Northern La’s

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here after me and my human dad, have been travelling around Wales. One of our trips took us to an Open Mic Night at the Royal Oak in Fishguard, Abergwaun in Pembrokeshire, Sir Benfro.

The pub is famous for being the last place where a peace treaty was signed between Britain and a foreign invading army. An unsuccessful attempt at an invasion was made by the French in 1797 who were repelled by the local Welsh population. The peace treaty was signed in the bar.

You are probably wondering why we are including an evening in a pub in our blog. Well, me and my human were travelling around Wales, and one of our stopovers was near to New Quay, Cei Newydd which is about an hour away from Fishguard. There was an Open Mic Night advertised in the Royal Oak featuring a band called the Northern La’s. One of my human’s old workmates and his wife play in the band. So, he suggested a meet-up while we were in the area.

My human seemed to be over the moon to meet up with Dave after almost 10 years. They worked together at Jacobs (of Cream Cracker fame) in Liverpool. I am a Working Cocker Spaniel, but I have never worked a day in my life. Dave and my human worked in a biscuit factory! Wow! How good would that be. They made Twiglets! How lucky were they? My dad explained that he didn’t consider himself to be lucky as he always smelled of Marmite, and the temperature by the ovens was 52⁰C. Dave left the factory shortly after my human. My human said that he was probably heartbroken 💔, 🤣🤣🤣.

Dave plays regularly with the Northern La’s. They write and sing their own songs along with some cover versions. Dave plays guitar and sings, Ian sings and plays guitar, Don sings, plays guitar and harmonica while Dave’s wife, Anne, plays Cajon and percussion They describe themselves as Beach Cowboys playing Soulful Political Folk. The name comes from the fact that they all originate from the North of England with the La’s being a Scouse (Liverpool) form of Lads.

All this is very interesting, but it doesn’t get me a bowl of water and some treats. My human made sure that he grabbed a pint, and it wasn’t water for himself, but I had to use the puppy dog eyes to get my drink. I didn’t know what to expect of the evening as I sat under the table being good boy. The venue was outdoors, and the weather was dry and warm, so I settled down to a nice quiet evening.

Ian introduced the band and welcomed the audience to the venue. My human explained to me that it was going to be a music concert. I hoped that they wouldn’t be playing that awful Metal music that he puts on YouTube when he has had a few of those disgusting smokey single malts. You can probably imagine what I mean! I was surprised. It was nice to listen to. Some of the audience sang along too and clapped loudly at the end of each song.

After the first song, Anne joined them playing the cajon as she was fashionably late. My human sang along to a few of their songs, quietly, thankfully. He had been rehearsing the lyrics on the way to the gig in the car while i attempted to get some shut eye. He said that he particularly liked ‘Banksy’ and he hoped that they would play it.

It was an Open Mic Night, which meant that anyone could get up to perform, each allocated a 15-minute slot. Next up was Meilyr, or Elton, as Ian called him. He performed a couple of Elton John songs that he added to by throwing some tantalising shapes. He received raucous appreciation from the audience.

Next up was Mal, not my dad, but a gutsy lady playing the blues harmonica. Wow! She was loud. She woke me up from my snooze under the table. My dad said that she gave it loads. I wish that he would use proper English at times instead of pretending that he is 50 years younger than he obviously is. Anyway, Mal put on a real passionate performance as she was backed up by the Northern La’s.

Don performed a short set on his own next. He sang and played harmonica and guitar. He sang Ruby Tuesday by the Rolling Stones. That song always makes my human emotional, and it was a lovely rendition.

‘Elton’ was next up with another Elton John song. The audience sang along again. What a star 🌟

Rory played the piano next. His short spell was played at 100 mph. He played from his heart and from his soul, according to my human. The big feller said that he was really impressed and could have listened to more.

The next person to have a go was Steve. He sang, karaoke style, along to Faith No More’s version of Easy by The Commodores. My dad said that at least he had a go!

There was a short break in the music. It was finally my time to have a fuss made over me. Anne and Dave sat with me. As you can see from the photograph, Anne liked me and I liked her right back. She knows how to tickle the right spot behind a spaniels ears. My dad and Dave had a bit of a catch-up while I made my human jealous by sitting by Anne’s feet and staring at him. My dad had never met Anne before, and we both agreed that she is a lovely person. My dad said that Dave is punching! I’m not sure what that means, but I hope their is no fighting because Dave looks tougher than my human!

It was soon time for the music to restart. Ian sang solo for a short time before The Northern La’s finished their set.

One of the songs that the Northern La’s performed in the last set was called Lovers Waltz. Dave and Anne did a little dance during this song. I asked my human,’Why did Anne give Dave’s bottom a little pinch?’ He said that I was too young to be worried about stuff like that! Strange?! There is no photographic evidence of this incident, so it may or may not have happened!

They didn’t play Banksy! My dad was gutted. Have a listen on Spotify. Dave wrote this song on a drab morning in the urban North West of England. It’s a bit naughty with a swear word in it. It’s not like I haven’t heard my human using bad words before. He regularly bangs his head as he goes through low doorways, causing his potty mouth to launch into action.

As the band finished their set for the evening, a surprise guest joined them. When I say surprise, I mean that in its worst possible sense. The big feller! I was horrified, embarrassed, full of dread, and physically shaking. My lead was wrapped around a chair preventing my escape. He can’t sing or play an instrument. In fact, he is useless. Please, no!

Thankfully, it was a setup! No singing, no guitar. My street cred would remain intact. My human managed to refrain from ruining my image.

We had a great night and a surprisingly dog friendly night. My human only had one pint at the beginning of the night because he was chauffeuring me back to our Airbnb. My human said that he wanted to see more of Pembrokeshire, so we would visit Dave’s area again pretty soon. Actually, sooner than we had originally planned! We will be writing a follow-up blog with a hike as the focus about our next visit.

As we left Fishguard, we were treated to the sky being on fire, so my human had to stop to photograph it! Till next time!

Here is a link to The Northern La’s Spotify.

Here is a link to Northern La’s Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083409817448

And a link to the Boia Festival where The Northern La’s will be performing in October. Give them a listen or better still go and watch a live performance. You won’t be disappointed.

https://www.facebook.com/boiafestival