Song, by Toad

So August is almost upon us. Traditionally –  or at least for as long as I’ve been living here – most bands and promoters in Edinburgh tend to just take the month off and make way for the festival. It’s a bit of a monolith. Every available venue (and most non-venue) space is booked up months in advance, and with so much happening every single day in August, it becomes rather difficult for smaller operations putting on shows. Of course there are exceptions – a lot of the bigger clubs just keep on trucking, and nights like Acoustic Edinburgh embrace the Fringe and put on shows as part of the official line-up.

This year, though – more so than any I can remember – seems to be bucking that trend. There’s a lot of activity going on outside of the festival – and lots of local bands and promoters putting on shows regardless. Which is great to see – another indication of the strength and confidence of the city’s musical community at the moment. I thought I’d give a run down of what’s caught my eye – as with so much on, it’s entirely possible for an amazing show to slip by un-noticed.

The Edge

Firstly, the musical leg of the Fringe – the Edge – has some really great shows this year. The Mum show may have been moved to Glasgow, but we still have David Byrne, Woodpigeon, Andrew Bird, Frightened Rabbit, Malcolm Middleton, and Jeffrey Lewis. And judging by the website, the festival seems to have just absorbed all the shows at Sneaky Pete’s – including Sleeping States (who I can’t recommend highly enough), Monotonix, Sparrow and the Workshop, the usual This is Music night and the mysteriously titled ‘Songs By Toad night’. It’s also great to see some Edinburgh bands forming part of the Edge line-up – with Broken Records at the Queens Hall, a double header from Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers at Cab Vol, and support slots from Meursault (at Frightened Rabbit), the Kays Lavelle (the Lost Brothers) and Withered Hand (Jeffrey Lewis). It’s something that I’ve felt was lacking in previous line-ups, and it’s a step in the right direction.

www.theedgefestival.com

Retreat!

Then, of course, there’s the ‘other’ festival. Retreat! is an all day event at the Bristo Hall on Sunday the 16th. 15 acts (Meursault, Withered Hand, Rob St. John, Tissø Lake, the Leg…), and DJs till 3am. Free entry. I can’t think of a better line-up. But then again, I did help pick it.

www.myspace.com/edinburghretreat

Trampoline

Trampoline are also putting on four shows over first two weekends, and really great line-ups including Adam Stafford (Y’all Is Fantasy Island), Jonnie Common (Down The Tiny Steps), Animal Magic Tricks, Conquering Animal Sound, Golden Ghost and Woodenbox.

www.myspace.com/trampolineuk

Bang Bang Club

Normally at the Speakeasy in Cabaret Voltaire, the Bang Bang Club is hosting a series of shows upstairs in the Teviot Hall. Highlights include Clinic, the Pineapple Chunks, Paul Vickers and the Leg, and a series of soundtrack events from Steven Severin.

www.myspace.com/bangbangclubedinburgh

Playing With The Past

There’s also an exclusive second screening of the Playing with the Past event from this year’s film festival on 22^nd August, with eagleowl, FOUND and Meursault performing live soundtracks to old Scottish films. Tickets are available now from the Filmhouse website or box office.

www.myspace.com/playingwiththepast

Cybraphon

FOUND – not willing to give up their ‘hardest working band in Edinburgh’ tag to Meursault just yet – also have a residency at InSpace (a gallery space – part of the new University building) with their Cybraphon project, including a live band performance on the 13^th (which is free but ticketed). It seems to be some kind of automated musical cupboard, containing a series of musical instruments, which reacts to online activity about the project in real time. Or something. For a more coherent explanation, try the Cybraphon site:

www.cybraphon.com

Leith Tape Club

Okay, strictly speaking not an Edinburgh show – but a nice trip out of the city is normally always welcome around the third week in August. Leith Tape Club at the Iso Bar continues in August on the 20^th, with a rather special all-star line-up including the Kays Lavelle and Meursault (solo, I think).

Leith Tape Club

National Portrait Gallery

There’s also a series of rather exclusive shows at the National Portrait Gallery, whilst the gallery is closed for a refurbishment. These include Rob St. John and Emily Scott on 8^th August, X-LionTamer on 21^st August, St Jude’s Infirmary and Zoey Van Goey on 22^nd August, and Withered Hand and Meursault on 29^th August.

National Portrait Gallery

Electric Circus

There’s been some great gigs in Electric Circus since it opened earlier this year, and they don’t seem to be losing any momentum in August, with shows from FOUND, Dent May, White Heath and Rob St. John (1st), Jesus H. Foxx (11th), The Phantom Band (19th), and Trembling Bells and Ben Reynolds (25th), amongst others.

