Euros Childs
Euros Childs
with support from Threatmantics
Thekla, Bristol
Thursday 20th September
by Meg Rowell
There's nothing better than arriving at a gig and seeing the main act hanging out with the crowd, wandering around unpretentiously. And tonight, as we enter the Thekla, Euros Childs is doing just that. Resplendent in a blue hoodie and battered red t-shirt, the ex Gorky's Zygotic Mynci frontman appears relaxed as he hangs out at the sound desk waiting for opening act, the Cardiff-based Threatmantics, to begin.
Threatmantics both look and feel like they shouldn't work. With nothing but a drummer, guitarist and a singing violin player, their sound sits somewhere between country and punk, with little in the way of rhythm or harmony, but, somehow, manages to weave its way into a toe-tappingly raucous set; a big melting pot of dirty noise, electrifying distortion and dark but quirky melodies.
The crowd has grown steadily in time for Euros Childs' set and, after some initial technical problems, the veteran musician graces the stage with the presence of an excited yet nervous child. Launching straight into an upbeat, heartfelt guitar number, his energy is electric, the tendons in his neck visibly bulging and the veins in his arms fit to burst. Introducing his next song as 'a track about fancying girls who ride horses...' there's an unusual showmanship in his speech and stance - like a manic game show host needing to fit in his lines before the ad break.
Moving from guitar to keys, the music progresses into a more psychedelic, sixties-pop domain, with the aforementioned Horse Riding and new track Ali Day giving off distinct Kinks and Small Faces vibes, showing Childs' influences clearly, yet, interestingly, without any hint of plagiarism. His voice is as smooth as Brian Wilson's, as animated as David Bowie's, and has that rare seventies glam-rock sound to it; add to that his natural Welsh inflection and you have something very special indeed.
As the set advances, so too do the veins in Euros' head. He's an enchanting character to watch; When he's playing, he keep his head down, his eyes shut, his only connection with the rest of the room being the rhythm of the music visibly pulsating beneath his skin. But as soon as he's done, it's as though he breaks from a trance, all curly black hair and hands on hips, cracking jokes and commanding the audience like a circus ring leader. It's even difficult to tell whether he looks older or younger than he should, so much so is the constant transformation of his face.
The stand-out track of the set has to be the epically-proportioned Miracle Inn, a song, Euros claims, that comes with a health warning; 'It's fifteen minutes long, we forgot to tell people at the last show and there was clapping in all the wrong places...' The Miracle Inn was a venue in Childs' native West Wales, the line 'They had music on a Saturday, heavy metal made me happy...' testament to his talent for writing lyrics that appear off the cuff at first, but that are often embedded with heartfelt perception.
Much was made of the Welsh indie movement in the nineties, with bands like Super Furry Animals, Catatonia and, of course, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, championing the way for Welsh language music. And while the more anglicised Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics and the like, have managed to keep their heads above water in the mainstream, it's good to see someone like Euros Childs, whose work encompasses both languages, still working away, keeping the spirit of Welsh bands alive and producing the kind of music a nation can be proud of.
Euros Childs is on tour in the UK until Tuesday 2nd October. For more details, see his page here on Ents24.
