It’s relatively quiet in Edinburgh this week, but next week is going to be a bit mental, so perhaps taking it a bit easy for a few days is advisable, eh.  Oh well, perhaps not then.

First up is the Lets Get Lyrical Festival.  A bit more cerebral than your average stale beer-scented alternative music show, and hopefully as far as possible from the Drew Barrymore/Hugh Grant carnival of horror you see illustrated on the right.

Their full lineup of events can be found here, although sadly the King Creosote/Ziggy Campbell one at the Caves to tomorrow is apparently sold out.  And then I am away down South for the rest of the week.  Arse.

On the plus side, though, I am away down South to do a wee interview with BBC Introducing on Wednesday and then hang out with some of my long-neglected London pals for the next few days, so it should be an extremely good week for me, I reckon.

Thursday 3rd February: Born to Be Wide Music Photographers Night at Electric Circus.

This is almost sold out, apparently, so if you want to go I would recommend getting your tickets in advance.  Sitting through seminars may not seem like the best way to go about doing something which most people do as a creative outlet, but I promise you that these things can be extremely useful either the more you go to, or the more specific the

Friday 4th February: Esben & the Witch, Trophy Wife & Wintergreens at Sneaky Pete’s.

Presumably because of the name I think I dismissed Esben and the Witch as just another London (slightly)alternative folk band, but actually they are a bit more of a somewhat shoegazey guitar band.  I’m not massively familiar with the album yet, but what I have heard sounds really quite promising. The Wintergreens are an Edinburgh band who are a little less loud, but who also make rather promising sounding atmospheric guitar songs – they’ve been around for a while actually, and I have still not managed to see them play live.  Shame on me, I think it’s safe to say.

Esben & the Witch – Marching Song

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Friday 4th February: The Go Team at the Liquid Room.

This should be really quite fun.  I’ve always been a passive fan of the Go Team for ages – never wildly excited, but nevertheless happy to enjoy their stuff as and when it has crossed my path.  They have a new album out shortly too – in a week, I think – which I will review as and when I have had a chance to listen to it, which isn’t quite yet.  Still, there’s a four hour train ride to London to deal with.

The Go Team – Buy Nothing Day

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I’m afraid the gig listings this week are going to be little more than a great steaming post of Toadspam.  We’ve a lot on at the moment, and I’d hate to think you’d let other people’s wonderful creative efforts distract you from the fact that the most important thing you can do this week is give a needy, gin-soaked virtual amphibian a bit of validation.

So as such please bear in mind that it is most definitely NOT the This is Music fourth birthday celebrations this Friday, and Meursault are certainly NOT going to go down to Sneaky Pete’s to rock the shit out of the place, oh no no, nothing of the sort.

Anyhow, the Loch Lomond Night Bats launch tour kicks off tomorrow, in the Slaughtered Lamb in London, then trundles through Glasgow on Wednesday (the first ever Glasgow Toad Night, as per the above poster), then Aberdeen on Thursday, Berwick on Friday, Leith on Saturday and back down to London to play The Black Heart in Camden on Sunday night.  Because I am driving around with them, posting might be somewhat disrupted this week, but I will try and make sure I get a couple of reviews written up this afternoon so that they are available to post over the course of the week.  Otherwise you are in the hands of Dylan, rather famously referred to as Baldrick in the comments for the last podcast, much to his distinct lack of amusement and my descent into the giggles.

Anyhow, at the Roxy Art House there will be some poetry and music from the Wintergreens on Wednesday, and then some sprightly indie-pop from Come On Gang on Friday, but there’s not an awful lot else that I can find in Edinburgh which looks like my kind of thing, honestly.  Social Services look kind of interesting, although I know nothing about them at all, and they’re on at Sneaky Pete’s on Thursday 20th.  And that seems to be it, although it’s far from unusual that I miss at least one good gig from these listings every week of course.

Wednesday 19th May 2010: Meursault, Loch Lomond & Jonnie Common play the Song, by Toad Records Showcase at Mono, Glasgow.

It’s been a while since I’ve been through to a gig in Glasgow, and I am really looking forward to this one – Mono is a lovely venue by all accounts.  I was toying with the idea of trying to get more Glasgow bands on the bill, and then it struck me how silly it would be to to go to all the trouble of putting on a gig in Glasgow, only to put bands on the bill they can see every other week anyway.  I reckon we should start doing a few of these showcases actually – help small Glasgow labels to put them on here, and then encourage Edinburgh ones to do things through there.  If that worked out we could even extend it to places like Aberdeen or Manchester or stuff like that, but I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself here…

Loch Lomond – Tic

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Friday 21st May 2010: Meursault & Islet play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

Yes, yes, yes, I will be in Berwick and unable to attend this one, very funny.  I reckon the idea of the Meursault playing a full band set live in a little club like Sneaky’s should be bloody brilliant, to be honest with you. It is hopefully going to be very, very loud.  Due to excessive workloads I haven’t had the chance to actually go to a bloody good late night piss up for a while, and this is the one I would pick if I could.

Meursault – Red Candle Bulb

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Saturday 22nd May 2010: Sam Amidon, Loch Lomond & Leif Vollebekk at the Queen Charlotte Rooms in Leith.

The return of the Bowery, with early evening crafts, some poetry reading, and music this should be a lovely night.  The Queen Charlotte Rooms (the pink building just next to The Compass in Leith) is a building caught in a bloody timewarp, but that makes it an absolutely incredible place.  It looks for all the world like somewhere my grandma would have gone for one of her industrial-strength rum and cokes to meet her friends from the British Legion.  The music will be folky goodness from Sam Amidon, Loch Lomond, Leif Vollebekk all kicked off by a solo acoustic performance by Neil from Meursault.

Sam Amidon – Wild Bill Jones

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When do the clocks go forward again? It feels like it should be soon, because the bite’s gone out of the cold, and you can see green shoots here and there on some of the plants, but I guess it’ll be a while yet, unfortunately.  Still, it’s actually light out when I leave work these days, which is a positive sign.

The post-Christmas gig lull seems to be slowly coming to an end as well, which is good news.  It’s actually a rather busy week this week, with the funs spread pretty evenly, instead of all clumping together on a single evening, as they have been wont to do of late.  How considerate of them.

Firstly, Frabbit are playing Cabaret Voltaire on Wednesday with Ross Clark and Dupec, but there’s little point making a fuss about that one seeing as it’s already sold out. I thought I’d mention it though, in case you’re the sort who can wangle guesties to this sort of thing.

Oh, and Song, by Toad is back on Fresh Air this evening, going live at about 8pm I think, but more of that later.  During the meanwhilst…

Monday 15th February 2010: Jesca Hoop, Run/Lucky/Free & the Wintergreens at Sneaky Pete’s.

There’s a touch of the alt-country power pop to this lineup, some of which strays outside my personal taste a little.  I was first introduced to Jesca Hoop by DC on The Waiting Room a year or so ago, and although I have not listened to lots of her stuff, I like the stuff I do know.  It’s a nice mix of influences, from old folk, to a bit of country, to radio pop and it’s all blended together very well. Maybe not for the sulkier indie kids amongst you, but still a good one, this.

Jesca Hoop – Summertime

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Tuesday 16th February 2010: Robin Grey at the Forest Cafe.

Robin Grey’s stuff doesn’t exactly demand attention – it’s not forceful or attention-seeking or anything like that – but it deserves it.  He is largely an acoustic singer-songwriter, although he’ll be playing with a band tonight.  I think the difference with Robin is in his confident, unassuming style.  He’s also a really strong lyricist so I definitely recommend taking the chance to see him play if you can.

Robin Grey – The Finchley Waltz

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Thursday 18th February 2010: Hexicon, The Just Joans & Cancel the Astronauts at the Wee Red Bar.

The third Gentle Invasion gig in about a week brings the easy acoustic pop of Hexicon to the Wee Red Bar, supported by The Just Joans, who must write the most Scottish lyrics of any band in the world, and indie-poppers Cancel the Astronauts.

The Just Joans – What d’we Do Now?

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Thursday 18th February at Cabaret Voltaire: The Mill with Ambulances and Carrie Mac, followed by Hot Club de Paris live at Sick Note.

There’s a lot going on at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday with the excellent Ambulances bringing their easily-paced, old-fashioned indie to the Mill, alongside Edinburgh’s Carrie Mac.  After there will be Sick Note with Hot Club de Paris, who have kind of slipped off my radar in the last year or so.  They’ve a new album which is there or thereabout though, so this is probably a good time to catch up with them.  The new stuff on their MySpace sounds pretty good, so it’s all quite promising.

Ambulances – Come With Us

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Hot Club de Paris – 3:55am

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Friday19th February 2010: First Aid Kit & The Last Battle at Sneaky Pete’s.

Scandinavian ingenue Americana alt-folksters, with Edinburgh’s most upandcomingest folk-pop band makes for a pretty cast-iron lineup if you ask me.  This has been a long post though, and I am bored of writing about gigs, so to see what I make of First Aid Kit, just read my recent review of their album.

First Aid Kit – Hard Believer

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Well, erm, Thursday should be fun.

This weekend was somewhat written off, after an apocalyptic drinking session on Saturday took its terrible revenge on Sunday, rendering most of the day a ruin apart from shitty movies and too much Chinese takeaway.  To everyone who came round to the house on Saturday, I apologise.  It was a fucking good party, though.  Our next door neighbour seems to have the habit of opening a window and playing terrible music as soon as we go out in the back garden, which is both tedious and foolish.  Foolish because our stereo can blast the hairs clean off your nipples if we really turn it up which, at 4am after obliterating almost four cases of beer, we often do.  Eat alt-folk, bitch!

This week will see the completion of the Homegame videos project, which will be fun, and probably a trip through to Glasgow for Hinterland on Thursday and Friday.  I’d love to see the likes of Jeffrey Lewis and the Wave Pictures, as well as Mitchell Museum, Zoey Van Goey, Fanfarlo and Wild Beasts if possible.  And of course, Toad Records’ own Meursault at the Classic Grand (with thanks to This is Music for putting them on).

Tuesday 28th April 2009: Alex Cornish at the Caves.

Alex has re-released his debut album Until the Traffic Stops this week.  I know he may be a tad Radio 2 for a lot of you (hell, he was for me too until I realised just how infectious his way with a tune is) but anyone who can self-record and self-release an album and get onto the B playlist at Radio 2 without so much as a record label to do his donkey work deserves some serious respect.  And congratulations.
Alex Cornish – Sweet Child o’ Mine

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Thursday 30th April 2009: Found & The 48 at Cabaret Voltaire.

Since their experimental pop classic The Mess We Keep Reshaping, found have leaked out little bits of work here and there, EPs and such like, but I always find myself wondering what their next album is going to be like.  For a band without all that much history of trotting out standard records when there are interesting little side projects to be done, I am not sure why I am so sure that they are necessarily making one, but it seems to me like we’re getting to the point where one would feel right.
Found – FND043

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Thursday 30th April 2009: The Wintergreens & The Weeping Sons at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

These two are relatively new bands, playing music I guess you might describe as a sort of  folk tinged post-rock.  It’s all very downbeat and atmospheric, but still quite acoustic, which is where that slightly inadequate description comes from.  They’re pretty new to my awareness, as I said, but from what MySpace can tell me I think both bands deserve a good look.
The Weeping Sons – Yer Feet in the Water of Leith

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Thursday 30th April 2009: The Voluntary Butler Scheme, Damn Shames & Futuristic Retro Champions at Sneaky Pete’s.

Apparently Rob Jones was a full-time part-time drummer, if you get my meaning, before forming his own band.  It’s basically a gently eccentric pop sound, but there’s been a lot of chat and he sounds quite interesting.
Voluntary Butler Scheme – Tabasco Sole

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Saturday 2nd May 2009: Come On Gang, Day of Days & Little Buddha Band at Cabaret Voltaire.

Apart from the sparky indie punk pop of Come On Gang, Little Buddha also sound rather interesting: kind of like a rockier version of early Goldfrapp.  Oddly, there seem to be a few good bands coming out of Kirkcaldy at the moment.
Little Buddha – Losing You

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Sunday 3rd May 2009: The Black Oil Brothers at the Bowery.

Normally, this would be a little too literal an interpretation of stampy blue for my taste, but I found myself enjoying the stuff on their MySpace page, and this sort of music is almost always really good live.
Black Oil Brothers – Dirty, High & Confused

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