The Nightingales at Swn 2011
The Nightingales are one of a string of recently reformed bands; they originally formed in 1979 and apart from The Fall apparently played the most sessions for John Peel. Back in the day Post-Punk was seen as a pretty experimental scene but as with most genres it's unfortunately become watered down into something far more commercially viable or perhaps we've just become used to more experimental sounds as today The Nightingales sound dated and dad-rockish, retaining their old sound but not injecting anything new and their uninspiring stage presence does nothing to keep the crowd interested, there is minimal interaction with those gathered below apart from their front man telling the crowd to "shut the fuck up" as they talk amongst themselves.
Their sound varies between indie-rock, pop and rock and roll for the most part, mildly catchy, jaunty but not memorable tunes, played well but not with any oomph or excitement and after a while the songs start to blend together. It's a pretty lacklustre atmosphere in the big venue and the smallish crowd gathered at the start gradually increases as they play, in preparation for The Fall, but even by the end of their set only a few people can be seen moving to the music, most just stand there, waiting for them to finish.