Peenko vs Aye Tunes - The Aftermath

Well now, that was fun.

By 7pm, a good hour before doors were meant to open, we were sold out. You have no idea how happy this made me, and how much it reduced my levels of blind panic which had been high ever since we announced the gig in the first place.

We had what I though was a great line up, so I was delighted to know that the people that would make the gig a success of failure, the crowd we could attract, agreed with us. If you've seen my Twitter stream, looked at my Facebook or indeed read the blog (not to mention my email outbox) you'll know that I buried my natural shyness to do everything I could to drag people along - which is after all the gig promoter's job - so yeah, I'm happy it worked.

I'm really sorry to the people we had to turn away at the door, if we could have fitted you in we would have. I'm sorry also for the first group of people that were greeted with the sight of me trying to eat a burger while doing the door. The food took ages to arrive, that's my excuse.

I only got to see little bits of the bands as Lloyd and I took turns going into the cramped downstairs while the other took care of things upstairs, but I did, predictably, like what I heard. I hope everyone that was there did too. I hope you enjoyed your lollies as well.

I really can't thank Campfires In Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral enough for coming along and playing for us, I really, really appreciate it. Hopefully all three bands won't feel they've been screwed over by a dodgy promoter afterwards.

I have to give a huge thank you to every single person that came along, both the familiar faces and the unfamiliar ones, your support made a nervous Jim a happy man indeed. If you enjoyed yourself anywhere near as much as I did then you should have had a good night.

Is this music? have been quick off the mark with a review here, while Manic Pop Thrills have some snaps and a review too. Obviously I can't review this one, so if anyone else does then give me a shout and I'll add the links in here too.

Ooh, more pictures & reviews! Lis, not happy with actually making me blush with something she said earlier, wrote a bit for her blog so skip over to Last Year's Girl to read that. Claire took some photos which you can find on her Flickr page, and so did Grave Maurice whose photos are here.
Even more photos can be found at twistyfoldy.net, with pictures of Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral.

Wull Swales of Define Pop wrote a review too, which he's kindly let me post in ful. You can read that here.
Mitchell Museum seemed to enjoy themselves, which is good to know!

So, anyone up for Aye Tunes Vs Peenko: The Rematch?

Aye Tunes Vs Peenko - The Final Plug

There's only one day to go before the gig, so you'll be relieved to hear this is the last plug before it happens.

The main reason for the plug is to warn anyone that's planning to come along that there aren't that many tickets left. We aren't sold out yet, but it isn't far off. If you don't have a ticket yet it might be an idea to give me or Peenko a shout to get us to keep one aside for you.

All the other details are the same as they have been in all the other posts about the gig.

Captain's Rest, Glasgow, Friday April 30th.

Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral

First band will be on not long after 8pm if all goes to plan.

Come along!

Update:
This is the last ticket from my share, if you want it, let me know!

Words Per Minute

I mentioned this on Monday in the gig guide, but that's no reason not to bring it up again, particularly as organisers Anneliese Mackintosh and Kirstin Innes were kind enough to answer some questions about the event, making them the first ever victims of an Aye Tunes interview in the process.

Would you care to introduce yourself, and tell us a little about yourself?

A – Hello, I’m Anneliese, the German-born/English-raised/Scots-descended half of Words Per Minute. I’m a writer of novels, short stories, plays and short films. I’m currently working on a novel called Watch Yourself, and a short story collection called Dedicated. I get very excited about performing my work, and have done so at Glasgow events DiScOmBoBuLaTe at the Arches, Manifesto and TBC Cabaret at the Tron Theatre, OMG at Offshore, and Edinburgh events A Night In the Gutter at the National Library, Golden Hour at the Forest Café and as support act for musician David Ford at Cabaret Voltaire. At the moment I’m finishing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and so soon I’m about to get a real, real job. You may see the panic this causes me reflected in my recent (foreboding?) short stories about abusive workplaces.

K- Hello. I’m Kirstin. I write stories and newspaper articles.

A – Oops. Kirstin is also far more modest than I am, it seems.

Tell us a little about Words Per Minute?

K - There’s loads of work being made in Glasgow just now that doesn’t necessarily conform to one genre - it’s not just ‘writing’ or ‘music’ or ‘film’ or ‘theatre’. We wanted to put on an event that showcased that. We’re both writers who perform our own work (Anneliese makes animations, too), so we decided to put together a collection of people who use words in different ways and see what happens. We’re also hoping to introduce audiences to different kinds of work -- spike a literary crowd on some electronica, bring really good writers to a live music audience, screen artist films to theatre-goers. That’s the plan, anyway.

A – We’re also giving people the opportunity to try out something completely new. If, for instance, an established novelist decides he wants to try his hand at animations in an open-minded environment before unleashing it to the wider world (yes, that’s you, Ewan Morrison, at WPM1), then our event is the perfect place to do it. If artists are looking to seek out new collaborators in alternative art forms, we provide an ideal hub for that sort of thing too. In terms of what the audience will get out of it – for very little money they’ll get a snapshot into the artistic scene in Glasgow and beyond – a bit of film, literature, music, theatre and who-knows-what-else at each event, and each one will be exciting, vibrant and unique. What better way to spend your post-roast Sunday afternoon?

The first event is coming up on Sunday, who can we expect to see performing?

K - Martin O’Connor, a playwright and theatre-maker who I’ve been keeping an eye on for yeeears now is going to try out some new work. Ewan Morrison, who’s best known for his deviant and quite frankly filthy novels (Swung, Distance and Menage) has started working on a new short story collection designed for e-books, with embedded animations, and he’s going to be screening and narrating them. Then there’s fast-living rock diva/writer/hurricane Lisa Foad - I met her at a literary festival in Toronto and loved her writing. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to get her over from Canada, but thanks to the miracle of modern technology she can be there in video form.

A – Plus there’s the lovely Colin Begg, whose poems are influenced by the Scottish people and landscape, and feelings of (not) belonging. He recently described his work to me as 'some poems the head wrote about the heart, or vice versa'. He’s also written short screenplays and plays, and is currently co-editor of Gutter, a brilliant new literary magazine, going soon into its third issue. The live music act for the first event is Miaoux Miaoux, an electronica musician listed on BBC Scotland's Vic Galloway's 50 Scottish artists to watch in 2010. His new EP Blooms was launched in March, described on the Ayetunes blog as ‘positively bursting with energy’. (Jim - it's true, check here) It’s Postal Service meets Apparat meets Lali Puna and they all go for a drink with Mogwai and have a nice time. Miaoux Miaoux, aka Julian Corrie, is also going to be WPM’s resident DJ, playing a one-hour set after every event, whilst people chat, mingle and relax.

K - Anneliese and I are also going to do five minute sets of our own stuff, just for the first night. We’re not going to get into the habit of it, though: we’re running this night to celebrate what’s happening in Glasgow just now, not to promote our own work. Too much.

Why did you choose Creation Studios as the venue?

K - I was working on a project in the Trongate and Merchant City, and Roddy (Creation Studios head honcho) approached us looking to be included in that. After going up for a meeting I was really taken by the café/performance space - it’s got a great atmosphere about it, so when Roddy mentioned he was looking for spoken word events, it seemed like a pretty good fit with the night Anneliese and I had been dreaming up for the past few months. It’s a lovely, open space, the staff are ace and interested in everything, and as somewhere that already promotes emergent visual artists and musicians, it felt like the right place to unleash our cross-genre vision on the world!

Words Per Minute is a nonprofit event, do you have any plans for what to do with any money raised?

A – The £2 ticket money will go straight back into promoting the events – we need to buy posters each month in order to give the performers the best possible chance of publicity, but we will also be collecting money for Cancer Research UK on the night. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer two years ago and I think it’s really important to keep providing money for the much needed equipment and resources for cancer care. Making art is about making a difference, both onstage and off.

Going forward what plans do you have for Words Per Minute, and for yourselves?

K - We’re already planning lineups for WPM2 and 3. We’ve just confirmed Adam Stafford for next month: as I’m sure Ayetunes readers already know, he creates these amazing, slow-building soundscapes with just a loop pedal and his voice, then sings wild-man blues over the top. Sophie Cooke is also performing - she’s a well-established novelist and short story writer, but she’s also a glittering, diamond-hard performer.

A - We’ve also got newcomer Craig Lamont confirmed for WPM2. I saw him perform at the Mitchell Library during the Aye Write festival as part of the University of Strathclyde Creative Showcase, and was blown away by his work. We’ve also had all sorts of interesting submissions for future events - keep them coming, folks!

K - We’ve got a fantasy wishlist of people we want, and we’re already talking to some of them. Everyone from beatboxers and short filmmakers to Booker-nominated novelists and former members of seminal Falkirk-based bands now pursuing their own spoken-word projects. We’d also like to open things up to visual artists a bit more - we’re not sure exactly how, yet, but we’ll take any suggestions going.

A - As for my own plans, I’m hoping to punt my novel around by the end of the year, and I’m in the process of getting a short film made with a production company in London. I’ve also got some music collaborations on the horizon.

K - I’m currently writing a novel and a play, and collaborating with US-based composer Tony Marasco, who’s setting a couple of stories I’ve written to music (I think I’m then going to record myself reading over the top - we’re doing the whole thing over the internet, so haven’t quite worked out the logistics of that bit yet).

A – We’ll probably try and fit in a nice long rest at some point, but not just yet.

Thanks a million to Anneliese and Kirstin for taking time to answer my questions, from the sound of it that long rest will be well deserved. Now, get along there on Sunday!

Words Per Minute takes place on Sunday May 2nd 2010, from 4-6pm, plus a Miaoux Miaoux DJ set from 6-7pm at Creation Studios, 16 Trongate, Glasgow. Tickets: £2 on the door.

For more information on Words Per Minute visit their website, http://www.wordsperminute.org.uk, and say hello on Facebook or Twitter.

