Audio, Brighton. Tuesday 12th of April
It’s a beautiful calm evening in Brighton, and NME meets the Reading five-piece finishing off their fish supper on the pier. As we walk along the beach, lead guitarist David Thorpe gives us an impromptu history lesson. “Brighton Pier burnt down, you know. And so did Hastings pier. The rumour is that Hastings pier was burnt down by the owner of Brighton pier. Pier pressure, you could say’. Spying a crazy golf course, the group come over all sporting. Clubs at the ready, they’re determined not to be bested by the course- despite singer Tom’s difficulties in differentiating between different ball sports (drummer Johnny shouts ‘Jesus Tom, it’s golf- not hockey!’). Play is interrupted by a talented toddler, who thrashes the group solidly on each hole. Conceding that ‘I’m an artist, not a sportsman’, bassist Pete Dog leads us back to the venue.
Signed to Stolen recordings in 2008, Pete and the Pirates were part of the indie alt.pop scene that spawned Micachu and the Shapes, and the Young Knives. Their debut ‘Little Death’ did well off a winning combination of solid tunes backed up with incessant touring (including two stints each at CMJ and South by Southwest. ‘Our first time at SXSW we played about 17 shows in 4 days. We played 7 shows one day’, guitarist David reminisces). Now, three years later, they’re back with a new record, and blimey, it’s good. Follow-up ‘One Thousand Pictures’ is full of the accurately observed minutiae that made its predecessor unusually special. ‘Washing Powder’ sings of an unexpected waft of an ex’s perfume, and ‘United’ catches its breath with the phrase ‘I threw at ashtray/at you my darling’. It’s indie, but with a bite.
The backstage area at Audio is a curious corrugated bunker. As guitarist Pete Hefferan slips out front to watch support band the New Union soundcheck, Jonny is sitting in the corner having his hair cut by a friend who’s popped down from just outside of London especially. Sipping on some cocunut water (‘they had some real trouble finding it, we even got a text message saying how difficult it is to source in Brighton’), lead singer Tom is anxious. ‘I don’t get nervous before gigs anymore, but I definitely sulk a bit’, he mulls.
The venue is at half-capacity and sports an eclectic crowd- teens in American Apparel mix with older office workers. The setlist is an speedy mix of old and new. Opener ‘Things That Go Bump’ is a little bit Morrissey, a little bit Parklife, while new track ‘Little Gun’ has the Bees-indebted harmonies. Older track ‘She Doesn’t Belong to Me’ ends abruptly, as Tom declares ‘sorry that one’s so short. I should probably write a new verse for it, and then buy back all the albums we’ve sold and change them’. After the show, piled into the van for the trip back to London, the band’s manager gleefully announces that their new single ‘United’ has been playlisted by 6music.
Ruby Lounge, Manchester. Friday 15th of April
After a date in Cardiff, and a day off, we meet again in Manchester. Major traffic jams, and a delayed soundcheck mean a rushed dinner of meatballs on Thomas St, before heading back to the venue. Printing out setlists in the dressing room, Pete H notes that ‘we normally chop and change sets, but on this tour we thought we’d try and stick with one- so that we’d be snappier and there’d be more flow. Mind you, Pixies don’t need a set-list. Frank Black just calls them out.’ The band are called to the stage, and face a jam-packed room. They spring through a tightly sprung set, ending with the apocalyptic Tarantino guitars of ‘Blood Gets Thin’. Buzzing backstage, they run off to look after the merch stand. NME chats to an old friend of the band- who used to be in Pete and the Pirates Mark One. He seems bemused by the reaction the band are getting- ‘It’s so weird that people want their signatures and view them as sort of super-human. I mean, even Marilyn Manson takes his makeup off at the end of the day.’ Meanwhile, in bundles local hero Marc Riley – ex The Fall, and current 6music DJ. Holding court, he congratulates the band on their show, and new album. David mentions how he watched Anton Corbijn’s ‘Control’ on his day off yesterday, and Riley launches into an anecdote about watching the film ‘with Hooky’ and remembering the events as they happened. Alas, the evening is unfortunately cut short by a need to get on the road the next day for a double set of gigs- one in Ladbrooke Grove, and another in Coventry. On the bus to the hotel, fuelled by rum and a good performance, the group compose an impromptu ditty, thanking Riley for his support, and complementing him on his choice of eye-wear.
Rough Trade West, London. Saturday 15th April (Record Store Day)
After a painfully early start, we begin the trundle back to London. Once we’ve reached the city, we drive past the studio where the ‘One Thousand Pictures’ was recorded. Jonny and Pete H excitedly point out the bus route that they used to get to the studio, and wave to the man in the car in the next lane. As we arrive at Rough Trade, there’s a minor kerfuffle- due to orders from the council, it’s to be an acoustic set, or nowt. Luckily, a passer-by has an acoustic bass for loan, and the group manage to wrangle a small amp out of Rough Trade management. A large crowd assembles, and in the background steel drums play. Delicately ramshackle, the band bash out the Decemberists heartbreak waltz of ‘Can’t Fish’- the opening track of ‘One Thousand Pictures’. At some stage, there is a point to be made about how these past three days on tour have demonstrated a mutual network of support between mid-sized bands and record shops and independent radio DJs, but right now, beneath the warm cloudy sky, the music playing is, and always was, the most important thing.
VIEW FROM THE CREW
MIDO: Sound engineer and driver.
I’m originally from Leeds. I got together with the guys because I was recommended by their agent. I normally work with Frankie and the Heartstrings. They’re fine to look after- they’re very quiet in the van. They never fight, only a bit of bickering. It’s been a 7 hour drive from Dalston to here in Manchester today- the M1 was shut, so it was a bit of a nightmare. I’ve ben doing this for about four years- before that I worked for a label. I’m onto doing Saves the Day straight after this.
