You’ve got to hand it to MUM, they certainly know how to celebrate a birthday in style. In a climate where live music venues are shutting down or threatening to do so, MUM has reached its third anniversary and shows no signs of flagging.

To do justice to this milestone, the organisers wrangled so many bands that the World Bar was veritably bursting at the seams with beats, blasts and howls, not to mention people.

Easing us into the evening’s festivities, Domeyko/Gonzalez juggled an impressive array of live instruments with only two members, using a series of loop pedals and other tech toys to spin out a fragile collection of wistful electronica. As the pieces segued into one another, each still retained a distinctive identity without the convenient lyrical markers or conventional song structure.

In the back room, the cave-like ambience suited the messy, menacing garage of The Go Roll Your Bones, though apparent mike hassles and a near-empty room made life more difficult. Though the band soldiered on, driven by singer Geordie’s Nick Cave/Iggy Pop force, nothing seemed to connect. By the end, even the band seemed glad it was over.

By the time the evening was in full swing, the entire lower level was wall-to-wall bodies. Sprawling out into corridors and outdoor areas, no one was going anywhere quickly. Trips to the bar were strategic affairs, where patrons would stock up on drinks to avoid missing entire sets trying to get through the throng.

Apparently the thought of climbing stairs daunted the crowd, as the upper levels were less crowded. It’s their loss, as the two upper stages had plenty to offer. On the mid-level, Convaire’s glammy electro presented pop sophistication and an endearing charm. The three-part harmonies added just the right tingle, the naïve sweetness of the voices sitting neatly against the cheap drum machine sounds.

Once more on solid ground, it was a journey of some minutes to cross from one room to the next, so many chose to set up camp in the back-bar in anticipation of the Laurels rather than miss out. The room was shoulder-to-shoulder by the time they took the stage, and from the first moments, the Laurels lived up to (and probably exceeded) the crowd’s expectations. Their shoegaze-gone-psych sound filled the room and vibrated through the throng of bodies, a blissful noise of remarkable subtlety. Dynamic and dreamlike, the Laurels deserve to much more recognition. Hopefully their support slot with psych-throwbacks Tame Impala will cement their reputation and open a few ears.

With apologies to the other bands, your faithful correspondent chose to call it a night after the Laurels. The sheer volume of the crowd became too much to handle, and, after a minutes-long journey from the back room to the front door, I bade MUM happy birthday, and good night.