HIMALAYAS / HALF HAPPY
Corn Exchange / Le Pub - Newport - 29th January 2026
Support: Slate, Parcs, Chroma, Hairdye, The Rogues
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| Half Happy - Le Pub, Newport 29/01/2026 (by TheMadster) |
One ticket, two venues, seven bands. One gig or two? I've decided it's just the one gig given there was just one ticket and you could actually see all seven bands play if you timed it right. Given that ticket was little more than a tenner also meant it was an absolute bargain and a no-brainer in terms of buying one. Or two.
My normal gig buddy, MrsRobster, was working on the night so I invited my first born (TheMadster) along. She was up for it. Sadly, due to time and logistical issues, we weren't able to get to see all seven bands. In fact, we made it to just the three, but hey, still a bargain, right?
This was a show billed as 'Beacons and BBC Horizons Present...' The former, Beacons Cymru, is a music talent development organisation, working with young people to, as they put it, "shape the future of music". The latter is a scheme headed up by BBC Wales to develop new independent music in this fine land. I'm not sure you really wanted to know any of that, but I feel it's important.
Anyway, the way it worked was, one band would play in the Corn Exchange, then as soon as they'd finished, the next band would start in Le Pub. The fact the two venues are owned and run by the same team and are directly opposite each other in the street meant you can simply leave one venue and be in the other within seconds. We got to Le Pub in time to see Newport's own Parcs, who describe themselves as "sad synth-pop you can kind of dance to". Madster enjoyed them, I was a little underwhelmed, but then I'm not the world's most ardent synth-pop fan.
Not sure why we then didn't cross the road to see Slate, a band described by Louder Than War as "the Welsh Fontaines DC". It was the second missed opportunity to see them. Instead I was chatting to the drummer of Half Happy, who happens to be the son of an old work colleague. This was, of course, a good thing, but we really should have gone to watch Slate and I'm kind of sorry we didn't.
That was forgotten when Half Happy took to the stage though. This band really could explode at some point in the not-too-distant future. Armed with a load of new songs, they played to a packed house who clearly enjoyed what they were hearing. As usual, their set closer Well Done, Honey took things to another level and left us all on a high. Can't wait for new stuff to be released from this lot.
Himalayas - Corn Exchange, Newport 29/01/2026 (by TheMadster)
I have to admit that I had missed out on the sensation that is Himalayas. I had no idea who they were, but it turns out their debut single Thank God I'm Not You has accumulated more than 55 million streams! The fact they're from Cardiff and have more than a few shades of Queens Of The Stone Age about them makes it even more baffling how they escaped me for a decade! They also have what must surely be the happiest bassist in rock! Despite knowing nothing by them on the night, both I and TheMadster thought they were great. We were surrounded by plenty of their fans, but also a fair few who knew perhaps as little as we did.
If we're lucky enough to have a repeat of this event next year, I fully intend to take advantage of it and trudge that arduous 20 yards from one venue to another repeatedly to see everyone.
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