HomeGame 2011 @ Various Venues, Anstruther, 6-8 May

FRIDAY

“You’ll be here to see the Fence boys then?” So enquires our elderly B&B host with the obvious pride and familiarity that has come from the eight years the small Fife town of Anstruther has played host to the annual HomeGame festival. Indeed we are, and we’ll see plenty of those “Fence boys” over an alternatively rainy and sunny weekend in the East Neuk.

First though, it’s a short trundle to the heart of events, Anstruther Town Hall where Edinburgh folk favourites Eagleowl officially open the festivities. Slowly and gently unfurling from a placid, lapping wave to a mighty, crashing waterfall, the fleshed out five-piece cut a magnificent start. The extra bodies do nothing to unbalance their delicate, rustic charm although they certainly end with a sting in their tail, near blowing the roof off its rafters and waking the early-door gatherers from the idle coastal fug they’ve been lulled into. It’s always the quiet ones you need to watch.

Sweet Baboo's manifesto is encapsulated in the title of their opening number, The Morse Code for Love is Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep and the Binary Code is One One. Such elaborate, vaguely kooky vocal musings from singer Stephen Black form the focal point of this Welsh trio, being accompanied by pretension-free, straight ragged country. Short, sharp and entirely memorable. Whether they are more of a novelty act feels like a moot point in these surroundings.

Monoganon are a somewhat slippery proposition. Their solo-acoustic, somewhat fey opener is a bit of a false start as two songs later they are cooking up some of the meatiest Led Zeppelin chops imaginable. A mixed bag for sure, and the resulting emotional responses are equally as divisive, from shoulder shrugging so-so platitudes to genuine moments of sheer exhilaration.

If you want an old town hall-style hoe-down finale, you could do a lot worse than Gummi Bako. Kicking out some barnstorming, blue grass cuts gets the sizeable crowd, including them Fence boys Kenny Anderson and Johnny Lynch, pogo-ing like no one’s watching. Yet, when they seem to have everyone eating out of their collective hand, they drop a fairly epic waltz into the set, killing the momentum and never really clawing it back.

By this point, most revellers are funnelling out to the various smaller venues that are now kicking into life. Opting for Meursault at Smugglers initially feels like a bit of an error. The ‘venue’ isn’t much bigger than many living rooms and it quickly gets rammed to buckling point. Yet as soon as the Edinburgh collective pick up their instruments it is clear to all that enduring this uncomfortable sweat-box for thirty minutes has been more than worth it. Singer Neil Pennycook apologises for playing so many new songs but this hardly registers, given how immediate, warm and downright amazing they all sound. The Furnace brings familiarity as the ostensible closer before the crowd all but force the band at gun point for ‘one more tune’. They deliver it and then some. An incredible finish to day one.

SATURDAY

After a lunch time stint in the capable hands of comedian Josie Long and friends it’s a short walk to the Cellardyke Town Hall to catch Conquering Animal Sound. Being built from the ground up via generous loop pedal usage ensures a lovely, ethereal vibe for the all-seated congregation although, no joke intended, it all gets a tad repetitive. It’s still a nice set all in and succinct enough to ensure the Glasgow-based duo are fondly remembered.

You may have witnessed some strange shows in your time, but we’ll wager that this performance from David Thomas Broughton would hit your top five. Sitting perched with acoustic guitar and loop pedal, it initially seems like business as usual. However, by the end of his marvellous forty-minute set, Mr. Broughton has delivered some bizarre and comedic performance art. Singing through an apple, incorporating loose change into his lyrics and percussion and gyrating to his iPod in amongst the disbelieving crowd are just a few of the highlights. It could overshadow the actual music of course, but Broughton’s spine-tingling, tenorous voice and superb knack for a melody ensure he is far from being all style and no substance.

Kid Canaveral, who will be re-releasing their debut album on Fence later this year, are joined for several songs by sometime mentor and SxSW partner King Creosote. It provides quite a rollicking collaboration and clear evidence for why the Fife quartet have been given such a leg-up from his royal highness.

It’s hard to imagine King Creosote with his hair ‘up’ as it were, but with a seven-piece, brass heavy accompaniment in The Earlies, the main maestro appears to be really letting things swing freely here. It proves an immensely enjoyable set although a general unfamiliarity renders it a little flat for crowd vibe. That is until the perennial reboot of Twin Tub Twin kicks up a storm whilst Bootprints bows out on a nice little high.

