MOOOOR-ning! Having kicked off our own monthly series of gigs this weekend just, with an excellent gig at the Wee Red Bar, I feel very much ready to start properly going to gigs again, after an extremely quiet January.

It was an excellent night actually, so a massive thank you to everyone who came out, and thanks a lot to the bands as well, who all made an effort to bring their friends down, which as a new promoter is something I am extremely grateful for.

We’ve got something like five more gigs in the pipeline by now, including bands like Rob St. John, Ziggy Campbell, Thirty Pounds of Bone, Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six, Zed Penguin, Husband, Miaoux Miaoux, Jonnie Common’s Desk Job, and hopefully also The Leg, eagleowl and Orchestra Elastique, assuming we can make them offers they can’t refuse.

Friday 28th January 2011: Gummi Bako, eagleowl and The Oates Field play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms (tickets here).

If it weren’t for the fact that Homegame isn’t until May this year, I would have described this as the perfect warmup.  It’s been ages since Gummi Bako has brought his rock ‘n’ roll band (wonkytonk, in his own words, apparently) down from Fife, and for all I know a lot of people see them as an acquired taste, I can tell you they are awesome fun to watch.

eagleowl – Into the Fold (Toad Session)

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Sunday 30th January 2011: Broken Records & Freelance Whales at the Liquid Room (tickets here).

I haven’t seen Broken Records play live since the release of their phenomenal second album Let Me Come Home, so I am hugely looking forward to this.  The new material sounds a lot more like a guitar-based indie rock band than earlier stuff, but I can’t imagine their live impact has been anything other than enhanced by this change.

Freelance Whales – Generator – 2nd Floor

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Sunday 30th January 2011: Maps and Atlases, Gallops & Dupec vs Lady North at Sneaky Pete’s.

This looks like a night of hypnotic, crunchy, experimental electronica.  Not the wibbly, noodly stuff though, but proper, in your face racket.  It’s a kind of music which is doing quite well around here at the moment actually, but not one I feel I have properly given a chance and made an effort to get into yet.  Shame on me.

Sometimes pretend people (ie you, because you’re on the internet) can be so much better than real ones.  I can explain to my parents that the reason I have neglected them for the last little while is because I have spent most of the last week gazing at the white lines on a motorway, driving Loch Lomond around the UK for their first UK mini-tour, but deep down they’ll probably still be miffed that I haven’t called, written, emailed, or anything at all for about two weeks.

You, on the other hand, have such a rich and varied internets to entertain you that you probably barely even noticed, you heartless fucking bastards.  Honestly, internet fuckers can be so cruel sometimes.

Fortunately, not much seems to be happening until later on in the week this week, leaving me a couple of days to re-gird my thoroughly dis-girded loins before it all kicks off again.  My brain, honestly, is melting.

Thursday 27th May 2010:  Washington Irving, Sebastian Dangerfield, Octoberman & Peter Katz at Sneaky Pete’s.

This is a crazily good lineup, with Instinctive Raccooners Washington Irving releasing their new EP with support from Sebastian Dangerfield, who are probably the band in Edinburgh I am most interested in considering I have yet to actually see them play.  They do nothing more clever than wistful indie-pop songs, but from what I have heard they do them very well indeed.  Added to these two is a pair of bands from Toronto, one of whom – Octoberman – I have been following for quite some time and am really rather surprised to see them turn up here.  Very pleasantly surprised of course, but surprised nonetheless!

Octoberman – By the Wayside

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Thursday 27th May 2010: Versus, with The Japanese War Effort, Miaoux Miaoux and Dupec, with Yusuf Azak and Iliop, at the Voodoo Rooms.

I have not been to a single Versus gig yet, and I am not going to make this one either.  Dave and Ted would be forgiven for thinking I hate their night but nothing, honestly, could be further from the truth – just look at the Cold Seeds album.  With a couple of Toad favourites on the bill in Yusuf Azak and The Japanese War Effort, this one promises to be an unusual addition to a fine tradition.

The Japanese War Effort – His and Hers Politics

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Friday 28th May 2010: Jesus H. Foxx & eagleowl play the This is Music 4th Birthday Celebrations at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Foxx and eagleowl are brilliant, but unfortunately I will be doing some DJing at this one, so only come along if you’re feeling brave.

eagleowl – Sleep the Winter (Toad Session)

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Saturday 29th May 2010: The Damned at the Picturehouse.

Not sure why I listed this one actually, because I am hardly a massive fan of the Damned.  Still, there are a good few songs of theirs which I like and, honestly, it just looks like it might be good fun.

The Damned – Problem Child

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Sunday 30th May 2010: The Go Away Birds at the Roxy Art House.

