This is one of those weeks where there could be two of you and you’d still probably not quite manage to get to all the decent gigs in the city this week.  Personally I am going to try and keep it a bit calm, but I have my doubts as to whether or not I am likely to succeed.  Mrs. Toad, no doubt, will be wildly impressed.

I had fun down in London last week, incidentally.  As I mentioned, I did a quick interview with Tom Robinson for BBC 6Music while I was there and, in typical fashion, talked for about twenty minutes, forcing them into copious editing to get things down to the requisite couple of minutes of actual airtime.  You can listen to the whole thing here if you like – it’ll be up for the next week or so I think, and my bit starts just over half an hour in.

Monday 7th February 2011: The Joy Formidable at the Electric Circus.

I’ll be absolutely honest, I don’t know too much about these guys, apart from the fact that they were really quite buzzy a year or so ago, and have a new album coming out, so I am rather interested to hear what it’s all about.

The Joy Formidable – The Magnifying Glass

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Wednesday 9th February 2011: 6 Day Riot, The Pineapple Chunks & White Heath play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

Limbo really are back with a bang in 2011.  Having gone incredibly quiet last year, I wasn’t sure if we were going to see them back again, but with something like six or seven shows booked for the first couple of months of the year already it seems I couldn’t have been more wrong.  It’ll be nice to see the Chunks back in action again as well.

The Pineapple Chunks – Look Back in Horror

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Thursday 10th February 2011: Dylan Uncovered at the Voodoo Rooms.

In association with Let’s Get Lyrical, this is a night of Dylan appreciation (and covers) starring Yusuf Azak, Esperi, The Sundancer, Shock and Awe, Norman Lamont, Hookers for Jesus, Edinburgh School for the Deaf, Issac Brutal and the Trailer Trash Express, and Tribute to Venus Carmichael.

Friday 11th February 2011: James Yorkston & Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

Another Let’s Get Lyrical show, this one looks gorgeous, and I think is part of James Yorkston’s tour to promote the recent publishing of his tour diaries.

James Yorkston – Steady as She Goes

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Friday 11th February 2011: Panda Su EP launch, with I Build Collapsible Mountains & Finn LeMarinel at Sneaky Pete’s.

The first of two consecutive This is Music nights at Sneaky’s, this is something of a Glasgow Allstars of Gentle Acoustic Pop kind of a lineup.

Saturday 12th February 2011: Conquering Animal Sound album launch with Miaoux Miaoux & Esperi at Sneaky Pete’s.

Conquering Animal Sound’s debut album Kammerspiel is out now, and they are touring the UK in support of it, with this being the Edinburgh leg.

Conquering Animal Sound – Bear (Lamplighter Remix)

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Saturday 12th February 2011: Come on Gang‘s farewell show with Over the Wall & Cancel the Astronauts at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

We music fans can be an ungrateful shower at times, and Come on Gang have just about had enough of us.  They are calling it a day, but going out with something of a bang – having a big old farewell bash at Pilrig St. Paul’s which is doubling as an album release show for their debut album.  Sort of an epitaph, I suppose.

Well I was really looking forward to seeing Julie Doiron’s new project Daniel, Fred & Julie this week, but it turns out the fucker’s cancelled, leaving us with little else but a gigantic, all-venue clusterfuck to disentangle on Saturday evening.

I generally don’t feel like the poor relation in musical bun-fights in Edinburgh, but on Saturday Yusuf’s album launch at the St. Stephen’s Centre is going toe to toe with the Leith Tape Club all-day special and, if that wasn’t bad enough, the three-venue, all day extravaganza which is Sneaky Fest.

I feel a bit like a comically feeble Disney character, armed with little more than a dinner fork, with a fire-breathing dragon on one side and an army of homicidally angry vikings on the other, desperately wondering if we can’t all just get along.  But these coincidences, annoying as they are, do just happen in the world of promotion, so only one thing to do: stop whining and just deal with it.

Actually, the Song, by Toad Records Commercial Strategy Department suggested that I just quietly neglect to mention either Sneaky Fest or the Leith Tape Club this week, but the grizzled, indomitable editorial team at Song, by Toad held out for journalistic integrity in the face of insidious commercial pressure – brave chaps, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Oh, and apart from those gigs listed below, Wounded Knee and Remember Remember are listed as playing the Electric Circus this week, but whilst it seems clear enough that Remember Remember are on Thursday 25th, the Electric Circus website is an utter nightmare to get any kind of useful information from, and although Wounded Knee are clearly written down there in the live music bit, it is not next to anything so useful as an actual date.  So erm, good luck.

