2003

THE DELGADOS
4th February
QMU, Glasgow
support: Aereogramme

It's all Derek's fault. There's a fine line between a great night and a fantastic one:it can usually be
triggered off by something really small, and it snowballs from there, making the night one of those
all-time classics. Last year when I saw St Etienne, I managed to score 10p pints from the mathematically
challenged girl at the Cottier in glasgow, and it set me up for having a fantastic night, everything just
got better and better from there. This time round, Derek had the chance of a 10p round, but he fessed
up like a rotten do-gooder, handed back the fiver, and all the good things that happened failed to snowball
properly into a great night. If he hadn't given back the money then the doors wouldn't have been so
early, the bus wouldn't have been late, and I would have got a spot down the front to get some decent
pix. Aereogramme wouldn't have done that cover of one of PJ Harvey's old bovver-boot classics that would
have had Denise spinning in her, well, river. That fat sweaty guy wouldn't have been standing next to
 me. The Delgados would've played more songs from The Great Eastern, including Witness. That girl's watch
 would've been a blossom one instead of a buttercup one. The crowd wouldn't have been such a drunken
football-type ned audience. I would've got a setlist. They would've had the t-shirt I wanted in the size I
wanted. The cup game would've gone into extra time and we would've missed all the jambos on the bus back to
edinburgh. All because of Derek. It was still a great night though, they were as amazing live as ever, and
you cannae' grumble at two encores:the first with a rocking cover of Mr Blue Sky, the second with just
the original foursome doing Monica Webster. And eight different t-shirts to choose from. Plus we spotted a few
 stars in the crowd from Bis and Odeon Beat Club no less. But it could all have been even better... 


ODEON BEAT CLUB
21st February
Bannerman's Bar, Edinburgh
support: Major Major

This'll be a short review, anyone who was out for that night will know why: came out of the pub at I
don't know what time, stood at the corner of Niddrie Street, trying to decide between a smoked sausage
supper or catching what was left of the gig (straight choice between two 30 second walks) and the gig
won, probably 'cos it was downhill. Caught about six songs, whether that was halfway through the gig or
what, maybe someone else can tell me. But it was darned good, (I think...)


YEAH YEAH YEAH'S
24th February
QMU, Glasgow
support: Ex-Models, Ikara Colt

Karen O's stumbling about stage, arms outstretched zombie-style, mic clamped between her teeth, screaming
her way through Art Star: within a few moments she's hopping about like a bunny with the widest grin you've
ever seen, doo-doo-doo-ing the chorus along with everyone else in the place. This is an immense gig, but
you could be forgiven for thinking it's her we've all come to see, the other two guys just thrash away
throughout, happy to let her take the stage. But hey, the music's bloody good too a set full of brand new
songs, peppered with tracks from their debut ep. You know you're at a good gig when, four songs in, they
haven't played a single track anyone knows yet, and the place is still in raptures. The undoubted
highlight for everyone is the encore of Our Time, when the mic gets thrown into the crowd and a totally
unknown girl shows she has an incredible voice, then blows it by forgetting the words: d'oh! Great
night. And let's not forget the support, Ex-models showing us how to make the shortest, punkiest songs
in the world, and Ikara Colt rocking the place out with some great stuff, although their rock n' roll
cool was slightly ruined by the girl saying "Thank you!" in a really naff, home-counties accent after
each song. Still bought the album though.


THROWING MUSES
23rd March
QMU, Glasgow
support: ?

Almost.


BALLBOY
28th March
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: Bearsuit, Aphrodisiac

Seems slightly daft to be going to see Edinburgh's finest in Glasgow, but there you go. It was never
going to match the halcyon heights of the xmas gig, but it was still pretty good, although the setlist
wasn't quite what I would've gone for myself, with the notable absence of Take A Walk... There was a reason
for it though, what with the drummer having chicken pox, limited rehearsal time with the new one
meant there was only so many songs they could do, hence the solo encore from Gordon, which was probably
the highlght of the night. Not so much the war protest of playing Born In The USA, but the genius of The Sash
My Father Wore, a biting rallying call to fans of the other 40 teams in Scottish football. The Blind Man
song was there again too, fleshed out a little this time, with a violinist joining the band for a few
numbers (which probably influenced the setlist too) As for the support, it wasn't to everyone's taste, though
Bearsuit certainly looked good, even if they sounded like a jumble of everything average on Sarah...


LADYTRON
29th March
GUU, Glasgow
support: Slim Whiteman

Fucking weird one this. First there was the novelty of watching a Scotlad triumph at Hampden. Then there
was finding this place and discovering the bar was like some old gentleman's club, row upon row of well
upholstered red leather armchairs, and a guy standing behind a shelf in the corner laughingly described
as the bar. As for the venue itself, it was like the Grand Hall in Kilmarnick, or a very posh school assembly
 hall. We knew immediately that we had to plant ourselves right at the front from the start, or
this would be a pretty shit gig. Ladytron made light of the unusual surroundings though, and within a few
songs we were looking at a real cracker. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the band that were
cooking, and proceedings came to a juddering halt during He Took Her To A Movie, when the sound went
 halfway through, the band ground to a confused halt, the lights came on and burly security
guards started elbowing their way through the crowd telling everyone to get out cos' there was a fire
alarm. Personally I'd have rather taken my chances (what better way to go?) but we started to make our
our way out, only to find it was a false alarm: cue mad rush back down the front, only to find a couple
of chocolate-squashers had nabbed our spot, which was mildly annoying. Still,the band came on and picked up
where they left off, and rocked throught the rest of the set and two encores before we wandered into the
night, happily clutching our t-shirts and badges, and wondering just what it was with these guys and fires...


GORDON McINTYRE
26th April
Avalanche Records, Edinburgh

Yes indeed, Mr Ballboy himself, live and unplugged in your local record store. There's not an awful lot
you can say about these instore gigs: he sat on a little stool up the back with an acoustic guitar, did
eleven numbers and that was that. It's all free though, and he's a good singer, so that's fine. An
early start to Mayhem, and a good one too. Must be the name...


POLICECHIEF
30th April
Barrowlands, Glasgow
supporting: Death In Vegas

It's been a while since we've managed to catch the chief, but it was worth the wait. How good is it
when you walk into a venue, there's nobody there and you just march down the front? Bring it. Once the boys
came on all the usual faces appeared around us though, as always. A good set, even though there were a few
new ones, plus a few old favourites missing too. I must have been enjoying it though, 'cos people were
asking me if I had any eccies on me. Glasgow, eh? Sadly it was over all too soon, one guy told me the
band were immense, another couple asked me what their name was, mission accomplished. Quarter to nine, fuck
Death In Vegas, time to nick off and catch...


BIS
30th April
Mono, Glasgow

How funny. When we left the barras, the guys on the door were warning us we wouldn't get back in again. Is
that a promise mate? We managed to find Mono, which wasn't quite where I thought it might be, but nobody's
perfect. We definately landed on our feet though-how many pubs have a record shop inside them? And two quid
for a pint of Carlsberg (even though they gave you it in an ale glass, tchah!) Bis were already into their
dj set when we arrived, each of them taking it in turns to do a wee twenty minutes or so at the
decks, and some tasty tunes were played. But there was no doubting the real highlight, the "unplugged" set
that followed. Two keyboards, an electric guitar and a twenty quid drum machine: genius! Ironically
enough, this was probably how they sounded when they first started all those years ago, and they rolled out
a fair few old skool numbers, Teen-C Power and even Icky-Poo Air Raid. Eurodisco was easily the highlight
though, the low point was that girl asking us to move cos we were in front of her table: get over it! But
it was funny how the set started off as an embarrasing novelty act, and ended in rapturous applause all
round. Not many bands upstage Policechief on the same night. Managed to corner Steven afterwards to make a
few requests for the Tut's gig, both of which were knocked back, but he's a nice guy though, even for a
darkie. And I managed to half-inch some posters on the way out, always a bonus. Incidentally, respect to the
crazed german guy dancing about like a maddie on his own down the front: came over just for the last
tour, 100% stalker material. Now does that remind us of anyone...


