Unfortunately due to technological disasters there was no recording, and not even any broadcasting, of last week’s Mammoeth session I’m afraid. So I’d like to apologise to Russell, and promise to get him back in next year at the first available opportunity to have another go. I suppose it’s no consolation to any of you for me to tell you that he was really good? No, thought not.
As for this week, we were supposed to have Dan from Withered Hand and Neil from Meursault doing a joint session, because they are recording a joint EP in the near future and it seemed like a nice idea. Dan is unable to make it unfortunately, so you will have to make do with Neil I’m afraid. Fortunately the lad can sing a bit so it’s unlikely to ruin your evening.
As per usual the playlist below will be updated live as we go along, and the comments section will be the best place for all your usual abuse/sniping/snide remarks.
This week’s playlist:
1. Shearwater – Castaways
2. Navigator- Work Is Done
3. Meursault – Love or Limb (live in session)
4. Kath Bloom – Come Here
5. Clem Snide – I Heard My Mother Praying For Me
6. Meursault – An untitled triptych! (live in session)
7. The Libertines – Tell The King
8. The Streets – Same Old Thing
9. Samamidon – Head Over Heels
10. Meursault- What You Don’t Have (live in session)
11. Wounded Knee – Oh My Captain!
12. Meursault – Heaven Waits (live in session)
13. Eagleowl – Sleep the Winter
It’s not quite so mental this week on Edinburgh’s live circuit. There are quite a few interesting gigs, but not all that many unmissable ones, so I think it might be easier to pick and choose a couple without overburdening yourself. Last week’s strategy of driving to gigs in order to prevent excessive alcohol consumption proved extremely successful (until the weekend, but then the weekend is supposed to be for fun so bugger off, besides, it’s not every day your label has an EP launch party) so I might just continue it this week. In any case, I have three five-a-side football games this week, so it may just be necessary anyway, whatever I personally may wish to do.
Jeremy Jay is a K Records star, a label give considerable love by Ruth from the Bowery when she made an appearance on the Toadcast a couple of weeks ago. Ian from Tisso Lake has a gorgeous voice and a lovely guitar sound and while I haven’t seen him with a full band before, he is rather Rob St. Johnish (*sniff, bye Rob) when he plays solo. The Colourful Band are from Leith and while their recorded material can seem a little lacking in real conviction, there is definitely a lot of potential there, so I will be very interested to see them live to get a better idea of what they are really like as a band.
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Tuesday 15th September 2009: Brook Pridemore at the Forest Cafe.
[This has shifted to the Forest Cafe from the Bowery] Anyone who saw Dan Costello at the Bowery last Monday will know that Brook is his drummer, and will be breathlessly waiting for him to sing Breakup Song for Brook Pridemore to Sing, written by Mr. Costello with the fairly obvious intention that it be sung by erm… yes, Gary Barlow, that was it. Apart from that, I have little idea what to expect, but if he plays with anything like as light a touch and generous-spirited a nature as Costello himself then this will be a really enjoyable night.
[Edit: due to the cancellation of the support acts, anyone mentioning Song, by Toad at the door will be given free entry - bloody excellent!] I am not entirely sure about Theoretical Girl, but there’s definitely something interesting going on there, so if New York anti-folk isn’t quite your bag then this slightly theatrical, often piano-led, somewhat Dubstar-esque lady is well worth investigating.
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We all know how good I think the Foxx are, but I am also bloody delighted to get the chance to catch the Second Hand Marching Band again. They encompass a lot of styles, from carnival folk, to more mysterious, dreamy territory and I haven’t seen them for ages.
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I liked the Whispertown 2000 debut album, maybe not quite enough to review it, but enough to be fascinated by their music. They’re getting bigger, too, and I think they are about to play the End of the Road Festival, so they could be on the verge of making a bit of a breakthrough.
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Despite threatening suicide on a number of occasions, Trampoline soldiers on, as the one of the best and most consistently under-publicised nights in Edinburgh. Of the bands on Song, by Toad Records I saw two for the first time at Trampoline shows, and the lineups are almost all excellent.
They have a couple more bodies on board now – Dave and Michael from The Stormy Seas/Shipping Forecast Garden Party/ex-Rubix – so I am really hoping they can push this onto a new level. The lineups are almost always top notch, and I think as a night it should really benefit from the extra help, because it deserves to be a lot bigger than it is. Euan wrote about Beerjacket when he was babysitting this blog in June, so I am really looking forward to seeing them for the first time.
