Ah, Tartan Shortbread, that most wonderful of sardonic Scottish put-downs.

For those unfamiliar with the term, this is the offhand dismissal used to describe the sort of mawkish, clichéd tourist tat which masquerades as Scottish heritage and culture for those with woefully little imagination.  Alternatively, I suppose you could say that Tartan Shortbread is a blanket term for Scottish heritage as a sort of motorway service station take on national identity.

Anyhow, given I work very much at the coalface of the DIY music world in Scotland, I find that I have been oddly unsupportive of a large number of Scottish bands who have emerged in the last couple of years to considerable enthusiasm from the Scottish music press, both professional and amateur.

For some reason, the recent bands who have shown some likelihood of cracking an audience wider than the relatively narrow confines of the five million or so people in Scotland itself just haven’t appealed to me, with a few notable exceptions.  However, sitting down to assemble the playlist for this week I noticed that there were something like seven of the ten songs which happened to be by Scottish bands.  Oh, I thought to myself, I appear to be Scottish again.  How nice.

Direct download: Toadcast #212 – The Tartan Shortcast

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01. Django Django – Default (00.17)
02. Andrew Bird – Eyeoneye (08.41)
03. Lower Dens – Brains (12.47)
04. Randolph’s Leap – Bile (26.17)
05. Clean George IV – XP Avenue (32.51)
06. Dumb Instrument – Reverse the Hearse (35.57)
07. The Occasional Flickers – When the Sky Looks so Grey (41.11)
08. R.M. Hubbert – Sunbeam Melt the Hour (with Marion Kenny & Hanna Tuulikki) (50.20)
09. The Twilight Sad – Don’t Move (55.49)
10. Brown Brogues – Anyone But You (62.04)

Almost a year and a half ago now my friend Craig came round to record a podcast about early blues which we, somewhat unimaginatively, called the Craigcast.

A great deal of that conversation centred around Fat Possum Records (Wikipedia), and how Matthew Johnson struggled for years to keep it trundling along, despite being near bankruptcy for most of the time.  It wasn’t until soul legend Solomon Burke decided to release his comeback record with them that they finally got out of the financial woods with some finality.

Craig’s interest in the label is based around an obsession with old blues music, but from a modern indie kid’s perspective Fat Possum are still one of the best record labels in the world – The Walkmen, AA Bondy, Andrew Bird, Sonny and the Sunsets, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Dinosaur Jr., The Felice Brothers, Wavves and Yuck all release with them.  So this is absolutely all about Fat Possum and their bands.  Sort of a tribute, and sort of a public demonstration of me being absolutely green with envy.

Direct download: Toadcast #163 – The Fat Possumcast

01. R.L. Burnside – Snake Drive (00.15)
02. Dinosaur Jr. – Almost Ready (14.11)
03. Junior Kimbrough – Meet Me in the City (21.34)
04. Andrew Bird – Plasticities (Live) (28.46)
05. Johnny Farmer – Ocean Blues (38.37)
06. Solomon Burke – Fast Train (46.26)
07. Sonny & the Sunsets & Death Cream (59.02)
08. The Walkmen – Donde Esta la Playa (61.45)
09. Cedell Davies – Keep on Snatchin’ it Back (68.03)
10. T-Model Ford – Take a Ride With Me (76.47)

Tonight Mrs. Toad and I are going to Glasgow and I am NOT ALLOWED to take the opportunity to go to a gig, apparently.  Mean old bitch.  Still, we are staying in a posh hotel for a couple of nights, before popping up to somewherenearglasgow for a wedding on Saturday.  We are going to Rogano’s for oysters on Saturday lunchtime before pottering off in our suits and hoping that everyone else will be so smashed they won’t notice what a couple of dickheads we are when surrounded by large groups of people.

We love Rogano’s actually.  The decor is Art Deco and absolutely brilliant, and it’s full of people who look like they’ve been coming there since their glamorous youth in the seventies.  We go there, drink champagne and martini’s and eat lots of fish, and it’s brilliant.  It actually makes even me feel slightly glamorous, which is no mean feat, I promise you.  I just hope we are a little restrained and don’t turn up at the bloody wedding off our tits.

