[ adapted from an article originally published 04/06/2024 here ]
THE BUG CLUB
City Arms, Cardiff - 27th May 2024
Imagine one of your favourite local bands. They have been getting national acclaim and have acquired a large cult following over the few short years of their existence, gaining coveted airplay and live sessions on BBC radio, including 6 Music. They’ve released 10 singles, two albums (one of them an ambitious double), two EPs, three things nobody knew how to describe, and a live album of exclusive material under a different band name, all since 2021, and while playing 200+ gigs a year.
The local shows sell out almost instantly, including in such spaces as Clwb Ifor Bach which regularly hosts shows for some of the brightest emerging talents on the international circuit, while further afield they present a very attractive live proposition, both as a headliner and a support act.
Now imagine them playing in the corner of a tiny function room above a pub for an audience of no more than 50 people, much like they would have done when they first formed. That, my friends, is The Bug Club.
MrsRobster and I were delighted to have caught them on the last Bank Holiday at the City Arms in Cardiff, where they played not one, but TWO shows to the lucky few who managed to get tickets. We caught their evening set (they had also played a few hours earlier, late afternoon).
For the uninitiated, The Bug Club hail from the historic Welsh market town of Caldicot, located between Chepstow and Newport. (Apparently, the man who invented self-raising flour was born there…) They consist of Sam Wilmett (vocals/guitar) and Tilly Harris (vocals/bass) along with whoever they can find to play drums with them at the moment (founder member Dan Matthew recently left the fold). Their mate Heledd (from Adwaith) filled in for the Bank Holiday shows, and dead good she was too.
The thing about The Bug Club is they don’t hang about. Their songs are short, they play them with real vigour and energy, and they don’t spend much time yakking (though when they do, it’s usually Tilly making us laugh). It’s just one blast after another – bam-bam-bam! A Bug Club show is a lot of fun. They came on about 8:15 and were all done by 9:30 – it wasn’t even fully dark outside – but MrsRobster and I felt we’d had a proper night out.
The set covered the full gamut of their catalogue, featuring tracks from all their releases to date, including the set-closer, current single Quality Pints, a song about finding the best beer in whichever town they happen to be playing in. Yeah, they don’t take themselves too seriously, with subject matters ranging from birds to haircuts, from being in space to swearing in love songs, from hiding your real feelings from your mum to getting married. Tonight’s set was sprinkled liberally with their customary sardonic humour and loud, garagey guitars in the style of the Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman, Pavement and Kim Deal.
The day after our Bug Club encounter, the band was supposed to be embarking on a tour supporting the legendary Shellac. Sadly, as you all know, the great Steve Albini passed away suddenly a few weeks before, meaning the tour was cancelled. Such a shame, that would have been one hell of a bill.
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