This podcast is slightly kinda somewhat about about the myopia of the London media, in particular as to how it pertains to Scotland and Scottish music, and slightly about the Glasgow media.  There are a number of different triggers for this, starting with this article in the Scotsman’s Under the Radar blog last year about the rejection by the editor of a London glossy of an article on four up-and-coming Scottish bands, made even more offensive by the fact that said editor had requested the damn article in the first place.

Of course, anyone who reads the London glossies knows they don’t half cover an awful lot of shite themselves, so they really are in no position to pass judgment, but these things are about personal taste at the end of the day and you really can’t force anyone to like stuff.

Then of course there was a wee bit of chatter about the Glasgow focus of the media in Scotland – like an endless set of Russian dolls, this kind of thing really can go on forever – particularly focussed on the remarkable Glasgow-centrism of The List’s Hot 100 list and then some stupid woman on BBC radio sneering at the Edinburgh music scene despite knowing no more of Glasgow than Mogwai or Franz Ferdinand.

So yes, there’s a bit of that going on as well, but for the most part it’s surprisingly non-confrontational given the level of annoyance I felt with both the BBC lady and the List list at the time.

Toadcast #105 – The Myopiacast

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01. James Yorkston – A Man of My Skills (04.26)
02. Frightened Rabbit – The Greys (10.22)
03. Orange Juice – Blue Boy (16.02)
04. The Pogues – Rake at the Gates of Hell (18.53)
05. Fang Island – Life Coach (27.56)
06. Her Name is Calla – Long Grass (30.51)
07. Fire Engines – Get Up and Use Me (37.59)
08. Last Battle – Ward 119 (47.44)
09. Sebastian Dangerfield – Morris (49.53)
10. Sigur Ros – Gong (58.05)

I think this week may be very tricky for me indeed in terms of gig attendance.  Clients here at Proper Job have just this very afternoon ‘re-strategised’ a pretty significant piece of work so I will probably spend the week working late into the night on what I am actually paid to do for a change, rather than just writing posts and editing video for the entertainment of you bastards.

Still, it’s been a hectic as all fuck August, and I am actually kind of glad it’s over.  Not because of Festival hatred or anything, just sheer tiredness.  And The Bowery is back with us as of next Monday as well, which is bloody brilliant news.

Monday 31st August2009: Jeffrey Lewis & Withered Hand at Cabaret Voltaire.

Anti-folk legends old and new at Cabaret Voltaire tonight.  These two have actually got really similar styles – bleakness and cynicism made brilliant by wit and warmth.

Jeffrey Lewis – Banned From the Roxy

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Tuesday *!*8th*!* September 2009: X Lion Tamer at Electric Circus.

Erm, sorry everyone, this is next Tuesday apparently.

X Lion Tamer – Life Support Machine

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Thursday 3rd September 2009: Aidan Moffat & the Best-Ofs & Rick Redbeard at The Bongo Club.

I’ve said this a dozen times before and I will say it again: Rick Redbeard is fucking brilliant.  Anyone who likes the kind of hushed Americana played by the likes of the Willard Grant Conspiracy, Smog or Bonnie Prince Billy really should go and see him play.  And that Moffat character’s rather decent too.

Rick Redbeard – Dreams of the Trees

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Saturday 5th September 2009: Scott Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit), Withered Hand & Danny from Chutes at Electric Circus.

I don’t know much about Chutes – they’ve been working on new recordings recently, apparently, so not playing live as much – but I know the other two pretty well in terms of their musical output and a quiet solo show from either Scott or Dan would be worth making the trip for.  Put the lot together and you have an absolutely brilliant lineup, if you ask me.

Frightened Rabbit – Poke (Live)

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These are the videos we got from Meursault’s live performance at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, when they supported Frightened Rabbit on the 18th August.

New Ruin and Crank Resolutions are new songs, which will both be on their second album, and this is pretty much the first airing for the former.  Enjoy.

