I do love a good free gig at The Lanes, the weirdest venue in this city. I would love to know how many bands know that when they book this gig, they’re going to be playing in a bowling alley that is still functioning as a bowling alley throughout the gig. But whatever.
I also love a gig that Mahoney suggests to me, and here we are with three acts I’ve never heard of and have chosen to just go into blind for. Why not!
We start with Sweet Juno, down a member but you wouldn’t have been able to tell. Really good stuff. The penultimate two songs (I have no idea what they’re called, but one is played with a capo on fret 5 and the other has a nice ascending E/G/G#/A root note thing going on) are very good. I hope to hear them again one day.
Up next is Hamburger, a band with a frontman whose voice sounds like, to quote Mahoney, “a space mouse”. It does! Buzzing synth lines interplaying with some lovely guitar work, and, yes, a space mouse’s voice. They have one EP out and none of the songs they play are on it. Sure!
Headlining are Australian band smol fish, whom I come to enjoy increasingly throughout their set. There’s a lovely stripped back song, Birthday Party, there’s a screamalong at the end, there’s weirdly a cover of Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear in there too (“I think this song’s British?”). All round a successful night!