La Belle Angele

Not my fault, the music beckoned

bruceonthefringe 2026, Bands, Carl Marah, Live music, Live music venues, Logan's Close Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s after midnight, so it’s just less than three weeks to the start of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, oops, I may need to get my skates on, if I could just remember where I put them! I’ve been distracted by glorious sunny days and evenings fulled with the sweetest sounds (well, nine out of the last fourteen evenings). Yes, I most certainly had to see the Scat Rats three times, and I had to see Louis Crosland playing solo, with his band and with the Moanin’ Bones. Jed Potts was on the early Saturday afternoon slot with that queen of soulful sass Nicole Smit, then he turned up the following Sunday evening, not quite as the poster advertised, playing blues with Jonny Christie on drums and the long not seen Ewan Gibson on bass! A welcome surprise (well, he needs the practice with the Blueswater Fringe gigs coming up, haha).

Another string gone
and another one gone

It’s a regular occurrence for Scott to snap strings but it’s much rarer to see an electric guitar string go!

I also saw Mr Marah twice more – with band at McChuills in Glasgow and solo as first support in Sneaky Pete’s on Friday (picking up my copy of his new EP Me, Myself and I). Unfortunately, due to tardiness and an accident on the motorway slowing traffic, I missed some of the Niche Family set. I did want to see it all as the singer/guitarist is Stuart Neil, that’s Big Stu, bassist and harmonies in Logan’s Close. Did I mention I’d caught them a few weeks earlier in Binkies and thoroughly enjoyed them? Their support slot for Carl was going to be the band’s last gig together, the Glasgow crowd gave them a good send-off, the poignancy of the moment was palpable. Second support were the Black Denims, more country sounds (there does seem to be more honkytonk, americano sounds over West!)

It was a very warm evening, thank god for the AC in the venue room, a shame there wasn’t any in the bar itself, the wall of heat hit hard and the temperature outside wasn’t much cooler. I just grabbed another drink and headed back in to stand in the sweet spot to get maximum benefit from the AC until it was time for the main act. I did move right up near the front but soon moved back as it was way too loud for me, I did try the earplugs available at the bar but they were rubbish and really dunted Carl’s vocals and guitar, a lesson to remember to have my good earplugs with me, just in case. After a couple of songs I went closer again, this time making use of all the lanky beanpoles as shields between me and the speakers, while at the same time being in a reasonable position to see through the gaps.

《It’s very late now, I’m away to my bed, will finish this in the morning》

I’m back, thinking how much more was I going to say, except for it was another brilliant gig. Cat’s Eyes just gets better and better with each live performance and Roll the Dice was an absolute treat for the soul, Me, Myself and I exquisite! The sparse chill of World Keeps Turning especially the keyboards and Carl’s guitar sound had me thinking of Tom Waits; watching the bit that I filmed, yup, I still hear it (in fact, yeah, it’s going up on Instagram, why not). On drums for the evening it was Carl’s other drummer, Ryan Bradley (previously seen on Mam Talent with Carl), a snug fit. The EP is a thing of beauty but live is when Carl’s music really shines. If anyone knows how do a decent bootleg recording …!

On recordings, Logan’s Close are currently down in London town for a couple of weeks recording their second album, yay, whoop!! (see now why I was getting my fill before the dynamic duo disappeared south!) Then at the start of August, in fact on Fringemas Eve (Tuesday 4th August) Logan’s Close are playing support in La Belle Angele for Zambian band W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc), I’ve checked them out on Spotify, African rhythms meet psychedelic rock, and boy, sounds like a great way to kick off my Fringe!

That’s all for now. Next time I’ll be musing on the Theatre offerings in the Fringe programme. Toodle pip!

Me, Myself and I and Moose

Twas the night before Christmas …

bruceonthefringe 2022, Christmas, Christmas movies, Cinema, Music for travelling, Music in Edinburgh, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Yes, Christmas is just around the corner now, the last two weeks zipped by so quickly. I did get some festive baking done, cinnamon cookies and Christmas crinkle cookies to make up for no cake. They are rather good if I do say so myself, others have said so too! Guzzled a few while out seeing Matilda the Musical, which was rather fine, worth going to see. I did think some of the singing vocals were a tad muffly against the music, were they trying for how stage musicals often sound?!

A new Christmas movie that’s lots of fun is Violent Night, oh boy, is it violent! David Harbour makes a great Santa Claus, world-weary, droll and a dab hand with a big hammer (think Thor but less of the god thing). Violent Night has a vibe of an 80s movie for me (oh, and it was directed by the guy who did Dead Snow, a great film), and it has fun referencing Die Hard and Home Alone and probably others that I missed. Yeah, I could easily watch it again; an addition to the roster of films that must be watched at Christmas.

