(words and pictures by BusinessKeith, our latest signing)

This should be a doddle.  Bristol gigs, for disorganised Cardiffians at the mercy of public transport or the occasional lift, can be problematic;  unless you fancy a moonlit sprint to Temple Meads and missing half the headline set, you’re hanging around for the mystery 1.30am train.  Not so tonight!  Not only is it a Saturday, with an early curfew, but my Pastels-loving chum is driving, so we’ll be there in plenty of time for the supports and still back in Cardiff for a pint.  Right?

 Wrong.  As we leave a nice Italian restaurant at 8.00, with yours truly as the noble non-driver having had no option but to see off most of a nice bottle of red wine, my promise to review the gig for TJC already looks in tatters.  I won’t be asked back.  This means that openers The Kesey Experiment have long since packed up, and we catch just a few songs from polite-but-dull shoegazers The Fauns before they follow suit.  Sorry, The Fauns.  Hic.

 For someone who ventures outside of his bohemian Glasgow idyll seemingly once every six years or so, Stephen Pastel seems remarkably relaxed as he surveys the smallish but attentive Thekla crowd.  A wry smile as he acknowledges the “grunge revival” of Mascis and co which splits the Bristolian loyalties tonight, a nod to his colleagues and the ensemble take the first faltering steps into ‘Charlie’s Theme’ from 2002’s soundtrack to The Last Great Wilderness.

 Their reason for being here, the new Two Sunsets collaboration with Tokyo kindred spirits Tenniscoats, sees a typically well-travelled bunch of Scottish indie alumni augmented by vocalist Saya’s sunny melodies and partner Ueno’s crisp lead guitar.  Ueno’s more fluid,. psychedelic style balances nicely with the careful Velvets/Galaxie 500 moves of the rest of the band, and stops a set understandably heavy on Two Sunsets material from ever sagging.  Unlike, say, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, whose naivety and almost apologetic, fumbling style I’ve found a bit wearing in larger doses, Tenniscoats nail the psych-pop colour of Cornelius with easy confidence while remaining pleasingly ragged around the edges.

 You’d be forgiven for expecting such a one-off gathering, from a band not given to slick radio-friendliness, to be forever in danger of unravelling completely, but as they move through the poppier likes of single ‘Vivid Youth’ and the gorgeous, glowing Mary Chain cover ‘About You’ with easy charm and sly smiles, any trace of nervousness evaporates.  Stephen even enjoys a bit of rock ‘n’ roll interaction with the soundman, if only to announce that he’s going to move his mic stand out of the spotlight as he worries it’ll make him look “a bit Jon Bon Jovi”.

 It’s fair to say that there are those here tonight who yearn for Pastels of yore – the C86 years, to be precise – but c’mon, that was never going to happen.  They moved on years back, and in any case I’ve always found that the questing spirit of their 90s albums suited them better.  The effortless summertime jangle of album highlight ‘Sodane’ even inspires a the odd fey shuffle in the front rows, and it’s a sign of how well the Tenniscoats material integrates that long-ago classics like ‘Thru’ Your Heart’ and cheer-inducing set closer ‘Baby Honey’  don’t seem incongruous.

 They return momentarily for a blissful amble through Illumination stand-out ‘The Viaduct’.  We swoon, and suddenly they’re gone again, leaving us only with a tragically over-ambitious purchase of a small Pastels tee and resultant buyer’s remorse.  See you at ATP in December Stephen, and after that, well, just stay in touch…