I give my parents tons of music. So much, in fact, that I made them pay for their copy of the Meursault album. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s not as daft as it sounds: basically, I give them tons of music as it is and if I thought they were going to like it then I would have given them a copy already. Consequently, if they just wanted one for sentimental reasons… well so do a lot of people, and you aren’t going to make any money at all if you hand out freebies to everyone who thinks they are due one.

I played the album to them after they’d coughed up and, sure enough, it wasn’t really their kind of thing. I think it’s a lot to do with the electronics, but by and large it was no real surprise. As I said, if I’d have thought they were going to like it, they’d have had a copy already.

They loved Small Stretch of Land though.

Neil, from the band, says much the same thing. His parents are incredibly proud of him, but in all honesty they aren’t all that keen on the music… eeexcept for A Small Stretch of Land, which they love. In fact, pretty much everyone’s parents love Small Stretch of Land.

Scott from Frightened Rabbit (who has done more than anyone except perhaps Vic Galloway to promote Meursault far and wide, which is hugely appreciated by all of us) has taken to occasionally covering one of their songs, particularly when he plays solo. Which one? Yes, A Small Stretch of Land.

Of course, given he only plays a Meursault song from time to time, and mostly at solo shows, it makes sense for it to be one of the ones that suits the acoustic guitar, but the end effect of all this was still the same: I ended up forgetting just how fucking good this song is.

Salt Pt.2 was always my favourite of the maudlin ballads on Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues and because Small Stretch of Land was the ‘obvious one’ in many ways, as evidenced by the general parent love and so on, I sort of forgot about it. But, as Lloyd Cole once sang, “The reason it’s a cliche is because it’s true.”

I’ve seen this song performed live twice recently, for the first time in nearly a year: once in somewhat confrontational fashion at the Queen’s Hall (video coming soon) and once in a small upstairs room in Leith. The massively different environments made the song sound totally different on both occasions, but it was fucking gorgeous on both. I really do have a bad habit of forgetting that sometimes the reason everyone likes something is because it just happens to be fucking brilliant.

Meursault – A Small Stretch of Land

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MySpace | Buy from Song, by Toad Records

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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It’s that time of the week once again.  At 6.30pm, British Summer Time, myself and Dylan from Blueback Hotrod will be live on Fresh Air, Edinburgh’s student radio station.  There will be no theme, no coherence and no real attempt to do anything more dynamic than just chatter about music, so please do tune in and listen to us blether.

Rather than emailing or (grrr) tweeting, I thought I might just leave this as an open thread for those who want to contribute, and I’ll add the playlist live as we go along.

Click the big ‘Listen Live’ button on this page to tune in, between 6.30pm and 8pm tonight.

01. The Bluetones – Glad to See You Back Again
02. James – Sound
03. Emily Scott – Pageant Queen
04. Frightened Rabbit – Old Old Fashioned (Live)
05. Kid Canaveral – Teenage Fanclub Song
06. Popup – Lucy, What are You Trying to Say?
07. Blur w. Francoise Hardy – To the End
08. Gene – Dolce & Gabanna or Nowt
09. Meursault – Hard On (Charles Latham Cover)
10. Charles Latham – Nite Man
11. Withered Hand – Religious Songs
12. Boo Radleys – Almost Nearly There
13. White Antelope – Silver Dagger
14. Cancel the Astronauts – I am the President of Your Fanclub and Last Night I Followed You Home

Cheers, see you next week at the same time.

This podcast is sort of like the Clustercast should have been.  I haven’t actually listened to it yet, so I don’t know if it’s any good, but it sort of felt better, somehow.  It isn’t anything like that incoherent and garbled anyway, which is a relief.

