Posts tagged The Garlands

This past weekend was my first experience of London Popfest, an annual event that aims to bridge the gap between Indietracks’ for indiepop kids. Taking place over four days in deepest London, the world’s finest indiepop bands descend on tiny venues to “indiepop ’til we drop“. For various reasons I only made it to the Friday and Saturday days of the weekend, but the weekend still managed to be the highlight of the year so far.

Friday // Buffalo Bar

What a tiny, tiny venue. Little more than a square room with a stage on one wall and a bar on another, it’s amazing just how packed the place quickly became. I’ve been into some cramped venues before, but the torturous “trek to the toilet” that I endured here may have been the worst. Still, any negative feeling there was quickly countered by the music itself. The Sunny Street provided some decent melancholy pop to start. I wish I could say more about it but the sound was a bit crappy where I standing. Moving to a new spot for Horowitz massively turned me around on them. I’d been familiar with them for years but they’ve never done much for me. Their set was tight and punchy though, and I’ll definitely be exploring their album(s?) some more. Up next, The Garlands brought some Swedish flavour to the festival, including somehow even getting away with a Wham! cover. Headliners The Just Joans opened with their excellent Hey Boy…You’re Oh So Sensitive!, which was useful as it’s the only song theirs I really like and allowed me to duck out a bit before the end before the heat and volume in the Buffalo Bar finally destroyed my head completely.

Saturday // 100 Club

I hate going to the 100 Club. Not because I have anything against the venue itself. Indeed, it’s actually a nicely laid out venue, everything being sideways with a stage in the middle meaning everyone gets a decent view. My problem with the 100 Club is it’s location. Being right in the centre of Oxford Street, there is literally nowhere to park anywhere near it (short of paying something ludicrous per hour in an underground horror movie set), particularly for an all-dayer. It’s fine for Londoners and their public transport and all, trying to get back to Kent at god knows when from central London without a car is an absolute bastard. That aside though, I did enjoy the fact that from Oxford Street itself, the most recognisable shopping street in the country for locals and tourists alike, you could hear indiepop blasting out of the doors for much of Saturday. Probably didn’t win any new fans, but the thought of random Japanese tourists being assaulted by the sounds of Allo, Darlin’ as they walked past amused me no end.

Walked into the place during Plouf!, had a quick drink and walked back out again in search of Forbidden Planet round the corner instead. Nothing against Plouf! in particular, but they just aren’t really my cup of tea. Arrived back somewhere toward the end of Red Shoe Diaries who seemed pretty good and made me regret disappearing for so long. Oh well.

After that began the perfect triple bill of Soda Fountain Rag, Standard Fare and Allo, Darlin’. Soda Fountain Rag was perhaps the most surprising of the three. I loved (and posted about) her brilliant Don’t Kill The Clowns back in 2008, but when I listened to some more songs, they didn’t seem to match up. Live though, it’s a different matter altogether, the end result being one of the most consistent sets of the weekend. Standard Fare seem to be on a meteoric indiepop rise at the moment. Seemingly coming out of nowhere over the past year, they managed to absolutely own their set, and seeing them headline such an event by next is by no means out of the question. Allo, Darlin’ are one of my favourite bands from the past year, and seeing them live was joyful. I’m convinced that they can’t make a song that isn’t catchy as hell, and rousing renditions of the superb Henry Rollins Don’t Dance and The Polaroid Song did nothing to argue with that view. Newer songs like Dreaming and Kiss Your Lips fit just as well, the latter even managing to sample Weezer’s El Scorcho, something that will instantly endear it to popkids the world over.

Not much was going to compete with that combination so it was time for a nice walk up and down Oxford Street after that, leading to an indulging in Burger King and trying to work out where the hell the light shining on Centre Point was coming from. Never did figure that one out. Wandered back into the 100 Club to see most of Shrag’s set, which was a pleasant surprise. I’ve never been much of a fan of their recorded output, but their live set was pretty damn fun. Following them were the wonderful Ballboy, taking their rightful place as headliners. Opening with the mighty Avant Garde Music, they ran through
a mixture of old classics and newer material. Sadly I missed the last bit of their set due to requiring a tube back to the car parked across the city. From the half I did see though, they were certainly one of the most professional bands of the festival. And I’m not just saying that because Gordon McIntyre told me to.

Please find below a lovely gallery of photos that are in black and white to look arty, and certainly not because I suck at taking decent pictures in low light.