Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
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As we were nearing the due date of our second baby I didn't make the very first Electric Fields Festival this year. Not a bad excuse I hope you agree!
I am kicking myself as the line-up, location (Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries) and weather looked fantastic and price tag was pretty unbeatable. Not even I would try for a guest list when the ticket price is £25!
Electric Fields was the idea of a couple of people who are well versed in the independent, DIY and new bands scene in Scotland. I'm fortunate to have got to know Chay - the booked for Electric Fields through his work with the Solus Tent at the Wickerman Festival. Chay's line-up for the Solus Tent this year was exceptional - that is because he has his finger firmly on the pulse, so keep an eye out for the Electric Fields line-up and check out the amazing early bird offers for tickets.
So lets see what has stood out for Chay from the huge amount (and variety) of music he will have listened to and watched in 2014. 1. What singles/songs that have been released in 2014 have stood out for you?
I'll keep all my answers mostly Scottish. Anything by Neon Waltz, even the covers as they've got great taste. The new United Fruit stuff is fucking awesome, so all of that. Hector Bizerk's The fish that never swam EP.
Neon Waltz
2. What albums released in 2014 have you enjoyed?
I still haven't bought the new Twilight Sad album yet, which I need to rectify, and The Xcerts. Aphex Twin.Bear Arms. Dead by Young Fathers. Rave Tapes by Mogwai, but the t shirt that came with it has gone awol.
3. What old music/bands have you discovered/gone back to in 2014?
I picked up two particular music biogs at the same time earlier this year so I spent some time revisiting the respective artists - Billy Mackenzie with 'The Glamour Chase' by Tom Doyle and James Young's 'Nico. Songs they never play on the radio'. My wife bought me the Viv Albertine autobiography for my birthday, which was handy as I dig out The Slits now and again. I'll throw Locust Abortion Technician by Butthole Surfers in there too. It's been a few years and evil is as evil does.
4. What has been the musical highlight of 2014?
Electric Fields. I don't think I can begin to explain how good it felt doing it. It took so much work to put it together but it was totally worth it because we've got such a fantastic team of people working to achieve the same goal. Having a beer with the stage manager Kenney Harris after the last band had packed up and left, it was a mixture of relief and adrenalin. We didn't stop grinning for about 2 hours.
5. What are you plans for 2015?
Right now I'm working on Electric Fields, as are the rest of the team. There's some other things brewing that I can't go into so 2015's going to be a busy but fantastic year.
I have become increasingly fond of the Wickerman Festival since Lynn and I first attended back in 2009. We've been back pretty much every year since other than when Lynn was expecting. The location, eclectic line-up, friendly atmosphere and the fact that it is just so different make it very appealing.
Personal highlights from my visits have included the pure pop of the Human League, Candi Staton in blazing sunshine, singing myself hoarse to Teenage Fanclub and The Charlatans, one of the best festival sets ever by Nile Rodgers and Chic, Miaoux Miaoux playing a rave in a caravan, Vigo Thieves packing the Solus Tent and generally having a great time just wandering around discovering all kinds of music.
The Wickerman goes up in flames back in 2009
As it is 2014, here are 14 acts or things to do for your consideration;
1. Del Amitri
I have the joy of playing 7-a-side football with Justin Currie, lead singer of the Del's. He is a pretty good player should you be wondering! Justin is also really looking forward to playing Wickerman with the reformed Del's and having witnessed their hometown comeback show at the Hydro back in January, I am positive that they will smash it with all the hits and more.
2. Dizzee Rascal
Bonkers?! I have to admit that the Friday headliner took me by surprise, but then the Wickerman Festival has a habit of coming up with the unexpected - they know how to get a crowd pleasing act in.
Massive pop songs like Dance Wiv Me, Bonkers and Holiday alongside Dizzee's enthusiasm and energy should get the Wickerman crowd bouncing and partying.
3. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Heatwave, Dancing In The Streets, Nowhere To Run and Heatwave are just 4 good reasons to go and see Martha. I have had the pleasure of seeing her on a few occasions (including getting up to dance on stage with her at Oran Mor a couple of years ago - look out for her getting some of the crowd up for a certain song with Dancing in the title!) and Martha's voice is sensational. Full of power, emotion and soul. Could steal the whole festival.
4. Alabama 3
One of the hardest working live acts around with a reputation of being one of the best. I caught them years ago supporting Primal Scream and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. Their mixture of country, gospel, electronic, rock and blues is bound to win them a few new fans. Their best known song is Woke Up This Morning which was the theme tune for The Sopranos.
