Attention Thieves – Caught in the Crossfire

The weather is awful but there are plenty of shows out there worth leaving the house for, so get stuck into our recommended gigs for the reminder of March and spread the word. If you have shows you would like to put forward for April, get in touch.

HADOUKEN! – March 20th- Kingston

McClusky’s in Kingston alongside the good folk at Banquet Records will be hosting Hadouken’s album launch show for ‘Every Weekend’. Their gigs always bounce off the walls so go check out a band that have just been announced this week for Reading and Leeds main stage. You’d be a fool to miss this one considering how intimate the venue is. £10 for the show and a copy of the album. Visit www.banquetrecords.com for all ticket info and download this Koven remix for some deep dubstep and bass damage.

PARQUET COURTS – 19th, 20th, 21st March – London

American band Parquet Courts will be playing three shows in London towards the end of the month. 19th The Garage, Highbury (w/ The Men), Wednesday 20th March at The Shacklewell Arms, London New Cross and 21st at the Seebright Arms off Hackney Road as they make their mark on the UK. Follow your nose here to listen to their debut album. It’s a great blend of 70’s punk and trashy indie steez.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB – Dublin, Belfast

The rest of the UK have missed out but just in time for their new album ‘Specter At The Feast’, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be hitting up Belfast and Dublin. The American garage rock band will hopefully be back soon, but if you are in Ireland then get down to some shoegaze. Check here for dates.

BIFFY CLYRO – Tour across the UK

Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro will be heading off on tour from 20th March, heading to Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester, Bournemouth, Dublin, Belfast, Aberdeen, Glasgow and London. Arenas are their kind of place and their shows are usually full of fire, smoke and rock and roll. Click here for full dates.

THE SMOKING HEARTS – Tour across England

British rock and roll band The Smoking Hearts will be doing a small tour at the end of March, visiting London (free show!), Bournemouth, Carthmathean, Cheltenham and Basingstoke. These newcomers are already known for their crazy antics of smashing guitars and drum kits sprawling across the stage. Click here for full dates.

JAGERMEISTER W/ GHOST, GOJIRA & THE DEFILED – Tour across the UK

Booze and rock and roll hits the road this month. A mere £5, the tour will be visiting major cities across the UK, bringing their A-game no doubt as they take everyone apart, piece by piece. For full dates click here.

GIDEON – March 20th – London

Heavy metal band Gideon will be showing off their stuff at The Garage, London at a one off show. Profoundly known for being aggressive and hardcore as fuck, £6 is most certainly a good deal. Click here for more information.

RED DONS

Red Dons are visiting for 3 shows in the UK this month bringing their unique incendiary hardcore with them. On Wednesday 27th March they play The Shacklewell Arms in London, Thursday 28th March at Wharf Chambers in Leeds and Friday 29th March TBA in Manchester. Read this killer interview and make sure you don’t miss this. Hyped.

Words: Sean Hendrie

As always Reading & Leeds has an impeccably strong line up. Headliners The Cure, Kasabian and Foo Fighters are joined by numerous big names across several stages including Cancer Bats, At The Drive-In, The Gaslight Anthem, Enter Shikari, The Maccabees, Every Time I Die… The list goes on! But for those who are more interested in finding some fresh blood, the recently announced BBC Introducing is the place to be.

33 up and coming bands have been selected by various BBC Radio Introducing shows and the festival promoters Festival Republic. We’ve handpicked our favourites below with the full stage line up as follows: Attention Thieves, Backyards, Bearfoot Beware, Black Moth, Crooked Tongues, Cut Ribbons, Danica Hunter, Dear Prudence, Dingus Khan, Empror & Duppy Beatz, Escape To New York, Escapists, The Establishment, Family of the Year, Fish Tank, Glassbody, Hawk Eyes, Hildamay, Ifan Dafydd, Lady Lykez, Marmozets, Marsicans, Max Raptor, Mikill Pane, Park Bench Society, Proxies, Rachel Sermanni, Samoans, Sarah Williams White, Seasfire, Wet Nuns, We Walk On Ice, We Were Frontiers.

Proxies:

After selling out physical copies of their EP ‘The Lost Demos’ in a matter of minutes, having toured with the likes of Hadouken! and Canterbury, releasing a single featuring The Blackout’s Sean Smith, and, with over 16,000 followers on Facebook is a bit of a surprise that Proxies are on Reading & Leeds smallest stage! Well we can assure you they won’t be there for long, watch this electric young band up close and personal while you still can!

Hawk Eyes:

Describing their debut album as, “sleek and modern and hardcore and suitably post-post-everything,” and themselves as, “Band, four people, Leeds, riffs, spend a lot of time in a van,” Hawk Eyes are a no frills, yet exceptionally fun, British rock band. We can guarantee that Hawk Eyes won’t be playing these smaller stages for much longer so catch their intimate set while you can…

Samoans:

Samoans are masters of the fretboard. Their distinctive brand of progressive math-rock draws influence from the legendary Reuben and Maps & Atlases. The raw emotion in the vocals is comparable to early Biffy Clyro, making Samoans are compelling and intense live band.

We Walk On Ice:

After featuring on Fred Perry’s Subculture ‘Best New Music’ section and filling out some of London’s coolest venues, We Walk On Ice are one of those buzz bands that you need to catch. Renowned for surf-pop-soundscapes, We Walk On Ice are the perfect accompaniment to a British summers day (weather permitting).

Attention Thieves:

Born in the vibrant Reading music scene, Attention Theives combine straight forward rock with some gutsy punk spirit. You may recognize front man Alex Green from tech-metal band The Arusha Accord, but Attention Theives are on a completely different end of the alternative spectrum with a much more accessible sound. Constantly living life on the road and frequently treating fans to new music videos, Attention Thieves deserve this exposure.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE