NIZLOPI may be best known for their ditty JCB, but the two neo-folksters sounded anything but industrial as they started their set acoustically - in the middle of the whooping crowd.

Bringing the fans closer to the music was something Luke Concannon and John Parker obviously thought was a winner, as they returned to the floor to repeat the exercise later in the gig.

With the faithful holding their mobile phones aloft just as fag lighters were brandished in the good old prog-rock days, and the band's Gremlin mascot Henri swaying in the background, it seemed both mellow and faintly eccentric.

However, Concannon's plaintive vocals and the lack of amps meant some of the acoustic numbers lost impact, particularly as a bunch slouching at the back spent much of the time gossiping noisily over their Grolsch rather than grooving. Plonkers.

Then again, there were a few folk at the gig who weren't properly housetrained - I overheard more than one punter remark on the 'recent' revamp (completed last September) since they'd last visited.

The fans needed no encouragement to join in the likes of Freedom and Girls, and by the time the gig ended - predictably - with JCB, the Leamington lads were almost being mobbed.

Despite Concannon's tendency towards touchy-feely preachiness, the duo's cheery demeanour, undisputed talent (especially Parker's human beatboxery and frenetic double bass) and engagement with both each other and the crowd gave this the good vibery of a small festival.

When - not if - they return, do yourself a favour and grab a ticket.

2:45pm Tuesday 6th May 2008

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