This is one of those weeks where there could be two of you and you’d still probably not quite manage to get to all the decent gigs in the city this week.  Personally I am going to try and keep it a bit calm, but I have my doubts as to whether or not I am likely to succeed.  Mrs. Toad, no doubt, will be wildly impressed.

I had fun down in London last week, incidentally.  As I mentioned, I did a quick interview with Tom Robinson for BBC 6Music while I was there and, in typical fashion, talked for about twenty minutes, forcing them into copious editing to get things down to the requisite couple of minutes of actual airtime.  You can listen to the whole thing here if you like – it’ll be up for the next week or so I think, and my bit starts just over half an hour in.

Monday 7th February 2011: The Joy Formidable at the Electric Circus.

I’ll be absolutely honest, I don’t know too much about these guys, apart from the fact that they were really quite buzzy a year or so ago, and have a new album coming out, so I am rather interested to hear what it’s all about.

The Joy Formidable – The Magnifying Glass

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Wednesday 9th February 2011: 6 Day Riot, The Pineapple Chunks & White Heath play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

Limbo really are back with a bang in 2011.  Having gone incredibly quiet last year, I wasn’t sure if we were going to see them back again, but with something like six or seven shows booked for the first couple of months of the year already it seems I couldn’t have been more wrong.  It’ll be nice to see the Chunks back in action again as well.

The Pineapple Chunks – Look Back in Horror

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Thursday 10th February 2011: Dylan Uncovered at the Voodoo Rooms.

In association with Let’s Get Lyrical, this is a night of Dylan appreciation (and covers) starring Yusuf Azak, Esperi, The Sundancer, Shock and Awe, Norman Lamont, Hookers for Jesus, Edinburgh School for the Deaf, Issac Brutal and the Trailer Trash Express, and Tribute to Venus Carmichael.

Friday 11th February 2011: James Yorkston & Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

Another Let’s Get Lyrical show, this one looks gorgeous, and I think is part of James Yorkston’s tour to promote the recent publishing of his tour diaries.

James Yorkston – Steady as She Goes

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Friday 11th February 2011: Panda Su EP launch, with I Build Collapsible Mountains & Finn LeMarinel at Sneaky Pete’s.

The first of two consecutive This is Music nights at Sneaky’s, this is something of a Glasgow Allstars of Gentle Acoustic Pop kind of a lineup.

Saturday 12th February 2011: Conquering Animal Sound album launch with Miaoux Miaoux & Esperi at Sneaky Pete’s.

Conquering Animal Sound’s debut album Kammerspiel is out now, and they are touring the UK in support of it, with this being the Edinburgh leg.

Conquering Animal Sound – Bear (Lamplighter Remix)

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Saturday 12th February 2011: Come on Gang‘s farewell show with Over the Wall & Cancel the Astronauts at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

We music fans can be an ungrateful shower at times, and Come on Gang have just about had enough of us.  They are calling it a day, but going out with something of a bang – having a big old farewell bash at Pilrig St. Paul’s which is doubling as an album release show for their debut album.  Sort of an epitaph, I suppose.

It’s a busy week this week, and actually I am quite happy with this fact.  Sometimes busy weeks of gigs feel like a forest of looming obligations, but I don’t think there’s anything I feel any real guilty pressure to attend this time around, so this week may for once be assigned to fun and fun alone.

Having delivered a shitty Summer, Edinburgh is doing its usual trick of starting Autumn brilliantly.  It is cold now, but the sun has been dazzling, leaving me wondering why I didn’t spend more time in the garden this Summer.  The answer, of course, is because it was constantly pishing rain.

I am actually going to miss anything, however interesting, taking place at the end of the week because I am off to Eigg (an island, for you non-Scots) for the Fence Collective’s rather brilliant-sounding Away Game.  I won’t tease you too much about that though, as tickets have long since sold out.

Wednesday 22nd September 2010: Diane Cluck, Wig Smith and Rob St. John at the Wee Red Bar.

I am as keen to hear Rob St. John’s new stuff as I am to hear Diane Cluck for the first time, I have to confess.  Either way though, it’s a win-win situation for me.  I just have to be careful not to let the Wee Red Bar’s primary school time constraints catch me by surprise as I have done in the past.

