Song, by Toad

Basically, in terms of live music, this week revolves around two events: the (now sold out) Grizzly Bear show at the Queen’s Hall, and the Fencelicious Homegame Festival in Anstruther (final-ish running order announced here).

However, for those of you not coming out to Fife and unwilling to stump up twenty quid to see yet another band with Bear in their name, there is at least one gig  very much worth seeing in Edinburgh this week.

Before that, for those of you who missed it (which I presume includes everyone) I was invited to write a comment piece for the Scotsman this weekend, about what it would mean to small bands and labels to lose BBC 6Music.  The content will be pretty familiar to all of you from the post I wrote last week, which is how the article came about in the first place,

It’s on the site filed as a ‘Premium Article”, which makes me chuckle, so for those of you who don’t wish to sign in I have scanned the thing and you can read it here.  I suppose I am slightly not supposed to do that, but I don’t think I am being paid for the article itself, and I don’t think it’s doing much harm to let you see the thing if only so you can exclaim, like Mrs. Toad did on first seeing it: “Where the fuck did they get that awful picture?”  Bitch.

Friday 12th March 2010: The School, Allo Darlin’ & Django Django at the Wee Red Bar.

This is going to be a somewhat twee night of indie pop, with just a little darkness supplied by the Homegame-bound Django Django beforehand.  You owe it to yourself to have enormous amounts of fun at this gig if you aren’t going to Homegame, just to stick it to those of us who are.

Allo Darlin’ – Atlantic City

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It’s fairly quiet in Edinburgh this week, which is good for me, because I am so damn busy there’s almost no chance of me getting out of the house at all – I will be up to my neck in prints and album covers for Cold Seeds and for Trips and Falls, and stuffing promotional copies of albums into envelopes for Meursault and Loch Lomond.  My brain feels liked an over-stuffed Filofax at the moment, and I keep writing down endless lists which look just like the list I wrote a day previously, just in case at any point my head bursts and everything spills out all over the floor.

I know the Filofax was presumably named after a bit of a bastardisation of the term file, and maybe even the words facts or even telefax, but I like to think the filo part came from the pastry, because that’s frequently what they ended up looking like.

My promise to myself, however, is that whatever happens I will be at the Japanese War Effort album launch party on Friday, but as that’s a small gig indeed I am not sure how public a gig this is, you’re best getting in touch with Jamie via the band’s MySpace if you want to go along.

You’ll also be thrilled to find out that Newton Faulkner are playing the Picture House this week – Newton Faulkner the band of whom regular commenter Bart once so memorably said: “To be fair, I wasn’t judging Newton Faulkner entirely on his Wikipedia entry.  I was also taking into account his fucking ridiculous haircut.” which is one of my all-time favourite comments on this site ever in history, so much so that it has been immortalised in t-shirt form.

Friday 5th March 2010: Copy Haho, eagleowl & Debutant play This Is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

This is Music have recently gone weekly, which is good news.  This weekend sees Aberdeen alumni Copy Haho and Debutant take the stage, with eagleowl in the middle.  The lineup is a bit all over the place in a sense, but I am pretty sure all the bands really like one another’s music, so maybe it makes sense in a different way!

Debutant – Thirst

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Saturday 6th March 2010: Richmond Fontaine & Alana Levandoski at Cabaret Voltaire.

Richmond Fontaine might be one of the most under-rated bands around.  They play Americana, but it is at once so epic in its storytelling sweep, and so small and personal in its details, that you’re left with the impression of really grand vistas made believable by the tiny details in the foreground.  It’s a gorgeous combination, and if you are vaguely interested in this kind of music I strongly recommend you get down to Cabaret Voltaire on Saturday.

Richmond Fontaine – The Boyfriends

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So more sold-outy stuff this week, with Johnny Flynn already inaccessible at Cabaret Voltaire on Friday.  I am actually going to interview him for the site, but I think I might have forgotten to include a guestie on my request, so I may have to hide in the toilets after the interview to avoid being thrown out for lack of a ticket.

This is the last week for the Communion Compilation Competition as well.  By the end of the week I will pick the best pictures of hipsters being extremely hip and we shall have a public vote on the Friday Fives, with the winners getting their hand on a splendid twin vinyl 12″ compilation of performances from the Communion night, run by Ben from Mumford and Sons and Kevin from Cherbourg.  Just email me your extremely hip persons to songbytoad at hotmail.co.uk

Monday 22nd February 2010: Xiu Xiu, Meursault & the Foundling Wheel at Electric Circus.

I know more about this gig from the general excitement of the Meursault lads than any real knowledge I myself have of Xiu Xiu, which is minimal.  Still, they may well be playing a lot of new songs, so those of you wanting a taste of what’s to come on the new album could do a lot worse than pop along to the Electric Circus tonight.

Wednesday 24th February 2010: The Soft Pack, Banjo or Freakout & William Douglas at Cabaret Voltaire.

The Soft Pack first came to my attention as The Muslims a year or two ago, and I’ve been sort of lazily following them ever since.  This is basically old school, garagey indie-rock, but when they nail it with a killer melody, which they are capable of doing then it’s very good indeed.  They can be inconsistent, I have to confess, but I’m really looking forward to seeing them live.

The Soft Pack – Extinction

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Thursday 25th February 2010: Golden Ghost, Thomas Truax & George Thomas at the Wee Red Bar.

This is a really varied lineup, and well worth coming along to.  Golden Ghost is just plain lovely, and whilst I’ve never seen George Thomas with the Owls, I have seen him solo and he was one of these guys who seemed to make a virtue out of being quite shy, with self deprecating wit helping to put across the warm personality of his music.  Thomas Truax is an SL Records staple, and his self-made musical machines have to be seen to be believed – they’re pretty much worth the price of admission on their own.

Golden Ghost – Small Metal Objects

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Friday 26th February 2010: Forest Creatures, Cheer, Fordell Research Unit and King Rib at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

I know pretty much nothing about this lineup, apart from what you can tell from a very quick skim of the respective MySpace pages.  Because a lot of this is quite slow-build stuff I can’t tell you much beyond the fact that Fordell Research Unit in particular sounded rather interesting, so if you’re looking for something slightly off the beaten track this week, this might be a good bet.

When do the clocks go forward again? It feels like it should be soon, because the bite’s gone out of the cold, and you can see green shoots here and there on some of the plants, but I guess it’ll be a while yet, unfortunately.  Still, it’s actually light out when I leave work these days, which is a positive sign.

The post-Christmas gig lull seems to be slowly coming to an end as well, which is good news.  It’s actually a rather busy week this week, with the funs spread pretty evenly, instead of all clumping together on a single evening, as they have been wont to do of late.  How considerate of them.

Firstly, Frabbit are playing Cabaret Voltaire on Wednesday with Ross Clark and Dupec, but there’s little point making a fuss about that one seeing as it’s already sold out. I thought I’d mention it though, in case you’re the sort who can wangle guesties to this sort of thing.

Oh, and Song, by Toad is back on Fresh Air this evening, going live at about 8pm I think, but more of that later.  During the meanwhilst…

Monday 15th February 2010: Jesca Hoop, Run/Lucky/Free & the Wintergreens at Sneaky Pete’s.

There’s a touch of the alt-country power pop to this lineup, some of which strays outside my personal taste a little.  I was first introduced to Jesca Hoop by DC on The Waiting Room a year or so ago, and although I have not listened to lots of her stuff, I like the stuff I do know.  It’s a nice mix of influences, from old folk, to a bit of country, to radio pop and it’s all blended together very well. Maybe not for the sulkier indie kids amongst you, but still a good one, this.

Jesca Hoop – Summertime

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Tuesday 16th February 2010: Robin Grey at the Forest Cafe.

Robin Grey’s stuff doesn’t exactly demand attention – it’s not forceful or attention-seeking or anything like that – but it deserves it.  He is largely an acoustic singer-songwriter, although he’ll be playing with a band tonight.  I think the difference with Robin is in his confident, unassuming style.  He’s also a really strong lyricist so I definitely recommend taking the chance to see him play if you can.

Robin Grey – The Finchley Waltz

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Thursday 18th February 2010: Hexicon, The Just Joans & Cancel the Astronauts at the Wee Red Bar.

The third Gentle Invasion gig in about a week brings the easy acoustic pop of Hexicon to the Wee Red Bar, supported by The Just Joans, who must write the most Scottish lyrics of any band in the world, and indie-poppers Cancel the Astronauts.

The Just Joans – What d’we Do Now?

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Thursday 18th February at Cabaret Voltaire: The Mill with Ambulances and Carrie Mac, followed by Hot Club de Paris live at Sick Note.

There’s a lot going on at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday with the excellent Ambulances bringing their easily-paced, old-fashioned indie to the Mill, alongside Edinburgh’s Carrie Mac.  After there will be Sick Note with Hot Club de Paris, who have kind of slipped off my radar in the last year or so.  They’ve a new album which is there or thereabout though, so this is probably a good time to catch up with them.  The new stuff on their MySpace sounds pretty good, so it’s all quite promising.

Ambulances – Come With Us

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Hot Club de Paris – 3:55am

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Friday19th February 2010: First Aid Kit & The Last Battle at Sneaky Pete’s.

Scandinavian ingenue Americana alt-folksters, with Edinburgh’s most upandcomingest folk-pop band makes for a pretty cast-iron lineup if you ask me.  This has been a long post though, and I am bored of writing about gigs, so to see what I make of First Aid Kit, just read my recent review of their album.

First Aid Kit – Hard Believer

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We have a clear few days to get some work done this week, before the weekend’s flurry of giggery. There are some devious Austrians sneaking about Scotland this week, partly having a holiday, and partly shooting sessions for They Shoot Music.  Apart from Mrs. Toad and I recording our annual anti-Valentine’s day festival of hate, we will record a podcast with them while they’re here, and then leave them to go off and do some stuff with Jesus H. Foxx, Meursault, Withered Hand, a trip up to Fife to see the Fence Records chaps, and then some time in Glasgow where I am not honestly certain who they are recording – hopefully some Yusuf Azak though.

Anyhow, apart from the gigs mentioned below, there’s also the rather intriguing listing at Sneaky Pete’s where a certain band called Toad appear to be playing on Friday with The Ritalin Kids and Be Like Pablo.  I assure you it has nothing to do with me performing music of any sort, so feel free to attend in perfect safety.

Thursday 11th February 2010: eagleowl, Hailey Beavis & The Stormy Seas play Leith Tape Club at the Iso Lounge.

One of Edinburgh’s most enjoyable low-key gig nights, The Leith Tape Club, has a really good lineup this month.  I think eagleowl will be playing as a somewhat reduced lineup: after their recent four-piece gigs, I think they will be back to two for this gig, but for those of you who missed their Vic Galloway session on Radio Scotland last week, here’s their cover of I Am Nothing by Withered Hand from that session.  It’s all about sharing out the PRS money apparently, because Dan covered one of their songs when he played the show a while back.  All about the money, eh?  Typical.  I knew them when they used to have integrity, man.

eagleowl – I Am Nothing (Withered Hand Cover – Live on BBC Radio Scotland)

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Friday 12th February 2010: The Late Call, The Last Battle & Emily Scott at the Wee Red Bar.

The Gentle Invasion have been awfully quiet of late, so without knowing anything at all about The Late Call, I’ve got to be pretty confident that they’re good, to drag them out of semi-retirement.  The Last Battle’s stock is rather high at the moment, and I’ve not seen Emily Scott play since last year’s Homegame, so I think I’ll be along at this one for sure.

The Last Battle – Oh Best Beloved

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Friday 12th February 2010: FOUND, Three Blind Wolves & Over the Wall play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

FOUND are teetering on the verge of a new album (I think) and are somewhat reduced in number these days.  Judging by Versus a couple of weeks ago this isn’t going to hold them back though, and I am really looking forward to hearing their new stuff.