5. The Zombies Time of the Season is a sensational song. I already have a vision of watching it with a nice cold cider in my hand in glorious afternoon sunshine. Fingers crossed!
The Zombies 1968 album Odessey and Oracle is heralded as a classic, as is their 1964 single She's Not There. I am personally really looking forward to their set.
6. Solus Tent
I always spend a good amount of time in the Solus Tent and have got to know the curator Chay. Chay has great taste in music and ensures quality and an eclectic array of music is on offer throughout the weekend.
Chay is ahead of the game on many occasions and may just have surpassed himself as this year the Solus Tent has Young Fathers (winners of the Scottish Album of the Year), Neon Waltz (young guitar band from Wick signed to the management team behind Oasis) and the highly rated Amazing Snakeheads (who released their debut album on Domino) who are building a reputation for their high energy live sets.
If you are feeling fragile then keep an eye on schedules for when the Cairn String Quartet are playing. They may well feature some guest vocalists.
7. goNorth Tent
Sitting next door to the Solus Tent, these two tents offer the best in unsigned and DIY bands, alongside up and coming acts that have a deal. Check out sunshine pop from TeenCanteen, the eclectic and electric Roman Nose, punk rock pop from United Fruit and loads more.
8. Grass sledging
There are all kinds of activities on offer at Wickerman, with plenty for kids to do. We certainly intend to take our kids in a couple of years time, but you'll see kids from a very young age upwards. Grass sledging is something I tried at Wickerman a few years ago and may well do it again this year.
9. Scooter Tent
I love the Scooter Tent at the Wickerman Festival, it is full of characters who are exceptionally passionate about music. There are certainly people who go to Wickerman and spend their weekend in the Scooter Tent or just outside in the sunshine.
10. The Silent Disco
I always end up in here after the main act finishes on the Friday night. Great fun as two DJ's play off against each other and the crowd click between tracks 1 or 2 on their headphones. You'll be listening to Basement Jaxx at one point and then half the crowd will go mental as the second DJ drops a classic on the other track and you switch over.
11. Acoustic Village
Very popular with families (and those with a hangover!) for some nice chilled out music. Roddy Woomble (who played the Main Stage back in 2009 with Idlewild) is among the bigger names playing.
12. Walk around and find something....like the Jimmy Carr bar!
The Wickerman site is perfect for just wandering around. Go and sit by the Wickerman and chill out, stumble across a funky bar set in a small wood in the middle of the site, take a stroll around the stalls, mountain bike and check out every stage there is at some point of the weekend. Oh and get your picture and a drink at the Jimmy Carr bar!
My better half at last summers Wickerman
13. The Thursday night
Despite a number of visits to Wickerman, I've never been down for the opening on the Thursday night. A handful of small stages are open and this year Them Beatles are set to get the party started. My friends Lorna and Colin have been down a few times on the Thursday and assure me it is great fun as it is so chilled before the main event. This year I am planning to go down on the Thursday - can I handle 3-days and nights in my old age.
14. The burning of the Wickerman
The focal point of the festival, everything stops and everyone gathers for the burning of the Wickerman and fireworks. I love the fact that this happens, everyone gets caught up in the one moment. It isn't quite the climax though as the party continues and in 2014 it will be Utah Saints taking to the main stage to keep everyone dancing.
That is just 14 things to look out for - there is much, much more including the indie disco brilliance of Shed 7, rising stars Model Aeroplanes, the legendary Big Country, a dance tent until 4am and the ever popular reggae tent that stays open until 5am for those still standing!
Last night I ended up in King Tuts for my first gig of 2012 on a guest pass courtesy of my new management partner Tam Coyle to catch one of the most blogged about bands in Scotland just now, young Edinburgh trio Discopolis.
Our pre-gig debate about how good it would be if their name was pronounced (in a real Scottish accent) 'Disco Polis' as in how a ned would say 'Polis', or (as we both kind of knew) pronounced 'Disc o polis' (rhymes with metropolis). It was confirmed as the latter when the band came on stage and introduced themselves.
Discopolis were headlining one of the King Tuts New Years Resolutions nights and early reports from the first few nights had indicated large crowds with a couple of sell outs. Young Tuts booker Craig Johnston has done really well with the New Years Resolution and Summer Nights formats; allowing the cream of the crop of independent and DIY bands in Scotland the chance to grace the hallowed Tuts stage and generate some publicity for them at the same time.
