The drummer of one band is in A&E with a badly swollen shoulder, the singer of another has been struck down with food poisoning, a tube has blown in the guitar amp and the doors are due to open in five minutes. Such are the joys of life as a live music promoter, not that Caffy St. Luce, one of the driving forces behind underground music champions The Zine, who are presenting tonight’s festivities, seems too worried as she arranges cakes and other treats on a table covered with pirate wrapping paper.
And her lack of concern is justified, as an eclectic line-up of musical treasures is kicked off by the ever charming Jean Genie’s Massive Hugs, who with the addition of a choral effects pedal has brought an extra layer of ethereal beauty to the simple, stripped down folk-pop loveliness of her repertoire.
The Fucking Skeletons, playing their debut show tonight, take things in a completely different direction, ploughing headlong through an exhilarating set of psych-tinged garage rock stompers, all black leather jackets and scorched riffs. Drums are clambered upon, sunglasses are worn indoors and everyone is left with a slightly maniacal grin on their faces.
Following act Wake Up Leo‘s synthy indie-pop jangle is a little too clean-cut for my palate, which takes us up to tonight’s headliners Lan Dyons & The Wet Nurse. I’ve not really become enamoured with Fat White Family in the way that I know that many people have, so was relatively luke-warm towards the prospect of a band fronted by their former drummer. Thankfully though their brand of affable psychedelic guitar pop nonsense hits the spot rather nicely, ranging from sumptuous Beatles-flavoured whimsy to spikier tracks with something of a post-punk edge.
So disaster averted then, and another fine showing from the folks at The Zine. Check out their site thezineuk.co.uk for more musical goodness.
Words and photography by Paul Maps
Credited photos of Fucking Skeletons by Lorna Cort: facebook.com/lornacortphotography