Some randoms

Dustin's Bar Mitzvah - Kick Him Out

Rosemary Suburban Kings

Quite liking this lot - Catchy

Edinburgh Festival August 2006

now you can say what you like about the Edinburgh Festival, its become too commercial,





its rubbish, its this its that ...but at the end of the day id rather have it than not...the buzz is excellent as the city triples its size for one month each year. So its either that or a boring old day same old same old...know what id rather take.






What a stage !!! Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura double bill at the castle...nice backdrop me thinks.

the Last Project, Apple Scruffs and Kessler. Barfly July Glasgow

Finding myself at a loose end of a Saturday afternoon I nipped onto my links!! Check ticket Scotland – Nothing, King tuts – Nothing, Glasgow Gigs – Nothing, gigsandtours.com – nothing, Nice n Sleazy’s – nothing, then Barfly – Something!!! Okay so I had never heard of any of the bands gigging but that’s nothing myspace couldn’t sort out and after all it was the only gig in the northern hemisphere that night.

For whatever reason I jumped straight onto The Last Project ‘s My Space first although Apples Scruffs were headlining. No Sooner had I opened the link and I was greeted with the beautifully crafted ditty ‘Friends’!! I love singing like this…monotone…drone and cant be arsed all mixed with an attitude. Reminded me of the beta band singing ‘around the bend’ or Grandaddy singing Hewletts Daughter!! All very lovely. Apart from Close to Heaven which is pure Manc Swagger and Madchester in the 90’s (which is where most mancs still live even now even though the Hacienda is no more than wanky flats for trendies now) they had me sold on going along after 5 cords!

So I turned up at barfly early to grab a ticket but the doors were locked – the bands were at the door complete with gear and looking hung over or pissed off or both! – as it turned out I played 5 asides with one of the boys out of Kessler who bunged me a couple of cheap tickets and 2 promo CD’s. So merrily I skipped off ahead of the door time later!

The crowd built slowly but steadily and when you get the crowd in Barfly it is second to none as a venue! The bands were networking away and looking much up for it. The Last Project kicked us off and their set from start to end was sensational. The lead had good stage presence and apart from his wee pork pie hat they made the whole night worth coming!! They were raucous and raw, fast and catchy holding some good wee tunes! Defo one for the future !!

Kessler were Stonking but I hate to say it, better on stage than on the promo CD’s. Sorry boys!! http://www.myspace.com/kesslerweb Good Stuff!

The Apple Scruffs were ace from what I can remember but the night had started to go hazy by that point! They are certainly good on the free tracks here http://www.myspace.com/theapplescruffs

Highlight of the night? The last project!! Come get it while its hot! Glasgow Music is riding high!! And in the words of Franz Ferdinand “people say to us – Glasgow is getting quite cool for music now huh? And I tell them to f*** off as Glasgow has always been cool for music and will remain that way long after the A&R men have moved onto the next hot city” – Bump!!

A sunny Day in Scotland -June 15th Amazing what it can do tot the heart

Glencoe - Sunny Glencoe!!! words that you never thought you would hear together..they sit as uncomfortable together as words such as Police and American intelligence. But it just worked this weekend!!

The sleepy Jackson King Tuts Wah Wah Hut 14th July 2006

The scene was set. It was Friday night and work was over. It had been a beautiful day all day and I had friends coming up from London. I work on the same street as King Tuts wah wah hut and so had merely yards to walk from one pub to the next. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately no one told the egocentric Sleepy Jacksons that they had to show up. Now I don’t mean show up physically but this show was as bland a show as I have seen in many a year. I was sat downstairs waiting for my friend to show up but as I went to the bar half a dozen loud lads walked in and sat where I had been despite my jacket being there. So I thought F*** it ill just sit right among them. So I did and I said nothing and they nothing to me despite them continuing to act like arseholes of the highest degree.

I supped on my pint until finally I met up with the said friend off the Flight from Heathrow. I had bummed up the sleepy Jacksons to him filled him in on how tuts was legendary for gigs. So the scene was set.

They finally came onstage in a whimper! Then they twanged their opening with a slow pish ditty from the new album that had no one excited. The place was packed but the intro to the first song took so long people were getting uneasy and shouting to them to hurry the fuck up. Eventually they did and that was it. Pure duff from start to finish. What an ego!! No surprise from a guy who sacked his own brother and two others from the band after only one album. It seems he sacked the talent, as the new stuff was utter guff! They merely played good dancers and one other I cant remember now from the old album. No Miniskirt, no acid in my heart…nothing. It was like his statement that they were bigger than these old hits…as if they had produced 17 albums and had tired of playing them.

Then I noticed the twats from downstairs were stood there in front of me heckling them and suddenly I felt an affinity with them…they were shouting what I was thinking which I liked as it saved me from doing it!!

This was a band going nowhere for thinking they had been somewhere. They were merely showing promise but you know that way it can all diminish on the second album. Yep this was it!! No stage presence , no idea how to work a crowd and probably the most un rock n roll band I have ever seen. Yet what a massive ego! Crazy stuff!!!

