knock 3 times if you want to see a secret gig

Smug. It's a word which has a feel to it, kind of descriptive. You can feel the wide grin it takes to say it, the same one that appears on your face when you discover, say, a secret warehouse party open only to close personal friends of a top 3 chart act. Oh, and any hangers-on that know someone that's pals with the band.
That's be me then, since, after seeing Franz Ferdinand at the Academy the other night, we - that's myself and John, friend to the stars - set off to find the legendary Chateau, underground Glasgow arts centre. After a comical drive, where we find ourselves parked further away than before and collect Sue, another itm? writer and probably the person who knows best where the place is located, such is its mist-shrouded nature. We decide to walk through the area - close to the Academy probably isn't giving away anything - and after giving the secret password and ascending the crumbling 7 flights, find ourselves in the inner circle.
So's everyone else - many people tell me that my wangling our way in wasn't quite as impressive as they were also somewhere in the crowd. And it was some crowd - almost impossible to tell that it was Sons and Daughters doing a support slot until they rattled through a few tunes from their mini-album. Actually, doubly impossible since the band, who aren't the tallest in the world at the best of times, decided to do their set seated.
Franz Ferdinand's set at the Academy was great fun, though they suffered slightly from being first on, sound-wise. However at the Chateau they're on home territory and seem to realy enjoy themselves. They're amongst friends after all, the crowds who supported them through their pretty rapid ascent to stardom. It's an odd mix of an audience though the response is universally rapturous. Kinds of friends and family as they do their first and last hometown appearance for what's likely to be a while as the rigours of being a name act take their toll. In the crowd - several women from the college where Alex used to work before hastily quitting his job when Domino called. They unfurl a banner reading "where are your registers?" - college rolls are apparently legal documents and there may be question asked in the House.
We get a quick chat with Alex afterwards before the Chateau's other delights - some sort of surreal theatre - take over. The 'interview' will appear in the forthcoming itm?, so I'll leave it at that - a teaser campaign, if you will...

Beefheart/Fire Engines

Wow. That's my quick assessment of the gig I was at last night, where a reformed group of almost pensionable musicians reformed to play for the first time in decades. But more in the Fire Engines later...
I must confess that I'd not been over-enthused by the prospect of the Magic Band without its Captain. Perhaps because I, contrarily, preferred his later stuff, not getting into the band until, well, probably 1980 when Shiny Beast appeared. I plead mental trauma here, having picked up Trout Mask at my local record library when at a very young and imprssionable age (maybe 11? not sure). Loved the cover, couldn't get into the music, though I know I *felt* that I should be enjoying or at least 'appreciating' it (on the other hand, I als got a Yes album out around the same time and *knew* that it was shit).
Anyway, I've grown to love the early stuff over the years, but was still wary of any backing band paying tribute to their former master. Not that I waas put off by this by any principle (after all, I've been to see the reformed Sex Pistols, a fine night of cabaret), it just didn't enthuse me enough to rush and buy tickets when the show came up.
Then the Fire Engines rumour quickly became fact, and I *did* rush to sort out entry to the gig.
Inevitably - and everyone expected this - their set was all too short. Great, but short. You'd not know they've not played together in aeons - well, maybe they've been rehearsing for this moment since the 80's, but led by Davy Henderson in a print frock and 'Iraq' cardigan, they played an explosively tight and exciting set with *most* of the old favourites - NewThing in Cartons, Get Up and Use Me... though no Big Gold Dream, and I'm told that though the rest of the band were happy to do Candy Skin, Davy didn't fancy it. Ah well - 10 minutes into the set he announces "this is the longest we've ever played". For a moment at the end it seems that the band are to do an unprecedented encore, but this was presumably the sound and lights guys toying with us.
As you'll have gathered I'm no expert on the Magic Band, particularly the early stuff, though I find that I know mush of their set - Sun Zoom Spark, Electricity... indeed, they start with debut single Diddy Wah Diddy - and there's even Evening Bell for us johnny-come-lately fans, a seemingly improvised guitar meander which is relayed note-perfect. Drumbo - the 'oldest' band member to my reckoning - takes over the Captain's vocals for most of the set, and his throaty vocal snarl, without seemingly trying to replicate his former boss, seems a pretty good replacement. If you like the blues, and like alt.rock, then the Magic Band's skewed mix of these 2 broad genres then you cannot fail to be impressed by this live show even if you're not a fanatic for the recorded works - and respct to Shellac's Bob Weston, doing sound (cue rush of indie kids to the booth). What strikes me most is how fresh the tunes sound - written over 30 years ago, and themselves based on music from 40+ years earlier. Maybe it's the fact that the Fire Engines guitar twang has such a basis in the Beefheart sound - well, that takes us up to the 80s for a reference point!

