Out of Time

Spear of Destiny / TV21 / Bobbi Peru – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh – 28th September 2008

Sunday night at Cabaret Voltaire presented what seems at the moment to be an all too rare opportunity to see TV21 live. The signs weren’t too promising – a couple of the band were feeling less than 100% and there was very little room on the stage for the band to perform. And things weren’t helped by the opening band going on stage late which resulted in the TV21 set being cut short with ‘On The Run’ still to be played.

Yet none of this seemed to faze the band who put in a typically energetic performance. In advance I was curious about the make up of the set since it was their first support slot for quite a while and the first this year since a number of new songs have been debuted live. And it turned out that the emphasis was very much on the new tunes as only ‘Something’s Wrong’ survived from TV21 Mark 1 (although OTR should have joined it).

Old new ones ‘Last Man Standing’ and ‘Look To The Sun’ have rarely sounded better but it was two of the newer songs which really stood out. I think I’ve said it before but ‘Forever 22’ is a wonderful pop song, replete with jangly guitars and capped by Ally’s fabulous solo near the end. By contrast ‘How Did You Get It So Wrong?’ is a big rock song with an interesting arrangement and Sunday’s version benefited from the full-bodied sound.

All of which promises great things from the new LP which may, or may not be, nearing completion. Whenever it appears it is certainly something to look forward to.

Earlier on Bobbi Peru had taken the stage. A three piece, they seemed perched somewhere between punk and metal. Iitially I was a little sceptical but they turned out better than I’d hoped. They also seem to have a knac for covers as they played Devo’s ‘Whip It’ (and you can hear their version of the Cure’s ‘Killing an Arab@ on their Myspace).

With a few late nights recently I didn’t bother staying around for much of headliners Spear of Destiny so it’s probably fairer not to pass comment but instead point you in this direction where you can read a review of both their set and TV21’s.

Here’s an old version of a song that should have been played on Sunday:

TV21 – On The Run (live) (from BBC In Concert)

I’ll rip the rest of this show in the near future.

We Were Promised Rabbits

A busy spell of gigs kicked off last night with the Frightened Rabbit/We Were Promised Jetpacks double bill at the Mill in Edinburgh. (And big thanks to Murray for getting me tickets at the last gasp).

The club itself appears to be a former storage vault of some kind which certainly gives it a different kind of ambience and was packed for a free show by two of Scotland’s up and coming talents.

The Jetpacks were on first in front of the largest crowd I’ve seen for a support for a while. It’s been a pleasure watching them develop over the last two plus years from a promising scratchy black and white outfit into the confident widescreen Technicolor band of last night’s performance. I didn’t think it was possible that they would keep developing at the pace they’ve been doing of late but their new songs seem to manage just that.

‘Keep Warm’ was a massive opener with suitably monstrous drums whilst set closer ‘Quiet Little Voices’ is still brilliant. Sandwiched in between those two they covered a hell of a lot of ground from the atmospheric to the manic.

Right now WWPJ are seriously good so it’s unfortunate that it was a set to admire from afar rather than to enjoy last night through no fault of the band’s. Rather our late arrival meant that we were quite far back under the arch into the main performing space which would have been OK but for the hugely distracting incessant talking going on around us. Still it won’t be too long before I get the chance to catch them in a hopefully more sympathetic setting and I’m really looking forward to that.

We managed to position ourselves better for headliners Frightened Rabbit with a better listening post and view. Sound-wise though FR suffered more than the Jetpacks from a slightly muddy mix. As a consequence I felt their edge was a little blunted resulting in a good rather than great set.

Part of that perhaps me expecting the four piece band to match the ambitious sound of the LP. Which is a little unfair since ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ is a remarkable achievement. I used to feel the same way about De Rosa and Mend but got used to their live approach quite quickly. So perhaps it will be the same with Frightened Rabbit.

Anyhow last night they played virtually every song from the record even if they only rarely managed to surpass the studio versions. ‘The Twist’ and ‘Head Rolls Off’ were close but ‘’Floating On The Forth’ and encore ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ probably managed to do that. By contrast, the only song played from debut ‘Sing The Greys’ ‘Square Nine’, was thunderous and bore little relation to the fairly timid recording.

All in all the set was a reminder of the quality of the songwriting on MOF and I’m reasonably confident that I’ve persuaded my mate, who hadn’t heard either band before last night, that he should invest in the LP.

One thing that strikes me is that Frightened Rabbit seem to have perfected the Arcade Fire trick of writing instrumental parts in their songs that get sung lustily by the crowd (see also Pixies and the spooky intro to ‘Where Is My Mind’). Mega-stardom beckons?

