Bit of a marmite band, these Akron/Family fellas. Three genre-bending hippies with a predilection for free-form jams and an aversion to playing actual songs obviously won’t appeal to everyone, but their devil-may-care experimentalism hits the mark often enough to make them a worthwhile experience. The first half of their set was more or less conventional alt-folk with distinct, recognisable songs, without the random shifts into, say, death metal that would typify the latter half. But it was the second part that more accurately captured the ethos of the band; chockful of instrument-swapping, sudden shifts between different music styles (low-key grooves one moment, 100dB of hardcore NOIZE the next), five minute long prog-outs of acute self-indulgence hitched to audience participation and frequent forays into the crowd...sure, at times it was frustrating and it didn’t always work (the fifteen minutes of a capella at the end was dragged several miles from breaking point) but their creativity and spontaneity always keeps you on your toes- and how many bands can you genuinely say that about?The other draw of the night were Canadian folk-pop six-piece The Acorn, whose Glory Hope Mountain album is an undoubted contender for Album of the Year. Shame then that this performance didn’t quite live up to its promise; competence rather than excellence was the order of the day. Perhaps it had something to do with the impending departure of two band members, perhaps it was tour fatigue or merely that my expectations were too high, but one got the impression they weren’t firing on all cylinders- the liveliness that underpins the albums wasn’t really bourn out by their set. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh- my friends who hadn’t heard them before left impressed- but I couldn’t help but feel it could have been better.
(Photo: Alan Bee)
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