Yoofff, wake up, my dozing brain!  I think I am going to blame Mrs. Toad, but we have recently taken to having weekends of such epic sloth that even by seven in the evening on Monday my brain is still very much stalled.

Of course, back when I had a day job this still used to happen of, except I had to sit at my desk looking fucking useless all day.  It’s just that now when I spend a day being just a little bit vacant and useless – or glaikit as the Scots rather excellently refer to it – I just end up feeling like I am robbing myself.  Which I am, because it means I have to do this shit in the evening instead, which is just silly.

Anyhow, in terms of waking up and getting out of the house for some fun and games, things still don’t really seem to be picking up in Edinburgh, after a woefully slow start to the year.  Still, never mind, there will be plenty of Ides of Toad action in the next couple of weeks, and the Tidal Wave of Indifference will be back too, so things will start creaking into action again, hopefully.

Mind you, with the official retirement of Cabaret Voltaire from the gig circuit – not that they’d been really actively booking for a couple of years anyway – and the potential closure of the Bongo Club by Edinburgh University, I’d be surprised if any self-respecting band wanted to play this blighted fucking city ever again.  Fucking hell, we’re going to be having gigs on the forecourts of Tesco’s if this keeps on much longer.

Tuesday 7th Feb: Vieux Farka Touré and Samba Sene (solo) at the Voodoo Rooms.

The venue may make you feel, as a pal of mine so neatly put it on Twitter, like you’re at a wedding reception, but it is a venue, it is in Edinburgh, and it shows no imminent signs of being closed, so for this we must be really rather grateful.  Well, that and the fact that they are bringing someone I suppose you could legitimately describe as one of the most respected African musicians of his generation to play in Edinburgh tomorrow night.

Vieux Farka Tour̩ РAigna

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thursday 9th Feb: North Atlantic Oscillation at the Voodoo Rooms.

This event is actually called Moodjam and is being held to raise funds for the charity Action on Depression.  Playing will be Edinburgh’s North Atlantic Oscillation, who create indie which touches on everything from shoegaze to electronic to epic bigness.  Yes, epic bigness, it’s a term.

North Atlantic Oscillation – Marrow

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Friday 10th Feb: Indie Funday Friday, with Spook School, The Seven Deadly Sins, November Orchid and Little Love and the Friendly Vibes at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

This night is designed to raise money for charity, and in order to do so they have invited a very promising collection of local bands whose music can loosely be described as variations on the term ‘indie-pop’, with the Spook School and The Seven Deadly Sins looking very good indeed.

Saturday 11th Feb: Video Loves the Radio Star with Her Royal Highness at the Third Door.

I’ve mentioned this night before because I really like the concept: Videolab apparently do a live VJ set whilst the band is playing, and in terms of making a step up from the plain old ‘get some bands in a room’ gig approach, this definitely strikes me as something very much worth investigating.

 Apart from the gig stuff happening this week, I will be on this panel in Glasgow tomorrow. It is about the use of social media in music, and although I am not entirely certain quite how qualified I am to give actual advice, I do notice for example that our social media-based stuff for the record label tend to yield a lot more interest than our mailing list, so I guess there are a few things to talk about.

And then on Saturday we’ll be recording a Toad Session with the truly awesome PAWS.  Quite how we’re going to get away with the enormous racket they make I have no real idea, but umm… well, we’ll see, won’t we.  Fortunately Philip sings quite loud, so hopefully we won’t just end up with drums in everything.

However, for those of you who care not for Toad Sessions, nor indeed for social media seminars, here are some more traditional musical diversions for you over the next seven days.

Monday 19th September 2011: Slow Club & The Last Battle at Cabaret Voltaire.

If you can’t enjoy yourself at a Slow Club gig it must simply be because you are incapable of fun and therefore not a very worthwhile person. Their tunes are infallibly catchy, the band themselves seem to have a brilliant time playing and they are also obviously incredibly nice people, and that makes their gigs even better! And for a band who perform with simply dual vocals, guitar and a very, very stripped back drum kit they don’t half make a racket when they want to.

Slow Club – Let’s Fall Back in Love

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Wednesday 21st September 2011: North Atlantic Oscillation, Miaoux Miaoux & Discopolis play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

Another solid Scottish lineup from Limbo, who are approaching their fourth birthday as promoters, somewhat incredibly.