I might not be a massive fan of the Declining Winter myself, but I am bloody delighted to see Tracer Trails back promoting gigs again. The current groundswell of belief in the Edinburgh musical community owes an awful lot to the work done by Tracer Trails a couple of years ago, who consistently brought left-field artists, often of some renown, to Edinburgh and hence, along with the now defunct I Fly Spitfires, did an enormous amount to actually make Edinburgh a place good bands would seriously consider putting on their tour schedule. They also both made a huge contribution to actually building the audiences for this kind of music, giving subsequent promoters a confidence that there were people who would come, if they put on shows themselves.
Both promoters pretty much vanished, just as their labour was beginning to bear fruit for everyone else, which was a huge shame, so it’s really brilliant to see Tracer Trails back in business. I urge you all to go along and show your support, because it would be great to see them back on the list of reliably excellent and challenging promoters we have around at the moment.
You could drink yourself into a coma going to every interesting gig in Edinburgh this week. I think I might need a few orange juice gigs, if just to vaguely preserve both liver and waistline. Although it may be too late for both, I have to admit. I think I am going to start driving to gigs (tonight is by necessity, but we’ll see how it goes) just as a way of forcing myself to stick to fizzy water or some such beverage.
Maybe Skinny Water, perhaps (thank you Cogstar), a drink so monumentally stupid that I have stared at that ridiculous primary school website for hours trying to figure out if the damn thing is a hoax or not. It’s so ridiculous I keep thinking that it really must be a piss-take, but it really does appear to be water laced with imaginary weight-reducing ingredients.
As their website claimed*, the water “has been enhanced with a unique combination of ingredients to help you lose weight… suppress appetite, block carbohydrates from converting into fat and increase fat burning”.
This website, on the other hand, claims that this is most ludicrous pile of horse manure to hit the public domain in ages. Although, thinking about it, this product is so transparently idiotic that I find it hard to blame the manufacturers, or the designers of that comedy website. Honestly, if you are so fucking stupid as to fall for this sort of infantile idiocy then you deserve to be ripped off and, honestly, you deserve the continuing cycle of desperate, futile hope followed by the despair of inevitable failure and decimated self-esteem that this sort of obsessive weight mania will certainly bring you. Jesus fucking Christ, if you’re too fat (which I am) then either just accept it and enjoy your life, or get some fucking exercise.
I have missed the Bowery over the Festival. Somewhere sane to go would have been appreciated in amongst all the carnage, but Jane and Ruth are back now and celebrate that fact tonight.
How these two rather mental bands are going to complement one another on a bill is anyone’s guess, but I really like both and am definitely looking forward to this – unhinged guitar indie and dancey electro stuff. And incidentally, X Lion Tamer has a new EP out, called Neon Hearts, which is available in Avalanche Records on Cockburn Street as of right about now.
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The Willard Grant Conspiracy are one of my favourite bands ever. Robert Fisher’s voice is deep and rich, and his songs go from the desperate ballad to lovely alt-country to grinding tension, often in the same album. There is no chance I am missing this gig.
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Versus gigs are a bit risky in some senses – how to keep the pace up without garbling things, how to get enough interplay between the bands to stop it simply being a standard gig with a shuffled playlist, all sorts of things – but I love the idea in general. The styles on show this evening are pretty varied too, which I think is a good thing.
Neko Case has, simply, one of the most gorgeous voices around. I’ve seen her live before and she is lovely – charismatic, charming and a superb performer. There’s a lot on this Friday, so I don’t know if I’m likely to be able to make it, but I really want to go to this.
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Totally Enormous what? Fucking hell, you really should go for the name alone. This is Music nights are brilliant fun, and this is just that kind of carefree, enjoyable lineup which makes them good.
YES, the offical Song, by Toad Records release of Matter, by Jesus H. Foxx! I don’t know why I ever even wanted to be a record label, but one of the reasons was to be involved with, and make a contribution to, music which I bloody love. I am absolutely thrilled to have this EP on the label and really looking forward to the launch night. I’ve never seen either Some Young Pedro or Golden Ghost before either, so even more room to be excited.
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*Until people pointed out that it was total bollocks and they decided to change it.
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.
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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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.
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.
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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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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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.
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:
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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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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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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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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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.
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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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!
This week I will finish the live videos for Ten Tracks and eagleowl, to go with the Rob St. John ones here:
In other news, the lineup for the Fence Collective’s annual liver-bothering get together has been announced, and it’s fucking superb:
* KING CREOSOTE * MALCOLM MIDDLETON * EAGLEOWL * ROB ST JOHN * SLOW CLUB * BURNS UNIT * THE PICTISH TRAIL * THINGS IN HERDS * CANDYTHIEF * EMMA POLLOCK * JAMES YORKSTON * DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON * MEURSAULT * DE ROSA * FOXFACE * THE RED WELL * ROZI PLAIN * RACHAEL DADD * WIG SMITH * ICHI * FOUND * ART PEDRO * ADEM * KID CANAVERAL * SO COW * WITHERED HAND * HMS GINAFORE * LITTLE PEBBLE * MICHAEL JOHNSTON * KARINE POLWART * ADRIAN CROWLEY * PLAYER PIANO * ZIGGY CAMPBELL * STEVEN CRACKNELL (MEMORY BAND) * ANIMAL MAGIC TRICKS * HARDSPARROW * VIKING MOSES * EXPEDITION GUIDE * MELANCHOLICS ANONYMOUSE * GOLDEN GHOST * COME IN TOKYO * ONTHEFLY * LOVE.STOP.REPEAT * WIQWAR * ENGLISH BORE * EMILY SCOTT * THE PHANTOM BAND * LITTLE RAY * DOUG JOHNSTONE * WILL HODGKINSON * STRIKE THE COLOURS * GEORGE THOMAS * MARTIN JOHN HENRY * MARINA & THE DIAMONDS * OLO WORMS * VIVA STEREO * GUMMI BAKO * DJ DOMINIC * BOYWONDER * THE HAND * INSPECTOR TAPEHEAD * JAKE FLOWERS * PANDA SU * FRANÇOIS * THE CHEEK * JOHN B MCKENNA * JONNIE COMMON * DOOGIE PAUL * PETER GREENWOOD *
Any suggestions for people I should particularly make time to interview and get a bit of live footage from? Not Found or the Pictish Trail, because of approaching Toad Sessions, and I won’t be interviewing Meursault obviously, although I will try and get some live video of them. Tickets here – I’d recommend going if you possibly can.
Come On Gang are one of several Scottish bands who are facing the considerable bill of dragging their arses out to SXSW this year, and will be holding a bit of a fundraiser to help cover the costs. They are punky, poppy and brash and I haven’t seen them play for ages. This will also be a chance to catch fellow Edinburgh indie-poppers Cancel the Astronauts. Indie pop (which is probably not quite the right term for these bands, but bear with me) is actually a significantly neglected genre in this city, what with the recent rise of all these indie-folksters so it’s about time I went to something where they wield their guitars with a bit of bite for a change. Come On Gang – Fortune Favours the Brave
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Withered Hand are, basically, fucking brilliant. It’s confrontational punk-folk, although the punk side comes from the attitude and the delivery, rather than the instrumentation. Nevertheless, if you want to be told that “a hard-on doesn’t mean you’re in love” with some force, then you really have to see this band. Withered Hand – Hard On
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This gig has sold out, I’m afraid, so unless you’re going already, you’re stuffed. I thought it was worth bringing to your attention anyway, though, because Little Pebble (one of Edinburgh’s most under-rated and neglected live performers, including, embarrassingly, by myself) is going to be putting these nights on on a regular basis and they look like they’re going to be really good. Little Pebble – Hold That Thought
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This is a Benbecula Records night which looks like it will be showcasing their signature style of experimental, ambient music infused with sensibilities of both the folk and electronic persuasions. Wounded Knee might be this city’s foremost loop pedal black belt, and has a new record approaching soon, so if you want to hear his new material then I would guess that this is likely to be a good chance to do so. Flowers of Hell – The Strength of String
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Found will make their Bowery debut this week, in another gig that is being put on in association with Ten Tracks, as part of their fundraising efforts for their own SXSW adventure. Come. That is an order. Advance tickets can be bought here. Found – Closed Time Like Loops
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Well the Meursault Session is up and my interviews are all sorted but one, so maybe I can take the foot off the gas just slightly for the time being. This week I have two tasks: write up the Builders & the Butchers interview and record a podcast for the weekend. Oh, and maybe deal with the Broken Records movies from a little while back.
I’ve requested interviews with Micah P. Hinson, the Wave Pictures, David Thomas Broughton and the Pictish Trail for End of the Road, and so far have a yes from PT, no reply from DTB, and am having my traffic credentials examined by the MPH gatekeepers. Is my penis big enough? Do I drive a shiny enough car? Is Mrs. Toad pretty enough? Are you lot the right sort? Christ this is fun – the music industry is so fucking hierarchical it’s just ridiculous. To be fair though, the lady I’m talking to about Micah P. Hinson and the Wave Pictures seems really nice, so hopefully we might get somewhere with that.
In the meantime, there are plenty of opportunities to wreck your liver and empty your pockets in Scotland’s capital this week:
Friday 5th September: Wounded Knee, Black Diamond Express & others at the Drill Hall in Leith.
There’s a handful of really good bands playing this particular night, apparently hosted by Benbecula Records, who are one of the best little labels around these parts.
Black Diamond Express – Nemo Saltat Sobrius
Saturday 6th September: Euchrid Eucrow, Emily Scott & the Wee Rogue play the Gentle Invasion night at Henry’s Cellar Bar.
Bart’s Gentle Invasion gigs are always a treat, but he sent me some marketing blurb for this one that might have backfired: apparently Euchrid Eucrow, apart from the man himself, comprise musicians from not only the (brilliant, in my view) British Sea Power, so far so good, but also the (dismal, in my view) Bat For Lashes. Ah well, Bartski, can’t win ‘em all. Still, it sounds intriguing, Emily Scott is lovely, and I haven’t seen The Wee Rogue since his first tentative step onto the Edinburgh stage some three years ago at an Out of the Bedroom night.
Euchrid Eucrow – A Horse is Not Just For Christmas
Also, Glasvegas play the Liquid Room on Sunday, but the ungrateful bastards have sold out. Bugger.
Glasvegas – Geraldine (Demo)
That’s about all I could find to personally get excited about this week. A bit thin, eh. I may need help on this one.
I bumped into Bart of Eagleowl and Kays Lavelle fame the other day. We were both hanging out in one of the achingly cool vintage vinyl record stores where you tend to find hip cats like us…
Okay, it was Tesco’s… but anyway, I promised I’d post a reminder about the fabulous Retreat festival Bart’s involved in that’s coming up this week.
The Retreat festival has everything going for it: All the shows take place over a series of nights throughout August, and in one centrally-located venue; St. John’s Church hall on the corner of Princes’ Street and Lothian Road (The one in the photo). The festival is charging a bargain flat-rate entry fee of just £3 for each show, doors are at 8pm each night, and an irresistable array of local talent will be on display. It would be plain daft to miss out.
Monday 4th August
Rob St. John, Emily Scott
Wednesday 6th August
The Pictish Trail, Button Series, HMS Ginafore
Friday 8th August
Randan Discotheque, The Wee Rogue
Monday 11th August
Wounded Knee, Jess Bryant
Friday 15th August
Withered Hand, Jo Foster
Saturday 16th August
Eagleowl EP launch featuring Allo, Darlin’
Wednesday 20th August
Ziggy Campbell, Little Pebble
Saturday 23rd August
My Kappa Roots, Royal Edinburgh Music
Of course there is one and only one gig worth attending in Edinburgh this week: the Song, by Toad Records Launch Party! It is the official line of this publication that no other gigs are even happening, never mind worth turning up to. Some arse has managed to sneak in some rogue listings at the bottom of the page, but believe me he will be hunted down and given a severe beating before the day is up.
It would be great to see as many of you as possible at the launch party. This is as nerve-wracking as it is exciting, so get there nice and early for your free sampler (only 25 to go round) and help us celebrate in a bit of style.
Wednesday 11th June 2008: We See Lights & Woodenbox & Emily Scott at the Wee Red Bar.
It’s all a bit folky at this month’s Trampoline gig. We See Lights are not a group I can tell you that much about, but Emily Scott’s stuff is gorgeous and Woodenbox were terrific at the T-Break Heats in Glasgow a month or so ago. It won’t be as much fun as the Toad Records Launch Night of course, but it will tide you over well enough.
Woodenbox – Situations
Wednesday 11th June 2008: Jonquil & The Occasional Flickers & Wounded Knee at Henry’s Cellar Bar.
It’s an eclectic lineup from The Gentle Invasion, with rising quirk-folksters Jonquil, pastoral indie band The Occasional Flickers and experimental soundscaper Wounded Knee all bringing something quite different to the evening. The one common thread is perhaps the laid back, comfortable vibe that should pervade, so for all it won’t be as good as the Song, by Toad Records Launch Night, it should be an enjoyable gig nevertheless.
Jonquil – Apparency
The Occasional Flickers – A Medal Won in ‘84
Friday 13th June 2008: Alex Cornish at Cabaret Voltaire.
Having played material from his debut album When the Traffic Stops both solo and with a four-piece band, Alex has finally decided to procure a string quartet to bring the full depth of his sound to the live stage at last. It should be really good, this, but don’t get too drunk because you don’t want to be hung over at the excellent Song, by Toad Records Launch Party the following day.
Alex Cornish – Counting Chimney Pots
Saturday 14th June 2008: Rags & Feathers & Ziggy Campbell & Les Enfant Bastard at Henry’s Cellar Bar.
Of course none of you will be at this, as you’ll all be at the Song, by Toad Records Launch Party. But should you be so scurrilously disloyal as to go along, then feel free to swing by Leith afterwards and brandish your stamp for free entry. You may just be able to catch Meursault (10pm – unlikely) and Celebrity Chimp (11pm – probably) if you’re quick. Ziggy Campbell is the Found frontman, and Les Enfant Bastard are possibly the living embodiment of anti-folk. Rags & Feathers I know nothing about at all, but follow the MySpace link and enlightenment is yours for the taking.
Les Enfant Bastard – U R My Fucking Sunshine U Cunt
Saturday 14th June 2008: Celebrity Chimp & Meursault & The Byrons play the Song, by Toad Records Launch Party, at The Meridian, Leith.
There is surely no way I need to tell you any more about this, but even if you don’t give a shit about the label or my own endeavours or any of that stuff – and of course, there’s no reason that you should – then you may wish to come down to see the bands anyway, as this is a really excellent lineup. More details here if you want them; hope to see you there.
Celebrity Chimp – Plastic Girl
Sunday 15th June 2008: The Twilight Sad, Broken Records & Meursault at the Bongo Club.
What finer way to nurse your prodigious hangover after the night of your life at the Song, by Toad Records Launch Night than by spinning round to see Broken Records and Meursault, probably Edinburgh’s two best bands at the moment, supporting swirling noise-merchants The Twilight Sad at the Bongo Club. It won’t be as much fun as the night before, but then, you probably just couldn’t take that much joy in one weekend anyway.
The Twilight Sad – Watching That Chair Painted Yellow
I’m not normally the type to plug specific events this obviously, but it gives me the opportunity to shed light on one of Edinburgh’s most thriving music scenes – in many ways Edinburgh’s only seriously thriving music scene. Now, this isn’t to say that there aren’t plenty of really good indie-pop groups knocking around Scotland’s capital, but the audience for anything other than a particular kind of alternative folk music is pretty sparse for the most part, and this is a bloody shame.
That said, there is a sort of delicate, introverted folk music or, alternatively, a discordant, sightly arhythmic style of alt-folk or folktronica or whatever you’d want to call it that seems to suit the locals for some reason. It’s not all that weird, just slightly skewed somehow, and I like it but I couldn’t tell you why it’s so much more popular over here than other stuff which I would consider more, umm, what, populist, perhaps?
It’s almost as if this city takes pride in the amateur nature of a lot of its native artistic enterprises, and I’m not sure where this comes from. It may be from the aristocratic nature of the place, or perhaps a reaction to the rock ‘n’ roll dominance of Glasgow or perhaps even a reaction to the considerable wealth of Edinburgh’s huge financial community. Without doing proper research – in fact, maybe even if I did proper research – I just couldn’t tell you.
Anyway, the upshoot is that there is a really solid group of people making what I guess you would describe as ‘difficult’ folk music, some of which, once you get used to it, is terrific. I’m not making claims on behalf of any of these bands beause I don’t know any of them that well, but they are all playing this Saturday at the Village Fete, which appears to be some sort of student art thingummy. It’s at Old Saint Paul’s Church Hall on Jeffrey Street and starts at about noon, so if you’re a resident of these parts get yourselves down there to see Withered Hand, Randan Discotheque and Wounded Knee.
If you’re not, then listen to this stuff and wonder, as I do, why this kind of music in particular seems to take hold around here when plenty of other, equally deserving styles seem to get the cold shoulder. They’re a strange breed, the Edinburgh music fans, and even after almost three years here I am still struggling to really understand them properly.
Withered Hand – Hard On
Randan Discotheque – Heather the Weather A serenade to an iconic local weather lass.
Wounded Knee – Canary
And here’s a couple of others, just for shits and giggles, by Eagleowl and My Kappa Roots.
My Kappa Roots – Summer You Dancer
Eagleowl – This is Not Your Lucky Day These chaps are Bart’s band, one of the regular commenters here, and are supporting The Twilight Sad at The Liquid Rooms on the 20th March, so I’ll have a proper reaction to them after that gig. This is gorgeous though.
Unfortunately due to technological disasters there was no recording, and not even any broadcasting, of last week’s Mammoeth session I’m afraid. So I’d like to apologise to Russell, and promise to get him back in next year at the first available opportunity to have another go. I suppose it’s no consolation to any of you for me to tell you that he was really good? No, thought not.