Oh, and Laura Marling’s at the Liquid Room on Sunday too, but it’s already sold out and she’s incredibly fucking boring anyway, so no skin off anyone’s nose there.  Although a few of you perverts do actually like her stuff, don’t you?  I will never understand the internets.

Saturday 27th November 2010: Yusuf Azak, The Japanese War Effort and Ethan Ash at the St. Stephens Centre.

I’ve talked about the three Scottish launch dates in much more detail here, so suffice to say that I think the St. Stephens Centre looks like a fantastic venue, now that we’ve finally found one, and I would be deeply grateful to anyone forsaking our more glamorous competition to potter on down there on Saturday and enjoy some fine tunes and a glass of wine (it’s BYOB, incidentally, but there are plenty of places nearby).

Yusuf Azak – Eastern Sun

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Saturday 27th November 2010: Leith Tape Club All-Day Special at Cruz.

From Withered Hand to eagleowl, and from FOUND to Over the Wall, taking in a special mystery guest on the way, I have to confess that this looks like a brilliant evening.  And apart from sitting on the top deck in the blazing sunshine, it may be the first recorded instance of actual Fun taking place at Cruz since the days when it was the Guinness family yacht, and presumably saw parties that would turn even Lindsay Lohan’s hair white.

Withered Hand – Religious Songs

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Saturday 27th November 2010: Sneaky Fest three-venue, all-day bonanza.

This takes place in the Electric Circus, Cabaret Voltaire and Sneaky Pete’s, with one ticket covering all shows in all venues all day.  The full lineup is to be found by following the Sneaky’s link above, and includes the likes of Kid Canaveral, Washington Irving, My Tiny Robots, Kid Canaveral and Three Blind Wolves.

So, whilst the first half of 2010 was relatively quiet on the live music front, August was absolute mayhem. And as the dust settles on another festival period, and we try to assess the physical and financial damage in a calm and orderly fashion, it doesn’t look like things are slowing down on the gig radar. Which I’m rather pleased about.

Monday 6^th September 2010: Miaoux Miaoux and Wounded Knee at Electric Circus. Bart’s House. Sneaky Pete’s.

The rather talented Justin Corrie – not content in being in one third of indie popsters Maple Leave – brings his solo electronic project to Edinburgh. Also I’ll be intrigued to see how Wounded Knee’s looped folk meanderings go down amongst the glitz and glamour of Electric Circus.

Tuesday 7^th September 2010: Super Adventure Club, Luis Franscesco Arena and Hopwood & Black at Sneaky Pete’s.

I’ve no idea about the other two, but Super Adventure Club are brilliant in a really mental way. Or maybe mental in a really brilliant way.

Tuesday 7^th September 2010: Kath Bloom, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Woodpigeon and eagleowl at the Roxy Room.

Basically, an End of the Road warm up gig. And I may be biased, but I think this is one of the most interesting line-ups the cities seen in a while – an incredible coup for first time promoters Powan Presents. This Frontier Needs Heroes will be playing their own set before joining the legendary Kath Bloom as her backing band, just as eagleowl will do the same before swelling the ranks of Woodpigeon. So basically one big old alt.folk love-in.

Thursday 9^th September 2010: Panda Su, The Occasional Flickers and The Last of Private’s Balladeers at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Occasional Flickers will be playing a stripped down set for their first show in a  long while.

Friday 10^th September 2010: The Buzzcocks at The Liquid Rooms.

The Buzzcocks are one of only three good bands that have ever come out of Manchester. Discuss.

Friday 10^th September 2010: Francois & The Atlas Mountains at The Roxy.

Francois & the Atlas Mountains pretty much single handedly turned this year’s Homegame from a really nice community folk festival into an all out weekend dance party. And I’ll love them forever because of that.

Friday 10^th September 2010: Come on Gang!, FOUND and Jesus h. Foxx at The Caves.

Come on Gang! Single launch, featuring support from two of the most exciting and interesting bands in Edinburgh. You can’t go wrong, really.