The Go Away birds are part Zoey Van Goey, and partly the lass who sang the lead on that Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) project God Help the Girl a year or so ago.  This stuff is very pretty indeed.

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.

Well, after a bit of a lull last week there’s all sorts of crap going on in and around Edinburgh this week, so choose wisely because trying to attend everything could just be the end of you.  As well as the usual recommendations there are a couple of half-recommendations this week; gigs I feel I should want to go to, but am actually not that fussed about.  Crystal Antlers (I mean, come on, they have Crystal in their name, they have to be good, almost as guaranteed as having Fuck in your name last year, or Bear the year before that, or Wolf… well, never mind) are playing at Sneaky Pete’s with Times New Viking and Dupec.  These are all bands I feel I should like more than I do, for some reason.

The same applies to all of Glenn Tilbrook, Kristin Hersh and Alastair Roberts who are playing Cabaret Voltaire on Tuesday 19th, Wednesday 20th and Friday 22nd respectively.  I should be excited about them (well, maybe not Mr. Tilbrook in particular, no offence) but for all it is good that these guys are playing Edinburgh I find myself no more than vaguely interested in their gigs.  The splendid Rob St. John is supporting Alastair Roberts though, so that one is definitely the most appealing of the lot.

In terms of gigs I am likely to be attending, well let’s go, shall we.  And, er, just check Saturday out.  The Edinburgh gig going public might well be spread very thinly indeed this Saturday:

Thursday 21st May 2009: White Heath, Yusuf Azak & Colourmusic play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

Well all know I think Yusuf Azak is bloody brilliant, but White Heath were also excellent at Trampoline last Saturday.  Their sound is very crowded, and their lead singer sounds a little like a muezzin who has rather badly lost his way, but they sound really, really promising to me.  Trombone and mental fiddle solos? Count me in!  And they even play the bongos without sounding shite, which is an achievement in itself.  They’re going to be working on some new recordings with Alex from Fentek Audio in the near future, and Alex appears to be carving out a reputation as one of Edinburgh’s most trusted sound guys, so this is very good news.  I’ll definitely be at this one.
Colourmusic – Spring Song

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Thursday 21st May:Benni Hemm Hemm and Withered Hand at the Bowery.

Glacial Icelandicism is no surprise these days, but this is more of a style we might associate with the rest of Scandinavia, with an almost januty instrumental pop style never far from the surface.  Benni will be at the Bowery on Thursday with the brilliant Withered Hand.

Friday 22nd May 2009: The Mannequins, The Pineapple Chunks and quite a few others at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

In amongst a lot of bigger names this week, I reckon this looks like the pick of the bunch when it comes to more under the radar slots.  I’ve been slack at checking the Henry’s listings recently because they’ve been rather quiet since the new year, but I hear that that is about to be taken firmly in hand and they will be making a bit of a push in the coming months.  The Mannequins have some pretty decent pop songs from the sound of it, and The Pineapple Chunks have done well at Limbo in the past, so I think this is gig to go to if you’re looking for something a little off the beaten track.
The Mannequins – Little Black Book

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Cats in Paris & Mitchell Museum at Cabaret Voltaire.

I should really be at the Stag & Dagger Festival in Glasgow watching Meursault on Saturday, but they asked me to sign release forms so that Meursault’s set could be both filmed and recorded and then denied me permission to film at the festival myself, so they can go and fuck themselves with a bag full of scorpions, frankly.  Instead, I will be at Cabaret Voltaire watching the very fashionable Cats in Paris and the very excellent Mitchell Museum.  The last time I saw Mitchell Museum was in a rather large venue, so somewhere more intimate and a little sweatier should be great fun.
Mitchell Museum – Arthur Loves the Shadows

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Found, Player Piano, The Pictish Trail & King Creosote at the GRV.

I just don’t go the GRV, not really on purpose, more because they so rarely have my kind of music on the bill there that I get a little lazy about checking the listings.  This one is pretty bloody obvious though: a kind of Fence Collective Allstars get together, with all the charismatic alt-folk you could wish for.  Player Piano is more of a lush pop band though, and Found aren’t really folky at all, so I don’t think this would be the Fence Collective of hushed and lovely balladry which you might expect if you were coming along on the basis of a hundred-word newspaper clipping.
Player Piano – Anything At All

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Anathallo, Samamidon, The Stormy Seas & Your Boy Blair at Sneaky Pete’s.

Anathallo, although I know very little about them, sound rather lovely from a quick skim of their MySpace page.  Also on the bill is the truly gorgeous Samamidon, and anyone who missed either of his Bowery gigs this Winter really should not miss this.  He has the loveliest voice and the most amazing way with a banjo you are likely to hear anywhere, ever.
Anathallo – The River

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Lach at the Bowery.

