1,101 PALM ROSE, Basement Club, Rainy Day Fund, Swindon Level 3, Saturday 15th September 2018

Two weekend nights in two at Level 3… it’s just like the 80’s and 90’s again for me! The second gig in a row at my old “Spiritual Home”, place of so many youthful (mis)adventures and nights of tequila and sweaty dancing, promised to be a little different to the one before, however… Once again, I’m availing myself of the nicely maturing pleasures of Palm Rose, easily my best local “find” of the year, and a shoe-in to be Swindon’s finest band that isn’t called Raze*Rebuild! This one is a biggie, though; a CD release party for their debut 5-tracker “Daydreams”, an aptly named body of work encapsulating the ephemeral, dreamlike nature of their deliciously beguiling music, which deftly incorporates elements of spacerock, dreampop, post-punk and shoegaze, and melds them into a soaring, widescreen and stately whole.

A couple of promising young supports as well, so I hit the road after a Saturday evening visiting my dad with the fam and stuffing myself silly with Chinese food, parking around the corner just before doors at 8. Wandered downstairs, as I’ve probably done over a thousand times before, and caught up with Palm Rose vocalist Adam, manning the “pay what you want” cover contribution bucket with his lovely lady Meghan. Chatted about the EP and their plans to promote it; they’ve fired it off to all and sundry, so hopefully some (good) reviews will ensue! No physical copies, though, so I ordered a download from Bandcamp whilst waiting for the openers. Rainy Day Fund (for t’was they) bounded enthusiastically on at 8.30, kicking off with “You’re Not Alone”, a gauche, angular math rock track with a noisy conclusion. This set was apparently their last with their old bassist (who, noticing his replacement in the crowd, remarked pointedly, “watch and learn…!”), and they gave him a good send-off with a bright and enjoyable set. “Brainshake” was a Summery slice of C86/ Hit Parade indiepop, “Slipping Away” featured some nice 60’s harmonies, and again the frantic and effervescent penultimate number “Rainy Day” was their best on show tonight. Still needing more power through the vocals, they’re however coming along nicely.

The equally young Basement Fund, next up, mined a similar seam of old school indiepop; their opener had a similar drum pattern to Orange Juice’s classic “Simply Thrilled Honey”, and much of their occasionally ramshackle, quickfire strumalong yet slightly funky set recalled those old Postcard Records days. Some more upbeat numbers recalled the buoyant jangle of current faves Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever as well as C86 rabble The Razorcuts, and again this was an optimistic and Summery, albeit retro sounding set from a young band who need practise and honing, but showed definite promise. Certainly the equally young crowd lapped it up – this was quite a difference from the veteran crowd of last night; a smattering of proud parents apart, I was easily the oldest bloke in the room…!

Chatted to ex-Well Dressed Thief James before his former bandmates took the stage at 10; Adam solo at first, his soaring, almost operatic tones embellished by some synth colourwash for a reprise version of “Daydream”, this stripped back rendition recalling the haunting “Sweet Disposition” by Tender Trap. We were then treated to the EP in order, the funky bass base of “Where Are We Now”, the more bleak, morose Modern Eon feel of “Move Slowly” and the echoey, textural tones of “Tender Crush/ Heartless Love”. The highlight of the EP run-through for me, however, was the revisitation of “Daydream In C”, building to an impressive haunting climax, propelled by Adam’s excellent, stately vocal tones.

A couple of other numbers fleshed out a fine 45 minute set, with the building, repetitive hook of “Humid” cutting to an acapella ending, and set closer “Seattle” a stripped back base recalling U2’s “With Or Without You”, before bursting into a cacophonous break and an intricate guitar outro, rounding out the set perfectly. Overall, Palm Rose’s set actually sounded better than last night’s, the sound mix better balanced, suiting their more precise, nuanced material better than Big Country’s rockier anthems. Fine stuff again!