Diane Cluck – Ink & Needles

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Thursday 23rd September 2010: Darren Hayman, Gordon McIntyre (fae Ballboy) & Withered Hand (solo) at the Wee Red Bar.

Wave Pictures and Herman Dune pal Darren Hayman is touring, I think, in support of his latest album with the Secondary Modern, Essex.  Both Gordon and Dan are friendly, charismatic performers and this comes across particularly strongly in a solo acoustic setting, so I would imagine this will be one of the most ‘lovely cup of tea’ gigs you’ll see in a while.

Ballboy – Sex is Boring

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Friday 24th September 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Dan Lyth & Moon Junk at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Scottish Enlightenment are launching their new EP this evening (title track below, for all you naughty downloaders of pirate material from the internet – shame on you!), all of which is a painstakingly crafted strategic buildup to their album release later in the year, and subsequent unstoppable ascent to world domination.  This is not as accessible as their previous Pascal EP, at least not immediately anyway, but after a few more listens I think it might be every bit as good.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Little Sleep

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Saturday 25th September 2010: White Heath, Sebastian Dangerfield, Zoobizaretta and Loch Awe at Sneaky Pete’s.

I think this is actually Zoobizaretta’s album launch, but I don’t really know them at all and so, no disrespect intended, I kinda think of this as the first chance to catch Loch Awe.  Yep, their first ever gig.  Now, they sent me through their debut EP (which you can download from their Bandcamp link above) and although I am not sure if it’s quite ready for wider consumption yet (most of the Edinburgh bands I love were going for a good few years before I bumped into them and fell in love with their stuff, so this is a pretty normal thing, I think), there are still some great moments on it.  Darling, Your Lover in particular is one of those songs which brought me back in from the next room to listen to.  I am not sure what it is about it, but it’s a song I definitely find compelling for some reason, and that’s the magic ingredient I suppose.

Loch Awe – Darling, Your Lover

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Firstly, the flurry of posts yesterday, from my rather tardy podcast to radio show post, meant that my brother’s Sunday Supplement – a rant about classical music – was buried rather too fast, so please do go back and check it out if you have a little time to waste this afternoon.

Secondly, the Edge Festival goes bloody nuts this week, and if I listed all the gigs then I’d be here all day, and there really is no need for that, so you can have it in paragraph form instead: on Monday 23rd we have Field Music at Sneaky Pete’s and Bear in Heaven at Electric Circus (late).  Tuesday sees The Phantom Band at the Electric Circus, Wednesday Eels at the Picturehouse and Thursday Mark Lanegan at the Liquid Room (who have finally got a website worthy of the name).  Friday is quiet, and then on the weekend we have Harlem at Sneaky Pete’s on Saturday and Modest Mouse at the Picturehouse on Sunday.  All these things you can Google yourselves if you are interested, and there is more info on the Edge site, here.

When it comes to more homegrown things, however, there is still plenty on this week, a good deal at the reassuringly active Bristo Hall – a really nice space which doesn’t get used as often as it might.

Monday 23rd August 2010: Pet, The Leg, The Pineapple Chunks, Sara & the Snakes at the Bristo Hall.

This might well be a late one (11pm-3am) so check it out before you go or you’ll be totally fucking wasted by the time the first band comes on.  I haven’t heard much from the Chunks for a while, as I believe they’ve been recording, so it would be rather cool if there were some new material here to be enjoyed.  There’s quite some distance covered from Sara & the Snakes’ swampy, bluesy garage stuff, the Chunks’ ramshackle whateverthefuckitistheyplay, and the Leg, who are so good they makes themselves sick down themselves (or so I hear anyway, because I have yet to see them live, for shame).

The Pineapple Chunks – Art Storage

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Tuesday 24th August 2010: White Heath, French Wives, Fiction Faction (Formerly Casino Brag,) Sebastian Dangerfield, Washington Irving, and Foxgang at the Bristo Hall.

This is a big lineup selected by Foxgang for their Festival Special.  Given the reluctance of local promoters to do anything at all during the festival (and I have every sympathy – I do the same) it is good to see these guys putting on their own showcase.  Highlights for me would be the indie-pop of Sebastian Dangerfield, and Glaswegian indie pair Washington Irving and French Wives, from Instinctive Raccoon.

