Live bands in Edinburgh

A prelude to a wondrous thing

bruceonthefringe 2023, Live bands in Edinburgh, Logan's Close, Music, Music for travelling Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“A polished studio album will surely be a wondrous thing” and how right I was! I wrote those words back in February last year in If you don’t ask …… (clicking on the title should take you to the post, should) just after getting my mitts on the Logan’s Close Live at LimbicTV CD. Checking back on that one, led to looking back at my other posts on the LimbicTV recording and on to playing the CD; then playing Babestation and Mock Marble Linoleum back-to-back with the new album versions (well, back and forth, forth and back, a few times – I was having fun).

Nine days and a trip down to Yorkshireland later, I wrote Driving with Elsie appraising the CD. Reading it again I noticed that Mock Marble Linoleum was now “pretty special” – back when I saw it performed on LimbicTV it was “fine but nothing special” (from my blog post So Close so fine). Well, I’d had a 400 mile return car trip to get into it! Now on Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi, it’s been buffed up, not quite so heavy, but richer; a perfect progression.

Babestation grabbed me from the very first – beautiful desolation, Carl’s lead vocals, then Scott’s velvet backing, blimey Charlie! Totally blown away! Much as I love the whole LimbicTV CD, this track stands apart (still), so how happy was I when I heard it would be on the new album (as Larry, Moe and Curly). Back in April 2021 I’d written “definitely put out this track, please, please, like this, nothing added nothing taken away”, well, in some ways they have. The soul and mood are the same, but OMG, the production takes it so much further (Dennis Rux really has the magic touch).

Lucky me, The Scat Rats regularly play an acoustic version of Babestation that sends me every time I hear it. Though mainly covers, the Rats always played a few LC songs, and now there’s the album to promote, oh yay, they spoil us! There’s clips in my Instagram reels, as much for my own keepsakes as sharing their brilliance with the world.

FYI, in case you’re brand new to my blog, The Scat Rats are Carl Marah and Scott Rough, the two founder members of Logan’s Close, and right now their album Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi has been out on sale for a week; it is on Spotify too, check it out do. The Logan’s Close Live at LimbicTV CD is not on Spotify but you can still watch the original on YouTube (it’s about two hours long – there’s plenty banter as well as music!) and the CD (just over an hour of music) is available on the band’s website.

Next post will be my attempt at reviewing Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi haha, it’s chuffing brilliant! Toodle pip!

Notes from my calendar

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It’s Friday the 13th, which means it’s only seven days until the album packed with the juiciest of toons, Heart-shaped Jacuzzi is released into the world. Oh yay! Interestingly I’ve spotted that the single of the title track was released digitally on the 21st October last year, hmmm, I wonder if that’s deliberate symmetry? And there’s not just a new album from Logan’s Close (available on digital, CD and vinyl), oh no, there’s a limited run of a special lathe cut vinyl single with Heart-shaped Jacuzzi on one side and Hot Blondes In Your Area Tonight on the other!! Plenty other new merch on their website, check it out!

So far I’ve got through today without anything bad happening, in fact it’s been a rather fine day (touch wood). As soon as I’ve done this I’m popping out to Stramash to catch Duke Duncan and the Hurricanes. Indeed, this next week is a great run-up to Friday, tomorrow there’s Jed Potts & Nicole Smit in Whistlebinkies at two, then The Breeze at seven. Monday evening Jed and Nicole are at Stramash with the rest of the Back-up Crew. Tuesday The Scat Rats are at Whistlebinkies (true this time), followed by the early evening slot at Stramash on Thursday. So, that’s a Marah triple in the next week, yay.

I’m not impressed about next Sunday evening though (22th) as The Buccaneers are playing Stramash at the same time as Jed Potts & the Hillman Hunters play Binkies, bah. Mind, there’s always a chance the Binkies listing is wrong, haha. Moanin’ Bones are back on the scene now that main man Chris Buckley has returned to Edinburgh, I’m looking forward to seeing them again later this month.

And with that I shall bid you adieu, I shall away to Stramash for a pint of Stewart’s and some fine rhythm’n’blues. Toodle pip!

An odd week

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This has been an odd week, well, a week of oddities, flashbacks, fun and not-so-much fun. It started on Monday when I got an email that Apocalypse Clown a film I had booked to see in Glasgow the following day was cancelled due to technical difficulties. Dammit! It was my only opportunity too, it only had a very limited release (yup, not a single cinema in Edinburgh was showing it!). You may be wondering what’s so special about Apocalypse Clown that I’d be prepared to trek over to Glasgow for it?

Three of the co-writers were one of my all-time favourite Fringe acts, Dead Cat Bounce, that’s Demian Fox, Shane O’Brien and James Walmsley. Sure its quite some time since they were at the Fringe but they were supertalented, very original and achingly funny; the trailer for Apocalypse Clown looks so good, they obviously haven’t lost the spark. It’s a film with clowns (obviously), vengeful human statues and a slow-motion walrus fight (so I’ve read) – what’s not to love?! A film of semi-epic proportions, I reckon.

So, I wasn’t happy at missing that, for consolation I went to see Barbie for a second time, yay. It made a good start to my evening before Nicole and the Back-up Crew in Stramash, finishing off at Whistlebinkies with The Scat Rats and a wonderful, unexpected delight – the first acoustic rendition of Heart-shaped Jacuzzi, oh my heartses!

Wednesday I decided to check what other old Fringe favourites of mine The Les Clöchards were up to these days – they only have a new album out and it’s on Spotify! Stop, Drop & Rock is a lot of fun, those hobos from a small island near Corsica have still got it – blimey Charlie, it’s ten years since they last played the Edinburgh Fringe when I bought their CD Never Don’t Not.

Interestingly there’s new versions of two songs from that previous album, Love Baby has definitely gone up a few notches but I prefer the raunchier, heavier earlier version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (but you will love the new version if you’ve never heard the first one, truly you will). I love what they’ve done with Material Girl a great Clöchards reworking, but my current favourite is Bunch of Assholes, delightfully lackadaisical and bouncy.

Thursday night, yay, a rare visit from over West for Baby Face and the Beltin’ Boys to Stramash. Who? Baby Face aka Julen Santamaria of Awkward Family Portraits, purveyor of Western Swing with a very distinctive voice. There was actually just one Beltin’ Boy with him on this occasion, but the two of them were more than enough for a fun time (I’ll stick a reel on Instagram later). See, this is why I pay so much attention to who’s playing where and when, to catch such gems!

Friday morning and a big downer, my throat was on fire, bloody painful. It had been threatening a while, I’d hoped nightly gargling with TCP would do the trick, nope! Nothing was going to soothe it now, it was only a matter of time before my sinuses joined in the revolt. They did and how, for about forty-eight hours and two boxes of tissues; just a few foot soldiers are left behind now, the rest have moved to my chest.

Okay, so twice I’ve missed The Scat Rats this weekend, hey, I do see them plenty, but The Buccaneers were playing The Jazz Bar after midnight on Friday and I was fully intending on going, damn. Not impressed.

Other bits of news, Logan’s Close have announced 20th October as the release date for their long-awaited debut album Heart-shaped Jacuzzi, get your order in! The loveliest man on the Fringe Aidan Goatley is writing a new show, “the show I’ve wanted to do for several years but only now feel ready for”, this will definitely be one to see next year, can’t wait. Austrian stand-up Elias Werner will be in the UK on Thursday 12th October at The Pen Theatre in London as part of their Fresh off the Fringe season; well, he did tell me he’d be back!

Well, that’s all my news, now I must go gargle some more TCP and get to my bed.

Oh, my precious!

A little procrastination

bruceonthefringe 2023, Edinburgh Fringe, Live bands in Edinburgh, Reviews, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Hey there! It’s a hot, sunny day here in Edinburgh, someone turned the temperature dial back up! I’m inside, oh, sat beside a wide open window, net curtain blowing in the breeze; there’s five or six more days of this forecast, so I’m good. Been looking through my Fringe diary; forty-one shows, three repeats, flyering and all the sordid details in between.

I stick in the occasional tiny picture found in some Fringe publication or other, to help refresh the memory in years to come. Not that I found many pics this year, the likes of Fest and The List don’t bother much with the sorts of shows I like. Aidan Goatley does a bit about The List in his show, I am fully with him there (no, we’re not fans). The odd newspaper supplements I’ve cast an eye over, rarely mention anything of interest to me. Hey, I’m the alternative! Well, one of them, a wee niche of dark whimsy.

What categories will there be at this year’s Bruce Awards? Last year there were Sweetest, Sexiest, Silliest Fringe Things, all had pretty clear front runners then, but not this year. It seems anything I come up with, there’s always more than one choice, which is bloody stupid as, i) I’m the one making up categories, ii) now I’ve started this I cannot cheat it, really I can’t! Even something like Most Fruit Inclusive, there’s three to choose from, and now I’ve thought of them I can’t unthink them.

