REVIEW: PETE AND THE PIRATES AT CARDIFF MILLENNIUM MUSIC HALL (13/04/11)
Time can be cruel. When Pete & The Pirates last played Cardiff, back in autumn 2008, they seemed destined for great things. Two years on, and the city’s rather sterile Millennium Music Hall is – at best – a quarter full, and it’s hard to decide whether the band or the punters should be feeling embarrassed at Cardiff’s apathy. Support comes firstly from affable local lads My Very Best, doing their very best to sound like a Feeder tribute act. Then we seem to have four haircuts with wankers attached to them – but it has to be said that they’re OK. Literally.
When Reading’s own Pete & The Pirates take the stage, the sparse crowd has moved a bit further forward to spare the band’s blushes, but there’s really no need – P&TP are too polite to take any offence. “Hullo, I’m Tom”, the singer announces, bounding down from the stage to shake hands with the front – and only – row. Jangly guitars are the order of the day, and the tight five-piece haven’t lost their mojo. Recent single Come To The Bar rattles along pleasantly enough, and a frenetic version of Lost In The Woods shows this is very much a band with some life still in them. It’s impossible not to warm to a band who combine gauche charm with such a strong work ethic.
The new album, One Thousand Pictures, has been a long time in coming, but seems worth the wait – new songs Cold Black Kitty and Little Gun suggest this is a band which still have a lot to offer. By the time they rattle through Mr Understanding, the diminutive crowd are in the palm of their hands. You can’t help but feel that they deserve a larger audience. Time will tell.
Words and photo: Ed Bridges
