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4th December 2008

by Ben Davis on 4 December, 2008 | 0 comments

I love good news, there should be more good news in my opinion. You switch the TV on and all they can tell you is the bad news – where’s the good?! Well I’ve got some of the good stuff for you, in fact its top of the range. Polly Mackey and her band The Pleasure Principle have managed to bag a spot at the legendary South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas – US of A and they’ll be making their way across the big pond in March 2009.

The SXSW Festival is in its 23rd year and is known throughout the world as one of the most important music industry events on the calendar. International journalists, record companies, agents, talent scouts, radio pluggers, you name it, they all go flocking to Texas to take part in industry seminar’s and watch bands play across Austin’s bars and clubs.

Over 10,000 unsigned acts applied to perform last year and a lucky 1,000 were accepted – its not like most industry festival’s where if you throw enough around some of it might actually stick. There won’t just be acts of the unsigned variety playing though – in the past they have had the better known play; Kings of Leon, The Stooges, The Automatic, Bowling For Soup, Willy Mason, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Cut Copy, REM and many many more. If my memory serves me right, I think Polly Mackey is the first Wrexham act of this generation to ever play the SXSW (maybe even the first to play USA?). What a winner. I’ll bring you more details nearer the time. Meanwhile, you can catch Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle live at their headline gig at The Picket in Liverpool on 11th December, with support from Trader.

Mother of Six will be playing a special headline show at Central Station Wrexham tonight with special guests Supernought from Chester. They have numerous live shows across the UK already under their belt, in their quest to spread their self titled doom rock across the land. These include support slots with Nine Black Alps and The Death Set, along with plaudits and airplay on both sides of the Atlantic from BBC Radio 1’s Bethan Elfyn, Crawlspace Radio, Oregon USA, BBC Radio Wales’ Adam Walton, Johnny Doom (Kerrang Radio), The A-Train (Juice FM) and none other than Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson (BBC 6 Music). The band are preparing to unleash their debut EP in the new year, starting with a tour of southern Spain at the end of February. Doors open at 8pm tonight and over 14s are welcome.

Gallops! continue to impress, delight and astound the national press. The NME have featured them on the ‘Radar’ section of their website, thinking back at previous bands to have been mentioned you can guarantee most of today’s popular bands have had acknowledgement. Its good company to keep. We’ll choose to ignore the writer insulting Wrexham as a ‘pretty wretched place’ and focus on the praise; ‘harnessing the jerky propulsions of Foals, all built on a bedrock of post-rock and heavy guitars’.

Live music returns to The Tivoli in Buckley tonight. Opening the stage will be Deeside’s good time rock ‘n’ roll band The Loving Cup and headlining are Liverpool’s The Real People. Tickets are £10 and doors are 8pm.

Tonight’s Panic Promotions gig at McLean’s includes MLB (Deeside), Aftermath (Liverpool and Buckley), Make Like Madeline (Chester), as per usual it’s £4 entry with doors at 7:45pm.

The Crooked Spirits are playing The Blue Bell pub in Halkyn on Saturday night. Its free entry and starts at 8pm.

Tonight at Telfords Warehouse, Milk Milk Lemonade present The Reads. The Reads are a musical substitute for warmth, which in these dismal December evenings we should all be appreciative for some of the warm stuff. Some say if you have even the runniest of nasal passages, following an attendance at a Reads gig your blockage will be fully relieved for at least 4 hours. You’re getting the picture – they’re great, so do take yourself down there and have a listen. It’s free entry and doors are open at 8pm.

The Kill Club returns for another show at The Talbot. Following their success with the Little Comets and Roy Destroy last month, Josh Page and Jimmy Tindle have booked Liverpool alt-rockers ‘Voo’ who will be bringing their Death Cab For Cutie-esque Americana sounds to the underground stage. Making his debut DJ stint will be Trader guitarist Jac Roberts alongside the resident DJs Josh and Jimmy. Its £3 entry and doors are 9pm.

I wish I could fit more in but as it happens I can’t, my limit is up. We’ll catch up next week. Send me an email to ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk if you have any news. Take care.

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Ben Davis

Email: ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk

Ben is the founder of wrexhammusic.co.uk.
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