Frightened Rabbit ‘Fast Blood (live)’ (from ‘Live At Urban Outfitters SXSW 2007) [Get it]

Buy ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ here

It’s Shite Being Scottish

A sentiment that we all share at  times but one that has been pilfered from Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’ by today’s book. And if there was ever a novel meant to be reviewed on a Scottish music blog then Doug Johnstone’s ‘The Ossians’ is surely it. Although I read about the book when it was published earlier this year, I basically completely forgot all about it until I saw it on the shelves in the Edinburgh Book Festival store.

The novel tells the story of a disastrous round Scotland tour by fictional up and coming indie band ‘The Ossians’ and it’s a terrific read. It’s also a very authentic trip around the Scottish rock’n’roll hinterland (and beyond), due in no small part to the fact Johnstone is also a musician, playing with Fence Collective associates the Northern Alliance.

In the course of the tour, singer Connor Alexander’s mental and physical state are in serious decline, something that’s not unconnected with his copious intake of illegal (and unknown) substances and the fact that he has been blackmailed into acting as a drug courier over the course of the tour. You end up not wondering whether The Ossians will get signed at the end of tour showcase at King Tut’s (ostensibly the point of the tour) but more whether Connor and the band will make it through the tour at all.

It sounds a little grim but it’s not and there are some wonderful scenes throughout, not least the invasion of Ullapool by the crew of a stranded Russian submarine. At which point a gun enters the story. Uh, oh.

If you’re reading this then I can pretty much guarantee that you will enjoy‘The Ossians’. And yet the book strongly hints that there’s more to life than rock’n'roll. Which can’t be right. But if you’re in doubt then you can read the first chapter here.

Johnstone has also recorded some of the songs from the book (CD-R available through Fence here). This sort of cross promotion is in many ways a risky thing to do, because there’s the danger that the actual music won’t live up to your expectations from reading the novel. Fortunately however, judging by the 3 tracks on the Ossians Myspace, Johnstone pulls it off.

In lots of ways, ‘The Ossians’ is a down and dirty relative of Iain Banks’s ‘Espedair Street’. It’s not as funny certainly (there’s no dog called TB for a start) but whereas Banks’s novel deals with the excesses of 70s pomp rock in suitably widescreen terms ‘The Ossians’ operates on a smaller scale which aligns perfectly with its music.

If you haven’t read these either of 2 books then I would urge you to do so as soon as possible.

Buy ‘The Ossians’ here. Buy ‘Espedair Street’ here.

A tune from a band mentioned in the book:

Mogwai – Hunted By A Freak (from ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’) [Buy the CD] [Download it]

The Night Sessions

Whilst our visits to the recent Edinburgh International Book Festival largely centred on kids’ authors, we managed to squeeze in one Sunday to see a handful of “grown-up” writers. One of these was Ken MacLeod about whom I’ve written before.

The session wasn’t the outright entertainment of Chris Brookmyre (although it’s interesting that both authors seem interested in and have written about similar issues in recent years) but it was an interesting and thoughtful hour.

Ken’s latest novel ‘The Night Sessions’ was picked up at the Festival and it’s another good one. A near future police procedural, Detective Adam Ferguson has to investigate a bombing of a priest in Edinburgh and decide whether or not the attack is religiously motivated. It deals with a number of issues including religion in a world which has rejected religion and robot rights. TNS is a novel that largely dodges your expectations not least in an ending which is far from neat.

I think all MacLeod’s books are worth reading not least for his glimpses into the future and ‘The Night Sessions’ is no exception. One thing that always slightly disappoints me is that he creates these worlds so well that it always seems a shame that the setting is used just once. Even his series have spanned different ages and I end up feeling that he’s only scratching at the surface of these settings . I think I’d love him to write one of these huge books in which you could immerse yourself for ages.

Buy ‘The Night Sessions’ here.

In terms of the music I’ve picked the following song because it’s got a line that sums up the current state of play with the blog. Lots of ideas but a decreasing amount of time to implement them. With a number of gigs coming up in the next few weeks, hopefully I’ll rediscover some momentum and post more regularly.

As for the tune, it’s one of two standout tracks from the Comsats’ third LP ‘Fiction’ which at the time was regarded as a disappointment. It’s probably a fair assessment but this is one of their best songs:

The Comsat Angels – ‘What Else!?’ (from ‘Fiction’) [Buy the CD]

Another book next, I think.

