Things look to be warming up on several fronts this month with even a couple of UK festivals braving the fragile elements. First up is Hammerfest in North Wales where those of you who appreciate bleeding ears will be headed. Angel Witch (pictured above) and Napalm Death will be there, along with loads of other rubbish acts and one good one – Killing Joke. At the end of the month there’s the London International Ska Festival which boasts Ken Boothe performing and nobody else you’ve heard of.
(Cloud Cult)
New album releases get a bit more exciting though, with my personal faves being Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cloud Cult and a great debut from Man Without Machines. However, there’s a disturbing load of old has-beens re-emerging, with David Bowie, Suede and Billy Bragg provoking some anxious optimism. Perhaps less of that for Stereophonics, At The Drive-In and Depeche Mode and absolutely none of it for Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler and Saxon.
(Billy Bragg)
We end the month with Easter of course but other days of note include the Welsh celebrating St.David’s Day followed by the Irish with St.Patrick’s Day – leek and shamrock: both useless plants. The same day as the former is Self-Injury Awareness Day, which is appropriate as being born Welsh is as good a reason for harming yourself as I can think of. The Greeks celebrate their independence day so why not turf them out the EU to emanate that day from 1821? There’s World Maths Day and Hexagonal Awareness Day if you’re technically minded and, if not, there’s also Save A Spider Day (wtf?).
Delving briefly into the sports world, England take on the might of San Marino and Montenegro in the World Cup, whilst the Six Nations Rugby comes to a close. If you were enthralled by the Olympics then don’t watch the European Athletics Indoor Championships, they’re dull; although not as uninteresting as the World Figure Skating Championships in Canada, where nothing exciting ever happens. In the States they have a World Baseball Tournament, where grown men play rounders in a competition that you might be surprised, will be won by Japan.
I’m sure there are loads of things I’ve missed again, other than managing to insult several different nationalities in such a short space of time – bigotry for the masses. Enjoy the glass of Guinness, spider rescue mission or game of rounders, whichever you decide to plump for and I wi haunt you again next month.
