £10. Info 01970 623232. You might know them better as The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre. Tea With Oscar Wilde Miners Theatre, Ammanford. 7pm, £10/£8. Info 0845 2263510. “Join Oscar Wilde as he interviews leading celebrities of the Victorian era, recounts a story or two and invites his audience to get ‘Caught In The Act’!” This is good satire as if Oscar Wilde was alive today, he would actually be doing something like this. The Great Gatsby Burlesque Soirée Minskys Showbar, Cardiff. 7pm, £8/£15 VIP. Info 029 2023 3128. Presented by Hour Glass Entertainment and in aid of the Noah’s Ark Appeal. The Magic Flute Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £15/£1 kids. Info 01792 863722. Presented by Mid Wales Opera. uThe Three Musketeers Dolman Theatre, Newport. 7.15pm, £12.50/£8.50 NUS. Info 01633 263670. Presented

by Playgoers New Generation. Also on at 2.30pm on Sat 11 (£11 concessions). (Until Sat 11) William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (Abridged) The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £19/£17. Info 01633 656757. New show by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Y Glec / King Hit Theatr Soar, Merthyr. 7.30pm, £9/£7. Info 01685 722176. Welsh adaption of an original Australian production about a teenage birthday party that gets out of hand. In Newtown on Fri 24; Cardiff from Thurs 30-Sat 1 Apr.

FRIDAY 10

Dewch Gyda Fi / Follow Me Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 10.30am + 1.30pm, £5. Info 01686 614555. In Welsh first, then English. Hello Cabaret Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £15. Info 029 2063 6464. New night of musical theatre and more. Home: A Tale Of Unexpected Friendship Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 11am + 1.30pm, £12/carers free. Info 029 2030 4400. Multi-sensory show aimed at audiences with Profound & Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD). uJustin’s Party Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 1 + 5pm, £15.50-£19.50.

Info 029 2063 6464. Kids’ show helmed by awardwinning actor Justin Fletcher. On tomorrow also, at 11.30am and 2.30pm. uRudi Lickwood + Bobby Mair + Matt Green + Suzi Ruffell Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 6.45pm, £15.95/£8 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. On tomorrow also (£17.95/£10 NUS). uWiseman Stage School Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 7pm, £8.50/£6.50. Info 01792 475715. Showcase performance. On tomorrow also.

SATURDAY 11

(F.E.A.R) Small World Theatre, Cardigan. 8pm, £10 adv. Info 01239 615952. Lee Nelson Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot. 7.30pm, £21.50. Info 01639 763214. President Obonjo + Winter Foenander + Roger Hanson + Aaron Simmonds + Matthew Morris + James Dunn Clwb Y Bont, Pontypridd. 7pm, £5/£3 adv. Info 01443 491424. Clwb Comedy night. Thanyia Moore + Ed Hedges + Pierre Hollins Jongleurs, Cardiff. 7pm, from £16. Info 08700 111960. The Bear Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 11am + 2pm, £5/£4. Info 01495 227206. Kids’ show, adapted from the Raymond Briggs book. The Faaaabulous Ceri Dupree Show New Theatre,

Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12.50-£20. Info 029 2087 8889. Female impersonator. Will we be seeing all you Drag Race Johnny/ Jenny-come-lately hipsters at this? I should coco!

£12.50/£10.50. Info 01495 227206. Comedy adventure inspired by 1950s horror films. Yfory Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01970 623232.

SUNDAY 12

WEDNESDAY 15

Lee Nelson St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £20. Info 029 2087 8444. Generally speaking I’m not a fan of the ‘using bad press in your publicity material’ gambit, or Lee Nelson for that matter, but I’ll allow him “You should be ashamed of yourself – Sepp Blatter”. The First Hippo On The Moon Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 2.30pm, £9-£12. Info 01239 621200. David Walliams’ book, adapted for the stage.

