Last Night From Glasgow Indie Eyespy

Thursday, 12 July 2012

My Indietracks 2012 compilation video

It is mere days after the Indietracks 2012 music festival in Derbyshire and I have finished editing my videos. As always I've made a couple of compilation videos, one is about 4 minutes and one is about 30 minutes. Please watch whichever one you feel is most appropriate to your time.

More about Indietracks here
Their blog here
The Indietracks flickr photopool here

For those with an interest in the history of my videos of Indietracks, here are some of the videos I made in 2011, 2009 and 2008
Indietracks 2011 in 14 minutes
Indietracks 2011 in 3 minutes

Indietracks 2009 in 7 minutes
Indietracks 2009 in 3 minutes
Indietracks 2009 in 1.5 minutes

Indietracks 2008 in 7 minutes
Indietracks 2008 in 3 minutes
Indietracks 2008 in 1.5 minutes

Wednesday, 11 July 2012

YouTube videos from Indietracks 2012

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Fulhäst - Prison Pizza - Indietracks 2012

Fulhäst was playing an impromptu set in the merchandise tent at Indietracks 2012, here's a video I took of their awesome Prison Pizza, minus gameboy sounds.

I like prison movies as much as the next guy, but Nik knows them better than anyone.

Allo Darlin' - If You Don't Pull - Indietracks 2012

Here's 'Allo Darlin' at Indietracks 2012 on the main stage playing and awesome cover of The Just Joans's If You Don't Pull.

Aw man, I love this song so much, it just catches a feeling so familiar. A reassuring blanket on those lonely trudges home all those years ago.

The Just Joans - Come Out 2Nite - Indietracks 2012

Here's a video of The Just Joans opening their set at Indietracks 2012 with a cover of Kenickie's classic Come Out 2Nite

Its a pity I didn't video right from the start of the set where Dave Just Joans stepped to the mic "Hello T in The Park, we are The Stone Roses". That was awesome, as was David's Sleeper T-shirt.

Darren Hayman - I Started a Joke - Indietracks 2012

Here's a video I recorded at Indietracks 2012 of Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern playing a cover of The Bee Gees' I Started a Joke

Indietracks was awesome, the best its ever been. It was a last minute decision for me to go, like I wasn't going to go cos I don't want to just religiously go every year, but it was the Thursday night before, and I had another look at the lineup and thought, "Aw man, I love all these guys."

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Indietracks 2011 in video

It is the weekend after the Indietracks music festival in Derbyshire and I have finished editing my videos. I've made three videos, one is 14 minutes, one is 5 minutes and one is 3 minutes. Please watch whichever one you feel is most appropriate to your time.

More about Indietracks here
Their blog here
The Indietracks flickr photopool here

For those with an interest in the history of my videos of Indietracks, here are some of the videos I made in 2008 and 2009
Indietracks 2009 in 7 minutes
Indietracks 2009 in 3 minutes
Indietracks 2009 in 1.5 minutes

Indietracks 2008 in 7 minutes
Indietracks 2008 in 3 minutes
Indietracks 2008 in 1.5 minutes

Sunday, 16 January 2011

Betty and The Werewolves - Buffalo Bar

Well, that was odd.

First time at the buffalo bar in months. This time on my own. I stand at the end of the bar to watch Betty and the Werewolves set, clutching a £3.20 bottle of Tiger, feeling awkward. I've seen them play before a couple of times, and the Werewolves tracks on my ipod always sound good when they come up on shuffle.

The place is busy tonight. John the mohawk guy from every gig ever is at the front taking photies. The longhair photographer from every other gig is stood to his right. At the back of the room I catch a glimpse of Ria the Blogger. My beer runs out and I feel awkward.

The acoustics at that end of the bar are never good, but the view of the stage is great. I wish I'd stood further back.

Between bands I head outside to wander the streets of Highbury and Islington for a while, to escape my feeling of awkwardness inside.

I've been to plenty of gigs on my own before, easily hundreds, maybe 50% of my total. Did it feel this uncomfortable before?

Am I just getting old? I used to find myself in the middle of the moshpit at huge gigs at the Apollo and the Barrowlands. I broke my foot, got a black eye and a huge lump on my shin after Idlewild shows in the nineties.

I dunno why, but the last moshpit memory I have is two rows from the front during Suede at the Barrowlands, maybe six years ago. The memory of being jammed up again fellow man, at one with the throbbing of the crowd, that's the last I remember.

Back to the Buffalo, waving my stamped hand to sister Delia on the door, and then taking up a position behind tall people at the back to watch 14 Iced Bears and The Wolfhounds.

Dan from Pocketbooks is a yard or so to my right, sideburns all magnificent. Ian How Does It Feel mans the merchandise table behind me. Sean from Fortuna Pop arrives at my elbow, I migrate left, forfeiting my view of the stage.

I used to be a lot more comfortable feeling awkward at gigs, I used to rudely embrace it, cuntly so. Justifying it with my notebook, blurry photies and blog.

Time passes and I'm still writing this, now at the Lexington, two days later. I went to Currys, Staples and Maplin, earlier and was thoroughly underwealmed. Years ago I'd browse such shopped, brimming with ideas and creativity, with this printer I could make books, with this set up a record label, with this camera I could have a whole new career. But now I just think "meh", no point, tried that, failure or moderate success. Why try again.

I have become more cynic.

Do Betty and Teh Werewolves gaze at the icebears and Wolfhounds thinking the same thing? "That's what I wanna be in twenty years time"?

Saturday, 17 July 2010

Gronk and the Body Doubles - Fox and Duck

The missus and I were taking a pleasant drive in country, well, the banks of the mighty Thames down through Richmond. Its nice round there, big houses with high walls, winding roads, fields with cows. More like Cheshire than London.

Anyhoo, we stopped off at a pub called Duck and fox, it reminded me of the place I was a glass collect at in Manchester, 1995. Tonight we found there was a band playing, Gronk and The Body Doubles. A six-piece, three guitars, drums, bass and a trumpeter.

The bass player wore a cowboy hat, so I was wary. Some might say three guitars is two too many, but here it sounded okay.

Gronk, the lead singer, stood centre-stage, looked tiny, this was cos of his over-sized guitar and taller bandmates.

The songs are bluesy rock, at times a halfway house between Bruce Springsteen and Supergrass. There are nice friendly harmonies and some rather neat lead guitar noodles from at least two of the guitarists. The guitar especially gives them that FM Rick Rubin sound.

The audience seemed quite into them too, judging by the ages it was a friends and family sort of show, but folk were dancing and I was a little confused how people continued dancing even when they wandered outside for a smoke. That doesn't happen at the gigs I usually go to.

Not much on Songkick, just one of Gronk's gigs at The BarFly in Camden. From their website, they've played other gigs, but they're hardly the most prolific, or scenesterish, are they even part of a 'scene'?

Extra cheese points for using the line "Gonna take it down a little bit " before a slower number.

Ooh, trumpet takes it up to a whole nother level. I do like guitar bands with trumpets. More of that sort of thing.

Anyhoo, so Gronk is there centre stage, doing some fine blues, mincing a bit like he's practising in front of the mirror in his bedroom, but strangely he's relaxed as he's in front of a the crowd. Its a breath of fresh air, he's completely unaffected on stage, hardly up himself at all. I'll chalk that up as being another difference to the usual gigs I go to.

They ought to gig more.

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Keith TOTP - The Lamb

See, Keith TOTP on guitar is backed up by three indiepop guitarists and a really cool geeky girl playing a saw, to stop their sound drowning out his vocals he is positioned in front of them.

