Hola!
There's been somewhat of a hiatus here at 'Fun Things' but there you go. Real life ticks on, what with weddings (an actual fun thing in Aberystwyth!), illnesses, madness, watching the Rex Harrison's career killing Doctor Dolittle (very eccentric, but it wouldn't be Easter without it), snooker, and lots of time spent at other coal faces. Here I am again though; let's speedily shake hands, and it's very nice to see you.
Now that's all over, let's press on to business. Last night I had the pleasure of going to Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff to see 'The Bluetones' - yes, obviously they're still going. There's even a new album out on May 24th too.
Come on, there's no heart you can't melt with a certain little smile... is there?
I had my fingers crossed for a jolly time: I hoped for a band that were adjusted to their slip from the 90s limelight, good music, and for a bit of nostalgic indulgence. I remembered the Bluetones fondly as a sparky set providing lilting pop with an audible smile. They formed part of the soundtrack for a great slur of selective teenage memory; a time that was always sunny summer, with trips to Cardiff to buy cds, making mixtapes, festival going, a time in fact when I was actually generally pretty miserable - probably due to nasty sunburn from all those balmy halycon days. Back then The Bluetones were in the second tier of Britpop, not huge, but catchy and infectious, popping up everywhere, and slogging along even when the bubble burst. They never quite lived up to their early promise but they were always around, all whilst clad in some form of denim.
I have a quite a bit of affection for Britpop in general, but I'm not a diehard fan weeping over copies of Select; I like The Bluetones's greatest hits, but I've not really kept up with their slighter returns. So I must confess that, alas, I had an ulterior motive to going last night. Bobbing away to the hook-heavy blast from the past were bound to be people my own age, people who sang 'Alright' on bikes, who were once naive enough to have clearcut views on Blur vs Oasis, people who Luke Haines wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. People who *must* be around the same age as me, and surely one of them must be mildly attractive and worth talking to....
How does the adage go; man makes plans and God laughs?
The gig itself proved to be rather lovely, which sounds a little twee, but thanks to a mix of old sing-a-long favourites and slightly darker, but still frightfully pretty new songs I had a delightful time. Lead singer Mark Moriss was engaging, everyone on stage looked to be enjoying themselves, and the crowd were friendly too -mostly couples though. Smug ones. The old songs you know all about, most of them have featured on the 'Teachers Series 1' soundtrack, but as for the new...
It's a shame that The Bluetones have slipped off the radar, as their newer offerings demonstrate a rather interesting progression; refinement rather than reinvention, and pure pop rather than jaded carping. They're not ashamed of being the less than cool cousin gamboling behind the bigger Britpop kids, and why should they be? The band have always managed to mask the slightly sinister, even downright heartbroken with upbeat melodies and Moriss's indefatigably chirpy voice: as their concert t-shirt says, they've been 'shitting hits since '96' (you've got to love the irony) so theirs is a skill pretty much honed to a tee. The newer material is both fine and at times poignant, and all the more charming for its utter lack of world weary cynicism, which struck me as rather unusual.
Long story short it all worked well, a good time was had and there was even a wee moshpit for 'If', which has to be the most bizarre bounce arounds I've ever been involved in, and in heels too. Yes it was those ones....
Ow.
Here's a Bluetones selection including 'Head on A Spike', which features Julie Andrews's niece, no really! Moriss observed that it "would have got into the charts if any of you bastards had bought it". But he's not bitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment