Gig review: La Fête De La Musique

LAST year's La Fte De La Musique took place on a Saturday bathed in glorious sunshine. This year, the he West End Festival's annual free live music all-dayer on Ashton Lane fell on a Sunday and was drenched by rain for most of the afternoon.

A kind of Dunkirk spirit prevailed, with bands from the outdoor stage moving to the Grosvenor Caf, where the bill was topped triumphantly by Blochestra whose covers of all from Outkast to Jackie Wilson parted the clouds.

Alt-folk singer-songwriter Beerjacket's full-blooded performance at Brel was well deserving of better than perhaps just five people paying attention, but then chatty audiences were a challenge for every artist.

Hero of the day had to be electro-pop soloist Blood Blood, who filled-in for late cancellations Bronto Skylift straight from a ten-hour shift behind the par at Brel. A combination of laptop loops, 80s Yamaha synth and swooning vocals, his set was delivered at an intensity that couldn't have been higher if there were hundreds of people listening, rather than just a handful.

That he got his biggest cheer from a mostly disinterested crowd for downing a pint while saluting them ironically as a naff keyboard demo of When the Saints Go Marching In played summed-up both the good and the bad of this festival.