Live in Edinburgh This Week – 27th April 2008
No, I’m not dead, just insanely busy. We recorded the Alela Diane & Mariee Sioux Toad Session today, and it’s been a pretty bloody hectic weekend, so I am bloody exhausted.
Also, when I requested my slot on Fresh Air, Edinburgh’s student radio station, I looked at a couple of months of my diary and what do you know, hectic as hell but for some reason Tuesday was empty absolutely every week for about two months. Perfect, I thought, I shall request Tuesdays as it will never clash with anything and life will be beer and skittles.
Since they were nice enough to give me a slot on Tuesdays what has happened? Well this week I was offered a ticket for Manchester United’s home tie with Barcelona in the European Cup and there are two bloody gigs I want to go to in Edinburgh that night as well. Fucking typical.
Tuesday 29th April: The Low Lows & Eagleowl at Henry’s Cellar Bar.
I am so pissed off about missing this gig I could cure cancer on Tuesday afternoon and just not fucking tell anyone out of spite. Eagleowl’s morose folk and The Low Lows building, feedbacky Americana would have been the best lineup for bloody ages. Arse arse fucking arse.
The Low Lows – Raining in Eva
Tuesday 29th April: Isosceles & Eastern Conference Champions at Cabaret Voltaire.
I have no idea quite what the word angular means when applied to music, but perhaps abrupt, spasmodic indie pop with plenty of synth and style might cover it. That’s Isosceles anyway, and they’re excellent. Eastern Conference Champions are another very, erm, yoof-friendly sounding beat combo and despite this I really like them.
Isosceles – Isosceles
Thursday 1st May: Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms with Come On Gang & The Chap.
I’m not sure if there’s been a Limbo night yet that hasn’t been worth going to, but you know what, I’ve never once made it. This is unlikely to change this week unfortunately, but Come On Gang are supposed to be brilliant and The Chap sound decent as well.
There’s a couple of others, like Colin McIntyre (of Mull Historical Society) at Cabaret Voltaire and Zoey Van Goey and Crash My Model Car at Henry’s, but my interest in both of those gigs is kind of slim, so I go if you want but I won’t be making it. Maybe if they’d put them on a Tuesday instead…
I’m not listing any gigs as part of the 32 Music Live festival at the Three Sisters in Edinburgh because, for some incredible reason which I really hope goes deeper than my own simple stupidity, I can’t seem to find the fucking listings anywhere on the internet. The closest I could find was this on Bebo, with the only interesting bits of information being that it starts this weekend and is free. Go information superhighway!
Oh and Vampire Weekend are at the Liquid Room, but don’t bother – they’ve sold out.
I am now going to sleep the sleep of the recently deceased.
Well, I was wondering…
Nice one on the sessions, old chap.
I too am busy as fuckadoodledoo right now (my entire June just got swallowed in an East/Mid/West US jaunt that sees me flying 6 times in 3 weeks; may even be in Austin in late May, which is compensation at least) & haven’t got anywhere near this week’s show. Except, that is, piss about for 2hrs constructing & recording the opening 2min ‘gag’. Fucking ridiculous.
So, if you’re strapped for time, don’t worry about this week’s S,bT slot — I’m thinking more music, less chat mixtape stylee.
Shout me when the sessiona are spliced into mp3 sized broadcastables
)
Well I could put one of the songs on TWR as an exclusive next week, before I post it here – would that suit sir?
I’m glad you’re musical taste is significantly better than you’re taste in football teams….
C’mon Barca.
You mutinous native, you!
How fucking moronic of me…..’you’re taste in football teams’????
PS : Real sorry you missed Billy Bragg last night. One of the best gigs he’s performed in years….please allow me to shamelessly plug the clip of Levi Stubbs’ Tears that I’ve posted at The Vinyl Villain…
An exclusive sounds well smart.
When you say ‘next’ week, you mean as part of your S.bT slot then or stand alone? Actually, email or text me.
Let’s not make love in public.
actually, speaking of, jc did you get my messages re: emails?
God, Matthew.
Football over building feedbacky americana?
What can I say?
Other than My Tiny Robots first gig in ages at Henry’s on Saturday.
http://www.myspace.com/mytinyrobots
And I’m pretty sure Zoey Van Goey was last month.
And if you check woodenbox’s pictures on myspace – he has a poster for the 32 music thing, with a full line-up:
http://www.myspace.com/awoodenbox
Maybe you should be writing a football blog instead?
Hmmmm?
