I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream

So, two weeks later than I originally envisaged, to Clapham Common Ben & Jerry's Summer Sundae on, er, Saturday. Following the success of last years event, they decided to repeat it this year, again on a Sunday but the tickets sold out before I spotted them ... and I wouldn't have been too fussed by Jose Gonzalez and The Wonderstuff anyway. But then they added the Saturday with Echo & The Bunnymen, Badly Drawn Boy and the promise of free ice-cream ... for a fiver ... well it would be rude not to.

We arrived just in time to see The Pippettes on stage but I wasn't over-impressed from what I heard from a distance so we headed off for the free ice-cream instead, starting in the far corner next to the Vauxhall City Farm animals, including a pair of ferrets on a lead who seemed very friendly (but I wouldn't want them down my trousers - sharp teeth!). Cherry Garcia and another chocolate-based one with bits of cookie in .. very nice thank-you ... followed not long after by some Apple Pie ice-cream, complete with bits of pastry ... oops, too much too soon, that's enough ice-cream before I start getting giddy ... time for beer.

Having seen the sites - a gorgeous old (or maybe just old looking?) helter-skelter, various eco-friendly stalls, toe-wrestling, coconut shy, chocolate fountain with marshmallows for dipping, various people dressed up in animal suits - we made our way to the music stage where the recently arrived Larrakin Love had caught my ear.

I knew nothing of them - they're from London and were described as 'troubadours' in the promotional material - not a bad description that gives you an idea of what to expect but I was surprised how good they were. The music was a ramshackle mix of guitars, folk, ska, trumpets, fronted by an incredibly energetic (and bendy) lead singer who
pulled the whole thing together. Having got a bit jaded of the music scene of late, it's always good to come across something new and exciting - last time I got this buzz was seeing Art Brut at the Rhythm Factory. I shall be checking out their last couple of singles and hunting for that hard-to-find first EP.



Echo & The Bunnymen looked and sounded great during their set consisting mainly of hits of yore - The Killing Moon, Seven Seas, Bring on the Dancing Horses, The Back of Love, Never Stop and a blistering rendition of The Cutter to finish. Only a slightly plodding Nothing Ever Lasts Forever let them down.

Badly Drawn Boy is one of those artists I've always loved but never got round to seeing. It was a nice enough set and if there'd been someone on after him, I'd probably have come away with a more positive memory, but it did seem a bit of a flat end to proceedings.