A Million Daddy Longlegs

Just in from seeing Idlewild at Elmwoodstock. Idlewild seem to have reached a stage of real dependability and this evening’s set was largely drawn from ‘Make Another World’ and last year’s Best Of.  Essentially the set pushed all the buttons you would expect which means to say that it was pretty good all  round. Particular highlights included ‘In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction’, ‘In Competition’ and encore ‘Everybody Says Your So Fragile’. Perhaps the main distinguishing feature of the set was Roddy forgetting the words during ‘Modern Way’.

It’s the seventh time I’ve seen the band so surprises didn’t really feature in my expectations. No, what made this gig so different was that it was the first time my boys have seen a proper band. Given that it was local and they are both familiar with a lot of the Idlewild’s recent material, it seemed a good way to introduce them to one of their dad’s obsessions.

They’ve recently got into ‘Roseability’ so it was a good start for that to be the opener and to see them both singing along was one of those proud dad moments. C however was quickly distracted by one of his pals turning up but wee S stuck with the whole set all the way through even if he actually managed a quick nap during ‘American English’ standing up clinging to his mum’s leg! Now there’s a boy with taste.

They both seemed to have enjoyed the experience (even if S’s favourite ‘El Capitan was posted AWOL) and I’d like to think that they will in time find their own way into their own tastes.

Because of the kids’ attendance we didn’t do the whole event, which miraculously avoided the rain, and arrived in time to catch the last few songs of Sergeant’s set. They seem to be very much on the rise at the moment but it wasn’t clear why to me given that they seem to fit into that identikit Scottish indie jangly pop genre.

Better were State of Affairs who had played the main stage earlier in the day but played a short, punchy and ever so slightly drunken set on the second stage just before Idlewild took to the stage.

DIsappointingly for the organisers the show didn’t come close to the 5,000 capacity but it still seems set to continue for another year next year. Let’s hope the weather’s a little warmer!

For C and S:

Idlewild – El Capitan (from ‘Warnings/Promises’) [Buy it] [Download it]

Idlewild Setlist

1. Roseability  2. In Competition For The Worst Time  3. No Emotion  4. When I Argue I See Shapes  5. Make Another World  6. A Modern Way of Letting Go  7. Love Steals Us From Loneliness  8. You Held The World In Your Arms  9. American English  10. Little Discourage  11. Blame It On Obvious Ways  12. Paint Nothing  13. Let Me Sleep (Next To The Mirror)  14. Live In A Hiding Place  15. Ghost In The Arcade  16. In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction

Encore

17. Everyone Says You’re So Fragile  18. The Bronze Medal

This Insubstantial Pageant Faded

You know what you’re going to get with a Christopher Brookmyre novel. An implausible plot, a dose of satire and some brilliant humour. Pleasingly his latest ‘A Snowball in Hell’ is well up to scratch.

‘Snowball’ is actually a sequel to 2 of his earlier books “A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away” and “The Sacred Art of Stealing” but I suspect that it will just about stand on its own.

Plot wise the book centres around police attempts to track down infamous (and believed to be dead) former indie rocker turned terrorist for hire Simon Dacourt as he takes reality shows to new extremes. There’s also an improbable romance between a (former) bank robber and the police woman who was supposed to apprehend him.

Did I say implausible? Suffice to say the book, within its own unlikely scenario, is tightly plotted and manages to keep its twists a surprise. It is also laugh aloud funny in places and can anyone really have a gripe with the targets of the satire including boy bands, pop svengalis and reality shows?

However that is perhaps the book’s only problem – the targets are very much of the soft variety particularly given that in the past Brookmyre has set about more far serious issues. There is a slight feeling at the end of this entertaining yarn that this won’t be the most enduring of his books. Literature it certainly isn’t but as a commentary on current British society it has more than a little relevance.

Myself and Mrs MPT were also lucky enough to catch Mr Brookmyre at the Edinburgh Book Festival a couple of weeks back and if anything he’s actually funnier in person than in print. These outings are really more of a stand-up show than a reading and the good news is that he’s out and about more promoting ‘Snowball’ in the coming weeks (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Wishaw). So if you sympathise with his world view then you are guaranteed an entertaining hour or so in his company. Buy the book.

The book actually refers to the following song but it’s not clear if the author shares his assassin’s view on the original’s merits. However I’m not sure quite what Christopher (or Simon for that matter) would make of this version:

Echo & the Bunnymen – Rescue (The Mindwinder’s Remix) (from ‘It’s Alright’ CD single/B-sides and Live compilation) [Download it]

The Bunnymen have a new LP, ‘The Fountain’ due for release at some point. McCulloch has described the record as the heaviest the band have done and, inevitably, the best thing they’ve ever done. Do we believe him?