Fear The Fives - EP Review

Well now, this is just brilliant.
Imagine if you will a bar on the docks of some Eastern European country, now imagine Nick Cave finding himself in there, signing some sea shanties and drinking songs backed by a band of gypsies. That's pretty much the image conjured up in my head by this EP.
Quite frankly, it's a mental image that's both good enough and more than unique enough to get pass marks for the EP from me.

Happily the songs are also excellent. Opener Balkan Ekspres, which mixes piano led swagger with more tender moments and soaring choruses, before it all goes a bit beautifully mental towards the end.
Devil's Tongue sounds a bit like what The Doors' Alabama Song might be like if The Doors weren't a bit rubbish, and maybe Jarvis Cocker stepped in on vocals. Packed with passion an atmosphere it's a raucous affair that does nothing to dispel the thought of beer tankards being waved in the air.
Finally No Hurry Home is a more downbeat affair, one to round off the evening of drinking, dancing and singing with a mournful torch song, tempered with optimism.

It would be hyperbolic to say the least if I said that I'd never heard anything quite like Fear The Fives, but they certainly sound fresh and different, and they are a very welcome change from yet another indie schmindie band.

I know I have a bit of a reputation for liking everything, but trust me on this one one, this is pretty much an outstanding debut that I'd implore you all to seek out.

Fear The Fives: MySpace - Facebook

Fear The Fives release their self-titled debut EP on iTunes, Amazon and other digital media on Monday 3rd May 2010. Catch Fear The Fives live playing an acoustic set at Tchai Ovna on 4th May, and at an EP launch gig on 6th May at Bar Bloc.

Stream Fear The Fives - Devil's Tongue

This Week's Gigs

Welcome to another exciting round up of the gigs happening this week, or as I like to think of it, the weekly attempt to steal all my money and ruin my liver as I realise just how much is on.

If any bands are playing Glasgow on Friday then I'm sorry, but this week you aren't getting a mention.

Monday:

The Paraffins, Sugar Crisis and Magic Box Mistress can be found at Pivo Pivo, and entry is only £1.

Tuesday:

Shambles Miller has another gig? Why yes, he does. He's quite the hard worker. Sloans Ballroom, 8pm, £4.

Wednesday:

Always Read The Label are playing at Box. It's free.

Also on Wednesday you can catch Kochka at The Buff Club in Glasgow.

Thursday:

Spy Movie have a launch gig for their new single at Stereo. Also on the bill are Julia and the Doogans, The Hardy Boys and Always Me, Me, Me.

Also on Thursday over at The Captain's Rest is what would have been my gig of the week, were it not for what's happening there on Friday. Eat Dr Ape, Palace Ballet, Mickey 9's and Vendor Defender. I predict dancing.

Friday:

If you are in Edinburgh then you could do a lot worse than hop along to The Roxy Room, where eagleowl are having a launch gig for their new EP, followed by an after party at Sneaky Pete's. The EP is very good too, as you'd expect from Eagleowl.

For those of you in Glasgow, or going to Glasgow on Friday night, then I'm duty bound to ask you to come to The Captain's Rest. If you have to ask why then you haven't been paying attention. Friday sees the very first Peenko Vs Aye Tunes gig, and even if I wasn't putting it on I'd be advising you to go anyway. If you didn't know already, on the bill are Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral. It all kicks off at 8pm, and it's £5 on the door. If you hurry £4 are still available. The Alarm at The ABC is sold out, so come to us instead.

Afterwards join some of us in heading along to The Flying Duck for Pinup Nights. DJing on the night are Ed from 17 Seconds, Jason from The Pop Cop, Nick from Radar, some of the Glasgow PodcART team, and Lloyd, the Peenko half of Aye Tunes Vs Peenko. It costs a fiver, but rumour has it that you can get £1 off with a ticket for our gig.
Oh alright, I wil mention one other Glasgow gig happening on Friday. It's at The Liquid Ship, which is practically next door to The Captain;s Rest, so you could potentially get to it and ours. Playing there are Julia and the Doogans, Stevie & the Moon and Lovers Turn To Monsters. Kyle Wood, AKA Lovers Turned To Monsters, designed the Peenko Vs Aye Tunes poster for us, so it's only fair I give his gig a mention.

Saturday:

Glasgow's chance to get a bit of eagleowl action, as they have another EP launch, this time at The Flying Duck.

Edinburgh folk have Machar Granite at The Wee Red Bar, along with the Lorraine McCauley Band and Tam's Railway.

Back in Glasgow, Ace City Racers are having what they call a May Day Tea Party. It takes places at The Victoria Bar at The Clutha, doors are at 8pm, and it'll cost you £2.

Sunday:

Not quite a gig, but looking pretty good, is WPM1. This is the first ever Words Per Minute event, which promises to mix spoken word, live music, film and performance. The event takes place in Creation Studios in Glasgow at 4pm on Sunday, and features animations of a literary bent from Ewan Morrison, poetry from Colin Begg, readings from Anneliese MacKintosh and Kirstin Innes. and both a live performance and a DJ set from Miaoux Miaoux. I'm a little worried that when I turn up at this Julian of Miaoux Miaoux will think I'm stalking him.

You can find more information on Words Per Minute here.

For those waiting on it, it doesn't look like there'll be a "This Week's Records" post this week, since as far as I can see there's only one new release, Admiral Fallow's debut album.

Single Review: The Kays Lavelle - Ten Times

I like The Kays Lavelle, I like them a lot. However I was unconvinced by the choice of their first single, The Hours. The Hours is a gorgeous song, but to me maybe not the best single to lead off with. But hey, what do I know? That's why I write a blog and other people make these decisions.

New single Ten Times is much more like it though.
The Kays Lavelle do emotional and atmospheric as well as anyone does, and Ten Times really shows off the band's strength in those departments. For the most part Ten Times is a pretty sparse affair, which makes the occasions where the entire band bursts into action a gorgeous contrast. Moody, atmospheric and really very good pretty much sums it up.

For the B-side The Japanese War Effort contribute a remix, which shaves a good two and a half minutes off the running time and rejiggles the song thoroughly, making it both different sounding enough to be worthwhile, but retaining enough of the original to be familiar. I always find it tough to review a remix, either they work for me or they don't. This one does.

The Kays Lavelle: MySpace

Ten Times is available now as a free download from www.wisebloodindustries.com
The debut album 'Be Still This Gentle Morning' will be released on 17th May. Visit MySpace for details on upcoming gigs, including Glasgow and Edinburgh launch shows.

French Wives - New Song & Single Details - And Now A Video!

French Wives, ones of my highlights from Hinterland, and all around ace band have a new single out in a few weeks.
They've very kindly sent over the b-side, Hyndland Weather Bear, which you can - if I've got the widget thingy working - listen to below.

What is a Hyndland Weather Bear you ask?
Well, according to the band: "next time you're in Hyndland be sure to look at the flat above the Peckhams on Hyndland Road (at the top of Clarence Drive) and you'll see a teddy bear who is dressed on a daily basis to suit the day's weather conditions."
I'm not too sure how that works out, giving Scotland's liking for weather that changes by the hour, but still, aww, that's sweet.

Me Vs. Me will be released with a launch gig at The Glasgow School of Art on May 14th., with support from Endor and Blue Sky, followed by the single going on general release on May 17th.
I dare say there'll be a review of it round here sometime before then too.

French Wives: MySpace - Shop

Update! There's also this little promo video to go with the single.

This Week's Records

Let's see, what's out this week then? Looks to be pretty quiet, really.

Pareto release their new EP, Your Heart is Ready For Home, today. You might remember that I rather liked it.

Midas Fall have their debut album out. Eleven. Return & Revert has been on my desk waiting for a review for ages, I might actually get one done this week. It's a pretty decent album anyway.

There's another new single out by The Kays Lavelle, as they continue to tease us before releasing their debut album at the start of May. The single, Ten Times, is available as a free download from Wiseblood Industries. Check out the remix by The Japanese War Effort too, also for free.

Unless I've missed something, which is always likely I admit, that's about it for this week.

This Week's Gigs

Bringing the gig guide forward a day this week, so I can fit in a plug for something tonight.

Sunday:
Contrary to the wee lie down I suggested last week, Edinburgh folk, or people who are willing to get there pretty soon, should consider popping along to The Roxy Room. On there tonight are Inspector Tapehead, Nathalie Stern and The Japanese War Effort, for a gig put on by The Gentle Invasion. I've not heard much of Inspector Tapehead myself, but I've been told very good things,ad there's a lot of love from me for The Japanese War Effort. So much so that I was quoted on the email I got about this gig, which was rather nice.

Beyond Sunday I'm actually a bit hazy on gigs for this week, so if there's something on that you want included let me know and I'll update the post.

Monday:

Boygirlanimalcolour can be found playing Box, along with Your Neighbour The Liar.

Tuesday:

In Glasgow Shambles Miller plays at The Liquid Ship, while Zoobizaretta play in Stereo.

Wednesday:

Vendor Defender and Joe Carnall and the Book Club play The Captain's Rest.
Through in Edinburgh you can catch White Heath and Jesus H. Foxx at Maggie's Chamber, for the bargain price of two quid.

Thursday:

Oh goodness, you are spoiled for choice on Thursday.

There's Machar Granite at BOX, Happy Vandals play The Admiral, Sinister Flynn play the ABC2 in Glasgow, while in Edinburgh you can see Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers doing an album launch show (which reminds me, I bought that album and haven't listened to it yet) with support from the Stormy Seas and The Kays Lavelle.

Also in Glasgow on Thursday there's a tough choice between two excellent sounding gigs.

At The 13th Note Glasgow PodcART have another one of their live sessions, with Miaoux Miaoux and Dead Boy Robotics playing live. That last Miaoux Miaoux EP was fantastic, and so was the launch gig. As for Dead Boy Robotics, their new EP is sitting in my "to be reviewed" pile, but from a quick listen sounds awesome. This should be a good one, and it's free.

Also sounding rather great is the gig at The Captain's Rest on the same night. There you can find The Hardy Souls, Psycho Candy and The Lava Experiments. Tickets are £4 on the door, or contact The Lava Experiments for £2.50 tickets.

