It’s the Sunday evening before Christmas, thought I’d tap out a quick update before I head off to see Fackham Hall, and joys, the Louis Crosland Trio are playing Whistlebinkies at midnight (one can never too sure too soon). My Christmas week starts tonight!
A bit of a departure on my advent calendar today, I reposted a montage of ice creams from Thistle & Churn, well, the track with it was Ice Cream Man by Tom Waits, a classic in my book, and so are their ice creams. Oh, and I have three precious tubs from T&C in my freezer! Two of Caledonia Cream and one of Clootie Dumpling, they should see me into the new year, yeah, should.
It was my first time back in the reopened Filmhouse to see Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Mind, I’m still a little confused about the scene that was meant to explain what happened in the wood, nah, kept running it through my head. Help, someone. Even better for me was The Running Man, and I went in not sure about it, but yay, Edgar Wright wove his magic again. Had a wee inward cheer to myself, when I spotted Rich Hall in a brief scene, nice one.
On a much smaller screen, Carl Marah has a video on his YouTube channel to go with his latest song Cold Cold Christmas, do give it a watch. Mind, if you want to just listen to it, I wouldn’t bother asking your smart speaker! Certainly Alexa refuses to understand the name Carl Marah, stupid, stupid !!#*?!! I was round at a friend’s, it just confirmed to me why I’ll never bother getting one.
Tonight will be the second time this week seeing Louis Crosland as I caught the band in Stramash on Thursday evening, but it wasn’t a trio, oh no, added keyboards. I did wonder beforehand, but any doubts were quickly dispelled, a part of the puzzle that we hadn’t even realised was missing. A perfect fit for Louis’ sound, especially his own songs; usually it’s all covers but on Thursday we were treated to four new originals. Sadly, it was only for the one evening so far, but hopefully, he’ll be back, that’s Guilhem Forey.
Blimey Charlie, time I shifted! More very soon. Toodle pip!
It’s late on a Tuesday evening, not one of those Tuesdays, last Tuesday was meant to be, but it didn’t happen as Mr Rough was unwell, the next of those Tuesdays isn’t ’til the 30th, boo; but the Scat Rats are playing Stramash at the more reasonable time of 9.30pm on Tuesday 23rd, yay. The night before, Marah and Rough will be in Glasgow with the rest of Logan’s Close at the Hug and Pint for the band’s annual Christmas bash; I’ll be there too, of course. Just one downer (apart it being in Glasgow), sadly it’s the same night as Blue Christmas 2025, a wonderful evening of blues, r’n’b and rock’n’roll festive tunes performed by Jed Potts (curator of the event) and a bunch of his friends (honestly, the amount of talent in that one room, wow, only for LC will I miss it). It’s like a warm fuzzy hug of Christmas cheer (and it’s happening at La Belle Angele off the Cowgate, Monday 22nd).
Aw sweet, the night before again (so that’s Sunday 21st), the Louis Crosland Trio are on the midnight slot at Whistlebinkies, well, that’s what the poster says. Oh, but that would be a great three night run of great music, please Binkies, don’t screw it up! At least I know they’re definitely playing Stramash on the 18th, but not as a trio, no, there’s gonna be keyboards too! I’m looking forward to it, I’m intrigued. Up until then things are a tad quieter, no bad thing, I’m recovering from a bad cold and there’s a number of films I want to see. Oh, I may wander into Binkies on Saturday afternoon for Louis Crosland solo; I wonder if there’ll be any Bob Dylan covers. Instagram says the Moanin’ Bones are playing there this Sunday midnight, go on, I’ll believe them.
There’s four films that I want to catch before they disappear from the big screen, The Running Man is a definite, being Edgar Wright’s latest, well, I’ve loved everything else he’s done.It could be good, it could be awful, but I’m willing to give Fackham Hall a shot. The cast looks fun, but will it be funny or a tad cringey? Would I go see it if I didn’t have an Unlimited card? Probably not. Another that I’ll see just because I can is Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, I enjoyed the previous films, how will this one measure up? Annoyingly, Benoit Blanc’s latest investigation, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is not on at Cineworld (I’m so not impressed), but it’s still a definite for me. There’s a second Five Nights at Freddy’s coming out on Friday, the first was okay, I thought about it but then I looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes, hmmm, don’t think I’ll bother. Fitting the four in will be interesting enough.
In other pre-christmas news, I’ve finally made jam from this year’s harvest of park brambles, my fridge freezer needed defrosting so it made sense. There’s also new batch of bramble wine just started fermenting! That made sense too. I’m a tad nervous about the jam but my previous attempts have always been well received, so hopefully this lot will be just as delicious. It’s the frozen plate test bit that never works for me, but afterwards the jam sets perfectly well anyway!?
I’m doing another Advent Calendar of music from the last year on Instagram, it’s fun going back over stuff, picking out what to include has been fine so far but I know it’s gonna get harder, too many to choose from, too few days! Haha, I just can’t help going in deep with my silly notions. They’re all still available to view in my highlights, including a clip of Carl Marah singing his new Christmas tune at the Auld Hundred last week! I’m looking forward to hearing it in all it’s full glory!
Anyhoo, it’s very late, I must away to my bed. I’ll leave you with a pic….
Last time I wrote I was on a bus down to Newcastle, well, ultimately Gateshead to see Carl Marah doing his solo thing at Station East, the lad did not disappoint, and neither did the pub! Station East is only just on the other side of the Tyne, and definitely worth a wander over. It’s a smashing pub, the bar staff were great, plenty of beers and ciders, and a fridge full of pies!! Okay, it being a Sunday the fridge wasn’t full but there was still plenty of choice. A couple of hours in, I refuelled myself with an Aberdeen Angus Steak Mince & Onion pie, oh my lord! It was sooo good. I had fancied a Mexicana but was warned that it was quite spicy, yeah, no.
Local musician AJ.Potter (he played support when Carl was last down in Newcastle) was in and delighted the crowd with a few of his tunes before Carl stepped up to the mic. Sunday afternoons don’t come better than this! Seven songs, including a new one Fountain of Youth, then two favourite covers (one by Squeeze, natch), a short break, then plenty more, with a couple of brand new songs in the mix. All the while I was enjoying the great range of ales on offer, and a couple of halves of cider, it was an interesting trek to the train station afterwards! Oh yeah, I bought one of the Mexicana pies to take home, had it with a yoghurt dip to cool it down, definitely the right thing to do! Do try a Pitman Pie if you’re ever down that way, bloody tasty.
I did said at the end of that last post that the following week wasn’t looking up to much, how quickly things change! Louis Crosland posted about three gigs on Instagram, yay, then Carl Marah was playing the Three Marys in Leith (I’ve never been in there, so it seemed like a good reason to go), and Power Denim playing Binkies on the Friday evening turned out to be another of Mr Potts’ sidelines (just the band name had my moosedar tingling with suspicion). There was also a few films that I fancied catching on the big screen …. I took myself off to see the Bruce Springsteen biopic on Wednesday evening, hmmm. It was okay-ish, very long, the actor playing Springsteen was very good, but it was for the more ardent fans, methinks. Roofman and Good Fortune were both way more my thing, hey, two out of three, you know. It’s great having an Unlimited card! The new Emma Stone film will be next.
Halloween had the town packed with all manner of weird creatures, but none so strange as seeing Jed Potts on stage sans guitar! I surely wasn’t the only one mumbling, what? huh? wow, really? Yes, Power Denim had Jed centre stage with just a microphone (I wonder if he kinda felt naked without his guitar?), oh, and a guitarist, bassist and drummer, playing classic rock; they’ll be back in Whistlebinkies at the end of the month, or so the gig guide says. I left after the first set to catch a number 14 down to Leith to see Carl at the Three Marys, what a lovely bar! It wasn’t very busy so, yay, more Marah’s Originals in the mix, sweet. The weekend saw Louis Crosland out twice with his trio and once with the Moanin’ Bones (two of those in one evening), naturally I was out to catch the vibes.
And now I’m about to pop out again, it’s nearly midnight, on a Tuesday – if you don’t know where I’m going you haven’t read enough of my musings! Time for another Scat Rats top-up fix, it’ll take me through nicely to tomorrow evening when Mr Marah takes to the stage in the Voodoo Rooms with a band too! It’s gonna be bloody, bloody brilliant, oh, my heartses.
After a day of sorting and cleaning Chez Bruce, I took a stroll up to Whistlebinkies sometime after ten to catch the second set of the LouisCrosland Trio, mighty fine as usual, and the floor show was a joy! Those folk who just get up and do their thang, and with such style and ease, last night there were a few in. One young couple were so in tune with each other and so fluid, at times I felt I applauding them as much as the band!
There was a new beer on tap to try, Golden Hour from Natural Selection Brewing, a rooibus infused blonde ale, and also a very quaffable ale. What more could a moose want? Great beer and great sounds. Those bass lines were sounding so good, I realised I was zoning into them quite a bit, such a sweet balance of sound, but then it was Nico at the desk, I’d expect nothing less. Oh, and it was my preferred drummer, I like his style, for me it seems much more in keeping with what the band requires; for me the other drummer is too bombastic for the LCT (oh, I can appreciate he’s a great drummer, I’ve seen him plenty times, just, well, my opinion).
The band following on at midnight was The Moanin’ Bones, so a double shift for Louis, but as midnight came and went there was no sign of main man Mr Buckley. I wondered that the rest of the band might play as a trio, time ticked on …. then in came Harry Higgs with two guitars! Oh yeah! Like, hell yeah! This was going to be something else, and I was there to see it (usually I hear about these sort of things later).
