Monthly Archives: January 2017

Whats on

Cardiff’s Free For All Festival 2017! The Moon / Full Moon, 5 – 31 January

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Is it over? Has it finally finished? Has someone finally dragged 2016’s lifeless body out to the garden and buried it under a mountain of Leicester City and Nigel Farage memorabilia? Great, well let’s all collectively repress our memories of 2016 together with Free For All Festival running from 5 January to 31 January at The Moon Club + The Full Moon. They have kindly put on a month of free events – so don’t worry if your pockets are empty like the rest of us – with bands and artists of varying descriptions, so give your eardrums a treat and pop down to The Moon Club + The Full Moon and support these artists.

The event runs from 5 – 31 January, so if you’re gagging for an all-dayer or fancy checking out some local talent see the array of events on below.

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Tuesday 10 January, 8PM
Downstairs: 6foot7 + Paul Divers & support 8pm

Thursday 12 January, 8PM
Upstairs: Electrick Haze (EP launch) + KINGSON + Plasterscene + Lon Chaney 5 8pm
Thursday 12 January Facebook event

Friday 13 January, 7PM-10PM, 8PM-late
Upstairs: Electronic Music Wales showcase feat. Skeleton House & support 7pm-10pm
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The Black Hole Of Womanby St feat. Samurai Cop + DJs til late
Downstairs: Monsterometer + Godbomber 8pm
Friday 13 January Facebook event

Saturday 14 January, 5PM + 8PM
Upstairs: Maddie Jones – Band + Lilygreen’s Sky Machine + Instructions + Tobias Robertson + Charlie Says 5pm
Downstairs: Mike Dennis + AcouMetal & support 8pm

Sunday 15 January, 7PM-10PM + 6PM

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Upstairs: Staylittle Music presents Beth Goudie + Joe Bayliss + Matthew Frederick 7pm-10pm
Follow the event on Facebook
Downstairs: Timeless Promotions + Beast PR + HOPE not hate + Decidedly Records present Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) + Vinna Bee +Francesca’s Word Salad + Adwaith 6pm
Follow the event on Facebook

Tuesday 17 January, 7PM

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Downstairs: Fountainhead + Naomi Rae (single launch) + Harri Davies Music + Dusty Cut 7pm
Follow the event on Facebook. 

Wednesday 18 January, 7PM

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Upstairs: Pilgrim + Fireroad + Twisted Illusion + Stone Theory 7pm
Follow the event on Facebook. 

Thursday 19 January, 7:30PM

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Upstairs: Radioactivity electronic night 7.30pm feat Conformist / Music live + Sound Affects PR DJs
Follow the event on Facebook. 

Downstairs: PJNB presents Young Black Americans + Heavy on the Ride + Jimmy Watkins (The Vega Bodegas) 7.30pm

Follow the event on Facebook.

Friday 20 January, 8PM + 10:15PM

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Upstairs: We’re No Heroes + Tarsiers + Saccharyn & support 8pm

Downstairs: Mumbleman 10.15pm

Follow the event on Facebook

Saturday 21 January, 2PM + 9PM

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Upstairs: 8 O’clock Spot Alldayer feat: VAN-illa + Nuclear Lullaby + Soviets+ Handsome Ape + Boris a Bono + Silent Forum + Fingertrap + Rainbow Maniac + Grand Tradition 2pm

Downstairs: Run Logan Run 9pm

Follow the event on Facebook. 


Sunday 22 January, 2PM
Upstairs: RecRock Youth Music Project showcase 2pm (Ages 14+)
Downstairs: Pi & Hash Music alldayer feat:
Them By There + The Sam-Antonio Freeway + Thee Manatees + Siblings Of Us + Charlie Says + Canada Road & support. 2pm-11.30pm

Wednesday 25 January, 8PM
Upstairs: Project + Beatbox Hann + Turna Phrase & support. 8pm

Thursday 26 January, 7:30PM

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Upstairs: Aeddan – Music + Ofelia + Eädyth 7.30pm

Follow the event on Facebook

Friday 27 January, 7:30PM-10:30 PM + 9PM 

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Upstairs: Bubblewrap Collective stage feat. MY NAME IS IAN + Ivan Moult Music Band & more TBA 7.30pm-10.30pm

Downstairs: Happy Fun Time Game Band + Nightmares from the Discotheque 9pm

Follow the event on Facebook.

Saturday 28 January, 4PM

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2-floor alldayer! Tibet + Junior Bill + The Chalk Outlines + M I L K + Shop Girls + Them Dead Beats + Nevsky Perspective (solo – performing the works of Britney Spears) + Thom Bentley & more TBA. 4pm

Follow the 2-floor alldayer on Facebook. 

Sunday 29 January, 2PM
Forté Project // Prosiect Forté showcase – 2 floors! 2pm (Ages 14+)
Showcasing the 10 acts announced as part of the Forté Project scheme.

Monday 30 January, 8PM
Upstairs: CitySound Publications – magazine launch night feat. CHROMA & support 8pm
Downstairs: Anonymous Iconoclasts + Capra Mamei & support 8pm

Tuesday 31 January, 7:30PM + 8:00PM 

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Upstairs: LUCKYMAN RECORDS closing party! 8pm
LUCKYMAN RECORDS closing party on Facebook
Downstairs: Amy Grindhouse + Twisted Ankle + Heil Zilla + HODAD 7.30pm
Amy Grindhouse, Twisted Ankle, Heil Zilla and HODAD on Facebook

That’s all the free music and events you can partake in at The Full Moon + Moon Club this month, so be sure to get on down there and support your local scene. Even when your pockets are empty and the January cold bites a little harder than you remember, there’s still a way to support your local scene and – most importantly – your city. Be sure to check out some of these events as they are putting a lot into Cardiff, so it’s only fair for us to give back.