In other Hoping Not to Offend People news, my mother’s birthday is coming up, but she and my dad are off gallivanting somewhere exotic and mercifully hard to reach, so I will not be able to forget to send her a present this year, a little ritual we have which routinely results in floods of tears and plaintive cries of “Why do you hate me?”  Every single fucking year – honestly, you’d think either I’d start remembering properly or she’d just get the fuck over it, but neither of us seems to be able to sort it out, it’s ridiculous.

Anyhow, please de-lurk and say hello.  And remember to take your hipster pics of people being Incredibly Cool so you can win a vinyl copy of the Communion Compilation.  Judging will be on next Friday’s Five, so find your pics and email me at songbytoad at hotmail.co.uk.  In the meantime, Christ, please let the day be over so I can get a fucking pint.

1. What do you do which routinely causes family histrionics?
2. Apart from the Smiths, these songs are all starting to feel nostalgic now, despite only being about five years old.  Where does current stop and nostalgia begin, for you?
3. What do you wear which makes you feel distinctly Not Like You?
4. What generally disgusting foodstuff do you love.
5. Favourite childhood boardgame.

Richmond Fontaine – The Warehouse Life

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Eels – Sweet Li’l Thing

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The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again

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Andrew Bird – Lull

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Bright Eyes – Gold Mine Gutted

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This week’s disaster theme came from a conversation I had with Blueback Birthday Boy Dylan last night, but for the life of me I can’t remember how we got onto the subject of total cock-ups.  I was DJing later though, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Actually, I know I’ve had an uneasy relationship with DJing in the past, but last night’s effort was brilliant fun.  It’s all rather dependent on the occasion with me – too much of a dancefloor and it doesn’t suit the general miserablism I’m into, whereas if it’s supposed to be background music then my stuff can be a bit weird at times as well.  Last night was spot on though.

The event was a Oxfam night at Born to Be Wide in the Speakeasy at the Voodoo Rooms.  The basic premise was that the DJs (myself, Jane from the Bowery and Jamie from the Oxfam music shop in Stockbridge) would go into Oxfam, pick out a pile of vinyl, and then if people liked what they heard they could buy it on the spot.  We did really well, too, I think – certainly I saw about twenty or thirty records get sold, which is good going if you ask me.

The benefit of that kind of charity shop DJing is straightforward: your choice is really restricted.  So I went through the old jazz stuff and picked out a load of that, from the really early stuff to the likes of Piaf and Billie Holiday through to big band swing.  I did look for some blues actually, after Craig’s sterling efforts on last week’s podcast, but there was absolutely none.  Really, none at all, not even nasty eighties blues, which was sort of odd.  Presumably people don’t find their old blues records as disposable as their old jazz ones.

Anyway, I went from a couple of swing versions of Crazy ‘Bout My Baby (classic!) and I Want to Be Like You into Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey, then some Johnny Cash.  That brought on a bit of a country spell, with Willie Nelson and something of a childhood classic of mine: Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson.  My dad would have been so proud.

Anyway, then it was Michelle Shocked, Cat Stevens, Bennie & the Jets by Elton John and then into the likes of Squeeze, The Jam and Ian Dury.  I finished it off with Modern Love by Bowie and a spin of A Few Kind Words by Meursault, at which point some hammered fellow came staggering over saying ‘Oh this is brilliant, I’m having this, I love this one, it’s..  it’s…   ah, it’s by I don’t know.. it’s…  but it’s fucking brilliant.’  Weird.  But fun.

I like that kind of DJing because you’re so restricted that the eclecticism becomes a real positive, you can play whatever the hell you like, and it just makes it better; you can play swing, Willie Nelson, Elton and Half Man Half Biscuit as part of the same set without anyone batting an eyelid.  And Jane, it has to be said, was just as bad: the theme to Flash Gordon, Laurie Anderson, Jerry Lee Lewis, moog versions of pop hits, Donna Summer.  All in all a splendid night – good work Olaf!