We were treated to a mix of blues and rock covers from Louis’ and Harry’s sets, so there was the likes of Sharp-dressed Man, Crossroad, Miss You, some Hendrix, of course (there’s a reel and stories on Instagram). The drummer and bassist were well up for it, they know their stuff, a good solid rhythm section for Harry and Louis to play above, swap roles, riff off each other; a little bit of musical alchemy 💛
Both guitarists are back in Whistlebinkies later this week with their own bands, the Louis Crosland Trio at midnight on Friday, and the Harry Higgs Trio at midnight on Saturday. I’m not planning on seeing any morning Fringe shows this weekend!
Did you watch Boardwalk Empire when it was on the telly? I didn’t, hey, I’m just fifteen years late. One of the many charity shops on South Clerk Street had the first two seasons on dvd for £2 each, hell yes! Steve Buscemi was the man! The first thing I saw him in was the film Miller’s Crossing, another mobster tale, back in 1990 (well worth seeking out if it’s still available). From then on he was forever popping up in my film choices through the ’90s, we’d give a little cheer whenever he appeared, haha.
The whole cast of Boardwalk Empire are excellent (Stephen Graham pops up as Al Capone!). Oo, the whole thing, the attention to detail, mind it is a Martin Scorcese project, so yeah. Honestly, if you even vaguely enjoy gangster stories then check it out; I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of the series. I’ve also been watching the second season of My Name isEarl, I noticed the boxset at a friend’s in a pile bound for a charity shop, it will get there, just a bit later.
Earl Hickey, such a wonderful anti-hero, he’s fallible and flawed, not the brightest spark, he can be downright selfish and mean, but he tries so hard to do good and there is a kind, generous heart in there, and he loves his brother. Earl’s trying to level up his karma by doing right by everyone he’s wronged in his past; I loved this show at the time and yeah, I still love it now (especially his ex-wife Joy, pure trailer trash). And on anti-heroes, I picked up Wreck-it Ralph in a charity shop today, such a great movie, must get me some popcorn!
Meanwhile on the big screen, I went to see Death of a Unicorn last Thursday, just the title had me. A comedy horror with unicorns, Paul Rudd and the guy who played Victor Zsasz in Gotham in the cast? Yes, please (Victor Zsasz was awesome). Hmmm, I did kinda enjoy it, the unicorns were great, but the dialogue and acting felt a tad hammy and lame in parts, such a shame considering all the acting talent involved. The idea was great but the execution was lacking, this should have been so much better; maybe a European re-make could take it there?!
Thursday night this week I saw Novocaine, I’m not really sure what enticed me to go, the film poster looked really naff to me, but hey, I have my Unlimited pass. Wow! To paraphrase Bo Diddley, you can’t judge a film by looking at the poster. Novocaine is funny, well-crafted and extremely violent, I won’t lie, I was flinching and squirming a fair bit, and occasionally just shut my eyes. Hey, the main guy doesn’t feel pain, a clear indication that the violence will be ramped up!
As I just mentioned, our guy Nathan Caine is a mild-mannered assistant manager with a disorder which prevents him from feeling pain and discomfort (including having a full bladder, he has an alarm go off on his phone to remind him to go to the bathroom every three hours). He lives life very carefully and quietly, by day in the credit union office, then straight home to game; he’s also well-versed in medical first aid in case of injury. Enter a new girl at work who persuades him out to lunch and to even try a bit of her cherry pie (Nathan hasn’t eaten solid food in years for fear he might bite his tongue without realising). Our boy feels so alive! They go on a date, have sex, he’s on top of the world! The very next day the credit union gets robbed and she gets kidnapped by the gang….
…. So, a man who doesn’t feel pain, who has just had the best 24 hours in his life, has his new love snatched away by ruthless killers (they kill a lot of cops while making their escape). You just know how this is going to go!! Oh, and one of the gang has left his place booby-trapped to the max (not really sure why, but it sets up a very painful, gory scene). This is a wonderfully madcap violent film, I fully intend to see it again, without shutting my eyes!
The past two Thursdays have also seen me at Whistlebinkies for the midnight band, the same both weeks, the Louis Crosland Trio, he’s rather good, you know. Louis is another fine blues guitarist on the Edinburgh music scene. Besides his own band, Louis has also been playing with the Moanin’ Bones recently; a few of his own compositions can be found on Spotify. The crowd in Binkies last night were loving all the Jimi Hendrix covers, I also recall some Dylan, Stones, and Zeppelin (or maybe that was last week?) As yet I find his vocals a bit lacking at times, but hey, the voice will come with experience and a few more years knocking about; definitely worth seeing if you like your blues with a tinge of rock.
It’s now very late and I notice I’ve prattled on quite enough. I shall leave the other musical notes for next time, hopefully tomorrow?! ‘Til then, a pic of Louis Crosland doing his thang in Binkies. G’night!
Bruce on the Fringe 