pipe and slippers

Pangs of guilt. I've not been to a gig in a couple of weeks, and there are two tonight I should really atend - magazine types are putting on True Swamp Neglect at Sleazy's, and Edinburgh's Subway is reopening its doors for the first time in ages with mrw44 promoting. I'll be doing the sensible thing and going to neither.
Instead, I'll save myself for a weekend of ROCK in 7 days time. A 'seminal' band of umpteen years ago are playing in Edinburgh. They're supporting the Magic Band. They are the FIRE ENGINES, and they're doing a one-off show in support of their heroes. And I have managed to get a press place - phew! Thing was, I hummed and hawed about the Beefheart thing - I always preferrred his later stuff - oh, contraire - and also was quite surprised that the band had got back together without their leader to rework much of the early back catalogue. Personally I never got into the skewed delta blues stuff from that era, perhaps due to a bad experience when I borrowed Trout Mask Replica from the local record library around the age of 11. I wasn't impressed, and never got into the Captain until around Shiny Beast, when it all seemed rather punk rock. Either way, I will be there, to see history in the making. Or something.
I know that if you read these things in any detail it's to find out if there are any new bands which have found their way into the jockrock or itm? collective hearts and minds. Probably so you can avoid them when they come to town. The demo pile these days is ever-large, and of dubious quality, but there's usually one shining in the mire, and this time it's from Yay Us. A multi-national 5 (?)-piece from all over the place, they make wired scratchy punk rock, shout a lot, and show some surprisingly smart (given the previous classification) touches. I actually saw them at a house party many months ago - when The List had a small spate of covering gigs in houses and back gardens - and at that time they were good, but maybe overshadowed by the other acts playing, like the Hector Collectors and particularly the Pendulums. But the demo shows they've come a long way, literally as well as figuratively. I have no idea if they are playing live or planning on releasing anything, but I'd certainly like to say "you'll be hearing more from this lot..."

My Sound - Satellite Dub & The Aphros

My back is killing me, doubtless due to spending 2 weeks on the couch and following this up by hunching over a computer terminal on return to what I call 'work'. So it was a relief that the YourSound gig at Stereo the other night was a largely seated affair, as people chill and drink and listen to the newes indie sounds. First Wednesday of the month provides live music and if it wasn't for the aches and pains, honest, I'd have got up and bopped around to the beats of Satellite Dub - their live debut being a rather impressive one, all clattering percussion and oddball samples. There are a few people doing this kind of thing of course but Sat (as he's not known) has something extra, mainly just the hooks and tunes that permeate the set.
The Aphrodisiacs were the other band on the bill and they've got better since their early gigs for sure, not that they weren't good, just the sound is harder, faster and louder. They split their set in 2, the main part comtaining the vaguely 80's drum machine-driven guitar tunes much beloved of Peel and his ilk. Then they swap one guitar for drums and compensate by turning things up for a searing punk/grunge closing pair of tunes.
Back on the stereo (as opposed to the Stereo) a couple of things caught the ear. Backini has been in the 'in' pile for ages and only just make it on and how the months have been wasted without it. It's sample-driven pop with beats and pieces nicked from big bands and jazz and the like but with some very poppy stuff in the mix - imagine David Jack with Simon Cowell as 'adviser'. That's a joke, but it's a compelling mix of underground and mainstream dance, and as you can tell, hard to describe.
Another 'one to watch 'is Vinnie Peculiar - a singer-songwriter (it seems) with some nice enough tunes, but with some of the most distinctive lyrics - make that 'tales' - you'll hear in a while. Particularly like the story of how he tried to drown his music teacher because he wouldn't let them play Bowie or T Rex. It's funnier than I can describe it, so, when it appears, I'd advise flusing Mr Peculiar out of hiding.

BMX, Deerhoof, Teenage Fanclub take on the Floyd...

