Sorry for quoting the press release instead of making this post a bit more personal (and less spammy), but it sums the event up pretty well:
Since their inception back in the year 2000, Left Side Brain have been fully committed to the cause of delivering unassailable riffage to the masses. Right from the get-go LSB forged a reputation for kicking the ears off audiences at sweat-soaked live shows while also establishing widespread acclaim for their recorded output.
Three albums and several hundred shows later, Saturday 6th November 2010 will see LSB celebrating their 10th birthday with a charity event at Bristol's famous Fleece venue. Together with some of the UK's most highly-regarded underground rock acts (and LSB compadres), the event will celebrate LSB's birthday and raise a load of cash for Cancer Research UK and the Motor Neurone Disease Association in the process. LSB’s Oli explains how the idea for the day came about:
"Very few bands make it into double figures as a going concern, let alone kick ass ten times harder than when they started. LSB have done both and we wanted to celebrate those achievements with a special gig in our home city. Of course it’s an awesome excuse to have a load of fun celebrating our anniversary with our mates and fans, but it’s also a chance to raise a bunch of cash for two charities very close to our hearts. Our immediate families have been directly afflicted by cancer and motor neurone disease so once the gig idea got legs, the obvious next step was to split any proceeds between the two causes."
Support on the night will come from the very best of the UK’s hard-rocking bands that LSB have befriended on their travels. In alphabetical order:
- Cars On Fire are rising stars of the Bristol and UK rock scene and already veteran LSB gig partners. [www.myspace.com/carsonfireband]
- Dutch Schultz emerged from the ashes of Northern Irish band Throat, who LSB first played with back in the summer of 2002. Indeed it was on Throat’s recommendation that LSB went on to work with Neal Calderwood, the producer behind all 3 of LSB’s critically-acclaimed albums. [www.myspace.com/dutchschultzmusic]
- Freeze The Atlantic feature Jon and Guy from Reuben, long-time friends and tour-mates of LSB. LSB first played with Reuben when both bands were starting out and although, sadly, Reuben are no longer with us, LSB remain close with all three members and are delighted that FTA have agreed to join in the birthday fun. [www.myspace.com/freezetheatlantic]
- GU Medicine are LSB’s bigger and harder older brothers. The two bands were first paired together for a few dates when both were touring their debut albums in early 2005 and have made a point of getting together as often as possible since. [www.myspace.com/gumedicine1]
- Oxygen Thief is not only a friend and neighbour, he’s pretty much the unofficial fifth member of LSB, not to mention being a Bristol musical institution. [www.myspace.com/oxygenthief]
In addition to these fine acts, the event will also feature the following:
- Compere and inter-band DJ for the night will be Dave Remix [www.daveremix.com], one-time LSB roadie and long-time friend of the band.
- A prize draw will take place before each band goes on stage with prizes donated by the bands and gig sponsors. All gig-goers will be given a free ticket for the draw on arrival.
- Free signed copy of ‘Rifftrospective’, LSB’s new ‘best of’ CD, for the first 25 people through the door.
As mentioned above, October will see the release of a 10th anniversary ‘best of’ CD, entitled ‘Rifftrospective: 10 Years of Left Side Brain’. This release takes 13 of the band’s choicest cuts from their 3 critically-acclaimed albums. Intended for newcomers to the band rather than existing fans, ‘Rifftrospective’ is a potent LSB mainline for the uninitiated. It’s a last opportunity to look back over the decade before the band move on.
LSB gigs in 2010 have been restricted to a few select events. The band recently played 2,000 Trees Festival and are confirmed for Lexapalooza in October but beyond this there's not likely to be anything else this year. That’s not to say that LSB will be inactive as writing is already underway on a batch of new songs that are likely to result in a fourth album (provisionally pencilled-in for release late in 2011).
For now, though, take the chance to look back at the consistently ass-kicking musical achievements of one of UK Rock’s most underrated bands.