Finally, on Thursday, there's the Cry Parrot 3rd Birthday Party at The Flying Duck. Skip over here for all the details of everyone performing, there's loads of them. I'll be trying to swing by that one early, for an open air performance by RM Hubbert and Wounded Knee. Let's hope the weather is nice.

Friday:

The mildly terrifying Take A Worm For A Walk Week are playing in Stereo.

Saturday:

Take yourself back down to The Captain's Rest again for the filthy and fantastic electrosluttery of Pooch. Capes are optional, but always stylish. Also on the bill are Servant, whose drummer might be familiar to some of you.

Also on Saturday is the first Frost and Fire event at the Citizens Theatre. Curated and presented by Howie Reeve, Saturday features Sokobauno Puppet Theatre, Keith John Adams, Jenny Reeve and Alasdair Roberts. Go here for more info.

Gig Review: The Last Battle, Maple Leaves and Beneath Us, The Waves

Photo © 2010 Neil Thomas Douglas

Monday, April 12th 2010
Stereo, Glasgow

Maple Leaves, The Last Battle, and Beneath Us, The Waves

I hadn't really been planning on reviewing this gig, so being "off duty" meant I was having a beer or two. Lack of money meant there wasn't too much drinking, so hopefully things won't get too hazy...

Up first were The Last Battle. Or rather half of The Last Battle, some members having been lost to the dangers of drinking in the Sun. Seeing the band stripped back to just the three members possibly wasn't an ideal way to catch them live for the first time. They were fine, and the songs are great, but they'll hopefully not mind if I don't think they were firing on all cylinders last night.
Still, even a half decent Last Battle was more than good enough to keep me entertained, and eager to see the band again soon. This all sounds much less enthusiastic than it is meant to, I've realised. They were good! Also, the sound in Stereo was pretty much perfect, and stayed so all night, which was a lovely bonus.

Maple Leaves were up next, and surprisingly this was the first time I'd seen them too. They seem to have a fantastic ability to schedule gigs for nights when I'm either elsewhere, or too broke to leave the house, so it was great to finally catch them live.

Maple Leaves have a knack for writing upbeat, sunny folky pop songs that even if you haven't heard them before come across like a familiar friend that never fails to put a smile on your face.
Regular readers might have noticed that I'm a sucker for a sweet boy/girl harmony, something that Maple Leaves delivered in spades. Throwing in some instrument swapping along with the harmonies and gorgeous songs meant that Maple Leaves were right up my street. They are a band that it is physically impossible for me not to like, and they were on fine form.

Finally it was Beneath Us, The Waves - AKA Neil Milton - taking to the stage. I must be honest here, my main reason for planning to be off review duties was that I didn't know how this would go. I really enjoy the music that Neil makes - heck I'm even quoted on the gig poster saying as much - but the glacial, ambient soundscapes that he creates are something that I usually need to be in a certain frame of mind for, and I wasn't to sure how the music would translate into a live setting.

Obviously since I've ended up doing a review the music worked well, and any thoughts I had of having to smile through gritted teeth and feign enjoyment were dispelled quickly.

On stage Neil, his keyboard and gadgets were joined by a four piece string quartet,which went a long way to filling out the sound and keeping attention focused on the stage. Also joining in at one point were the aforementioned Maple Leaves, helping out on one song, and having a member - Julian - renamed Justin for the occasion.

The Beneath Us, The Waves songs were as beautiful as they always are, and happily worked well live, meaning I could go home happy.

This Week's Records

Right then, a fairly knackering gig guide got it's own post this week, so here's the new records out now.

Always Read The Label have their debut single out. You can buy Influence here on CD, or from all good download shops on, er, download.
Sparrow & The Workshop have their first proper album out. Crystal Falls is available to download now, with a physical release to follow.
Palace Ballet release their debut single, Gabriel/City of Lights. Since I'm useless I didn't get a chance to review this yet, and missed a chance to through in a plug for the single launch gig that happened last week. Oops. Anyway, you can get the single on iTunes and I'll try and find time to review it this week.
There's a new release from Dominic Martin, the East Glasgow Deep EP.
Oh, Peter Parker have a split single, with The Sexual Objects out. I managed to not know anything about that till I saw it, meaning I missed the launch gig last night. I've also learned that googling for "sexual objects" isn't for the faint hearted. Anyway, yes, Pretty Living/Outta Place Again is out now on 7" and download.
The Schnapps single mentioned and reviewed last week should be widely available today too.
The new EP by We Were Promised Jetpacks is released over here today, a few weeks after the US got it. The Last Place You'll Look features three new songs, and two reworkings of old ones. It is pretty excellent.
You Already Know have a special CD out on Saturday for Record Store Day, but you can see the gig guide for more into on that.
As I knew I would, I missed one this week. Factory Kids have a new EP out. They follow up their last release EP1 with the One EP. Try not to get confused.

Dammit, I was hoping to put of renewing my eMusic account for a few weeks, but there's more than enough out just today to mean I have to do it sooner than that.

