I think this was a first for me: an all-day festival in a skatepark underneath a motorway in Manchester. Meltchester promised a day of psych rock and garage bands, which is very much something I was interested in experiencing. There were a couple of changes to the lineup on the day, and I’d only seen 2 of the 8 bands previously, so I was keen to see what, to me, were lots of new sounds.

As incongruous as the venue sounded, it actually worked far better than I was expecting. The contour of the skatepark gave various vantage points, there was a good bar and street food, and I didn’t particularly notice any traffic noise from the motorway overhead! The bands themselves brought the noise, most of them coming from the post-punk/garage side of things, which added a coherence to the proceedings.

Divorce Finance

Wax Head

Divorce Finance kicked things off brilliantly. I always feel for the first band taking the stage on these sorts of days, but they threw themselves into it with fabulous gusto and a rifftastic take on rockabilly/country that I definitely need to experience again. They are Leeds-based, so I’ll definitely be keeping my eye open for them playing locally. Dead Stilettos had a swaggering front person, a saxophone and a Stooges vibe. I’m two bands in and having a fabulous time, thinking that I’ve already got my money's worth and really looking forward to whatever was coming next.

Canadian outfit Gloin upped the heaviness with some serious grunge gothic noise that I could really get behind before Wax Head took over. These were one of my absolute favourites for the day, and apparently they only got the call the night before due to one of the original bands being unable to make it. What a great substitution. The band was led by a drummer who is one of the most watchable, energetic front people you could wish to see. Sporting a fabulous Screaming Eagles Marching Band T-shirt, he drove a furious rhythm, generating the first bit of crowd surfing, including from the band’s own bass player. Brilliant sweaty fun – go and see this band! Slap Rash continued in a similar vein with another drummer-fronted band, this time a two-piece who created a joyous noise that defied the fact that the band was only two people. In contrast, KEG crammed 7 people onto the tiny stage, including a trombonist, which is not something you often see. They provided a shift from the early bands with an off-kilter groove and appeared to be a band who very much bring the fun to their performances.

New Zealand band Earth Tongue switched things again, and if I thought that Slap Rash could produce some noise with a two-piece, then I doff my cap to Earth Tongue. The heads in the crowd were nodding in unison to the incredible, sludgy, fuzzy but catchy mix of Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age.

Dead Stilettos

Snapped Ankles

Earth Tongue

Headliners Snapped Ankles (surely the best name for a band playing in a skateboard park!) are, in my view, one of the great live bands in Britain at the moment. Like an environmental Slipknot, they take the stage in homemade masks with beaming lights attached as they crank up a totally unique synth-driving rhythm that has everyone moving. The banner that they unveil says Hard Times, Furious Dancing, and they certainly delivered on that.

One of the great things about days like these is that it gives you real exposure to a collection of bands you might not otherwise see. This was my first visit to Meltchester; it was huge fun, and I’ll definitely be back next year and will be keeping my eye out for a number of these bands.