I'd not realised the last time I'd updated this was November! There have been a few CDs of note arrived in the post since, but I'll leave them until later. For now, a 60-day gig round-up...
OldSolar and theonewhoflew at Stereo. I reviewed this for The List so maybe it'd be asier to post that review up here somewhere. Maybe later. I love OldSolar's really delicate take on soundscapery and pop and loud/quiet and everything else, their new album should be a cracker. theonewhoflew contrasts, an acoustic act of course, and a one-man-band (the mouth organ confirming this). The similarity is in the (again) delicate songs and the decided poppiness of some of his material - not a criticism however!
I'm looking at the diary and am not rightly sure if there were loads more gigs I never actually noted. Teenage Fanclub did John Cavanagh's Pink Floyd booklaunch at Mono, covering Interstellar Overdrive and others (this one is reviewed in The List too). It's also in the Winter edition of is this music? -go buy a copy, you cheapskates, as the site's even more infrequently updated than this one...
On a Glasgow indie alumni tip, the BMX Bandits played in East Kilbride (as had the Pastels some months before). Norman Blake was in the audience too, having co-written a song on the Bandits new album. High point however was a version of Green Grow The Rushes (traditional Scottish folk song updated for 80's janglepop).
I'm realising that I actually need to do reviews for the next itm? anyway so I'll just say that a drummerless Boy Cartographer were pretty good at the Note (considering their set was largely improvised) while the Flying Matchstick Men were pretty awesome, very punk rock compared to the feel of their album. And Deerhoof - well, after one song I'd expected a lot of 'angular' post-rock nonsense, but they suddenly kicked in, a yelping Japanese singer battling against one of the most dextrous drummers I think I've ever seen.
At some point I saw Macrocosmica at Sleazys and the ROCKED MIGHTILY and took time to puzzle over how they were in support slot. Though not to metal-oriented bands, to be fair. Mono are from Japan and as is the wont of that nation, they provided a precise replica of Mogwai's back catalogue, only in minature (i.e. wall-of-noise wigouts all clocking in at under 10 minutes). Some of the audience, perhaps to be fair having not seen his kind of thing live before, were rather blown away by the wholething. Seattle's Kinski, sadly (as they seemed like a nice bunch) were, well, ok, and received ok too, but thir take on mid-period Sonic Youth was kind of disjointed and lacking any particular direction. Not a bad gig by any means, maybe I'm just getting gig fatigue (I think there had been 4 shows in as many days by this point).
TBC turned up again at the Winchester Club Xmas party which saw a mamoth 8 (?) acts. Other highlights - the Poppadums with full brass section, a very nervous fella called Red Bull Ken (?) doing a comedy Darkness xmas song, the Gone Aways with some accomplished acoustic impressiveness, some celebrities including Gary Snow Patrol applauding loudly at the Hector Collectors (during one of their false endings), a bloke dressed as a wizard and doing a great 'I Believe in Father Chrisdtmas' until his tuning went up the spout, and the Zephyrs version of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. Though pride of place went to Sons and Daughters - uber-fashionable, but somehow still enjoyable, a full-band skiffle-cum-garage rock thrashabout.
This is getting a bit long but there were 2 further Xmas gigs, if you don't count the is this music? party at the Note, which was great with Projekt A-ko doing a briliiant set and Kasino also taking the care to rock out in such indie-oriented company. A great time and some pies were had by all. Anyway, Huckleberry/Lapsus/Moniack at the Cafe Royal (that one'll be in The List too, I believe) and the Traveled Music show at the Venue. This boasted the Stick Finlays (pretty convincing grunge, Cayto (even more angular classical-metal hybrid than before) and Eastern Lane, who I hope haven't missed the punkpop bandwagon as they have a bunch of big ideas and catchy tunes in a Strokesey vein.

new year, new gear

well, the first blog of 2004. Maybe the last, who knows? Certainly actually remembering to update this damn thing seems to be the hardest bit. I shall set the blog entry page as my homepage in the browser which may act as some encouragement to type up my thoughts when I start the computer up. At 7am. Or maybe not.
Have just spent some time faffing around with my xmas present, a couple of CD decks which should make the process of recording Fallout (www.radiomagnetic.com, Tuesdays, 4.30-6pm GMT, music fans) somewhat easier. Once I've figured out how to operate this hulk of baffling technology it should make the shows that bit more relaxed and hopefully I can actually enjoy putting together the first one of the year this weekend (though recording directly to mp3 is something I'll leave for later). Expect The Magnificents, Gasgiant and some remixes of My Legendary Girlfriend to feature...