We spent the day collecting for the lifeboats, along with some excellent help from our pals Dylan from Blueback Hotrod, Neil from Meursault, Ed from 17 Seconds, Dave, Michael and the Stormettes from The Stormy Seas and Morgan from, erm, Glasgow.  I have to point out how important their help was as well.  It’s easy to talk a good game and then to pussy out at the last minute, but despite the fact that both Neil and Ed had other things on today, everyone made the time to come down and help out, which is bloody good of them.  We collected a fair chunk of cash – Mrs. Toad’s pretty blonde colleague collected the most, rather predictably.  Maybe we need fewer beardy alt-folkies and more hot babes next year.

Enjoy the podcast, then; we’ve got a lot of nautically-themed songs this week and could have had even more.  There are loads of songs, and we had far more on the list before trimming.  It’s a bit out of control, this podcast, but actually I think it’s quite good.  Dylan’s roving reporter slots are just… well, they’re just.  They’re just. That’s what they are.  Experience them for yourself.  Good luck.

Toadcast #67 – The Wuzzlecast

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01. The Pogues – The Ship Comes In (05.57)
02. Sad Day For Puppets – Big Waves (09.07)
03. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (17.44)
04. James Yorkston – Sir Patrick Spens (26.22)
05. The Second Hand Marching Band – Not Yet (38.40)
06. The Stormy Seas – The Sea Wind (42.40)
07. Ute Lemper – Little Water Song (50.31)
08. Frightened Rabbit – Floating in the Forth (57.25)
09. Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians – The Wreck of the Arthur Lee (64.53)
10. American Music Club – The Song of the Rats Leaving the Sinking Ship (75.43)

For reference, here are some YouTube videos which inspired this podcast:

How many of you are there?  There’s only one of me, which looks like it might prove troublesome this week, particularly late on when the clashing gigs really start to stack up.  I am just back in Edinburgh after the Jason Lytle interview, which went very well in terms of being a most pleasant sort of chat, yet didn’t provide a particularly obvious hook on which to hang an article.  I may have to listen back and digest for a couple of days before writing it, I think.  It’s odd to suddenly find yourself in conversation with someone whose music you’ve been listening to for over ten years, though, so I guess that in itself might be an interesting angle to take.

This week’s activities on Toad will involve beginning to work on that interview, the writing up of a couple of gig reviews, and editing a big pile of Broken Records live videos.  So in other words it’s going to be fucking busy again.  I am also going to have a chat with Andy about redesigning both this website and the label site.  I find myself feeling inordinately guilty about not designing it myself, oddly.  This whole site has been entirely DIY so far, so that’s probably the reason, but at the moment I need it to be able to do things which are well beyond my own rudimentary understanding of code, and I simply don’t have the time to begin with, so there you go.  I’ll have a big input of course, and the Toad sketches will remain, but basically I’m going to try and let Andy get on with it as much as I can.  As a designer myself, at Proper Job, I know there’s nothing worse than a client who stares over your shoulder constantly while you’re trying to do your job.

So that’s it, this is being posted in the wee hours, and I am going straight to bed so that I can at least pretend to be functional in the morning.  I actually find a lack of sleep worse than a hangover in terms of its damage to my productivity these days, so these half one bedtimes really do have to stop.

Thursday 2nd April 2009: St Deluxe, French Wives & Team Turnip play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

St. Deluxe are the new hot tamales around town, apparently.  I’ve had a listen to their MySpace and they do indeed sound pretty decent, although with such a brief listen I’m really in no position to say much one way or another.  They’re quite a rough and noisy band though, where French Wives and Team Turnip are a little poppier, but all three groups on this bill sound like good value to me.
St Deluxe – New Wave Stars

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Thursday 2nd April 2009: Tim & Sam’s Tim & the Sam Band With Tim & Sam at Cabaret Voltaire.

Tim and Sam and so on and so forth are big favourites of me old pal Drunk Country over at the Waiting Room, so he’ll be chuffed to know that they’re putting in an appearance in these parts.  I am rarely ever much of a fan of bands who play instrumental music, but I think that’s probably laziness on my behalf, and certainly these chaps make fine music under any circumstances.  It’s even better live, according to DC, so I’d recommend this one.  It’s a late one though, I think, so check the times before turning up.
Tim & Sam etc.. – Join the Dots

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Friday 3rd April 2009: Frightened Rabbit & Meursault at the Bowery.

