Bugs and Flowers

My life is full of joy. Part of that is my daily cycle to work. However Wednesday morning was a bit of a slog. The Autumn mornings are dark and starting to get cold. One of the gears has failed on my bike and I was huffing and puffing up the Taff Trail towards Caerphilly while listening to the Marc Riley 6Music show on my phone, what I heard made me smile a lot. Marc had alt rock (?) singer Jeffrey Lewis in session. A few months ago I'd emailed Jeff to ask him to play his track 'Bugs and Flowers'. I've always loved the track and had used it recently to illustrate the subject of impermanence and gratitude. It's a beautiful, funny song, and lo and behold he was doing it on the session! Amazing!

Sian wasn't keen on the gig cause it was a school night, can't say I blamed her. I got there at 9 hoping to see one of the support bands - 'The Gentle Good' - who I love, but they were on and off by the time I'd arrived. I was pretty sure I'd bump into some friends at the gig as I wondered a) to buy the nice looking but expensive vinyl and b) whether to live dangerously and have a beer. As I was pondering these questions Julia Short - a friend introduced to me by Steve Ford - said hello, she'd left her boyfriend at home so I bought us a beer and we yapped about gigs and the like. 

I wasn't quite prepared for uplifting the gig would be. I'd seen Jeff before and he is very funny, but he seemed to up the quirk and the humour tonight. I knew he did mini talks and presentions but I don't think I'd ever seen him do one at a gig before. We were treated to a 'low budget' drawn film aboutcomedy revenge and another about the fascinating life of Cannibal Monkeys, which was hilarious. Oh yeah there was another at the end which depicted a very literal interpretation of the Nirvana song 'Big Cheese'. 

'Posters' was the second song in and was full of bounce and energy, which sort of set the tone for the gig. Jeffrey was joined on stage by his brother Jack. Clwb Ifor was pretty busy for a Wednesday night and there was a good atmosphere, except for two oinks who - as ever for a gig in Cardiff - were spectacularly fucked up. They did barge their way through the audience, but I have seen worst behaved audience members.

It was a funny gig, and the humour was on the darker side of the scale and included songs called 'Crack Head Ian', and a song about Cannibal Monkeys illustrated by Jeff's drawings. Very funny and very grim. 

Then came 'Bugs and Flowers'. I was very happy, and mouthed the words along with Jeff. I looked over and someone else was bouncing up and down, smiling and mouthing all the words as well. 

Great gig, probably the best set I've seen him do and it was a bonus to bump into Julia. I'll be back at Clwb Ifor on Friday night to see Skinny Girl Diet.