MONDAY 13

uActors Showcase Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £6-£11. Info 029 203 1391. Thirty-two actors perform for two minutes each in front of industry professionals. On tomorrow also at 1.15pm. Caterpillar Comedy Gwdihw, Cardiff. 8pm, free. Info 029 2039 7933. Open mic standup night hosted by James Dunn. uDong Ding Murder Me On High! Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £9.50-£16. Info 01792 475715. The fourth instalment of the Pratt trilogy (their words not mine), a comical murder mystery series of some sort with soap actors in. Also at 2.30pm on Sat 15. (Until Sat 15) The Green House + Profundis Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £15/£13. Info 01874 611622. uRussell Howard Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. 8pm, £25.50-£32.50. Info 029 2022 4488. (Until Wed 15)

TUESDAY 14

LILI LA SCALA Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sat 18 Mar Tickets: £15. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk Among the swelling ranks of visitors to the Wales Millennium Centre’s bar, Ffresh, for grown-up evenings of jazz and cabaret is Lili La Scala. That said, a hint that her Saturday night special might not be for the vicar is contained in its title, Another F*cking Variety Show (the modest asterisk is Lili’s own concession). Both a prime architect and beneficiary of the retro burlesque boom, Lili only started around a decade ago but is now one of the UK’s most in-demand performers, and goes by the title ‘Songbird Of Trafalgar Square’. For this show, which has packed ‘em in at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the last few years, she’ll be joined by a team of sidekicks who’ll serve up magic, music and comedy.

BUZZ 76

uBest Foot Forward Memorial Hall Theatre, Barry. 6.30pm, £6.50/£4.50 kids. Info 01446 738622. Schools dance showcase, with over 550 kids featyring over two days. On tomorrow also. uGaslight New Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12-£29. Info 029 2087 8889. Infamous Patrick Hamilton thriller. £11-£29 on Wed 15 and Thurs 16; £13-£32.50 on Fri 17; £12£32.50 on Sat 18. Also on at 2.30pm on Wed 15, Thurs 16 and Sat 18. (Until Sat 18) uSeanmhair The Other Room at Porter’s, Cardiff. 7.30pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2128 0189. New play by Hywel John. Pay-what-you-can previews today and tomorrow; £12/£10 thereafter. On at 3pm and 7.30pm on Sat 18, Sat 25 and Sat 1 Apr. No shows on Thurs 16, Sun 19 or Sun 26. Thurs 23 is a signed performance. See Stage. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uThe Red Shoes Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £17.50£42.50. Info 029 2063 6464. Acclaimed Matthew Bourne/ New Adventures dance production. See Upfront. £20.50£45.50 on Fri 17 and Sat 18. Also on at 2.30pm on Thurs 16 and Sat 18. (Until Sat 18) The Thing That Came From Over There Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm,

uAntony & Cleopatra Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 7.15pm, £11/£9. Info 01792 475715. Shakespeare, courtesy of the Fluellen

u – repeated

Yfory Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £5-£10. Info 01792 863722.

FRIDAY 17

uD.A.N.C.E The Gate, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £8/£6. Info 029 2048 3344. Variety dance show presented by Cardiff University Broadway Dance Society. On tomorrow also. Drew Taylor + Steffan Evans The Globe At Hay,

Swansea’s Volcano Theatre has a new dance show, The Populars, on from Mon 27 Mar-Sat 8 Apr. It's about “the strange times we are living in”. Theatre Company. Also on at 1pm on Thurs 16 (price £9/£7). (Until Mon 17) Dewch Gyda Fi / Follow Me Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea. 1 + 4.30pm, £8.50. Info 01792 602060. In English first, then Welsh. Give Me Your Love Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01970 623232. uOur House Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 7.15pm, £9/£8. Info 01633 868239. Madness (the band) musical. (Until Sat 18) Rob Auton The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £11. Info 01633 656757. Writer/performer presents a show on the theme of sleep. Seann Walsh Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 8pm, £15. Info 01873 850805. uThe Nether Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 8pm, £12/£10. Info 029 2030 4400. Darkm surreal new play presented by Company Of Sirens and Goodcopbadcop. On at 2.30 and 8pm on Sat 25. No performances from Sun 19-Tue 21. (Until Sat 25) Urdd Dance Eisteddfod Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 2pm, £5. Info 01686 614555. High schools perform at 2pm; primary schools at 4pm.

