Austin – Consisting of Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey, Summer Camp is one of the most literal bands I’ve ever seen. The London duo recently got a lot of Internet buzz with a string of singles. The songs heavily rely on synthesizers and Elizabeth’s voice to create carefree innocent summer sounds, in turn bringing up pleasant nostalgic memories that you may have had from your childhood.
Unfortunately for Summer Camp, it wasn’t summer, and it wasn’t camp. South By Southwest people are a finicky bunch, a group that will show disinterest quickly if things don’t go right. Taking the stage a bit after nine, Summer Camp started playing their set to a slideshow backdrop. The slideshow consisted of a bunch of 70s pictures of people having summer fun, to further hammer down the bands mission statement. Elizabeth has an exceptional voice and it easily fills a room but it became clear that the band still has to work on their stage arrangements, as both band members elected to go with the classic stand still and sing/play instrument move. Maybe that was the plan. I think this might have all worked – Summer Camp has good songs and Elizabeth has a great voice, however, problems with their equipment started popping up during the set, causing some stop/starts that immediately had the crowd wondering if it was in their best interest to bail and move to the next showcase. Crowd chatter soon louden and I don’t think the band ever got back on track, creating a rather disjointed show.
It’s a shame that electronic problems plagued Summer Camp’s showcase on Wednesday night, but there was definitely enough shown to warrant a revisiting this band should they tour stateside. Make sure you check out their single “I Want You”, it’s quite good.