Summer Sundae 2012  

Friday

Its mid-August so tradition demands that I head down to Leicester for the Summer Sundae festival. This is something that me and Mrs Windbag went to on the spur of the moment way back in 2007. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we've been going back every year since.

The honour of been first band we clap our eyes (and ears) on goes to the Bowerbirds. The sound is absolutely dreadful in the tent where they are appearing. Despite this, and the fact that they are a couple of backing musicians down, I enjoy them much more than last time I saw them; earlier in the Summer at the Brudenell. For an alleged Americana act they have a lot of keyboards.

Its then across to another tent (that just happens to house the real ale bar as well) to catch Kappa Gamma. These are a bunch of young lads playing the current trendy variant of Indie guitar music. Think Bombay Bicycle Club/Wild Beasts with a soupcon of Vampire Weekend african guitar lines. Unlike all those bands they don't really have any cracking tunes yet. However it sounds good and they are a tight musical unit who aren't afraid to put space into the music (ie they don't all insist on playing at the same time all the time).

Back to the other tent we go for Dan Mangan. Dan is the first great act of the weekend. The sound in the tent is now much better and he leads his band through a great set of tunes finishing with a big crowd sing song concerning 'Robots need love too'. You had to be there I guess - and when he next tours I recommend you make sure you are.

Next its time to go down to the main stage to check out what is going on outside. We watch a band called Clock Opera. They claim to be a man short - there is a keyboard with nobody attending to it. I am a little suspicious as there seems to be some backing music playing. All sounds alright in a eighties synthy way.

Having already missed them at Long Division I'm determined to catch Francois and the Atlas Mountains. At first I'm not impressed by the slight pop tunes I hear. But I persist and eventually I'm won over by the singer's gallic charm and his band's mesmeric playing. Even more impressively - this is not the normal lineup of the Atlas Mountains. Instead its a bunch of ringers from several semi-famous indie bands.

I am really looking forward to Tiny Ruins. Me and Mrs Windbag went against our normal lacksadaiscal approach and actually did some research the night before the festival. Tiny Ruins sounded like they would be really good. Unfortunately the sound man struck again (this was a different tent and so therefore presumably a different sound man). Every time the singer went near her mike there was horrendous unpredictable feedback. Given that this was an acoustic duo performance it pretty much ruined it.

Back in the other tent the sound seemed pretty much sorted. So a slightly jaded looking Willy Mason had no technical issues. He has a different backing band to last time I saw him. This time its two women. One on violin and one on what I'm guessing is auto harp. His set was pretty solid but you can tell by the way he tosses off 'Oxygen' that he's not at his most enthused.

Finally, on the musical front, we pop over to De Montford Hall. We sit up in the balcony for Patrick Wolf who is doing a special acoustic set. The mixture of hard booze and soft seats makes me quite sleepy. Still the wolf boy sounds good as he demonstrates his dexterity on many instruments (including violin, piano, ukelele, dulcimer and harp). He is helped by some talented assistants on strings.

Its then back up to the tents for a bit of comedy and cabaret. The comedy mainly sucks with some pretty average performances more based round swearing and 'taboo' subjects such as incest rather than wit and humor. On the other hand the cabaret is pretty good and a damn sight funnier (intentionally so). I'm not a big fan of jugglers but the guys in 'Slightly fat features' were entertaining with their repartee whilst chucking skittles at each other. There was also an impressive piece of painting (yes painting).

Saturday

One of the great things about Summer Sundae is that it mixes national and local talent. So there are plenty of famous and soon to be famous national acts. However there is plenty of stage time given over to acts from Leicester and the surrounding areas. Its also a very varied line up. This and the fact that they sometimes struggle to get glamorous headliners means that you get a bit of snotty moaning on the internet. Its not really a festival for purists and people who only go to see famous acts.

First up to day on the main stage is a local act. The Daydream Club are an acoustic duo consisting of a bloke on guitar and a girl on drums. They've got a duo on strings because its a special occasion. They are pleasant sounding rather than outstanding but show promise. I like their cover of 'Skinny Love' as well.

Next we headed indoors for Goodnight Lenin. These are a gang of lads from the midlands who met at school. They play anthemic old fashioned pop with plenty of vocal harmonies. The star of the show is the guy who stands centre stage and plays violin, piano and on the last number bass.

Back outdoors Little Night Terrors are playing. I'm intent on eating me dinner at this point but they sound like they've got some great tunes.

Dog is Dead is the rather rubbish name of a band from Nottingham. Fortunately having seen them at the same festival a couple of years ago I was already aware that they are a really good band. They are not the most innovative of acts. They play indie a la mode (see my description of Kappa Gamma above). However they have a great set of tunes and some really polished harmonies. They really deserve to be higher up the bill in my opinion.

Having gone back and forth between the two tents yesterday - today is more about pinballing back and forth between the indoor venue (de Montford hall) and the main stage. We are back inside for Lucy Rose. I saw her late last year in her old job as Bombay Bicycle Club's backing vocalist. Rather like Laura Marling I think she's bound for greater things. Probably a bit more poppy and less folky than Ms Marling. Look out for this woman - she's good.

So we break out of our pattern and head up to the tents to see Cashier No 9. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it certainly wasn't this. These guys are a bit older than the average indie kid. They hail from Belfast and play rock with a groove. If you can imagine a cross between Wilco's more krautrock side and the Happy Mondays then you are nearly there. Anyway good fun and apparently they are on the ever reliable Bella Union record label.