1. Worst DIY disaster.
2. Stupidest thing you’ve said on a first date.
3. Total cooking failure.
4. Stupidest thing you’ve said to your boss.
5. Comedy falling down moment.

Jacques Brel – L’age Idiot

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Grandaddy – Broken Household Appliance National Forest

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Frank Sinatra – Somethin’ Stupid (With Nancy Sinatra)

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Andrew Bird – Natural Disaster

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Tom Waits – Falling Down

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So August is almost upon us. Traditionally –  or at least for as long as I’ve been living here – most bands and promoters in Edinburgh tend to just take the month off and make way for the festival. It’s a bit of a monolith. Every available venue (and most non-venue) space is booked up months in advance, and with so much happening every single day in August, it becomes rather difficult for smaller operations putting on shows. Of course there are exceptions – a lot of the bigger clubs just keep on trucking, and nights like Acoustic Edinburgh embrace the Fringe and put on shows as part of the official line-up.

This year, though – more so than any I can remember – seems to be bucking that trend. There’s a lot of activity going on outside of the festival – and lots of local bands and promoters putting on shows regardless. Which is great to see – another indication of the strength and confidence of the city’s musical community at the moment. I thought I’d give a run down of what’s caught my eye – as with so much on, it’s entirely possible for an amazing show to slip by un-noticed.

The Edge

Firstly, the musical leg of the Fringe – the Edge – has some really great shows this year. The Mum show may have been moved to Glasgow, but we still have David Byrne, Woodpigeon, Andrew Bird, Frightened Rabbit, Malcolm Middleton, and Jeffrey Lewis. And judging by the website, the festival seems to have just absorbed all the shows at Sneaky Pete’s – including Sleeping States (who I can’t recommend highly enough), Monotonix, Sparrow and the Workshop, the usual This is Music night and the mysteriously titled ‘Songs By Toad night’. It’s also great to see some Edinburgh bands forming part of the Edge line-up – with Broken Records at the Queens Hall, a double header from Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers at Cab Vol, and support slots from Meursault (at Frightened Rabbit), the Kays Lavelle (the Lost Brothers) and Withered Hand (Jeffrey Lewis). It’s something that I’ve felt was lacking in previous line-ups, and it’s a step in the right direction.

www.theedgefestival.com

Retreat!

Then, of course, there’s the ‘other’ festival. Retreat! is an all day event at the Bristo Hall on Sunday the 16th. 15 acts (Meursault, Withered Hand, Rob St. John, Tissø Lake, the Leg…), and DJs till 3am. Free entry. I can’t think of a better line-up. But then again, I did help pick it.

www.myspace.com/edinburghretreat

Trampoline

Trampoline are also putting on four shows over first two weekends, and really great line-ups including Adam Stafford (Y’all Is Fantasy Island), Jonnie Common (Down The Tiny Steps), Animal Magic Tricks, Conquering Animal Sound, Golden Ghost and Woodenbox.

www.myspace.com/trampolineuk

Bang Bang Club

Normally at the Speakeasy in Cabaret Voltaire, the Bang Bang Club is hosting a series of shows upstairs in the Teviot Hall. Highlights include Clinic, the Pineapple Chunks, Paul Vickers and the Leg, and a series of soundtrack events from Steven Severin.

www.myspace.com/bangbangclubedinburgh

Playing With The Past

There’s also an exclusive second screening of the Playing with the Past event from this year’s film festival on 22^nd August, with eagleowl, FOUND and Meursault performing live soundtracks to old Scottish films. Tickets are available now from the Filmhouse website or box office.

www.myspace.com/playingwiththepast

Cybraphon

FOUND – not willing to give up their ‘hardest working band in Edinburgh’ tag to Meursault just yet – also have a residency at InSpace (a gallery space – part of the new University building) with their Cybraphon project, including a live band performance on the 13^th (which is free but ticketed). It seems to be some kind of automated musical cupboard, containing a series of musical instruments, which reacts to online activity about the project in real time. Or something. For a more coherent explanation, try the Cybraphon site:

www.cybraphon.com

Leith Tape Club

Okay, strictly speaking not an Edinburgh show – but a nice trip out of the city is normally always welcome around the third week in August. Leith Tape Club at the Iso Bar continues in August on the 20^th, with a rather special all-star line-up including the Kays Lavelle and Meursault (solo, I think).