Congrats to Adam before I hit the road, back in time to catch some of “Match Of the Day”. Another advantage of local Saturday night gigs! I don’t believe Palm Rose will stay local for too long, though, and hopefully the EP will give them a wider audience that their splendid musical vision undoubtedly deserves. Here’s hoping…

1,100 BIG COUNTRY, Derailer, Swindon Level 3, Friday 14th September 2018

Another milestone reached, and in the company of eminently worthy hosts as well… I’d thoroughly enjoyed the (relatively) recent Big Country reunion shows, featuring The Alarm’s Mike Peters in place of the fabled 80’s Celtic tinged post-punkers’ sadly lost founder and vocalist Stuart Adamson, and since original duo Bruce Watson and Mark Brzezicki continued to tour as more of a going concern with a new line-up, I’d been hoping to finagle them onto my gig schedule. I’d even been pondering their November Fleece gig, when a no-brainer date at Swindon MECA was announced; now, the only issue was, how to get Logan in? My little man, 3 years shy of the 14+ stipulation, had seen Bruce and son Jamie perform twice with The Skids and was keen to see them in their “day job”. I therefore approached promoter Leander Morales who pulled strings with the venue and got Logan permission to attend. Hooray! Unfortunately, slow ticket sales meant a switch to the smaller Level 3, so Leander had to do the same with that venue – eventually successfully. Hooray! Again!

So, it was two excited little boys (me and my son!) who drove into town and parked on Milton Road, joining the queue and hitting the venue for 8. I had fun telling Logan stories of my exploits at my 80’s/ 90’s “spiritual home” (“if these walls could talk,” indeed!) and we ran into some old faces from those days during support Derailer’s set. Local veterans, their set pitched midway between some balls-out rocking Stooges-like proto punk, and some more sludgy hoary and hairy blues/pub rock. “I hope you’re going to fill this gap [on the dancefloor] when Big Country come on; we’ve only got one bloke down here!” the vocalist announced at one point, indicating Logan…! Their set improved, with rocker “Icebreaker”, 4/4 blues terrace chant rocker “Riot” and an “LA Woman”-like final number. Unoriginal, but unfussy and unpretentious. Seen a lot worse!

Kept our front row spot, house right, as the compact dancefloor filled and we were joined by Phil and The Big Man, before eerie Celtic music heralded Big Country’s entrance at 9. No messing around, this lot, straight into the strident, soaring and singalong “1,000 Stars”, Bruce Watson’s ringing guitar work already the main feature. “Swindon! Friday night! What were we thinking?” the guitarist quipped at its’ conclusion, before announcing they were last in the ‘don at the Brunel Rooms, to which some wag down the front (ok, it was me…) replied, “17^th August 1982 – I was there!”, only to be shot down with, “really? You should be on Time Team!” Then, noticing Logan after a fist-pumping “Look Away”, Bruce remarked, “small boy alert! Must remember not to swear… aah, fuck it!”

This set the tone for a relaxed, thoroughly enjoyable and celebratory set, in front of a fully engaged veteran audience. By no means note perfect, and with the sound mix a little uneven and lacking oomph at times, the overriding memory was the band’s performance itself; they were simply on fire tonight, pouring heart and soul into these fabled old songs, Bruce in fantasy band camp and throwing shapes throughout, vocalist Simon walking the line well between crowd rabble-rouser and reverential guest, and virtuoso drummer Mark giving a sheer masterclass in his art. And the songs… I may have revered “Heaven Up Here” more, “Empires And Dance” may have been more ground-breaking, but Big Country’s 1983 debut “The Crossing” is, in retrospect, a masterpiece of its’ time, songs full of huge terrace-chant choruses and evocative and windswept Celtic soundscapes, songs so intrinsically interwoven into my DNA it takes little persuasion for me to sing along, arms aloft, that 17 year old boy in the Amphi again… “The Storm”, a Celtic reel of delight, was excellent, “Porrohman” (which seamlessly segued into “Harvest Home”) a thing of desolate, widescreen wonder and my set highlight tonight, “Inwards” a raggedy-arsed, reckless romper-stomper, and “Chance” a lengthy and communal singalong, its’ joyful nature slightly at odds with the subject matter.

