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It was that time of year once again where Glaswegians get to use the term Mardi Gras with a straight face. Admittedly, the West End Festival is well…, in the west end where that sort of thing is encouraged. But there were no floats or Celtic drummers tonight gig at the Captains Rest. Just three of the most captivating live bands I’ve seen in over a year.

First up were The Organs of Love, a surprise addition to the bill who are an offshoot of Wilson Tan and comprise Jim McKiven (keys) and Alicia Mathews (vocals). This act really set the tone for the night with three avant-garde songs that left the audience ponderous and entertained. Alicia’s ethereal vocals, accompanied by Jim’s organ and drum machine created seductive and surreal performance. Their final track, Le Chien et Moi typified their intellectual and cheeky sides. Having said that, I’m not quite sure about the intentions of this pre Wilson Tan act; whether it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek or originality verging towards pretension, you just have to see it to believe it.

Three or so songs into the show both members of the band stripped off their black outfits and blue tape and were joined by the three other members of Wilson Tan. They kicked into their set and dived banjo first into some psychedelic country rock. Think Gram Parsons meets Primal Scream. Highlights were Harry’s Theme and The Ungentlemanly Gentleman.

Second up was another of El Rancho Records acts, Schnapps. This four piece reminded me of what it is I love about Iggy Pop and The Stooges; primal energy and a fuck you attitude. Crossdresser had high tempo drumming and uncomplicated guitar riffs that left many heads bopping and toes tapping. Schnapps slowed things down relatively with More To Life Than Peach that reeked of the influence of Primal Scream’s Riot City Blues. No bad thing of course, but that thought stuck with me for the rest of the gig. Overall a great live performance and surely one to watch.

Last on the bill were Milk, a band that before the gig I knew relatively little of. A pre-gig Google search revealed nothing. I was genuinely none the wiser. But as soon as their drummer Michael Marshall took to the stage in his multicoloured Lycra body suit, I knew I was in for a treat. My fears that no man could upstage an attention-seeking drummer were unfounded as Pablo Clark’s front man performance was nothing short of visceral grit. Not since Alexis Krauss (Sleigh Bells) performed at the Art School in May have I stood and paid attention to a new band. They take the best of The Doors and Franz Ferdinand and produce a sound that is greater than the two. Keep an eye out of these guys in August.

Words/ Pic: Alan Dunlop

Being dragged away from the sun during summer to see a band, it had better be a good one.
Dance-funk group, !!!, played The Arches as part of the Sailor Jerry Presents… tour circling
the UK; show casing live music, film and art, and quite frankly they blew the lid right off it.
Chk Chk Chk (the preferred pronunciation) protest against anyone just standing at their gigs,
and instead they promise music in return for the dancing. The reaction from the crowd, for
them, is as much a part of the gig as the band themselves. Whether you’re listening to them
in a club or live, efforts should be the same.

No strangers at all to Glasgow, they’ve already left a very distinguished mark
at Oran Mor, and tonight was more of the same. Touring with !!!, and appropriately sporting a
sailor’s hat, is Shannon Funchess helping stir up the crowd, and together with lead carnage
creator Nic Offer they manage to blast out the vocals nearly forcing you to spill your drink!

Leading from the front, and at times from the crowd, Nic single handily ignites the gathering
of supporters. With enough energy to give a Red Bull wings, he dances about The Arches’
generous stage, never cornered – even at the edge of the stage the crowd forms no obstacle
as he leaps right in like a fish to water. The rap verses in ‘Must be the moon’ off the album
Myth Takes are a declaration to the extent of Nic’s ability and there’s catchiness in the title’s
repetition throughout the track re-defining talent simply as !!!.

They treat all present to a preview of the fourth coming new album Strange Weather, Isn’t
it? - due out August 23rd - beginning their set with the new eighties style dance tune ‘AM/
FM’. The drum beat builds up to what sounds like a throbbing didgeridoo before the vocal
range hits, prompting a series of drops. Nic’s mic boom’s out over routines of some of the
most electric dance shapes ever witnessed – a definite party starter.
Their new album marks the unveiling of the group’s new line-up after many setbacks over
the years. The album was recorded in Berlin and fuses together distinctly simple 80’s dance
with the accelerating beat bashing growls of drum and bass, with a little punk – not exactly
hard to find in Berlin. There’s no sign of any slip in standards or corners being cut; just a
simple kiss on the cheek and nothing wishy-washy.

“The name is three !s and you make it up.’’ Nic explains. On the back of tonight’s display,
how about Wow! Wow! Wow!

Words: Ashten Macdonald
Pics: Alan Dunlop

Above is a picture of the crowd at Stag and Dagger last Saturday night at the Art School in Glasgow. The shot was taken by Alan Dunlop during Sleigh Bells awesome set.

If you are the girl on the right hand side holding a bottle of beer you have won two tickets to any gig of your choice at the O2 Academy in Glasgow. The gig you choose must take place anytime between July and December. Simply send an email to contact@rokbun.com with a link to your facebook or myspace to claim it.

If the person in the pic doesn’t claim the tickets by June 15th we will take another random crowd shot at a Glasgow gig and offer the prize again!!