As always give me a nudge if I've missed anything. Also, I do hate to ask, but if you are going to be buying any of this stuff off iTunes if you go through the wee link at the top of the sidebar on the right you'd be doing me a favour.

This Week's Gigs

I'll come back to the records this week, since right now I have no idea what is out today.

There's a lot of gigs this week. if I had money I'd barely be at home. Alas, I'm skint, so just get to moan about missing loads of stuff instead. Did no one get my memo asking for April to be a quiet month?

Tonight you have Maple Leaves, The Last Battle, and Beneath Us, The Waves at Stereo. Kick off is 9pm, cost is £5, and there's a quote from me on the poster. I'll be at this one, should anyone going along along want to buy a Peenko vs Aye Tunes ticket *hint hint*.

Alternatively tonight there's Chiledonia 8.8 at the Oran Mor. This event will take place in order to send aid to the many communities of Chile. The line up includes Ballboy, The Low Miffs, Kid Canaveral and loads more. More details here.

Tuesday has an Exposure Scotland showcase at Maggie May's. Playing on the night are Toy Fires, Call Me Ishmael and the rather fabulous Little Yellow Ukuleles.

There's another Exposure Scotland gig at the same place on Wednesday, with .Scores, The Darien Venture and Trapped In Kansas playing. That's a nice wee line-up.

Also on Wednesday The Classic Grand has a fantastic line up of bands. For £6 you can see Endor, Yahweh, Super Adventure Club and A Band Called Quinn. This is one I'm particularly annoyed I won't be going to.

Finally on Wednesday, because trying to be in just two places at once isn't enough, Shambles Miller is playing in Macsorleys.

Thursday has a wee bit of a special gig, taking place at King Tut's. It's a United Nations gig for Radio 1, hosted by Vic Galloway (who, much to my surprise and delight name dropped Aye Tunes in the News of the World yesterday), with Chickenhawk, Race Horses, And So I Watch You From Afar and The Phantom Band playing. Oh my. Tickets for this one are all gone, but if any Aye Tunes readers missed out, you could perhaps send me an email and you might find yourself with a ticket.

On Friday Pareto play a gig at The Courtyard in Glasgow to launch their new EP, Your Heart is Ready For Home. I liked the EP a whole lot more than I expected to.
Also on Friday Nice n Sleazy plays host to Schnapps, The Feuds and The Strange Boys.

Saturday has loads on.
It is Record Store Day, so get down to your local record shop and buy stuff. If anyone feels stupidly generous they can pick me up a copy of the new Arab Strap box set, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, which will be available for the day. It looks brilliant, as you'd expect from Chemikal Underground and Arab Strap.
Monorail and Avalanche in Glasgow will both be hosting live bands all day long, but the one I'm particularly excited about is the mighty You Already Know playing their fist gig in a while in Avalanche at about 5pm. YAK will also have a very limited edition CD on sale on Saturday, featuring cover versions of songs by Rage Against The Machine, Talking Heads, Far and Embrace.

Later on Saturday you get to play multiple choice with gigs. The Dirty Cuts are playing at Nice N Sleazy, FOUND play a free gig at SWG3 to celebrate moving their moody musical wardrobe Cybraphon to Glasgow, and the 13th Note has Lou Vargo, Evan Crichton and 3 other bands fighting for your attention.

On Sunday, you can have a nice wee lie down.

Album Review: RM Hubbert - First & Last

On the face of it an instrumental, flamenco tinged album by one man and his acoustic guitar, influenced by such cheery events as being diagnosed with chronic depression and the death of both parents doesn't really sound like the most appealing thing in the World. When the album is the first solo release by RM Hubbert, formerly of El Hombre Trajeado, big favourites of mine in the past, I've got more than enough goodwill to give it a chance.

The album has been around for a few months now, and has lived in my computer for a fair while too, where it has racked up a lot of plays, and keeps picking up more. It's an album I keep coming back to over again, unlike a lot of the music that comes my way.

Technically Hubbert is an incredibly good guitarist, but there's nothing showy or self indulgent about the music on the album. Instead the emotion of the songs shines through, whether it be happy or sad. It's wonderfully excecuted, brilliantly crafted and packed with soul and feeling.

Don't let the opening paragraph put you off or scare you away, First & Last is a gorgeous album, and well worth giving a try.

RM Hubbert: Website

First & Last is available now from Bandcamp. Both the download and regular CD versions are available on a name your price basis. You can stream the whole album there so there's no excuse not to have a wee listen at least.

Single Review: Over The Wall - Settle Down

Over The Wall are a bit of an unusual band. There's just the two of them, but unlike most two pieces both Gav and Ben can be found at the front of the stage. Rather than one lurking behind a laptop in the dark as you'd expect both men have equal claim to being the frontman. All of which doesn't really have anything to do with their new single, other than the chemistry between the pair being obvious throughout.