BIS
1st May
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: Motormark

Where to start? March 96, Barrowlands, there to see Garbage, but who are these cheeky young punks who've
turned up in support, they've had the gall to get on Top of the Pops with an insanely catchy tune and they
don't even have a record deal yet. 97, London Astoria, Luscious Jackson are great, but there's those pesky
kids again, probably the worst set they'll ever play, but you won't forget them in a hurry. Watching
Alternative Nation in 98, it's them again, what is that crazy new single with the big disco beat. 99
onwards and I can't pretend I don't like them anymore, Tut's, Balado, 13th note, La Belle, The Garage, The
Attic, I see them just about everywhere cos they are Bis from Glasgow Scotland. But tonight the we have to
let the music stop, they've decided to die teenagers forever. This gig could not be anything less than
brilliant, the last few years demanded they go out on a high in front of their adoring public. But before we
let them go, the torch has to be passed on: step forward Motormark, pretenders to the throne, two
cheeky monkeys from Fife who could go far, just so long as they don't tell anyone they're Scottish and they
supported Bis on their final tour. They're great, but we want the real thing. Everyone's guts are
churning, the gig has to be great, has to be. And when they skip onstage and Steven announces for the last
that they are Bis from Glasgow Scotland, you know it's gonna work out fine. There's no messing with the
setlist: it's all the anthems. Fake DIY kicks ass. Sweetshop Avengers ditto. Eurodisco raises it another
notch, every line an ironic epitaph. Icky-Poo Air Raid is suddenly brilliant. Teen-C Power is brilliant. School
Disco is brilliant, it's like 95 never went away. I'm A Slut exerts even more pressure, and then, when it
comes to the first chorus of Skinny Tie Sensurround, Tut's explodes into the best moshpit in the world that
anyone's ever been in ever. Then, the one song I wished I'd asked for last night, Shack Up appears, and
magically turns into a rock monster halfway through. Then the megaphone comes out and Monstarr rocks the
place back to front again. Secret Vampire gets revamped (arf) to great effect. Then they play the
only song from the last album, Robotic/Picture From Space, and we all get a chance to relax a wee bit. No
we don't, Diska and Kill Your Boyfriend wrap up the set on a punk high. No question of whether there's an
encore, or what the last song will be, it's just when. The band reappear for an emotional first and last
performance of Today Of All Days, the final song, and it's brilliant. We all know how it's gonna end: "We were Bis
 from Glasgow Scotland, 1994 to 2003, and this is Kandy Pop" I don't really remember much about it, it
was too much happening at once: all I'll ever remember is the band coming to the front of the stage for the
last chorus, everyone going nuts, and then the music stopped. We loved Bis.

p.s: you just can't take pictures of one of your alltime fave bands during their last ever gig, it's
fucking impossible...


THE RAVEONETTES
9th May
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: Stellastar*, Ursula Minor

Needed a lift after the disappointment of Electric Six being so ordinary, this was just the ticket. Bumped
into Geo downstairs beforehand and got a bit of festival gossip which we had to swear not to put on
the website! But one band he did mention was Ursula Minor, who started things off. A bit shoegazy, bit
trippy: it's good music to chill out to. Stellastar* had been advertised as the latest thing from New
York, so naturally we were a bit wary of them. But we soon realised they weren't yer usual Strokes/Stripes
clones, they were actually pretty good, more British-sounding than American. By the time they'd finished
we were definately thinking "Pixies". No bad thing. As for the main event, well. It was short but very sweet
indeed. A funny-looking bunch, but they've got some darn good songs. That Great was the highlight of the
night, Let's Rave On was a close second. But what was that cover they finished with...


THE DELGADOS
10th May
Fresh Ayr, Ayr

This is when it gets obsessive: travelling from one end of the country to the other to see one of your
favourite bands do a free gig. Unlike the last Delgados gig, today everything went right. Derek got
his shirt, we saw Mr and Mrs Siegrist in the street, spotted the league championship helicopter flying
around, and even got a bendy bus down to Ayr. It was a bit miserable and dreecht when we got there, and it
didn't improve much by the time they came on. You just knew it would really start raining when they played
Mr Blue Sky. The crowd were okay, a few other hardcore nutters there with us, but mostly polite aplause from
all the oldies there for Deacon Blue. Fortunately, by the time they came on, we were well gone, cos that's
when it really started raining, eh Alan? The set was good, the amusements were good, and I even managed
 to get a Killie pie supper in Ayr town centre afterwards. Surely that's worth three hours and eleven
 quid on a bus?


THE DELGADOS
11th May
Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
support: Ballboy

Ayr was the warm-up: this was the real thing. Having spent the afternoon watching my team getting their
arses felt on telly, this was the perfect way to relax and unwind afterwards. One of our favourite live
bands, supported by another of our favourite live bands, at one of our favourite venues. With guaranteed
t-shirts galore at the merchandise stall. Bliss. The only thing that took a slight shine off things was the
comatose audience: bloody edinburgh punters! If you can't get going to Ballboy, what will get you going? Their
set was not bad, no Day In Space, or even Europwide Search For Love surprisingly. But it was fairly well
received, and I looked suitably sad down the front with my Ballboy t-shirt. I did ask Gordon beforehand
 if he'd do the sash song, and he said they'd try, but no joy. He apologised later for not managing it
though, and I shrugged and said it didn't matter, it wasn't for me anyway. Anyway, as usual The Delgados
were the bees knees. A few oldies got dusted off for a re-airing: The Arcane Model was a pleasant surprise, the
one they did for the encore wasn't. At least they're human and can play really badly occasionally. What
else can you expect when you spend the whole gig swigging down bottles of red wine? Great
 night otherwise, t-shirts, goodies, yup.