Over the Wall – Floods

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Saturday 13th February 2010: Kid Canaveral, BabyGod & Cancel the Astronauts play Trampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

It’s all about the indie-pop at Trampo this month.  Euan already previewed this gig extremely well in his Sunday Supplement, so no need to go on about it here again.  Kid Canaveral have nearly finished work on their debut album though, which is good news.

Kid Canaveral – Good Morning

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Bloody hell the year has started slowly in the world of Edinburgh live music.  The weekend just gone was very good, or at least it would have been if I hadn’t missed most of the good music in order to sit in the office here at Proper Job and stare at my computer while it stumbled through renderings for most of the day.

Other than that though there has been very little on since the new year, which is becoming a bit of a worry.  With the Roxy yet to show any real sign that they are going to pick up where the Bowery left off, Henry’s yet to announce their February gigs and the Liquid Rooms burned to the bloody ground, things are looking a little thin at the moment.

Trampoline are still putting on gigs at the Wee Red, but little seems to happen there beyond that monthly night.  Cabaret Voltaire have been told to focus their booking effort on enticing outside promoters to work with them (what outside bloody promoters, I can’t help but wonder).  Sneaky’s are trying their best, but things have still been a little quiet there too, truth be told.  All in all, it adds up to a rather worrying picture, honestly.  There is simply a considerable dearth of promoters in Edinburgh at the moment.  No-one has replaced Spitfires, Tracer Trails are showing signs of returning, but very slowly, Black Tape have packed it in, and I may do a quarterly night for the label, but that’s hardly enough.

In mitigation, there are apparently soon to be developments at the Roxy for the booking of the downstairs gig space, so hopefully we should see a big upswing there shortly, and coming out of recession a lot of bands have been cancelling tours due to money issues, so these problems aren’t ours alone.  I’ve been keeping an eye on the listings at Tut’s and Sleazy’s and the ABC in Glasgow and they too are not showing many signs of life.

So maybe I should just shut up moaning and wait it out like everyone else.  Maybe I should even take advantage of the quiet to get some label work done and finish the eagleowl Toad Session.  Still, I’m not bloody happy.  Not bloody happy at all.

Thursday 4th February 2010: Born to Be Wide’s German Night at the Voodoo Rooms, with Jeans Team.

This is Born to Be Wide’s sixth birthday celebration, so the usual seminar will be downstairs in the Speakeasy before the gig things kick off upstairs in what I think is called the Ballroom.  I don’t know much about German music, apart from the ludicrous excellence of Die Aertzte, so I had to settle for a couple of songs with the word German in them.  They’re good songs, but I am as aware as you are just how much of a cop-out it is to post them.

Clem Snide – The Sound of German Hip-Hop

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Germans – I am the Teacher

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Sunday 7th February 2010: Still Flyin’ at Sneaky Pete’s.

These chaps are pretty good actually – bouncy indie pop and infectious choruses.  Of all the gigs this week this would probably be my pick.

Still Flyin’ – Good Thing it’s a Ghost Town Around Here

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I am writing this week’s post from a dining room in Ealing, where I have come to visit my parents, and also to pretend to be a proper record label for a couple of days – courting publishers and getting European releases and tours sorted out and that sort of thing.  It’s kind of fun, and sort of weird in a sense.  It’s also strange explaining to my folks that this is actually what I do in my spare time, too.

Anyway, due to the incomparable glories of the internet age that should be no impediment to me shamelessly insisting that you do what I tell you this week, when it comes to entertainment.

Oh, and my friend Billy has written an article for The Line of Best Fit about the Scottish music scene.  In it he tells us what I tell every band we work with – that it’s all well and good to play comfortable venues back home surrounded by people who you already know like your music, but if you want to make any kind of breakthrough you’ve got to get out.

Of course, I have no objection to working with bands who don’t want to do this, but I always tell them that if that’s the case they’ll have to accept that this will make it very challenging indeed to make any kind of impact on a wider audience, but if they can accept that then so can I.

Wednesday 27th January 2010: Chew Lips, Boycotts & My Tiny Robots at Sneaky Pete’s.

