Kowlaski, RSAG, Not Squares and Cashier No 9

Last night at the festival, I was delighted to learn the line up included Kowalski, RSAG, Not Squares and Cashier No 9.  Well, that's a bit of a lie- I was delighted about all of them, except RSAG, who I had never heard of before.

First on stage was Kowalski.  I was ready to cheer 'em on, not least because one of their mums had come to the bar to express her nerves that no one would be present for the gig.  Rightly so- the gigs started really early and the sets were short.  That said, Kowalski played a solid wee set, and indulged in a bit more chat with the audience than any other act of the night (bonus points!).  I don't really know a lot of their music, but I enjoyed its upbeat poppy indie sound. 

Next up- to my amazement- was Not Squares.  I had heard them in sound check and as a bit of a fan in the making, I have to say, I think they did better then.  There were a few tiny wee tempo mistakes, but it seemed to be an emotional evening for them.  They dedicated a song to one of their friends who sadly died during the week from cancer.  So tragic. It was weird to see them third on a bill instead of headlining, but they delivered a fast paced and dynamic performance as usual. 

Next up was the mystery RSAG.

This was a performance and a half.  With really excellent video graphics, showing himself playing a variety of instruments, RSAG (or Jeremy Hickey) wowed the crowd on the drums.  His voice was powerful and deep, with a strong likeness to Ian Curtis or LCD Soundsystem.  Definitely would recommend him and definitely will endeavour to see him again in the future.

Personally speaking, Cashier No 9 have always been one of those bands whose name has been bandied around but I've never been entirely sure if I have seen them or not.  Clearly, I had not.  I was really impressed with how tightly they play- my friend John even muttered "It sounds like a CD is playing....".  The lighting was also really well done, which makes such an enormous difference.  A lot of their songs seem to be very haunting or ethereal, and the lighting effects really added to the atmosphere.  I was informed that they have recently been signed to the same label as Fleet Foxes, and frankly, I'm not surprised.

Behind the music....

Like the music was the only story last night.  Yeah right.  I actually rolled into work not knowing what was on the bill (as I keep doing, really wouldn't hurt to take a peek at the programme) so really was totally delighted to discover the line up.  I also realised that the gig would be full of people, not least my mates. 

As it turned out, the gig wasn't half as full as I thought it would be, which is nuts.  The tickets were only £5, and in a marquee with a capacity of 1000+, only 130 tickets were sold before the gig.  What!  Ridiculous. 

The stream of people who did come in, nonetheless, mostly were people I knew.  The ex I have referred to had informed me he had worked his last shift, but he rolled up (with gf in tow, what an arse!).  Also present were two other ex's (of varying...can I say calibre?  Thats the nature of the relationships, not the guys in question....) and a bunch of my girl mates.  When given the opportuinty to get off early, I did so- admittedly, this will cut down my sad little pay packet further but I wanted a night with good music and chat. 

That said....there wasn't that much adventure last night.  It was all relatively civilised, the most thrilling part being perhaps when I managed to wangle a second free cider.  Not cool guys.  I think I'm slowly slipping back into my drama queen behaviour....not that I am a princess type or anything like it, just that frequently, when things calm down, I drum up drama in the most unlikely of places to keep myself entertained.  Often, this drama (as is the case with any sort of high dramatics, let's be frank) quickly spins out of control and I find myself wishing for calmness once more.  Right now though- the ship is sailing too steadily!