Viva Stereo appear to be in some state of flux, confirmed by the muttering of a nearby acquaintance that they sounded like a very different band a short year ago. It shows tonight, stylistically at least, as they flit from Cure drone-pop to more sizeable stadium riffs. The mid-section flags quite a bit but their final number is a welcome baggy-esque rouser that perhaps shows best where their aspirations lie.

Joined by King Creosote (who else?) for their opener, On The Fly’s epic techno crunch doesn’t faze ol’ Kenny, who delivers some ‘on the pulse’ lines such as “You’re on my Facebook page – you’re no friend, no friend at all.” OTF’s tacit bass grind really whips the decent crowd turnout into pulling some dazzling dance-floor shapes, with Kev from FOUND particularly getting into his groove. Recommendation enough then.

SUNDAY

The Pictish Trail’s Sunday afternoon opening performance feels more like a valedictory send-off as seemingly the entirety of HomeGame crams into the Erskine Hall to salute the success of his hard work in putting on this whole shebang. Playing a solo-acoustic slot of favourites from Secret Soundz and In Rooms as well as the odd cover keeps the packed hall enraptured and largely silent, save for the odd toddler outburst which mock-ruffles a tender looking, hooded Lynch. “If I hear another child I’m going to throw it against the wall,” he drawls. A jest of course, but a well-earned one.

Rachel Sermanni succinctly sums up what many of us must be feeling about the HomeGame experience. “This is nice, this is how it should be all the time, everywhere,” she says wistfully. And with only a MySpace to her musical output she somewhat embodies the whole ethos too. Telling darkly woven, contemplative folk tales one moment, then hammering out some major-chord, spleen-venting, rant-a-long on her burger van summer job the next, she proves quite an unexpected highlight. All the time, everywhere indeed.

It’s quickly followed up by Iona Marshall who delivers a double dose of matinee acoustica. Some judicious loop pedal use helps differentiate proceedings, being used for some lovely rustic accompaniment. Even a false start on one fairly ambitious number is given the thumbs up by sound engineer K.C. for a second attempt, proving to be all the more worthwhile.

There’s clear evidence of De Rosa fans in mourning as former front-man Martin John Henry takes to the stage. They are treated to no less than six cuts from the under-appreciated folk-rock outfit. Some work better than others, with perhaps Love Economy translating less well to this acoustic setting, though a couple of lesser heard numbers are given a re-working to better effect. A couple of new tracks form Henry’s forthcoming solo album keep things fairly consistent and help elevate this out of a purely fan tick-box exercise.

“Two wind instruments,” notes King Creosote as he and Jon Hopkins sit with, respectively, an accordion and harmonium. “Could be shit.” Unlikely as the pair play the gorgeous Leslie from KC’s Bombshell album. There is of course plenty of material from their Diamond Mine album which works well, being relatively paired down but it’s the send off of Nothing Compares 2 U that will probably stick in most minds.

Randolph’s Leap provide one of the weekend’s most memorable lyrics with “You’re out of my range, ‘cause you’re strangely pretty and I’m pretty strange.” Perhaps it helps to be there and witness this sextet’s bombastic carnival pomp, though plenty were in the main town hall. Heartbreak, loneliness and relationship failures are their stock in trade, though few bands can deliver this with added kazoo solos and still come good.

Aberdeen five-piece Indian Red Lopez arrive at Cellardyke to kick-start the late evening proceedings. Their song-writing chops genuinely impress the small but appreciative crowd, particularly album highlight The Third Incision. At times, having three guitars thrashing out towering, neon-tinged riffs gets the better of the modest sound-system, but it’s a spirited performance against the odds.

It’s been a great weekend then, with nary a bad apple in the cart. Even without FOUND’s valedictory send off at Legends, we would have left happy. With their new album and direction having had time to settle though, the Edinburgh trio exceed expectations. It’s an absolutely pumping set that’s almost entirely culled from Factorycraft. Each number sees pockets of inebriated punters erupt into frantic dancing, singing every word back at singer Ziggy Campbell. He dedicates Johnny I Can’t Walk the Line to Mr. Lynch who, looking the drunkest of the lot, is unwittingly crowd-surfed for the name-dropping chorus. A fitting end indeed and if you’ll excuse the obvious football punditry, HomeGame has been a fantastic result.