Glasgow’s hardcore scene has never been thriving, yet Stereo is packed wall to wall for Rolo Tomassi.

Throats are first to hit the stage and within seconds of beginning are flying kicking, stomping and guitar throwing their way around the stage. Opening with ‘Comedown’, the energy onstage doesn’t seem to rub off on the crowd, bar the few nodding heads down the front. As Hardcore as you’ll find, Throats manage to blast through their entire set in just over 10 minutes, before scampering offstage timidly without hardly a word spoken throughout the whole set.

Next up is California’s Trash Talk, who open their set with bassist Lee screaming into the mic alone, with the other band members setting up their gear onstage. Bar a handful of diehard fans pitting in the centre of the room the crowd are fairly static, until the new single ‘Explode’ is played, which is exactly what happened to Stereo. The front row spilling onto the stage, the majority of the people in the room are now ferociously hunting down lead singer Spencer’s mic to scream the words back to him, circle pitting towards the back of the room or ‘hardcore dancing’ at the stages edge. The next song, ‘Walking Disease’, leading into the final parts of their set, send the room into overdrive. Bassist Lee climbs onto the fire exit mid song whilst guitarist Sam swings from the roof. Meanwhile the lead singer is being crowd surfed all over the room using every last ounce of energy to squeeze out the words. The average song played throughout their set barely even lasted a minute long, but that seemed to make no difference as the band dragged themselves offstage with just enough energy to thank the crowd for being ‘such good sports’. It seems Rolo Tomassi have a lot of work to do to keep up with the pace of the night so far.

Rolo Tomassi enter the stage to strobe lights and a long, mellow intro. They seem to float through the first two songs without much crowd movement at all; it seems as if they were waiting for something. That something was song three, crowd favourite ‘I Love Turbulence’ that lights up the room. The hooky guitar intro sends the crowd into turmoil not a single person in the room isn’t involved in the chaos. The first minute showcases crowd surfing, kids head jogging over each other to reach the stage, a massive pit in the centre of the room: Stereo is alive. The breakdown in middle of the song provides some breathing time until everything reverts back to the anarchy when singer Eva Spence begins roaring down the microphone once more. This was the pace for the rest of the set, ‘Jealous Bones’ being another crowd favourite.

Words: Callum Ayers

Ominous in Name Only, Her Name is Calla is a Leeds/Leicester/York based ensemble that incorporates a number of different musical disciplines to create well thought out tracks. Their sound is intense and comes across as emotionally driven, providing something that all can relate.

Surrounding the circular stage that resides in the Flying Duck the crowd gather to listen to a very impressive warm up set provided by Worried About Satan. The duo gives both an impressive visual and audio experience. The colours from changing lights on the Monome and synths were only the beginning. The guitar is alternatively played with a violin bow and the set runs non-stop from beginning to end; completing an energetic and compelling performance.

They prepare the crowd for something quite different but equally eclectic. As the main act set up a trombone, violin, guitar, bass, drums and keys, on top of which there seemed to be something that resembled a games console joystick, the set promises to be interesting whatever the band play. Beginning with ‘New England’, vocalist Thom Corah eases into the set with soft vocals and accompanying guitar leaving the audience captured in anticipation. Building slowly the rest of the band join in to what reaches an epic climax of sound and distortion, this piece is by no means flat. Rolling thunder from Adam Weikert on drums adds a sweet dimension to the vocal harmonies.

‘A Blood Promise’, which is a nice contrast to their introduction, proceeded. This is Sophie Green’s time to impress on violin and the soft trombone by Corah is welcomingly audible, providing another progressively interesting piece. ‘Pour More Oil’ really demonstrates the vocal extensions of all the band, impressively structured pieces which are all well executed.

The small circle is easily filled; their set makes the listener forget the space, attentive only to the music. They are currently working on the first full-length debut and on tour around the UK and Europe.

Words: Rachel Cunningham

As the French Wives finish a stellar support slot and Sleazys prepares in earnest for the arrival of tonight’s headliners a sense of expectation is markedly present. With the arrival of Alex Kapranos in time for the Wives closer ‘Me Vs Me’ it’s hard to ignore the Franz link to tonight’s gig. Not only are Alex and Nick at the gig but the drum kit being used tonight just happens to be Franz’s practice kit with some tape on it to leave the letters FF! Maybe Alex will be among those who after catching the Wives tonight will be heading along to their Dogfight/Halloween single launch at Glasgow Research Club on Halloween.

Undeniably, the Fiery Furnaces are cool. The lo fi approach, the perfect front-woman and Sleazy’s the fitting setting for this show, one of Glasgow’s best small venues hosting a band who are considerably bigger in the US. Tonight’s show promoting their new album I’m Going Away might be the start of a change in that respect. The crowd thought tonight seemed to be rather mixed in their opinion. The tunes are interesting, that much is clear, but at times this is to the detriment of the end product. Mashing of genres and the incomprehensible guitar lines pique the interest but after the formula is repeated the effect wanes.