THURSDAY 16

Dewch Gyda Fi / Follow Me The Welfare, Ystradgynlais. 10.30am + 1.15pm, £5. Info 01639 843163. In Welsh first, then English. (F.E.A.R) Parc & Dare, Treorchy. 7.30pm, £10. Info 0800 0147111. Give Me Your Love The Wyeside, Builth Wells. 7pm, £12/£10. Info 01982 552555. uGwyl Map Volcano, Swansea. Info www. volcanotheatre.co.uk. Welsh Medium Student Theatre Festival by University Of South Wales and Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. On tomorrow also. Max Boyce Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.30pm, £25. Info 01686 614555. Sold out. uPlaypen Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.45pm, £6-£14. Info 01970 623232. Showcase for short plays developed by Scriptography Productions, with the audience invited to vote on which ones should be further developed. On tomorrow also at 10.30am.

Hay-On-Wye. 7.30pm, £5. Info 01497 821762. Comedy, presented by Tales From Wales. Give Me Your Love Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £3-£12. Info 01239 621200. Lakme Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £20/£18. Info 01873 850805. Max Boyce Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. 7.30pm, £25. Info 0800 0147111. Sold out. uNick Doody + Ian Smith + Dana Alexander + Andrew Ryan Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 6.45pm, £15.95/£8 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. On tomorrow also (£17.95/£10 NUS). Perfect Pitch The Met, Abertillery. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01495 355800. John Godber comedy set on a seaside campsite. In Swansea tomorrow; Aberystwyth on Wed 22; Cardigan on Thurs 23; Llanelli on Sat 25; Milford Haven on Wed 29; Newtown on Thurs 30; Pontardawe on Fri 31. uPink Mist Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £8-£15. Info 01792 602060. Owen Sheers’ play about three men deployed to Afghanistan. On tomorrow also. Undermined Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £10.50/£8.50. Info 01495 227206. One-man show concerning the 1984 miners’ strike. uUWC Atlantic College International Show St Donats Arts Centre, Vale Of Glamorgan. 7pm, £6/£5. Info 01446 799100. Variety show with a global outlook. On tomorrow also. Variety Night Live Grand Theatre, Swansea. 7.30pm, £16-£24.50. Info 01792 475715. Music, comedy and dance, with Only Men Aloud topping the bill. Yfory Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £7-£10. Info 0845 2263510.

SATURDAY 18

Burton Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £13/£11. Info 01873 850805. As in Richard, captured here in this one-man performance based on his life. In Milford Haven on Wed 22. David Ward + Sam Avery + Javier Jarquin Jongleurs, Cardiff. 7pm, from £16. Info 08700 111960. Dewch Gyda Fi Torch

stage Theatre, Milford Haven. 2pm, £10/£6. Info 01646 695267. Welsh language performance only. Giselle Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £18/£12 kids. Info 0845 2263510. Presented by Ballet Theatre UK. Lili La Scala Ffresh, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £15. Info 029 2063 6464. Cabaret. Michael George’s London Varieties Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £16.50/£15.50. Info 01495 227206. This claims to be “the only true variety show in the UK” and stars Duncan Norvelle and the London Varieties Showgirls. Perfect Pitch Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 7.45pm, £10-£8. Info 01792 475715. Seussical Jnr Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7pm, £9/£7.50. Info 01686 614555. Presented by the NYP Theatre Group. Shappi Khorsandi Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 8pm, £15. Info 01600 772467. Performing her latest standup set, Oh My Country!.

SUNDAY 19

Dewch Gyda Fi / Follow Me Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 2pm, £8/£6. Info 01970 623232. Rob Beckett Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. 8pm, £16. Info 0800 0147111.

MONDAY 20

Eddie Izzard Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 7, 8 + 9pm, £18 each. Info 0871 4720400. Three shows, one directly after the other, by endurance-obsessed comic and Europhile. This is his trilingual Force Majeure 333 set, performed in German (7pm), French (8) and English (9). uEvita New Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £16-£37. Info 029 2087 8889. You probably know what this is but see Stage anyway. £14-£37 on Thurs 23; £19.50-£40 on Fri 24; £16-£40 on Sat 25. On at 2.30pm on Thurs 23 and Sat 25. (Until Sat 25)

TUESDAY 21

Gareth Richards + Bilal Zafar Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen. 7.30pm, £10. Info 0845 2263510. Comedy Club night.