Saturday 24th September 2011: The Tidal Wave of Indifference presents Star Wheel Press, French Wives, The Douglas Firs and Lost Telegrams at the Wee Red Bar.

Stu from Tidal Wave of Indifference has slipped his head into the gig promotion noose, and I intend to be along to kick away the stool this Saturday. It’s an ambitious, four-band lineup with strong acoustic pop sensibilities running through it, but quite big sounds nevertheless.  Should be good, and I will be there!  Somewhat pished after recording the PAWS session, I would imagine, but there nevertheless.

The Douglas Firs – The Quickening

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It’s a rather varied week of gigging this week, with Richard Hawley at the Queen’s Hall at one end of the spectrum and the Japanese War Effort at the Traverse Bar tonight at the other.  There are a few side-notes worth mentioning as well – like the vanishing Whispertown 2000 gig at Sneaky’s on Saturday which I would have liked to go to, but which I assume was cancelled and the appearance, for free, of 4AD’s Big Pink at Sick Note, late at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday.

I think I can manage maybe a couple of these shows, but probably no more because if I don’t start showing Mrs. Toad some proper attention pretty damn sharpish there may end up being a little jar of pickled toad testicles on a shelf somewhere in our house.

Monday 12th October 2009: Japanese War Effort at the Traverse Bar.

The Japanese War Effort are one of my favourite bands (well okay, we all know it’s just Jamie) in Edinburgh at the moment.  I personally think his recorded stuff has been a little variable, if I’m being honest, but if you’re prepared to pay attention, Jamie is an engaging live performer whose live assembly of his loops and beeps, and the occasional emergence of an actual song from in amongst them, is always worth seeing.
Jamie says it’s somewhere under the Usher Hall, and when I Googled I got this, so good luck to you.

Japanese War Effort – Chocolat Froid

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tuesday 13th October 2009: Richard Hawley at the Queen’s Hall.

Richard Hawley is one of the best live performers you’ll see.  Charming and witty without being in the slightest over-bearing, he brings his domestic, heartfelt crooning to life on stage to extent he doesn’t always quite manage on record.  It’s fucking expensive though – £21 quid, are they mental?

Richard Hawley – Born Under a Bad Sign

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Wednesday 14th October 2009: Girls, Swanton Bombs & St. Jude’s Infirmary at Sneaky Pete’s.

The band intent on making themselves utterly un-Googlable have named their band Girls and their album Album.  Fuckwits.  It doesn’t matter though, I still really like their music, which is scratchy and rough low-fi indie – breaking back and forth to something warmer from time to time, which makes for a nice dynamic, if you ask me.  I’m still listening to their album, but there will be a review on the site fairly soon.

Girls – Headache

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Wednesday 14th October 2009: Glaciers at the Bowery.

This is rather experimental and peculiar, apparently, so I can imagine it moistening the gussets of a fair few of my readers.  Have a listen on the MySpace link, but it sounds really rather interesting to me – very mysterious and atmospheric, which rhythmic, looping vocals and wheezing backdrops.

Thursday 15th October 2009: Meursault & the Red Well at Cabaret Voltaire.

This is a Mill gig, so you may have to drink unspeakable beer all night.

Friday 16th October 2009: Stricken City, North Atlantic Oscillation and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell at Sneaky Pete’s.

I know next to nothing about these bands, but Stricken City seem to be doing a nice job of re-interpreting female fronted 90s Britpop bands.

Stricken City – Tak O Tak

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Friday 16th October 2009: Panda Su & Last Battles at the Bowery.

Last Battles are about as fresh out of the box as it gets, I think, and I have yet to see them live, but it all sounds very promising if you have a listen to the MySpace stuff.  Male/female duets do it for me every time!

Sunday 18th October 2009: The Wave Pictures, Stanley Brinks & Freschard at Cabaret Voltaire.

I fucking love the Wave Pictures, and I fucking love the Wave Pictures live as well.  The roughness of their recordings translates really well into a free and relaxed live show, and the band generally seem to be really enjoying themselves.

The Wave Pictures – Your Heart is on Your Sleeve

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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.