There could possibly be no better way to spend a sweltering summer Sunday than eating free ice-cream and listening to great music in a park in South London.

It wasn’t all idyllic though. The annoyingly punctuated, acoustic, emo-lite Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. didn’t fail to underwhelm while Slow Club, although nowhere near as annoying, were just a little too lightweight and uninspiring. The New York Fund, on the other hand, produced an excellent set of British-grown Americana.

It’s a dicey business, paying your money to see The Lemonheads live. Evan Dando is so notoriously unpredictable that most are disappointed if he doesn’t screw up or do something random. The band were as sloppily endearing as anyone could have asked for and the added treat was a performance of It’s A Shame About Ray from start to finish.

The Only Ones’ John Perry joined Dando for a shambolic but still brilliant version of ‘The Outdoor Type’ and remained for the rest of a great set. Dando still seems permanently dazed, at one point saying “it’s great to be back here in… where the fuck are we?” and then later forgetting the bass player’s name, but nobody on Clapham Common seemed fazed. Except, possibly the MC when faced with a crowd baying for more.

Ash had the unenviable task of following this but the Northern Irish trio were on form, Tim Wheeler still possessing the schoolboy charm that attracted hordes to the band in the 90s. Wisely sticking to the hits, their sunny power pop proved ideally suited to the occasion. Apart from the Eastern European toe wrestling referee, the side attractions were distinctly sub-par. All the same, the evening ended on a distinct high; just the right combination of sun, music and ice-cream. Actually, maybe too much ice-cream.

Mark Grassick