The annual schmoozefest that is In The City seems a little different to me this year. Whilst all of the talks appear to be very staid and back-slappy, there seems to be a real buzz about the live music, more so than usual. Maybe part of this is due to the very creative use of online tools available to the festival, including the perplexing ‘buzz chart’ (which PYT seemed to shoot up following my outburst at the Pay to Play panel), but whatever the reason people seem really up for watching live music.

So where better to start than the first band of ITC, playing for PYT at Common. I’ve been meaning to see Advances in Mathematics for over a year now, and keep managing not to. So what better way to make sure I do see them than book them? They didn’t disappoint. Advances make shimmering post rock, as much Explosions In The Sky as they are I Like Trains, these guys make music that doesn’t try to pass itself off as anything other than good postrock. As has been noted elsewhere, these guys know how to make best use of a decending chord, especially on the tracks where Adam chucks his bass to make it three guitars and a smashed drum kit. The venue was packed, and people seemed to really enjoy the band. Great start to a long three days of music.

Advances in Mathematics @ PYT, Common

Next up were the band who have flirted with the top ten of the afore mentioned buzz chart for the past week, and they bloody well deserve it. I’m not the only person who has been keeping a keen eye on Patterns for a while now, with a lot of fellow promoters, writers and music fans alike being taken aback by them under the previous moniker of Elmo Logic. Since changing their name the band appear to have really stepped things up a gear, with their songs increasingly seeing the electronic elements coming to the fore. These guys could well be the best new band in Manchester, and I do mean that seriously, and if they carry on developing at this rate then they could go far. Whilst watching them I commented to Hannah PYT that the band hold the same feeling as The Search Map back in 2006, but with that bit more direction that will see them go further. A backrow of music industry bods seemed to agree. Set of the day for me.

Patterns @ PYT, Common

Headlining the PYT stage were our indiepop heroes This Many Boyfriends. Due to the intensity of shows around In The City, Common unfortunately emptied. Which was a real shame, as they went through a great set. Young Lovers Go Pop, their new single, is a hit in the making – full of all the upbeat indiepop-cum-punk ethics which they hold dear. Whilst at points the band lose their timing, the songwriting shines through. Chatting to a few Manchester music types after their set, there was a general dismay at the fact there weren’t more people there to see them. Great people, terrific popsongs, lots of potential.

This Many Boyfriends @ PYT, Common

At which point we sat back and watched what was going on around the city on the #inthecity Twitter stream, whilst DJing to the souls who wanted to escape the live music hubub for a while. It seemed that our good friend Christopher Eatough did what he does best, play wonderful songs with true passion. Factory Floor appear to have played one of those sets that apparently the whole city were there to see (although we are reliably informed that it was  slightly more modest crowd) whilst Male Bonding and No Age smashed it. The band we were most annoyed about missing though were Still Corners, whose EP we picked up a couple of years ago at Indietracks. Very good stuff, and they seemed to go down well.

Now we’re gearing up for day 2, and looking forward to having more of a free reign of the city. Expect more updates as the day goes on!