Lach pretty much started what is generally thought of as the modern anti-folk movement in New York, and he certainly coined the phrase itself.  It’s hardly a new thing of course – Bob Dylan rubbed the folkies all up the wrong way when he first turned up as well, but they couldn’t really ignore him for all that long.  Getting a legendary figure like Lach to the Bowery is something of a coup as far as I’m concerned so, er, what the fuck am I going to do on Saturday with all these bands to see.  I can’t miss this one.
Lach – A Quiet Distance

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Sunday 24th May: Defiance Ohio, Madeline, Withered Hand, Torn Strings & Billy Liar at the Bowery.

Madeline is a big favourite of my pal Rich who writes the Georgia (no, the one in the States) blog Cable & Tweed, so I really think I should go to this.  After all, without Rich we would have no Porlolo, no Builders & the Butchers, no Loch Lomond, no Sleepy Horses and no 63 Crayons.
Madeline – White Flag

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Evening, Toadlings.  There’s really very little on in Edinburgh this week that I would personally be up for, and the one gig I want to see is taking place when I am bastarding well out of town, on Thursday evening.  Marina & the Diamonds are playing Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms this week, but honestly I am not all that convinced I have to confess.  The only thing I really want to go to this week is the Jesus H. Foxx EP launch at the Bowery on Thursday night, but I’m in fucking London aren’t I, so I can’t bloody well go.

Actually, the reason I’m in London is rather interesting, now that I mention it.  Sony contacted a few of us UK music bloggers and invited us to meet with them to discuss the internet in general and how to interact with bloggers.   I am not sure if this was motivated by the fuss made over the Glasvegas DMCA fiasco, but I am hoping that they at least found that a sufficiently negative and unnecessary situation to be worth avoiding in future.

Now, quite how productive this meeting is likely to be is something which I have my doubts about.  Talking to bloggers is a little like herding cats; we are all amateurs and all have our own ideas about what we are both individually and collectively.  So beyond serving as an easy focus group for Sony, I am not sure quite what can be made of this little get together.  Mind you, just reading our blogs serves as a pretty enormous source of free information anyway, so I don’t know what else we can hope to add to things.  I’m interested though.  I don’t particularly want to be seen as some renegade, because I don’t see myself that way at all.  I actually think what I am doing is pretty much completely legit and fairly mainstream in terms of intentions and ambitions and so on, so anything we can do to stop people looking at music bloggers as some sort of guerilla criminal underclass bent on bringing down the system is good.  Frankly all I want is to be left in peace to do what the hell I want, with some sort of civillised system in place for resolving differences when we all inevitably tread on one another’s toes at some point.

Fat fucking chance, I know.

In any case, I will be interested to have the discussion.  I genuinely want to know what they have to say about things like the DMCA, the semi-legal nature of music blogs, their approach to teh internetz in general, stuff like that.  I’ll write all about it on the train back on Friday morning, so hopefully it will be an interesting enough meeting to make a good post out of.  I’m really not interested in point-scoring here, or in finding ammunition for the slagging off of Sony, but I think you know me well enough by now to know that I will make my points fairly stubbornly and am unlikely to be swayed by sleight of hand.  Should make for an interesting couple of hours anyway.

Oh, and did I mention Homegame?

Thursday 16th April 2009: Jesus H. Foxx & Art Fag at the Bowery.

The Jesus H. Foxx EP is something I am hugely excited about hearing in its entirety.  I’ve heard bits and pieces here and there, but I am holding off until I can slap the whole thing on, lie back with a gin, and turn it up nice and loud.  My instinct suggests that we may just have a band on the verge of a breakthrough year on our hands, and I hope I am right.  Art Fag, for those of you interested, is an experimental electronic project by a certain pair of miscreants called Neil Pennycook and Chris Bryant.  I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.
Jesus H. Foxx – Trying to Be Good

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Art Fag – Nakhla Dog

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Friday 17th April 2009: The Virgins & the Chew Lips at Cabaret Voltaire.

Despite being extremely fashionable, these slightly dancey, slightly punky, slightly sparky bands sound like they have some promise.  I nearly, nearly reviewed the Chew Lips material when it was sent through to me a few months ago – maybe almost a year actually – so I would be quite interested to go along to this.  Were I not at Homegame of course.
The Virgins – Fernando Pando

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Edit:

Saturday 18th April 2009: Findo Gask, Come On Gang & Dupec play Trampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

Apologies for missing this the first time, that was careless of me, but it should be a really good gig.  Findo Gask are a really excellent band, who I am really keen to see again, and who I am really keen to see release more music.  Their last couple of singles have been superb, and their, erm, experimental disco pop laments – could you call them that? – somehow hit absolutely home, as far as I am concerned.  Hit the nail right between the ears, so to speak.
Findo Gask – Va Va Va

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