Linda Guilala were on stage at last, 30 minutes late. They had found a keyboard in the backroom and seemed to be in working condition. At that moment I don’t think no one knew who the owner was. Iván and Eva were still stressed after spending the last hours on the motorway trying to be on time at the festival grounds. I wonder if it was their first time playing in UK, I think so, or did Juniper Moon ever played there? Anyways, we were there, first row again. Most people were at the chapel at this time, already making a queue worthy of a strike, waiting to see Betty and the Werewolves. I had seen them on Thursday and decided to skip them this time. Their poppy songs are fantastic, Paper Thin may be one of my top five singles this year, but I can’t handle their punky side. And then I couldn’t miss Linda Guilala, my long time friends, of long conversations about science fiction, the Japanese fans, indiepop, Aerolíneas Federales and how great Vigo is.

They played a nice set playing the songs from their debut album “Bucles Infinitos”, with the highlights “Nadie Se Dará Cuenta”, “Saber Perder”, “Te he Cambiado”, and more. The strong keyboard melodies of Eva’s, Iván’s poppy guitar hooks, succeeded in England. I was a bit worried that the crowd was going to be a bit alienated with Linda Guilala’s Spanish lyrics, as it usually happens in the USA, but that wasn’t the case. The crowd embraced it, and everyone was bopping their heads. It was then the time for their last song. They had prepared something special for everyone, they were becoming a 4 piece just for this final effort. Both Adria and Paulita from Papa Topo sneaked behind the metal fences that separated the wild crowd and the bands, and joined Linda Guilala. Iván stayed loyal to his guitar, Eva switched to a bass guitar, Adria picked up the Roland keyboard, and Paulita, well, she was going to give us backing vocals, the sweetest ones. They delivered a fabulous version of “Torremolinos”.

Now, Indietracks organizers, next year you have to book Papa Topo, and hopefully Iván and Eva can join for a 4-piece “Oso Panda”. It’s a very smart idea.

The gig was over, and what do people do when a gig is over? They head to the bar. And so we did. We stocked ourselves with beer, asked for glasses with ice and headed to the chapel. Betty and the Werewolves were almost done and in 30 minutes The Parallelograms were on. We didn’t want to miss them, and we assumed this one was going to be packed. So we better be early! The Parallelograms had been added to the bill just some days before after some band decided not to play. I don’t remember who it was. It all came into place. The Parallelograms hadn’t split but Markie had moved to New Zealand. Luckily for all of us, he decided to have some vacations in UK and come to Indietracks. Smart move! What a shame though, their drummer couldn’t play Indietracks, but who came to the rescue? Claire from Slow Down Tallahassee! She came up and filled in just fine on the drums. Later I would ask her, how did she learn the songs so fast? I was going to learn she dates The Parallelograms drummer, and she knows the songs by heart!

Upon entering the chapel, we could see that not many left the small venue after Betty and the Werewolves. People were going to save their precious spots, especially those on the front rows of seats. I found a space in the middle. Not so close, not so far. And there we waited with our beer with ice cubes for 20 minutes. Quietly The Parallelograms walked in to the stage: Meriel, Markie, Toniee, and stand-up drummer Claire. First thing that came to my mind is that Meriel has the nicest dresses in indiepop and that I longed for Markie’s Hello Kitty guitar that I had seen on photos. They shyly said hi to the crowd. They were the sweetest. You could see how much they were enjoying themselves, you could tell that the band means a lot to them, but above everything else, they are very good friends and they were here to just have fun. No ambitious and pretentious poses, just play some great pop! And so they did, one by one, all their songs, all of them proper indiepop hits. And I was enjoying all of this like a child, singing along to “1,2,3 Go!” and to “Making Faces”, and the proud moment of listening “Dream on Daisy”, the song they let me release on 7″ as a single! It was perfect. After every song, they would all jump at the same time, being their secret code that the song was over. Making me blush twice, dedicating me songs. The gig must have lasted 10 minutes or 30 or an hour for what I care, it was just perfect, and it could have continued for 24 more hours and it would have been perfect. It was the moment when going to Indietracks became a the right decision. Every penny spent on traveling there and paying for hostels, eating tofu curry and drinking warm beer, was worth.The Parallelograms were mighty, on a league of their own. I remember my Spanish friends standing up feeling groggy after the gig. It was a explosion of proper indiepopness!

Elisabeth trying out Markie’s guitar. Alex getting his Parallelograms 7″ signed. Me, taking photos with the band. Andrew from The Felt Tips joining up for a chat. Jennifer telling him that she had already seen the artwork of The Felt Tips that I was supposed to have kept secret. Me saying that The Felt Tips album was the best album of the year. Andrew don’t believing me. These are the memories after The Parellelograms gig. It all feels blurry. There was too much joy. I really hope this is not their last gig ever. Markie, here’s an advice, please take more vacations to UK!

We had 40 minutes in between to the next life-affirming gig, The Orchids were on the main stage. I went to the merch stall to check out at last what had happened to my records. Horror. They were nowhere to be found on the tables. Trevor wasn’t there anymore. Someone was boycotting the sales or someone thought that it was dangerous for people’s health to listen the records I had released. Or something else. My USPS Priority flat box was sitting lonely on the grass behind the merch tables. Full of records, but not full of life. But as you all know, you can always count with John Jervis to save the day. We moved all the flyers, moved some records by some questionable bands, and made some space for our records, just next to John’s WIAWYA stuff. And to tell the truth, he is a way better seller than me. He made more money in 2 days that Cloudberry makes in a week! John, don’t you want to run this label too?

6:40 pm now. The first chords or “Apologies” are chiming. I’m on the front row, and Marianthi has already started to dance. The Orchids are next!

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Listen
The Parallelograms – Dream on Daisy