Settle Down is one of those songs that clicks for me instantly. Kicking off with a drum beat that forces involuntary head bobbing and shouty vocals, before more and more layers creep in. If you aren't moving by the time the guitar and trumpet come in around halfway, you might actually be dead. Add to that some eminently sing along lyrics - the Go break free, it’s not your responsibility refrain has been stuck in my head all week - and this is gorgeous.
B-Side A History of British Welfarism 1945-1984 has been around for a while - a version was included on last year's Limbo Live compilation - but familiarity doesn't hurt it. Less upbeat and poppy than Settle Down it shows off another side of Over The Wall. It too has a massive chorus.
All in this is a brilliant single. Buy it.

Over The Wall: MySpace

Settle Down is released by Motive Sounds and available now on 7" from some record shops, or directly from here. The single is also available to download. Go get hold of their debut EP The Rise and Fall of Over The Wall while you are at it.

A Gentle Reminder - Peenko Vs Aye Tunes Gig

Well, it's just under 3 weeks to go till the Peenko vs Aye Tunes gig, so it's probably about time for me to do another post encouraging you all to come along.

There's three brilliant bands on the bill - Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral, for only four of your Earth pounds (if you buy a ticket that is, we'll charge you a fiver if you pay at the door).

It's at The Captain's Rest in Glasgow, with a kick off time of about 8pm, on Friday April 30th. Also, if you fancy, you can pop along to The Flying Duck after the gig as finished where Peenko will be DJing for Pinup Nights. Remember, go there after our gig.

Advance tickets can be bought from here, with no booking fee and free postage. Alternatively just send me an email and I can meet you at a pub or gig between now and then and exchange tickets for your cash.

Want to have a wee listen to the bands that are playing? Well you can do that below, and follow the links to Bandcamp to get your mitts on some free downloads too.

So, we'll see you there, aye?

Campfires In Winter - Mortigi Tempo (Live)


Mitchell Museum - Take The Tongue Out


Kid Canaveral - Good Morning

What's On At: The Arches

The first of an occasional round up post where I gather up a bunch of stuff about events happening somewhere and put them all together to stop me feeling guilty about not answering emails. Today it's the turn of The Arches.

Fresh from being the central hub for Hinterland, The Arches is rounding off April with another couple of noteworthy events.

First up is Death Disco on April 17th.
The line up for this one includes Annie Mac, Uffie (Live), Jaymo, Andy George, Boy 8-Bit, Doorly, Josh Jones, Fenech-Soler (Live) and Wavy Graves.

The following Saturday, April 24th, much praised Bristol two-piece Fuck Buttons are in town. I must confess I'm seemingly the only person around that didn't instantly fall in love with Tarot Sport upon it's release last year, but once I got into it, everything clicked into place.
Support comes from Factory Floor, and The Arches is likely to be rammed, so if you fancy it, get your tickets fast.

For more info on either and to get tickets visit The Arches Website

Schnapps: Crossdresser / More To Life Than Peach - Single Review

Hailing from Dornoch, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Castle Douglas, Schnapps have their debut double A-side single out this week, and it's not bad, particularly for a first release.

Crossdresser kicks off with a jangly guitar line, but soon descends into something far filthier sounding, with scuzzy guitar and snarling vocals. It rattles along at a fair old pace, crossing indie-pop with a more underground garage sound. Packed with attitude and wit Crossdresser is a fun little gem.
Other A-side More To Life Than Peach offers some more of the same, albeit in much less frantic style. The vocals on this one veer to close too older Kings of Leon songs for me to enjoy it, which is a shame. Musically is sounds good, I just can't get past the singing.

A very decent debut, just wish the singing on the second track didn't make me think of Kings of Leon.

Schnapps: MySpace

Crossdresser/More To Life than Peach is available to download now, will be released on numbered 7" vinyl on Monday 12th April.
Schnapps will play an in store show at the Apple Store on Buchanan Street, Glasgow on Thursday 8th April at 7pm.

Hinterland Review

Yeah, it's taken me a couple of days to get back round to Hinterland, but it was a busy weekend.
Sunday had a hangover that had to be shaken off, and an intimate gig by And So I Watch You From Afar to attend - curiously enough those noisy Northern Irish buggers were a better hangover cure than I ever expected - while Monday was taken up by Over The Wall's single lunch.

Due to the number of bands seen it'll be a quick run through, rather than anything in depth. Oh alright, it's more down to the number of beers consumed. Incidentally, if anyone had bombed Glasgow City Centre at about half eight, nine o'clock on Saturday night they could have wiped out almost the entire roster of Glasgow area bloggers, not to mention a large amount of band members. Let's be glad they didn't do that then.

My evening kicked off with The Kays Lavelle in The Sub Club, due to not finishing drinks quickly enough to make it to Ivory Blacks for Make Sparks. The Kays make dark, emotional music that manages to tug at the heartstrings without being obviously or overblown about it, and on Saturday were sounding the best I've heard them. They won't be everyone's cup of tea, but they do it for me, and Saturday's performance just moved my anticipation for their soon to be released album up another gear.

A quick dash round the corner and we caught the last half of Little Yellow Ukuleles. It was pretty much business as usual from them - songs that make me want to bounce around like mad and an increasingly confident performance. Always a pleasure, and they always put a smile on my face.

