It appears to be a quiet night at Bannerman's as The Fnords take to the stage, not that they let this deter them. As a stripped back Edinburgh three piece garage punk band with a definite surf edge, their sound is reminiscent of trashy garage bands on labels like Pin-Up / Rip-Off Records back in the early '90s (jeez, was it THAT long ago!). However, not wanting to place them into a nice neat box, they exceed this sound by bringing their own charm to the party.

They launch with much attitude into ‘Non-Verbal Adjective Agreement’, from the 2011 LP Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Fnords, followed by more twangy numbers such as instro ‘Taxidancer’,  ‘Do the Trotsky’ and ‘Scumbaby’.   

There are also a few excellent covers in the mix, notably instro-screamer ‘Daddy Love’ (by The Trashwomen), and ‘I Like To Die’ (by The Drags). On a few occasions vocalist Sarah looks over at bassist Caz; "We’ll try and get through this next one..." she laughs nervously, but they always do get through it, and pull it off with ease. They are definitely the most enjoyable female fronted garage band I’ve seen for a long time, and I look forward to seeing them again, hopefully soon.

Tonight’s top billing are Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies, ‘Kitchencore from Liverpool’. Bentham turns out to be fascinating character. He is the maverick behind the most excellent Free Rock & Roll DIY collective in Liverpool. Go check out their Facebook page for more info.

The crowd seem to have disappeared briefly following Carbona Not Glue (one of the longest running Ramones tribute acts in the world), possibly to get more beer after much pogo-ing, but they are soon back for some Dinner Ladies action.

Bentham certainly doesn’t lack imagination and creativity with songs like the garage-y ‘Marcel Duchamp’ and the childlike magic of ‘Hey Yuri’. Catchy ‘Do The Don’t’ and the swaying staccato-ness of ‘You Gotta Work’. Bentham talks about his hometown in-between songs with equal helpings of humor and poignancy.  ‘Dead's Not Punk’ is a fast drive through the mishaps of drug use; "dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, DEEEEEEAD!!!". They have no problem getting the crowd to participate in some post-Ramones pogoing.
It’s tricky to define the sound of Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies, as they are smart and quite unique. For all intents and purposes they are Poppy Punk Rock & Roll at it’s finest, and those Dinner Ladies certainly know how to use their utensils. Make no mistake, they are punk in the truest DIY sense of the word. Kitchen-tastic!

Weather-wise Sunday was probably the best day of the whole length of Incubate, a fitting high to end a great week on. We started the day off completely hidden from the sunshine though as Finland's Speedtrap were our first act of choice. Having to compete with a food festival on the doorstep of Hall Of Fame possibly lessened the crowd they drew but the spirit of Eighties speed thrash metal is I very safe hands with these lads so if that's your cup of tea then you should see them at the first opportunity that presents itself.

One hotdog and a stroll southwards later we were in the more sedate company of Surfer Blood at the Muzentuin. A band clearly happy to be playing for anybody anywhere they'd a great rapport with the crowd and John Paul Pitts hopped of the stage for a walk amongst them at one point. Surfy, indie and cheery - perfect for the outdoor experience. A short walk back into the centre meant we caught the tail end of No Joy's punchy set in Extase. The band suffered the same rather muddy vocals that Tess Parks had earlier in the week but, given their overall sound, this was less of an issue and the crowd were jumping around at the front of the stage quite the thing so it obviously wasn't spoiling the overall enjoyment being had. 

The south now held us in its grip for the next few acts. It's about 20 years since I last saw Robin Proper-Sheppard play so my knowledge of Sophia's output is basically non-existent but they have some solidly rocky tunes (enhanced to great effect at one point by extra backing vocalists & drummer) and 'Darkness (Another Shade In Your Black)' contains potent emotion. Great Lake Swimmers were holding the fort in Muzentuin when we exited the Concertzaal and they went over well despite the audience not being much up for a singalong. 'Your Rocky Spine' and 'Expecting You' provided two of the highlights of an engaging show and they even found time to big up their touring partner Meg Baird, whose show we were unable to make.

Taking the short walk back into the Concertzaal we settled in for another of the festival's big bands - Giant Sand. Oddly only on stage for an hour there was no messing about as Howe Gelb had barely managed to strap on his guitar when they started into 'House In Order' from new album Heartbreak Pass. With the constant sound of cicadas underlying the set this went on to be 60 minutes of philosophy, jokes, anecdotes and fantastic music including 'Tumble & Tear', 'Texting Feist' and a cover of Leonard Cohen's '1000 Kisses Deep'. Entertaining on many levels this was a band in peak form and Gelb should maybe wait just a bit longer before retiring the format. Good too to see himself and a few band members making it along for a while to the festival afterparty.

 Outside again for one last show on the grass, this time from Neneh Cherry & Rocket Number Nine. New song 'Bullshit' was getting an airing when we arrived (grabbing a coffee from The Village's shed on the way) and despite a comment against nostalgia 'Woman' and 'Man Child' followed it after some tech issues were overcome. Making our way up for the closing show at Midi we just had time to catch a couple of Willard Grant Conspiracy songs in the atmospheric setting of the Pauluskerk. Willard seems to be a man as concerned about the news as anyone but he was equally involved in the everyday to point out the oddly doubting timeline in the church's wall that has a question mark around where it's guessed that Christ will return. Another one of those shows it would have been nice to have had the time to see the whole of.  

