Live review

Big Special kick off the DIY Now & Next Tour 2024 in exhilarating fashion

4th April 2024

Supported by Grandmas House and Slate, the duo begin their half of the tour by igniting a fire in the midst of a rainy Cardiff night.

Words: Tom Morgan
Photos: Tom Damsell
4th April 2024

For anyone who’s never visited Cardiff, Womanby Street is the epicentre of the city’s music scene. Many of the Welsh capital’s independent venues line the narrow street, which regularly overflows with gig-goers mingling in the shadow of the city’s ancient castle. In its middle sits Clwb Ifor Bach; a pillar of the city’s music culture and tonight, this institution is playing host to the fit-to-burst opening night of DIY’s Now & Next Tour 2024.

While thunderous Black Country duo Big Special headline the tour’s first five shows, with Grandmas House in tow, each night is also being opened by a different buzzy local support band. This evening, that slot is occupied by Slate, a four-piece who play a brand of retro post-punk as crisp and moody as the slate-filled North Walian hills. On the strength of their effortless stage presence tonight, you get the sense that once the young band step out of their influence’s shadows, they’ll become a force to be reckoned with.

“This is the sweatiest gig ever,” proclaims Grandmas House frontwoman Yasmin Berndt, as the Bristol trio rip through an energetic set, packed with short, charismatic and pit-starting riot grrrl/queercore bops. While each of the band's three members contributes vocals tonight's set, lead duties are undertaken by Berndt, whose fabulous snarl recalls a young Courtney Love. There’s even time for plenty of between–song banter, with the trio swapping funny stories about on-stage dental damage.

Big Special, DIY Now & Next Tour, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

Tonight’s supports set the stage in perfect raucous fashion for the opposing faces of Big Special; the rising Midlands two-piece who’ve just returned from a stint in South America supporting Placebo. Across exhilarating runouts of fan favourites such as ‘This Here Ain’t Water’ and ‘Dust Off’, their playful, fun-loving side is on full display. Both members even enter the crowd for a joyous rendition of ‘Trees’.

Their more serious side also emerges, too, in the shape of poignant poetry readings and the set’s crescendo; a life-affirming outing of new track ‘For The Birds’. On the strength of tonight’s performance, the chatty pair fully justify their hype, slotting into the grand lineage of pared-down, honest and wholly-original working class British music.