“Fields Of Fire” ended the set, at which point Bruce, after a short band huddle, announced there was no point going all the way back to the dressing room (at the back of Level 3’s balcony) just to come all the way back, so powered through! “In A Big Country” fittingly ended the night, with the band taking a deserved bow and Mark then paying an entirely apposite homage to Stuart Adamson. Chatted with the boys and our friendly merch guy Gordon afterwards, before I took a wired but tired boy home. I’ve certainly been to better sounding gigs this year, but in terms of sheer enjoyment, that was up with the best of ‘em. Thanks to Big Country – and Leander! – for a splendid boy’s night out!

1,099 SIMPLE MINDS, PRETENDERS, KT Tunstall, Swindon Lydiard Park, Friday 31st August 2018

My 1,099^th gig and quite possibly the first I’ve ever cycled to! I’d ummed and aahed about this one for awhile, blanching at the – as ever for Simple Minds, it seems – shockingly steep ticket price, before finally taking the plunge. Truth to tell, after a variable showing last time out from da Minds (the Oasis gig, 3 years ago, gig 947) and a bit of research indicating that current sets weren’t delving as much as hoped into the Scottish veterans’ pre-“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” canon, when they were cutting-edge and inventive electronic-tinged post-punk, I might have given it a miss totally. However, the presence on the bill of The Pretenders, a band I’ve recently revisited after reading vocalist Chrissie Hynde’s excellent autobiography “Reckless”, strengthened the case for going. I’d only seen them once before, on a U2 bill back in the 80’s; about time I did again!

As I mentioned, I cycled to this one – luckily our friends Debbie and Steve live very close to the Park, and were happy to offer safe haven for my vehicle. Left the bike there just after 6 and wandered around to the gig site, a large cordoned off space on the main field, to find it already amply full and opener KT Tunstall rounding off her set… apparently they’d brought forward the scheduled start and subsequent stage times. No problem, wasn’t that fussed on KT anyway… Wandered into the “Golden Circle” at the front (yup, I’d shelled out big-time for this one – no point in going if you’re a dot in the distance, really!), and hooked up with Stuart “Langers” and his wife Lorraine (whose presence there tonight was also a factor in the final decision) and caught up, whilst also being vaguely amused by the repeated announcements stating “The Pretenders request that during their performance, you keep your phones in your pockets”, in a surly Scottish accent, the tone of which potentially suggested mayhem and violence would ensue, should said request not be met…

The Pretenders came on just about 7.15, the guitar boys decked out in black country rock chic; then Chrissie emerged, already totally owning it and strutting her stuff, the Queen of Glam Punk, resplendent in iridescent off-pink jacket and thigh-length suede boots, leading her charges through opener “Alone” a Max’s Kansas City 70’s proto punk bluesy stomp. The highlight came early, 4^th number in; dedicated to founder Pretenders Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, both taken too young back in the 80’s (“put the kettle on lads, we’re not far behind you,” intoned Chrissie, poignantly), “Kid” was an utterly majestic, genuinely affecting and brilliantly melodic 3 minutes of pure pop delight, prompting me to announce to all and sundry at its’ conclusion, “we might as well go home now, we’re not going to hear anything better than THAT tonight!”

Photo courtesy of David Littlewood. Thanks David!

