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Through the Peephole
Saturday went against my expectations for a number of reasons. For one thing, we beat Scotland in the first round of the Six Nations – which seems to have confounded pundit and Pub Bore alike. For another thing, I managed to go out in time for the match. I used to work in Cardiff city centre. The atmosphere in town was always great, but getting back was a nightmare. By the time I got to the pub, everyone else was ready to go home.
Even better, we showcased a great young band named Peepshow, who don’t seem to subscribe to The Great Valleys Songbook.
I’ll move straight on to the band – as, indeed, did the crowd in Jac’s. I did wonder whether we’d made a tactical error by booking them immediately after the first match. Then again, anyone who really wanted to watch the lacklustre Ireland game could have gone into the bar. There are two big TVs there, and after we’ve finished the refit there’ll be extra seating as well. I suppose the band could have had an evening gig, but 4.45 did seem like a very early kick-off.
Peepshow are from the Brynamman area, and they impressed everyone from the outset. In fact, they impressed a friend of mine before the outset. I won’t name her, but she did allow me to add a further item to my list of Awkward Live Music Situations: ‘Dancing like a maniac during the soundcheck’.
Peepshow are a guy on guitar and vocals, another guy on bass, a third guy behind the kit, and an energetic female singer, They’re all in their twenties, I’m guessing. They played an interesting mix of classic and contemporary rock, proving that age is no barrier to great music. Early on they played ‘Zombie’ by the Cranberries, possibly as a tribute to Dolores O’Riordan. Soon after, they threw in ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. (I told you it was a varied set, didn’t I?) My original notes say ‘A bit incongruous to hear a young woman singing lyrics originally sung by guys (with no alterations) – but it’s the 21st Century and everything’s changing.’
Some people started to drift away – possibly to watch Ireland narrowly beat France, or just to have a wander around. A few others were dancing to a song I recognised but couldn’t identity if you asked me. I think it must be early onset Old Fart Syndrome. On the back of that mystery, a souped-up version of ‘I Kissed a Girl’ seemed to back up my earlier theory.
I couldn’t help thinking that a young-ish band should have been able to bring a minibus of mates with them. We always arranged road trips if our pals were gigging somewhere. I once went to Ebbw Vale to watch Tragic Love Company, on a Friday night in horrendous weather. If I hadn’t made the journey, wedged in the back of Stuart Cable’s van with his kit and half a PA, the crowd wouldn’t have made it to double figures. (I still have the photos of Cripplecreek playing a storming set in Hereford, which I’m keeping for any future blackmail.) Maybe everyone else in Brynamman was watching the match.
Top tips for visiting bands on future International days: get to the venue in good time (with a gang of mates in a minibus); set up your gear; watch the first half; do the soundcheck at half time – because nobody wants to listen to the pundits waffling on; watch the second half; do the gig; do the encore; get paid; go home. Everyone’s a winner.
We finally hit The Great Valleys Songbook with ‘Summer of ’69’. It’s a standard Aberdare crowd-pleaser, and also inspired a Doctor Who/Torchwood fanfic story I wrote about ten years ago. Peepshow made a decent fist of ‘When You’re Gone’ as well. Everyone seems to be singing that one since a friend and I first tried it on karaoke about eighteen months ago. They followed the Bryan Adams double-header with ‘All the Small Things’ by Blink-182. Quite by chance, the night before I’d checked the jukebox to find out who’d sung it. (It’s one way to stave off Old Fart Syndrome, apparently.)
I made a note that it might have been nice to vary the pace a bit. It all seemed a bit frenetic for a Saturday afternoon. There are plenty of slower songs you can mess around with without going down the power ballad route. As if they’d read my mind – or my writing, which is even less likely – they played ‘Hand in my Pocket’ by Alanis Morissette immediately afterwards.
Peepshow were taking a break when a gang of mad Scotsmen arrived. They were in full regalia and obviously drowning their sorrows. (Did I mention that Wales won?) Another Top Tip: Pictograms on toilet doors are all very well until a gang of lads rock up wearing kilts. There were a couple of unfortunate misunderstandings at the door of the ladies’ while I was chatting to some friends. Maybe we could do what they’ve done at Victoria Coach Station, and label the doors in about thirty different languages.
Possibly to rub it in, Peepshow started their second half with ‘Oh Happy Day’, before moving on to ‘Trouble’ by Pink. Then the fun really started. ‘Proud Mary’ is a Great Valleys Songbook (and karaoke) staple, but I’ve never heard it as part of a medley with ‘Nutbush City Limits’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’.
We were back to the late sixties for ‘Honky Tonk Woman’ (more evidence to my theory about the singer). Because it’s a legal requirement in Aberdare, they played ‘Local Boy in the Photograph’ before tearing our national anthem a new one. The Scots lads loved it! To redress the balance, they followed that with ‘500 Miles’, and everyone was dancing at the front. My photos are usually pretty ropey, but Saturday’s are worse than ever, so you’ll have to take my word for it.
Peepshow sprinted through ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ and the inevitable ‘Sex on Fire’ before throwing another curveball our way. Who knew ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams could work as a rock song? Well, it did – as did Stevie Wonder’s classic ‘Superstition’, and a bizarre mash-up of ‘With or Without You’ and ‘Starfish’ by Nicki Minaj. Finally, it was back to the end of the sixties for a supercharged ‘Let It Be’.
And that should have been game over. But 7.00 is very early to wind things up, especially after a historic sporting victory like Saturday’s. In about forty minutes of added time, Peepshow smashed their way through ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, ‘Flower of Scotland’ (with a little help from the Scots guys and their new friends), ‘All the Things That I’ve Done’ by the Killers, (OK, I admit it, I’ve just googled that one), ‘What’s Going On?’, ‘River Deep, Mountain High’, ‘Highway to Hell’, ‘Come Together’, ‘She Sells Sanctuary’, ‘Too Hard to Handle’, ‘Mr Brightside’, David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’, and (to finish) ‘Dakota’.
The atmosphere started to fizzle out after the band finished, and people didn’t start dancing to the generic disco hits for half an hour or so. I wondered whether we’d missed a trick by not booking a second band – but Internationals are unpredictable beasts. It was probably better to play safe.
Next week we won’t have that problem. My pal Dai Corfield has booked not one but four rock bands for the evening after the England game. Twisted Illusion, Jupiter’s Carnival, Kinky Wizzards and Häxan might not be everyone’s idea of post-match entertainment, of course, but it’s got to worth a try. Can we notch up two victories in a row? Why not come to Jac’s and find out for yourself?