Back down for our first hyped up act of the festival. Friends are darlings of the NME. To be honest they are as dull as hell with their Californian take on post-punk funk.

Then we pop up to the smaller of the two tents to try to catch Jake Bugg. Occasionally the organisers of Summer Sundae make the odd cock up and this is one of them. Bugg is very much hyped up at the moment so to put him on in the smallest venue available is a mistake. We get into the tent but we are miles away and to my ears it sounds a bit 'Emperors new clothes'. As we leave its apparent that they have had to implement a one-out one-in policy on the doors.

From the latest new thing to an old relic. Next up is Jonathan Richman in DeMontford Hall. He pulls a surprisingly big audience. I'm not that familiar with his oeuvre and he only plays one snippet ('That Summer Feeling') that I've actually heard before. Still his mixture of 50's rock and roll and Spanish flamenco guitar sounds pretty good and thankfully the crowd don't get upset that he doesn't do 'Roadrunner' or 'Pablo Picasso'.

Outside on the main stage there is a huge crowd for Adam Ant. Ok that's not the name of his act but we all know who he is. To be honest his backing band aren't really up to the job as he runs through the hits and some slightly more obscure numbers from his pre-fame version of the Ants (any one else remember 'Car Trouble' and 'Zerox'?).

I'm quite happy to return back to the indoor venue for TuneYards. This is something I've been looking forward to ever since she was announced in the line up. I'm not disappointed. There are some people who say using 'loop pedals' is cheating. I will probably discuss this elsewhere some time. But in summary I disagree. TuneYards uses the technology to create percussion tracks and backing vocals that are brilliant in their conception. Foolishly I don't put my earplugs in. I've not heard such a powerful voice since I saw Florence and the Machine. Unlike Flo though TuneYards has more than one setting.

Time for a confession. After TuneYards we popped out with the intention of giving Ocean Colour Scene five minutes before heading off to do something more interesting. I ended up staying for the entire set. I'm not going to kid you that these guys are the future of rock'n'roll. However they delivered a focused, committed and tuneful selection of rock music. It wasn't nearly as boring as the sort of thing you would get from either of the Gallagher brothers these days. I only knew three songs all night (including the big hit and the one that used to sound track Chris Evans' show on Channel 4) and it was probably all the better for my ignorance.

Sunday

So one last day of Summer Sundae to go. We always start the day with a loose plan but to be honest today we fall at the first hurdle. We pop up to the beer tent for refreshment and I make an executive decision that we should stay and listen to the Simpletones. To be honest their barber quartet/acapella versions of well known songs get a bit dull but its so nice sitting outside the tent in the sunshine that we stick with them til the end.

We then hang around for a band called Bellawave. These are a pleasant acoustic act. The vocalist is a stand-in and is ok in a wannabe Adele style.

Jersey Budd on the mainstage is the background as we sit and chat to a couple that I've seen around at the festival every year but never spoken to before. Typically we bump into them throughout the day. Jersey is very middle of the road and pretty dull.

Finally we get back on track and pop inside to see Hey Sholay. We saw these a couple of years ago at the Leadmill. I remembered they were good but not much else. Quite beardy and tuneful but with an experimental edge. Definitely one to look out for.

Then back out to catch Deer Tick. The most interesting thing about them is that they all have their faces painted a bit like a low rent Kiss. The music is sturdy americana. I liked the one where the drummer sang best.

'Drowned in Sound' are 'curating' the indoor stage so its all a bit indie. We go into see Japandroids who I've been quite looking forward to. They are noisy and full of energy but sadly very limited. They are a duo and the drummer is pretty good. Unfortunately the guitarist/singer doesn't really perform either job with any skill. He plays as a rhythm guitarist with no lead lines at any point. This makes things sound extremely samey. Not eveybody can be Jack White but this was exceptionally dull. Of course quite a few people enjoyed it but I wasn't amongst the number.

We sit up in the balcony for Twilight Sad, another band who I've missed on several previous occasions. They are quite tuneful but I do find the way that everything is drenched in feedback a bit tedious after a while.

Me and Mrs Windbag go our seperate ways next (only temporarily). As a committed Billy Bragg fan I'm duty bound to go and see him. Meanwhile I send Mrs Windbag off to see Django Django. Bragg is performing a special Woody Guthrie centenary show. Its more talking than singing to be honest but very good. Particularly the section on the song 'Ingrid Bergman' where Bragg shows off his comedic talent to good effect. Meanwhile apparently Django Django were very good.

We pop down to the main stage to see Reverend and the Makers in action. He's ok in his blustering way but I'm not as taken by him as I was last time I saw him on the same stage. I guess I've moved on but he hasn't.

Finally we pop back into De Montford Hall and up to the balcony to enjoy Ed Harcourt. He's not somebody I particularly listen to but every time I see him live I always enjoy him. A great songwriter and a good singer. Perhaps I should make more of an effort to investigate his recorded material.

As we make one last sortie for a bag of chips John Lydon and his latest version of Pil play in the background. There's something about Lydon that always rubs me up the wrong way. He's always such a whinger full of self justification wittering on about how he's so right about everything.

Overall though a thoroughly enjoyable weekend away in Leicester. No doubt we'll be back again next year assuming the festival continues.