The set never regained that height, but was still pretty bloody splendid; Chrissie, jacket off now, wittered enthusiastically about meeting the ponies by Lydiard Church earlier (“gypsy ponies – a schoolgirl’s dream come true!”) and playfully advised us not to look at the sun until it touched the horizon, but mostly delivered hit after hit from The Pretenders’ impressive canon. “Private Life” was stretched and libidinous late night dirty reggae sleaze, “I’ll Stand By You” (covered by Girls Aloud – “it’s not my favourite song anyway, they can have it!”) was a stately power ballad delivered by Chrissie in her distinctive wavering contralto, and “Back On The Chain Gang” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong” were a splendid and laconic post-punk 80’s rock mid-set double. “We’re here to rock!” Chrissie announced, and no more evidence was required than set closer “Middle Of The Road”, a far-from MOR racey stomper. I could’ve done without the drum solo (really?) but that aside, this was a lean and mean performance, with Chrissie the star; far from a pretender, tonight she was The Real Deal.

A short delay filled by rock chat with Stu and some old 80’s classics over the PA; also a chat with an old friend (hi Alison!) before the colourful neon backlighting heralded Simple Minds’ entrance at 8.45, opening with expansive stadium pop newie “The Signal And The Noise”, mainman Jim Kerr already requesting hands aloft. “Waterfront”, next up, featured some nice guitar licks from faithful wingman Charlie Birchill and early doors it seemed to be going swimmingly. However, they then made an utter pigs ear of oldie “Love Song”, completely mistiming the chorus entry, and even after they recovered, it felt a little flat. A shame. Fair play to Jim; he admitted, “we screwed up “Love Song” tonight,” during a monologue recalling that last visit to Swindon (“before the gig I was dying!”), but then “Promised You A Miracle”, featuring KT Tunstall on co-vocals, was ham-fisted and clumsily stompy, bass-drum dominated and lacking its’ usual plangent majesty.

Such was the way of it tonight; the newer, stadium-friendly wallpaper pop tunes sounded better, whereas the older numbers were delivered carelessly and perfunctorily. “The American” admittedly escaped largely unscathed, and “Someone Somewhere In Summertime” was easily my set highlight, stripped back and widescreen, but whereas this seemed effortless, the rest of the set felt laboured by comparison. Set closer “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” saw phones sprout around me like a field of sunflowers in super-fast forward, and I wished for a surly Scotsman to make an announcement…! This, my watershed Simple Minds number (love all before, lost interest thereafter), saw a lengthy and communal singalong from this audience of largely Friday night date couples, and even the cameramen on each side of the stage joined in with the “la, la la la la”’s as Jim asked us to sing along in different languages! A couple of decent semi-oldie encores and a wry band intro (“… and my name’s Mr. Kerr… taxi for Kerr… pizza for Kerr!”) rounded off a performance which tonight’s crowd lapped up, but left me scratching my head a little and lamenting opportunities missed.

A wander back to get my bike and an eventful ride home (involving my hitting a pothole on the main road by the Link Centre – yipe!), reflecting on tonight’s gig. Simple Minds, for me, were empty stadium rock bluster with only occasional (and frustratingly spoiled) glimpses of the fine band they used to be, so unless they do another “5x5” tour I reckon we’re done now. Worth it though, overall, for some time in the company of Chrissie, the Great Pretender and the Star Of The Show!

1,098 PALM ROSE, Illustrations, Swindon Darkroom Espresso, Wednesday 29th August 2018

A lovely and old-school Summer family holiday in Jersey last week unfortunately meant that I missed a couple of very promising new bands playing relatively locally. Teenage Wrist, Trophy Eyes and Lee Bains, I’ll catch up with all you guys before too long, I hope…! I was therefore eager to get back to gigging ways after a month’s hiatus with an equally promising albeit local band – it’s Palm Rose again! Hosts of my last gig (and, thanks to their participation in the Shuffle, completing a consecutive gigs hat-trick), Adam and the boys are getting things moving this Autumn, this low-key and short-notice show being followed in short order with a higher-profile EP release one at my old stamping ground Level 3! I’ll be at that one too, but first…