Another dash back round to The Sub Club and the first let down of the night. I really wanted to like Midnight Lion, but I just didn't. No worries, with so many bands on show there was bound to be one I was underwhelmed by, and on Saturday it was Midnight Lion that took that dubious glory. The forty billion people crammed in trying to take pictures might have enjoyed them, but for me it was an early exit and off to The Arches sooner than planned.

I'd really been looking forward to Ambulances, probably a bit too much. In the cavernous surroundings of The Arches their sound got a bit lost and muddled, and the band seemed a bit shaky. If my expectations hadn't been set so high they would have been fine though, and hopefully they'll come back to Glasgow and play somewhere that suits them better soon.

Making a change from running around we opted to stay in The Arches. Caught about two songs worth of British Sea Power without paying much attention to them - they've never been a band that have done much for me - before heading back into the other side of the venue.

French Wives also suffered a bit from the venue's sound, but managed to battle through it well enough to be my favourite band of the day. Every time I listen to this band I fall in love with them all over again. If anyone happened to be near the wee drunk guy in a parka that sang along for a few songs, I am truly sorry you had to witness that...

After a quick jaunt to catch the end of The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, who was fine and Home sounded good, my night was over.

All in all this year's Hinterland was a huge improvement on last year. Scaling down to just the one day might have reduced the number of bands playing, but it's a whole lot more sensible. As is making the venues a stones throw from each other, instead of being expected to get from The Art School to Stereo in under a minute to catch someone this year you just had to go round a corner. Last year I was in a couple of frankly pitiful crowds, I'm pretty sure staff outnumbered punters when I saw Fangs (and I still rather envy the people that weren't in the room for that one) while this year crowds seemed at least healthy, at least for the bands I saw. I'm sure not being nearly as pricey as last year helped a lot too.

I do have little complaints about it, like the lack of a big band or artist that caught my imagination, but that's just me. Given the number of people I've seen talking about Jeffrey Lewis and so on others obviously thought differently than me on that one. I didn't see everyone I'd have liked to see, but scheduling all the bands so I could get to everything would have been pretty much impossible.

Paul Haig Day II

First of all, why Paul Haig Day? Over to JC of The Vinyl Villain, the originator of the idea, to explain.

"For those of you who don't know why a number of us are doing all of this today, it has its genesis in some unhappy times back in Spring 2009 when this and many other blogs were being bombarded with all sorts of DMCA notices that led to postings and accompanying mp3s being removed without warning. One such incident on The Vinyl Villain involved a Paul Haig posting and a few days later, completely out of the blue, I received an email from Paul's manager saying that they were both bemused by the whole thing given they were the copyright holders of the track and hadn't made any demands for a takedown. Furthermore, Paul was in fact totally relaxed about bloggers promoting him and his work through making mp3s freely available.

As a way of saying thank you for these words of support, I asked if folk would be interested in designating April 6th as Paul Haig Day when we would collectively write about him and make some songs available. It proved to be a success, and so I thought it worth repeating the venture in 2010."

A lack of planning ahead and technical issues on the day stopped me from properly taking apart last year, happily no such issues have held me back this year.

Paul Haig is a Scottish composer, musician and singer. Originally a member of Josef K, a band whose influence can be heard all over the first Franz Ferdinand album, as well as in a number of other bands, Haig has since gone on to release a number of albums covering a wide range of styles and sounds.

Last year's Relive album is, for me, the best thing he's produced in years, and proves that there's still plenty of life in Paul Haig. You can download the title track below to get a taste for yourself.

Paul Haig - Relive

Pail Haig and his management have very kindly the blogs taking part this year an exclusive track to share, a remix of Trip Out The Rider, the opening track of Relive, Haig's most recent album.

Paul Haig - Trip Out The Rider (Remix)

A further remix by Fred Deakin of Lemon Jelly, will be made available as a very exclusive 7" single later this year.

Paul Haig: Website - MySpace

Born To Be Wide Present - Wide Days

This Thursday in Edinburgh the Born To Be Wide team are putting on a series of seminars and showcase gigs, all under the title of Wide Days.
The seminars include HOW TO GET ONTO A FESTIVAL BILL, I AM THE LAW – ESSENTIAL LEGAL ADVICE, WHAT NEXT? PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE, SPEAK TO THE MANAGEMENT and a Q&A with Gavin Bain. Bain is infamous for being one half of Silibil 'n' Brains, two Dundonian rappers who after being mocked for using their own accents spent two years faking being American, earned a chunk of money and toured with the likes of D12.
There's a lengthy list of people involved in the speeches with a proven pedigree on the subjects, so they look to be interesting and informative.

Following the seminars there will be a few evening gigs taking place at the Electric Circus, Sneaky Pete's and Cabaret Voltaire. Confirmed to play are: Found, Meursault, Carrie Mac, Holden, Aaron Wright, Panda Su and Hopeless Heroic, Gavin Bain's new band.

Wide Days tickets are available here, where you can also find lots more information about who will be speaking at the seminars.