The Scat Rats

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…

Roll on Thursday….

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Oo, it’s less than 48 hours until this year’s Fringe programme is out! This time on Thursday I’ll be perusing a copy, maybe in the Jolly Judge with a nice cider, yeah, good idea that. And as if the day couldn’t get any better, The Scat Rats are playing in Stramash at 7pm! That in itself is sweet enough, but the fun continues as Nicole & the Back-up Crew are onstage next. Mmm, a twixt sets mash-up?!

I’ve had a ganders at the online programme for this year’s Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival in case there’s anything I fancy. It’s on from Friday 14th to Sunday 23rd July with the Mardi Gras in the Grassmarket on the first Saturday afternoon. Most late evenings there’s a Jam Session in the Jazz Bar, I guess it would be potluck who’d be there any evening, do I feel lucky?

The Spiegeltent will be back up in George Square Gardens, with bands every evening and Blues Afternoons at the weekends (at three hours long, thank heavens there’s a bar!) It’s a tent that travels around, so it fits that Nicole Smit: The Travelling Tent Show is back – promising to be bigger and better! I’m tempted, but then again there’s Sister Cookie to consider, hmmm.

Naturally, Jed Potts & the Hillman Hunters will be out to play; they’re at St Bride’s Centre, a great venue hosting a lot of acts throughout the Jazz Festival. I’ve been to a number of events at St Bride’s over the years, I like it, it has a lovely ambience; it’s tucked away on a little street in Dalry, a short bus ride or taxi from the centre of town.

Completing the circle back to the Fringe programme; I have had a few sneek peeks at it online and noticed Aaaah Look Who It Is: Nicole Smit and Jed Potts! at the Jazz Bar. Just four dates and the first is 241 Tuesday! A chance for all those not fortunate enough to live in Edinburgh all year round, to see these two great talents together.

Toodles!

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!

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!

A red beret, a megaphone, Action!

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Am I right? Belly nicely full, strong coffee beside me, air scented with essential oil vapours, yes I’m right, time to write something. Oh, today’s oils are grapefruit for levity and clarity, frankincense to ease my still ailing body and fennel, just because it’s been in my oils box for ages and needs using up. Since I last wrote I’ve been lurgied, losing my voice for three days, it’s come back very grudgingly accompanied by a body-shaking cough, bah.

So, I was about to head back to Yorkshireland for Mothering Sunday and Logan’s Close were about to release the video to Babestation ….. didn’t manage to hit the road until the crack of noon, did manage a first look at the video before I left. Haha, watching the video reminded me of a bit from my review of the single release “… a seedy wedding band playing unnoticed …” inspired by a song by Fringe favourites Dead Cat Bounce; I grabbed the CD for my journey.

Dead Cat Bounce were a bunch of talented Irish lads who combined their musical and comedic skills to produce witty, bitingly funny, un-PC songs (this was back 2008 to 2012). The scenario DCB painted in Christians In Love was what sprung to my mind while listening to Babestation. From being a song about a young couple on their wedding night, a sudden twist reveals it’s actually being played in the couple’s room by the wedding band who don’t plan to leave until they’ve been paid (the young newlyweds are “possibly deaf or just incredibly focused”). I’d envisaged Logan’s Close in a back corner of the room, not quite, they’re on a different tv channel.

Once down in Yorkshireland it was all go, ’til I was laid low and silent on the Monday; at least I finally had some time to check out Babestation again. That was a week ago, I’ve watched it a few times since. Wow, there’s a lot packed into those five minutes and twelve seconds!! (short, intense, bizarre, like you’ve just been Tango’d) Love it, the eye is in the right place on this duck, LC‘s go-to film guy James Gilhooly is so in tune with their vibe, so many exquisite little niblets (yes, okay, I’ve watched it plenty times).

A few of those niblets to tantalise your tastebuds – the retro television, also seen in the Heart-shaped Jacuzzi video, is sooo cool. Greenscreen guy, ha, a nice touch! Hats, wigs, fake moustaches, perve it up with a nod to 60s looks. Lots of closeup shots, very closeup, eyes, fingers, mouths, and a nipple shot!! That’s a nipple belonging to Gareth Mutch a local comic and actor who plays the Babe brilliantly, going through a whole gamut of emotions within five minutes (I told you it’s intense). The punch-ups look great but Gavin Lamont takes first prize for violence – and he seems so quiet! And the potentials waiting to do Babestation auditions, haha!

The tempo of the action beautifully mirrors the changes in mood and tempo of the music. I like the mixing up of eras, the modern with retro 60s, mirroring the Close‘s sound; even the modern isn’t that modern, apart from maybe the caller’s nails? This “midnight observer” is gorgeous, feisty, sexy – from the glimpses we get to see of her (erm, I’ve no idea of what sorts phone up these channels, yes, I’m that naive, but I’m guessing she’s not what a female equivalent to the usual caller would look like). I had wondered about this particular video, but yay, they pulled it off – how else to film Babestation but by subverting the whole scenario? A highly entertaining fast-paced, fist-flying film, Edgar Wright-like glimmers in there.

