The Anonymous Iconoclasts return to Bargoed, to a venue that is becoming second home for them.
I have to be careful what I say here, because the lead singer, who shall remain anonymous, will remember it and if he doesn’t like it, will use it against me the next time I see him.
Despite being Anonymous, this band has earned a name for themselves in Bargoed and always pull an appreciative crowd. Bourtons is not a pub that sticks on a live band in the corner to keep the drinkers happy. It’s a live music venue that serves beer to keep the music lovers happy.
The Anonymous Iconoclasts like the intimacy of this twenty-five capacity seated venue and have played here enough times to be on first name terms with the regulars. One of the regulars, Mike Beasley, even makes a point of wearing the shirt the aforementioned singer ‘loaned’ him when Mike went apex over base and ended up wearing the pint he had just bought. That was two years and five gigs ago and he wears it every time (review here)
It’s that sort of venue. A bit like TV’s Cheers, everybody knows your name.
Saturday night is Tapas night in Bourtons these days, so it would have been rude for us to not partake.
For the uninitiated – this is the bit where I have to be careful – the Iconoclasts play a mix of original numbers and cover versions. The covers they choose say a lot about the band: classy, less obvious and tunes generally appreciated by people that know their music. Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’, Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth’ and XTC’s ‘Only Making Plans For Nigel’. We get a couple of tunes from Tom Petty and from Alabama Shakes. All artists that are generally considered to be accomplished and imaginative musicians.
But anyone that has read this ‘ere blog in the past will be aware we’re not really in the habit of going out to see covers bands. These guys have three albums worth of original material to draw on. And draw on it they do. They even have a pop quiz and test members of the audience on what songs are about, such is the connection and familiarity between band and audience.
It’s fair to say this band has been around the block a few times and were pretty darn tight when they first got together. But, impressively, they somehow still manage to get tighter every time I see them. Four consummate musicians with an extensive knowledge of contemporary music in its many forms: sometimes post-punk, sometimes country, often rock. They even dabble in Bossa Nova* and waltz. It’s a band that love playing music together and growing together. (*Edit by Megan – one shout of ‘ cha cha cha’ does not a Bossa Nova make…)
Add to that a knowledgeable audience that appreciates good music, in an intimate and supportive venue, and you get the perfect mix for a heartwarming evening that leaves you with a smile on your face and a stagger in your step. Which is just what the doctor ordered at the end of a forty-eight hours in which Dr Strangetrump publicly lost his cool in the Oval Office.