UKID, Cable Co and Combyne 'Arvester - 3 gigs in one Saturday evening in Glastonbury

I had a rare free Saturday evening yesterday, so I decided to check out some of the free live music that was occurring in Glastonbury  and I'm pleased to report that if this was typical there is plenty to see and hear if the mood takes you.

Before all that I had to stop and try to assist a young fellow, clearly under the influence of too much shandy booze, who had apparently fallen and smashed his elbow, which indeed look a bit grim, with a lump the size of a cricket bump already forming; he wasn't very cooperative but no doubt in agony, and luckily Paul the ambulance man soon arrived on the scene to sort him out!  But I digress.

First stop was the King William which was hosting a show by Combyne 'Arvester from Weston-super-Mare.  These guys really had to be heard to be believed as they blasted through their own ridiculously stupid versions of songs of rock and pop numbers to which they applied their own lyrics and a Wurzelled-up slant, with numbers such as Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love (reworked as Addicted to Scrump); One Step Beyond by Madness (now One Scrump Beyond); The Kinks Dedicated Follower of Fashion (Dedicated Drinker of Cider); The Eagles Hotel California ('Otel Bridgwater) and.....well I think you get the picture.  The bumpkin accents really were accentuated, the between song banter silly, while in the songs every vowel was dragged out; the lyrics were at times clever, and at others overtly crude, but always daft and it was all fantastically funny and self-deprecating, with lots of digs at the west country.  The lads were in dodgy clothes wearing straw hats, and the singer was using a kitchen drawer as a drum to get the small but enthusiastic crowd dancing along.  My favourite tracks of the evening were a version of the Dead Kennedys' Holiday in Cambodia, ZZ Tops Sharp Dressed Man (Weird smell, six toes, he's related t'everyone he knows!) and an apparently new song to their set: Teenage Kicks by the Undertones (with the chorus cheddar cheese right through the night).  Their version of Hall and Oates Man Eater, was particularly misogynistic, but the bevy of Glastonbury beauties dancing away to it down the front didn't appear particularly bothered!  This really is the sort of music suited to an outside stage in the early evening sunshine, replete with gurt lush gallons of scrumpy and the like, but enjoying it while supping on a pint of Addlestonmes in the front bar of a pub is an adequate substitute.    

Just up the road in the Crown, long time Glastonbury favourites Cable Co. were playing.  With a new album in the pipeline and with well over a decade of gigs under their belts it meant that they are now an extremely slick and polished act and their keyboard and guitar driven rock was flawlessly delivered.  Tonight they played a mixture of covers and originals, although with three gigs to check out in one evening I only caught some of their second set which was comprised of cover versions (although apparently the first set featured all their original material), including U2's With or Without You, an awesome version of the theme to Live and Let Die, and Hey Joe.  Admittedly I'm not the greatest fan of covers bands, especially when the numbers aren't majorly reworked so it would have been better to have heard some of their own material (I should have arrived earlier I guess), but no doubt they'll be gigging in town again before too long.  Nevertheless it was a polished performance, with strong musicianship, and Steve Bilsborough's strong and capable vocal delivery and both the band and the punters were clearly enjoying themselves.

Finally it is off down to the Excalibar in the King Arthur to catch the last 40 minutes of UKID, who were tonight plugging a new 3-track EP "Dole" that was released this week on indie label Phoenixx Records.  They did have a support band in the form of Mudslideslim but alas I arrived too late to catch them.  Three of the UKID guys are from Glastonbury, and all four are currently studying at Staffordshire University, so although they're making a name for themselves in this area, they can now take it further north.  Soundwise, UKID have been described as being Pendulum-esque with a bit of Kaiser Chiefs thrown in for good measure, but that alas does them a disservice; they are much more unique than that, with plenty of variation in their numbers which are on the whole quite ballsy, extremely catchy and propelled by the great rhythm section of both drummer Joey who hammers away relentlessly at his drums and KJ who really keep the songs moving along with his thundering basslines; yet even the slower numbers are groove laden and infectious.  The lyrics courtesy of Ben Jah have a youthful political edge, alongside the naivety that comes with it, but they're very catchy and his voice really suits the music, although he could be a bit more forceful at times especially in the more hip-hoppy numbers.  With a few lucky breaks and some hard work this band could go far...and I certainly hope they do, there's plenty of style and substance here!

Galleries of the three bands are here:

Combyne 'Arvester

Cable Co

UKID