Blog: Cardiff

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I went to CARDIFF on Friday - I have long wanted to go there to ROCK, as several analyses of The Database of ROCK had shown it to have by far the LARGEST concentration of people on the newsletter where I'd never actually played a GIG. ALSO I wanted to go and look at TORCHWOOD.

The first thing I did when I arrived was thus to STRIDE down to Cardiff Bay. There's a raised train track that goes all the way down the road on a sort of BRIDGE thing, so you can't see the other side. On the way down I walked past several run-down looking Estates, boarded shops, and YOUTHS, unable to see the other side. On the way back it was all Public Art, new businesses and HOTELS. Why, it was almost as if the first area I walked through was on THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS. AHA!

Cardiff Bay itself was Quite Nice, tho I was disappointed to find the big silver watery thing (aka THE RIFT) was mostly cordoned off so I couldn't... er... walk right round it and ... um... stand on the SECRET PAVING SLAB down to TORCHWOOD. It all looked QUITE nice but not as IMPRESSIVE as on telly... tho standing on the steps where Captain Jack said "AHA! I am THE FACE OF BOE! WHOOOO!" was quite exciting, and the view out to sea was pretty AMAZING.

On the way back to the hotel, as stated, I noticed LOTS of Public Art. Cardiff seems to have got some STATUE VOUCHERS for Christmas and blown the LOT, as you can't MOVE for them. Also, most of the city centre appeared to be being MENDED and I had to hop and leap over various cordons and plastic bollards to clamber my way to The Ibis where i was HORRIFIED to find my room was actually SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT to the usual Ibis room. Eventually I worked out that this was because I'd got a DISABLED room - it even had a fold down chair in the SHOWER - but still it was slightly disconcerting.

Off I went to The Buffalo Bar for the GIG, feeling a little guilty at arriving a bit later than the requested time, only to find that i was the FIRST to arrive. PHEW! I then went downstairs and sat with some PALS for a fine couple of hours of CHAT, also BEER. It was LOVELY!

Eventually tho it was time for the business of ROCK, so upstairs I went again and did THIS:

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

Clubbing In The Week

Billy Jones Is Dead

It Only Works Because You're Here

Hey Hey 16K

Do The Indie Kid

Being Happy Doesn't Make You Stupid

The Lesson Of The Smiths

I got off to a nervous start, for TWO reasons: firstly, after having five gigs in a row with The Validators I found myself MISSING them somewhat, being suddenly thrown back into the world of SOLO ARTISTRY so suddenly. Secondly there was a large table of people right down the front who appeared to be FAAMILY of one of the other bands, and were chatting away happily and loudly when I came on stage and started introducing myself. I tried a NEW TECHNIQUE: WAVING at everybody until they waved back and said HELLO. Beautifully this seemed to do the trick without me having to act like a BELIGERENT GIT or anything - it was a POLITE way of reminding people that They Are Not Watching Television and that I Can Hear You As You Can Hear Me. CUNNING!

I got myself back on track after a couple of songs, after which everything seemed to go swimmingly, especially doing some properly SINGALONGING during Being Happy Doesn't Make You Stupid. It was NIIICE!

Gig done I then had a bit of a wander round having various DELIGHTFUL CHATS with the several DELIGHTFUL PEOPLE who had come along, including an EXTENDED TEAM RANT about how The Kids Today are RUBBISH. Sample RANT: "If you're so skint and in debt STOP BUYING EXPENSIVE COFFEE FROM COSTA COFFE AND TAKE A FLASK. In MY DAY we had Brown Label Teabags!" and so on and so forth.

This AGE RAGE was only INCREASED when I went back downstairs into the bar itself. I was already ALARMED by how very young most of the clientele were - lads so TINY they hadn't grown proper NECKS yet - but was HORRIFIED to find that they were all DAFT enough to be buying COCKTAILS.

I FCUKING HATE COCKTAILS IN PUBS! AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Just because it takes HALF A FCUKING HOUR to buy ONE ROUND OF DRINKS doesn't mean it's in any way BETTER than JUST BUYING A PINT. For GOD'S SAKE, The Kids - JUST BUY A PINT! You're being MASSIVELY FLEECED - you know all that ICE they put into it? That doesn't COST anything, but they're charging you about A FIVER for it! And the fact that they make a big show of putting EVERY ingredient in one by one IS JUST TO RUB IT IN YOUR FACES that you are IDIOTS. What difference would it make if they PRE-MIXED the bloody things? NONE AT ALL, except they could do it a lot quicker and even YOU might realise what a MASSIVE CON it is to pay the best part of a TENNER for an enormous bucket of ice with the equivalent of A CHEAP DOUBLE WHISKY lobbed on top of it.

THE KIDS! WAKE UP! And also, JUST BUY A FCUKING PINT so i can get to the BLOODY BAR!

So yes, I got quite riled up and after twenty minutes queuing up behind some over-excited ten year olds GOGGLING IN AWE at someone charging them A POUND for a SINGLE SPRIG OF MINT and thinking they were SOPHISTICATED when actually they were JUST BLOODY MUGS i GAVE UP and had to go upstairs where the only choice was lager, but at least LAGER that you stood a chance of taking longer to DRINK than it took to BUY.

Happily by that time Misty's Big Adventure were on, who are ALWAYS good for cheering up - they had that blue-faced bloke in the suit covered in HANDS with them, he's GRATE!

It was thus a somewhat CALMER Hibbett than earlier who made his way back to An Unusual Ibis, extremely glad to have had the chance at last to play Cardiff and meet such a bunch of lovely people. Next time, though, I'm taking a hip flask!

posted 8/6/2009 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

I've never seen you so riled!
posted 8/6/2009 by Pete Green

I think it's vital to speak out on the important issues - nothing else is going on at the moment, is it?

Also: i REALLY wanted a drink!
posted 8/6/2009 by MJ Hibbett

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