Slow Club at Summer Sundae

At Indietracks, Charles and Rebecca kindly invited us to see them when they returned from Japan and Sweden at the Summer Sundae festival in Leicester. We jumped at the chance!

Summer Sundae is a sweet (pardon the pun) little festival in the grounds of De Montfort Hall in the centre of Leicester and runs from Friday to Sunday in mid-August. I have been a couple of times before and saw Belle & Sebastian, The Divine Comedy, Buzzcocks and Camera Obscura, amongst others, and enjoyed it very much. It's small enough to have a wander and find things to do, but not so big that you get lost (I have a terrible sense of direction) or so corporate that it is full of wankers. However, if you do decide to go, prepare yourself for being surrounded by middle-class mums and dads in their Boden rainmacs and 'fun' wellies. Also we noticed a change since we last went (3 years ago) in the food provision - be prepared for mostly pricey and high-street chain food options, e.g. small and soggy Pizza Express pizza for £10. Needless to say I avoided it, having a raspberry tea and a piece of cake from a lovely little tea tent near the indoor stage.

We were also slightly disappointed this year by the weather, as it was rainy and disgusting, but actually being based around De Montfort Hall means that you can find shelter and a proper seat to sit on for a while to escape the rain, so that helped. We were more disappointed by Fanfarlo not turning up - they cancelled Summer Sundae last year due to swine flu, dropped out of this year's Indietracks, and then on Friday were apparently thwarted in their efforts to actually play a show by the traffic on the M1...

Summer Sundae has always previously seemed to be very organised and efficient, but a number of drop-outs from the line-up this year seemed to confuse and bewilder a lot of the stewards who were pretty unaware of what was going on (however, to the middle-aged 'weekend hippy' who saw fit to shout, rant and rave at the poor guy on the reception desk - shame on you) and rather than announcing the Fanfarlo weren't going to be playing, the (unnecessary) MC came on to the main stage to announce the replacement act as if nothing was up - coward!

This year's line-up on Friday for us also included Fionn Regan (who replaced Fanfarlo on the main stage), Teenage Fanclub, plus Seasick Steve and Roots Manuva (who clashed so we saw a bit of both). Teenage Fanclub had been seriously disappointing when we saw them previously, but thought we'd give them another chance and I'm so glad we did - they were great, harmonies were tight and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. But for us, of course, the highlight was Slow Club...

Slow Club played one of the best sets I have seen them play, and although they were great at Indietracks, this blew it out of the water. They played in De Montfort Hall, which is a really nice space, and the 1970s TV-special visuals on screen behind them (which you can see in the photo of Charles, above) really added something to their sound and the whole experience. It was a bit freaky when they came on stage as I had earlier suggested to my companion that I thought Charles would be clean-shaven, and he was - he still had the beard in Japan (as we watched one of their shows live online - yay for technology) so it had obviously disappeared somewhere en route from Japan to Sweden to Leicester. Slightly concerned that I now sound like I have a facial hair fetish. Their whisker-free set included several tracks from Yeah So, as well as a few new songs, which they'll now be off to add to in order to begin the second album. Awesome.

Can't wait for the Christmas show at the Union Chapel - only 4 months to go!

Indietracks: The main event

The highlight of my weekend was Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now! Christopher Laird interviewed Eddie Argos (above) for the RadioNowhere Indietracks Special (go to http://www.radionowhere.org/ to listen) and he was a really lovely bloke. I had briefly met him before at a gig in London but everybody in the place was wasted (myself included) and I don't exactly remember making his acquaintance! Eddie was rather annoyed that he was able to play Indietracks but was not able to stay for the whole event, therefore missing the Pooh Sticks on Sunday. His on-stage persona really appeals to me, and the 'reply' songs on the EWITFR...N! album are funny AND clever. I really liked him as he appears to have no ego at all and was just pleased to be there. I also like him because he's bloody talented. My favourite bit from their show, though, was the two 'blokes with beers' standing in front of me for a while watching the show, then seeing one turn to the other and mouth 'what the fuck?' - ace!

Other highlights for me included Yokoko who played a set on one of the vintage trains. Apart from my legs going dead while sitting on the train floor watching them, it was great and the band were also very lovely people who just want to get their music out there and get people to hear it, a really down-to-earth attitude about making and sharing music (hooray). One of the best bits for me was their innovative use of a friend as a set list holder (below - front and back:)

The Blanche Hudson Weekend (below) were a breath of fresh air for the festival on Sunday - just as we were all beginning to get slightly twee'd-off, they played the engine shed and blasted the entire audience on the arses with their wonderful feedback-laden sound. On stage, unsmiling and dark, they look like intimidating rock stars, but off stage, the strong Leeds accents and Yorkshire warmth knock you over like an eager puppy - a really cool bunch who make fine music. Clearly influenced by my favourites, The Jesus & Mary Chain, but also bringing to the party echoes of the 60s 'Spector' sound, they surprised me greatly when they said this was only their second gig!

Slow Club were their usual amazing selves (below) - not too keen on festivals by the sound of it, but they played a wonderful set, including my favourite: I Was Unconscious, It Was A Dream. Charles and Rebecca chatted to Christopher Laird and me before their set and told us how excited they were to be going off to Japan, playing a few gigs after that, then taking a break for most of the rest of the year - I think it's about 2 and a half years since I first saw them and they have been gigging relentlessly since then, I think they deserve a holiday!

One of the main reasons for us heading to Indietracks this year was the announcement that Linda Guilala were going to be playing. We were sad that they weren't at last year's festival as it was partly curated by their label, Elefant to celebrate the label's 20th birthday. However, the wait was well worth it. They were wonderful, playing a selection from their album Bucles Infinitos and being joined onstage by Paula and Adria from Papa Topo for their last song, Torremolinos. I LOVE Papa Topo (below) and very much enjoyed meeting them with Linda Guilala after their set. If you haven't seen the video for Oh So Panda, head to YouTube NOW!

Indietracks: Why I love it

I LOVE INDIETRACKS! There, I've said it! I don't really fit the stereotype of people who love Indietracks, as I am not anywhere near cutesy twee enough, but nevertheless, one of the strengths of the festival is that is pretty welcoming to allcomers.

For anyone who doesn't know, Indietracks is held at the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire, and you can either camp near the actual festival venue of Swanwick Junction, or 'commute' in each day via Butterley Station and take a vintage steam or diesel train to the festival site. It's a really lovely walk too (below).


There's just something really heartwarming about attending a festival with around 1500 NICE people. I have been to most of the 'old' festivals in the UK and have spent weekends in the general company of some of the biggest tossers known to man, but all this is different at Indietracks, it's small but not boring, although if you're a party animal you might be a teeny bit bored with the trains and the twee crafts and so on... however, if you work hard and fancy a pretty low-key but fun weekend without any pressure, this is the place for you. It's nice to just sit around and watch some bands, have a wander to the cafe, get a beer, or have a rest sitting in a vintage train carriage that is converted into a bar for the weekend (below).

This year's line up was good too - highlights for me were The Blanche Hudson Weekend, Linda Guilala (accompanied on stage by the wonderful Papa Topo), Slow Club, Yokoko and Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now! More on the bands in my next post...

If you like what you've heard about it, you'll love the RadioNowhere Indietracks 2010 Special with Christopher Laird - just visit http://www.radionowhere.org/ and hit the Podcast link

If you want to find out more about Indietracks, visit their website: http://www.indietracks.co.uk/ and maybe even come to next year's Indietracks (but only if you're not a tosser)