At the start of August we had the pleasure in catching Covet and Half Sleep during their special UK/EU tour complete with Little L Records joining the bands on the road . Midwife Crisis, a determined and dedicated promotions company hosted the evening at Le Pub, Newport and held an unmissable night uniting like-minded music lovers to witness a diverse and dynamic night of talented musicians performing the best instrumental orchestrations.
Amy Grindhouse
Amy Grindhouse, the local 2 piece math rock act took to the stage first and kicked the evening’s proceedings off in the best way possible. Their intense set was filled with crazy mathy stop starts- the duo are kings of creating awkward pauses but they’ve nailed those dynamic breaks with perfectly timed and very tight enthralment. These two so easily hold their own on a stage and have a lot of potential- no doubt a name you will soon hear a lot more of.
Esuna
Cardiff based quartet Esuna will captivate you, there is no denying that. Whether it’s through their abrasive set or their crowd participation skills, you will love what you hear and see. Esuna‘s performance really broke down the wall between band and audience, Amy Grindhouse chipped away some of that boundary but Esuna tore it down with full force. Keeping the crowd entertained, the four fused together new tracks and tracks from their 2014 EP release ‘May You Be Well’ and created the perfect, aggressive math rock indie pop mix.
Covet
Avoiding the electric shocks from the Microphone in front of her, Yvette Young introduced herself and her band. Hailing from California, Covet were embracing all that their EU tour had to offer for them. Before they had even hit that first note, the crowd gathered closer to see this icon before them. Yvette is a skill-full composer with all that she creates. Complimented by David Adamlak on bass and Keith Grimshaw on drums, the three bounce off one another’s attributes and make for a fun and gripping performance to watch. Their intricate and complex set hooked every onlooker and proved why these three are a notable force. Their mathy, delectable set offered a range of dynamic tracks each highlighting the technical abilities from all 3 members. Each musician looked so at home on stage performing together, and the more they enjoyed their own instrumentations, the more the audience thrived on their energy.
Halfsleep
Headlining the evening and closing the night with a very hypnotic set- Denton, Texas based trio Halfsleep filled the room with intellectual math rock. Consisting of Nathan Gass, Brian Radcliffe and Chelby Hanks, together the trio mesmerised the audience with their performance. From start to finish alternating time signatures and tempo and illustrious riffs kept us all on our toes. Watching each of the talented musicians with their instruments was enough to engage everyone as they respectfully made it all look so easy. The three blossomed on stage with an experimental mix of math based compositions with jazz and progressive elements.
We can’t thank both Little L Records and Midwife Crisis for bringing these audacious touring acts to us. We are beyond thrilled we got to see these bands captivate us in such a rewarding environment and look forward to the next LLR tour and the next Midwife Crisis show booked for Le Pub.
All images by Oli Montez
Email oli@circuitsweet.co.uk for copies.
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