Down By The River

Live music? Check. Burgers? Check. Sunshine? Check. Friends? Check. It must be The Waterfront's indie all dayer, Down By The River.

Apologies, dear readers. I was unable to be there from the 3pm start, but heading in at 7 it was clear that the place had been buzzing for some hours. The happy, slightly drunk, slightly sunburned middleaged indie kids were having a whale of a time and they weren't ready to call it a night quite yet. With local acts playing in the garden, prosecco at £3 a glass and some rather comfy beanbags to chill on, the stage was set for a jolly evening of reminiscing about my indie youth and seeing if these acts still have something to give us.

First up for me were Pop Will Eat Itself. Still sounding incredibly current and fresh, I'm struggling to think of a band that I've heard since the early 90's who sound in any way similar. Teetering on the fence between hip hop and rock (via industrial), they're edgy and still angry - I guess the closest reference I could give would be Sleaford Mods, for their grassroots political ideology, pounding rhythms and clever wordplay. PWEI make a huge grinding sound, and their energy is to be most admired - they bounce around the stage like it's 1993. Can U Dig It and Wise Up! Sucker go down an absolute storm, and the thrilled crowd know all the words to most of the songs - a vote of real confidence for this revitalised band who I believe holds only one original member these days. Bass player dreadlocked Davey Bennett is pretty much the star of the show - I've never seen a more joyful, constantly giggling performance, and in fact the whole set is a riot of noise and happiness and a reminder of nights spent dancing in a simpler age, whilst also nudging us with political issues that are still horribly current. This seems like the perfect time for the Poppies to re emerge blinking into 2017 and take control once again. Ich Bin Ein Auslander closes the set, obviously, and is quite simply brilliant.

Jim Bob out of Carter USM is next, with a solo acoustic set in the Studio. He appears to be the quintessential Englishman, with tousled locks, shirt, tie, blazer and DM's, and an affable and comedic air about him that plays out with his extensive funny and edgy banter with the crowd. Again, many in the packed room were singing along with every word of the extensive set of Carter USM songs he played, including Everytime The Church Bells Ring, Prince In A Pauper's Grave, Johnny Cash, Falling On A Bruise, The Only Living Boy In New Cross, Lean On Me I Won't Fall Over, an epic cover of The Impossible Dream and of course, Sheriff Fatman. I have to admit I hadn't ever gotten into Carter..there was something about their silliness and chaos that I found annoying at the time (20 odd years ago when I knew no better). However, the tales of small town English characters and their everyday matters, the depths of feeling both tragic and heavenly that they all go through were told with the most wonderful, poetic words, the most catchy and well rounded music, that I was blown away. I would put these songs in the same envelope as Morrissey's wry melancholy, or Richard Hawley's elegaic search for hope, or even Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, such was the quality of the songwriting. And the fact that Job Bob himself was so likeable, so funny and so much 'one of us' helped me love it more. The audience were in ecstasies at having these classics sung to them in such a simple, personal way, so close to them, after no doubt many times of heading to huge venues to see Carter USM. It's very exciting to discover a group and artist that I was an idiot to dismiss when I was a mere teen. Hoorah!