Leith Tape Club

National Portrait Gallery

There’s also a series of rather exclusive shows at the National Portrait Gallery, whilst the gallery is closed for a refurbishment. These include Rob St. John and Emily Scott on 8^th August, X-LionTamer on 21^st August, St Jude’s Infirmary and Zoey Van Goey on 22^nd August, and Withered Hand and Meursault on 29^th August.

National Portrait Gallery

Electric Circus

There’s been some great gigs in Electric Circus since it opened earlier this year, and they don’t seem to be losing any momentum in August, with shows from FOUND, Dent May, White Heath and Rob St. John (1st), Jesus H. Foxx (11th), The Phantom Band (19th), and Trembling Bells and Ben Reynolds (25th), amongst others.

Electric Circus

The Golden Hour

A blend of poetry, music and live visuals at the Forest Cafe on 19th August, with performances from Billy Liar and Withered Hand.

The Golden Hour

Shipping Forecast Garden Party

And I think there’s another shipping forecast garden party scheduled for 30^th August, with Come On Gang!

No details yet, but I’m sure Dave will keep us posted.

It is all pretty exciting. Please spam the comments with anything I’ve missed, as I’m sure there’s loads, and if any more are announced or come to light over the course of the month, it’ll no doubt make it’s way into the weekly listings.

Sleeping States – September, Maybe

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Woodpigeon – In Praise of the West Midlothian Bus Service

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Zoey Van Goey – City Is Exploding

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Sorry, I know this is going up late, but I have been working on the promotional material for the Jesus H. Foxx EP release.  There’s a fair bit still to be done, but for the time being I am cautiously optimistic that it is going to look fucking brilliant.  There will be a lot of painting to be done though, so putting the final touches on the thing is going to take bloody ages, but I think it is going to be easily worth it.

In other news, this week’s podcast is a prolonged chat with Euan (of Kays Lavelle, Trampoline, Steinberg Principle and Woodenbox fame) as a way of rounding up the excellent fortnight he spent feeding and changing Song, by Toad whilst Mrs. Toad and I were off gallivanting.  So, rather than make his usual grouchy, joyless comments on posts I thought I might invite him to make his grouchy joyless comments on a podcast.  So he came round and complained and complained and generally sulked his way through the whole thing, which was nice.

Oh alright, of course he didn’t. But it just wouldn’t be fun for me if I didn’t make fun of Euan for being grouchy long past the time anyone else has ceased to find it funny.

Oh stop sulking.  You’re turning into him.  All of you.  Shame on you, people, shame on you.  Cheer the fuck up for God’s sake.

Toadcast #77 – The Grouchcast

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01. Wilco – Bull Black Nova (06.39)
02. The Kays Lavelle – Scars From the City (15.14)
03. There Will Be Fireworks – We Sleep Through the Bombs (27.37)
04. Beerjacket – Father (31.46)
05. iLiKETRAiNS – Terra Nova (39.36)
06. Andrew Bird – The Giant of Illinois (50.10)
07. Finn – The Fourth the Fifth (61.47)
08. Fleet Foxes – Oliver James (65.29)
09. Tom Waits – Temptation (74.12)

Live recordings – in fact, specifically, live albums – came up in a recent post on Song, by Toad and the idea of doing a podcast composed entirely of live recordings really appealed to me because there are so many great ones.

That said, on the post in question there arose a debate, one voice expressing my deepest hatreds of the genre, and another being perhaps over-generous in the other direction.  Frankly, I despise the vast majority of live albums.  Mostly they are shit recordings of songs we already know, released for the sole reason of fleecing fans whose devotion has already been established, and whose wallets can clearly be plundered for a few more empty sheckles.

