Antifolk UK

Waiting for girls to call and waiting light at the end of the train tunnel lovelorn Paul Hawkins has moved to London looking for fame and fortune. While waiting for the right girl to fall in love with him (and the NME) he entertained attendees of the Antifolk Summer Festival with his songs "I like it when you call me doctor" about psychiatry and love. "My baby left me for a travelling show" about having loved and lost. As you may already have guessed love and falling in love featured prominently in his set and for anyone who took time to look at his flyers (various separate flyers telling you why you should visit his website) there was no doubt what was to be expected. With a folksy Dylany feel, he sounded like he could break into a Bob Dylan cover at any minute.

This is not to say that he wasn't original. He was and with very strong voice. Paul Hawkins is a man who tells you what how he feels in a simple, straight forward way and as he tells us in his last song "Hamster in a cage" he reflects on the safety of being a pet in a cage instead of being out in the wild animals such as hippos and monkeys. You never know, it could also help the girl situation (aw…little cute hamster etc, etc).

Or perhaps he should follow Kevin 2 Sheds path of thought and sort the problem through horticultural enlightenment. If you ask me there is not happiness through gardening unless of course you take into consideration that you get all dirty, harassed by bees and then just as you're getting into it, it pours down with rain (maybe that's just a my view of gardening) Kevin 2 Sheds sings songs about eating your greens, about ageing rock stars and Terry and June…and how he wants to help his wife from severe depression through horticultural enlightenment and wishing "the light shone from my arse" and third song started off with what I associate with a Graham Coxon vibe.

He's an old school punk who now has a more cynical view of it all. He used to wish that he played like Steve Jones, now a protest singer (after people made nasty comments about his punk band.) Despite putting down his guitar skills (after being in a punk band, obviously) he was a good guitarist. Kevin started off with a twee song but the rest of the set was far from twee.

If the theme for the first act was love and the theme for the second act was horticultural enlightenment then the theme for Tim Tomlinson moody folk music. While listening to Tim's set I could definitely conjure up images of deserted beaches during storms and waves splashing against rocks. I'm not sure why but it did. He dances, he plays the accordion, and when the crowd shout for an encore he thinks they're taking the piss.

The thing that appeals most about the each season's Antifolk festival is that you don't know what to expect, every band that plays has a different quality. One minute you could be listening to a satirical version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons the next, well you could be listening to Buried Pleasure.

David Cronenberg's Wife playing a less punkier set than recent gigs (I've seen them a lot recently) didn't mean that it wasn't a lively performance. For those already in love with David Cronenbergs Wife they played old favourites such as Ukrainian Girlfriend, for those yet to fall in love with them they played a strong and vibrant set.

By the time David Cronenberg's Wife came off stage it was clear that the crowd were really beginning to have fun.

Of all the twists and turns in tonight's performances the next band had the most impact. Bursting on to the stage like a not so delicate hammer were The Delicate Hammers. They were absolutely amazing, Like Goldie Lookin Chain (I think that's a good thing), Beats and comical lyrics in front of hip hop beats. I cannot wait to here more from them.

The same goes for Peanuts. They're loud! Their songs were filled with bouncy lyrics and the backing in one of their songs that sounded Mediterranean and very summery, which is always good.

I had been looking forward to finally seeing Joe Buzfuz, as I had heard his name in many Antifolk circles and I wasn't disappointed by what I saw Joe Buzfuz followed played an excellent set, and I was definitely in agreement with him and his rant about Oasis.

The penultimate act was Bandini, whose Courtney Love styled lyrics, gained a lot of praise and anticipation from the crowd.

As the night drew to a close, banjo playing Dana Immanuel wound down the evening with a mellow, peaceful set. It was the perfect ending to a perfect summers night.