Live Review: Primitive Calculators Presents Little Bands #3

The idea for Little Bands is quite simple and truly fantastic: each of the ten bands that play throughout Sunday afternoon and deep into Sunday evening practice once and play once, and they can only play for 15 minutes.
However, according to Peter Kenny, “The only band that only practiced once is The Thrashing Cunts! And they were probably only remembered for their name.” Kenny plays in The Dog Act, a trio rounded out by Simon Grounds and David Hoy that is one of the more interesting bands to play today. Kenny's walking-jazz basslines act as a foundation while the violent computer noise, screeching spoken-word (“Why did they shut me out of heaven?/Was it because I sung too low?”) and violin do their own thing. Somehow, despite all seeming to be from different planets, this band has fantastic chemistry and the different parts roll together to create an incomprehensible-yet-beautiful, haunting beast. As if to tease us, it's all over suddenly. The band starts to pack up and the audience, mostly seated on the floor, provides applause that doesn't reflect the quality of the performance before going back to their conversations while waiting for the next band to start.
Though puzzling at first, this is truly what the event is all about: creating that raw sound with experienced musicians and not overdoing it. “You could practice the songs for longer and it could be tighter, but it's about diversity,” says Jeff Hooker, who plays guitar in another of today's highlights: four-piece, blues-punk outfit Meal In A Can. Hooker effortlessly and humbly serenades the audience, allowing singer Peter Keogh, who grips the mic and stares forward, to bark and howl with earnest enthusiasm. It feels like an early punk performance with an energy seldom matched by bigger bands.
Straight after, Yak Yog – an ambient, hypnotic synth experience altered by heavy drums and screaming vocals – the event is closed by a five-piece a cappella group led by original Primitive Calculators member Stuart Grant. The group breeze through a synchronised musical protest against everything from the monotony of daily life to The Liberal Party, which resonates well with the event's own protest against boring music.