Sorry about the delay getting this post up, but today has been the day of bureaucracy.  Magnificent, steaming bureaucracy.

Anyhow, apart from the momentous occasion of my birthday, there’s actually quite a bit going on in Edinburgh this week. If you’re really quick, and really keen you can nip down to the Liquid Room tonight and catch Wild Beasts.  Their latest album may be a little tepid, despite the frantic fluffing from Drowned in Sound, but Two Dancers was incredible and they are a cracking live band.

Also, Yuck are playing Cabaret Voltaire on Saturday, but I think that might be sold out as I can’t seem to find tickets.  Besides, you should be at the Wee Red Bar instead anyway.

In the meantime, a flu has come down pretty hard over the course of the day, so I feel like shit.  I will now proceed to spit out these gig blurbs as fast as I possibly can and scarper for the bed toot sweet.

Thursday 17th November 2011: Vic Galloway presents… Remember Remember, Jonnie Common & Adam Stafford at the Electric Circus.

The second in the ongoing series of ‘Vic Galloway Presents’ gigs at the Electric Circus, with the awesome Jonnie Common, the Christ-I-can’t-believe-I’ve-yet-to-see-him-live Adam Stafford, mastermind behind Wiseblood Industries, and the I-don’t-really-know-much-about-them-at-all-sorry Remember Remember.

Friday 18th November 2011: An Evening with Wounded Knee – “House Music” album launch show with Kittens & The Wee Rogue at the IsoLounge.

Gerry Loves Records are launching their next tape release, Wounded Knee’s House Music, with a night at the cosy Iso Lounge, former home of the much-missed Leith Tape Club.  Drew will be joined by the whispers of The Wee Rogue, and a band called Kittens, who are apparently one part of 7VWWVW and a chap from The Divine Comedy, which sounds as odd as it does fascinating.

Friday 18th November 2011: Liz Green, Emily Scott & Caro Bridges at the Electric Circus.

This, I think it goes without saying, will be stylish and lovely.  Emily Scott was excellent at her recent album launch at the Third Door, and Liz Green is always bloody marvellous.

Liz Green – French Singer

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Saturday 19th November 2011: Gummy Stumps, Weird Era & Battery Face play the Ides of Toad at the Wee Red Bar.

Without doubt *cough cough* the gig of the week will be at Wee Red Bar on Saturday, on the day I just coincidentally happen to turn thirty-six and intend to celebrate with copious amounts of bevvy.  This will be loud and dirty, and honestly I could have happily put any of the three bands as headliners.  Come along, clap the bands, point and laugh at the Toad!

Weird Era – Summer Heights

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Battery Face – Lurch

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Gummy Stumps by winningspermparty

Saturday 19th November 2011: An evening with Richard Youngs at the Canon’s Gait.

I know next to nothing about Richard Youngs, I must confess, but anything with the joint seal of approval of Braw Gigs and Tracer Trails will be at worst interesting and at best absolutely fucking amazing.  As I said, I feel like shit, so forgive the laziness of pasting a wee bit of the press release below:

“With hundreds of solo and collaborative releases on countless labels (including his own “No Fans” label) Richard’s music has been heaped with accolades since the 1990’s. Whether through his collaborations with the likes of Simon Wickham-Smith, Jandek, Neil Campbell or Makoto Kawabata, or in his solo work encompassing the starkest minimalism, lush acapella and acoustic balladry, Richard adds a touch of humanity to any project he’s involved with – a rare thing in the sterile surroundings of the experimental scene.”

Well well, what a momentous week it’s been. Some brown fellow won an election in a trivial Chinese client state somewhere in the former British colonies, but far more importantly Glasgow Celtic managed a very creditable draw against Manchester United in the Champions’ League despite not actually passing the ball to one another more than half a dozen times during the entire ninety minutes. Momentous, I tell you. What a day for Scotland.

Snigger. Sorry, that was mean.

No, what I really meant was that it’s about time our side started winning elections again. There was a rash of lefty wins in the mid-nineties as Clinton and Blair won, accompanied by similar successes in France and Germany by Chirac and Schroeder. I know ‘lefty wins’ is not really the picture in retrospect, but at the time it seemed like social-democrats were winning all over the place. It’s odd, then, that as America finally shakes off the governance of fear and insularity, some of us in Europe seem rather worryingly to be embracing it: Sarkozy is a right-wing nutjob, and the Austrians have basically elected the Nazi Party. Cameron may be in a position of some strength in the UK, but he’s really far too wet and insubstantial to be considered much of anything, not that this can really be described as a good thing.

I know it’s going to take a different kind of politics to deal with the rise of the Indians and, particularly, the Chinese, who don’t seem to give a shit about anyone but themselves, but I am not sure nationalistic jingoism is quite the solution. We’ll see though.

And how about next week we try and make the prevailing topics of conversation a little lighter in tone, eh? We’ve had cultural witch hunts and dramatic elections these last two weeks, and it would be nice to get to the end of the week with nothing more grave than titties and beer on my mind, for a change.

So de-lurk, come out of the shadows, say hello and join in. And if you want to pick next Friday’s five, then email me with your picks – details on the Contact page.

1. Favourite U.S. state name.
2. First tipple of the evening.
3. Last tipple of the evening.
4. Blonde, brunette or redhead?
5. Nicest looking alphabet, with link if you can.
5 and a half. Can anyone identify that picture? Bonus points if you can.

Weddings, Parties, Anything – Father’s Day (Live)
Joe Cocker – Hitchcock Railway
Liz Green – Bad Medicine
The Fiery Furnaces – Single Again
Giant Sand – Red Right Hand