The Bull and Gate is a legendary venue. Many of today's well-known acts played early gigs there. Thus it almost seems as if some of their vital spirit remains. Trapped in the fixtures and fittings, a gauntlet lain down to the new pretenders. Except there's not a lot of pretence in the air tonight. The three acts on show tonight can be equally described as unique and raw.

The unenviable first slot goes to a boy-girl duo called Mitten. Their sound is hard to categorise as it is wildly variable. This is good however -- most bands are horribly derivative. Performance-wise, they take a lot of risks. At times, they are not playing their instruments so much as torturing them. But their charm wins through. They are still a little rough around the edges -- a few months of rehearsal should see them blossom into something wonderful.

Next on are the Rude Mechanicals. Full disclosure here, I have booked this band for my own club a couple of times. But I will try to give an honest appraisal. They rocked! Seriously, this was the first London outing for the newly streamlined band. Having had as many as seven players in the past, they are now down to four. This is reflected in a tight, hard sound with more range in their set than most bands manage in a lifetime. They take in myriad influences such as Frank Zappa and Beefheart, with stabs of punk and funk.

Then, at last, Ted Milton of Blurt! takes the stage wearing a long white jacket. Which would be very "jazz" if it wasn't for the mohican that he sports. Without much ado, he tears into the first number, making the saxophone squeal in a way that John Coltrane would have loved. He is accompanied by just two other players, a lead guitarist and drummer. But the three of them conjure up a big sound, which is bold, funky and frenetic. Milton's rasping vocals add an urgency to the mix.

Recently there's been a resurgence in "punk-funk" - as practised by bands from the 70s such as Gang of Four and A Certain Ratio. There are many new bands that are pretenders to this crown. But Blurt! really do fuse punk and funk. The crowd loves it so much that they end up playing two encores. And you can't get much better than that.

Perhaps their reputation helps, as this crew have been putting on live music events in London for a few years -mainly in the Shoreditch area. They specialise in putting on a weird and wonderful selection of live musicians and DJs.

Weird and wonderful is a good description of the first act on -- a curious combo called Kanako & The Numbskulls, playing what they call 'Folk-Punk'.
The absence of an electric guitar made it more Folk than Punk, but the charismatic and enthusiastic Kanako is an energetic frontwoman for the band.

To follow them in the outdoor garden were several classy acts including truly extraordinaire singer and song writer Jo Griffith from Liverpool, soul and RnB duo Anoraklight and mesmerising and stimulating Carl Smith aka Casa Electro Novo described as a spawn of a car crash involving Vegas-era Elvis and artist Marcel Duchamp.

The rest of the line-up for the event conducted in comfortable lodgins inside was similarly eclectic, taking in such genres as Acoustic Folk, Bossa Nova, Jazz, Soul and RnB and Funk. A choice selection of DJs managed to keep the vibe alive between acts -- all in all, a chilled way to enjoy a laidback Sunday.

Mullah

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What ACR lacked in commercial success, they made up for in critical acclaim. They've been cited as one of the most influential acts to come out of the punk years -- moving a luminary like Andrew Weatherall to allegedly describe them as his favourite band of all time.

Their influence can be keenly felt in the output of bands such as The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, Radio 4 and Franz Ferdinand. The peculiar appeal of ACR is best summed up by Peter York (co-author of the Sloane Ranger Handbook, so he knows a thing or two about trends). His take on ACR is that 'they were just so damn...early'. One instance where being ahead of your time is not necessarily a positive thing.

But the passage of time has vindicated the difficult path that ACR trod for so long. Tonight they are playing their first date in London for over two years and a large crowd of old-timers is joined by some fans who were probably at nursery when ACR started out.

Time has been kind to ACR -- clearly Manchester isn't the worst place in the world to eke out the days. As soon as the band launches into the first number, it's clear that they've still got it. They choose to begin with a medley that leads into one of their strongest ever numbers, their cover of Shack Up by the Banbarras -- a track sampled incessantly, meaning that you'll know it even if you've never heard it in it's entirety.

ACR are joined on stage tonight by Denise Johnson, a legend to those who know -- she provided the soaring vocals on Don't Fight It Feel It by Primal Scream, an anthem for early 90's clubbers. She was vocalist for the latter part of ACR's career, meaning we don't get to hear a lot of the early material. Original vocalist Martha Tilson's style could be charitably described as fey, like a proto-Beth Orton -- obviously ACR decided that it would be hard to make these work with Denise Johnson's powerful soul stylings.

Initially she seems to be slightly nervous -- perhaps with good cause, as the live room at Cargo is full to the rafters. She begins by singing to the band as much as the crowd, seeking some non-verbal reassurance from other band members. But once the initial nerves pass, she realises that she is amongst friends and clearly some of this new found confidence rubs off on the rest of the band.

The band treads a fine line between keeping the crowd happy with old favourites and trying out what sound like new compositions. This recent material seems to combine the two phases of ACR's career: the later and more soulful style they adopted when signed to A&M with occasional flourishes from the Factory era. Their forthcoming download-only album "And You, Forgotten" should afford die-hard fans the opportunity to become more familiar with their new sound.

