Hewn from the great traditions of Welsh Rock music, S&M deliver an acoustic avalanche of rock, rap and R&B with a gentle wit that sometimes teases and is sometimes just plain outrageous. 

 Sacha and Nigel look like quiet unassuming gentlefolk with a polite and professional day job (which of course they have) but by Sunday night they are Acoustic Ninjas!  I dare say I could make my fingers move as quickly as Sacha’s, but only when trying to dodge a wayward bacon-slicer!

 Their beginning is actually quite incredible.  Asked to play as backing musicians for an R&B artist, (once described as a poor-man’s H from Steps) they played the thronging metropolitan palace that is Wembley Arena.  S&M are well-travelled, shaking the foundations of bars from Bridgend to Bristol, never afraid to try something new.  They have also recently travelled to Bucharest!

With such a launch-pad S&M have evolved into a consummate entertainment package that is now starting to rule O’Neill’s Bar on Sunday nights.

‘We love a challenge’ said Sacha as he tucked into an over-sized chicken burger during our lunchtime meeting.  We play the music people just don’t expect us to play.  Our aim is to have fun and make sure the people have some fun too.  For that reason we don’t believe in delivering the same old show every week.  We like to keep things fresh.’

 Nigel explained how they re-style many of the songs for their set, taking on all manner of genres beyond those typically given by acoustic duos.  ‘Rock, rap, dance whatever, that’s the fun.  Whatever happens we don’t take ourselves too seriously, that means we can enjoy it and hopefully that feeling is transferred to the punters.’

 ‘We do this for kicks, it’s a thrill.  To have the opportunity to deliver a proper gig to a place like O’Neill’s.  We’re not just  background music, we are not like part of the furniture’.

Indeed, I’ve seen S&M drive through a considerable repertoire that gets the whole place rocking.  This is not busking.  This is not just a selection of cover versions.  This is a carefully selected routine of songs with no particular genre other than they create a dynamic atmosphere where the punters feel that they can hear anything.

 One of the most compelling aspects of S&M is their ability to attract fans across all ages, Jane McKenna, assistant manager at O’Neill’s told me they have a regular fan called James who is 62 years old!

She went on to assert S&M as one of the best acoustic duos in Cardiff and a major factor behind the success of O’Neill’s Bar on Sunday nights. 

Their ability to captivate an audience is summed up by the following story.  A recent Friday night performance introduced them to a group of Geordie lads who travelled to Cardiff for the speedway event at the

Millennium Stadium.  So impressed were they that they delayed their return home until Monday because they found out S&M were playing n the Sunday night as well.   S&M have a large and loyal following and clearly not just in Cardiff.

The gig itself is a full 3 hour set, taking on an average of 45 songs.  This is well beyond the capacity of many bands and into the Bruce Springsteen zone for endurance.  Yet, for the toil they seem to make it look so easy, effortless and stylish.

 These guys engage the punters and turn them into a willing audience, building a rapport that I don’t believe I’ve seen anywhere else.  The Sunday night challenge is something completely off the wall.  The challenge is to play a certain song in a style not accustomed with the original version.  Sacha described how one night they were asked to perform Iron Maiden’s ‘run to the hills’ in the style of Johnny Cash!  Now I wasn’t there to witness this event, but from what I’ve seen and heard of S&M these guys are capable of anything. 

So if you do venture out into the city on a Sunday night, it would be worth your while stepping into O’Neill’s.

 DK.