Nubiyan Twist live at Tramshed Cardiff

[TRBboy]

Went to see Nubiyan Twist at Tramshed Cardiff on Friday, by far the best gig I've been to for years! If you're not familiar with them, they're a collective that blends all kinds of influences including afrobeat, Latin, acid jazz, bass line, etc. Upbeat, fun and very very groovy! Nice small intimate venue, very mixed crowd, and we danced HARD all night! All the musicians were exceptional, some great solos from everyone on stage, especially the keys and brass players. I highly recommend catching them if you can.

 

 

They were supported by Nookee and Webmoms who were both excellent too. Nookee were pretty unusual, but very good.

 

It interested me as a player to see that when you step up to bigger venues than I play, you don't need much in the way off backline! Or people just aren't bothering much with it anymore. Guitarists all had small valve combos, and the two supporting bass players shared a rig, which was just a Warwick gnome head into a Markbass NY151. The bass player for Nubiyan Twist had a small GK MB combo, not sure what speaker config it was. Sound was excellent all night.

 

In terms of basses, the guy from Webmoms was playing what looked to be a Player Precision in LPB, the guy from Nookee (who was probably the most inspiring player of the night) had a '51-style P bass type thing, very roadworn. We got chatting and he said it was 'made' by a guy called Daniel Giles in London. I looked at his page on Instagram, and I think it's kinda bitsa basses that he makes up and 'relics', but I could be wrong. Sounded great and looked cool anyways. 

And finally the chap from Nubiyan Twist had a Yamaha BB1025 in sunburst, strung with flats and played pick and palm muted. Sounded great, and the guy was a really solid player, nothing flashy but served the songs really well. 

 

It reinforced the fact that expensive, fancy gear isn't crucial, what matters is finding something that feels good in your hands and inspires you too play. And of course no one in the audience would care whether it's a Squier or a Fodera.

 

It also made me slightly envious that we aren't at a level where we're playing venues with decent sound systems, and have to spend much more heavily on backline 😅

[Merton]

Dan Giles is on here - @d_g I believe!

 

Is Nick Richards still on Sax with Nubiyan Twist? Did a couple of gigs with him probably 15 years ago, ace player