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To the Lakeside Theatre! …on Bank Holiday Monday evening for a bit of music, some bohemian hipster behaviour and booze.

Blimey.

Not an anti-Jubilee event, but after all the bunting action during the day, a Lakeside gig by NY cool kid Jeffrey Lewis was the antithesis for Gary bloody Barlow and chums outside Buckingham Palace.

But it wasn’t all about NY hipsters at the Lakeside; the SU bar already has enough Shoreditch meets Sixth Avenue tight trouser action that is a little too close for comfort.

Nope, the main draw on Monday evening was back with the hyperlocal action and local Wivenhoe chap Lou Terry as the support act. Fresh from the Wivenhoe May Fair Main Stage (if anyone is ever fresh from the Wivenhoe May Fair Main Stage…) and straight into the solo spotlight of the intimate Lakeside surrounds.

Some acts would have buckled and gone back to the day job.

No so with Lou.

This was a very astute move by the Lakeside in putting on a hyperlocal hero alongside the NY hipster. Dragging the nation away from Gary bloody Barlow on Bank Holiday Monday to see a geek sing songs about LSD and cartoons could have backfired.

Instead the Lakeside was almost sold out.

I like to think that this is the Lou Terry effect. The young man about town comes not only with some reputation, but also a growing fan base. If you want bums on seats when planning your Bar Mitzvah, best book Lou Terry.

What could quite easily have been a break-even evening for the Lakeside soon became a scramble for seats. With many bands around Sunny Colch having their own tribe or following, mixing the hyperlocal on the undercard should be the way ahead on campus.

But could the Boy / Man walk it like his followers talk it?

First off, let’s throw away all those “young chap making his way…” clichés; Lou Terry can hold his own in any professional environment, more so than some of the mature acts around town.

A slight shake of the wrists during the Over my Dead Body set opener - starting your solo gig with a song about war is never going to be an easy option. A brave move, and soon the Boy / Man [yeah, yeah...] voice was maturing in front of us.

Backstabber remains a favourite for the fans. With some of the characters referenced in the song about youthful love and jealousy *possibly* in the audience, it was a slightly tense moment. Teenage love doesn’t get any easier as you get older, Daddio. Thankfully the Backstabber cast and crew have now all made up, and so all is well in the tale of lost love. Mighty fine muse for a spot of personal passion though.

Whatever Happened to the Artic Monkeys saw the Boy / Man socking it to The Man. You know you are officially entering Val Doonican territory when the cool kids of today are dissing the Artic Monkeys for being past it.

Half an hour after those first few nervous shakes and the set closer of Confidence demonstrated a beautiful irony that somehow summed up the set. Here was a song delicately putting across the point that the Boy / Man lacks a little self-confidence. But it was booming out, reaching the highs and lows and leaving the Lakeside audience as the ones filled with self-doubt, such was the power of the performance.

And so that was the support, what next?

Bugger off back to base?

Some folks did, such was the pull of coming out to see Lou Terry, and Lou Terry alone. But when the alternative is Gary bloody Barlow then it’s probably best to hang around fro the NY hipster. How was the geek with his songs about LSD and cartoons?

Pah.

Yer man from NYC played second fiddle to Lou Terry around these hyperlocal parts. But he was particularly impressive…

More of the same please Lakeside: more experimentation with hyperlocal and headline acts, more alternatives to the mainstream, and more Lou Terry.