I’m going to let them mull things over and go enjoy the sunshine. It’s the first weekend of the month which means the Handsome House Jam are playing at Stramash this evening at seven. This week’s guest host is Austen George a local singer-songwriter, one third of the rather bloody brilliant Miracle Glass Company. I’ve not seen him playing outside of MGC before, I’m looking forward to it. Some good music, a drink or two, just what I need. Maybe I’ll return to my cave inspired!

I’ll leave you with a few pics of posters from the Fringe, just random posters. Toodle pip!

The circus has left town

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And that’s it all completely over for another year. Only the larger venues show any signs that something was going on for the past month. I took myself up into the Park today, blow the old Fringe away. I didn’t make it up there for the Comedy Extravaganza, it was just too windy (extremely), I could have been blown over to Fife! Oh, and the Miracle Glass Company were playing at the same time on the corner of the Mound and Princes Street, those two factors combined, well!?

As usual the southern hordes descended upon the town for their Bank Holiday weekend. I braved going to Stramash for the Cumbiatones on Saturday evening, ye gods, it was packed! I didn’t dare take to the dance floor, choosing instead to sway and watch the undulating mass from above (and the upstairs bar wasn’t half as busy).

Sunday evening saw me flaked out on my sofa, lack of self-care had finally caught up with me. A tad annoying as I had half a mind to see the Blueswater at the Jazz Bar at midnight; or the ACMS Awards night at Monkey Barrel 1 at 5 to midnight, they were so good last year! And they inspired me to come up with my own awards, which I fully intend to consider and debate with the voices in my head, more to come on that. Nope, I only stirred to put myself to bed, bah.

Ah, but tonight I get to neatly bookend this year’s Fringe as the Scat Rats are back at Whistlebinkies at midnight, as they were four weeks ago. I shall leave you with pics of Messrs Marah and Rough. Expect roundups and moose awards soon, toodle pip!

Some Tuck, Rats and Hot Blondes!

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This time last week I was in Stramash watching The Scat Rats, another damn fine performance as we’ve come to expect from them. The early evening band was Nicole Smit and Jed Potts doing their thang (the first time I’ve seen their double act outside of Binkies) ranging from country, blues, rock’n’roll, and this week Jed went lounge (honestly, eyes shut he sounded like he should be wearing velvet and ruffles!) on a couple of numbers.

Last night I had been expecting to see The Blueswater but alas they had to cancel, well, some of them, so instead Nicole and the Back-up Crew (there are a few overlaps there) did the late night shift at The Jazz Bar. No, I didn’t go, I went to bed at a reasonable time instead! I do hope things are okay again for their Fringe shows (the first one is Wednesday 9th).

I had been wondering at a seeming lack of Tuck this year, nothing in the programme! Surely he’d be up? What anarchy would ACMS descend into without him? And This Is Your Trial without a single Tuck appearance? Surely not. Oh, and TIYT is with Laughing Horse this year, in The Counting House at half past five in the afternoon. It is very random depending many factors but hey, it’s free, definitely worth a punt!

And then, midweek he shared a pic on Instagram of his Fringe schedule so far, yay! Thom Tuck will be in the building, well, a building, a number of buildings, around Edinburgh during August. I like his use of colours, if a tad rough, but curious what Dom and Wogan mean!? 2110 Ginzel’s I think I’ve figured out, some serious acting? I’ll let you know.

This morning I headed up Moose Ridge in Holyrood Park, after a week of slow ambles with old dogs I’ll have to get back into the long climb up, ready for Arthur’s Seat Comedy Extravaganza on Saturday 19th. If you’ve never been up to the top, then that’s the day to do it! Catch a 45 minute free Fringe show with four stand-ups and the most spectacular view in town (unless there’s very low cloud!)

Hot news of the week, Logan’s Close have released another succulently scintillating single from their forthcoming album Heart-shaped Jacuzzi, for which they have also announced a Release Party date in late December, oh yay! So that’s Hot Blondes In Your Area Tonight available now on Spotify and other music streams; and Liquid Room on 29th December.

Alas, I was away on Monday when they invited fans to go along and be in the video for Hot Blondes, hopefully it’ll be out before too long. In the meantime, I have put a clip on Instagram of The Scat Rats doing an acoustic version in Stramash.

Anyhoo, time for bed, just three sleeps to go. I’ll leave you with the Rats from last week…

I’m on my way to an Amarillo

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Crikey, it’s been a week since my last post – I’ve been busy, honest. I’ve been very busy today too, no sitting out in the sun for me, and just when I thought I was done, I discovered a new moth infestation, bastards! So I writing something short and sweet just now as I’m not sure when I’ll get time next. Short because very shortly Duke Duncan & The Hurricanes will be on at Whistlebinkies – my excuse for a drink. I’ve never seen them before but by all accounts they’re rather good, so it’s beyond time that I checked them out.

