Sounds of Sweden, The Meritocracy, The Mexicos - RAFA

Tonight is The Sounds of Sweden 1st Birthday show, featuring The Mexicos and 'special guests', rumoured to be The Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. Dear God, not again. I love them dearly, but three times a week would kill me.

Yes, it really has been a year since Stacy and Richard started this, a whole year since we were crouched in the popular corner of the room watching Elias perform his jolly skiffle cover of Wonderwall, almost preempting it by hollering for a cover. How much has changed since then? My heart's a little blacker. My ebb now fathoms lower. The wounds are a little fresher. Thanks.

The RAFA has been decked out with party balloons, the free CD has four or five sweeties stuffed into it and some folk are wearing party hats. Familiar faces all around, so I'm squeezed into a dark corner to scribble alone. Gosh, there's the Mighty Ob' girls, small nods of recognition, has a been so long since I tried hassling them to do a video webcast thing and failed.

So onstage, the special guests are a motley crew consisting of Ally Cook and SOS Richard from Dot To Dot, that stubbly guy who plays with them sometimes, SOS Stacy and the girl from the bar t'other night. Rumour has it they're called the Merritocracy, but that could have just been a pun name they made up for the Stephen Merrit tribute night the other month, I'll stick with it, that's what they get for not being clear about their name.

They bumble through three Swedish covers:- Jens Lekman, and two other's that I didn't write down, the apologise for the standard, having spent hours and hours rehearsing at the last minute. It was competant and recognisable, and would have gone down okay no matter what they did, it just wasn't very imaginative. I've knocked out a few Swedish covers myself lately, Herman Dune, ABBA, Jens, Cardigans, Roxette, Broder Daniel, Hello Saferide, and I'm not even playing live.

Ally Cook stood centre stage, like a troubador. Is he trying to set himself up as Glasgow's answer to Jens?

They shuffle off, Stacy spins some more tunes, a few people dance, a few more faces turn up and The Mexicos hit the stage.

Did I mention the cake? There are lots of wee cup cakes knocking about, thick with frosting and some with little Swedish flags. And sweets, sweets everywhere.

I'd been listening to The Mexicos on Myspace all day, and their brand of glittery vocoda covers is great, slowed down a pace from iamchemist's version and slightly cheesier. Robbie says a poor man's Superstar, but well, Superstar hardly ever played covers. Playing covers is an art, you gotta have ahook and they chaps have it.

On their blog they have a really neat cover of Sweet Child of Mine, alas they didn't play it tonight, but they did segue B&S's Sleep the Clock Around into one of their tune which was neat.

They were enjoyable, but didn't really get the dancefloor pumping.

Unlike the Plimptons who are playing a free gig at The Box on Sauchiehall Street, perfect pre-Winchester entertainment for all the family.

Videos
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Photies
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Reviews
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Television Keeps us Apart, Zoey Van Goey - Bar Baccus

At the 13th Note before heading to Sounds of Sweden, with a jolly old gang of internet folks, nervous supping their drinks, wondering just how late will be stylishly late to arrive at the gig.

Over near the door I spotted uncle Brendan, The Plimptons' producer, and somewhere to my left is a girl previously known as udders from the Barfly.

Actually, they're not trying to be stylishly late, they just don't care. Its just me panicing we're going to miss a band.

Of course we all arrive early and take awkward seats as far away as possible from the stage.

"Its a bit pish," says Robbie. At least until the cupcakes turn up.

Zoey Van Goey hit the stage, if these guys are the future kings of Glasgow, I'm not impressed. I appreciate they're gigging their asses off, last Friday at Beanscene, and its paying off with media coverage, but they don't have me convinced. Jed really likes them "They sound like nectar", Lynsey says "I like them", but they remind me of the pastoral pish my Dad would play when we went on holiday.

Robbie says "Blues-step", inventing their own genre, but for something so generic, I'm not so sure.

"Could do with more vibra-slap" says Jed.

Ooh, their last song was pretty good, but sounds different to all their other songs. That must be really frustrating for them.

Duck eggs + Biscuits = Afghan Yolk

The cupcakes Tara made were nice, but gooey, the icing went everywhere and they were all stuck together. Whilst Robbie went for eating them whole and swallowing the cupcake paper, Lee easily mastered the technique of peeling the paper off. Lynsey say "Lemony in a nice way"

The barmaid, it may have been her first day and she did struggle, but the back of her head was very similar to an ex-girlfriend's, they could have been back of head twins.

Aw man, there's another guy here scrawling notes about the gig in a notebook, a more elegant notebook. He looks familiar, I hope it isn't my cousin.

Television Keeps us Apart - average pish to begin with. They're Swedish which counts for a bit, but not much.

Ooh, laptoppy drums and twee Casio keyboards. I think I remeber this, pre-programmed rhythm No. 6 with a flute setting.

"Dour tweefuckery" say Robbie.

It gets faster, pre-programmed rhythm No. 8 and well, we should like this, but we don't. A little discoy, maybe like their compatriots The LoveNinjas, but from where I'm sitting, less charisma.

Colin - "I quite liked it"

Other reviews:-
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Photies:-
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