Sweet Waves

Neil Jones on The Bobby McGee's, Pagan Wanderer Lu and Lucky Delucci at Cardiff's O'Neill's

January 19th, 2008

It's a wet old night in Cardiff, and a crowd of seventy or so people huddle into the small O'Neill's venue on Trinity Street. Most have come in for The Bobby McGee's, who caused a huge stir at Cardiff's recent Swn festival with a riotous show of humour and twee, but the support acts are burgeoning local heroes themselves, and there's no little interest as Lucky Delucci take to the floor area that mascarades as an O'Neill's stage.

Delucci immediately look the part, two glamourous female backing singers each side of 7ft frontman Josef Prygodzicz, hints of 60s girl group melodies subtly colouring the slow-burning sound with groovy wonder. Lucky Delucci are a unique phenomenon. Coming from the wild grass of the Rhondda Valley, their music has a subtlety, playfulness and emotional depth that makes me scratch my head now and then, particularly during 'Fire', which tonight sounds fantastic, a passionate and melodious whirl from the Popmost gods. Delucci mine Pop's treasured annuls so well, etching a colourful modern world that tonight comes alive like a dream.

Next up is Pagan Wanderer Lu, who's been making waves around Cardiff with an innovative one-man-show, and as the noise begins to rise, we strain at the back to try to see what's actually going on. Pagan Wanderer Lu tonight is a man on a mission, armed with guitar, keyboard and Inspector Gadget's suitcase, and slowly piquing our imaginations with a noisy futuristic vision. Here we have the in-house band in a Lewis Carrol novel, Pagan’s pulsing beats, shuddering guitar hooks and surrealist lines bouncing around the room like there’s no tomorrow, and when he feistily takes to the tabletops for the poignant and anthemic 'The Gentlemens Games', the party truly begins.

The Bobby McGee’s are next, and talk about looking the part… McGee’s frontman Jimmy has his beard tied in two knots like a character from a samurai tale, face decorated like a maritime ghost, pale and glittery (the glitter makes his beard shimmer in the lights), his partner El a picture of cartoon girlyness beside him, graceful and coy in a black and white polka-dot dress, hair tied in two neat bobs and face painted to compliment her partner's in ghostly maritime glamour. A two-part vocal harmony leads the way for a banjo, ukulele and recorder love assault, and affection and humour begins to pour out of the duo in sweet waves.

Jimmy tonight is sharp as a tack, his Groucho Marx-through-the-medium-of Billy Connolly delivery going straight for the throat. He has a fantastic way with a swearword in that broad Scottish accent of his, and it's all a super contrast with the music, which is beautiful, romantic and (yes) twee to its core. Jimmy loves to introduce songs about “shagging” (imagine that in a lusty Scottish accent), songs that reference French cinema, literary landmarks and outsider love with such charm and musicality.

'L.O.V.E' is beautiful, a classic McGee's track abounding with harmony, wonder and fun, the crowd doing their best to follow the complex dance instructions that come with it, 'Ivor Cutler is Dead' glowing with outsider romance, Jimmy singing about dancing to The Smiths on his own with all the hope in the world as El's banjulele joins his ukulele in a slow dance. Party poppers blow, sweets and toy soldiers fly, and by the end of it all it's like New Year's Eve all over. The McGee's tap into the romance of Pop with a glorious mischief and affection, and tonight we can’t help but laugh and weep in their arms.

© 2008 Neil Jones

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