Chew Lips are awfully fashionable and have haircuts and everything, but of course that doesn’t always have to mean that a band aren’t good.  In this case, I’ll confess to being a little ambivalent, but curious.  I was tipped off about the band a little over a year ago, but I didn’t end up writing about them because for all I kind of liked it, I wasn’t all that convinced.

They’ve gone from strength to strength however, and their album looks very upmarket, and frankly I’m curious to see what they’re up to these days and whether or not I might like them any better than I did before.  And it’s very good to see My Tiny Robots back playing again.

Friday 29th January 2010: Andrew Vincent, Sebastian Dangerfield, Andrea Marini at Sneaky Pete’s.

This one actually looks like being really good.  I don’t know much about Andrew Vincent, but his MySpace page sounds rather promising, and after months of prevaricating I finally put Sebastian Dangerfield on a podcast just this week.  So this is one of those ‘curious’ sorts of gigs – the bands sound good, but I know very little about them, and so this lineup sounds rather intriguing.

Saturday 30th/Sunday 31st January 2010: Hidden Door Festival at the Roxy.

Lots of very Toad-friendly bands (Foxxes, Broken Records, etc..) are peforming at this one, but it’s not going to be a gig per se.  Actually, I’ve not much idea what it’s going to be like, but the publicity material describes something like an multi-disciplinary art exhibition, with the stated goal of being “more party than gallery”, where visual artists, musicians and so on all interact and try and do something a bit different.  Sounds brilliant to me, frankly.

Sunday 31st January 2010: Sick Kids Sunday at the GRV.

Charities seem to put on some of the best gigs in this city, and Sick Kids Sunday is no exception.  Held at the GRV (who are thankfully, finally getting their pretty enough but practically useless website updated) this one has all sorts of good stuff in the lineup, from Meursault to James Yorkston and Adrian Crowley performing the songs of Daniel Johnston.

A very good but nevertheless manageable week in Edinburgh this week, with a couple of extremely good gigs coming at the end of the week, but things being relatively calm until then.

I have just about finished editing the videos from the Song, by Toad New Year’s house gig.  I spent all Saturday mixing the audio (under supervision) and now have four Virgin of the Birds videos and four by Jamie and Rory from Broken Records.

All that remains is to check with the bands that they’re happy with what I post, because a couple of the Broken Records songs in particular are very new indeed and might not be for public consumption just yet.  Mind you, they’re acoustic versions, and so different from what the finished band version will probably end up being that it shouldn’t be too controversial, with a bit of luck.

Thursday 21st January 2010: X-Lion Tamer & The Fridge Magnets at Cabaret Voltaire.

X-Lion Tamer might be my favourite band on my friend Ed’s record label, 17 Seconds.  That’s odd really, because Tony’s stuff is probably the least like anything else I might listen to – it’s all a bit techno for my usual whingeing dadrock – but it nevertheless seems to have something about which I find compelling.

X-Lion Tamer – Tugboat

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Thursday 21st January 2010: FOUND, eagleowl & Oates Field play Versus at the Voodoo Rooms.

This should be a superbly brilliant night.  FOUND are a bunch of weirdos, frankly, and some of the cleverst and most inventive people I think I may have ever met.  You’d never think it to listen to eagleowl’s carefully constructed stuff, but actually I think their own spirit of adventure is far healthier than is superficially apparent, so it should be a perfect match for this interactive, collaborative Versus format.  Add Alan (formerly of Little Pebble and Come in Tokyo) and Phil (currently of Debutant and Meursault) and you have a pretty fucking incredible lineup.  No chance I’m missing this.

FOUND – Mullokian

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Friday 22nd January 2010: The Three Craws & Olo Worms at the Caves.

This is a Fence Night, obviously enough, with Bristolian mentalists Olo Worms joining the Fence elders at what is easily Edinburgh’s most atmospheric venue.  Olo Worms are an incredibly productive and creative bunch, actually, and although I have a patchy relationship with their music I have an awful lot of respect for the energy they put into things and the sheer inventiveness of their work.  Tickets for this can be purchased here.