I am fairly (but not entirely) sure that Frightened Rabbit are intending to play an acoustic set at the Bowery on Friday instead of their more usual melodic indie rock, and I do believe Meursault are following suit and unplugging all their electronic faffery as well, so this should be quite a special one.
Frightened Rabbit – I Feel Better (Live)

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Friday 3rd April 2009: Jesus H. Foxx, Y’All is Fantasy Island & the Hindle Wakes at Sneaky Pete’s.

Jesus H. Foxx will be mentioned some time later today when I write up their gig at the Bowery from last Friday, but believe me they are sounding very, very good at the moment.  Where previously they seemed to be fairly single-faceted (is that physically possible – never mind) there’s a lot more depth and a lot more confidence to their music these days.  They have an EP on the way too, which I am very excited to hear indeed.
Jesus H. Foxx – Trying to Be Good

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Friday 3rd April: Thomas Truax, Withered Hand & Greg Dodgeson at Cabaret Voltaire.

Is Dan from Withered Hand playing every single gig in Scotland at the moment?  Ah well, good for us if he is.  Apart from the music, Thomas Truax’s truly amazing homemade instruments make this a gig you really should attend.
Thomas Truax – The Butterfly & the Entomologist

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Saturday 4th April 2009: The Wee Rogue, Rob St. John & Ben Wetherill at the Bowery.

I don’t want to say anything that’s going to get me beaten up by an angry mob of nice, sensitive young men, but this is probably the least ‘anti’ of the many great anti-folk gigs you can find in Edinburgh in any given week.  I mean that in the sense that the ‘anti’ part is something I tend to treat as describing a certain lack of prettiness in anti-folk music, but even as specific a genre description as anti-folk is a bit too broad for that sort of thing these days.  Where was I?  Oh yes, expect fine, fragile and lovely music.
The Wee Rogue – Into the Mist

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Saturday 4th April 2009: The Gothenburg Address, North Atlantic Oscillation & San Sebastian at Sneaky Pete’s.

Should the loveliness at the Bowery prove just a little too gentle for you then Sneaky Pete’s is probably the place to be, where there will be Post Rock a-gogo.  It’ll be loud, I’d imagine, so get there early, find a spot facing the stage and just let it all wash over you.
San Sebastian – New

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Sunday 5th April 2009: Come On Gang, Vendor Defender & The Kays Lavelle at Sneaky Pete’s.

Come On Gang should be in a fine mood after their SXSW adventure, so their punk pop should have even more zip to it than usual.  It’s going to be a busy week at Sneaky Pete’s.  Is their booking getting better and better or is it just that I’m only just starting to realise that I should be paying more attention to what they’re doing?  Good stuff, anyway.

Part 1: 1-10
Part 2: 11-23
Part 3: 24-36
Part 4: 37-50

Here is the official beginning of Christmas List season, here at Song, by Toad. If you want to get involved and write your own list, then please do. Go here for more details. The more of you that contribute to that the better the results we will get, so don’t be shy.

This is the first quarter of my Festive Fifty for 2008. I will also be preparing a list of my twenty favourite albums, but I might just neglect singles and EPs this time around. If you disagree with anything then do get stuck in, but bear in mind that this is far from a definitive ranking. Ask me on another day and Pictish’s brilliant I Don’t Know Where to Begin could easily be in the top five. Ask me in four months’ time and it would probably be all-change again. Read the rest of this entry »

Christ on a bike, after nothing at all last week, all of a sudden things are going bananas this week.  You could pretty much be at a good show every night if you wanted. I’m not going to write much in this intro because, frankly, there are so many gigs to bloody write about that the post would run on far too long otherwise.

