The Tote is having a party... kind of. It’s actually more like a months worth of gigs to celebrate their 30th birthday as a venue. The lineup for this particular event was a quieter one with acoustic sets by Ben Salter, Tendrils and Gareth Liddiard.

Ben Salter opened up proceedings playing to a mostly empty band room. Donning only an acoustic guitar he rushed through a set of typical folky love songs.

While he shows a great sense of being while playing his songs, his stage presence between songs leaves a lot to be desired. With an awkward excerpt from Madison Avenue’s "Don’t Call Me Baby" filling the void several times while he tuned up his guitar. A lovely cover of The Velvet Underground’s "I’m Set Free" was perhaps the most enjoyable part of an otherwise forgettable set and when he started to quote lyrics from "From Paris To Berlin" I had to cut my losses and head into the front bar for the remainder of his set. Disappointing really considering the enjoyment I would normally get from him when backed by The Gin Club.

Tendrils on the other hand were something else. They had a slight ‘I don’t give a fuck’ approach to their set but somehow managed to pull of something entirely enthralling and utterly entertaining. The two members, Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen, playing complimented each other and they created bluesy musical landscapes that instead of singing over they haphazardly grumbled through their lyrics.

Everything about their set should have made me not enjoy it but I found myself wanting more the longer it went on. However, they had to eventually make room for the evening’s headliner in Gareth Liddiard.

It was a little ironic to see Gareth Liddiard back on the stage at The Tote given that he, playing in The Drones, farewelled the iconic venue at their ‘last drinks’ celebration early last year. But now, almost two years later is seems only fitting for him to be playing there again to celebrate its 30th birthday.

No stranger to a Gareth Liddiard solo show it didn’t surprise me at all when instead of launching into his first number he took a few moments to have a chat to the crowd about Steve Jobs’ death and how and why he died at the perfect point in time. That aside, Liddiard opened musical proceedings with "Blondin Makes An Omelette" from his solo output Strange Tourist. Effortlessly taking in the crowd with his ability to tell a vivid story while simultaneously picking at his guitar.

A large part of the enjoyment of a Liddiard show comes from his banter and tonight was no exception. Topics of conversation ranged from taking acid at ATP and talking to the SAS while coming down from it, his spouses cooking, how everyone is going to die and that being 22 is the age to be as you’ve ‘still got 3 good years in you’. Nothing was taboo it seemed as at one point he spoke about how his grandmother was ‘occupied’ by allies during the war, and when Liddiard had run out of topics to talk about he asked for some heckles so that he could continue.

Playing long past his allotted hour timeslot Liddiard played a set that would please any fan. Combining all the best moments from his solo album as well as a select few Drones songs ("Shark Fin Blues", "I Don’t Ever Want To Change" and
"Jezebel" to name a few) it was hard not to be satisfied. Not only that though, Liddiard played with a passion only he can achieve. At times he would become so at one with the music he was playing that he would almost fall of his stool. There was so much emotion in his lyrics that you couldn’t help but paint pictures in your mind as the songs progressed.

Liddiard is arguably one of the nations greatest songwriters and storytellers and tonight really cemented that fact. Not only that though he is just an honest bloke playing what appeared to be quite an emotional set to a sold out crowd in the venue that helped launch his (in The Drones) career.