It has been over 2 months since the last post and after the whirlwind that comes in the form of Christmas & Hogmanay celebrations, and then the cold and dark month of January (and February), I feel ready to return to the real world once again. I like to spend this time of the year hiding away beneath many layers of clothes and amusing myself in the least energetic ways possible, so plenty of time for listening to music & re-organising the CD/Vinyl/iTunes libraries.
Last year I saw a very limited number of ‘proper’ gigs. I saw loads of unsigned/student bands, a few bands that mates are in and a pretty large helping of very cool bands that I was lucky enough to be on the same bill as…but that’s not what I’m talking about. By ‘proper’ I mean the gigs that you buy tickets for the day they go on sale and then spend the months leading up to the show listening to the entire back catalogue (including the rubbish live recordings and b-sides collections). So this year I have decided I must do better. It’s not that the multitude of unsigned acts that I saw in 2011 weren’t great and at times inspirational too, but there’s nothing like the excitement of seeing the folk you love, doing their ‘thing’ live. The anticipation of a roomful of adoring fans waiting for the headline act to take to the stage is, for me, almost as good as taking to the stage and performing myself. And it’s not that there weren’t loads of great shows I missed last year due to either being on the road myself or not paying enough attention to the listings, but there’s no point crying over missed gigs, so after a few trips to Ripping Records, the tickets are purchased & I have a few very exciting gigs coming up & I thought I’d share the delights…
Next week I’ll be attending the Little Dragon show @ The Liquid Rooms (Edinburgh). One of the best bands I discovered last year and I’m confident that this is going to be a cracker! For anyone who has missed this band check out my blog posting from July last year.
https://sacrenoir.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/005-home-away/
I really love both their albums and can’t wait to hear the live arrangements of these tracks that I’ve immersed myself in for the past 6 months & see what cool instruments they have with them on tour.
(2 sleeps to go)
Next month it’s gonna be Vic Godard & The Subway Sect @ The Voodoo Rooms (Edinburgh) – supported by the amazing Sexual Objects… 2 fantastically cool bands for the price of one!
I saw both these bands playing together last year @ The Citrus Club (Edinburgh) and it was a great show.
Vic Goddard & The Subway Sect (regardless of the line up) are sure to deliver their brand of post-punk with all the usual jagged jazz stylings & thumping rhythms. It’s some of the most un-pretentious music you’ll ever hear, but still very clever.
Then we have The Sexual Objects , one of Edinburgh’s finest bands without question. Fronted by the enigmatic Davey Henderson (Fire Engines, Win, Nectarine No. 9 etc) and if you don’t know their story then have a listen to this interview from a Radio station in Greece where Davey chats about the band and the music industry.
If there are still tickets for this show I suggest you get yourself along – The Voodoo Rooms (Edinburgh) 24th March 2012
http://www.thevoodoorooms.com/events.php
And last but certainly not least in April I’ll be making the trip down south to Preston to see Luke Haines in what promises to be an amazing, intimate and one-off performance @ The New Continental.
https://www.facebook.com/events/282626241792298/
With such a varied musical history I’m not sure where to start; The Servants and The Auteurs in the 90’s, Black Box Recorder in the 00’s or the various solo outings including his Baader-Meinhof project. I could even discuss his books (although having not read any yet that’s probably a bad idea), but I could be here all day. Instead hear are a couple of links to my favourite tracks…enjoy x
sacrenoir 