Please Mind Your Head II Featuring The Gentle Good, Gindrinker, John Mouse, Evening Chorus, Spencer McGarry Season, and more, Clwb Ifor Bach, 31 July
An impressive line-up of eight bands for a fiver, and all for charity? Who could refuse? I had spent the afternoon in Bristol, and despite leaving relatively early to get back for this gig, due to the early start, I still missed the first two bands, including Them Lovely Boys, who I’ve seen once before, and were pretty good this evening, so I was told.
The biggest disappointment for me was the news that Prince Edward Island wouldn’t be playing. For anyone who doesn’t know them, they are a London-based band, with a Scottish singer, and a keyboard player who speaks with a very broad Scottish accent, but insists on her Englishness. They have just put out their debut album, after quite a long wait, which you can listen to as a stream online, and a very fine thing it is. Titles such as “You Look Like I Need a Drink” and “Sex in the Morning (I’m coughing, you’re moaning)” should give you some idea of what you’ll be letting yourself in for.
Barefoot Dance of the Sea, who I know less about, were also not on the bill as advertised, being replaced by the ubiquitous Spencer McGarry Season. Spencer always comes across as a charming sort of chap. He is usually seen impeccably dressed in a suit or something similar, although today, in just jeans and t-shirt, I think it was probably the most conservatively dressed I’d ever seen him (although he did later get changed). They played a shortish set.
The stand-out thing about Spencer is without a doubt the quality of his voice. Sounding like a cross between David Bowie, David Byrne of Talking Heads and Bryan Ferry, the simple fact that I’m mentioning all those names in one sentence should be enough to convince you of his talent. The songs also have a similar slightly off kilter rhythm to them, again akin to Talking Heads. The last song, “Hands”, has a riff that made me think of the classic 80s Christmas song “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses.
There followed a couple of acts I was slightly less interested in. The first of these was another stand-in act, whose name I didn’t catch, who was a slightly geeky looking guy with laptop and some gadgetry to play with. Whole orchestras of sound were being emitted, which was slightly incongruous with there being just the one performer. Following this were Evening Chorus, who I have nothing at all against, but I have seen them quite a number of times now. They do a kind of slightly more stripped down Mumford and Sons. There are lots of nice harmonies combined with a barn-stomping double bass. All very nice, and lovely people and all, but not quite my cup of cocoa.
Next up was the one a lot of people were looking forward to, John Mouse. John quite likes the idea of being a bona fide pop star I think, but this is at odds with him being on the opposite polar spectrum to a mainstream act. He’d like to be taken seriously, despite the fact that he does silly things like sing from the top of speakers, carry a drum through the audience, and get the crowd to sing along in a chorus of “Cheer Up Grumpy Bum”, directed towards Phil of Prince Edward Island, one of three members of the band who joined John for this set. Tonight John played many of his now quite familiar songs, including “Sex With You”, “Corney Island” and “(Got Your Head Shaking) Like David Gray”.
You never quite know exactly what take he’ll put on each song though, as he keeps the crowd guessing from one second to the next. As always though, it was good, if slightly calamitous fun. I had spoken to a group urging that people make happiness a priority in their lives in the festival in Bristol, and anyone bereft of happiness would be strongly advised to get along and see John Mouse live.
Second from last act was Gindrinker. Like Carter USM (when they started at least), they try to get by with just singer, guitarist and drum machine, so there’s not that much to watch. If that means they need to really hold your attention to make up for it, I’m not quite sure if they do, but who cares? The singer, DC Yates, in rolled up sleeves and trousers, looks and acts like a man about twice his age. He’s very reminiscent of Mark E Smith, with a similarly apparently uncaring sort of attitude. For a two piece, they make quite a loud, discordant type of noise. The final song about driving around the Gurnos estate in an ice cream van at 90 miles an hour makes me think of a few things.
First of all, a report in the day’s Wales on Sunday about an accountant who left his job and instead followed a childhood dream, bought an ice cream van, and named it after his fiancé. It also made me think of the ice cream van that’s parked outside the entrance to Brains Brewery. And finally, of my sole trip to the estate itself, going to buy fish and chips for someone in the nearby Princess of Wales Hospital. Two girls in the Gurnos Fish Bar were joking about whether it should be spelt “Fish Shop” or “Fishop” which I found quite funny.
Next was the raffle draw, and I was lucky enough to win a prize. I chose a bottle of gin, but only Faye of Prince Edward Island subsequently took me up on my offer of a free gin and tonic. Even the singer of Gindrinker declined. Personally, if I was in a band called Gindrinker, I would take up every offer of a free gin and tonic, but hey ho.
And finally there was The Gentle Good, which turned out to be a solo singer-songwriter, who sang songs in Welsh and English, with gentle being the operative word. An odd choice for headliner I thought – perhaps he was the promoter’s favourite, or perhaps he’d just sold more records (read as mp3s) than all the others – but he seemed pleasant enough. With the lyric to one song, that sounded a bit All About Eve-y, “I sent you away on a ship without a sail” I set off home, ever so slightly drunk on beer and gin. It had been an excellent night, very well organised by Justin of the Headway charity, and I look forward to the next Mind Your Head night.
