Fmmmghfh.. Eigg.  Drink.  Fuckers.  Still broken.

If those Fence bastards ever suggest you go to one of their festivals say NO!  You will be drowned in drink and have so much fun that there could not possibly be a more drab and disappointing place than Real Life, as and when you are forced to return to it.

I’ll be writing something about the festival itself once my brain heals, but for now here are some entertainments to keep you occupied in Edinburgh this week, the most important to me personally of course being the Inspector Tapehead album launch and pre-gig in-store performance in Avalanche Records.

Wednesday 29th September 2010: Willy Mason at the Roxy Art House.

I remember seeing Willy Mason at the Borderline in London before I moved up here, and being absolutely spellbound.  He played up here shortly afterwards with a full band, and I kind of felt that the band crowded both his voice and his guitar playing, both of which seemed to have more space to breathe at the London show. Nevertheless, there is a real warmth to the guy when he plays and if this show is anything like as good as I think it might be I am going to be a happy boy indeed.

Willy Mason – Fear No Pain

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Thursday 30th September 2010 (5pm): Inspector Tapehead in-store at Avalanche Records.

I promise to bring some beer, for those who fancy popping up for this one.

Thursday 30th September 2010: Inspector Tapehead, The Miserable Rich & The Stormy Seas at the Wee Red Bar.

Brighton’s Miserable Rich are signed to Humble Soul in Manchester, one of the country’s finest DIY labels, so I am really pleased to be able to put them on the bill for this one.  Of course, it was actually down to Tallah and Jim from This is Music, if I’m being honest, but I am still really pleased!   And given the amount of time The Stormy Seas have wasted on this blog, I think it’s about time we put them on a bill too.  And as for Inspector Taphead, well given how late the album was in appearing I suppose it’s only fair we were a bit late with the album launch show as well.

Inspector Tapehead – Yarvil

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Well I know I normally let Dylan sort out the Sunday Supplements, and I cheated last week by writing one myself, but I am going to have to do it again, sorry.

The reason is simply that there is a lot of label news happening at the moment, and I really don’t want to overwhelm the blog with label chat if I can avoid it.  I am sure lots of you come here for reasons other than me trying to sell you things to pay for that yacht in the Caribbean we record labels generally aim for.

So, the news this week, in bullet point form for the lazy, is this:
1. Inspector Tapehead to play in-store at Avalanche Records on Thursday 30th September.
2. Meursault UK and European tour booked for October/November, with showcase gig at the Caves on the 25th.
3. The Stormy Seas added to the bill for the Inspector Tapehead album launch on the 30th.

1. Instore! Yep, the Tapeheads are currently touring the UK in the Toad Van (the shit one which works, not the cool one which doesn’t), but in advance of their album launch show on Thursday 30th September they are playing an in-store gig at Avalanche Records on Cockburn Street.  This will start at around half five when the store closes, I guess, and I will bring a case of beer as an additional inducement.

2. Tour! Having had a hectic festival season, Meursault have been taking a bit of a breather for the last month or so.  And they’ll need it because their October/November schedule is going to be hellishly busy, with a UK and European tour booked in back to back. The whole thing is kicking off with a headline show at the Caves in Edinburgh on the 25th October, supported by Port Royal and Enfant Bastard – tickets here.

25 Oct 2010 – The Caves, Edinburgh
26 Oct 2010 – Head of Steam, Newcastle
27 Oct 2010 – The Harley, Sheffield
28 Oct 2010 – Royal Park Cellars, Leeds
30 Oct 2010 – The Luminaire, London
31 Oct 2010 – The Playhouse Bar [free entry show], Norwich
2 Nov 2010 – Star & Garter, Manchester
3 Nov 2010 – Stereo, York
4 Nov 2010 – Dexters, Dundee
5 Nov 2010 – Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen
6 Nov 2010 – Stereo, Glasgow

19 Nov 2010 – Oh Galery, Caen, FRANCE
20 Nov 2010 – International, Paris, FRANCE
21 Nov 2010 – Planet Claire Session, Paris, FRANCE
22 Nov 2010 – Dwaze Zaken, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
23 Nov 2010 – Piala Libri, Brussels, BELGIUM
24 Nov 2010 – Musikbunker, Aachen, GERMANY
25 Nov 2010 – Schlachthof w/ Telekinesis [tbc], Wiesbaden, GERMANY
26 Nov 2010 – Spart 4, Saarbrucken, GERMANY
27 Nov 2010 – Cave du Bleu Lezard, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND
28 Nov 2010 – Le Lounge, Marseille, FRANCE
30 Nov 2010 – Stadtgarten, Erfurt, GERMANY
1 Dec 2010 – Morph Club, Bamberg, GERMANY
2 Dec 2010 – Feinkostlampe, Hannover, GERMANY
3 Dec 2010 – Gaengeviertel, Hamburg, GERMANY
4 Dec 2010 – Schlachthof, Aurich, GERMANY
5 Dec 2010 – [venue tba], Groningen, NETHERLANDS

3. Stormies! At the time I did the first posters for the Inspector Tapehead album launch we only had Humble Soul heroes The Miserable Rich and the Tapeheads themselves confirmed to play the show, but the Stormy Seas have since been confirmed as the final piece of the jigsaw.  The gig is taking place at the Edinburgh School of Art’s Wee Red Bar on Thursday 30th September, and tickets can be purchased here.

