FRANCOBOLLO + THE ADELINES + JOHN MOUSE | LIVE REVIEW
Dempseys, Cardiff, Thurs 28 Nov
Cold, walking to Dempseys, I was chiding myself. I’d had something like four hours sleep, done a day’s work, and abandoned my favourite mug, steaming with hot tea, in the rush to get out of the door.
I arrived to a short bloke singing about his eternal love for T4 presenter Steve Jones – his stepbrother, apparently. This, as it happened, was John Mouse, a comedy musician (thank god) whose particular brand of acoustic comedy separates itself from the vast majority of that genre by actually being funny. John finished with a pitch-perfect karaoke rendition of one of his own songs. Things, it appeared, had begun to look up.
The Adelines were up next. With catchy basslines, intricate guitar work and beefy drums, the local quartet, led by the unassuming, powerful vocals of Jennie Morris, expertly began to work through a set of sun-drenched, warped pop songs. At this point, there were maybe 15 people in the room, and it was clear that it was going to be a quiet night. A bit of a shame: The Adelines played a blinder. Keep an eye out, for sure.
Headliners Francobollo, refusing to let the low turnout affect their performance, took to the stage with such immediate vigour and enthusiasm – in the first five minutes, I had to dodge a shoe – that suddenly the me who’d made the decision to venture out on a cold Thursday evening in late November was completely vindicated. Sounding a bit like a blend of Nirvana and Polvo – grungy chords combined with loose, messy guitar leads – the band, all grins, stomped, jumped and danced until the floor shook.
Obviously this was a group who still got off on simply playing together (and, incidentally, as their self-proclaimed ode to masturbation, Basketball, made clear, playing with themselves – although presumably this happens later), and their performance was as fun and organic as you’d expect such a band’s to be. If you get even half the chance, go and see this band: they really are really great. Really.
words PETER MARSHALL