Why won’t I be posting for a while? Some long time followers may have noticed this is one of those times in a year that I head back to the old country, Yorkshireland. I’ve kind of sorted stuff to go, uke and music, chocolates from CoCo Company, the Fringe programme (two, mark-up and cut-out), sunglasses.

I’ve already watched the last episode of The Gallows Pole and by’eck its good. Loved the bit when Grace tells David he needs to rally the troops, he turns to the gathered room “Ayup!” Perfect! And there was Peaches by The Stranglers in the soundtrack, pure class. I’ll definitely try to fit in a visit to Heptonstall while I’m down. Oh, I did find my copy of the Cragg Vale Coiners Walk but maybe not this trip down, it’s going to be bloody hot! Maybe next time, let’s face it, these temperatures most likely won’t last long.

Anyhoo, must go, make my way to Amarillo, that’s a pint of, very tasty, from Stewart Brewing, of course. Toodle pip!

It’s come round again

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‘Twas the night before Eurovision, and I have a magnificent rack of spare ribs defrosting in the fridge, gonna marinade them first thing in the morning. I’m thinking half in a barbecue sauce and half in a Chinese type of thing – I’ll just be ad-libbing both with what I can find, that’s how I roll. Still to get a bottle of prosecco and some pear juice (makes the perfect Eurovision drink); hopefully the stall that sells baba ghanosh will be at the Farmers Market in the morning, a very tasty dip with flat bread!

I’ve watched both semi-finals so know what to expect in the Final. All but two of the songs I picked for the final have gone through – there are more songs I wished had not made it through! Romania and Azerbaijan are the unlucky two; and while Portugal’s beautiful song is through, apparently no song sung second in the Final has ever come first, shame.

There’s no song that really stands out, but there are a few I really don’t want to see win. A quick glance through my scrawlings, I want Armenia, Austria, Australia, Czechia and Portugal to do well, Moldova too. Who can tell? Oo, and there’s a new Rest of the World public vote added in this year; I’m not sure how it’ll work but it could mix things up a bit.

Tonight I’ve had the telly box on BBC4 for all things Eurovision, yes, a whole evening of various programmes on one topic. Do other countries have such full-on Eurovision nostalgia every year, I wonder? Hey, I got to indulge my moose crush on Måns Zelmerlöw, I’m happy. He’s on my Spotify Europop playlist that I’ll have on tomorrow as I tidy round.

I may have a break from the madness in the afternoon – Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters are playing Whistlebinkies at four o’clock (for those not into Eurovision, he’ll be at B Bar in the evening). I’ll possibly pop back there late on to check out the midnight band, Steepwater Canyon, call me intrigued.

Oh, The Scat Rats went down brilliantly last Tuesday midnight at Binkies. The place was busy when I got in just before the lads began, too busy for me to get a good view, but as is often the case late on, many left after the first set (well, that is around one o’clock) so I scooted forward some. It all looked fairly empty when Carl started Runaway with his usual flourish, that pulls them in, by the end of it, that part of the pub was busy again!

Everyone was having a great time, the Rats were on fine form, enjoying raucous applause after every song, the crowd joined in plenty (check out my Instagram reels), it was one of those nights. Little Green Bag is now a regular on the setlist, an excellent addition.

Another excellent addition is the latest single from Marah and Rough’s other, Logan’s Close. Gouching On The 33 came out on the midnight between me arriving back in Edinburgh and heading to Yorkshireland the following morning, I just had to have a quick listen before I headed off! Oh boy, gorgeous! It’s been a semi-regular inclusion for the Rats, I really can’t call it yet which way I like best, the acoustic duet or the studio LC sound. There’s a video out too, filmed in Carl’s mum’s cafe, it’s on YouTube do check it out!

Must go, it’s very late, I need my beauty sleep. Toodle pip!

Not your average Sunday evening

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Oh lordy, so glad I got back up yesterday evening! I knew that The Buccaneers were playing Stramash at ten, which is always good, but I had no idea they would be that good! Wowzah. On fire they were, and with plenty new covers too. I didn’t arrived back in Edinburgh until the back of eight, just time to put things away, eat and faff a while; well, I wasn’t convinced it wouldn’t actually be a ten thirty start in reality.