As their set climaxes, I turn to my companion for the evening and say 'This is just like being back at the Hacienda in the 1980's'. Admittedly I was never there the first time around, so only have the fake nostalgia engendered through watching films like 24 Hour Party People.

But the penny has dropped for me -- I can finally understand where ACR fit into the history of dance music in Britain. They didn't really know what they were doing at the time. It's only now in the fullness of time that their contribution can be fully appreciated.

Not bad for a band that once claimed that they were crap, but weren’t sure why.

Weatherall has been around for as long as there's been something that could be tagged as dance culture in Britain. Like Woody Allen's Zelig, he's been a constant presence in various guises. He's been responsible for some of Primal Scream's finest moments on vinyl, credited as an early mover in the Balearic house scene, as well as pioneering live dance music with Sabres of Paradise.

But his travels in the dance music scene appear to have taken him back to the punk and post-punk sounds that started him off in the first place. Two Lone Swordsmen has grown out of his partnership with studio wizard Keith Tenniswood AKA Radioactive Man. It now comprises a full live band with guitar, bass, drums, live keyboard and Weatherall on lead vocals.

The role of vocalist is something he clearly relishes -- perhaps it's the fulfilment of a long held ambition. Perhaps it's the sensation of staring out at a crowd of appreciative punters. Who knows -- except God and Andrew himself?

It's Saturday night in the main dance tent at the Glade Festival, an outdoor festival specialising in electronic dance music. The Swordsmen have gone on straight after Speedy J, another well known name that's been on the scene for a long time. But the contrast couldn't be any greater.

This is illustrated best by a young dreadlocked woman who's stayed behind after Speedy J and starts off trying to throw shapes to the Swordsmen. Clearly it isn't working for her and after a couple of numbers, she gives up in search of something with a more electronic feel to it.

Those of use brave enough to stay and pogo however are in for a surprise. The first couple of numbers see the Swordsmen attempt something akin to a fusion of dance and rock. It isn't quite happening though.

Just as I'm beginning to lose faith, Weatherall tears into a cover of punk anthem Sex Beat, originally performed by The Gun Club. This is one of the standout tracks from his 2004 album From The Double Gone Chapel. The studio version is laden with gothic doom, but the live version is far punkier with Weatherall putting his all in the vocals.

With the crowd now behind him, he keeps the assault up and abandons the pretence of fusion. The rest of the set is good old fashioned rock and roll with a twist. When he announces that the next number is Tiny Reminders, from the 2000 album of that name, cheers go up from the crowd.

Deservedly so, as the band delivers a live version with gusto. Another highlight is a version of another track from the Double Gone Chapel entitled Faux -- the mordant quality of the lyrics reassuring us that even though he's looking the pop star, he hasn't gone LA and lost his edge.

Long term Weatherall watchers may wonder if he's mellowing as he gets older. Well, anyone that can go to a festival of electronic dance music and blast out punk rock still has a keen sense of irony and humour.

Saturday 4th December 2005

For around two years, Little Princess Orchestra (LPO) have cut a swathe through London's moribund live music circuit. Polarising opinion wherever they go, simultaneously feted as the best band in the world and castigated as the worst.

LPO defy convention as much as possible by never writing songs or rehearsing, but always improvising on the spot. Between a group of musicians who know each other well, improvising can become the worst kind of navel-gazing. LPO have warded off this ennui by having a constantly shifting line-up.

Tonight is the birthday party for LPO instigator Hugo. Lead vocalists Hugo & Carmel vent everything on their minds through their lyrics. There is no rock and roll sophistry here. The soundsystem is too good to allow cheap glossolalia of kind favoured by ex-pat Japanese rock singers, no names mentioned, OK, yes I mean Damo Suzuki.

The only possible word that can describe the interaction between Hugo and Carmel is 'psychodrama'. Modern music is all about release. That element is there in LPO, in all it's life-affirming glory. But they won't allow you this release until they've delivered a large package of tension first.

Standing on stage in front of a rock band, facing an enthusiastic crowd, singing their hearts out - this isn't therapy, this is catharsis. But don't be fooled by all this psychobabble. Remember, this is showbusiness.

Hugo's stage persona puts me in mind of some Greek god floating on a cloud far above the world. Seeing these puny humans, he feels a momentary pang of concer and airily deigns to intervene in the affairs of man.

Carmel is harder to categorise. The first few performances I saw by her were marked by a frenetic style of dancing that makes David Byrne in the video for Once In A Lifetime look calm and composed. At times, I wondered if she was communicating in some secret sign language. Later performances saw a more spritely and puckish sense of humour emerging.

If you haven't caught LPO, you've probably won't. Hugo has stated that his mission to inject some much needed energy into improvisation has been accomplished.

With the imminent demise of LPO, there is no danger of their music become stale or cliched. In the end, it isn't a corpse they leave behind. It is more like a butterfly chrysalis hatching.

Whatever emerges remains to be discovered ...