Drove into town for my third Swindon gig in a row (with, amazingly, 4 more to follow before I’m gigging out of the ‘don again!), parking up at the bottom of town and completely missing this brand new venue along Faringdon Road! No surprise, doors were closed and access was to the rear! So I wandered around the back and exchanged greetings with the Palm Rose boys and their coterie, before wandering into this coffee shop venue, taking a seat by esteemed local rock impresario Dave Franklin for openers Illustrations, who’d set up on the makeshift stage in the shuttered shopfront area (hence the need to go round the back!). Highly recommended by my friend Roger Herman (indeed, Rog missed tonight’s headliners’ Shuffle set in favour of a wander down to The Beehive to catch Illustrations’ clashing show!), this painfully young 4-piece, I was informed by Mr. Franklin, had been through a musical voyage of discovery via Neutral Milk Hotel (nice!) and Oasis (not so…), eventually settling somewhere in the middle. Opening numbers had a pleasingly melodic and cleanly new wave pop vibe (“English Settlement”-era XTC or early Go-Betweens, perhaps), all buoyant, upbeat and strumalong, before they went all 60’s pseudo-psych on us, the later set harking back to either the gently lapping surf pop of Jonathan Richman, “Sergeant Pepper”-era Beatles or the jangly West Coast pop of Byrds or Buffalo Springfield. Some lofty aspirations then, and currently their reach is exceeding their grasp, but props for ambition and some nice harmonic moments in an overall very likeable set.

Tonight’s host urged everyone to contribute their cover charge (I already had, first thing, as I’d ordered my non-coffee drink – I hate coffee, me!), then a short break ensued before Palm Rose set up and kicked off their set just after 9, by which time I was standing near the front, reluctantly supping through my bitter cloudy lemonade (the non-coffee option!). Some yearning, almost weeping guitar from guitarist Aaron kicked off opener “Move Slowly”, with chugging rhythms and a darkly morose bassline recalling old post-punkers Modern Eon thence propelling the opener to its’ undulating, Edge-like riff denouement. “Seattle”, next up, featured an understated, stripped back base verse before its darkly building, melancholy yet hooky chorus, with the huge mid-song crescendo and some intricate riffery (again) from Aaron an impressive feature. We got a plug from vocalist Adam for the CD release show and some merch (a cool t-shirt which I later availed myself of) before the more slow-burn “Tender Heart”, which built to some dramatic Interpol-esque guitar work, and a subsequent “Daydream In C”, which sounded as good as I’ve heard it, building a head of steam towards a dramatic and passionate, almost Sheila Divine-like crescendo. Superb!

This is what the Palm Rose boys do best; like Cirencester’s equally impressive (but more veteran) Familiars, their songs ease in, broodily building up momentum before the clouds part and they lead into guitar-driven, widescreen dreamscape crescendos of sound. “Humid” lived up to its’ name, a hazy Summer evening vibe before the towering hook then collapsed into a lovely acapella ending, and closer “Where Are We Now” was a perfect punctuation point on another fine Palm Rose set, Dave Franklin and I exchanging suitably impressed nods at its’ conclusion.

That wasn’t it for us 2 old musos though, as the relatively early finish gave us a chance for a beer (well, Dave, not me) and a proper chinwag about musical journeys, tales of Level 3 and The Monkey Club, and chance meetings with rock legends (Lemmy for Dave, Phil Lynott in my case!). A scheduled early work start the following day saw me hit the road and home for 11 after another fine evening in good musical company, and a nicely maturing band in Palm Rose. Ready for that EP release party now!

1,097 PALM ROSE, Supp. Canute’s Plastic Army, Frances The Farmer, Swindon The Castle, Friday 27th July 2018

Keeping it local with this one, and carrying over a couple of themes from the Swindon Shuffle, last time out; not only a trip up the Castle to see Palm Rose, the Shuffle’s best new discovery for me, but also a free fundraiser gig, this one a “No Plastic Bands” benefit to raise awareness about the environmental impact of single-use of plastic, and subsequently headlined by the appropriately named Canute’s Plastic Army! Palm Rose were however the main attraction for me, and I was looking for a continuation of the Shuffle form from this very new young band.