This is a co-promotion with my friends Tallah and Jim from This is Music, and Ali and Elaine from A&E Promotions.  The technical term for several promoters working together is is, I believe, a Clusterfuck, and the new flyer can be seen below:

Inspector Taphead’s album launch got somewhat waylaid by the Edinburgh Festival, but now that things are dying down we figured we might throw a proper and official party to celebrate the release of Duress Code, a mere two years after it was due.

The Miserable Rich are playing too, which is excellent news.  They are a Brighton band, signed to Humble Soul Records, one of the country’s best DIY labels.

This gig will be at the Wee Red Bar on Thursday 30th September, and tickets can be purchased for a fiver here.

The Miserable Rich – The Mouth of the Wolf

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Hello You.

This Wednesday 24th December (Christmas Eve, naturellement), at or around abouts 10pm GMT (USA: 2pm PST + 3pm MST + 4pm CST + 5pm EST; Europe: 11pm CET), splashed all over the interwaves via the usual birdshit splatter pattern, for your listening consideration, will be The Waiting Room Christmas Eve 3hr Best Of 2008 Round-Up Show.

On this very (quite, in this case, literally) Eve we, one half of Drunk Country & The Woman of The House, will be dishing out thoughtfully considered Gold Guitar Pick of Excellence ‘Awards’* to the lucky Nominee(s) what is found to be the Best Of in their particular category.

It’s almost like a real end of year music award’s show but with less drinking & no Gallagher brothers.

Below, then, is the list of Categories & Nominees, 34 Artistes + 34 Songs. We have rather cruelly (although this is clearly a cynical attempt at injecting some tension into the proceedings) refrained from listing the Nominees in the last 2 Categories. Those will be revealed on the night. Mwah, I believe, Ha Ha, indeed, Ha.

So, there you go.  This took us AGES to compile from thousands of songs listened to & playlisted over the whole of this past year. *PHEW* just does not cut it. 2008 was simply awash with brilliance, surprises, genius & plain old breathtaking musicalisation. Oh, & singing.

The list, then:

Best “What The Fuck Was That?!”

1) Celebrity Chimp – Celebrity Chimp

2) The Just Joans – Hey Boy… You’re Oh So Sensitive

3) Aidan John Moffat – Cunts

4) Eagleowl – Motherfucker

5) The Theatre Fire – Coyote

6) Joe Rodger & The Velcro Quartet – Suddenly They Realised…

Best Cover Versions

1) Robin Grey – There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis (Kirsty MacColl cover)

2) Erlend Ropstad – 7 (Prince cover)

3) The Miserable Rich – Over & Over (Hot Chip cover)

4) Taken By Trees – Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns ‘n’ Roses cover)

Best Contenders for a Bond Theme

1) Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Come On Over (Turn Me On)

2) The Last Shadow Puppets – In My Room

3) Get Well Soon – You/Aurora/You/Seaside

4) Hour Of The Shipwreck – Unclouded Eyes

Best Emotional Blackmail

1) Porlolo – Turning On Heels

2) Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers – Beloved, We Have Expired

3) The Dø – Stay (Just A Little Bit More)

4) Meaghan Smith – 5 More Minutes

5) Ane Brun – Don’t Leave

6) Plants & Animals – Bye Bye Bye

Best Pound Down The Back of The Sofa

Nominees 1-8 = a big fat question mark

Best Song of 2008

Nominees 1-6 = a bigger, fatter question mark

The podcast will be available, as we say, sometime tomorrow around 10pm (we have very limited access where we are headed for the holidays, so bear with us).

It remains only for us to wish every one of you all the very best this Christmas holiday & to remind you that our 3hr New Year’s Eve 2008 Jukebox show will be on (just like the title reads) Wednesday 31st December, from 10pm-1am GMT. See the New Year in with us, why don’t you?  (Yah, fucking right…).

Thanks for tuning in & listening. It’s been a heck of a year.

MC & a HNY,

½DC + TWoTH

*when we say ‘Awards’, what we really mean is  we will email a picture of a solid Gold Guitar Pick of Excellence – we’re not that unhinged that we’d actually fork out for 6 solid gold plectrums. Jesus, no.