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.
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.
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Well the Trampoline show for this Friday, with Ziggy Campbell and Yusuf Azak has been cancelled, which is a bit of a tragedy for my music fun, but at least spares me some of the Olympic amounts of typing this post is going to require all through bloody August. Fucking hell, it’s like a mini novel. Fortunately I don’t think much was actually on yesterday, when the sort of hangover generated only by consuming an entire bottle of gin prevented me from doing anything productive at all.
So this post is being written now and dated two days ago so, erm, well fuck it, shoot me, there’s always the list of course. But my listings are way better – everyone knows that. Aren’t they.
Yes is the answer to that, in case anyone was taking too much time to think about it.
I was about to say that two Toad bands on the same bill means I am guaranteed to enjoy this, but strictly speaking electro-experimental loonies Art Fag are Scotland’s hottest new unsigned act and I will have to fight every label in the land with sticks for their signature. Or, um, something like that. And Jesus H. Foxx were superb at the Forest Cafe last week, so this should be a cracking show. Jesus H. Foxx – Elegy For the Good Times
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I am really looking forward to hearing this, and genuinely curious. For all I’ve seen White Heath a few times recently I haven’t heard any of their recordings recently, and I am very much looking forward to hearing what Alex from Fentek has made of their sound, which can be chaotic to say the least when I’ve seen them live. Quite how he mixes the trombone and fiddle in with the electric guitar and drums is something I’d like to hear.
This is sold out, but apparently any returns will be available on Thursday. You can’t have them though, because I need them. Let’s be honest, I’m not going to miss a chance to watch one of my favourite Edinburgh bands face off against a moody musical wardrobe am I.
Dead Boy Robotics had a very successful set at T in the Park this year (see video at the bottom of this post) and apparently their new stuff is something of a shift from earlier material, which makes me really rather curious to hear what they’re up to these days. The Foundling Wheel – Out to See
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Woodenbox are a cracking live band, I don’t really know Lovers Turn to Monsters, and Shenandoah Davis is bloody lovely. We’re recording a Toad Session with her this weekend as well. Splendid. Shennandoah Davis – We, Camera
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The collection of bands playing here is in some senses irrelevant. Even if you’ve never heard of a single one of the groups playing, you can be absolutely guaranteed that this is going to be an amazing day. Those of you who like your rock music with a little bit more in the way of coke and whores may not be quite as thrilled as others by the Bristo Hall’s family and cuppa-friendly atmosphere, but I am hugely looking forward to it. And the lineup is fucking amazing, as it happens: Withered Hand, Jo Foster, Wounded Knee, Hexicon, Rob St John, Viking Moses, Tisso Lake, Moustache of Insanity, Allo, Darlin’, My Tiny Robots, Come In Tokyo, Enfant Bastard, The Pineapple Chunks, Meursault, The Leg.
Uncharacteristcally, given how hectic things were last week, there seems to be precious little happening in Edinburgh for the bext little while. Frankly, this is a blessing, as this year has been exhausting and I have never felt more grateful for an approaching holiday. However, there are a couple of genuinely important events (well, to me at least) to take care of before then, and a couple of them coincide this week: the Song, by Toad official Christmas party is taking place at the Bowery on Friday 5th December, and will basically twin as the official launch of Song, by Toad Records‘ debut release, Meursault’s Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues. We’ve spent all fucking weekend printing the sleeves and folding and all sort of other stuff, and we’re still not done. The CDs themselves arrive tomorrow, and we still have five hundred packs to fold and fill. We’ll get there of course, but it’s yet another reason why things have been so exhausting of late.
Before the splendid Allo Darlin’ and a full-works set from Meursault, we’ll be having an hour or so of open mic as a warm up. It won’t just be a rabble though – we’ve got a good few Edinburgh indie celebrities, if you can call them that, to play some bits and pieces so it should be really fun. So swing by the Bowery on Roxburgh Place from about half seven for some fun and games.
Allo Darlin’ – Atlantic City
Other than that, there’s only one other show I can find this week and it is this:
Thursday 4th December 2008: Pumajaw, Eagleowl & Sparrow & the Workshop play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.
Given I’ve never seen Pumajaw and given I love the other two bands on the bill, I would say that there is almost zero chance of me skipping this gig. Pumajaw’s music is defined by the band themselves as being genre-less, but it’s basically a variation of electro, folk and a little bit of fairytale wooziness. I know basically nothing at all about them, so I’m rather looking forward to this one.
Pumajaw – The Bending Wood
I bumped into Bart of Eagleowl and Kays Lavelle fame the other day. We were both hanging out in one of the achingly cool vintage vinyl record stores where you tend to find hip cats like us…
Okay, it was Tesco’s… but anyway, I promised I’d post a reminder about the fabulous Retreat festival Bart’s involved in that’s coming up this week.
The Retreat festival has everything going for it: All the shows take place over a series of nights throughout August, and in one centrally-located venue; St. John’s Church hall on the corner of Princes’ Street and Lothian Road (The one in the photo). The festival is charging a bargain flat-rate entry fee of just £3 for each show, doors are at 8pm each night, and an irresistable array of local talent will be on display. It would be plain daft to miss out.
Monday 4th August
Rob St. John, Emily Scott
Wednesday 6th August
The Pictish Trail, Button Series, HMS Ginafore
Friday 8th August
Randan Discotheque, The Wee Rogue
Monday 11th August
Wounded Knee, Jess Bryant
Friday 15th August
Withered Hand, Jo Foster
Saturday 16th August
Eagleowl EP launch featuring Allo, Darlin’
Wednesday 20th August
Ziggy Campbell, Little Pebble
Saturday 23rd August
My Kappa Roots, Royal Edinburgh Music
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).