It is bloody typical, but what a match!!! Let’s hope Man U actually want to play a bit of footie…
Bart, I am not going to the football, did you miss that part? I will be in the Fresh Air studio watching it on Guardian Minute-by-Minute commentary, which in its sphere is peerless, but a poor substitute for actually being there. Given my show finishes at ten is there any chance of catching any of the Low Lows do you think?
Also, the T-Break Heats start on Sunday, which is excellent news.
Yes.
You know I don’t actually read this crap.
I just noticed the words “Manchester” and “United”.
It’s doors at 8pm tonight, and there’s four acts, so I think there’s every chance you’ll catch the majority of the low lows set, if not all of it.
And T Break Heats? Excellent news?
Explain.
About five bands play a twenty minute set, competing for a slot on the T-Break stage at T in the Park. It’s where I first saw Broken Records last year, and the lineups (jockrock.org has the full lineup on the news page) look pretty healthy this year. They play the heats over four consecutive days, so I’ll definitely be going to a couple of the shows although, predictably, not next Tuesday.
I know what T Break is.
I’m not a fan.
If there’s someone playing that I want to see, I might go along.
But I hate the whole set up.
I hate the whole ‘music as competition’ thing.
And the grand prize is to play another 20 minute set at one of the worst festivals I’ve ever been to.
Great.
Well for me the grand prize is a lot of groups I haven’t necessarily heard of and the chance to hear plenty of new things. Which is good.
I’ve been to some shit gigs recently and I am finding it harder to sit through a full set when I don’t like the band and only turned up out of curiosity. This is a chance to have a bite-sized sample and see if I’d like to go to a full show by any of the groups.
Fair nuff.
I guess the heats are a good opportunity to see a few bands that you’ve not seen before.
I just think it’s an unhealthy atmosphere to see a band.
And I’ve heard so many horror stories from T Break.
It’s just put me off.
I can well imagine how it could be shite for a band. But Isosceles, Alex Cornish and Come On Gang on one bill can’t be all bad. I’ve been trying to see Come On Gang for bloody ages.
Maybe it’s best thought of as a MySpace page – far from ideal, but a handy promo sampler.
Come On Gang are good.
I’ve only seen them at the Southern, with crap sound.
But they won me over.
(though, to be fair, I am a sucker for female drummers.)
Manchester United? Aren’t they from Vermont? I hear they play rugby or some such? In the out of doors yet.
Fucking hell. I’m going to delete the Toad Session before posting it if you keep that sort of bollocks up, mate.
Oooh, I’ve never seen your inner Scottish football hooligan side! So masterful!
music competitions are everything that is wrong with music. if i want to see the bands that are playing t-break, i’ll keep an eye on their myspace pages and go see them when they are playing in an environment that doesn’t involve competiting for the love of some judges who think they all know best – or indeed infront of a hundred of their friends who vote by cheering or making some noise. what a stupid concept.
Gosh you lads are all testy this week. Painters in?
I’m just trying to imagine anything more crashingly dull than minute-by-minute online commentary of a soccer match.
00:00 Kick off
00:01 Someone just pretended to fall over and is rolling around
00:10 Game restarts
00:11 Someone just pretended to fall over again
And so on for ninety minutes..
Actually Dylan, if you read the Minute-by-Minute it really is funny, even if you don’t care about the game. The equivalent for cricket – the Over-by-Over commentary – was so good that they published the whole lot after the Ashes win a couple of years back under the title Is It Cowardly to Pray For Rain? which was an email someone sent in to the ObO team during the final test. Really, really funny stuff.
And there is no such sport as soccer.
Well actually Matthew…
Aren’t you just saying that intelligent and witty people with an observational sense of humour are often entertaining, regardless of the whether the subject matter itself is relevent to the audience.
For example: I’m not Irish, and I’m not catholic, but I love Father Ted.
And isn’t “soccer” just a contraction of the word “association”, as in Association Football, the game in question here? As opposed to the numerous other football games played around the world.
They are not football. They think they are, but they are not. Since the Americans got their hands on it the word soccer, or as it is more properly pronounced SAW!!!-KER in that charming, high-pitched screech, has become forever tainted.
And well actually Dylan, yes that is exactly the point I was making. Which is why the MbM commentary is peerless in its own field. However, due to the lack of an actual field, complete with all the little men scurrying about/rolling around on it, it is still a poor substitute for a seat at Old Trafford.
Did you know Ryan Giggs is a Muslim?
You can tell from all the body hair.
did you know his real name is Joe Wilson…..
I knew it was Wilson and that he was raised in Manchester and that the whole Welsh thing was basically a reaction to his bastard of a father. So one dickheaded Mancunian cost England a balanced midfield for the last fifteen years.