Suffice to say that Friday’s party was, from my perspective, a massive success.  The open mic bit at the beginning was not an idea many people were overly convinced by, but I think pretty much everyone enjoyed it in the end.  I certainly did.

Tuesday 9th December 2008: Frightened Rabbit at the Liquid Room.
Despitely having rather disappointingly turned into Snow Patrol on their last album, there’s no doubt Frightened Rabbit, when they’re good, can be absolutely brilliant.  In terms of one last big gig to attend before the Hogmanay chaos, this archetypal Scottish indie would be an excellent choice.
Frightened Rabbit – Music Now

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Tuesday 9th December 2008: Louis Barrabas at the Forest Cafe.
Mr. Barrabas is described as ‘vaudeville folk’ in some quarters and listening to his MySpace page it’s difficult to fault that impression.  Frankly it sounds like two things to me: firstly, the kind of gig you’d be much more likely to see during the Festival; and secondly, like it really will be absolutely brilliantly entertaining.  I don’t think (although I’m not sure) that he will be bringing a band, so the theatrical musical chaos might be slightly lacking when compared to his MySpace recordings, but that doesn’t sound like it will matter much.  Excellent stuff.
Louis Barrabas – Love Struck Me Down

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Wednesday 10th December 2008: Benni Hemm Hemm at the Bowery.
I don’t know Benni’s music, but I have met him and he is a truly lovely guy.  Listening to his MySpace page, he seems less moody than the stereotypical Icelandic band, perhaps more in the style of a broader Scandinavian indie-pop, although with a lot less bubblegum.  That’s not very informative at all is it, sorry.
Benni Hemm Hemm – Veildiljod

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Thursday 11th December 2008: Jack Richold & Faith Nicholson at the Bowery.
Jack plays beautifully hushed folk songs, and Faith has a truly gorgeous voice.  Are they any good?  Well Jack wrote half the songs for the Nightjar album, and both sings and plays violin on The Moth Trap, on Song, by Toad Records.  So have a listen to this alternative version he and Faith recorded of Lady of the Calico from that album and decide for yourselves.  Bloody gorgeous.
Jack Richold – Lady of the Calico

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Thursday 11th December 2008: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart & The Foundling Wheel at Sneaky Pete’s.
Before supporting the Weddoes the following evening at the Liquid Room, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart bring their old-fashioned indie sound to Sneaky Pete’s, alongside Edinburgh racket-merchant The Foundling Wheel.  The Pains &c. might easily have been around in the mid-eighties when the Wedding Present formed, if you were to only judge by their sound, but I reckon The Foundling Wheel might shake things up a bit.
The Pains of Being Pure of Heart – Everything With You

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Friday 12th December 2008: The Wedding Present at the Liquid Room.
Okay, so the Gedgerator’s music may be slipping into the ordinary these past few releases, but the Wedding Present play a furiously brilliant live show, and they have more quality in their back catalogue is so far ahead of almost any other band out there that there’s no way you can lose at a gig like this.  Break out the guitars, boys.
The Wedding Present – Step Into Christmas

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Friday 12th December 2008: This is Music, with Jesus H. Foxx & Mitchell Museum at Sneaky Pete’s.
Jesus H. Foxx are spiky indie-poppers, well known on the Edinburgh circuit, but I’ve not really heard of Mitchell Museum before.  A quick listen on MySpace leaves the impression of mid-era Britpop, well executed and definitely interesting.  A few more songs, however, bring you into a much more eccentric realm.
Mitchell Museum – Exciting But Drunk

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Saturday 13th December 2008: Will Cookson, Rob St. John & Withered Hand at the Wee Red Bar.
Mr. Cookson has the best set of influences of any band in history – ever!  Just have a look.  The man must be a genius.  Apart from that, two of Edinburgh’s finest alt-folkers (sorry Rob) tread the Trampoline boards (trampolines don’t really have boards, do they) so although I can’t be there myself, this might be my most confidently recommended show of the week.
Withered Hand – I Am Nothing

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