Sebastian Dangerfield – The Flood (Pt.1)

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Saturday 28th August 2010: Broken Records and Sparrow & the Workshop at the Liquid Room.

These are two of the original Song, by Toad bands, in a certain sense.  Both now have labels and albums and careers, dammit, and it’s weird.  With debut albums fairly well in the rearview mirror I would imagine that there will be a fair amount of new material on show here, although I know Broken Records don’t want to ruin the surprise for when their second album comes out later in the year.  Their new stuff sounds a lot more layered and guitary and a lot less folky than their earliest material, and I am deeply curious about the new record.

Broken Records – A Leaving Song

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Saturday 28th/Sunday 29th August 2010: Retreat Festival at Pilrig St. Paul’s church.

A free download sampler featuring a large number of the bands playing can be downloaded from here, if you’d like a bit of a preview.  Other than that, take it from me, this is going to be the highlight of the Edinburgh gig calendar, no exceptions – full details here, and I reckon you should probably buy tickets in advance (weekend – Saturday – Sunday) too as I doubt there will be too many left on the door.

Well, apart from the usual gigs, we have a couple of ongoing Festival specials this week to add to the general level of giddy excitement.

Firstly, the Acoustic Cafe is running all week downstairs at the Roxy Art House featuring this week, amongst others, The Pictish Trail and Wounded Knee.

Secondly, Lach’s Antihoot is an ongoing, late night, at the Gilded Balloon, and is an open mic night in which Lach brings his legendary New York institution, and initial nurturing ground of so many artists we love, to Edinburgh for the duration of August.

And if that little lot isn’t enough to keep you busy, we have a wee list below.  And if you see a Home Counties ex-public schoolboy on a unicycle at any point (and face it, the odds are pretty good) feel free to poke a stick in his fucking spokes.  ‘Zany antics’ – the bane of the Edinburgh fucking Festival.

Wednesday 11th August 2010: Mitchell Museum & White Heath at Electric Circus.

The Electric Circus continues their hugely appreciated policy of giving as many opportunities to emerging Scottish bands during the Festival as possible.  Mitchell Museum’s new album, on lovely, heavy 12″ vinyl, will hopefully be available for purchase at the gig too.  I wish we could afford to release more stuff on vinyl, but it really is fucking expensive stuff, and a right nuisance to store as well.

Thursday 12th August 2010: The Oates Field, The Memory Band & The Pictish Trail play Leith Tape Club at the IsoLounge.

Festival schmestival, Leith Tape Club is one of the best alternative nights in Edinburgh, and Leith should be a nice place to get away from all the hurly-burly of Edinburgh in August.  There may not be tickets left for long though, so follow the link above sharpish if you want to attend.

The Pictish Trail – Winter Home Disco

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Saturday 14th August 2010: Pantha du Prince & Brothers Grimm at Sneaky Pete’s.

Strictly speaking, Brothers Grimm are a graphic design and illustration team, so I can’t imagine how well those skills will translate to the realm of haircutty electro music.  Still, Chris is the Bleepmaster General in Meursault and his brother Michael is better know for his work in Dead Boy Robotics so despite the fact that I am probably not indie enough, well dressed enough or even slightly cool enough to attend their debut gig I shall style my hair as well as I can and hope for the best.

Pantha du Prince – Lichten

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Okay, there aren’t any titans, but there are plenty of clashes in this week’s gig calendar.  Look at Saturday for instance – The Fall, The Leg or Bear in Heaven? – it depends on the precise length and angle of your fringe I suppose.  Well, that and the cut of your jeans.

And Wednesday, what do I do?  Go and butter up Yusuf Azak and try and get him to join the label, or go and butter up the Foxxes and try and make sure they stay?  That’s the music industry for you: so many arses to kiss and so little time in which to do it.

In other news, I have been invited down to Unconvention in Manchester to sit on a panel of labels and band managers to make some wafer-thin pretence of having something intelligent to contribute.  I will try very hard to not perform my usual trick of just talking over the top of people until they shush, and make a genuine effort to be a productive and valuable member of society. Yes yes, I know, stop laughing.

Wednesday 21st April 2010: Euan McMeeken, Yusuf Azak, Woodchucker, Dan Arborise & Library Tapes at the Roxy Room.

Yusuf has just finished his debut album which we are hoping to persuade him to release on Song, by Toad Records later in the year, and on Wednesday he and Euan will be supporting Dan Arborise and Library Tapes down at the Roxy Room.

Yusuf Azak – Ursa Major

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Wednesday 21st April 2010: Jesus H. Foxx & White Heath at Maggie’s Chamber.

The Foxx are currently writing and recording their new album, which is due out… well, about three or four months after they finish it, if we’re being determinedly practical about these things, which we have to be.  They’ve been posting demos and works-in-progress on their blog, so you can pop through there and have a preview if you like.

Jesus H. Foxx – The Sea (Demo)

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Thursday 22nd April 2010: Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, The Stormy Seas, The Kays Lavelle & Tony Yorston at the Wee Red Bar.

This is the Woodenbox album launch party, and with my own very recent experience of album launches, that means it should be a gigantic, messy, good-natured piss up.  Their stomping Americana has been particularly upwardly mobile recently, which may be related to their recent hook-up with a new manager, and I am looking forward to hearing the full album.

Friday 23rd April 2010: Slaraffenland & Efterklang at Cabaret Voltaire.

A very Pitchforky gig, this.  Efterklang were pretty good at SXSW, but I find their recent album no better than okay.  Apparently earlier stuff is miles better though, so erm, well yes, good luck with this one. Lots of my friends, whose music taste I agree with in most aspects, love these guys but I don’t really know them well enough yet.

Slaraffenland – Long Gone

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Friday 23rd April 2010: Steffen Basho-Jughans & C. Joynes at the Roxy Room.

This looks like being an extremely interesting evening of music, particularly for those looking for something a little different this week.  This is something of a steel-stringed guitar masterclass, with all three bands featuring the instrument quite prominently apparently.  More information is available from the Facebook page for the event.

Saturday 24th April 2010: Maybe Myrtle Turtle, Enfant Bastard & The Leg at the Bristo Hall.

This is a fundraiser gig, and will be headlined by The Leg, who I would probably describe as My Favourite Edinburgh Band Who I Have Inexplicably Failed to Ever See Live.

Saturday 24th April 2010: The Fall at Studio 24.

I don’t really need to tell you anything about The Fall, do I?

Saturday 24th April 2010: Bear in Heaven at Sneaky Pete’s.

Bear in Heaven are extremely hip at the moment, and I not sure if they are more famous for being famous, or because someone famous tweeted about them, hence making them even more famous, and simultaneously a poster child for modern social media marketing.  Oh, and they play quite electronic stuff, which is not bad at all.

I am clearly not as hip as I pretend to be (was anyone really fooled?) because despite their being extremely cool, I don’t actually have any music by Bear in Heaven on my drive.  Out of shame, I have substituted at track by The Tragically Hip called the Bear, in the hope that you won’t notice.

The Tragically Hip – The Bear

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Well the Trampoline show for this Friday, with Ziggy Campbell and Yusuf Azak has been cancelled, which is a bit of a tragedy for my music fun, but at least spares me some of the Olympic amounts of typing this post is going to require all through bloody August.  Fucking hell, it’s like a mini novel.  Fortunately I don’t think much was actually on yesterday, when the sort of hangover generated only by consuming an entire bottle of gin prevented me from doing anything productive at all.

So this post is being written now and dated two days ago so, erm, well fuck it, shoot me, there’s always the list of course.  But my listings are way better – everyone knows that.  Aren’t they.

Yes is the answer to that, in case anyone was taking too much time to think about it.

Tuesday 11th August 2009: Jesus H. Foxx & Art Fag at Electric Circus.

I was about to say that two Toad bands on the same bill means I am guaranteed to enjoy this, but strictly speaking electro-experimental loonies Art Fag are Scotland’s hottest new unsigned act and I will have to fight every label in the land with sticks for their signature.  Or, um, something like that.  And Jesus H. Foxx were superb at the Forest Cafe last week, so this should be a cracking show.
Jesus H. Foxx – Elegy For the Good Times

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Wednesday 12th August 2009: White Heath EP Launch at the Forest Cafe with Meursault, Foxgang and Debutant.

I am really looking forward to hearing this, and genuinely curious.  For all I’ve seen White Heath a few times recently I haven’t heard any of their recordings recently, and I am very much looking forward to hearing what Alex from Fentek has made of their sound, which can be chaotic to say the least when I’ve seen them live.  Quite how he mixes the trombone and fiddle in with the electric guitar and drums is something I’d like to hear.

Thursday 13th August 2009: Battle of the Bands – Cybraphon vs FOUND at the InSpace Gallery.

This is sold out, but apparently any returns will be available on Thursday.  You can’t have them though, because I need them.  Let’s be honest, I’m not going to miss a chance to watch one of my favourite Edinburgh bands face off against a moody musical wardrobe am I.

Friday 14th August 2009: This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s with The Foundling Wheel & Dead Boy Robotics.

Dead Boy Robotics had a very successful set at T in the Park this year (see video at the bottom of this post) and apparently their new stuff is something of a shift from earlier material, which makes me really rather curious to hear what they’re up to these days.
The Foundling Wheel – Out to See

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Saturday 15th August 2009: Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, Lovers Turn to Monsters & Shenandoah DavisTrampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

Woodenbox are a cracking live band, I don’t really know Lovers Turn to Monsters, and Shenandoah Davis is bloody lovely.  We’re recording a Toad Session with her this weekend as well.  Splendid.
Shennandoah Davis – We, Camera

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Sunday 16th August 2009: Retreat Festival from 11.30am in the Bristo Hall, upstairs from the Forest Cafe.

The collection of bands playing here is in some senses irrelevant.  Even if you’ve never heard of a single one of the groups playing, you can be absolutely guaranteed that this is going to be an amazing day.  Those of you who like your rock music with a little bit more in the way of coke and whores may not be quite as thrilled as others by the Bristo Hall’s family and cuppa-friendly atmosphere, but I am hugely looking forward to it.  And the lineup is fucking amazing, as it happens:  Withered Hand, Jo Foster, Wounded Knee, Hexicon, Rob St John, Viking Moses, Tisso Lake, Moustache of Insanity, Allo, Darlin’, My Tiny Robots, Come In Tokyo, Enfant Bastard, The Pineapple Chunks, Meursault, The Leg.

There’s a lot to talk about when describing this gig, so I will have to keep it brief as possible per band or I will end up writing a bloody novel.  It was a fucking good night though, that’s for sure, and has been very nicely documented indeed by Dylan over at Blueback Hotrod, for those of you who are photographically inclined.

White Heath

These guys are, to my view, approaching something of a watershed.  They could be on the verge of becoming a very, very good band indeed, but they have a couple of things I think might need ironing out before that can really happen.  Largely, that revolves around the eclecticism of their sound, which can be a little overwhelming at times.  Once in a while, I reckon, they simply need to do a little less.  There are certainly times when they seem to be playing over the top of one another to a certain extent – fair enough when they want to make a fuck-load of news and bring songs to a crescendo, or just play a really bloody loud song, but in between those moments I think there are times when they could do with just taking a little bit out here and there.

They do seem to be getting better and better as a band however, and their last two songs of the night in particular were bloody brilliant.  They’ve an EP release quite soon, which I am really looking forward to.

Rob St. John

Rob can be very delicate and quiet a lot of the time, and as the cackling harridans on hen nights strutted gormlessly around the back of the venue, squawking high-pitched vacuities at one another and anyone else within earshot – generally about a fifty-metre fucking radius – I feared for both the poor man’s sanity and our own enjoyment.

I feared needlessly though, because as the incoherent squealing got louder, so did Rob.  He ended the set kneeling in front of his amp in the middle of a five minute electric guitar wig-out, Owen the drummer thundering away alongside him, in a brilliantly un-Rob-like display of bolshy confrontation.  Domino is one of his most beautiful, delicate songs most of the time, but this time around it was given the full treatment, and was superb.

We’re losing the lad to Oxford shortly, I am sorry to say, and that’s a real shame as he is really developing at the moment and the capital’s music scene will be poorer for his departure.

Rob St. John – Domino

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Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

Erm, can I call this music ukulele croon-funk?  It’s difficult to imagine, described like that, but I can’t think of a better way to put it.  Dent May is actually a full band, with bass, guitar and drums added to the uke, and they’re a really upbeat, wry band and great fun to see perform.  There is indeed a lot taken from fifties rock ‘n’ roll (think Hill Valley in Back to the Future), but they play it with a raucous exuberance which blows any of the associated cobwebs out of that particular kind of music.

I had a bit of an ‘oh yeah, another ironic indie four-piece’ attitude when they took the stage, I have to confess, not helped by the fact that they all looked like part of the cast of one of those clever, talky small town indie flicks which America loves so much (all that was missing was Zooey Deschanel playing a kooky, elusive girl for one of them to pine after for years while they were in the big city making it big in something nice and executive, before returning to their home town beset by tragedy and self-doubt and rediscovering the idiosyncratic but down to earth values of small towns full of unambitious and yet unaccountably wise eccentrics – I have a very active prejudice gland, it seems).  Honestly, though, they did look like that.

That was, inevitably, just me being a dick of course.  They put on a great show, their tunes were witty and totally infectious, and I will now buy an album to explore further.  As should you.

Dent May & his Magnificent Ukulele – College Town Boy

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Found

Well, honestly, I’ve reviewed Found rather a lot recently, so apart from saying that they were excellent, I will say no more.  A great way to round off a gig though, and a thoroughly excellent night altogether.

Having just got back from a weekend spent in the sunshine at the Wickerman Festival, I will be spending all of Monday at a client meeting, and not returning to Edinburgh until Tuesday, so there would appear to be precious little in terms of rest for the wicked this week.  And that means that you’re going to be somewhat on your own with this post today, as I will be sitting in an eight hour meeting with a full bladder of rotten instant coffee.

Bart very kindly rote a fantastic summary of the musical August we are in store for this year, and posted it here, yesterday.  This is something I am hoping to be able to do on a regular basis – ask people to contribute to the blog on Sundays, when I very rarely post.  Bart has kicked it off, and there should hopefully be more in future, ideally on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, with all the splendid things in store for us this August, the city seems to be collectively drawing breath this week, with nothing on until Saturday:

Saturday 1st August 2009: Found, Dent May, White Heath & Rob St. John at Electric Circus.

Apart from a stellar lineup of bands this evening promises to be utterly ruined by my good self DJing again, which is a worrying sign for Edinburgh in general.  Still, it seems so far to to nothing more sinister than to give me free entry into really good gigs, so I can’t say that I mind at all – quite what the other poor bastards at the gig think is another story.  I’ll run out of records soon though, so some shopping might be necessary.
Anyway, the gig itself is something of a stellar lineup.  I was massively impressed by Found at the recent Toad Summer Party and, White Heath are getting better and better at the moment. Rob St. John is someone I haven’t seen in ages though, and I am really looking forward to seeing him play again.  Rob recently put a new song called The Sargasso Sea up on his MySpace page and it seems his lovely acoustic folk music is slowly being turned into borderline Led Zeppelin guitar solos – in other words, Saturday should be a good ‘un.  I don’t know anything about Dent May, but with the rest of the night looking as good as it does, who cares, frankly.
Rob St. John – Paper Ships

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There are a couple of vaguely mysterious things also happening this week, but I am a little too unsure of them to actually put them down as full listings.  Meursault are playing at Sneaky Pete’s on Tuesday, but it’s possible that may be a private party – I trust someone can set me straight in the comments.  Also, White Heath are listed on their MySpace page as playing at Henry’s Cellar Bar on Friday, but not on the listings for Henry’s itself.  Anyone know anything about this?

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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Well the mammoth video nightmare of the last week is nearly over.  This week I will be working in the Meursault tour diary from when they went away to the North of England for a few days in our big green van.  They recorded some excellent sessions while they were touring, including three songs in the back of the van from some campsite in, erm, Lancashire somewhere I think, and also a few songs at a bandstand in Newcastle.  The tour diary itself might just be mental, and but for some judicial editing could easily become the most offensive musical document ever recorded (thank you Fraser, Preston’s a bit ‘rapey’ is it?) so I hope I can get it trimmed down to something vaguely family friendly before I go away.