But Joe? No, that’s news to me.
Soccer is a silly word. Football is the right word and it’s used all over the world to describe the same sport… the one with the ball and the kicking. I’m from Spain and “futbol” is one of the few words that has not been translated into Spanish from its foreign origins…
I shouldn’t even say this and give any sort of authority to this argument but the word “soccer” and all it stands for gets on my nerves…
Is the whole Gigs being Welsh a big cover-up? Is his name Wilson? Is he a muslim? Will he play tonight?
Giggs definitely has family in Cardiff.
The term “Soccer” is as old the game itself, and I don’t see a problem with fans of other types of football using it to differentiate between codes.
You might expect that fans of other football codes would be offended by the fact that followers of Association Football continually claim a divine right not to use a more specific term for their chosen hobby.
Because it is better.
That was an easy question, Dylan old chap.
You can’t have football without shoulder pads. That’s in the Bible. What you’ve got is called “grass dancing,” or as the Germans call it, “tanzendspielwiese,” and it’s lovely. But football? As I say, check the Bible.
I am not sure homoeroticpantomimeinlycraleggings has much to say on the matter, C&B.
You can’t use the homo-erotic argument to defend the macho status of Association Football against any other sport.
Apart from perhaps ice dancing (Which shouldn’t be considered a sport anyway, but that’s a whole other discussion)
Yes you can. Football has gone worrying sissy recently, but it’s a far cry from the tight-shorted, sweaty grappling of those other pretenders.
Girly and gay are two totally different things.
Soccer’s for girls, get over it..
Oh I’ll admit that in a heartbeat (except in Scotland), but you have to confess that all the other lot are for repressed homosexuals.
american football is just rugby for pussys.
Excuse me!
Now, Matthew, you know I’m a fan of Rugby Union Football (Not Rugby Football Union, they’re a bunch of English tossers).
I defy you to suggest that there’s anything less than heroically tough and macho about the athletes who compete in that partiicular game.
Apart from the ball-groping and the big sweaty pile of man-love in the middle of the pitch, nothing springs to mind.
I refer you to the French Top 14 club Stade Francais, and in particular their kit:
http://boutique.stade.fr/boutique_us/fiche_produit.cfm?type=19&ref=189494_copie&code_lg=lg_us&pag=1&num=11
Now, you’ll note the tight fit and the striking pattern. Yes, those are flowers, lilies I believe, and they’re pink, and they’re rather large.
Imagine how tough you have to be to run out on a rugby field wearing that. I think they’re great.
And you should see the away kit.
Palermo are quite special too.
i’m not denying that footballers are big girls. they are, but I still love the game. not so big on rugby but think you have to be MENTAL to want to get kicked, stamped on, spat on, have your eyes poked among other things – but american football???? it’s soooooooo boring – games last about 8 hours, well it feels that way and as for baseball….my god it’s worse than cricket. give me ice hockey any day! now there is a sport for true hard men.
Hang on Euan, spitting’s not allowed in rugby..
OK now let’s just leave baseball right out of this. Europeans and other children simply have no right to express an opinion on that holiest of subjects, which can only be comprehended by those with a more refined sensibility.
Actually, I am on your side about baseball. As a Padres fan (don’t ask) I am just relieved Peavey stuck around for a little longer. My Dad is a lifelong Expos fan too, and he is still finding it very hard to like the Nats at all.
Padres fan? My goodness you do contain multitudes don’t you? And already 9 games back, eh, despite Peavy’s 38 strikeouts? I recall JC mentioning that he followed the ‘Jays a bit when he was in Toronto last summer as well. And your father a lifelong Expos fan? He must be a man of tremendous fortitude. I myself was born in pinstripes, and so I feel your pain being a ManUtd fan.
come now – I watched the world series when I was in San Fran and to be honest always get involved in it when I’m in the US – but I think that’s the thing, it’s only when I’m in the US that I’m ever interested. they play in pyjamas?!?! it’s all a little weird. but I’m a sport addict and you do have the most amazing sports channels in the world!
My Dad can’t face supporting popular teams, to the extent that when the Canadiens got too good he ended up losing interest. So for all the Nationals are driving him to distraction, he’s probably happier that way.
Mhmm. Giggs has a lot of family in Cardiff.
Ryan Joseph Wilson (nee Giggs) was born in Cardiff, Wales, to a Welsh ma (Giggs) & English pa (Wilson – a rugby league player), & moved to Pendlebury (I think) when he was about 7. He dropped the name Wilson in favour of his mother’s maiden name when his father left in the 80s.
