ANCIENT CHAMPION!
The OutsideLeft Night Out, Saturday 10th May
At 1,000 Trades, Lightwoods House, Bearwood
It’s all plausible; 1,000 Trades sounds an industrial factor’s outlet selling components to plumbers and electricians; Lightwoods House sounds like a retirement home. Well, that’s all wrong, too.
Outside the venue, there’s family-friendly park spaces, benches and tables provide open pub-garden places, soon fully-occupied on a warm and sunny Bearwood Saturday night with casual drinkers and scoffers. They are totally oblivious of the imminent psychedelic ‘happening’ within yards of their contented guzzlings and munchings.
Beyond the busy main bar is a cosy, darkened ornate room; Ancient Champion lurk within, with intent. The sound man twiddles mixer knobs to eliminate (or enhance) PA feedback, instruments are briefly vamped and balanced in a kind of soundcheck. A back-screen flashes random sequences from classic science-fiction movies.
At around 9 pm, the previously empty room springs to life, a large audience magically congregates within a couple of minutes, as Ancient Champion level off the first brisk chords of ‘Midriff Bulge’ at the assembly. 
Their guitarist, leader, writer, vocalist - also the redoubtable essayist at the Outsideleft website itself - shapes the surf-rock volleys as drummer Adrian propels the barrage, his fierce cymbal work sounding like the compressed treatments that Kit Lambert applied to Keith Moon’s crashing crescendos on those early Who singles.
Bassist Brandon from New Jersey, who was also responsible for the crazy film projections, pins it all down firmly around the riffs and the accompanying kerfuffle.
Keyboardist Pete Piano has a small organ with a big output! Farfisa stabs, Hammond-like swells and Roland emulator effects emerge from his corner by turn, the fluid and milky sounds framing the hefty space-rock assault upon us.
This Saturday night crowd didn’t want or expect a routine classic rock-tribute turn - whilst many of the munchers and guzzlers right outside on the benches would probably have run a mile within a minute of checking out tonight’s live event! It’s ‘easy listening for difficult people’ we’re told, on the band’s website!
Performing beneath a tall red and gold crown; well why not? Ancient Champion was wearing it at his gigs for years prior to when the aberrant President of the USA falsely adopted a regal crown, let alone those Papal robes and mitre - as seen in DJ’s untruthful, anti-social media blabbings!
The set comprises mostly short, sharp instrumentals, sometimes abruptly terminating before the audience catches up to offer noisy appreciation; lyrics are virtually absent, though the non-singer front person finds time to tell us that ‘they are all crap, anyway’, instead recommending his favorite tailor in Harborne, Damian Marquez (I think!) and observing how beautiful the audience are, (true) - or how tall they were (not true!) 
It’s all over within half an hour, after 11 tunes - but everyone grinned and knew it had been a bit of a ‘do’ - and hoped that they could see Ancient Champion do it all again, soon!
Essential Information
Photos by David Mortimer, Woodenhand and Prehistoric Man
Please support Ancient Champion –
On Bandcamp here
On the web here