Took a drive up the hill, parking up and hitting The Castle for just before 9, joining the band plus significant others out in the beer garden. Chatted to Palm Rose vocalist Adam and discovered a bit more about the origins of the band, who were apparently ¾ of former locals Well Dressed Thief, plus drummer and old school friend Rich. Looked as if the WDT split was amicable enough, though, judging by former WDT vocalist James socialising with them tonight! Enjoyed some rock chat before heading in to partake of opener’s Frances The Farmer’s singular musical vision. Two members of Flour Babies (one being recent FB friend Gavin) and a nervous but mesmerising black frontman rapping quickfire over some dour, bleak and libidinous musical backdrops (reminding this old guy of The Fall’s earlier, more stretched workouts – think “Frightened”, “Iceland”, “Tempo House”, that type of thing), this was an uneasy, oppressive and claustrophobic listen, yet very intriguing and attention-grabbing. Later numbers were a bit more bass-led and had a slightly funkier feel, with staccato guitar riffery from Gavin, but never strayed far from this mood-heavy musical template. I couldn’t make out too many of the words – the delivery was tumbling and nervous and the mix a little on the trebly side – but that didn’t really detract from this very favourable impression. First gig too? Impressive.

Had a chat with Messrs. Dyer and Franklin, happily in attendance tonight, as Palm Rose set up, then took a wander further forward as they eased, almost apologetically, into their set opener “Daydream”. Again the opening keyboard flourish initially grabbed the attention, as the song eased into its’ journey, the repetitive building hook driven by Adam’s impressive vocal range and command. “Humid”, next up, featured a more textural keyboard-led opening evoking fresh Spring rain, again building to a dissonant crescendo and ending with the layered acapella hook. A nervous plug from Adam for both his band and the cause tonight – “use less plastic!” – preceded “Goalkeeper”, which was more structured with an almost summery guitar interlude from Aaron, and “Seattle” (“home of my lovely wife – thing – er, I’m digging myself a bit of a hole here…” commented Adam) opened with some almost Pixies-ish growling bass from Chris, before its’ insistent hook lead into a big widescreen middle 8 and denouement, propelled by Aaron’s undulating and intricate fretwork, which revealed he’s probably listened to more than a bit of early U2, which for me is no bad thing…

Overall, this was another excellent set of dreampop/ shoegaze/ post-punk-influenced yet individual and unique indie rock from a splendid young band. Hard to believe this was only their 3^rd ever gig as Palm Rose, as they already sound very together and well-practised, and whilst Adam may lack the onstage charisma and persona of his more overt former WDT colleague James, Palm Rose already feel more of a band, the whole being more than the sum of its’ parts. And after the dark oppressive storms of tonight’s opening act, Palm Rose’s set was the point when the clouds broke and the sun shone through!

More rock chat with Mr. Franklin outside and in, and also a discussion about influences with Adam, so I confess I didn’t really pay too much attention to the headliners until their fine reading of Pulp’s classic “Razamatazz”. Sorry guys… Headed off about 11.30 after a highly enjoyable evening. Great stuff – in fact, the highest compliment I can pay to Palm Rose is that suddenly, Raze*Rebuild aren’t the only lot to get me up The Castle on a Friday night…!

1,096 THE 2018 SWINDON SHUFFLE (Saturday only), Various Swindon Venues, Saturday 14th July 2018

The 2018 Swindon Shuffle... now with extra added Top Table Posse reunion action!

OK, so let’s clarify here... following a 20-odd year absence, I’d re-connected with old friend Roger Herman a couple of years ago, at a London 100 Club June Brides gig (gig no. 977). Our promising to keep in touch was happily made easier by his recent addition to Facebook; so when Rog announced on his page that he’d be visiting the ‘don to partake of Saturday’s itinerary for the Swindon Shuffle, our annual showcase of the finest original music Swindon has to offer, I also saw this as a rare opportunity to get as many of our old 80’s/90’s drinking/music/footy gang, The Top Table Posse, together. So the call went out... now who would answer?