Sadly the crowd was a little sparse last night with the top half of King Tuts closed off to keep people in the lower section. As I hadn’t completely planned to be at the gig I didn’t catch the support acts, so I can only report on Discopolis.
They started with a rather slow song and took a while to warm up. They then announced that they were going to slow things down and just as I was thinking that it couldn’t get much slower for an electro-pop band, it did. The second song sounded like a cover but it segued cleverly into their single from last summer ‘Lofty Ambitions’. The band and the audience were warming up and Discopolis showed why they are receiving so many good reviews and opportunities with a brilliant blend of warm synths, beats, guitar melodies and a brilliant hook;
'You always doubt my love, don’t ever doubt my love.’
Simple, yet so effective.
The young guitarist who was on stage right (as I was facing) caught my ears, his melodies were playful enough to be a little different from the norm. A couple of songs passed me by but the closing three highlighted the bands promise with the second last song sounding like a potential summer/festival single. By that stage the singer had urged the crowd to step forward to the stage and this seemed to lift the band.
The closing song morphed into an excellent groove that I would happily have listend to for ages, I look forward to the extended 12-inch mix of it. However a curfew brought the set to the end, with the band receiving an enthusiastic reception.
This was the second time I have seen them after catching them in the Solus Tent at Wickerman in the summer. I would say I preferred that set, the festival vibe seemed to suit them better.
It is early days for Discopolis, yet they have had an incredibly productive 8-months or so with festival appearances, playlisted on daytime Radio 1, an album release in Japan and all manner of praise from blogs and journalists seemingly faling at their feet.
The band do seem to be receiving a rather remarkable amount of hype, too much in my own humble opinion. I do hope they get the time to develop their early promise and I look forward to catching them again in the future.
For the third year running I headed down to Dumfries and Galloway for the Wickerman Festival at the weekend.
Due to the birth of baby Zoe less than 4-weeks previously, I was only going down for 1-day and night on the Saturday, so unfortunately I missed Echo and the Bunnymen and James on the Friday night, my friends said they were great.
On Saturday morning I picked up Anneliese from her flat in the West End and then Julian (Miaoux Miaoux) from Glasgow Airport. Julian was fresh (well actually quite tired and stressed) from 2-weeks producing in Switzerland and unfortunately his luggage had gone missing on the way back. He had actually seen someone walking away with a bag that looked like his at Heathrow – nightmare, especially considering that the bag contained some essential equipment!
If that wasn’t enough Julian’s flight had been delayed and we met him shortly after 10am. Julian was due to play the GoNorth tent with his other band the Maple Leaves at 12.30pm.
We belted out of Glasgow Airport at 10.20am and the new M74 extension came in very handy indeed as we picked up speed. On the way we phoned the very helpful Allan who worked at the Solus Tent and asked if he could try to source some equipment so Julian could play his set as Miaoux Miaoux. Allan was very helpful and as time went on we all felt increasingly confident about things.
Luck was on our side and we arrived on site just after 12.15pm, quickly found the artist registration, informed them that Juian was due on stage in 10 minutes and he sped off in a little golf buggy while Anneliese and I parked the car in the Artists Camping field. With no time to pitch our tents we headed off to the Solus Tent to catch up with Allan and to meet Chay the organiser. It was great to finally meet him after exchanging emails and facebook chat. Allan was still asking around for some of the stuff for Miaoux Miaoux, but with almost 3-hours until the set we were confident it would happen.
As luck would have it (it appeared to be on our side – well at least after Julian’s bags went missing!) the GoNorth tent was right next to the Solus Tent, not before we had cadged much needed beers off the lovely Chay. So we caught most of Maple Leaves set and it was quite surreal watching Julian after everything he/we had been through that morning, especially knowing how close he had been to not making it. Check out a Maple Leaves video below;
I hooked up with Lloyd from the marvellous Peenko blog, who also recently became a father, and we went down to the VIP bar and bought each other a nice cold bottle of Pear cider. It hit the mark and I was glad we had two bottles rather than one. I then bumped into my friends Lorna and Colin who were going to see the Black Hand Gang and Lloyd was heading off to the Scooter Tent, however I fancied heading to the Pimms garden/bar to find out what Glasgow Podcart and Detour were going to come up with the huge ensemble that is Blochestra. Blochestra meet every Monday evening in Bar Bloc in Bath Street in Glasgow and jam on covers with all manner of instruments. Jam is a loose description, they are much better than that!