Interestingly, way in the early days, he captained the England Youth team (because he went to that school) while playing for the Welsh senior team. But, because of birth & mother, he was ineligible for the English national squad.
As for American Football, I saw the Superbowl in the states this year (i.e. at a safe distance, in a bar) & have to say have no fuckiing clue as to what was going on except the bar I was in was at once scary as fuck, very loud & full of hoo-hah! noises, & exillerating/fun to be a part of the theatre. Still have no idea what the hell was happening on the field, mind.
If his Dad’s English he is eligible. It was a personal choice – he hated his Dad apparently. So I’m told anyway.
My brother describes American as being a bit like chess, but played with huge black men.
Yes, I suspect your Dad’ll have a good long stretch before he needs to worry about the Nats getting “too good.” Washington DC is cursed at baseball. The old Senators franchise was the embodiment of futility for decades before they shut it down in the early 70s, and Baltimore’s been little better lately. If your Dad’s truly a fan of the underdog (read: glutton for punishment), why doesn’t he follow the Cubbies?
Pyjamas!? They’re called uniforms Euan! Uniforms.
And DC, the Giants won, a huge underdog defeating the 3-time Super Bowl Champion Patriots, who came into the game 18-0. That’s what happened on the field mon frer. That’s what happened on the field.
Oh… someone won?! I was under the impression it was just a big blur of hoopla & tickertape designed to stop the bar strumpets wobbling their jubblies in my face every 15minutes & asking questions like “Do you have anything in the UK that even compares to this?”
Half the time I wasn’t sure if they were talking about their tits or a sports event. Then again, I was in Vegas…
re: Giggs’ father, I think you’re invoking the Vinnie Jones defence there, Mr. Toad.
P
“Jubblies”? Well, American football and jubblies go together like pork chops and apple sauce. Unfortunately, most of them are on the men.
Ooh! I have a Montreal Canadiens T-Shirt!
Agree with Euan about American sports TV channels. I love ESPN – can watch that for hours.
Sky Sports sucks scabby dog balls in comparison.
I’m with whoever said Ice Hockey.
Beer, foam hands, shit kicking fights, sin binning, fast as fuck, puck flying, ice scratching, broken nosed, organ playing, mexican waving, street rioting when you win or lose, kick ass Ice Hockey.
I love to catch the Leafs of the Canadiens when I am in Canada. i can’t recommend going through customs in Toronto wearing a Canadiens cap though. Almost got rubber gloved.
Fuck, that comment about Ice Hockey is me, MRS toad. this goddamn shit assed PC assumes I am Matthew. Sexist wankstain of a PC.
I said Ice Hockey!! best sport ever invented. I played regular hockey at school and so wished I could skate so I could ditch regular hockey and get involved in a more dangerous sport! would have loved to play that game and whenever I’m in the USA I always get addicted to the ice hockey. Bit of a Pittsburgh Penguins man – but also quite like the San Jose Sharks. I like the gear they wear, the fights the get involved in and the fact they can skate as fast backwards as forwards!! it’s genius. only thing missing is them drinking beer as they play. that’d be awesome. BUT never watch the British version of the game – whilst a fun afternoon/evening out it’s like watching the NHL in extreme slow mo!
And ESPN is excellent – only wish they’d cut out all the baseball bits…….:O)
Aaaargh! He did it again! Although I agree that hockey is cool. Let’s not forget the Zamboni, the coolest of all machines whose sole purpose is the repair and maintenance of sports-related surfaces. Hurrah Signore Zamboni, wherever you are!
Signore Zamboni: one of sport’s great lost heroes!
There must be a really cool t-shirt in there somewhere.
talking of which matthew planning on getting kays lavelle t-shirts done which inspired by song by toad…….they’re going to sya “the kays lavelle were shit” songbytoad.com. :O)
Heh heh heh! Excellent! I have got to get me one of those.
You know, this post has more comments than any other post I have ever written, and I am not sure one single one of them has been even vaguely on-topic.
Who here likes fudge? I know I do.
Haha – here you go, C&B.
telling those in the usa that wearing pyjamas…..err, sorry…….uniforms…….. to play sport is stupid is always relevant matthew!
Pyjamas might make rugby, or indeed American football more interesting, now that you mention it. Or snooker – snooker in pyjamas!
But such stylish pyjamaforms, Euan! C’mon, get into the spirit of the thing! Admit that America’s better. It’s easy if you try. On the count of three…USA! USA! USA!
I particularly enjoy the fact that the Zamboni tee shirt is available ONLY in XXXL.
