With the Easter festivities now a distant memory, we can look forward to the upcoming gigs this week.

Anyone go to last nights Young Knives gig? I’d love to tell you how it went but as I’m writing this on Monday just gone and I couldn’t possibly tell the future and lie to you. I can always guess though. Whenever large chart-rubbing bands pay a visit to these parts they seem to always go down well. It’s probably because we are not used to having such royalty frequent our region and the crowd make the most of this, coupled with the fact that bands such as The Young Knives relish playing the smaller venues on tour as it reminds them of “The good old days when we were travelling up and down the country in a transit van before the suits came in and monetised everything… blah blah blah”.

Our 2nd Birthday gig at Central Station went well last Sunday. Trader, last minute stand in saviours Little Caesar, Ashbey and Danny Gruff all put in stella performances to the packed crowd. It was great to see most of the revellars stick around for the Indie Rock n Roll night afterwards. Thank you to those who came and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

This Saturday a new night starts at The Old Swan in Wrexham. ‘No UFOs’ is an evening of hi-tech soul’ and is hosted by DJs Martin McCready and Andy Muir. If you want to hear underground house and techno played by ace local DJs then get your head down there for 8pm.

Also on Saturday night the Frog and Nightingale in Chester have The Messengers with support from Out From Animals (from Chester – featuring members of the defunct The Wayriders). If you ever manage to get up early on a Sunday morning you might have watched the T-Mobile Unsigned Act compo on that T4 program a few months back. Out From Animals got through to the finals of competition which saw the Tom Waits wannabe fronted band, Envy & Other Sins triumph. 8pm is the starting time and it’s free entry.

Tonight at McCleans in Pentre, Panic Promotions have Heat 1 of their annual Battle of the Bands competition. Kicking off the night will be the Mad Murdering Baby Sitters followed by Monte Cassino, Young Underground and Zebedee Sez. Doors are 7:45pm, its £3 to get in and open to ages 16+.

Tomorrow night the REDI nights return to Central Station with a tasty lineup. Headlining will be The Roseville Band, who have just released their download only single ‘My Town is Your Town’. Also expect a solo release of some form from lead singer Andy Jones in the coming months. Other bands on the bill include Trader, Andy Hickie and the Merry Maidens and Dummkopf. The night starts at 9pm and its £5 entry. Hopefully Andy Hickie and indeed his Merry Maidens will get a good nights kip, as the day after they are travelling down (campervan style) to Glastonbury for the ‘Glastonbury New Talent’ competition finals. All the best to him and his Maidens and hopefully they will bring back some exciting news.

Back by vast demand, Glaswegian Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, House and Electronica DJ Boom Monk Ben is returning to the decks of the Old Swan tomorrow night. Last time he visited he beat-mixed The Clash, Talking Heads and The Strokes against Soul, Jazz and Funk. Crazy shiz!

A prominent figure in Glasgow’s close knit clubbing scene, Ben can be found cutting, spinning and fumbling his way through boxes of beats at the city’s best clubs, bars and radio stations. 2008 will see him take up monthly residencies at Plan B in Brixton and The Reading Rooms in Dundee, a slot at Bestival as well as trips to Barcelona, Leeds, Wales, Belfast and beyond have already entered into his busy DJ diary. It’s free entry and starts at 8pm.

I think Friday is the night to be out this week as another event has caught my eye. ‘Bedlam’ is a relatively new night at The Tiv in Buckley. It’s hosted by the same DJ Squirly (there could only be one) who is one half of the massively adored Rebellion Rock Nights and Chaos Theory Promotions. The night starts at 10pm and you can expect to hear Hardcore Metal, Rock, Ska, Punk and Emo tuneage.

On Monday Telfords Warehouse in Chester have a big talent playing. The Folk megastar and Mercury Music Prize nominated Kathryn Williams returns to the stage with her sidekick album co-writer Neil MacColl. She’s becoming quite a resident at Telfords and she must like it as nearly every tour she does, she always pays a visit. Tickets are £15 and expect the show to start at 8pm.

Have a great week and hope to see you here next week. Remember to email your news to ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk.