The Pin Ups Festival

So, scheduling posts for my "week off" didn't work out quite as well as planned, so this is a slightly later than planned plug. At least I managed to remember before it has happened though.

Tomorrow night, Friday the 30th, sees the return of the Pin Ups Festival, and evening of fun, frolics, live bands and good music.

Playing live on the night are a host of ace bands.
There's Campfires In Winter, fresh of a tour of flats this week for the launch of their new EP, who are of course no strangers to the festival experience, having the Campfires In Winter Festival from earlier this year under their belts already. Oh, wait, that was Aye Tunes Vs Peenko I. Thanks Huw Stephens...

Futuristic Retro Champions play too, before launching a new single of their own next week. You can find out more about that and get tickets for the launch gig on Bandcamp.

Sonny Marvello can also be found on the P-Break stage. Hey, why not snag a free track from them while you can?

Mitchell Museum round out the bill of live music. They too played Aye Tunes Vs Peenko back in April, but since then have clocked up plenty of miles playing some real festivals, such as T in the Park and Latitude. You may have noticed, but I rather like Mitchell Museum.

You can read a Q&A with all four bands here.

On the DJ front joining the regular PinUps DJs are guests Scott Paterson, Remember Remember, The Fabulous Craig Brothers and Craig McGee.

In addition to all that, don't forget that Pin Ups is all about the FUN too. be sure to check out the Wham! tent, for all your Wham needs, the mysterious Peeling Field and more. Just don't expect any Un Cadaver sightings.

Advance tickets are £4 from Tickets Scotland or the Pin Ups Website, or you can pay £5 on the door, with the action kicking off around 9pm.

Sing-A-Long With SHMB

The first day of my "holiday" and I'm already having to come back for a post, oh well...

Anyway, for those of you heading down to The 13th Note on Thursday to see The Second Hand Marching Band, RM Hubbert and Sarah Banjo, here is something of interest. Or, if you were thinking of going, here's something that might swing it.

All three of the performers will be coming together to record a special song on the night, and they want your help.
What you have to do is a) write a verse for a song, bring it along and sing it OR b) learn the chorus and sing that OR c) bring an instrument and play in the chorus.

In return for your efforts you'll get a special limited edition CD in the post a few days later with a recording of the song, and your name in the inlay.

All the details, including chords for the songs, can be found here.

Downtime

It'll barely make a difference, considering that some weeks aren't exactly overflowing with posts, but I'm making my excuses in advance for once.

I'm getting close to the point where things are starting to pile up and threaten to drive me a bit nuts again, so I'm having a blog holiday. If all goes to plan I'll have gotten enough done before now that there might be a couple of scheduled posts appearing, but don't count on it. If anything time sensitive pops up then I'll deal with that too. Taking a week without having to think about blogging should let me get caught up on a few things, but even if not it'll preserve my sanity a bit.

I'm not going anywhere (unfortunately, I'd love to go somewhere, but I'm skint), so you'll still find me on Twitter, plus I'll be in King Tut's on both Monday and Thursday, plus there's a good chance I'll be around Waterstones on Tuesday for the launch of The Year Of Open Doors, so I'm pretty easy to track down.

Now you see why I want a holiday!

This Week's Gigs 26th July - 1st August

Another week, another bajillion good gigs. Also a couple of events which aren't really gigs, but will still be good.

Monday:

Admiral Fallow, Three Blind Wolves, Olympic Swimmers, The Social Services. King Tut's.
Summer Nights ends on Friday, but until then Tuts are still determined to have a fair chuck of my money. Admiral Fallow's debut album is already a strong contender for best of the year, and The Social Services tick many of my boxes. Olympic Swimmers are none too shabby either. Good deal all round then. If you hurry cheap tickets are available from The Social Services.

Tuesday:

Dum Dum Girls, Jesus H. Foxx and My Tiny Robots. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh.
I tend to leave Edinburgh off the gig guide a bit, mainly because I don't know as much about what is on over there, but this is one of a couple this week worth a look.

The Year of Open Doors book launch. Waterstones, Sauchiehall Street. 6.30pm.
Much more was meant to have been written round here about The Year of Open Doors by now, but since I've failed miserably at getting that done the least I can do is plug the launch of the book. On the evening there will be performances by Aidan Moffat, Jason Donald and Kirsten Innes. There's an audiobook coming out on Chemikal Underground too! More on this, er, eventually.

Tango In The Attic, Bwani Junction, Be Like Pablo, Night Noise Team. King Tut's.
Another tasty looking Summer Nights gig. My liver and bank balance say I'm not allowed to go.

Thursday:
Toro Y Moi, Point To C, theapplesofenergy. Captain's Rest.

Second Hand Marching Band, RM Hubbert, Sarah Banjo. The 13th Note.
Pals of the blog Hubby and SHMB are both always well worth seeing, and if nothing else it'll be fun watching all of the Second Hand Marching Band squished on to the wee stage at The Note.

French Wives, Washington Irving, The Seventeenth Century, Rachel Sermanni. King Tut's.

Tuts make one more assault on my organs with a line up that is hard to turn down.

Friday:

Trapped In Kansas, Yahweh. Nice N Sleazy.
Launch gig for the latest Gerry Loves Records split single, featuring two bands we really like round here.

Pinups Nights Festival. The Flying Duck.
It is the last Friday of the month, so it is PinUps time. As usual there's an excellent selection of bands playing, followed by indie disco fun till the wee hours. Playing live are Sonny Marvello, Futuristic Retro Champions, and Aye Tunes Vs Peenko alumni Campfires In Winter and Mitchell Museum.

Pacific Theatre, Carnivores, Dilectrics, White Leaf. SOHO, Paisley.

No one ever does gigs in Paisley, mainly because there's pretty much nowhere to do one, so when someone makes the effort, they get a plug here. Pacific Theatre and Carnivores are decent bands too.

Saturday:

We Sink Ships Present: Elements. Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh.

Our favourite art/photography/podcast people We Sink Ships have a special event in Edinburgh on Friday. Featuring a screening of the short film Elements, along with live sets from eagleowland Conquering Animal Sound, tickets are available here and include a free download.

Miss The Occupier, Performance, Paws. King Tuts.
Summer Nights might finish on Friday, but there's still plenty happening at King Tuts.

Endor, Randolph's Leap, Cherri Phosphate. Nice n Sleazy.
I keep missing Endor, so I'll see if I can still walk by Saturday and try and get along to this one. If you don't know how much I like Randolph's Leap by now you clearly haven't been paying attention.

Rock The Boat. Loch Lomond.

Taking place from 12pm till 2am on the Maid of the Loch on the shores of Loch Lomond, this all day event (and again on Sunday) features live bands, DJs and a host of other entertainment. For full details visit the Facebook page.

Sunday:

People in Planes, The Undivided, The Darien Venture. Classic Grand.

WPM 4. Creation Studios, 3.30pm.
Much like the last Friday of the month means PinUps, the first Sunday means Words Per Minute. Words Per Minute this month has a Year Of Open Doors theme, with all the performers, including regular hosts Kirsten and Anneliese, contributing to the book. Expect the usual high quality, and get down early to grab a seat.