I love that website!! going to go on a spending spree and get myself kitted out in baseball pjs! In fact I think the kays lavelle might well do one of their future shows in special kays lavelle baseball pjs in homeage to our american sports. at kays lavelle shows you’re going to be able to buy t-shirts that say “the kays lavelle were shit – songbytoad.com” and special kays lavelle baseball pyjamaforms. oh, and maybe cds as well.
The Peejays Lavelle.
Fucking hell’s bells. Look back over the past few posts & there’s a scattering of ‘ellos & I likes that comments. ONe fucking mention of Manchester United & look what’s happened. 70-fucking-3+ comments in two days.
You’re all fucking mad.
I blame Bart. He might be the only one to make a halfway relevant comment in this entire thread, and I think he’s ruined it for everyone.
Woohoo!
75 comments!
Let’s get this thread up to a hundred before it falls off the front page!
Matthew,
Regarding your comments about playing rugby and other sports in pyjamas and thus making the spectacle more entertaining; that remarkeably close to my reasons for being such a big fan of ladies’ beach volleyball.
Some sports are just made so much better by the uniforms..
Beach volleyball is slightly disconcerting because the women tend to have no hips, which I find just a little too boyish for my taste.
That’s silly.
If they didn’t have hips their thongs would keep falling down.
& we wouldn’t want that sort of calamity distracting us from their tits jiggling about like monkeys in a bass drum, eh?
I think even Mercan Football qualifies as a proper sport when compared to Beach Volleyball.
I’ll tell you one thing: ladies’ beach volleyball players are tougher than your average Premiership wendyball player.
Not always as pretty though.
I bet they don’t have a problem with their thongs falling down either.
Hey, we could make a whole new website about beach volleyball and call it “Thong, By Toad”!
you see if you ask me the americans are really confused – football suggests that the foot is used to kick a ball and, excluding the punter and field goal (goal???? conversion more like) kicker I don’t recall feet being allowed in gridiron. lets just call it what it is……a glorified game of catch.
catch and tag combined come to think of it.
Which makes it sound quite fun actually.
Which it isn’t.
The etymology of the American use of the word ‘football’ to describe the game popular there, in fact relates to the dimensions of the standard ball used in the game, which is generally eleven inches long.
This type of ball was first marketed as a dog toy in 1890 by Heffelfinger’s Hair Tonics and Husbandry Goods of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Heffelfinger named his new idea the “Nearly-a-foot-ball” due to its length of eleven inches.
This was a radical development in the world of pet products, as few dog exercise balls available at the time were much larger than tennis balls. Heffelfinger noted that these smaller balls were leaving larger breeds of dog disappointed and listless, as the diminutive proportions of the standard balls failed to provide an adequate challenge for them.
Heffelfinger can be forgiven, however, for failing to predict the popularity these balls would gather amongst humans; who, in parks and open-spaces across Pennsylvania, were soon disregarding their pets’ needs and simply throwing the ball back and forth amongst themselves.
These games of catch would often go on so long that many players would forget who owned the ball, leading to confusion and misunderstanding. Then, if the wrong person attempted to take the ball home at dusk, they might find themselves being rushed and tackled by the other players.
Before long a set of rules was drawn up to protect both ball-owners – and innocent but forgetful players – from excessive injury and loss, and the PNaFBL (Pennsylvania Nearly a Foot Ball League) was born.
As the game spread nationwide the Pennsylvania rules were amended, and new National rules were introduced. The Pennsylvania league was assimilated into the new national league, and the name of the game ball was officially changed to reflect a slang contraction that had gained popularaity amongst the younger generation of players, where “Nearly a Foot Ball” was reduced to simply: “football”.
The term football was officially adopted by the British game of soccer in 1982, in honour of the influential politician and bon viveur Michael Foot, and to commemorate his lifelong assocation with Plymouth Argyle Soccer Club (The club was renamed Plymouth Argyle Football Club as part of the celebrations, and the term ‘football’ was adopted by some other clubs at around the same time.)
Now that, me old mate, is a load of old balls. How long did it take you to type all that shit out anyway? Jesus!
It’s all true, I tells ya!
catch and tag. catch and tag.
This is actually what happens when you get a day off to pack before moving house. You spend most of the day arseing around.
See it would have been more believable if you hadn’t gone and named the guy Heffelfinger. And then put him in Altoona for Chissakes!
Yeah, if you’re going to make up enormous reels of deranged bollocks, at least put some effort into it, man.
My, what are you suggesting, C&B?..
94
95
96
97
98
99
100.
There, I’m happy now.
Christ on a bike, you lot are crazier than I realised.