Ah the cooling touch of sweet, clean porcelain.  And it may well be hot in our house, but dammit I have never experienced such an unpleasant sleeping experience as being baked alive inside a tent when the sun comes up as fiercely as it did this weekend at Glastonbury. Dear God almighty that was a nasty way to wake up, especially with a vindictive little bastard of a hangover kicking away at the inside of your head.

We didn’t do too badly for facilities actually – it’s the single greatest advantage of going to festivals with a band – but I am reminded of a daft little toilet story from my old job (no, STOP IT, it’s nothing like that, honestly) which I have intended to mention for a while and always forgotten.

Scotland is a very long way north, a very, very long way north in fact, and this means that during the Winter you arrive and leave work in the dark.  It can be lighter in the mornings, but by the time four in the afternoon rolls around, it is generally pitch fucking black outside.  Add to that the fact that we used to do most of our work on computers, even when the sun was shining the blinds were generally pulled right down so that people could see their monitors.

So yes, it was quite a dark place to work, with one glorious exception: you guessed it, the men’s toilet.  I’m not kidding.  That side of the building was south-facing so, you could be sitting in a dingy office with the blinds drawn all day, arrive and depart in the dark, but every once in a while, on one of those beautifully clear sunny days that Scotland has, you would walk into the loo and be confronted by this blaze of sunshine.  It was great.  It just lifted your spirits.

Now I’ve managed to tell you that little story in total sincerity and with a (largely) straight face, do you think I can trust you to be grown ups about it in the comments?  No, probably not.   Honestly, you people…

Thursday 1st July 2010: The Last Battle single launch at the Wee Red Bar, with Meursault and Jonnie Common.

The Last Battle’s new album is due out on 17 Seconds Records, and this is the first single from that record.  They play quite traditional folk, with cello and lovely male/female vocals but this song is a bit rockier in that ‘Christ alive, is that an electric guitar?’ sense, and a good, beefy introduction to the band.  I have a feeling the Meursault might be solo acoustic, but I am not entirely sure.

The Last Battle – Ward 119

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Thursday 1st July 2010: Born to Be Wide Booking Agent Special at the Electric Circus.

To be brutally frank, my little experience in the music industry has taught me that the following is as close to a cast iron rule as there exists: labels and PR, cannot make you famous, only you can make you famous.  You can only do that if you play as often and as well as possible, and in doing so build up enough momentum and buzz around your band that everyone else, be it press, radio, fans, whatever, absolutely has to take notice, or they simply wouldn’t be doing their jobs.  There are exceptions of course, there always are, but that is pretty close to a hard and fast rule.  Booking tours and getting gigs is far from easy however, I’ve done it myself and it was shit and I was shit at it, so I strongly recommend you come along to this and pick the brains of some professional booking agents.

Thursday 1st July 2010: Stringjammer at the Roxy Room.

This may be a little more related to the likes of blues and traditional folk than most of you are used to, but I think there’s a lot of good stuff going on in Stringjammer’s music.  Long Road Home, on their MySpace page, is a case in point, and there is more there like that.  There’s a lot of experimental and strange stuff in there, but they obviously started from quite traditional base material before they went and made it all weird, so I think this one should appeal to readers of Toad.

Saturday 3rd July 2010: Kid Canaveral album launch at the Roxy Room, with Come on Gang! and the Scottish Enlightenment.

Tickets for this can be bought from the band here, and I recommend you do so. Kid Canaveral are not exactly a fashionable band – they’re not even close to being arch enough for that – but they have an amazingly consistent talent for writing infectious indie-pop melodies.   Also, The Scottish Enlightenment – I might finally get a chance to see the bastards play!

Kid Canaveral – Stretching the Line

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I’m afraid the gig listings this week are going to be little more than a great steaming post of Toadspam.  We’ve a lot on at the moment, and I’d hate to think you’d let other people’s wonderful creative efforts distract you from the fact that the most important thing you can do this week is give a needy, gin-soaked virtual amphibian a bit of validation.

So as such please bear in mind that it is most definitely NOT the This is Music fourth birthday celebrations this Friday, and Meursault are certainly NOT going to go down to Sneaky Pete’s to rock the shit out of the place, oh no no, nothing of the sort.

