In future we’re going to record all our songs through the dictaphone.

My Attorney - Friday 6th August 2010, The Cumberland Arms, supporting Les Cox (Sportifs), Pale Man Made, Johnny Valentine & Girls Girls Girls.

Blue Screem of Death - Friday 13th August 2010, London, supporting Girls Girls Girls & The Incisors.

Future Loss - Friday 27th August, Lavery’s Bunker, Belfast supporting Shin Jin Rui & indie club night.

After things fell off the roof of my car, and we chased VW vans with blacked-out windows on the M5, it was only a matter of time before Ryan H. Fleming was recruited into Blue Screem, and made to play drums on record after three minutes. The session was conducted at Ginger Music Company in Pelaw - the place where I completed my Logic exams. I was playing through a reconditioned vintage Ampeg fan-driven amp, Luke similarly was playing through the studio owner’s own vintage Marshall valve rig. It marked the start of my ambitions to give BSOD a proper recording set up in terms of where the mics go, rather than putting them all in the bass drum as we’ve done in the past. This allows the music to be heard properly. In the same session we did “Your Cock’s Too Big” and the new composition “I Dun A Murrderr, Gwannie”.

Education were a hot sweat of noise, deafening the audience. Their new drummer brought urgency to their music that lifted all of the songs immeasurably, and Paul Emmett’s vocals were for once audible; revealing odd mantra-like lyrics and playing the ultimate art school foil to the bludgeoning guitar and bass.

Future Loss were all about the process. Gone was the momentous event of the debut gig, replaced with the sturdy reassuring feeling of being on a journey forwards now. The first half of the set was nervous, with This Is A Crash sounding particularly ropey. But after the audience was invited to stand closer to the front of the stage, something primal took over. A gritty little pearl of adrenalin and fury had to be coaxed out of the last two songs, and through a combination of well-rehearsed structures and free form thrash outs, we got there. There is freedom in walking that tightrope of control.

Brian and I are keen to start pushing the envelope now; it’s reassuring to know we can play the noise card with some assurance now. The next step is counting, complexity and Chronicity. Brian visits in August to begin writing the second set of songs that will take us in this direction, ahead of our show in Belfast.

And as a side note: our rehearsal the night before the show was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had with music ever. Four guys in a room, grinding out this racket, everyone locked in to this shared experience, no longer having to struggle to remember what happens next in the songs. James in particular was much more animated and aggressive in his playing. It was glorious; after a session like that the gig was purely a bonus.

“Welcome to the rehearsal,” said Chronicity front man Pete Dale as the band launched into their set. It was ragged at first, but grew with that intensity they have made their own. A large part of this was fueled by the new material; an exciting sign that the band is creatively active once more.

The night somehow managed to break even, by £3. An outstanding success considering the line up issues and lack of proper promotion. The My Attorney show in August will hopefully be less precarious during the run up.

ATP was the usual surreal mixture of holiday atmosphere, life-changing musical experiences, and impromptu meetings with one’s artistic heroes. I had only been watching bands for half an hour before engaging Nigel Godrich in stilted conversation.

Wooden Ships deployed a hypnotic and necessary performance after underwhelming acts such as Broken Social Scene and Mission of Burma. Later, dancing and getting the driving out of the system.

Saturday was sunshine, beaches and breakfasts on the main street, followed by the most compelling set I’ve ever seen by Boris. Their mixture of Guitar Hero cut scenes and 80’s hair metal references had been lost in translation, and then extrapolated to the nth degree. Their performance was dramatic, inspiring and physically overwhelming.

Pavement’s performance was all about the beer, chips and the audience. They band was just the MacGuffin to get us all there, in the state we were in.

By Sunday, The Fall appeared to act as examples of how far you can go with a little courage and not much else besides.

Their third encore happened after almost everyone had left the main stage; the house lights were on and the tannoy music was playing, and then… suddenly Smith was back on stage for a frenetic Sparta FC. That’s the first mosh pit I’ve been in for years..

Along the way were DJ sets by Stuart Braithwaite, free pints from Stuart Braithwaite, hugs from Bob Nastanovich and cameos from most of the Newcastle music scene. And the most far out adventures amongst the flower beds and tidal waves of Butlins. To be recommended.