We tumbled down the Chintz rabbit hole into a frenzy of reggae, compelling our feet to dance. The Undercover Hippy had the Falmouth audience under a spell, mesmerized by their smooth beats and lyrical mastery from start to finish. After far too long away, the band has certainly lost none of their charismatic stage presence — it’s hard to believe this was just their third date back on the road.
You could feel the electricity pulsating through the air as homegrown boys Roguey Roads warmed up the room. Their easy-breezy indie-surf tunes were welcomed, and it’s clear to see why the band was chosen to open for this Cornish segment of the tour.
Our bodies melted into one, all the more united as Billy riled the audience in anticipation of what was about to unfold. Kicking off with new single, ‘Poor Little England’ — also the title of their upcoming album — the crowd immediately got behind the infectious rhythm. With energy prices soaring, hospitality facing serious employment shortages and Brexit complications coming evermore to light, these dangerously feel-good beats hit with a strong message behind them, perhaps partially explaining the crowd’s raw energy.
Roaring through firm-favourites including ‘Coming to Gambia’, ‘Borders’ and ‘Truth & Fiction’, the rambunctious atmosphere only continued to grow, much like the mounting pressure on our government to act. With the energy spiking, Billy asked the crowd “Who’s that mate that gets a little too fucked? This one goes out to them” – in response, we howled out the lyrics to ‘Mate Like That’, pints paying the price, beer raining down amongst the chaos.
In the thick of the set, The Undercover Hippy took the opportunity to introduce us to another of their new hits, ‘These Days’. The lyrics may have been unknown, but it didn’t stop us from meeting the four-piece with unruly dancing. It’s rare for a band to sustain such energy throughout a performance but by following quickly up with ‘Rise and Fall’ before hitting us with the ever-popular ‘Boyfriend’, as a crowd we were unable to catch our breath.
Finishing with the ‘Fool Brittania’, the band teased us into thinking ‘Last Chance to Dance’ wasn’t to feature. Chanting out “let’s dance” our hopes were quickly met, though not without humour, as Billy went on to first offer us a rendition of ‘Wonderwall’.
“Sweat like a river running down your back / making a puddle on the floor surrounding your feet / that’s deep enough to drown your cat, oh / Dance…”: dance we did, sweating profusely in the process. Every word was belted out in harmony, smiles blurring amongst the electric-charged movements on the dance floor. It truly was our ‘Last Chance to Dance’ as the set finally came to a close, the relentless pace catching up with us at last.
Charming us from start to end, the evening of debauchery concluded with a full-crowd picture to set in memory the groovy vibes — our challenge to the remainder of the tour to jump at least an inch higher than us.
A night with The Undercover Hippy is certainly not one to miss, with infectious feel-good rhythms, lyrical artistry and unbeatable unified atmosphere promised; the perfect recipe for any gig.
Words by Annabel Britton
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