Back to work, back to uni, back to school and back to life, back to reality as Soul II Soul once said.

Just like last week, this week is a bit sparse for gigs. When I say sparse I actually mean dead. Apart from a few highlights it seems everyone is still trying to get over last month’s mayhem.

Wrexham’s original and only entry into the Doomsday Book, Mother of Six, have confirmed the first 2 dates of their March tour of Catalonia, Spain.

Presuming they will actually successfully find their way to southern Spain (by plane, boat or automobile), they will start on Friday 6th March at the Sala Underground in L’Escala followed by the Incívic Zone in Sant Feliu de Codines on Saturday 7th March. They have more dates to be confirmed.

You might be thinking ‘Catalonia – that’s a bit random’, and you would be right in thinking that. It’s the fruits of a friendship between Mother of Six and a Glyndwr University exchange student who came over from Catalonia last year with his band of the same Mo6 ilk, Yarô. Contact details were interchanged and a couple of months later Mother of Six have a Winter holiday in the sun. Arriba!

There’s no gig at the Talbot tonight. It’s having a little bit of a refurb this week. A lick of paint and all that. Don’t worry yourself though, the doors swing open tomorrow night for the second leg of the Silicone Fish New Year mini tour, which includes Andy Hickie and his Merry Maidens, Heal the Last Stand and The Cosmonauts (from Edinburgh). Before the bands begin you will be wooed by the spoken word of future poet laureate (I’m not joking) Chris Ingram. The first leg of the Silicone Fish New Year mini tour takes place tonight in Chester at Telfords Warehouse with exactly the same line-up. So, if you get hooked tonight you can always get your second fix at The Talbot tomorrow night. The third leg is in Nottingham, but were not bothered about that.

As I mentioned last week, this Sunday is when Trader will be the ‘House band’ on the BBC Radio 1 ‘Switch’ show with Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw. The show starts at 7pm and finishes at 10pm, if you somehow miss it, you can always ‘listen again’ for up to 1 week afterwards on the BBC Radio 1 website.

Wrexham’s Catskills have changed their name to Sinner Men in preparation of their debut EP release on February 2nd. Following the release they have a gig in the Tivoli in Buckley on 26th February. Check out www.myspace.com/sinnermenmusic for more info.

News just in; Don’t Die Just Yet have dragged out some middle of the road early 90’s indie with the booking of The Wedding Present for March 4th. Hardly the ‘new music’ that we have been accustomed to from the DDJY people, most of you younger readers will probably not have heard of TWP, probably because they have never had much commercial success. The late and great John Peel was a big fan, which is a bonus for any band, but even that doesn’t take away the fact that I’d rather watch an hour long stand up show special from ‘comedian’ Michael McIntyre.

Saturday night is all about Telfords Warehouse, because there doesn’t seem to be anything else on. That’s not entirely a bad thing though as they have Chester’s Out From Animals performing. You will have probably heard of OFA from their appearance on the Channel 4 T-Mobile Unsigned Act program last year. They did quite well in the competition (they didn’t win it, but who actually wants to win those types of competitions) and set about on a lengthy UK tour which included a slot at the Leeds and Reading Festivals. This year they have a few dates to play around the North and then they are jetting off across the big pond to play the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Texas during March, along with Wrexham’s Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle. Maybe they could sit next to each other on the plane and discuss Wrexham/Chester rivalries and such. On Saturday it’s free entry before 10pm and £4 thereafter.

Tonight Panic Promotions are bringing you The C-Dub Soundtrack, Jay Witty and Pink River Dolphins at McLean’s in Pentre. Entry is £4 and doors are 7:45pm sharp. I’m liking Pink River Dolphins especially at the moment but they need more songs up on their MySpace page!

I’m all out of things to say so I’ll say goodbye for this week. Email me at ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk with your news for next week. Take care.