大象传媒

Ah summer, the start of many seasons, such as sporting, holiday and most importantly, festival season, and so it's the cue for ATL to drag its pale, sickly, sleep-deprived body out of the late-night clubs it winters in, and step blinking into the sunlight which makes its annual appearance today (ATL would like to take this opportunity to remind you all to practice safe sun while festivaling this summer, wear sunscreen and a hat, enjoy the shade and drink water - on an entirely unrelated note, any aftersun manufacturers should send a card to us for boosting your profits this week).

Set near Strangford Lough (it was visible from the campsite, and the sound was coming across loud and clear down by the Lough according to people who were there), it's a nice intimate little setting, a Walled Garden, creating an enclosed, safe environment isolated and protected from the world (and World Cup) outside. Kids scampered around, the beverages flowed (not near the kids obviously), the art areas entertained us (throwing paint is very therapeutic) and once we got over the disappointment that it wasn't an actual bouncy castle, the stage provided music. 听

The Red Admirals kicked off proceedings with their classic rock stylings, mostly to kids, friends and mankini-wearers (there's always one), who all enjoyed this relatively gentle Stereophonics-esque start to the day's live music. Scorpion Jack are a very different prospect, a sort of fast folk a la Rodrigo y Gabriela meets John Martyn with a dash of wit and humour in songs like Error 404 and a death metal interlude on the bodhran and acoustic.

Another change in direction follows for Ruby Colley who offers atmospheric strings and loops as a one-woman show armed with a collection of pedals to augment her violin, before yet another sharp musical turn towards the more lighthearted casually dressed pastel-shaded Colenso Parade and their 1960s style guitar pop and good natured banter prompting a bit of crowd-dancing to Young And Beautiful and Better Off. 听

Katie and the Carnival continue the slightly scatter-gun musical policy with their smoky voiced jazzy tones, allowing us to chill in the afternoon before the infectiously catchy jaunty quirkiness of If I Knew Then What I Know Now rouses us with its bombastic da-da-dums - just what you need for a festival. Also perfect for the context are Bocs Social - dubby, reggae, ska-punk goodness to bounce along to and get the most of the gathered crowd dancing for the first time. It's ideal festival fare - nothing too taxing, and you can get caught up in the rhythm without having to know the band. Mentioning rhythm, Dark Room Notes fail to get any, hitting wrong Notes, as the one disappointment of the day. They suffer with the context, as their chilled synthy electro and occasionally clubby beats are too subtle for the open air, especially after the up-tempo Bocs. Indeed they're at odds with the rest of the line-up, perhaps being a little too cool and contemporary, and are (on past experience) a lot better suited to a small dark club.

John Shelley and The Creatures have no such problems, carefully blending the gentle and delicate with the strong and raucous, including the inevitable TV song. Yes we've heard it dozens of times, but it's still class. At this rate they'll be headlining next year. Unless of course Cashier No.9 agree to do so instead. They're practically there already with the material they have, it's just we're waiting on the public to catch up with Cashier's genius. From opening number Goldstar, through the Manc shuffle of 42 West Avenue and the little funky roll of Lighthouse, to the closing Goodbye Friend, this is a band who've grown in confidence and stature into a genuine headline prospect even while they're still polishing and perfecting their material.

And so to the headline act. The local boys done good as The Answer stroll onto what is pretty much home turf for them (and quite a few other acts in our musical history - must be something in the water), promising to continue the party the next day in various local hostelries. The bouncy castle suddenly seems very small for the crowd and indeed the band's stage presence and exuberance. Come Follow Me is classic rock class, proving that this is, with respect to the other bands on the bill, their gig as the crowd is properly united for the first time. Piece By Piece arrives straight out of the practice room to be greeted like an old favourite, like Never Too Late for example. 听

The couple of attempted stage invasions are quickly halted, but fail to disturb our lads, as practiced and polished as they are at belting out their primal straight up blues rock. It's been a while since they've been around, but it's like they've never gone away. As for the day itself, we'll be back next year. Possibly with a hat.

William Johnston