Do give it a watch, as Kenny Everett would say, it’s all done in the best possible taste! The next single is already being lined up and it is another beaut, well, all the songs are, but it’s another that The Scat Rats occasionally sing which always adds a little extra sparkle for me. They’ll hopefully do it at Whistlebinkies on Saturday afternoon, some time after four.

Toodle pip!

Lights, music, camera – action

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Oops, it’s thirteen days since my last post, and this is gonna be a very short and sweet catch-up as it’s very late and I need to be up early in the morning. I say I need to be up early, I intend to be, really I do.

Well Everything Everywhere All At Once did brilliantly at the Oscars, just as I thought it deserved. Yes, the most bonkers film of the decade won big time, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Director, Best Picture, along with Oscars for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. So so happy the ladies were recognised for being bloody awesome in it.

And in other awards news, The Jolly Judge has just been named as Branch Pub of the Year 2023 by CAMRA Edinburgh & South East Scotland. An excellent choice! One of my favourite Edinburgh pubs to be found in James Court off the Lawnmarket (near the top of the Royal Mile); a cosy wee place, friendly bar staff and always a good selection of real ciders and real ales (also dog-friendly).

Since I returned from a wee trip away I’ve caught The Scat Rats twice and The Buccaneers, yay. No keyboards again, I noticed; I also noticed the sound and lighting guy was having a lot of fun with The Buccaneers set – check out the reel I’ve put on Instagram of Simon Gibb’s drum solo on Black Magic Woman! Hmm, on Tuesday evening in Whistlebinkies the Rats got blasted with the smoke machine, engineers getting sassy!

Ah, it’s just after midnight so it’s now two weeks since the lads released their latest single Babestation from their upcoming album Heart-shaped Jacuzzi (I’ve just now noticed that it’s one word not two, I have some editing to do). It’s had nearly 2,500 streams on Spotify so far, I highly recommend you check it out! Besides being part of the Logan’s Close library of sound, Babestation has been added to Scotify a playlist of the best new alternative music from Scotland.

And sometime in the next 24 hours the video is being released, yes, a video for Babestation!! LC have put out a tiny wee bit to tantalise us. I won’t say anything about what I’ve seen so far, apart from, it’s not a video you’ll forget you’ve seen, apparently the band came up with the concept for it whilst in Hamburg (it figures).

Anyhoo, I must away to my bed. Toodle pip!

G’bye Ken, hi babe

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What a day! A new single from Logan’s Close and a sad farewell to Ken Bruce on Radio 2. Old Ken is going over to Greatest Hits Radio and he’s taking Pop Master with him, so good luck Radio 2 finding something to replace that ten thirty fix! I suspect a great many will be retuning their radios. Reading about the move, Ken will be playing music from the 70s, 80s and 90s on his new show which is fine but I think I would get a tad bored. I do like hearing newer stuff in the mix; different tastes and flavours enhancing the platter of sounds.

A neat segue to the juicy spiciness that is Logan’s Close! I can think of a number of LC tunes easily playable on a classic tunes radio show that would have folk wondering how they’d missed hearing it at the time! So many throwback sounds teasing misgotten memories. That evil joker of a friend could easily get you to remember that night, you know, that night, the brunette wearing The Who t-shirt, this was playing – god, yes, yes it was!

Just after midnight another succulent dish was added to the Spotify menu from those master chefs of musical morsels. I feel weird calling it new – I first heard it almost two years ago on the LimbicTV performance and for the last year it’s been a staple of The Scat Rats sets. The song? Babestation, a word that makes certain ears prick up, there’s always a few looks of acknowledgement every time and yes, the song is about what has sprung to those minds. Call me naive, I’d never heard of it, but Mr Marah’s words paint a very vivid picture for the uninitiated.

Babestation is inspired by a late night live adult tv channel, yup, porn. The song oozes with heavy sensuality and sleaze. Carl Marah always sounds beautifully plaintive singing this, but with added the studio production, oh my heartses, the hollow bleakness shattered me to pieces! I loved this song from the off, so was a teensy bit anxious how the studio version would sound, ha, no worries, the Close picked the right midwife to help deliver their baby – Dennis Rux at Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Studios (midwife or obstetrician? Hmmm).

Frisky rhythms from the bass and drums drive the song along, like keeping the babe upbeat to get through it all. Plenty sparseness of guitars and keyboards, a musical nonchalance to the scene (Oo, just saw the lads as a seedy wedding band playing unnoticed in the corner of her room). The verses each build from an almost introspective view from the babe, to looking out at her audience, to the hard coldness of it all, then Showtime, folks! I like the drop downs to quieter moments and the usual slight creepiness to the keyboards at times. The Scat Rats swirl Babestation down so well, but with the rest of LC added in, the result is intoxicating, love the hollow echoiness of Scott’s cries and the drum beat still jauntily going on.