WEDNESDAY 22

Burton Torch Theatre, Milford Haven. 7.45pm, £12/£10. Info 01646 695267. u(F.E.A.R) The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £13/£11. Info 01633 656757. (Until Fri 24) uHamlet Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £10. Info 0845 2263510. This is presented by Boom Productions and according to the description is somehow linked to the centenary of the USA joining World War I, except it doesn’t actually explain how. Also at 2.30pm on Sat 25. (Until Sat 25) Jackpot! Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. 1pm, £6.50. Info 01656 815995. Lunchtime theatre presented by Fluellen. uLittle Shop Of Horrors Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01685 384111. Presented by the brand new Redhouse Little

Theatre. Also on at 2pm on Sat 25. (Until Sat 25) Perfect Pitch Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £10/£8. Info 01970 623232. The Circus Of Horrors St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £18-£26. Info 029 2087 8444. In Newtown on Sat 25.

THURSDAY 23

Champions Of Magic Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £22/£20. Info 01874 611622. Col Howarth + Costas Lukaris + Riordan Jackson + Nathan Webb + Josh Elton + Coral Haliwell + Eve Moriarty + William Rees Crockford + John Collins Noah’s Yard, Swansea. 7.30pm. Info 01792 447360. Presented by Cwtch Comedy. uDirty Rotten Scoundrels Dolman Theatre, Newport. 7.15pm, £12. Info 01633 263670. Comedy, presented by New Ventures Players. (Until Sat 25) uLarger Than Life Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.15pm, £6-£11. Info 029 203 1391. A musical revue of songs from the shows of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Also on at 2.30pm on Thurs 30. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uLes Miserables Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £12.50/£10.50. Info 01792 863722. Presented by Class Act Theatre School. (Until Sun 26) Marilyn Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 7.45pm, £12.50/£10. Info 01792 475715. Marilyn Monroe’s lifethemed solo show, written by Gwynne Edwards. Perfect Pitch Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7.30pm, £13/£12. Info 01239 621200.

FRIDAY 24

Cardiff Cabaret Club: Welcome To The Thunderdome St Peters Hall, Roath, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £15 adv. Info www. cardiffcabaretclub.com. Featuring performances from Frank Sanazi, Dave The Bear, Velveteen Hussey, Bonita Boudoir, Flissy Tease, Cherry Dee-Vine, Kitty Katasphory, FooFooLaBelle and others from Cardiff Cabaret Club. Chris Kent + Amir Khosokhan + Angela Barnes Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 8pm, £10. Info 01874 611622. Comedy Club night. uFOMO Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 6 + 8pm, £10/£8.50. Info 01970 623232. Youth Theatre Plus with a production carrying a message of ‘don’t compare yourself to other people’s Instagram feeds’. On tomorrow also. uKillology Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £7-£14. Info 029 2064 6900. Dark-sounding new play by Rachel O’Riordan and Gary Owen, best known for Iphigenia In Splott. Preview prices tonight, Sat 25 and Mon 27; £8-£16 from Wed 29-Sat 8 Apr. Thurs 30 is sold out; Fri 31 is captioned. See Upfront. (Until Sat 8 Apr) Max Boyce Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 7.30pm, £25. Info 01495 227206. uSean Percival + Jarlath Regan + Mike Wilmot + David Tsonos + Hannah

Silvester Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, £15.95/£8 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. On tomorrow also (£17.95/£10 NUS). The Faaaabulous Ceri Dupree Show Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 7.30pm, £16. Info 01633 868239. uThe Far Side Of The Moon Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £15.50-£20.50. Info 029 2063 6464. Theatre about two brothers’ reaction to their mother’s death, with impressive visuals and a score by Laurie Anderson. On tomorrow also. Y Glec / King Hit Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 10.30am + 1.15pm, £6. Info 01686 614555. In Welsh first, then English. You’ve Got Dragons The Met, Abertillery. 7.30pm, £8. Info 01495 355800. John Kids’ show. In Blackwood on Tue 28; Llanelli on Fri 31.

