A Smile and a Ribbon, Skeleton Bob - The Winchester Club - Woodside Social

First on, and halfway through their set when I arrived were Skeleton Bob, "They did what they did well and weren't too affected" That's what Katie surmised. A little bit country I guess. They've lost a little since Joe90 on bass left last year.

A Smile and a Ribbon, were on next. "Aw man, they have a melodica" - Tom

There's a guy with a camera who looks remarkably like Richard from Sounds of Sweden.

"Where are you from?"
"Sweden"

It started very twee, but the tempo changes seemed a bit disjointed. Is the drummer drunk... ooh, cute glokenspiel player.

There are people in the crowd singing along, they know the words.

Being twee isn't an excuse for bing shit.

Explanations of who's in the band isn't enough if the sound's poor and from where I was sitting, it sounded boomy and out of tune.

Ooh, Robbie has stormed out in disgust.

Oop, the camera chap is on a microphone doing backing doo wop noises, that garners them extra plus points.

That's got to be the first time I've used the word 'garner' in years. I used to have a music teacher called Miss Garner, she was hott and cool too.

It sounds cacophonous, like the back row of music class. My back row chums, like Jim Jam Garcia and Saddam Haddad, would be proud that such a band could get a gig like this.

The Just Joans, The Fischers - Woodside Social Club

Maybe thirty people here at the Winchester Club after 40 minutes, including the bands, I'm in the company of Holly and Katherine, trying to figure out the seven deadly sins before the bands come on.

• Greed
• Sloth
• Wasting chicken
• Slabbering
• Pride
• Being from Bolton
• Prejudice/Lust/Envy, etc

Its rather depressing, the people here, all friends of the band or of friends. Sometimes I wonder why they bother, the DJ Special nights are bad enough, when they barely have five paying punters, but when they have quality bands on and no one's here, surely time to give up.
"I love playing Glasgow, cos its the same latitude as my mind"
"Tap yer da, 65p"

Adam glimpses round the crowd, checking expressions on people's faces, seeking approval for the Just Joans. There's fourty people here and the songs are about any of them. We've all been there, Friday Afternoon's drinking Guiness in the Union.

Three songs in and the punters are restless, new people arrived, talking loudly, they haven't been lulled into the music, but thats okay, the songs have become bitter and aggressive.

Aw man, they played a new song, from The Littlest Album, its about when your girlfriend moves to London, it makes me want to cry.

The room has become divided, to the left, a table of people chatting loudly, and everyone else in the room glaring evily. The atmosphere is grim, but it'd be worse if someone wandered over, snapped a bottle in half and jabbed the broken end into the eyes of whichever bleach blonde drunkard it is who keeps squeeling when something amuses her.

My companions from the internet from the other night lurk on the other side of the room. I wonder what they make of it.

Reviews range from "Good, yeah, good" to "Excellent", passing through "Fucking unbelievable"

The Fischers are in a different playing field, they have a drummer and backing vocals, but somehow I'm not convinced.

But they seem to have brought their own crowd of friends, maybe thats what keeps The Winchester alive, friends of bands, and us. This mob's seem to be mature, but good looking.

I'm loving the drummer, his gurning really turns this into a performance.

"It must be weird playing to an empty dancefloor, save the guy who booked the band, who looks like Holly's mum's boyfriend"

Sounds quite nineties, but with yodelling backing vocals and with a poor man's Alex James on bass.

Ooh, Graham from PinUp Nights is here

Whilst some would say Britpop pish, I reckon they were kind of okay, I just didn't connect with the music. Aye there were nice touches, but as a whole, no, not my cup of tea.

So after the bands, its DJs playing CDs, and I start to suspect that the guys on the dancefloor may be taking the piss just a little too much. Is that really what you want as a DJ, "Music to take the piss to"?



Not sure whether I can claim points for seeing Mark from Older and Faraway or Big Duncan again, those guys are everywhere.

Its almost like Electro-clash never died.

"Why must there be this excruciating wait for the DJ to play some fucking Prince? Also notice how ye think, man, everyone on the dancefloor looks like a bit of a dickhead, but of course when I dance its poetry in motion, obviously" - KM

"Don't you ever notice that its only anti-social/pretentious dickheads who write in a reporters notebook to themselves when they are at a sociable event!" - HG

Ooh, I think Adam sold a copy of The Just Joans album to Uncle Stuart

Other reviews:-
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