Anyhow, the Loch Lomond Night Bats launch tour kicks off tomorrow, in the Slaughtered Lamb in London, then trundles through Glasgow on Wednesday (the first ever Glasgow Toad Night, as per the above poster), then Aberdeen on Thursday, Berwick on Friday, Leith on Saturday and back down to London to play The Black Heart in Camden on Sunday night.  Because I am driving around with them, posting might be somewhat disrupted this week, but I will try and make sure I get a couple of reviews written up this afternoon so that they are available to post over the course of the week.  Otherwise you are in the hands of Dylan, rather famously referred to as Baldrick in the comments for the last podcast, much to his distinct lack of amusement and my descent into the giggles.

Anyhow, at the Roxy Art House there will be some poetry and music from the Wintergreens on Wednesday, and then some sprightly indie-pop from Come On Gang on Friday, but there’s not an awful lot else that I can find in Edinburgh which looks like my kind of thing, honestly.  Social Services look kind of interesting, although I know nothing about them at all, and they’re on at Sneaky Pete’s on Thursday 20th.  And that seems to be it, although it’s far from unusual that I miss at least one good gig from these listings every week of course.

Wednesday 19th May 2010: Meursault, Loch Lomond & Jonnie Common play the Song, by Toad Records Showcase at Mono, Glasgow.

It’s been a while since I’ve been through to a gig in Glasgow, and I am really looking forward to this one – Mono is a lovely venue by all accounts.  I was toying with the idea of trying to get more Glasgow bands on the bill, and then it struck me how silly it would be to to go to all the trouble of putting on a gig in Glasgow, only to put bands on the bill they can see every other week anyway.  I reckon we should start doing a few of these showcases actually – help small Glasgow labels to put them on here, and then encourage Edinburgh ones to do things through there.  If that worked out we could even extend it to places like Aberdeen or Manchester or stuff like that, but I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself here…

Loch Lomond – Tic

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Friday 21st May 2010: Meursault & Islet play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

Yes, yes, yes, I will be in Berwick and unable to attend this one, very funny.  I reckon the idea of the Meursault playing a full band set live in a little club like Sneaky’s should be bloody brilliant, to be honest with you. It is hopefully going to be very, very loud.  Due to excessive workloads I haven’t had the chance to actually go to a bloody good late night piss up for a while, and this is the one I would pick if I could.

Meursault – Red Candle Bulb

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Saturday 22nd May 2010: Sam Amidon, Loch Lomond & Leif Vollebekk at the Queen Charlotte Rooms in Leith.

The return of the Bowery, with early evening crafts, some poetry reading, and music this should be a lovely night.  The Queen Charlotte Rooms (the pink building just next to The Compass in Leith) is a building caught in a bloody timewarp, but that makes it an absolutely incredible place.  It looks for all the world like somewhere my grandma would have gone for one of her industrial-strength rum and cokes to meet her friends from the British Legion.  The music will be folky goodness from Sam Amidon, Loch Lomond, Leif Vollebekk all kicked off by a solo acoustic performance by Neil from Meursault.

Sam Amidon – Wild Bill Jones

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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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Having made such an almighty pig’s ear of last week’s listings, I find myself wondering if the gigmosphere really is as thin as it looks this week, or whether I’ve just managed to make another spectacular arse of spotting the good ‘uns again.

There’s something a little different happening, actually, because Joey Comeau and the Loose Teeth Press are going to be at the Bowery as part of their reading tour tonight, which sounds rather interesting.  Also, the Charity Baw at the Roxy on Saturday looks like a bit of a spectacular, so it’s not actually as quiet a week as it looks.

Tuesday 17th November 2009: King Charles play the first Fresh Air Tuesday at the GRV.

Fresh Air student radio are taking over the GRV on Tuesdays this year, putting on something a little different each week, and kicking things off this week with King Charles.  I don’t know them at all, but I have dug up a few songs and they sound really rather good.  Definitely worth checking out.

King Charles – Beating Hearts

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Friday 20th November 2009: Otters Sing Lullabies present Conquering Animal Sound, Molly Wagger and Aurora Stands in Snow at the Bowery.

This will be a quirky night of music, all quite gentle in most senses, but nevertheless a little disturbing in others.  There will be a lot of acoustic loveliness and quite a bit of slightly eccentric electronic  trickery as well.

Saturday 21st November 2009: Charity Baw at the Roxy Art House.