The Fence Collective – Cod Liver Oil (Live on Radio Scotland)

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And oh, go on, here’s a sneak preview from the Virgin of the Birds videos:

Hmm, the Edinburgh live music beast still has to entirely crawl out of hibernation it seems, with still very little action to be found in and around the city this week.

There are, however, a couple of things going on and the welcome return of Trampoline should rescue us from our post-Christmas ennui.  Their lineup is rather cheerful this month, so cheerful in fact that it might even put a smile on the promoter Euan’s grumpy old puss.

Sadly though, I made something of a half-arsed new year’s resolution to stop ignoring high profile bands and go and see some more famous people play this year.  However, looking at the schedules they are nowhere to be found at all.  The Queen’s Hall has a couple coming up (a sold out Mumford & Sons and Grizzly Bear) and Xiu Xiu are playing Electric Circus in a few weeks, but that’s about it as far as I can see.  I even had a look at the King Tut’s schedule and there doesn’t seem to be much there yet either.

Ah well, a rest never did anyone any harm I guess.  And it’s not like I don’t have enought to do at the moment, what with the house gig videos and eagleowl session still staring expectantly at me from the bowels of the computer.

Saturday 16th January 2010: How to Swim, Over the Wall & Thomas Western play Trampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

How to Swim are exuberant with lots of instruments and Over the Wall are exuberant with lots of electronics, although increasingly more instruments too.  Thomas Western isn’t particularly exuberant, but then again one more helping of exuberance and you might just exuberate yourself all to pieces.

How to Swim – Genesis P and Me

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Saturday 16th January 2010: Come On Gang! & Futuristic Retro Champions at Sneaky Pete’s.

This will be indie-pop a-go-go at Sneaky’s, which is probably when the venue is at its best I would have said – noisy, poppy tunes and plenty of beer.

Come On Gang! – Wheels

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Why does it always seem tougher to return to work after the Christmas holidays than any other holiday?  I suppose there must be something about that end of year exhalation which makes it feel like your travails are wholly and entirely finished, which makes the resumption of hostilities with normal everyday life seem like a ruder awakening than usual.  Certainly, I’ve been in stranger places for much much longer and found it less of a pain when that alarm rings on Monday morning and I’ve had to drag my bloated carcass out of bed and back to the desk once more.

Still, there’s plenty of non-worky things to do as soon as I get home – eagleowl session to edit, New Year’s house gig videos to edit, promotional material for the Trips and Falls and the Maxwell Panther releases to send out… all the usual jollity!  And fortunately, this particular week there seems to be little to get in the way of that.  I can’t really find much happening in Edinburgh this week, as everyone’s wallets and livers attempt to emerge from the blind coma they were battered into by the Christmas period.

The Mill is going on at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday, which is free if you are happy to surrender your mobile number and can stomach Miller lager, which is all they’ll sell you.  I’ve not really heard of either band this week, so here are the MySpace pages for The Void and Penguins Kill Polar Bears (which of course they don’t because polar bears are fucking huge, and it would take a terrifyingly large swarm of penguins to bring one down – and even then it would take hours for them to peck one to death and the spectacle would be so unpleasant it doesn’t bear thinking about, frankly) so decide for yourselves.

Incidentally, I did a podcast a while back (one of the least popular of all time, funnily enough) about bands with birds’ names, but you could probably do a similar one based around bands with bear names, but I don’t know what category I’d put Penguins Kill Polar Bears in.  Probably birds, seeing as the penguins seem to have the upper hand in the particular scenario their name suggests, but it’s far from clear cut.

Anyhow, my personal recommendation for the week would be to pop along to Out of the Bedroom, downstairs at the Tron on Thursday night.  Out of the Bedroom is an open mic night, and as such can inevitably be a little patchy, but it’s friendly, downstairs at the Tron is actually a pretty nice place for a pint (despite the rest of the place being an unspeakable shithole) and you’ll probably find that pretty much every musician you like in Edinburgh has played there at some point or other.  I used to go when my friend Scott ran the night, but I stopped when they moved to the rather unwelcoming basement of the Canon’s Gait, but seeing as they’re back somewhere nice again it would be a good time to start popping along.

The Counting Crows – Start Again

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