Ides of Toad in the New Year
Alright, I know that by the end of January you are supposed to stop using terms like ‘new year’ but I reckoned it was about time for an update on these matters, and that seemed the most appropriate way of phrasing it.
So, with a flurry of album launches coming up in the late Spring/early Summer, we have a small but exciting fistful of gigs to tide us over until then, which I will list below. Apart from the aforementioned launches, which we’ll generally try and do somewhere a bit strange, I am looking at putting on as many of my events as possible at Henry’s this year.
This is for numerous reasons, but chief amongst them Nora and Claire have been there at every gig and have been a real pleasure to deal with. When you’re a relatively rookie promoter, having sound engineers and venue managers who just take care of shit in the calmest possible way makes a huge difference, leaving you to panic about attendance at your leisure. Also, I just kinda like the place. It’s scruffy, sure, but in many ways it’s a classic dive bar – it’s where gigs should be taking place.
Anyhow, our first gig is in a few weeks and it will be Armellodie Records’ Chris Devotion and the Expectations but umm… well, I’ll write down a handy list for you because, maybe even more than it loves kittens, the internet just loves lists doesn’t it. And as per usual, all tickets will be available from Brown Paper Tickets, and from Avalanche Records down on the Grassmarket.
Saturday 18th Feb: Chris Devotion and the Expectations, My Tiny Robots & Morris Major.
Chris Devotion and the Expectations have a new album out on the brilliant Armellodie Records, and will be playing some dates to support the release. Their smart, slight stylised indie pop should work well with My Tiny Robots, who are also rather stylish indie poppers, albeit in a rather different way.
Friday 24th Feb: The Pineapple Chunks, Brown Brogues & Zed Penguin.
Er, ramshackle and idiosyncratic – is that the best way to describe this lineup? I think it might be. Zed Penguin have a new EP and a new full band lineup, and Brown Brogues a new single on the way, so this should be perfect timing. All these bands make a bit of a racket, and none of them seem entirely right in the head, which er, well, should probably make for a brilliant night I reckon.
Saturday 25th Feb: Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six, Skeleton Bob (I think) and Lee Patterson at the Third Door.
Louis Barabbas were absolutely mental and absolutely brilliant when they last played Edinburgh, in the middle of last year. They’ll be joined on the bill by Lee Patterson, who I first happened across at this year’s Antihoot in the Summer, and hopefully Skeleton Bob. Actually, for all they said ‘yeah, awesome’ when I asked them to play, I have yet to get proper confirmation from Skeleton Bob actually, so I’d better get on top of that, now that I think about. Also, please note that this gig is at the Third Door, not Henry’s.
Friday 9th March: So Many Wizards and LeThug.
This will be a pop night, sort of. All the bands take their pop and make it weird, be it by fuzz or by skewed eccentricity. So Many Wizards are over touring from the States, and LeThug are a really promising new Glasgow band I wrote about on Song, by Toad recently, and if you haven’t already checked out their stuff then you should.
Saturday 24th March: Post War Glamour Girls, Dolfinz and Slowcoaches.
Two Leeds bands accidentally ended up on the same bill here, so I hope they get on. Dolfinz are favourites of ours already, as you know, and they are touring with Slowcoaches, so you can expect some fine, garagey racket from those two. Post War Glamour Girls are just a tad more restrained and stylish I think