Pretty much every bastard is playing this one.  There are local heroes such as Withered Hand, Aberfeldy, Benni Hemm Hemm and Come On Gang but, somewhat more intriguingly from my perspective, there will also be the amazing (The Real) Tuesday Weld.  That sounds a bit hard on the local contingent, but I don’t mean it that way, simply that I have been a Tuesday Weld fan for bloody ages and never once had the chance to sample their visually sumptuous live show.  Yes, yes I did just use the word sumptuous.  Sorry. What I basically mean is that they use their rather excellent videos as a backdrop to the live performance, which sound brilliant. And at least a little sumptuous.

(The Real) Tuesday Weld – Kix

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Sunday 22nd November 2009: Debutant, Rasied by Wolves, The Last Battle at the Bowery.

This is my gig of the week, I think.  I’ve not properly seen any of these bands live and I have been twitching to see all three for a while.  Debutant’s atmospheric guitar layering will probably be quite distinct from the more traditional songwriting of the other two bands, but it looks like this should be a good ‘un.

This week’s job is the finishing of the Honeytrap Toad Session, preparing the second Toad House Gig for Friday – brilliant brilliant brilliant! – sort of getting ready for the Toad Autumn Party at the Bowery on the 10th (Pineapple Chunky madness, woo!) and getting the Meursault singles pressed and the artwork sorted.  If I am dead by the weekend, do not be surprised.

Fortunately, the start of the week is relatively light on gigs.  Lightish anyway.  Tonight is free, so I should get a chunk done then.  I just fear the traditional upload hell which tends to accompany the finishing of these bloody videos.  Vimeo is a great service in many ways, but the uploading is flaky as fuck and incredibly annoying.  Still, that’s presumably a matter for Friday at 4am, if the FOUND session is anything to go by.

Tuesday 29th September 2009: The Blank Tapes & Magic Leaves at the Bowery.

I really like it when people around me get all giddy about the visit of bands I’ve never heard of – it makes going to a gig that much more exciting.  This is one of those gigs

Wednesday 30th September 2009: Wild Beasts & The Kays Lavelle at Cabaret Voltaire.

These guys are just on the edge of stuff I like – some of it I absolutely love and some I find just a little bit too much.  It’s camp and loose, but they write terrific pop songs nevertheless and I am really looking forward to seeing them live to get a bit more of a clue about their personality as a band.

Wild Beasts – Hooting & Howling

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Thursday 1st October 2009: Leith Tape Club at the Iso Lounge, with Animal Magic Tricks and Men Diamler.

The Leith Tape Club is a lovely night, with a small capacity and an initmate atmosphere, and conveniently right around the corner from my work.

Thursday 1st October: Meursault, Three Blind Wolves & Washington Irving at Sneaky Pete’s.

Three Blind Wolves are apparently Ross Clark-related, although I have to confess I know nothing about them.  Washington Irving are another new one on me, but I think we all know quite enough about Meursault by now.

Friday 2nd October 2009: X Lion Tamer & Nite Jewel at Sneaky Pete’s.

I don’t know why I like X Lion Tamer, exactly.  All that synthy 80s pop should be way more than I can handle, but oddly I find myself really enjoying it – basically I suppose because the songs are just incredibly catchy.  Night Jewel, I have to confess, I know almost nothing about.

X Lion Tamer – Neon Hearts

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Friday 2nd October: Animal Magic Tricks & Men Diamler play the second Toad House Gig.

These house gigs look like turning into really nice things.  The last one was bloody lovely, and with the lovely Animal Magic tricks and Men Diamler, whose music can be as mental as it can lovely I think this one will be a fantastic night.

Animal Magic Tricks – Smallish Hooves

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Friday 2nd October: Trespassers William, Glissando & eagleowl at the Wee Red Bar.

Gizeh Records’ allstar tour comes to Edinburgh, supported by local sorts The Kays Lavelle and eagleowl.  I have to confess I rather feared for eagleowl, who were somewhat threatened by a recent combination of relocation and fornication, but seeing them back playing (superbly) at the Withered Hand EP launch last week has cheered me right up.  They have about seven new songs recorded too, you know.  I’ve no idea what they’re going to do with them, but they have them, which is tantalising, but definitely rather excellent news.

Saturday 3rd October: Kid Canaveral EP launch at the Bowery, with Come On Gang and Cancel the Astronauts.

This lineup is ridiculously indie-pop-tastic, with Edinburgh’s three finest lining up in a show of defiance to all that moany indie-folk shit I insist on listening to.  This stuff is all about the infectiousness of the tunes, and Kid Canaveral are perhaps the most hummable band in the city.  Their new EP is out on download or, erm, tape.  Yes, tape.  Good fucking grief, it’ll be wax cylinders or fucking eight track next.