This one time I had Mouse Eat Mouse doing an acoustic session in my flat in Glasgow, their sax player was mighty loud so we had him playing away in the kitchen and the vocals chap was stood by my front door. You gotta work it out with unamplified stuff.

A song about about masturbation. The amassed ranks of guitars (four of them) blur together a wee bit, but the saw is over-arching warbling from the right.

The usual venue for Totally Acoustic has been refurbished a little, the walls plastered with pre-war photography and portraiture, more tables, the place seems quite full. I'm by the door, and more people are trying to cram in behind me.

Dominik Diamond is here, despite having emigrated to Canada in 2007.

The vast majority of Keith TOTP's songs are negative "We hate your band" and "Fuck the Manic Street Preachers", entertaining stuff nontheless.

The Bombadier tastes a bit funny this evening.

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Superman Revenge Squad - The Lamb

Was briefly trying to remember if and where I'd seen Superman Revenge Squad. I recalled slagging them off cos of over-pimping from God Is In The TV, but it turns out I'd only seen them before at a previous MJ Hibbett's Totally Acoustic night.

Can I write about this any differently than last time. Probably not I don't recall last time too well, so this review may be identical. Although tonight he has a cello player which on the one hand adds more depth to the songs, but on the other hand, from where I'm sat at the back by the door, the vocals are overwhealmed a wee bit, but I could still make out the words, maybe if the chap sat in front of the cello player, or on his knee, no, that wouldn't work.

I like his song about seeing an old man flicking through a porno magazine in the newagent, probably looking for someone who looks like his dead wife. It reassures my search of RedTube for anyone who looks like girls I knew a decade ago.

But, I hear you cry, what does it sound like? Weel, its acoustic guitar with breathy fast spoken/sung vocals. Not much in the way of fancy guitar noodles, but nimble chords. Songs played in the bedsit style, introvert and imaginative, well, songs about thoughts, day dreams and something someone once said or saw. Like The Streets minus the hip-hop.

Ah ha, a song inspired by a half remembered Oink comic strip, Mark Riley would be so proud.

Monday, 28 September 2009

Witness to the Beard - The Cavendish Arms

The Mighty Beard are mightily funked up tonight, with obligatory welcomes to friends and family who've travelled a long way to be hear tonight.

They're fast, they're urgent, they are storming. Tonight they are basement punk.

Less grunge than last time, more polished to, starting to come into their own, more confident. The sound of wearing wellies and jumping in muddy puddles.

"Come on strap, don't fail me now!"

The Beard Army in attendance whipped into their chant of "Witness! Witness! Witness!" Will one day Wembley echo with the same?

Aw man, Hayley, the drummer, singing a sultry cover of the Saved by the Bell theme tune, that's gotta go down in the history books of tv theme cover versions, with Clockwork Bear's cover of the Raccoons theme and The Red Bull Dozer's Littlest Hobo.

Kalorie - The Cavendish Arms

Aw man, this place is packed. Maybe picking a seat at the back to look moody and mysterious was a bad idea. Its a nice seat, but there's plenty of folk standing in front of me.

The band on stage look like Girls Aloud with guitars, sequins are in. They sound like commercial rock, raw but well designed. There's something a little disjointed about the first song, the way the guitar cuts out when the backing vocals kick in, or the quiet bits for the bass riffs, it leaves you hanging in mid-air.

I'm not sure if they actually sound like Sugarcoma or if its just my futile grasp of teengirl soft rock.

Surprised that they have a Myspace page and a busy Facebook group but there's no sign of them on Songkick. I'll soon sort that out... One show now and a couple blurrycam shots.

Well-informed howling guitar riffs, bits of soul in the vocals and mid-eighties epic soundtrack too. The mix is a little clunky, a bigger venue and more time sound checking could do them wonders.
They swiftly turn the crowd into converts.

They lose three points for using the cliche "Now we're gonna take it down a little bit".

I'm still wondering who they remind me of. Not The Sahara Hotnights, Kalorie are too commercial for that. Shakira? The one with the glasses? Anastasia?