Here’s a preview for those of you who are interested – this is a version of a new song called Sleet, as played in the Newcastle bandstand to an appreciative audience of a great many birds, and no, not the kind your average rock star aspires to have in his audience either:

As you know, Mrs. Toad and I are off in Italy for a couple of weeks from this coming Saturday and in our absence the splendid Three Toadsketeers of Dylan, Bart and Euan have agreed to take over the Good Ship Toad.  I will be enforcing a strict regime of alcoholism and offending vegetarians, so it should hopefully not be too far from the sort of unprofessional garbage you’re used to around here.  But I owe them all a massive thank you for taking this on, because I think it will be much nicer for everyone than just leaving it quiet for two weeks.

So, before I bugger off, what will I be attending?  Some of these things, I suspect:

Monday 8th June 2009: Cherbourg at Sneaky Pete’s.

Formerly Davie Fiddle and tour-mates of Mumford & Sons, these chaps play a very English-sounding indie folk.  If anything, actually, it harks back more to the folk rock of the late 80s and early 90s rather than the more glacial stuff of the last couple of years.
Cherbourg – Man

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Tuesday 9th June 2009: Withered Hand, Benni Hemm Hemm, Ish Marquez & Emily Scott at Electric Circus (map here).

This is the official launch for the EP Withered Hand recorded with King Creosote earlier this year.  He’s currently working on an album, which is almost through the mixing process and vaguely pencilled in for release in August or September this year, I believe.  The album is a full band job, but this EP is a much more acoustic, and the lineup for the launch party is nothing if not eclectic.  Incidentally, I filmed a couple of songs by Emily Scott at Homegame but she still hasn’t got back to me to tell me what they’re called.  They can be viewed here and here if anyone can supply me with the missing information!
Withered Hand – Shooby (Demo)

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Wednesday 10th June 2009: Cheveu & White Heath at the Bowery.

Cheveu are French and a little bit mental from the sounds of it.  Still, this kind of, erm, noisy, crackly post-stuff music should make for a good evening.  I hesitate to imagine what it might sound like live, but I think this is one of those gigs where you just have to turn up and see what the hell you get.  Support comes from the very promising White Heath, making what is I believe their Bowery debut.
Cheveu – Like a Deer in the Headlights

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Thursday 11th June 2009: Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, The Kays Lavelle & Kristoffer Morgan at Sneaky Pete’s.

Woodenbox are a terrific live band, who have been working on some new recordings recently – as, incidentally, have the Kays Lavelle.  The former play stomping Americana, full of brass and rhythm, and the latter play piano-led indie ballads, which cross over into that sort of post-rock atmospheric aesthetic from time to time.  And both bands now share a piano player, as far as I am aware.  Kristoffer Morgan is a bit of a mystery to me, I must confess, this being the first time I think I’ve seen his name on a bill in these parts.
Woodenbox – Situations (I think this was recorded before the addition of the Fivers)

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Friday 12th June 2009: 7VWWVW, Albaross, Kyon & Spells Tower play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

This is a crossover night between the ever-excellent This is Music characters and Crystal Wish Records, with a lineup full of bands I’ve never heard of.  Crystal Wish appear to be pretty electronically and experimentally orientated though, and these are always great nights, so I’d definitely recommend popping along.  This is Music generally do a podcast as well, in advance of their night, and that will appear here at some point in the next week, I assume.

Saturday 13th June 2009: Meursault, Wounded Knee & The Foundling Wheel play Trampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

I don’t really know what to expect from this gig.  The Foundling Wheel and Wounded Knee are a little more experimental than Meursault tend to be most of the time, but Meursault have been slipping some new material into their recent Edinburgh gigs and they definitely have it in them to be a little weird from time to time, so this might well be a bit of a treat for everyone.  If you like your music a little off the beaten track, that is.
The Foundling Wheel – Out to See

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Saturday 13th June 2009: Diane Cluck & Mary Hampton at the Bowery.

Diane Cluck is an (anit-)folk legend, so I really wouldn’t miss this if I were you.  Unless you’re going to the Wee Red, because I wouldn’t miss that either.  Thank fuck I’m not here to have to make this terrible decision!
Diane Cluck – Save Me

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Phew, and I thought it was going to be a quick on this week!