BIG SPECIAL
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff - 3rd April 2024
Support: Grandma's House, Slate
This one was something of a hunch. I'd heard a Big Special track on 6 Music and thought I'd investigate them further, but found they'd only released a few songs in total. Suitably impressed with quality of those tracks though, I roped MrsRobster along to Clwb thinking she might happen to enjoy it.
We arrived just too late to catch opening band Slate, but we did see Grandma's House, who dropped in all the way from, erm, Bristol... While their name was familiar, I hadn't heard any of their stuff before, and I wasn't overly taken by them on this performance.
Turns out my hunch was right about Big Special though. They'd been honing their set for a number of years, and all the songs they played were due to appear on their debut album which was due out the following month. But despite many of those present being unfamiliar with any of the songs bar the singles, they absolutely took the roof off.
They struck me as being a bit like a modern-day Carter USM, in that they present as a duo and fill out their sound with pre-recorded tracks. Only the vocals and drums were truly live, but the energy of the delivery, and sheer force of the songs and their lyrics, and the all-round great fun combined to make this an extraordinary show, and one of the most unique ones we've been to in some time.
Singer Joe rarely speaks between songs, he leaves that to drummer Callum whose wit and enthusiasm really whips up the crowd. Joe's poetry is conveyed with passion, with the anger, frustration and sadness of the world and his own personal struggles made clear without becoming whiny, or self-righteous. And on the occasions he actually sings, well, what a voice. On This Here Ain't Water, he sounds like someone you'd hear if you crossed Motown with the Chess label. He bellows it out with gusto, leaving no doubt of his vocal talent.
During Trees, both band members come off the stage and mingle with the audience, giving it to them in their faces until the climax where Callum gets back up behand the kit for the explosive finish.
And then, of course, there's Shithouse, a monster of a song that allows the audience to dispense with any tension or angst they might still be carrying by yelling the title at every given opportunity.
So you can tell I enjoyed it, but what about MrsRobster, someone who rarely expresses herself with as much zeal and vigour as myself?
"THAT was fucking EPIC!"
Back in the car, she was booking tickets for Big Special's show in Bristol a few weeks later. I think it's safe to say she approved...
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