Wire were this year's closing act & as their a favourite that I've only managed to see once previously it made sense to watch them here. Unfortunately the onstage volume lead initially to one of the few errors in the whole week as a guitar amp managed to fall from its perch and there were various buzzings causing consternation on stage. Once those were fixed however things proceeded smoothly although with indistinct vocals at times. The band seemed a bit looser last year up the road in Utrecht however and that was possibly also why the hall of Midi wasn't packed to the gunnels as I'd expected it would be - too soon for some to see them again. The festival did though close on a very upbeat musical note for some of us though as Euro/Ethiopian jazz/rock/noise outfit uKanDanZ still had half an hour to play at Dudok. They managed two encores as well and looked like they'd have happily played all night as they were having as much fun as the wildly dancing crowd. In Asnake Guebreyes they are blessed with a singer in possession of all the charisma and showmanship of the classic soul singers whilst the band pound and blow away with gusto making for a fantastic if maybe unorthodox party band.

A great week all in then and one from which a lot of other festivals can learn. Thanks to Joost van Abeelen for initially getting in touch about MG covering the event, Steph Byrnes for assistance during it and most importantly Peter & Els for being such great hosts.

Further festival photographs of varying quality can be viewed here. 

After convincing ourselves that summer had all but left us for another year, today’s weather had done its best to lead us to believe otherwise. What better way to end this lovely day with one of Wales’ finest songstresses, currently touring with the equally wonderful H. Hawkline and we catch up with them as they roll into Newcastle.

Having unfortunately missed the incomparable Rhodri Davies, Gwenno takes to the stage alone bathed in blue lights. She launches into a beautiful set filled with exquisite electronic beats, as she casts the odd striking look out toward the bedazzled crowd. We’re all firmly placed under Gwenno’s spell as she serenades us with her sweet Welsh tones.

She brings her wonderful record Y Dydd Olaf alive tonight, regaling us with tales of media manipulation set to the most intriguing of sci-fi influenced backdrop. Despite the record being based on a 1970s book, it’s incredible how it still holds such relevance right now. Her conversations with the crowd that fill any gaps are insightful, as she talks of the now defunct revolving dance floor of the boat on the Tyne.

Yet the sounds that this lady creates are the stars of the show, despite the sombre lyrics to tracks like Patriarchaeth shine through with its bouncy synths covering up the misery that is being conveyed. As the twinkling beats ring out we cannot help but swoon over the wonderful atmosphere that Gwenno effortlessly creates.

Whilst it may only be a short set we’re still completely in awe of Gwenno and the sheer beauty of her music, and as our other commitments call we have to forego the equally endearing and exciting H. Hawkline. However, we’re not sure if he could top Gwenno’s exceptional performance.

Saturday and Sunday at Incubate sees the festival expand to include a number of further venues playing host to free gigs. Of these the first to be visited was the Sounds record store, where Subbacultcha had lined up a good international bill. Torii prove to be both a very jangly prospect and one not afraid to let the space for a good solo go to waste. Melbourne's Terrible Truths were the last of the acts we caught here and their angular, B52s-like set was a hit with the small crowd and boded well for their main show later in the day. Next up came some immense instrumental rock from Groningen's North To The Night in the front window of Kim's Kroeg. These guys have an epic sound which would easily have worked well in the likes of Midi or Dudok so their half hour set was too short by half. Further time was available but maybe they had an appointment to keep elsewhere. Finally the small downstairs bar of Cafe Babbus hosted Bonne Aparte with their short and intense yet melodic songs. From their tight playing you'd never know they last played live in 2010.

With the weather now dry it was safe to have a look at what the outdoor stage at the Muzentuin had to offer. Basking in late afternoon sunshine and taking in the sunshiny rock of Cristobal And The Sea was the musical option if you weren't just after a coffee and a vegan burger. The crowd were well entertained by the personable group although whether the bass player would see midnight given his J&B consumption (and whether he should have advertised the flautist's newly single status) was debateable.

Another new venue got a short visit next as Jad Fair and Norman Blake were to play in Factorium (which could do with investing in plastic glasses for use in the auditorium). Unfortunately Blake's flight was cancelled so Fair was unleashed alone like a precocious child left to his own devices. The grounding his cohort would hopefully have brought was sorely missed so an early exit was made.

The sounds of Malian Tuaregs was next on the list, represented at Midi by Terakraft. Much as they set large numbers of the audience bouncing though there was a noticeable linearity to their sound with few hooks to make any one song stay long in the mind. Thoroughly nice blokes though.

Jaako Eino Kalevi was also laying out danceable moments back in Factorium. Augmented by a live drummer the icier elements of his recorded work were all but gone, inspiring a small crowd to leave their seats and take to the top of the stairs at the rear of the hall so as to be able to fully physically express how much the music was moving them. 

Blank Realm had just a couple of tracks left to play when we arrived after the short walk back in to see the at Cul De Sac. They were looking tired but happy so it had obviously been an energetic show, not least for the fact that it seems to involve a fair bit of instrument swapping (as well as the use of a keyboard guitar which isn't exactly a common sight these days). 'Dream Date' went over well at this time and they'd obviously been just that for those that had been there the whole time.

The habitual trip to Paradox finished off tonight and it must have enjoyed one of its largest crowds of the week as there was only a small amount of room at the side of the stage in which to squeeze into for the final parts of Fire!'s propulsive set. Appearing here in their original trio form their danceable avant-garde jazz (with a foray into nuts-in-a-vice concentration for some dial turning noise at one point) from the prolific Mats Gustaffson and his cohorts (last seen as part of The Thing a couple of years ago) this was a sweat-drenched performance of improvised and yet catchy music delivered at a deft pace & thundering volume and one of the best shows of the week.