CUD
Le Pub, Newport - 15th October 2022
Support: Silent Forum
So here's a shocking admission. Before this show, I'd never seen Cud live! I know. Me, a devoted indie kid, having never seen this indiest of indie bands. Well, they were until they signed to a major label, but even then they were never going to appeal to the mainstream.
Although they might have. My friend Graham (aka Graham The Bear of Goldie Lookin Chain) reckons that if Cud hadn't broken up after the release of their 1994 album 'Showbiz', they could have gone stratospheric during the Britpop years. He runs a record shop and tours the world with a band, so I'm not going to argue with him...
Since reforming in 2010, a number of singles have been released and an album has been mooted for the best part of a decade, but is yet to materialise. But Cud remain an enticing live treat, and when they show up in my adopted home town I'm going to finally take the plunge and catch them in the flesh.
This was the 30th Anniversary Tour of their breakthrough album 'Asquarius', so there was a high concentration of songs from that record. Which is no bad thing of course, as the quality of those songs is pretty high. The obvious ones - Rich And Strange, Through The Roof - were predictably well received, as well as Sometimes Rightly Sometimes Wrongly, Soul Food and (my fave) Pink Flamingo.
It's worth noting that 'Asquarius' was produced by none other than Newport legend Jon Langford (ex-Mekons, Three Johns, etc.), a point that Carl acknowledged to much appreciation from the Le Pub crowd.
The newer tracks (Victoria, Sorry I Let You Down) also went down well, but it was the early classics that really set the place off. Eau Water was a magnificent way to open the set, while we also got Hey Boots, Robinson Crusoe, I've Had It With Blondes and, of course, Only (A Prawn In Whitby), as well as a Family Cat cover.
In short, a great set, a great performance, and a great gaping hole in my gig-going life finally filled.
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