Ooh, who were that bunch of teenage girls who played last year's Indietracks? Kalorie are better than them.

They lose another two points for a fast rock cover of 'Fever'. It probably seemed like a good idea in rehearsals, but really, even I've recorded my own version.

HDIF presents: White Town - Jamm

When I heard that White Town were playing, Jyoti Mishra's first gig in about ten years and, oddly, his first show in London, I jumped back in time to hearing 'Your Woman' on the school bus in the late nineties. It was raining and the folk on the back seat were making a racket, but the song cut through it, the trumpet sample easy to get, as we strained our ears to follow the story in the lyrics. Blonde girls trudge past wearily, the bus slowly pulls away from the stop outside the pub where I was to get my first glass collecting job a few months later. Someone far away making music on his own, in his bedroom on a laptop, wait, did they have laptops that long ago? Probably in black and white, in mono.

Tonight, Jyoti looks much like I remember seeing him in Smash Hits, he hasn't aged. He's sat centre stage with and acoustic guitar, I fear that the sample/loop/laptop original songs will be played in a stripped down acoustic MJ Hibbett style, but luckily he has backing tapes.

Its gentle friendly music, laid back and a little sleazy, but in and unthreatening way. The guitar's through handful of effect pedals and the vocals have a touch of reverb.

The songs all sound kind of familiar although I swear I've only heard two of his tracks before, Undressed and Your Woman which are saved until the end of the set. The crowd goes a little wild, cameras a videoing, singing along.

"Free gigs, you can always get your money back,"

Friday, 25 September 2009

HDIF presents: Arthur and Martha - Jamm

According to some sources, I'm Arthur and Martha's biggest fan. I like them, but I feel my friend Robbie would like them more, if only he didn't live hundreds of miles away from any gigs they play.
They have great grooves. You know, a little krautrock, a little disco, a little twee. Lots of wires, they probably know arcane arts of programming too.
Neat between song banter too; chess and Gary Kasparov reference; NME reference, "They said this was our best song, and they know more about music than we do."
"The only song you'll hear tonight inspired by the works of Rachel Stevens"
They announced that this was going to be their last gig for a while as they have to write new songs. Of course if you haven't seen or heard them before they're all new songs. Or they could play mixed sets of old and new songs, there are ways and means.
Cover of Johnny Cash's Jackson, where have I heard a cover before? Was it last time with Arthur and Martha or The 10p Mixes in Sheffield? The krautrock veneer cracks slightly as they seem to be enjoying themselves a little too much.
We patiently await the new material and the return of Arthur and Martha.

HDIF presents: Cavalcade - Jamm

Aw man, it took me so long to get here. I have to make a quick getaway at the end so I drove here and forgot that I have no sense of direction.
When I finally stumble in, I've missed the first band, and I guess the first few songs of Cavalcade's set. Very lush and pastoral, a little bit jangly too, I can imagine listening to this whilst cycling through forests. Hmm, I hear drums, but see none on stage, just three chaps with two guitars and a bass. I hear keyboards too.
The place is quite full, but quiet bits between songs give way to lots of background conversations. Its a bit of a mixed crowd too, some young, some old, tonight's headliner is from the nineties. A couple of familiar faces here too.
Halfway through the set I start to hear the spirit of Muse in the lead guitar and vocals. There's a little of the Joe McAlinden to the vocals too, that breathy trailing thing. Some of the finest whammy bar work I've heard on the lead guitar in a long time.
Cavalcade have something special about, well worth catching the whole set next time they play.

Monday, 31 August 2009

The Martial Arts - The Legion

Its a loud indie rock night from the mighty Tasty Fanzine.

My attractive young ladyfriend thinks the venue is nice, like a department of an All Saints shop, the clientel all wearing black white and shades of brown.

Its rock, not too hardcore, but rock, amongst other fashion vibes, in attendance.

