Well, recent-ish, and continuing the theme of free and / or unexpected gigs - the best ones, as we know. ( With a side order of cultural appropriation and middle-class guilt. Who could refuse? )
Gig number one ( 25/04 ) ticked all the boxes by being free, unexpected and also bloody good fun. I'd been to the Fresh Art Fair at Cheltenham racecourse ( didn't buy anything because I would have had to sell at least one kidney to afford anything there ) and then took a walk through the lovely Pittville Park into Cheltenham town. I of course headed straight for HMV and was pleased to hear a band playing in there as I walked through the Regent Arcade. This turned out to be ace saxophonist Kim Cypher and her band laying down some cool jazz 'n' blues to a very appreciative audience of shoppers. They played some old familiar tunes ( and some not so ), including a ska version of Dave Brubeck's Take Five, probably inspired by The Skatalites. It was all very laid back and groovy and the band were excellent.
The other attraction was their accompanying dancers who were very stylishly cutting a rug on the rug-less HMV floor.
They were encouraging people to join in the festivities and the lovely Sandy ( in pink above ) even dragged me up on the impromptu dancefloor despite my protestations that I can't actually dance. I mean, why not? Sandy and her husband ( Billy? I think? ) were such a friendly, outgoing couple and it was great to chat briefly with them after the show. Kim Cypher ( such a cool name! ) and her band were playing the Cheltenham Jazz Festival that weekend and were drumming up support for their performance. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it, but it was a pleasure to see them play amongst the DVDs on a Saturday afternoon - a jazzy, summery delight in late Spring.
Gig number two ( 26/04 - yes, the next night ) was in the People's Republic of Stroud - the Prince Albert pub in Rodborough to be precise. This was again a free gig - perfect! Our good friend Caz ( hugely talented trombone player of Dub Catalyst fame ) had recently played gigs with both of that night's artistes so had blagged some complimentary tickets. Cheers Caz!
First up was some high-energy reggae / ska / hip-hop from the diminutive
Ez Dickens. This was a very Stroud-y type of gig for the Stroud audience - old hippies, serious drinkers, students and white people with dreadlocks. The last, with its casual cultural appropriation, is always a bugbear of mine: dreads are so tied in with Jamaican / Rastafarian culture that it seems wrong to me for middle class Stroudies to be sporting them. And, to be honest, watching pale-skinned singers toasting in a faux West Indies
patois is also slightly unsettling. That said, Ez and her band were very good at what they do i.e. getting the crowd dancing. They're a very tight, very focused unit with some almighty grooves and a cracking guitarist who's a dead ringer for Jason Momoa. Ez herself is a tightly-wound ball of energy and a natural-born performer. They went down a storm and the tiny pub was packed with happily skanking punters by the end of the set. Although slightly lacking in memorable choruses / hooks, their music was a danceable treat for the feet ( and the ears! ) and I'd definitely catch them again.
( To be honest, if you're talking cultural appropriation, Kim Cypher and her band were also doing a white take on an urban Black music, although this has become an accepted genre - food for thought. )
Then it was headliner time and
The Undercover Hippy broke cover. Again, a bunch of white people playing Jamaican music, this time a more laidback, commercial pop-reggae, at times veering towards the dreaded Ed Sheeran end of the musical spectrum. Main man Billy Rowan is apparently a former Drum 'n' Bass DJ who picked up a backing band about 10 years ago and hit the festival circuit.
He started the gig with some strange "mobile phone call interrupting the gig" shenanigans but then got down to actually playing the songs. Well, mostly. After three or four of his Police-meets-UB40 skanking tunes, he stopped the gig dead to talk passionately about the appalling situation in Gaza and about the band's support for a young musician out there. This was all very worthy and I certainly can't argue with the sentiments, but it completely lost the momentum of the gig. Reggae has always been a very political music and Rowan is clearly committed to the cause, but I just think he could have integrated the polemic and the music a bit more seamlessly. The song We Are Not Numbers ( about the people of Palestine ) was very moving and had a definite Punk edge to it... but really the music spoke more eloquently than the speeches.
As the gig went on, the music began to feel subservient to the message as Rowan again stopped the gig for more talk. If anything, this reminded me of seeing Anarchist Punk bands back in the day, where you felt like you were being lectured to and there would be homework set at the end of the gig. ( And, considering some things Caz told us about the experience of supporting The Undercover Hippy at previous gigs, a lot of this rang quite hollow. ) The middle-class guilt factor was in full force here.
At the end of the set, Rowan pulled it out of the bag and brought out a couple of more successful, upbeat songs which had people filling the pub again, after the longeurs of the gig had sent a few people back to the bar. I think this music would make more sense in a late afternoon festival slot, where you could tap your toes in the sunshine, drink cider, and wait for the headliners...
So, a pretty decent gig but I definitely preferred the less self-conscious support band to the main act. And I never did find out why he's called The Undercover Hippy...
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