Ukulele Jambalele at the Gwdihw

Ukulele players don’t so much ‘rock up’ to a gig as roll up and gaze around for the best place to park a bike … and so it was on Monday 12 July as we rolled into the coolest bar in Cardiff. The Gwdihw is becoming known for its retro-décor and for its unconventional approach to events (as anyone who has ever received a Facebook invitation to anything scheduled at the Owl will know) and this Monday night was no exception to the ‘let’s suck it and see’ Gwdihw style as the Ukuleles of Cardiff, Penarth, and Porthcawl launched into a concoction of crooning.
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All the favourites were there – well, our favourites anyway. As is the norm with the Ukulele Nights at the Butcher’s Arms, Canton, (our usual venue for a Strum-a-long) each player chooses a song from an increasing repertoire of material, and we play that choice with gusto. C’Mon Everybody, Space Odyssey, Ghost Riders in the Sky and Babooshka may seem like eclectic performance-fellows, but it works. Everything works with the Ukulele. Except maybe Babooshka. Although, the twiddley bits are quite nice, and Nigel seems to have those down!
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I’ll Fly Away was a high point of this particular Jambalele, as was Sloop John B which had them coming in off the streets in droves – encouraged by exaggerated hand gestures: the International Symbol for ‘Get in here and have a laugh, oh, and while you’re at it, have a go on this ukulele!’ Our guests didn’t seem to mind even though they were expected to immediately embark on an idiosyncratic interpretation of Valerie (the Zutons’ version? Ms Winehouse’s? Who could tell? Who cares? – the Ukulele Nights’ version is the best, anyway!).
As always, we finished with the club song – Delilah – and a raucous version it was too – enough to rouse all the owls – and the first Ukulele Night at the Gwdihw came to a spirited conclusion.