And as May turns into June… Spring inevitably turns into November.  Fucking great, Scotland, well done.  Thanks.

Anyhow, you’d think putting on a gig on Tuesday, for all its drawbacks, would at least leave you relatively free of competition but this week, for some inexplicable reason, there are two absolutely cracking gigs on Tuesday night.  Other than that I have to confess I don’t see much on at all this week – neither in my quick skim through the websites of Edinburgh’s venues, nor in my own Facebook events calender.

In fact, am I the only person who still pays attention to event invites on Facebook?  I mean, it’s kind of my job, but when I send out invites for Toad events most people tend not to reply at all, although I suppose that doesn’t mean they don’t read them.  In any case, I have every sympathy.

Monday 23rd May 2011: Villagers at the Liquid Room.

I was never all that taken with Villagers, I have to confess.  I liked what I heard of their stuff, but it didn’t exactly thrill me, if I’m being honest. Nevertheless, I’ve heard some very complimentary words about them around and about so I thought you might be interested in this one.

Tuesday 24th May 2011: Sparrow & the Workshop, Haight Ashbury & The Stormy Seas at Sneaky Pete’s.

Sparrow are touring their new album around the UK as of this week, and I am really looking forward to seeing them live again.  Jill’s singing is more forceful than ever, and the guitar and drums are getting just plain ferocious, and they have always been an immense live band.  But they clash with The Lovely Eggs!  The bastards!  What to do?

Tuesday 24th May 2011: The Lovely Eggs, Kid Canaveral, Cancel the Astronauts & Zed Penguin at the Voodoo Rooms.

The Lovely Eggs embody a sort of twee Northern eccentricity which reminds me very, very strongly of the couple of years of my life I have spent living in Manchester.  There are times when I think they might possibly be awful, and then times when I think they might be unparallelled geniuses, but I never quite know what side of that fence I would come down on if forced to choose.  They’re really quite fantastically unhinged live, too, so I strongly recommend getting along to see them.  Assuming you don’t go to Sparrow and the Workshop of course, which would also be an excellent decision.  Aaaaagh, decisions!

Again it’s something of a quiet week but apparently July often is in the world of gigs, as the Summer music festival season continues its dotcom-esque ballooning and people get ready for the foreign invasion and artistic black hole that is the Edinburgh Festival.

I might be popping through to Glasgow to see Mumford & Sons actually, because there’s not much happening around here at the moment. One gig, however, is going to make me old mate DC Very Happy Indeed:

Thursday 10th July: Jesus H. Foxx & Prince Edward Island at Cabaret Voltaire.
Quite apart from the fact that this is a Duty Free gig – in other words, free – and quite apart from the fact that Jesus H. Foxx are a pretty good band, this will be my first chance to see DC’s mates and Waiting Room favourites, Prince Edward Island. I don’t know too much about them, apart from the basic indie guitar sound on their MySpace page, but I’m in no rush. I’ll catch them at the gig and go from there.
Prince Edward Island – Partlife

Thursday 10th July: Come On Gang & Haight Ashbury play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.
I saw the Come On Gang for the first time at the Kid Canveral single launch party a few weeks back and they were excellent. I am looking forward to their own single, which is officially launched at this gig but which I can’t post for obvious reasons, but I will have to catch it at a different gig as I think I really have to go and see DC’s mates instead. Haight Ashbury don’t sound bad either – sort of like an indie-folk group fronted by a couple of singers from a girl band.
Come On Gang – Start the Sound

Saturday 12th July: Amida & The Just Joans & the Occasional Flickers at Henry’s Cellar Bar.
Greek indie pop is not exactly an over-exposed niche of the music market, but Edinburgh’s Occasional Flickers are the work of a Greek chappie with a surprising affinity for the local brand of introverted twee folk. I don’t know the other two bands at all, but listening to their MySpace pages they sound really rather promising. Besides, it’s a Gentle Invasion gig, and so it is pretty much guaranteed to be good.
The Just Joans – Hey Boy, You’re Oh So Sensitive (This is fucking brilliant)

Saturday 12th July: Black Affair & Found at the GRV.
Black Affair is a Steve Mason production. Steve Mason is that chap out of the Beta Band. Need I say more to the Scottish Indie world? Well it’s no Beta Band Part II, so don’t wet your knickers just yet, because Black Affair play more of a dark disco electronica: sort of like Depeche Mode with more beat, more of a knack for shimmering, spangly synths and less of the love for demoralising dirges. Am I allowed to say that I heard this the first time, wasn’t too impressed, found out who it was by, went back and had another listen, and then suddenly changed my mind and now I find it intriguing. Is this pure indie snobbery and pathetic celebrity fawning? Well I suppose it probably is, but I am not saying that they’re god’s gift all of a sudden, and many things need a second listen… ah, who am I kidding, best just bite the bullet and confess to being shallow as fuck.
Black Affair – You & Me