Nope, it was ten o’clock, The Buccaneers were already getting down to business when I trotted in, with fellow creative James Gilhooly filming them. Did his presence perk up the performances? Was it the new set list? Was it the joy of having Luke Cunningham was back with his keyboards? Whatever it was, the band were soaring and took the crowd along with them.

Stramash was up for a good time last night, plenty were out with it being a Bank Holiday weekend, Mr Marah was on fire, yes, he’s always good but last night was one of those special nights, he was totally in his element, oh he shone (shined?) brightly. I look forward to what James Gilhooly will put together from the evening, when it’s out I will let you know, really you will have to see it, it’s gonna be awesome!

Among the new tunes were Heard It Through The Grapevine, The Weight (the song with the line “Take a load off fanny” see now you know the one), Feeling Alright? a classic originally by Traffic. Donavon song Season of the Witch was in there with great keyboard swirly bits and Mr Marah rocking it on his guitar. Oh, and California Dreamin’ had a tasty jam in it (to be seen on my Instagram).

One after 909 stayed in, nice. I got a great quick snippet Carl and Simon Gibb singing, not an easy thing to do filming a drummer – there’s very few angles where he’s visible! I loved Shake Your Hips as did the crowd, all indeed shaking their hips and everything else, and all with the beat; they had the floor bouncing to the rhythm!

For shame that I write a whole blog post about a band and not mention the bass player; there, steady, reliable but rarely mentioned. Ewan Gibson, also part of Nicole’s Back-up Crew, the Black Diamond Express and no doubt others, he’s a tad busy. I’ll also give a mention to John Mackie the best on sound and lighting in Stramash, LA Woman is awesome anyway but he adds the cherry on top!

Hopefully The Buccaneers will be back soon, and they haven’t played Binkies in a while, just sayin’. The Scat Rats are back on the midnight watch at Whistlebinkies tomorrow night and next Tuesday (according to their website). Must get an early night tonight.

Toodle pip for now!

See what I mean?!

A feast for all senses

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No more chocolate for a while, methinks. I hopped along to the Farmers Market just in time to grab the last white chocolate and raspberry easter egg from Co Co Co. huzzah! And it had some white chocolate passionfruit eggs with it, honestly probably the best easter egg I’ve ever had. I’ll wait til the memory fades before I eat more chocolate, I don’t want it tainted!

What a day it was – scrumptious eggs for breakfast, succulent roast lamb for lunch and ol’ time rock’n’roll for supper, feasting for all the senses. After a day of tastebuds overload, my ears were filled with such sweet sounds harking back to classic 70s rock, my eyes beheld showmanship delivered with easy swagger and charm. Oh yay, Ol’ Times packed out Whistlebinkies and whisked the room up into a rocking frenzy (all that plugging the gig on Waverley Bridge really paid off).

It’s good old style headbanging, hipswaying music; really, if your body remains motionless on hearing Ol’ Times, well, there’s no hope for you! I remember a conversation with my mother about headbanging, no, I have no idea how we got on to it, but it always appalled her, “You never did that, did you?” Er, how could I not? It was purely instinctive, still is (never did the air guitar thing, mind).

Ol’ Times are not just another Irish rock band, for one thing (or two) they’re not all Irish, there’s Argentine and Italian in the mix. Not that you’d know the singer, Gabriele is Italian (pic right), oh he’s something else for sure, a wiry larrikin sparking with charisma, a natural showman. The few times I’ve seen them, the drummer came across (to me anyway) as spokesman and leader of the band, personable, quietly authoritative, oh and there’s a bit of a Tom Hardy look to him.

The band are now over in Glasgow, playing Malones on Thursday 13th, then Penicuik (yeah, if you know it you’re probably as bemused as me), before heading South for ten gigs around England. It’s all there on their social media, you should check it out; there isn’t a gig near my hometown in Yorkshireland, shame that (and yet they’re playing Penicuik!?) Hopefully it won’t be too long before Ol’ Times return to Scotland but for the meantime I picked up their CD (one song Word After Word can be heard on Spotify). Sweet!

Other musical notes, I was back in Binkies last night for Dr Salad and The Scat Rats – a double dose of Mr Rough! The good Doctor was laying down some heavy, heated grooves for the fans in their very own heavy romance genre. The grooving was not for stopping, but as half the next band was already on the stage and the other half was happy enjoying the music, the Salad course somewhat overran. Plenty Salad-lovers stayed around for some rhythm and blues, so in the time left, the lads piled on banger after banger for the dance floor freaks. For a late Tuesday night it was very boisterous!

Toodle pip, mes amis!