SATURDAY 25

Dance Blast Ignite Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. 7.30pm, £7/£5. Info 01873 850805. Showcase for Monmouthshire dancers aged 7-18. Heaven’s Paradise Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 12.30pm, £6/£4.50. Info 01792 475715. Play by Derek Webb and performed by Fluellen. Johnny & The Baptists Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £10-£12. Info 029 2030 4400. Left-wing musdical comedy group with a set titled Eat The Poor. Mickey Sharma + Barry Castagnola + Robert White Jongleurs, Cardiff. 7pm, from £16. Info 08700 111960. Mike Bubbins Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 8pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Welsh comedian. Perfect Pitch Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 0845 2263510. The Circus Of Horrors Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.30pm, £25/£20. Info 01686 614555.

sold out. uDirty Dancing New Theatre, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £11£45. Info 029 2087 8889. “The biggest live theatre sensation of all time,” claims the poster. I dunno, Lincoln getting shot was quite a big deal. £18-£60 on Tue 28-Thurs 30; £11-£65 on Fri 31; £18-£65 on Sat 1 Apr. On at 5 and 8.30pm on Fri 31; 2.30 and 7.30pm on Sat 1 Apr. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uThe Populars Volcano, Swansea. 7.30pm, £13/£7. Info www.volcanotheatre.co.uk. A strange new show about the strange times we are living in, wherein four characters dance their hearts out. (Until Sat 8 Apr)

TUESDAY 28

uCirque Berserk! Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £16.50-£26.50. Info 029 2063 6464. Family circus show including something called the Globe Of Death, which involves a motorbike. Cool. At 5 + 8pm on Fri 31; 2, 5 + 8pm on Sat 1 Apr. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uHush Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 8pm, £4-£9. Info 029 203 1391. New play by Alison Carr, directed by Hannah Banister. In collaboration with Paines Plough. On at 6pm on Wed 29; 1 and 6pm on Thurs 30; 1pm on Fri 31. (Until Fri 31) uSpooky Action At A Distance Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 8.30pm, £4-£9. Info 029 203 1391. New play by Eve Leigh, directed by Elayce Ismail. In collaboration with Royal Court Theatre. On at 1.30 and 8.30pm on Wed 29; 6.30pm on Thurs 30 and Fri 31. (Until Fri 31) uThe Last Ambulance Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 6.30pm, £4-£9. Info 029 203 1391. New play by Conor Mitchell, directed by Gethin Evans. In collaboration with Sherman Theatre. On at 1.30 and 8.30pm on Thurs 30; 1.30pm on Fri 31. (Until Fri 31)

Australian teen drama King Hit, translated into Welsh as Y Glec, is in Theatr Soar, Merthyr (Thurs 9), Theatr Hafren, Newtown (Fri 24) and Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay (Thurs 30-Sat 1 Apr).

*Stewart Lee Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 7.30pm, £23.50. Info 029 2063 6464. Touring his latest show Content Provider, and I believe you will find an interview Upfront in this issue. Youth Theatre Showcase Torch Theatre, Milford Haven. 2pm, £5. Info 01646 695267.

uWhite Sky Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 6pm, £4-£9. Info 029 203 1391. New play by Simon Longman, directed by Ola Ince. In collaboration with Royal Court Theatre. On at 1 and 8pm on Wed 29; 8pm on Thurs 30. (Until Fri 31) You’ve Got Dragons Miners’ Institute, Blackwood. 10am + 1pm, £5. Info 01495 227206.

MONDAY 27

WEDNESDAY 29

SUNDAY 26

uCaitlin Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 7.45pm, £10/£8. Info 01970 623232. One-woman show about Dylan Thomas’ wife. On tomorrow also, but all four performances are

Boxfull Porter’s, Cardiff. 8pm. Info info@porterscardiff.com. Multi-tiered variety show. Carl Donnelly The Riverfront, Newport. 7.45pm, £13. Info 01633 656757. Standup show about reach-