Do check it out on Spotify and I’ve put a reel of The Scat Rats in Whistlebinkies on Instagram, enjoy. Now I must go eat, the Rats are due on at Stramash shortly. Toodle pip!

Messrs Marah and Rough blending

Rhythms, blues ‘n’ balls

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The end of another Six Nations Rugby weekend, the end of Scotland’s winning streak. If only they’d bucked up sooner in the second half, for a short time there it looked like they could possibly catch up, but no. Ah well, at least England beat Wales, not a consolation to my Scottish friends but I’m happy with that. Ireland beating Italy was pretty much presumed, at least Italy had a valiant try. They face Wales in the next round, mind, the Welsh won’t want to lose yet again!

No Six Nations next weekend but plenty of good music, on Friday 3rd there’s The Scat Rats in the seven o’clock (or half past six, or going on for eight o’clock) slot and The Moanin Bones in the after midnight slot at Stramash. Also, if my memory is correct I’m sure Logan’s Close mentioned on Instagram that the new single is available to play on the 3rd, alas it was on their storyline so gone now, I could have dreamt it!

Saturday 4th sees Nicole and the Back-up Crew in the ten o’clock slot at Stramash, yay. I had the pleasure of catching Nicole and Jed Potts playing an awesome second set at Whistlebinkies Tuesday gone. I was quite annoyed with myself for turning up so late – what delights did I miss? They really were on excellent form, riding on a country vibe for much of the set, yes, I should have just left the washing-up!

Actually, thinking about it, the line-up for last Tuesday at Whistlebinkies was very confused, the Edinburgh Gig Guide, Binkies own website and Facebook posts were all saying different things, Jed Potts was also publicising a time which was right by one account but wrong with another! Ah ha, yes, it hard to tell what was happening up until quite late on. So far in March Whistlebinkies have The Scat Rats playing twice, I may check that with Mr Marah closer to the dates.

The second weekend in March (the next round of the Six Nations Rugby) has a Carl Marah double on the Sunday night in Stramash with The Scat Rats at seven and The Buccaneers after midnight. Also, the later bands listed for Whistlebinkies look interesting – a possibility for some of the time between nine and half past midnight.

I’ll not see the Saturday matches but I may catch the second half of Scotland v Ireland on the Sunday afternoon if I’m back in time. I’m off on a wee jaunt! No, not to the mother ship, I’ll be heading there the following weekend for Mothering Sunday, but it is down to Yorkshireland (and lots of real cider, oh yay!)

Oh, that rant I mentioned last post has subsided to a grumble, I’ll tell you about it next time. For now I’ll leave you with a couple of pics taken in Dr Neil’s Garden this week. Toodle pip!

Cherry pink……
…. and apple blossom white

Some salad with my blues, please!

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Last week was Independent Venue Week here in the UK, I don’t know much about it except that it champions small independently-owned venues and helps organise events across the country to increase awareness of how important these small venues are to live music. Living where I do, I’m spoilt with the number of music venues around me, you may have noticed from my scribblings!

As part of Independent Venue Week Whistlebinkies focused on bands playing their own original music; in a whole week something was bound to take my fancy! Thursday night saw me going along to witness the spicy, saucy, sultry, stringy, succulent uniqueness of Dr Salad; genre? they call it bad romance (which actually makes some kind of sense when you see them). Dr Salad are a lot of fun, with deep, heavy, infectious rhythms, guitars wandering their own mysterious ways and the words, they’re the saucy, sultry bit! Oh, and there’s some Velvet Rough in the mix helping the medicine go down.

Scotty boy was back out again on Friday evening with his fellow Scat Rat in Stramash, but huh? they were billed as Logan’s Close, well, yes, they are LC as well, but as a duo they’re usually the Scat Rats certainly on early Friday evenings. Last Friday evening was a ticketed event at Stramash, I had my ticket booked for The Black Diamond Express, a local band who play blues with celtic strains and an Americana twang. It was an unexpected bonus to later read that the lads would be on as support, just a short sweet set of delights.

Definitely in Logan’s Close mode – both were looking very smart (Carl always likes to look smart, but, well, Scotty goes for a much more relaxed look as a Rat), and Carl had his electric guitar for that LC sound. All their own songs apart from the usual finale You Can’t Judge a Book… ; including the latest two singles Dans Le Jardin and Heart-shaped Jacuzzi, sweet. The lads went down well with the crowd, as only to be expected, and had Stramash nicely warmed up for the main attraction.