Oh, and have a fun, crazy, challenging and memorable 2017.

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The City, Whats on

Kongs Cardiff: arcade games in an underground bar

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Arcade and competitive gaming – at its core – is a social activity, one that flourishes under the influence of beer and alcoholic hedonism. Interestingly enough, however, Cardiff has yet to have an arcade or bar that appeals to this dream combination. Retro-fetishism has had something of a renaissance period in the past few years, yet Cardiff hasn’t really jumped onto this social trend.

There’s been a huge gap in the city for an arcade for a while and Kongs – given the success of their branch in Bristol – has seen this gap as an opportunity to combine this niche with one of Cardiff’s great loves: bars. The nonchalant exterior of the bar can fool many, a few short steps down and suddenly you’re submerged in a basement of neon signs and 8-bit classics.

The food and drink at Kongs offered something a little different than traditional pubs on St. Mary’s street. Lesser known lagers such as Red Stripe and beers like Blue Moon were popular amongst the pint sippers of the bar, whereas the food offered tasty and interesting twists on traditional pub food (the BBQ burger was a real treat). Craft beer, too, was popular on tap, so that’ll appeal to all you beard waxing craft beer aficionados out there. Pricing was similar to the rest of the pubs on St. Mary’s – i.e. a little on the pricey side – but this is to be expected for such a popular street in Cardiff.

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Of course, what matters most at Kongs are the games. Classic arcade games such as Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man got the most attention at the bar. What I liked about Kongs was the sheer array of arcade games available. Outside of the staples mentioned, you could also find things like OutRun and NBA Jam, too. The majority of the games had a competitive edge, and were suited to a social setting: everything in the bar was geared towards promoting good-natured competitive gaming, an ode to the unique gaming social culture of the arcade era. In case you’re interested, prices were £1 for 2 credits.

The bar, overall, struck a good balance between social drinking and dedicated gaming. Kongs proved to be an exciting collage of conversation, drinking and combo-punching, an experience that was original in comparison to the growing homogeneity of St. Mary’s.

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The major question about Kongs is whether it can sympathise the gaming bar niche with the boozy nature of St. Mary’s Street, but judging by the success of their Bristol branch they should have no problem finding a clientele itching for a game of Street Fighter II over a pint. Bars like Koopas and 8-Bit Bar have been huge successes in Swansea, so why not Cardiff?

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The City

A little change, please: a film about homelessness in Cardiff

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Photojournalist Ben Blyth spent a night sleeping rough, speaking to street homeless people in Cardiff to hear their stories and to find out how they would like to be treated by the public.

Ben talks to us about the process of putting the film. First, if you haven’t seen it …

Here’s what Ben had to say about putting the film together:
“My interest in homelessness has been one that started back in 2014, when I started a project photographing Cardiff’s homeless and attaching quotes to the images from the people in them. However, after another year of studying since, I have realised that I didn’t even touch the tip of the iceberg. So when I was given the opportunity to create a film for one of my final year assignments, I felt that this was the chance to revisit the subject and try to cover it in a way that offers a fairer view on homelessness in Cardiff.
“I began creating this film in October, and had decided that to not go into the subject completely blind so spent two days and a night sleeping rough and begging on the streets of Cardiff. I had originally planned to spend two nights sleeping rough, but to be quite honest, at the time I couldn’t bring myself to do another night. This is partly down to being woken up multiple times in the night by drunk people and then in the early hours, the police woke me to see what was going on. This however was a minor part of the experience, I felt completely lost in a city that I had lived in for two years, a feeling that is very hard to explain, but when there is literally nothing to do or no where to go, its a very confusing feeling. During this experience, I realised very quickly that I would never have any idea of what it’s like to be homeless unless it actually happened to me, this is when I started to talk to homeless people in the city, firstly without a camera, just chatting to them and seeing what they thought of the idea of a film. Most liked the idea, and with that I began filming.
“The main aim of the film was to let the people on the street respond directly to comments often seen online directed at homeless people. These came to my attention even more after my experiment and really angered me, especially when most homeless people don’t have the chance to respond for themselves. The outcome of this is the film, A Little Change, Please. The message I received from most of the people I spoke to on the streets was that, they would much prefer someone to sit and talk to them for a few minutes than have a little bit of change thrown at them. Yes, the money and food is important, but what is more important is that they are made to feel like people, this can be so much more important than a couple of coins. From the response so far it seems to have changed quite a few opinions, and I feel this is important. No one individual can stop homelessness, but if everyone makes a little change to the way they see them or treat them then the bigger change has more of a chance of happening.”
Ben has done some other photography for us too:

Follow Ben’s work: Ben Blyth website / Ben’s Facebook / Ben’s Instagram

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The Arts

Happy New Year! We Are Cardiff’s 2016 best nine

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Blwyddyn Newydd Dda kids!

We’re welcoming in the new year with something easy on the brain, with our Instagram #2016bestnine.

If you’re a keen Instagrammer, you may already be following the We Are Cardiff Instagram account. We’ve just posted our #2016topnine over there, but for those of you who can’t be bothered with all that nonsense, we’re replicating it here. Below we feature the work of six very talented local photographers, so please click through to have a proper look at all their accounts and show them some love!

We use the We Are Cardiff Instagram to feature and promote some of the best and most unusual photography of the city, as seen through the lenses of YOU! And here are our top posts of 2016.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLTlLStgdM2/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMz0_SCAZu-/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNhY-KqANY9/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMqyOyHgPrK/

 

 

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