 | | Magic Arm |
I catch the tail end of the intriguing Magic Arm. He is a baseball-capped loop wizard, a wonderboy with a moog, harmonica and acoustic guitar, effortlessly enlisting a ghost army of instruments, finishing with several versions of himself harmonising with each other. This boy deals with the black forces – see him now before he is sucked into oblivion by their demon mouths! After some chilled psychedelia spun by the one and only Mr Jim Noir, The Travelling Band take the stage, chewing straw and tipping a worn out hat to the mighty Creedence Clearwater Revival. The perfect soundtrack to a riverboat float, this is toe-tapping light revelry, all 60s middle Americana. Their finest moments drip richly with a three-way vocal velvet; theirs is a soggy bottom simplicity in all its hummable glory.  | | The Travelling Band |
Finally, cued in by the luscious DJ Dawn, The Beep Seals, complete with hand-painted t-shirts, squaw headdresses and capes, storm the stage. Grinning like over-excited five year olds fresh from sabotaging the dressing up box, The Beeps then surprise with the depth and breadth of music they have to offer. As their set progresses, these scarlet-cheeked toddlers mature into a polite, intelligent, cardiganed quintet who your gran would beamingly serve up tea and scones for at a moment's notice.  | | The Beep Seals (pic: Dawn Hinton) |
They craft music for people in love, tinged with a debonair delicacy and sumptuous simplicity. There are even moments when the cardigans are completely discarded, unveiling a Dandy Warhol-esque poise and swing, but the overall tone is one of pure, fresh happiness. I expected quirky silliness, and there is plenty of this on offer, but this brushes easily off the surface, revealing perfectly crafted songs with dreamy harmonies, peaks and troughs in all the right places. Their musicianship and tightness as a live unit is faultless. The Beep Seals are seasoned performers, and this amateur chef deems them baked to perfection. | 