Electric Circus

The Golden Hour

A blend of poetry, music and live visuals at the Forest Cafe on 19th August, with performances from Billy Liar and Withered Hand.

The Golden Hour

Shipping Forecast Garden Party

And I think there’s another shipping forecast garden party scheduled for 30^th August, with Come On Gang!

No details yet, but I’m sure Dave will keep us posted.

It is all pretty exciting. Please spam the comments with anything I’ve missed, as I’m sure there’s loads, and if any more are announced or come to light over the course of the month, it’ll no doubt make it’s way into the weekly listings.

Sleeping States – September, Maybe

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Woodpigeon – In Praise of the West Midlothian Bus Service

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Zoey Van Goey – City Is Exploding

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It’s funny, during the recent rise and rise of Sparrow & the Workshop I have started to wonder slightly, why them?  That’s not supposed to be a criticism of the band, because I think they’re brilliant, but there are a lot of good bands around these parts at the moment, and Sparrow’s current upward trajectory is probably the steepest.  Consequently, I had begun to wonder what it was about them in particular which seemed to capture the imagination of pretty much everyone.

Well on Friday I got my answer.  The circumstances were not the easiest, exactly: Sneaky Pete’s was like a bloody sauna, and recent sound complaints meant that the band had to make a few last minute adjustments and rearrange their set quite considerably.

Having been preceded by Randan Discotheque, a band who have never really captured my imagination I must confess, Sparrow & the Worlshop opened with a new song which was frankly bloody gorgeous.  A lot of bands seem to be able to generate an intial flurry of good material, but I always find it telling when they start writing after that initial burst, because a lot can’t manage it.  A band whose new material is consistently this good are clearly onto something.

The more acoustic setup – with three acoustic guitars, a single snare drum and cymbal, and a stomp-box instead of a bass drum – worked really well.  They even managed to add to their percussion by taping a tiny mic to Nick’s guitar and asking him to flick the end of it to fill out the higher end, which took some spotting, but was a really nice piece of improvisation.

In terms of the music, I think I even preferred some of the songs played this way.  Nick is clearly chanelling the spirit of the late Johnny Cash at the moment, and the sound he is making with his guitar is amazing.  With the quieter set the vocals could become a little less combative, allowing Jill’s voice to lose some of its fierceness and simply be lovely for an evening.  When all three were playing guitar there was a rich, confidently quiet aura to the performance which was really quite special.

I’ve seen Sparrow play with aggression in the past, and it’s a great sight to see.  This time, however, they were playing to a very appreciative crowd, and one they know quite well, and the more relaxed, low key approach this engendered brought a warm, generous spirit to the set and made this month’s This is Music one of the best gigs I have been to all year.  Truly brilliant.

Sparrow & the Workshop – The Gun

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MySpace | More mp3s | Buy their EP and single from Norman Records

Baaaaaaaaaaart HELP!  Are there really only two gigs worthy of a mention on in Edinburgh this week?  Surely not.  Where’s someone with some actual knowledge when you need them?

Mrs. Toad has left town this morning, heading for Australia.  She’ll be away for a fortnight this time, which is the longest we will have been apart since I moved up from London so you can expect me to become downright cranky by the end of next week.

In fact, if last week’s prolonged sulk is anything to go by, you can probably just expect me to be cranky in general, actually.  Nah, I’m over that though, I’ve pulled myself together now so there will be no more messing around, promise.

Tuesday 7th July 2009: Meursault at the Bowery. Gig Cancelled, Apparently.

Does it sound a bit stupid to say that I am friends with Ruth and Jane at the Bowery, and Song, by Toad Records is Meursault’s label and yet I know nothing about this whatsoever?  I suppose it does really.  While Meursault are sticking more closely to Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues when they’re on the road, in Edinburgh they’ve started to introduce more and more songs into their set from their (apparently very loud) second album.  This record should be out early next year, and should contain songs like Crank Resolutions and Sleet, which anyone who’s been to a recent show should recognise.

Friday 10th July 2009: Sparrow & the Workshop & Randan Discotheque play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

Unless Sneaky Pete’s get a lot of internal re-jigging done in a very short space of time, this is pretty likely to be an acoustic night.  This does not please the organisers, who will be rather taxed to put on a club night where the music is nice and quiet, but actually I would rather like to hear Sparrow & the Workshop play an acoustic set, so I’m rather looking forward to it.  Apparently, I will be doing some DJing, so you might want to take advantage of the gaps between bands to nip out for a cigarette or go to the toilet for ages or something like that.
Sparrow & the Workshop – My Crime (Toad Session)

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