ing “the ripe old age” of two years younger than me. I don’t mean I’m actually referenced in the show, I just didn’t want to specify my age in this listing. Comedy Club Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea. 8pm, £11. Info 01792 475715. Experimentica Secret Language Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 5pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2030 4400. Five days of experimental/ leftfield theatre and performance art, operating on a pay-what-you-can basis this year. Today’s lineup: Sheree Naqvi, Perfect (5-6pm); Keir Cooper & Rose Biggin, Badass Grammar (6-7pm); Getinthebackofthevan, Frankenshow (8-9pm). (Until Sun 2 Apr) uGangsta Granny Grand Theatre, Swansea. 1.30 + 7pm, £10-£18.50. Info 01792 475715. David Walliams’ book, adapted for the stage. On at 10.30am and 7pm on Thurs 30 and Fri 31. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uHello Dolly! Savoy Theatre, Monmouth. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01600 772467. Musical presented by the Monmouth Music Society. The £10 ticket is for today only. (Until Sat 1 Apr) Jon Richardson Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 8pm, £21. Info 01970 623232. UK comedian with his latest set, Old Man. I note he is, again, two years younger than me. Maybe it’s time for you guys to retire if you feel so old. In Newtown on Fri 31. uLa Fille Mal Gardee Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 7pm, £9.50/£8.50. Info 01633 868239. Presented by Gemini School Of Dance. (Until Sat 1 Apr) uMade In Dagenham Beaufort Theatre, Ebbw Vale. 7pm, £12. Info 01495 355800. Musical based on the 2010 film. (Until Sat 1 Apr) Perfect Pitch Torch Theatre, Milford Haven. 7.30pm, £15.50/£13.50. Info 01646 695267. Rubicon Schools Showcase St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 6pm, £7. Info 029 2087 8444. Dance performances. The Bear Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 1.15pm, £8/£6. Info 029 203 1391. Performance of William Walton’s 1960s opera. uThe Hogwallops Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £5-£10. Info 0845 2263510. Circus show. On tomorrow also, at 11am. uThe Lieutenant Of Inishmore Volcano, Swansea. 7pm, £6. Info www. volcanotheatre.co.uk. Presented by Shoreline Theatre. On tomorrow also. You Might Laugh Le Pub, Newport. 8pm. Info 01633 221477. Monthly comedy night, here on the last Wednesday of each month. The lineup is usually confirmed a bit before then.

THURSDAY 30

Experimentica Secret Language Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 10am, pay by donation. Info 029 2030 4400. Today’s lineup: Clayton Lee, [smiley face emoticon which uses characters this font doesn’t support] (10am until the end of the festival); Rachel Helena Walsh,

Catholic Guilt (6-7pm). Tim Bromage, The Man Stands Alone In The Vortex (8-9pm). (Until Sun 2 Apr) Flanders & Swann: Drop Another Hat Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 7pm, £15/£12. Info 0845 2263510. Theatrical tribute revue. Opera Scenes: Because I Could Not Stop For Death Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 029 203 1391. Directed by Polly Graham and featuring Postgraduate Singers Of The RWCMD. Perfect Pitch Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 7.45pm, £11/£9. Info 01686 614555. The Best Thing Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £5-£10. Info 01792 863722. Theatre presented by Vamos. Tom Allen + Suzi Ruffell Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 6.45pm, £12/£10 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. uY Glec / King Hit Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay. 2 + 7pm, £12. Info 029 2063 6464. Today’s afternoon performance is in English; evening in Welsh. Fri 31: English only, 7pm. Sat 1 Apr: 2pm English, 7pm Welsh. (Until Sat 1 Apr)

FRIDAY 31

Comedy Shed The Riverfront, Newport. 8.15pm, £13. Info 01633 656757. uDreams Dance School: Through The Ages Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. 7pm, £5.50-£8.50. Info 01239 621200. Featuring dancers aged three and up. On tomorrow also at 2 and 7pm Experimentica Secret Language Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. 3pm, pay by donation. Info 029 2030 4400. Today’s lineup: Rhiannon White, Class: The Elephant In The Room (3-4pm); Gareth Chambers, Llaeth (6-7pm); Yoanna Blikman & Dan Robert Lahiani, Kung Fu (9-10pm). (Until Sun 2 Apr) Jon Richardson Theatr Hafren, Newtown. 8pm, £20.50. Info 01686 614555. Sold out. Meet Fred Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. 7.30pm, £12/£10. Info 01874 611622. Paul James + Dan Glyn + Steffan Alun Welcome To Town, Llanrhidian. 8pm, £10. Info 01792 390015. Comedy night. Paul Sinha + Drew Taylor + Bob Wildlife + Andrew Rutledge + Chris Chopping Redhouse, Merthyr Tydfil. 6.30pm, £10/£8 adv. Info 01685 384111. Comedy night. Perfect Pitch Pontardawe Arts Centre. 7.30pm, £5-£10. Info 01792 863722. uSteve Gribbin + Steve Williams + Clint Edwards + Nick Dixon Glee Club, Cardiff Bay. 7pm, £15.95/£8 NUS. Info 0871 4720400. On tomorrow also (£17.95/£10 NUS). UK Pleasure Boys Memorial Hall, Newbridge. 7pm, £10£19.50. Info 01495 243252. Male strip show, as you probably guessed, with a ‘heroes and villains’ theme. You’ve Got Dragons Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli. 1 + 3.30pm, £9/£7.50. Info 0845 2263510.

