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Today is the hottest day of the year so far. Along Division Street people wander around in t-shirts lounging on the Green eating ice cream, so it is reasonable for people not wanting to watch a mighty fine line up inside the dark Bungalows and Bears. After all it is only 5pm, and as shoppers walk past the full pane windows, slowly turning their heads to see the crowd inside, there's a feeling you shouldn't be wasting your Saturday afternoon watching local bands in a bar. Yet inside the room isn't the murky place it is perceived, instead people are quietly drinking, sitting on the array of sofas relaxing. It feels like you're at a garden party, apart from this time the grass has been replaced by a dining room set up, and instead of pulling out your 'Summer Hits' CD you can enjoy your very own live mixtape, starting the company of Slow Club, which on a day like this, is the perfect soundtrack to the summer.
Their twee melodies along with the two part harmonies are complete perfection, as the two members provide a set impossible to fault. Despite the ramshackle instrumentation everything is rehearsed to an impressive standard, right down to the tiniest detail. Percussionist Rebecca hits the neatly arranged bottles almost like a child, completely enthralled in the sound they generate as her stage partner Charles plucks strictly at his guitar reaching onto his tip toes for the next beat. As they finish with their future single 'Sunday' the crowd, with a beer in one hand and a comfy sofa couldn't be more relaxed.
So it comes as a shock to the system to find, so early on the bill the one angst ridden act to your summer soundtrack in the form of Lets Bitter Cinema. Shouting at the top of his lungs, the pale skinny one man band is bitterly loud, yet through the raw beats and harsh guitars, something about Lets Bitter Cinema reaches you. As your ears become accustomed to the sound, the twisted punk and electro just begins to break through as the performer stands, pushing all his energy into a warped guitar and distorted vocals.
But then, just like that, we're back to the sunny day, the ice cream, and the flip flops in the form of The Wallbirds, who take a similar aesthetic to Slow Club. With their blues melodies, hard vocals and the inclusion of a harmonica, the set up appears quite dated yet there is something distinctly fresh about The Wallbirds. As they dance around the crowd inviting audience members onto the stage, they provide the fun of the afternoon. In these surroundings they seem the ideal band for a barbecue, entertaining, free and a pleasure to listen to.
By this time the announcement that tonight's headliners Tiny Dancers will not be appearing comes in the form of a shoulder shrug as Harrisons squeeze onto the tiny stage drawing the biggest crowd of the day so far. The bar suddenly seems to fill with the day's football supporters as the band delivers a mediocre set. Without the usual night atmosphere and boozing background to support them, they appear rather empty. Even on this small stage they rarely muster a move from the audience, apart from their small cluster of fans lurking towards the front.
Now the bar is packed full of noisy drinkers, so much so that hardly anyone notices The Lovers as they begin their set. The voices of the French band are hardly heard over the loud background noise and it takes until the third song for the sound to readjust, but still Lovers don't have enough impact to draw the crowd's attention and are relatively ignored throughout their slot. With their light listening it's easy to relate them to a car advert and in many ways it is background music. If only people knew what was coming they may have been more forgiving.
For the next man taking to the stage provides the humour to the mixtape. For Louie Austen is the one hit wonder your friend added to the CD just to piss you off, the thing they thought would really annoy you, apart from this one hit wonder lasts half an hour. To explain, Louie Austen is a sixty year old man, who seems a bit too proud of his age. Running onto the stage sporting an orange glowing tan and a white suit he then proceeds to sing 90s dance tunes to a backing track. For a moment you can't believe your eyes, as Bungalows and Bears is transformed into a cruise. Then as he shouts "Yeah ladies shake it!" You feel like you are watching an exercise video for the elderly. As you can imagine the joke wears thin pretty quickly, and as Late of the Pier begin to set up you can't help wondering if it was all a dream.
Yet as they begin to play it seems Late Of The Pier were doomed from the start. Arriving too late for a sound check the sound is a force to be reckoned with as the bass thunders everything out of perspective. The keyboards bring a pain to the ears and the vocals are distorted, though this does pick up as the set progresses. The band still performs a varied set however as some songs clearly out shine others. At their best their blend of synthesizers and straight guitars mash up to create the perfect product of indie dance, but there are big talent gaps as at other times the band fail to keep up the pace and the song falls out of tune while all the members try to fit onto the tiny stage.
Now as the clock moves into Easter day the remaining crowd stay quiet. There's an air of exhaustion as Xerox Teens bassist readies a fight with the sound technician. Yet the other members of the band sit, quite calmly waiting to start, however when they do more sound problems intervene and they are forced to restart several times. But through this shambolic performance onstage, as the crowd warm up there is something compelling about Xerox Teens. As the lead singer sits motionless narrating lyrics you stretch to hear while wearing sunglasses, you can't help but be intrigued by his lack of effort. Now the small audience are dancing like maniacs and people who don't even know each other have their arms around their neighbour. This is officially the start of the summer.
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