Sunday
 | | Andy searches for the meaning of ITC |
I sacrifice my beauty sleep and head to Life Café for a delegate brunch. Me and Andy score egg baps, pain au chocolates and a fair amount of pink grapefruit, and laugh at the skinny girls and boys standing by the buffet with just a bit of melon. Fools! We stick around as I’m reviewing the Generator North East showcase downstairs. It’s odd being in Manchester and seeing a lot of familiar faces (local promoters From Teesside With Love are here, as are Elaine Palmer, members of Red Pen Letter and a friend who came up from London and happened upon the gig). There is a free bar, which is ace, and very rude bar staff, which is not. Like a good northern fishwife in training, I make my feelings known to the management, then skulk off to hide and take photos. | "Their fabled masked saxophonist nearly falls off stage then gets lost making a not so graceful exit..." | | Natalie takes in the ramshackle joy of Dartz!'s performance |
Kubicheck! are the best band of the gig, closely followed by We Start Fires, who play a slick set that has obviously been honed after their tour with Nine Black Alps. Dartz! have technical problems, but recover well and seem to win the audience over. Their fabled masked saxophonist nearly falls off stage, then gets lost making a not so graceful exit, which adds to the charm of their set.
 | | Dartz!'s fans strike a pose |
My new shoes hurt so we go to the Midland Hotel where I’m asked for my ID just to sit in the lobby, which is a bit odd. We head to see The Long Blondes, but they are very late onstage so it’s off home to change into warmer clothes, as it’s suddenly gone nippy. I’ve heard that there are 30 free passes for the Fantastic Plastic gig, and both me and Andy love Bearsuit so we’re outside the venue as it opens to get in for free. Both me and Andy are part of a Teesside DIY collective and we put Bearsuit on a while ago, and they recognise us - I think it’s dead arrogant to think bands will ever remember me as who am I really, so it’s nice they remembered us. A girl in an amazing silver dress is walking round the venue and turns out to the drummer from the Victorian English Gentlemens’ Club and they are absolutely brilliant - all manic staring and jagged guitar lines – and I also enjoy the Immediate who all play every instrument.
 | | We Start Fires get going |
Bearsuit make me and the boy next to me giggle throughout their set and everything from their odd instruments, mental harmonies and uber-enthusiasm on stage makes you realise why this lot were a huge favourite of the late, great John Peel. We have to drive back to Middlesbrough (yes, with all of DARTZ!’s stuff) so we start to head off, but bump into Fantastic Plastic label boss Darrin, which is handy as one of Das Wanderlust’s ‘people to send demos to’ is Darrin. Even though ITC can be superficial and filled with poseurs up from London to swan around the Midland waiting to be seen, at the gigs, where it’s sweaty, stinks of beer and nothing ever goes as planned, it’s exciting and it’s exciting for the bands playing and it’s the reason I keep coming back. I just hope next year I’m on stage too.
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