High points include ‘The End is Near’ with its stripped back dynamic completely absent from the version on record and really stands out whilst ‘Charmaine Champagne’ rattles and bustles towards a lively chorus that demands a tapping of toes. ‘Tropical Iceland ‘further demonstrates the sound when it works and moves in a decidedly wild fashion from surf to funk and back again before you realise what’s hit you.

Style over substance? Maybe in parts, but tonight’s highs way outweighed any lows.

Words: Alastair Mitchell
Pics: Takeshi Suga

From the remnants of former band The Lonely Hearts came the Slow Club and are

“kind of a one man band. Only with two members”

This statement from label Moshi Moshi’s website gives some insight into how amazing the between song banter is, particularly from Rebecca, the girl half of the group.

She heralds this excellent patter, alongside an angelic voice, an ability to play guitar and drums and a face as pretty as button. I challenge any gent and a sizable percentage of females to have left that room not in love with her. The duo hail from the creditable music scene gathering members and pace in Sheffield and far from Alex Turner’s annoying drawl both hold accents that are more than slightly endearing.

When Charles and Rebecca emerge to play their first song, which they do in front of the stage and unplugged it’s a sight to behold, not least because the Saturday night Glasgow crowd stand in unparalleled and unexpected silence for the entire song. The only thing more deafening than the silence while they play is the reaction of the crowd when they finish. Rapturous doesn’t begin to come close.

The crowd is varied in sex and age, for a 14+ show there were a fair amount of over 40’s but what the crowd lacks in common age wise, it more than makes up for in sharing relationship status. I honestly think I was the only single person in that entire room, as tiresome couples entwined arms and swapped liquid DNA I felt suitably lonesome.

The warmth emanating from the stage, however, went some way to cheering me up and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety in the set. I was expecting the pair’s set to comprise of exclusively their Tilly and the Wall soundalike, but there were some real gems in there with such conviction and spite that they could have been written by No Age or The Germs.

Having just released their debut album Yeah So to generally favourable reviews this duo of Rebecca and Charles,  will not be playing in venues as small as the Classic Grand for very long.

It Doesnt have to be beautiful

Words: Christopher Panks
Pics: Christina Kinnear

…and giving away his new album for free! ‘SON OF EURO CHILD’ is released for free via www.euroschilds.com today via his very own label , National Elf Record Company.

It was recorded at various locations in Pembrokshire, Wales during the Summer of 2008 and Spring 2009 and was engineered by Iwan Morgan (aka Recall) and Steve Black (aka Sweet Baboo). Pete Richardson plays the drums. Euros plays a selection of synths that he’s picked up in car-boot sales over the years.

For his upcomign live dates Euros will be joined by musicians Jonny Norman Blake, Nuala Kennedy and Caoimihin O Raghallaigh, they will play a mixture of their own compositions as well as material especially written for these shows under the moniker ‘A Mislaid Album’.

Catch Euros Childs live supporting awesome Hoboken band Yo La Tengo at the ABC on November 6th, tickets here!

Edinburgh’s Limbo is one of the best sources for new music in the capital and this Sunday they will lauch their excellent live CD with performances from Zoey Van Goey, Punch and the Apostles and the wonderful Haight Ashbury in GLASGOW not Edinburgh so get down to Stereo for the Limbo tour also stopping in London.

if all thats not enough for you, this Thursday’s (June 25th) Edinburgh Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms has performances from the two of the hottest bands in Scotland Joe Gideon & The Shark and Paper Planes not to be missed.

Brooklyn’s Amazing Baby are in the final stages of recording their debut album in New York, and to mark the glorious occasion the band wanted to unleash some fruits of their labor with a new track, ‘Bayonets’ available to stream below! The track recorded by Santogold’s John Hill will be included on the debut album due this summer on V2.

’Bayonets’ shows us a very different side of Amazing Baby from that of their ‘Infinite Fucking Cross’ EP, with charging strings, vintage synths, reverb-swirl vocals and one damn fine guitar solo. Replete with a repeated refrain referencing The Who, ‘Bayonets’ is an indicator of the tremendous things to come on Amazing Baby’s debut, which band member Simon O’Connor has been heard to claim “will make men cry.”

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The debut album by Petit Mal, electropop offshoot of the cult London collective Antifamily, is a unique combination of time-travelling synth pop, leftfield intelligence and ice cold passion, Petit Mal, AKA Ben Seymour and Melanie Gilligan have created a whirlpool of complex emotions, beautifully austere vocals, and compelling electromechanical melodies that burn themselves into the memory.

With banks going under every week, their track ‘Crisis in the Credit System’ is the soundtrack to these turbulent times and is also featured as the theme music to a 4-part fictional film of the same name that Gilligan has scripted and directed, released online in September 2008. Making the connections between ‘Northern Rock’ and ‘Das Kapital’, the film is a witty and brilliant take on the financial crisis and features an original soundtrack and extra dialogue from Seymour:

With lyrics of surrealist beauty and naked emotion, curious, romantic and caustic by turns, Petit Mal’s first album is a unique amalgam of intellect and passion. One finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist and another tugging out the best of ’80s electro and post-punk experimentalism.

It is released on Difficult Fun Records on Monday 2nd February 2009 and already has the Guardian and Zuckerkick in Germany all flustered!