Forget the cous cous, it's all about the Couse Couse
Mr. Dave Couse puts on an extraordinary live act. Reading from trashy gossip magazines, reciting a list of great and influential people who've died recently, all over some glorious music to back, and all whilst his arms are sprawled out to the side as if he were tied to a crucifix. Formerly of A House, Couse and his band The Impossible have a lot to offer to the Pet Sounds crowd, and it's offered with an energy and enjoyment that would easily rival that of the younger acts at the festival, and with a professionalism only attainable after years peddling tours and making great records.
He makes an allusion to Republic of Loose playing through their hits over on the mainstage and then states that he has hits too and goes into 'Batman and Robin', the song's tremendous and gets the crowd real riled up and in the mood for more Couse. At one moment he's got a Hello or an OK magazine in front of his face and he's reeling off his fervent lyrics to 'Celebrity', the next moment he's got a hardback book and is throwing out names of the deceased for the crowd to chew on and get wowed by.
Quite an event. His band seem to be enjoying themselves immensely, one member, the guitarist, dressed all in red giving the impression he might have been from The White Stripes, and the man himself Mr Couse seems too to be having a wonderfully super-charged gig. There's a lot of rumbling passion in the air, onstage and off...
He gets to playing the triumphant 'Beauty Is' and it is quite truly magnificent, a real classic of a song and a superb piece to hear live. In fact his whole show is a great participatory live event, you're really welcomed into it and made a part of it and you leave having been struck by its magnitude and sheer presence. Worth going to see definitely.