Gig Review: Singing in the Dark to No one

Pete and the Pirates – Concorde 2

Last night, as I cycled my merry way home, a happy sigh left my body. It was cold, dark and wet. A smattering of drunken revellers ambled along the promenade. I felt wonderful.

Sigh complete, I sang all the way home. Sometimes my arm reached out to the world, just as it had only moments before. I was high. I was high on live music. Alcohol free and happy, I had a one-lady sing-along, with and to no one.

Pete and the Pirates are and were truly amazing. For once, I found myself with an audience that whole-heartedly agrees. Particularly impressive, was the throng of lads that had travelled all the way from Madrid, just for an intimate Brighton gig. Whilst Pete and the Pirates are a lesser-known entity in their homeland, they seem to have conquered a small quarter of Spain. Good for them.

“We travel around the world to see bands”, my new friend said, “We’ve seen the Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes”. Pete and the Pirates so deserve to be included in that sentence. “And this gig is so cheap”, he added, “Just £7.50.” Yes, it was. It was even cheap for the Concorde 2.

While Pete and the Pirates have the good looks and the rip-roaring tunes, their personalities seem better aligned to those of anti-folk renegades. They are an endearing band.

In the moshpit, the audience fell under this very charm. We sang our hearts out, the Spaniards shouted mysterious requests, and a happy bubble of fans bounced for joy. When the music soared, foreign arms would curl around my shoulders or waist, and buoy me along. We were as one and it was fun, fun, fun.

And too much fun for one. When a Spanish hand snuck its way under my t-shirt, I politely removed it. Enthusiasm has its limits. Needless to say, I will still treasure the moment that a handsome man, 15 years my junior, tried to cop a mischievous feel. I will also treasure the kiss that his friend politely planted on my cheek. That was after I'd allowed him to rip off and take away part of my mask.

Yes, for the last two nights, I’ve worn masks. It’s the best solution to hiding wrinkles in a young environment. For two nights in a row, I’ve entertained young suitors. Why didn’t I think of it before? I have a reasonable figure, so why not hide the face, and highlight my assets? Okay, the mask wearing was far from intentional and I don’t really need an extra lover, but it was great fun.

Mask 1, Friday 28th December:
At Club Mayhem, the great DJ that is Amongst the Pigeons filled the room with pigeon masks, whilst adorning his own - as cool as fuck - cat hat and shades. A stroke of paraphernalia genius and a belter of a DJ set.

Mask 2: Saturday, 29th December:
At the Concorde 2, Pete and the Pirates volunteered to be the backing band for support act, Connan Moccasins, who were a few members short. They disguised themselves with gaffer tape moustaches and eyebrows, and the more inventive made their very own head masks. Entitled 'The Gimps', they provided additional vocals, a bassist and wonderfully childish dance routines. When, at the start of their real set, they threw the masks into the crowd, I won. It seemed churlish not to wear it. I ended up with a cardboard and gaffer tape inspired ‘gimp-come-animal’ headset on for the full length of the set. I loved every minute of it.

I’m getting into this mask wearing. Maybe I should wear one tonight for Stanley Brinks.

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Download MP3: Pete and the Pirates - Mr Understanding (courtesy of auralstates.com)