Having made family arrangements for the second music-related Saturday out in a row (this one albeit slightly different to the Cure Hyde Park gig last week!), I headed up the hill and hit afternoon venue The Tuppenny just before 2, where Si Hall and his boys were just arriving to set up for their acoustic show. Yup, you read that right...! I grabbed the front-centre table, then Rog arrived and so did Dave and Ady, and we caught up awhile before Si called his boys to arms, to open Shuffle Saturday!

So, as I mentioned, “acoustic”...! RAZE*REBUILD were truly living up to their name with this performance, having razed their usual titanic, earth-shaking rock to the ground and rebuilt it into a “low key” “acoustic” line-up, powered instead by Si’s irrepressible ebullience and Jamie’s sore palms pounding manfully away on his percussive beatbox (which at least meant, as he’d remarked beforehand, that his kit set-up was a lot quicker!). I’ve put those words in quotation marks because of course, even with this set-up, R*R were as powerful and intense as most bands (local or otherwise) manage to be, fully amped-up! “Back To The Fall” fairly rattled along with its usual righteous Husker Du-lite pace and potency, an early “Kat I'm Sorry” was stark and emotive, benefitting from this arrangement, and despite Si commenting, “I feel naked - mercifully I’m not!”, and occasionally quipping “how is that an acoustic song? That’s normally much louder!” before the likes of “All The Gear” and “New Leaf”, this was an utter triumph, even impressing both cynical Bevan boys! The bottom line is that in a stripped-back show, you stand or fall on the strength of the songwriting, pure and simple, and in this regard Raze*Rebuild succeed spectacularly.

A final thank-you from Si (“you're much kinder - and there’s many more of you! - than I expected!”) and a stark, emotive “Sand In The Petrol” brought an excellently judged set to a close. Congrats to all before a quick turnaround; SUMITA, next up, was a young keyboard soloist with some whimsical tunes featuring stories of ghosts and mountaintops, and songs called “Monster” (no, not that one) and “Jody’s Spaceship”. Bright, quirky and vaguely dream-like pop delivered in Sumita’s clipped and perfectly-enunciated voice, this wasn’t my usual thing but I admired her drive to do something different and off-the-wall, although it was a shame that she seemed to be losing her battle against the hubbub from the pub.

“Tough crowd,” I warned my friend Rich May as he set up for his solo THE KING IN MIRRORS set. Knowing that even with his usual band, Rich’s atonal and slightly nasal vocals can tend to be understated and low-key, I was worried that they might be submerged in the noise of the pub. No worries there, as Rich actually gave his vocals some extra oomph, in a valiant and largely successful attempt to win over the room. “Deepest Blue” set the tone, being more in-your-face than anticipated, “Rolling In The Sun” was replete with charming Teenage Fanclub/BMX Bandits-infused melody, and Rich even delved back for a Babytrain number, “Bodysnatchers”, which was unsurprisingly darker and more gothy than his usual TKIM oeuvre. A more upbeat “By Tomorrow” closed a nice acoustic vignette, Rich having projected his vocals very effectively, and rightly being happy with the outcome. Nice one, mate!

Front and centre then for Roger’s landlord for this evening; STEVE COX, apparently mainman for local veterans Mr. Love And Justice, impressed with a highly accomplished set veering between 70’s folky acoustica, baroque and pastoral countrified pop and rootsy Americana, switching seamlessly between these styles. He reminded me of this year’s Arthur Buck CD which I’m enjoying immensely, and subsequently also the stripped-back elements of REM’s breakthrough “Out Of Time” album. Steve was also sufficiently relaxed to try a new number, “Me And Jeremiah”, despite said number allegedly not being complete – “we could workshop this!” Good stuff from a clearly talented veteran.

