The Indelicates, The Video Club, Pocketbooks, Aunty Doubles - Tufnells

The Tuffnel tonight, once again, a quality lineup of bands according to the flyer, no Fiona, wondering how they can ruin this. I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the bands before, IndieTracks, the Buffalo or just around.

The Slender Club's myspace said doors 19:00, its 20:30 now and they're still sound-checking. Ooh, I think the band soundchecking now are on one of the Not Quite Rocket Science podcasts I've been listening to for the past month.

Its always fascinating seeing the ways different bands soundcheck. The Younger Younger 28s' one finger one second effort, The Plimptons pick one song which features all available band members and instruments and play half of it, only as much as needed. The Wolfknuckles rattle though a couple, using the time as a last minute rehearsal, but all finish before the punter arrive. The mobs here just seem a bit half-arsed, doing two or three songs as a formality, finishing sounding the same as they started, no audible mixing desk tweaking.

Why do bands no tune up before they hit the stage, like have some semblance of being prepared.

Christ, first up are Busted, or at least some underage 4-piece who stole Busted's dance moves.

Two guitars, bass, drums and a3-man vox, the trumpet playing from the drummer was a nice touch and neat lead guitar noodles, understated rather than in your face. Once again the soundman did something evil with the bass.

I dunno, the singing sounds a little too sixth form bandy, like Jim Bean in Flyer in the Bolton Academy in '96.

Give them a few years of honing and they could be Vertigo Green for a new generation.

My favourite Busted / McFly song is Hypnotise.

Interesting the way the audience drifted away, they couldn't even muster front standing friends and family.

Crikey, I'm sweating like pig here in my pa's leather jacket, there's gotta be some other way to carry around all my paraphernalia rather than using a handbag, that way lies danger. I'll dig out my old combat pants. God knows how CrystalBall keeps her red indiecoat on in this weather.

Ooh, Jona Wintergreen is here... and his bandmates too, cool.

Pocketbooks on next, I recognise the barnet from countless other gigs, its nice when people live the music, rather than either contributing or observing.

Two keyboards, quiet guitar, too loud bass, drums, glockenspiel and melodica and boy – girl harmonies. They're either getting better each time I see them, or just more familiar.

Great pacing of the set which is a lost art. They're kinda wholesome and nice. The long-necked keyboard chap, nipping out into the crowd during songs to check the sound. Neat melodies, grab you by the hand and take you on a ride.

Like Pete Green the other week, they comment on the sparkly walls, neat gimmick from The Tuffnell management. Oh and something about the Pocketbooks being in The Grimsby Telegraph. Pah, I can still make the Bolton Evening News and I haven't lived there for a decade

Gah, its one of those crowd swapping gigs and for good reason too, whilst The Pocketbooks, my 18 month old niece, my brother and my mum could adore, this next mob, only Alan Wolfknuckle would like and he's 400 miles away. They sound like Edinburgh's The Fnords, apart from there's six of them, 8 foot tall dandy doing time-share vocal duties with a half-hearted shouty girl, Psycho Bob from Idlewild on bass, two guitarists – Buddy Holly and a guy who used to be in The Bates, Ralf Little on drums.

So percussive are the drums that its making the remaining indiepop kids cry or at least look grumpy. The band are having fun on stage, but its a shocking step change from the other bands.

Am I going deaf or are the vocals really quiet?

Time passes and they evolve into the punk shout rockabilly MJ Hibbett. Not sure what to make of them.

Time passes, until 23:30 and I can't be arsed waiting for the Indelicates to finish setting up. The look kinda cute, but I don't remember seeing them at IndieTracks. Dear readers, if anyone stayed to watch them can you leave a comment about how they were?

Thread
here

Photies
here

Pete Green, The Sunny Street, Monster Bobby, The Strange IdOls - Tufnells

The place fulfills the potential that lies in the Woodside Social Club, if only the Woody was done up, it could be as nice as Tufnell's, clean, modern, no mould, fresh, air conditioning / dehumidifiers in the ceiling, bar proudly in the middle of the room. The flyer said doors 7, its almost 9 and the bands are still soundchecking.

They even have mirrors on the walls like the Woody here. Although the barman does bare a striking resemblance to both Leonardo Di Caprio and the T-1000.

The sound was a lot better for Pete Green than last night, amplified, tweaked, smoothed out. But shilst then it was a crowd of twee internet folk hanging on to his every word, toniht the promoter's chatting during his songs, the promoter's mates are chatting, the sound man and his mates are chatting, and most of the punters in the other room are chatting, its pretty distracting. He does give them a good talking to and the chatters depart, just leaving a thin twee line.

The walls here are sparkly, fitting neatly with his song "Everything I do is going to be sparkly" (buy the single). Unexpected phaser effect during his Oh Mr Beeching song and his "MySpace Fucking Sucks" song falls a little flat to the crowd who've heard it a dozen times before and the fifty in the other room who couldn't care less.

His last song reminded me a little of Dire Straits's Romeo and Juliet.

Great bloke, crap venue for him.

I was outside chatting to Fiona during Sunny Street's set, sounded okay, tamboriney, like the Hermit Crabs. But when we came inside it was shite. Two folk stood on stage in silence whilst a backing tape played. The backing tape sounded okay, but the boy with his guitar was too quiet, and the girl singing was way way down in the mix.

I was kind of embarrassed that I'd talked up the gig to Fiona.

Bobby Monster was on next, the guitarist from the Pipettes, I think they're one of these bands what my former flatmate Alan used to be mental about. Anyhoo it was kind of dischordant to start with , a bit experimental and arty. The guy probably thought he was Laurence from Felt. The drum/bass machine/synth drowned out his acoustic guitar and the lyrics were badly sung, a bit ropey.

Fiona was going on about misplaced arrogance and almost pissed herself when he announced he had an album for sale, only ten quid. You can buy Amy Winehouse's latest for £7.99 - compare and contrast. But as the set drew on, you could kind out make out the tunes hidden in there, trying to escape, even Fi slowly warmed to it.

Actually, now as I type this up, I note The Pipettes's wikpedia page references Bill and Jimi's The Manual, so hey ho, the guy's a god, its 2007: what the fuck's going on.

Finally, probably the best band of the night were headliners Strange Idols, but that's no saying much. They looked like they were having fun on stage. The singer girl all mincing it up as a vampish Eno/Dabbie Harry. But the sound was appalling, the bass at first drowned out everything and was pretty painful to listen to, to the sound dude turned up everything else to level it out, making it even hrder to listen to.

We left three songs in, I apologised to Fi, its not usually like this. Live music ought to be accessible, comprehensible, not painful and borderline pisstake. Fix it.