Despite that, of course, there are some truly stunning live recordings.  In fact, I’d argue that some of the most memorable, legendary recordings of all  time are in fact live ones.  Bob Dylan live at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1966.  Bruce Springsteen pretty much any time in the seventies.  Basically, for all live recordings are mostly rip-off bollocks, there are some truly phenomenal live albums, ones which open your eyes to the artist, ones which fill in that artist’s musical upbringing, and some which are just genuinely amazingly wonderful recordings in their own right.  Therefore we bring to you the Livecast.  Enjoy, Toadlings…

Toadcast #57 – Production Values

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01. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – 10th Avenue Freeze Out (04.09)
02. Andrew Bird – Why (11.47)
03. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Papa Won’t Leave You Henry (16.22)
04. The Moulettes – Country Joy Song (25.29)
05. Colin Meloy – Blues Run the Game (32.49)
06. Quasar Wut-Wut – The Partisan (35.45)
07. Jeff Mangum – Two Headed Boy (43.04)
08. Tom Waits – Diamonds on My Windshield (54.37)
09. Billy Bragg – Days Like These (DC Remix) (56.46)
10. Ben Folds Five – Satan is My Master (60.15)
11. Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone (64.16)

Mary Mother of Jesus up a pole. The nightmare continues.

This week’s well on time (as in assembled & ready) show was marred only by DCHQ’s onboard navigational equipment. During the process of uploading the podfile to this here podpage the hard drive of the studio computer had a fit & went to sleep. Then it wouldn’t wake up. Why won’t you wake up Mr. Drive? we sobbed. But he never did say, for he were asleep.

Turns out we’d fragged something pretty major in the configuration some time ago (something to do with me pissing about in the System files & deleting suspected virus strains) & over time/use Mr. Drive slowly grew sleepier & sleepier until he could keep his eyes open no more. Unfortunately that meant the show was stuck fast in the dreams of the comatose Mr. Drive. Boo! Hiss!

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Oops!  Sorry we’re late.  Thankfully, we’re not pregnant.

What a couple of tech-fart heavy days.  Firstly, the show we done prepared/recorded for Wednesday 29th done got killed dead by our glitch-ridden editing software (now retired & replaced) as we were transferring it from one format to another. Gone, it were, plain old gone. To compensate & salvage some professional pride we put the show back to Saturday 31st in order to allow room to breathe & re-record the entire thing (essentially a re-record of the pre-record).

Secondly, we took it as a given that the show was all uploaded & ready to air, via an auto-post for 10pm Saturday 31st, so we turned the computer off & took a much needed relax/sleep.   Imagine our aghastness, then, when today, late afternoon, Sunday 1st February, we discovered the damn auto-pilot had (again) failed to launch.  Buggeration.

Thirdly, we forgot to bloody write the post for this here site – jetlag, see. A contemporary middleclass disease, I’ll have you know.

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The Mysterious Production of Eggs and Weather Systems are two of my favourite albums in the world, so what do you do when someone who is such a favourite becomes very good instead of pupil-dilatingly inspired?  Well, inevitably you end up feeling slightly disappointed, even by excellent albums like this one.

Since Eggs, Bird seems to have pushed towards a more thickly layered sound, rich with instrumentation and somewhat at the expense of some of the clarity of his earlier recordings.  Where previously every violin pluck or guitar strum was audible to the listener, now there is so much rich, textured swooning going on that I find myself missing the sparser early records.

There is, of course, a lot to love in this album.  He lilts and sways his way through songs that tease the borders of sadness and whimsy, rarely entirely abandoning one for the other.  And his musical virtuosity means that the actual listening experience is very rewarding, well beyond the casual ‘Can I hum this?’ reaction to a standard pop song.

Nevertheless, I do find myself thinking that the last two albums don’t quite match up to the genius of the two which preceded them, and although you can never expect a musician to simply repeat a successful formula ad nauseum, I am not sure I am a hundred percent in tune with the direction in which this Bird is currently flying.

Andrew Bird – Oh No

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Andrew Bird – Effigy

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