Usually I go to the cinema the night before I head back to the old country for Christmas, this year I went to La Belle Angele for Blue Christmas, an evening of festive blues, R’n’B and rock’n’roll organised by Jed Potts. That mild-mannered janitor does have a lot of friends he can count on for such an event (all the proceeds go to charity, this year to the Simon Community). Of course, the delectable Nicole Smit was there, in a devine sparkly blue dress (there is a clip of the lady singing Santa Baby on my Instagram along with other snippets from the evening).

I really should dig out my old Elvis’ Christmas Album, I was reminded of it when Charlie Wild did Blue Christmas, erm, not quite as sultry as Elvis’ version. Hearing Rockin’ Robin had me puzzled but I suppose robins are quite a feature at Christmas time. It was a cracking evening, another worthy addition to my things-to-do-at-christmas list. Any blues fans planning a pre-Xmas trip to Edinburgh in future years should definitely check if it coincides with Blue Christmas, just saying.

Up until I set off on the long trek southwards, my December travels soundtrack was Mr Hankey’s Christmas Classics, but by the 21st I was South Park-ed out; as mighty fine as it is I needed a change. If you’ve never come across it, I should warn that it is very South Park – not for the easily offended or delicately dispositioned. I’d never heard O Holy Night before, and now I can never hear it without thinking, that’s not a patch on Cartman’s rendition; and his Swiss Colony Beef Log song is awesome. The production values on the album are amazing, and the big musical-type numbers are all wonderfully earwormy.

So after all that offensiveness, I headed homeward to the strains of Michael Bublé and the MonaLisa Twins, gotta say the twins’ version of Santa Baby knocks the socks off Bublé’s! There is something I don’t like about the man, but wow, his Christmas album is awesome, as is the MonaLisa Twins. Those and a flask of strong hot coffee kept me going! It was dark before I got over the moors, which is great at Christmas, seeing distant twinkling lights festooning remote farmhouses (and odd when you thought that bit was sky) with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas pouring out of the stereo.

I reckon I’ve been good this year, wonder if Santa concurs? Have a merry time wherever you are, and may your gods go with you.

I’ll leave you with a few recent pics….

Some charity shops are not like others!
Edinburgh Castle from Bruntsfield Links
Cockburn Street

Oh, those Russians!

bruceonthefringe Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Flyerers, Fringe Venues, Shakespeare, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

If you’ve recently checked oot my Facebook doings (I’m Bruce T Moose, being proper, like) you’ll know the world just shrank a teensy bit more, when I was accosted by a gent flyering his show which also stars our mutual friend Will Seaward! Only very a unusual, warped intellect could have devised this show, I suspect over a jar or two in some drinking establishment! Why do a straightforward play? Why not bring in the contrariness of chance to keep the actors on their toes? Improv with a difference – a roulette wheel!

Russian Roulette is just that, a Russian play of chance; the first choice is between writers Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov, twas Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina the evening I went. Some victim from the audience becomes the croupier and whenever the bell sounds (apparently set up earlier using randomly picked times) he/she spins the wheel and calls out the number. We, the audience, had numbered lists to check and yell out (well those with the eyesight to read small print in semi-darkness,  I’d forgotten my reading glasses), cryptic instructions like “Borscht Surprise”, “Russian Dolls” or “I’m Stuffed”. Will and his co-host would explain what each meant and the actors had to incorporate it into the play. Hence, poor Princess Kitty spent a long while unable to move as she became stuffed! “Beard Ban” was tricky for two of the cast, did I mention there were penalties for failure!? This was obviously set up by some devious, dastardly mind who wouldn’t be actually caught up in this play of chance themselves! Will?!

Whilst thoroughly enjoying the fun I noticed some of the cast looked somehow familiar, I also noticed that every seat had a flyer for A Midsummer Night’s Droll, yeah, I completely failed to spot the connection – I’d seen their show Droll last year! (another smidgeon off the earth’s girth) At the end of a very entertaining hour, everyone did the usual plugging of their other shows, only then did I twig! And, being a moose of limited means, I went off to purchase a ticket for their last £10 show, at 10.05 in the morning!

If you like some fun with your Shakespeare and some top-notch comic acting to go with it, then I can’t recommend these guys highly enough. Yes, I know it breaks one of my rules, never recommend just say you liked it, but I fail to see how anyone who matches the aforementioned criteria could not love this show!!! Oh, and I noticed Princess Kitty in the audience looking charmingly unstuffed!

So that’s Russian Roulette at Just the Tonic: La Belle Angele and A Midsummer Night’s Droll at theSpace on the Mile. If you want to see a little culture this Fringe !  😊 🎭