The powers that be had brought them together with the singer from Scottish band The Bluebells to play their hit song ‘Young At Heart’. The singer certainly looked a lot older than his Top of the Pops days, but he still had a sparkle in his eye and he turned in a magnificent performance, as did Blochestra and i immediately made a note to check their Solus Tent set later. Lorna and Colin came to meet me and we had a couple of Pimms sitting in the lovely picnic garden that they had.
NOTE - video will be added a later date
After that it was time to head back to the Solus Tent for Miaoux Miaoux. Julian turned in a terrific set, thanks to the Scottish Enlightment who helped out hugely by lending him some of their gear. ‘Pixellated’ kicked things off, ‘Hey Sound’ was a perfect summer festival tune, ‘Knitted’ was sublime, ‘Autopilot’ prompted a lot of head nodding and foot tapping, there was a dedication and a ‘f**k you’ to the woman who walked off with his bag and the closer of ‘Snow’ ended with Julian lying flat on his back on stage. The pressure of losing equipment, making the site for Maple Leaves, borrowing equipment and even getting to play had been lifted and it showed, Julian clearly enjoyed himself on stage and everyone in the crowd did too.
Miaoux Miaoux
It didn’t end there as Glasgow Podcart and Detour invited Julian to play the ‘smallest rave in the world’ in a backstage caravan. In preparation, Weaver from Detour double checked the suspension (well some blocks of wood under the caravan) – just as well. Kirsten from Podcart/Pooch brought out some facepaint to help get us in the mood while Julian set up inside. We were then given orders to form an orderly queue and we made our way inside.
NOTE - The video will be added to this blog once it is available.
Julian played a brilliantly loose version of ‘Hey Sound’ with everyone joning in on the call and response vocals, Anneliese was dancing on the table, Ally McCrae had his ‘tap off’, I drunkenly sprayed some cider and everyone had big huge smiles on their faces. It was great fun. So within 4-hours of getting on site Julian had played 3-gigs!
After a beer, several ciders and a couple of Pimms and only a bowl of Special K to eat, I decided it might be an idea to grab a burger before the three of us went back to set up our tents. Our popup tent came in very handy indeed!
I caught a bit of Emma’s Imagination on the Main Stage, but left after a few songs as to be honest I don’t think her songs/sound suited the main stage, they certainly felt like a bit of a comedown after the ‘smallest rave in the world’ and fuelled by more cider I certainly wasn’t in the mood for a comedown. I did manage to catch snippets of the excellent Randolph’s Leap and most of Blochestra in between getting some nice Paad Thai.
After a wander around with Lorna and Colin we headed back to the Solus Tent to catch Discopolis, a young band who have just released their first single on the excellent Eli and Oz label. They started rather shabbily but they hit their stride and turned in a superb set that the three of us really enjoyed, as did the ever growing crowd in the tent. Check the video for their single below.
We caught a little bit of The River 68’s in the GoNorth Tent, a rather cheesey soft rock band with a singer that looks like he could be in The Quireboys. However they sure could play and their energy and enthusiasm were good fun, as were the guitar solos.
Next up was The Coral. I liked their last album, so I thought they would be good. I was wrong, the three of us didn’t enjoy it at all and spent most of the time going in and out of the VIP bar to get cider and then Morgans Spiced.
On to the headliners. Feeder on the main stage or From the Jam in the Scooter tent. We opted for the latter and had a great time. The band was formed by Jam bassist Bruce Foxton, who bounded on to the stage in a very sharp suit and they launched into ‘Eton Rifles’. There were many highlights, but towards the end of the set they blasted through ‘In the City’, ‘Going Underground’, ‘Town Called Malice’ and ‘Beat Surrender’, with ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’ another highlight. Julian and Anneliese said that Feeder were good, although Anneliese’s schoolgirl crush on Grant Nicholls may have had something to do with that!
We wandered outside afterwards to stand by the wall to watch the burning of the Wickerman and the fireworks display to much whooping and shouting. I love the fact that the festival stops for a bit so everyone comes together for that moment.
It was then on to the main stage for Craig Charles funk and soul DJ set. Lorna and i danced away while Colin mumbled about going to the dance tent for some techno. Appearing back some time later with a horses head mask that we all took turns at wearing!
At around 1.20am I decided to head to my tent and lay chilling listening to the end of Craig Charles set before a band I believe to be Paws played a great campsite acoustic set of covers. A lot of songs I didn’t recognise, it was a nice end to a brilliant day.
I hope to be back at WIckerman next year, either with one of the acts I work with or as a punter.
