This show was the first date on The Five Year Plan's immense two show comeback tour, to promote the bands debut album that came out earlier this year, despite all the songs having been written and demoed during this Bristol bands short original life in the early to mid-80's,they have managed to rope another long lost 80's indie band The McTells as main support alongside Bristol based The Lovely Basement who needed to play this show, so we could all hear them playing in a Lovely Basement like the Hope & Anchor.
I arrived just after The Lovely Basement had started; They are a 4-piece from Bristol whose first song that I heard was about how Leaves Stain Water that had some decent guitars wafting through this Basement venue.
The next song was about a real whopper of a lie that Katie Scaife was trying to come to terms with hearing, as she played some good rhythm guitar, while Kevin Bache's lead lines twisted around her words.
Ferry Boat Captain had the feel of a tune you'd want to hear on your way to Swanage, as they tried to make us feel all at sea. I think it was drummer Steve Drew who made sure we knew it was time to go a Gas Station With A Bar as this wry drinking song from there next album got under way, the instrumental break was one of the ones where they all seemed to go out of time and back in sync to make us all feel a little bit woozy.
I guess the next song was That's Not Enough as Katie tells us all the ways we don't measure up for her, in ways that got me trying to work out what 80's indie bands they reminded me of apart from The Flatmates and Salvation Sunday. Puppet Eye had a laconic air to it, as the jangling guitars allowed Kevin to get mildly psychedelic on his solo.
Bat, Fox, Anteater, Elephant was easily the best song of the set, a brilliantly surreal song in the vein of the Jazz Butcher songs about animals, they really should have encouraged a sing along to the chorus. Katie then got all seductive on one of the songs from there next album, Wait A Minute (I'm Coming With You) all about wanting to leave with someone and go and have a lot of fun elsewhere as the guitars fizzed appropriately.
For Keep On Keeping On or whatever it was called Katie and bass player Paul Waterworth both switched to melodica to give the song a good floaty feel before they closed with Put That Guitar Down that was more on an instruction than anything it was a good close to an enjoyable opening set.
Next on were The McTells who I last saw who knows when, back in the 80's, at I think either The Powerhaus or Mean Fiddler but that memory is super hazy, the current line-up switched throughout the show from a 6-piece to 4-piece and seemed very happy to be back on the scene, I'll guess at what they played from the opening So Young that featured the 6-piece line-up with the Sax and trumpet that made them sound a bit like The Boo Radleys.
They slimmed down to a four-piece while apologizing to the brass section that they didn't know the next couple of songs, the first of which was squiggle squiggle as a best guess from my notes, followed by The End Of Me that had lots of fatalistic lyrics about how your gonna die amongst the ever jangling guitars.
Paul Rixon brought the brass back on for All I Dream that was lifted by the trumpet blasts, then as the brass section left the stage again, the bassist and guitarist swapped instruments in time for Take The Car that was introduced as being about a Hillman Hunter, they then did more instrument swapping for more songs I can't read my notes for. By the time they got to Go the drummer was on Bass and bass player was on guitar etc, no matter how much Paul kept checking his notes they sounded very good indeed.
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The song about how they wanted to Fly A Kite was a real highlight as the Sax really flew, Make Some Time or whatever the next song was had a hectic jangling intensity to it before they closed with Cut it Short that hung together nicely as the band did there best to keep it brief at the end of a good fun set. Apologies for all the guess work.
It was then time for the current 6-piece line up of The Five Year Plan to play the bands first gig in 38 years or so, they are Rob Pursey on Bass, Katy West on Vocals, Tim Rippington Guitar and Vocals, Rocker on drums, David Squire on keyboards plus a guitarist whose name I couldn't find.
They opened with Wiser Older But Wiser a song the band have grown into, with Katy's wry observations making a lot more sense now than when they would have first sung this song. Six Feet Under had the guitars jangling as Tim's vocals added to the intensity of this dark tale.
A Religion With Me is an obvious nod to how Indie music and being in guitar bands is deep within the core of most of the band, well apart from Katy who has been coaxed back from civilian life for this re-union, as she held tightly to her lyric sheets made sure we all believed in them.
What is It To Be Done had some very cool keyboards that worked against Rob Pursey's bass lines as they got good and bouncy. Nothing Will Go Wrong was of course hopeful for a band playing live for the first time in eons, but miraculously it did go pretty much to plan.
Useless seemed to be a list song for all the wrongs they saw around them and still do as both Tim and Katy emphasized the lyrics as the guitars washed over us. The Only One had a cute sense of longing, as by this point, they all seemed to be enjoying the sensation of being back playing live as a band.
Swallow Your Pride not only had some poignant lyrics, but also featured Katy playing a great melodica solo, that worked well with the keyboard lines. Hit the Bottle was probably what they wanted to do before this gig started, by this point in the set it would be in celebration that they'd pulled it off, sounding like a tight mid 80's anorak indie band, the only things missing being someone sat on the floor rolling spliffs and the odd waste case glued to the walls, that used to be my favored gig state.
They then closed this cool set with the totally appropriate Touched By Time as they may all be a little bit older but the reasons for showing up and playing gigs like this remain the same, this was a very cool night out and here's hoping they get to play a few more shows this side of the 2050's.
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