Kid Canaveral – Couldn’t Dance

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You could drink yourself into a coma going to every interesting gig in Edinburgh this week.  I think I might need a few orange juice gigs, if just to vaguely preserve both liver and waistline.  Although it may be too late for both, I have to admit.  I think I am going to start driving to gigs (tonight is by necessity, but we’ll see how it goes) just as a way of forcing myself to stick to fizzy water or some such beverage.

Maybe Skinny Water, perhaps (thank you Cogstar), a drink so monumentally stupid that I have stared at that ridiculous primary school website for hours trying to figure out if the damn thing is a hoax or not.  It’s so ridiculous I keep thinking that it really must be a piss-take, but it really does appear to be water laced with imaginary weight-reducing ingredients.

As their website claimed*, the water “has been enhanced with a unique combination of ingredients to help you lose weight… suppress appetite, block carbohydrates from converting into fat and increase fat burning”.

This website, on the other hand, claims that this is most ludicrous pile of horse manure to hit the public domain in ages.  Although, thinking about it, this product is so transparently idiotic that I find it hard to blame the manufacturers, or the designers of that comedy website.  Honestly, if you are so fucking stupid as to fall for this sort of infantile idiocy then you deserve to be ripped off and, honestly, you deserve the continuing cycle of desperate, futile hope followed by the despair of inevitable failure and decimated self-esteem that this sort of obsessive weight mania will certainly bring you.  Jesus fucking Christ, if you’re too fat (which I am) then either just accept it and enjoy your life, or get some fucking exercise.

Monday 7th September 2009: The Bowery Re-Opening Party with Dan Costello & Wounded Knee.

I have missed the Bowery over the Festival.  Somewhere sane to go would have been appreciated in amongst all the carnage, but Jane and Ruth are back now and celebrate that fact tonight.

Tuesday 8th September 2009: The Pineapple Chunks & X Lion Tamer at Electric Circus.

How these two rather mental bands are going to complement one another on a bill is anyone’s guess, but I really like both and am definitely looking forward to this – unhinged guitar indie and dancey electro stuff.  And incidentally, X Lion Tamer has a new EP out, called Neon Hearts, which is available in Avalanche Records on Cockburn Street as of right about now.

The Pineapple Chunks – Art Storage

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Wednesday 9th September 2009: Willard Grant Conspiracy & Doghouse Roses at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Willard Grant Conspiracy are one of my favourite bands ever.  Robert Fisher’s voice is deep and rich, and his songs go from the desperate ballad to lovely alt-country to grinding tension, often in the same album.  There is no chance I am missing this gig.

Willard Grant Conspiracy – Evening Mass

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Thursday 10th September 2009: Meursault vs Dead Boy Robotics vs Foundling Wheel at the Voodoo Rooms.

Versus gigs are a bit risky in some senses – how to keep the pace up without garbling things, how to get enough interplay between the bands to stop it simply being a standard gig with a shuffled playlist, all sorts of things – but I love the idea in general.  The styles on show this evening are pretty varied too, which I think is a good thing.

Friday 11th September 2009: Neko Case at the Voodoo Rooms.

Neko Case has, simply, one of the most gorgeous voices around.  I’ve seen her live before and she is lovely – charismatic, charming and a superb performer.  There’s a lot on this Friday, so I don’t know if I’m likely to be able to make it, but I really want to go to this.

Neko Case – Tightly

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Friday 11th September 2009: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Come On Gang & Dupec play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

Totally Enormous what? Fucking hell, you really should go for the name alone.  This is Music nights are brilliant fun, and this is just that kind of carefree, enjoyable lineup which makes them good.

Saturday 12th September 2009: The Jesus H. Foxx EP Launch at the Bowery, with Some Young Pedro & Golden Ghost.

YES, the offical Song, by Toad Records release of Matter, by Jesus H. Foxx!  I don’t know why I ever even wanted to be a record label, but one of the reasons was to be involved with, and make a contribution to, music which I bloody love.  I am absolutely thrilled to have this EP on the label and really looking forward to the launch night.  I’ve never seen either Some Young Pedro or Golden Ghost before either, so even more room to be excited.

Jesus H. Foxx – Trying to Be Good

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*Until people pointed out that it was total bollocks and they decided to change it.

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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