News / / 30.05.14

Dot to Dot

Various Venues, Bristol | 24 May

Wet weather can make or break an outdoor festival, but you’d think the indoor ones would be alright. As we squelch our waterlogged shoes through the wristband exchange for Dot to Dot, though, it’s apparent that the downpour will play a decisive factor in the bands we see today.

Being pissed on by the heavens sucks as a punter, but it sucks harder when you’re one of the opening bands who has to cancel their set down to being stuck on the motorway somewhere. Neither Gallery Circus nor Mt Royal arrive at Thekla in time for their scheduled appearances, so it’s down to Amber Run to get the party started. Admittedly, they barely made it either, which means the sizeable crowd on the lower deck is treated to an embarrassing sound check led by a non-member who might be the keyboard player’s dad.

When the band do start playing, they deliver a stagnant set of radio-friendly guitar pop and all the clichés you’d expect from an act who appear to be sponsored by Topman. “This song’s about, er, small beginnings,” the singer mumbles before gyrating against his artificially road-worn Fender and letting one chord ring over a delay pedal for half an hour.

The commute across Queen’s Square to Start The Bus reveals something better: New York’s Drowners have arrived, and the back half of the venue is so rammed we can’t actually see them. Still, their bolshy, bass-heavy post-punk is potent enough to fill the whole room, and the day ahead seems a lot brighter as their short but sweet set draws to a close.

Wonder Villains are next, a tooth decay inducing synth pop four-piece from Northern Ireland whose ominipresent CBBC presenter smiles more or less sum up what they’re about. Their kitsch ‘90s sound is led by an overdriven keytar, and we can just about make out shouty lyrics about regrettable haircuts and Pokémon cards.

A few doors down at The Birdcage, acoustic crooner Adam Barnes is warming up sodden crowds with his wooly brand of melodic storytelling. Half the crowd are sat on sofas drinking pots of tea, and the cosy vibes are a refreshing change of pace from the hyperactive timewarp we just witnessed.

A packed-out Thekla means we can’t comment on the set from Macaulay Culkin’s Pizza Underground, though reports of the shambolic, heckle-inducing, stage-fleeing goings-on which marked their other D2D sets aren’t hard to find. Making a beeline for bike café Roll for the Soul doesn’t prove quite as fruitful either, as we catch a trio of lost looking hobos playing beginner’s drum beats and lazily fondling pawn shop guitars. They’re called Dirty, which describes their wannabe lo-fi surf bum sound perfectly. It reeks of pretension and pseudo lo-fi beach scum.

Northern duo Drenge, on the other hand, demonstrate what amp fuzz and cymbal smashing can achieve when done right. Their grungey set at the O2 Academy is graciously received, with tracks like Bloodsports and Backwaters proving that a raucous noise can still be made with the bare minimum of instruments.

Headliners Peace are also capable of big sounds, albeit of a more melodic, retro pop variety. They haven’t gained their reputation as the UK’s next big indie act for nothing, playing as a unit with more solidarity than any of the bands we’ve seen so far. While chorus-soaked, Robert Smith-ish guitars grow weary towards the end of their set, this is still an accomplished headline performance that serves as an appetiser for more sunshiney festival appearances this summer.

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Words: Matt Ayres

Photography: Stuart Moulding

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