Stumbled upon him being interviewed on Radio 1 the following day and concluded he was indeed a twat. And what a twat at that. Scott Mills struggled to hold it (him) together as he pretended and played out his position as a misunderstood rock god when in fact all he did was show acoustically that he in fact had zilch talent after all. End of!

Westend festival - Dykeenies, Glasvegas, My Latest Novel and Camera Obscura

It was a sunny Saturday night ‘doon ra west end’ and probably the last day of summer in Glasgow to be honest. I went along to bar Brel in Ashton Lane, just off Byres Road, to find some Jazz Quartet finishing up. This of course meant that the moth like figures of the middle aged west-enders were swarming to plague proportions because of a bit of “stylish tasteful music”. Some obviously hadn’t been let out for a while and were rolling down the cigarette-doubt littered hill in the back garden. There were public displays of affection from otherwise stuffy middle to old age locals and there were a few dances going on that looked awkward and drink fuelled. All a bit of a laugh to be honest. So I drank up and headed round the corner to the QMU for the ‘west end festival’ gig which included Glasvega the Dykeenies my latest novel and headlining were Camera Obscura.

I had really came to see the Dykeenies who have recently signed to the launch of the new King tuts wah wah hut label releasing ‘new Ideas’ in July. Also I wanted to see the fabulous Camera Obscura. I was curious to the whacky named Glasvegas but not so much that I arrived in enough time to actually see them. So after a full body cavity search by the Hackett QMU door staff, I was in. the Dykeenies were already on stage. I had not heard that much from them but had bought the hype and liked the track ‘new ideas’ as well as a few others. As time went on I realised that this is band going places. But in my books it was a band going places for the wrong reasons. They had a poor stage presence, but then I never did like a front man playing keyboards. I thought they may have learned from Howard Jones on that one. Dressed like American nerds they banged out one tune after another with varying styles jumping between the killers to the keiser chiefs or willy sheafs as I like to call them.

It was all pandering pop disguised under this NME plagiarised version of the term ‘Indie’. Not to my taste at all and all too predictable. By the time they closed with the track ‘New Ideas’ I fully believed that they had none. My short lived romance with them had ended. The hoares that they are. I felt violated.

Next on were my latest Novel. A Band from Greenock Scotland who warn you not to dare compare them to any other band on their My Space site. I had downloaded two of their tracks before hand, when we were wolves and some other looper–esque track with a Scottish monologue drolling through it. I wasn’t impressed at all. So much so I thought about going out and coming back later for Camera Obscura. Well I did but I came right back in as they had now opened the upper tier. Boy was I glad they did. Little did I know, I had simply downloaded (in my opinion) their two weakest songs. What happened after that was moving. This foursome were simply breath taking. They played everything from fiddle to Xylophone and created the most beautiful striking pieces of music I had heard in a long time. This lot don’t care much for Genre and it showed. While the world laps up Gee-tar bands this lot were knocking preconceptions into touch. The response from the crowd showed this. The feedback after each track grew as they went on. This was developing into somewhat of a special night. They left the stage to a new found hero’s reception as mental notes were hastily written to go get their album tomorrow if the haze of alcohol in their heads permitted.

Next on stage were Camera Obscura. I knew I liked them but had never seen them play live before. I had read in the Skinny newspaper of lead singer Tracyanne Campbell’s annoyance of not being recognised and that she was on the point of quitting the country. I know how she feels sometimes. Hence the new album title ‘get me out of this country’ . After my latest novel it was always going to be one of those nights. Band member’s Mums in the crowd and the venue now packed to the rafters. Scotland, Chelsea and Motherwell legend (loosely termed) Pat Nevin introduced them as ‘his favourite band’ and left stage left. One by one they took the stage. The Bassist led the way first, fresh from his Cameo as the Albino monk Silas in the Da vinci code, lead Guitar followed, stumbling on stage what seemed almost by accident straight after work in city attire, then Traceyanne was shoved to the front to perform as all the others snook on and lined up behind her. It seemed a little nervous at first and I could almost see the insecurity of the band’s ‘Skinny’ interview surfacing. The bloke beside me jumped around like he had just won a tenner on the lottery. His mail order wife looked a wee bit unimpressed mind you.

There were 72 guitars, 16 sets of drums, one violin, three xylophones and a string quartet on stage. That may be a slight over exaggeration but once they struck up the sound felt as if that was true. It was massive, and unashamedly catchy. Ploughing through their new album I realised why HMV were touting this on their new Artist free CD thingy as ‘indicative of a band hitting their stride’. Track after track battered out and the furore after each was obvious for all to experience. The big man in the suit (sorry I don’t remember names that well) payed tribute to My latest Novel between songs, and well he might as they had really warmed the crowd up and the buzz was already in the room. So the gig was pitched at a great height from beginning to end and from reading about Camera Obscura I somewhat believe Traceyanne when she said ‘thanks for coming, I really thought no one would show up’. I am glad this was such a special gig and I am glad she got the warmth from the room that night. It may well have been the same drunks that had frequented the beer garden at Brel earlier but who cares who enjoys your music so long as they do. And they ALL did!! Ace!!! - Fopp records would have been busy the next day.