We Cajole the School

Cardiff was great. What we saw of it anyway... We saw the castle from outside, the Europa café where we ate, the local Wetherspoon, and the two O'Neill's of course. We went into the wrong one first, because we saw one just as we came out of the bus station. I peeked in through the window and next to 'Thursday' in the schedule it said "live rock bands". Could that be us? So we went in and said we were playing tonight and the bartender said we could leave our stuff upstairs. We dragged all our luggage upstairs and found ourselves in a really big room. Could we really be playing here? Then a grumpy man appeared and asked us what we were doing there. Thus we learned that there were two O'Neills in Cardiff and we were definitely in the wrong one! It served us right for posing as a rock band, I suppose. We finally found the right place and met Neil Pop Miwsig who had arranged the gig and our old friends (by then) The Besties. That's it in the photo above. It wasn't long before Silence At Sea and The School turned up as well. I was very happy to meet Liz and the other schoolboys and -girls as they'd been so lovely at Indietracks. Unfortunately, we wouldn't have time to see any of the other bands because we had to hop on a train back to London to be in time for our morning flight back to Sweden. We were quite stressed and it wasn't our best gig of the tour, but ok I guess. I was really nervous because I'd just lost my lead and spent a lot of time looking for it instead of preparing. Then it was time for some hurried goodbyes, which might have been just as well because that made it more painless. I still miss everyone we met during that week!

I'd like to take this opportunity to post a song by The School, as the first of the mp3s offered on this blog. There really isn't a better band in the world at this very moment in my eyes. I can't wait for that album to come out on Elefant! For those who don't know The School was started by Liz who is also in The Loves, and in fact the two bands share several members. Much as I loved The Loves' set at Indietracks, I have to admit The School was the band that really stole my heart. If The Loves play 'garage pop', The School is definitely more girl-group. After their gig there was a rush to the merchandise stall, as everyone wanted a copy of the four-track CDR. I got my copy, plus the last of the screen-printed bags... and about eight badges! You can have one if you like. The School sound like Camera Obscura at their finest moments, only better. Or closer to what they seem to want to sound like. And Liz has a beautiful voice that, like the songs themselves, will catch you unaware with their simple charm. Songs on this blog will be labelled CLOUD, starting with no. 9 of course. More songs here.

CLOUD 9 The School - All I Wanna Do