The Black Diamond Express, are a band of many, the stage looked packed out after the sparseness of LC. With that many musicians about, there had to be one I’d seen elsewhere – yes, the bassist, Ewan Gibson. He’s a Buccaneer, one of Nicole’s Back-up Crew, a Blueswaterman, and that’s just the ones I’m aware of, probably a few more, I’m sure.

When The Black Diamond Express came on the place was buzzing and there was soon some jigging about going on in the crowd. For me the fiddle-playing really enhanced the mood of the music and sounded great against the singer (great voice there). Oh, it was all great, I just like a touch of fiddle to add a little pathos and melancholy.

Back in Whistlebinkies on Saturday evening Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters were playing some of their originals, always a pleasure! Binkies was buzzing, well, Scotland had just beaten England in this year’s Six Nations Rugby Championship, I’m guessing quite a few folk were a few pints in already!

No, I didn’t go to the Handsome House Jam on Sunday evening, I stayed in with the telly. Mind, the video is out and the setlist looks very interesting, I shall have a watch at some point. It was a good night for telly, last episodes of His Dark Materials (god, I’d forgotten how sad the end is) and the utterly brilliant Happy Valley which, happily, finished perfectly! All the coffee shops and cafés in Hebden Bridge will be looking forward to another influx of tourists on the back of it.

The sun’s beckoning me, must head out. There’ll be clips of the bands up on my Instagram later, please do check them out. Cheerio!

The Black Diamond Express

Passionfruit buns and other highlights

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There’s a mutton tagine and pork cheeks slow cooking in my oven. No, not in the same dish, that would be too weird. I prepared the pork cheeks first and put them in for an hour on a low heat (long and low for melt-in-the-mouth tenderness). In that hour I started my mutton tagine on the hob, and had time to make some bun mixture for my latest experiment in baking….

Buns with passionfruit pulp inside! A good dollop of bun mixture slightly hollowed out, some passionfruit innards dropped in, another dollop of bun mix on top. Popped in the oven along with the tagine (cheeks taken out, temperature raised), once the buns were nicely baked they came out, temperature lowered and the cheeks went back in. I tried one immediately, well, I had to be sure they were cooked right through, it was and bloody yummy too – a success!

Oo, that’s reminded me, literally just this second, the pear sponges I made last summer, they were so good! But where did I find the passionfruit and mango coulis to drizzle on top? The combination was quite a highlight of my culinary year, and speaking of highlights – any more from 2022? Well, The Scat Rats as mentioned in my last blog post; rewatching all my vid clips as I attempted to prune my collection recently, my god, the lads are sooo brilliant now, a recorded live set would be awesome!

Just the amount of time spent seeing great local bands last year was amazing, late nights in Stramash and Whistlebinkies, sunny afternoons watching The Kennedy’s Project playing on Waverley Bridge; the Miracle Glass Company in the Old Royal High. Of course, a particular highlight of 2022 for me was seeing local favourites Logan’s Close a few hundred miles away in Nottingham! The whole day was such fun trawling round some great little boozers with an old friend before heading to the Running Horse and seeing the new line-up for the first time (yeah, and the rest of it!)

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was back almost to old normalcy, shame how they screwed up with the Half Price Hut and no app, but apart from those hiccups it was rather good. I did write about my highlights shortly afterwards, but now with some months gone by, what are the bits that still really stand out in my head?

Crybabies: Bagbeard immediately springs to mind (err, possibly assisted by the fact I follow them on Instagram), clever, fun, stylish and utterly charming; Mr Sullivan Brown in red shirt and shorts in Grubby Little Mitts a darkly bonkers sketch show with partner-in-comedy Rosie Nicholls (and lots of eyeballs); The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much, sharp, stylish physical theatre and a wide-brimmed red hat; Blueswater playing The Wizard by Black Sabbath, truly astounding!! A rat-arsed Rat performing in Binkies after two in the morning; and lastly, but by no means least, a guy with show that is so much what the Fringe is all about, Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers.

Back with Elsie, there was the triumphant gig at the Voodoo Rooms on their return from southern parts in March. Like, wow, brilliant, but, for me, then topped by two awesome gigs in Sneaky Pete’s in December, the perfect way for Logan’s Close to end such a great year! But, still not my top highlight….

That plaudit goes to the CD of 2021’s top highlight, Logan’s Close on LimbicTV (Live from Aluhpasonics), an hour of raw, exuberant energy in the time of Covid. I’ve been listening to it for just over a year now, still love it to bits. And you too can grab a copy of Logan’s Close Live at LimbicTV by going to their website, just £10 GBP (+postage). No doubt their album Heart-shaped Jacuzzi will be a highlight this year.

It’s late, yes, I remembered to turn the oven off. I may edit in a couple of pics later, I need my bed just now but if you check out my Instagram I’ll put up a lovely, sweet moment from Stramash in August, the two dancing are the other two original members of the Close 🧡