This actually took us up to 5.30, and with a relative lull in proceedings, we decided to take the opportunity for some food! One Mela curry later, we were therefore ready for this evening’s mainly Victoria-based Shuffle shenanigans, although by now we’d lost Dave and gained both Phil and non-Posse member (but 90’s Level 3 veteran, so there!) Rich May along for the ride.

Said ride started with openers PALM ROSE, on at 8.20. Facebook friend and former Well Dressed Thief Adam had given me the heads-up on this, his new band, inviting me along to their inaugural gig (which was on my birthday, so I couldn’t make it), and reporting they were going for a dreampop/ post-punk sound. Two of my favourite musical things right there, then, so I was hoping for good things from this set. From the outset, I wasn’t to be disappointed; opener “Daydream” was a widescreen anthem with enticing keyboard flourishes, building to an almost orchestral crescendo, full of epic, slightly faded yet quintessentially English pomp and grandeur. I was suddenly very glad I’d worn my Wild Swans t-shirt, as Adam’s charges seemed their spiritual heirs; the big fella himself took vocals, revealing a hitherto unsuspected commanding and multi-octave voice, propelling the soaring and building rock. “Seattle”, next up,  was a growling slow-burner which suddenly burst into life, with Edge-like intricate guitar licks, and the stately “Humid” featured some nice 3-part acapella harmonies. Already sounding well-practised too, this was a superb set from a highly promising young band.

Young bucks RAINY DAY FUND, formerly known as Shore, were always going to struggle to follow that for me, but they manfully applied themselves to the task, delivering a spritely set of bright, sturdy sounding indie pop. I’d come across them in their former Shore incarnation, covering a Smiths number at “12 Bands Of Christmas”, which seemed apt as their sound wasn’t a million miles removed from that classic clean indie Rickenbacker jangle. “Slipping Away” had some nice choral harmonies augmenting its angular backbeat, and the almost-eponymous “Rainy Day” was punkier and more insistent. Nice work overall!

They rounded off at 9.45, and we weren’t up for the subsequent Fabien Darcy - no offence, but rap’s just not my thing - so took a wander down the hill to The Beehive, with the intention of checking out the musical fayre there. That kind of didn't really work out, the pub being stiflingly hot and busy, so our time was spent outside socialising with various folks! We eventually wandered back to the Vic for headliners WASUREMONO, due on at 10.50 but taking time getting their banks of keyboards and impressive amounts of spaghetti plugged into the right holes (and apparently this is a more streamlined stage set-up these says!). Since my one previous sighting, 2 years ago with the much-missed White Lilac, they’d gained considerable national exposure, to the point of having 2 upcoming support slots for The Flaming Lips, no less! No surprise that Shuffle mainman Ed, on introducing them, remarked, “this will be the last time I’ll be able to afford to put them on in Swindon!”

Opener “Checking Out” came down firmly on the “dream” side of dreampop, an eerie, sleepy vibe, whilst “England's Slave”’s layered dynamics sounded much fuller “live” than on their fine if slightly understated CD. “Alligator”’s taut groove even recalled The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”, and thereafter the set relied more on mood and atmospherics and oddball lyricism, delivered in William Southward’s occasionally high-pitched and eerie vocals. A fine accomplished set from a band with no obvious antecedents (the bleak minimalism of 70’s post-punkers Young Marble Giants was the best I could come up with!), who bring together a number of disparate elements and styles into their music, folding them into an intriguing blend of dreamy melodies and stark electronica, and clearly going places in the process. Props to them - and for getting Ed up onstage wearing a bear head during “For All The Bears”!

A fine way to close out the day’s music; bade farewells to the Posse, plus various Shuffle luminaries, before dropping Rich off and heading home for a bleary-eyed 12.30. So, “one and done” - that was my Shuffle this year, family stuff precluding any further attendance on my part. However, in my experience (and by other social media accounts) the Shuffle was once again a most successful and enjoyable event, and I’m glad I got to catch up with old friends in the process! Same again next year, boys?