A hushed silence falls over the audience as they take to the stage, The Martial Arts have traveled a long way to be here tonight.

Few people believe the story about how the got to number three in the Swedish album charts but I swear its true. How their MySpace page demos were picked up by a record label and they were flown by helicopter to Stockholm to record the album and then returned to semi-obscurity in Glasgow.

Green Day urgency in the vocals and drums, but fronted by Paul Kelly (who's looking more and more like David Tennent every time I see him).

They started off with their heavier tracks which some found it jarring compared to the rest of the set.

I was trying to explain how I thought The Martial Arts sound like Elvis Costello, but tonight they're not so much, with just Paul's scratchy vocals and 'woah woah wah's.

Nic Denholm joins them on keyboards for a couple of songs, introduced by a convoluted story about The Owsley Sunshine and Joe Kane. Only a couple of people in the crowd know or care. I do, I like the Venn diagram of the Glasgow bands overlap. Pete Frame could do a cracking rock familytree.

Stand out tracks of the set have to be 'Duality' and 'Exploding Crushing Inevitable'. The whole album is available to download for free from here. It was a cracking night, I'm wondering if it was the first time they've played London and will The Martial Arts be back soon?

Saturday, 22 August 2009

Inspirition - Dusk Till Dawn

Inspirition appear to be a woman with a splash of pink hair and a turquoise shawl over a Katie-Jane Garside dress, and a grey bearded gentleman on guitar.

Could have been a jazz singer in a previous life, but tonight Matthew she's going to be Kate Bush. The chap is going to be the tuition cover CD from Total Guitar magazine.

They've come from the west country to be with us tonight and left the rest of the band at home. They could have done with bringing a backing tape with them, rather than this. Its not mixed right, the vocals make you wince occasionally and the guitar needs reverb and the treble turned down a smidgen.

I've heard Kate Bush-alikes with lone axe accompaniment before, and its rarely done well. Here its abrasive when it ought to be more gentle.

There's something of the Tortoise Shout about her and the introductions to the songs, she's got a good voice, its just tonight its packed wrong, I bet they sound great on record

Hang on a moment, shouldn't this place be called "Dusk 'Til Dawn" rather than "Dusk Till Dawn"? For typographic reasons I'll let them off the missing apostrophe but misspelling the abbreviated 'until' seems a bit more wrong. Hmm, oh my mistake. As you were.

Witness To The Beard - Dusk Till Dawn

Officially the finest band name of 2009, Witness To The Beard are a London-based three-piece, I know the drummer off of the internetz.

Dusk Till Dawn is an odd wee venue, in the middle the Archway roundabout. Its a warm night so there's a crowd drinking outside, but inside its starting to fill up for Witness To The Beard's second ever gig. Some day these people will be proud members of 'the Beard Army.

They start off a little grungey I thought, but then it carries you away on a wave of roughed up Kingmaker riffs and Longpigs howling. They've got a rare appreciation for guitar hooks, and the tall bass chap does some neat noodling.

The grunge gives way to some nice warm fuzzy bluesy numbers, like a duvet soaked in hot totty. But the White Stripes cover felt a wee bit flat, aiming to be like the original version when they could have made it more their own.

Then a weird thing happens that catches me off-guard, the guitar and bass players swap round, the drummer swaps round her drum sticks and they start to sound like The Fall.

All shouts and jagged chord changes. Hammering into yer heid like rusty railroad spikes. Its wondeful.

The Beard Army's chanting 'Witness! Witness! Witness!' between songs is strangely infectious.

Some songs come over like The Hector Collectors have grown a set of balls. A final cutdown medley of rock hooks, kind of like the Witness equivalent of !!!!111!!roflcopter!!

Truly they are the future sound of London rock, and one day we shall all bear Witness To The Beard.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Indietracks in 7 minutes

I'm still hammering away at trying to shorten this video to make it more manageable and digestible. This is a seven minute version.