BUZZ 77

A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time: 1/100th of a second (sent in by Jazmin Williams @AllThatJazmin) When the Menai Bridge was built in 1826 it was the longest bridge in the world Not only is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch one of the lognest place names in the world, its website www. llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk is the longest single word URL on the internet. The word ‘corgi’ is a combination of the Welsh words ‘cor’ and ‘ci’, meaning ‘dwarf’ and ‘dog’ respectively. Like Beaumaris in Anglesey, the Mumbles’ name is believed to come from French. It may derive from the word ‘mamelles’, meaning breasts, in reference to the two islands which comprise the headland. It is believed that we have reached ‘peak child’, meaning that the number of children is no longer increasing and global fertility is declining. In 2015 on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Dubai, someone did such a smelly poo that they had to turn around and land after 30 minutes. Orange in fact rhymes with Blorenge, a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the River Usk in Monmouthshire. The leek is a national symbol because on the eve of a battle against the Saxons, St David advised the Britons to wear leeks in their caps to easily distinguish friend from foe, which helped to secure a great victory. However, some believe this to be false and that they in fact wore garlic. One teaspoon of honey is the lifework of 12 bees. Every two minutes, we take as many photos as all of humanity took during the 1800s.

Are you the friend everyone wants on their pub quiz team? If you’re a general knowledge general and want to be in with a chance of winning a book, film, or CD, then tweet us (@Buzz_Magazine) with your fact and #DidYouKnow. If your tweet is used in the magazine you win a prize!

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COMPETITIONS TWO TICKETS TO STEWART LEE: CONTENT PROVIDER AT THE WMC, CARDIFF + COMEDY VEHICLE DVD Comedian Stewart Lee returns to Cardiff for his stand-up tour Content Provider, performing at the Wales Millennium Centre on 26 Mar 2017. After four years of writing and performing his TV show Comedy Vehicle, Content Provider is Lee’s first full-length show since his award-winning Carpet Remnant World. TWO TICKETS TO RENT AT THE WMC Bruce Guthrie’s production of the legendary, awardwinning rock musical Rent will be coming to the WMC from Mon 3-Sat 8 Apr. This year marks the production’s 20th anniversary and Guthrie’s new direction is arguably the best way to celebrate a modern classic. TWO TICKETS TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON AT THE WMC A visually stunning production, brought you by the internationally renowned director and performer Robert Lepage The Far Side Of The Moon will leave you in awe. The story of two estranged brothers brought together by their mother’s death will be showing at the WMC on Fri 24 Mar + 25 Mar 2017. TWO TICKETS TO GASLIGHT AT THE NEW THEATRE One of the greatest thrillers to ever hit the silver screens comes to Cardiff’s New Theatre, starring the highlyacclaimed stage and television actress Kara Tointon and co-stars Keith Allen and Rupert Young. You’ll be in for a night filled with top storytelling. Showing from Tue 14-Sat 18 Mar, it’ll be a performance you won’t want to miss. TWO TICKETS TO YES: ANDERSON RABIN & WAKEMAN AT MOTORPOINT ARENA CARDIFF Fans of Yes can finally relive glories past with Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman. After a 25-year-long hiatus, the trio have announced that they will be touring again this spring. The schedule date for their stop in Cardiff will be on Sun 12 Mar, an evening that will surely be a blast from them past. WWF PANDA PLUSH TOY AND T-SHIRT FOR EARTH HOUR WWF is offering readers a chance to win one of their iconic WWF panda plush toys and a matching T-shirt in connection with this year’s Earth Hour. Earth Hour this year will take place on Sat 25 Mar between 8.30 and 9.30pm. Our competitions are shared on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. To enter a competition, keep an eye on our social media and click ‘share’ when it has been published. T&Cs: WE DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR THESE COMPETITIONS TO BE REPLICATED ONLINE.

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BUZZ 79

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BUZZ 80