Portuguese powerhouse Sunflare erupt at Le Guess Who

Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles. And when you think there can be no more, several more appear. Utrecht is a town set up for cycling. If you don't like bikes, you'll find getting around town needlessly difficult. Walking seems a feasible option at first, but it really isn't. There are a few cycle hire companies near the station, so be sure to get a bike early on. By the middle of the third day of walking around, I wished I had.

Today's venue is Acu, on the Voorstraat. It's a little place with a small bar out front, and a little room with a stage out back. As a former squatted building, the place has a lot more personality than the other places seen so far. There are coat hooks on the wall, rather than a cloak room. The sound is… not so hot. But this is the best place to get up close and personal with bands.

So when Chain & The Gang appear on the bill, in a place this small, there is only one place to be. They've got Ian Svenvonius leading their line, an old school showman from the Make Up leading the line, and they testify with vigour, getting the crowd going with call and response routines that Svenvonius can probably recite in his sleep. Even when a bass cabinet fails, he's quick enough to work it into a little skit about trusting people and making things work. Katie Alice Greer is the second vocalist, and bobs around the stage gaily. Together they are amplified and electric, Katie energizing Ian, and in tandem they make a great team in getting the crowd going. Up to a point that is. Even with an experienced ringmaster and an energetic foil, the crowd here never really loses control. There's a little bit of movement at the front, and the band get a good reception, but something is always held back. With a band who have the potential to really tear a place apart, that's a shame.

If only there was something held back by the next band, Sunflare. They are a Portuguese powerhouse of a three piece, playing noise rock jams that smear the audience against the wall. They are brutal, titanic in the depth of their thudding drum-led attack. But no-one can take it for a full set. The crowd drifts away, and I follow them. Later there is a big club night at Tivoli Oudegracht, but the music seems directly transplanted from the end of the 90's, and the overall experience feels weirdly sterile. I trudge back.

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