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

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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

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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.

World music of all sorts basically reminds me of two things.  Smooth tossers in minimalist flats with just a little bit of faux-ethnic tat who sported ponytails and appreciated poetry in the 1980s are the first.  The second is this, one of the greatest songs of all time:

The Dead Kennedys – Holiday in Cambodia[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/sbt/DeadKennedys-HolidayinCambodia.mp3]

So, you remember I told you about my friend Morgan, who has declared a mission to take me to gigs I don’t want to go to – the man responsible for getting me to the Battles gig?  Well you can see what he was up against when he suggested we go along to see the son of Malian legend Ali Farka Touré at the weekend.  I am getting pretty fed up with just how narrow my musical taste is becoming these days though, so I thought I’d give it a go, especially after how much I loved Think Tank, Albarn’s post-Mali Blur album with such strong African influences.

Ultimately, this kind of thing is often far better live than recorded, where the energy and charisma of the performers can bring home some of the local atmosphere of music not well suited to the Glasgow drizzle.  It was a good performance, Touré’s annoyance with the sound guy notwithstanding, although as the latter improved so did the former.  Being outshone by his own guitarist was clearly not part of the plan, and Touré looked pretty bloody miffed early on.  He cheered up though as things improved, and the bonhomie extended to repeated invitations to members of Zeep, their support, to come and join in at various points.

Ultimately though, this wasn’t my bag.  Old fashioned Malian blues I may well enjoy but this stuff was a bit ho-hum.  I salute Morgs for having a go of course, but perhaps this is what you get for going to see Son Of rather than the big man himself.

Blur, on the other hand, never seem to get anything like enough credit for Think Tank.  Honestly, I think it’s one of my favourite albums of the last ten years.  I know Damon Albarn puts a lot of people off but come on, people, this is just a wonderful album.

Blur -  Good Song
Blur – Caravan