Punk icon gives fansWatt they want

THE name translates as The Sailor’s Dream.

And, while it might be a new one on many of you, the larger-than-life presence wrangling the bass on stage would have been very familiar to any long-term fan of American punk rock.

Mike Watt has been a totem on that hardscrabble, DIY music scene since the early ’80s – so to see him hunkered down on a tiny stage in Cardiff was a genuine thrill for those devotees who packed out the Moon Club on Friday night.

Formerly with influential Californian political noiseniks Minutemen, and later Firehose, Watt’s blend of primitive noise, angular funk, beat poetry and freewheeling jazz has long made him a force to be reckoned with.

And it was great to see that, after all these years, his passion for performing hasn’t dimmed one bit.

Charging through a muscular but virtuoso set of songs from his latest collaboration – with Italian musicians Stefano Pilia on guitar and Paolo Mongardi on drums – it seemed, at times, like the cramped space inside the venue could barely contain him.

One song ended with Watt nearly smashing a hole in the plasterboard ceiling with the head of his instrument; his bass also nearly decapitating members of the audience who’d leaned over the stageside railings to get a better view of their hero.

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Think John Coltrane auditioning for Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band round Jack Kerouac’s digs – and, if you’re still struggling to picture it, then maybe you should have been there.

Clearly taken aback by the crowd’s rabid response, Watt left the stage with a huge smile, happy to glad-hand everyone in the building.

Before he went, though, he treated the diehards to a raucous rendition of Fun House, the seminal stomper by Iggy Pop and The Stooges (in whose line-up Watt now figures).

“Thank you, Cardiff, for letting us do what we just did to you,” he laughed, waving goodbye.

The pleasure was all ours, Mike. and

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