THE DANDY WARHOLS
17th May
Carling Academy, Glasgow

Classic case of a gig of two halves. It was okay to begin with, lot's of rapturous applause and all
that, but the crowd wasn't REALLY going mad. Not until they stopped for a fag break halfway through: while
Zia nipped to the loo, COurtney stepped up and did a solo version of Holiday, and the place went mental. It
was bedlam all the way from then on in. Maybe if they hadn't started with three slow ones and three new
ones, the whole gig could've been like that. At least there was no support (cos last time it was JJ72, hello
dear) So we got two and a half hours worth, which almost made up for the absolutely rank Carling lager
we had, yeaurgh! As you'd expect, Bohemian and Get Off were total mayhem, and even Godless had the crowd
going nuts. It all came to a triumphant end with Rave-Up, but sadly no encore, 'cos poor Pete was dying
of food poisoning, so we just got Zia's daisy song instead. The Academy's very nice too, but the barrier's
way too far from the stage, it's like being at a festival, real atmosphere killer that one. And £18
 quid for a fecking t-shirt? Thanks, but no thanks...


T IN THE PARK
13th July
Balado Airfield, Kinross

THE RAVEONETTES
NME Stage

Take one Danish rock band, with a fine mix of garage/surfer/B-movie rock. Add an outdoor stage at
a festival, mix in some scorching, early-afternoon sunshine, and what do you get? A very frustrating
half-hour, that's what. And some sunburn. It always happens every year, doesn't it, there's always one of
your favourite bands on the wrong stage at the wrong time, when will they learn? That said, they did their
best: it was a very good set. Nothing new from the last time we saw them. That Great is still the best
song they have, can't wait to get it when the album comes out. They could do without the Buddy Holly cover
though: it might make great tv, crouching on the stage knocking lumps out your guitar with your mike, but
that kinda white noise doesn't always get the crowd on your side, at least, not on a sunny sunday afternoon.

THE SUGABABES
Main Stage

There's usually one light, poppy, mainstream act on the mainstage on sunday afternoon, isn't there. Someone
who will hopefully get the crowd woken up a bit for the real bands later on. However, the Sugababes deserve
to be there this year. Plenty of top pop tunes (not just the singles either), and three nice-looking girls
to get the lads excited. Also, with bands like this, the backing group are usually the tightest, shit-hot
session guys money can buy. This was no exception. They did do all the crowd-pleasers at the right time
in the set, my only gripe was that there was no Angels With Dirty Faces, which would obviously disappoint
me, eh? Still very, very good though. Wonder who it'll be next year on sunday afternoon. Sophie maybe?

INSPIRAL CARPETS
NME stage

In all the years I've been to T, I've been to Stage Two/The NME Stage once. Then I'm back there twice in
the space of two hours in one afternoon. You knew this was gonna be good before it even started: there was
plenty of hardcore fans, mooing away, ready to party. Once the band appeared it just took off proper, as they
say in Madchester. All the hits you would expect to be there were there, and all nicely spaced out in the set
too. This Is How It Feels was the highlight for all concerned, Saturn 5 was pretty darn good too. And Derek
pretty much wet himslef with the Mark E SMmith bits in I Want You. Only problem with the set was the pesky
sun: it was right in my eyes, and, after a few songs, I found it really hard to look in the general direction
of the stage, which left me feeling a wee bit dizzy and disorientated. But why let that get in the way of a
good set?

TORQAMADA
T Break Stage

Ususally I really enjoy the T Break tent, it's always a wee underground haven in amongst all the corporate
whores. In fact, I think I made that point to Derek when we were sitting in hospitality eating with
Torqamada. This year though, there wasn't much individuality in evidence (at least, not that I saw
over the weekend) Step forward Torqamada, to breathe some much needed fresh air into the weekend. I don't
know what the best thing about their gigs is: the band themselves, or the looks on the crowd who've never
seen them. The debate about how serious they are will no doubt rage as long as they're around, but does it
really matter? They are pure entertainment, whether they intend it or not. And that is what live shows are
about, isn't it? So maybe death-thrash metal isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I bet there wasn't a more
powerful and energetic performance all weekend on any stage. But I'm bound to talk them up 'cos I got a
 free cd at the end. Hypocrite.


SPEEDWAY
5th August
UnderBelly, Edinburgh

Don't you just love these kinda things? There I am, sitting in the boozer at nine o'clock, reading the
paper, when I find out there's a free gig on in town tonight. A quick phone call, a look on the net and
some major-league blagging at the door, and there we were, two hours later, down the front at an exclusive
and intimate show by scotland's next big thing. You've read the press, you've heard the single, now go perv at
the singer. As you'd expect, it was a brief wee set, and there was really only one song we came for, which,
predictably enough, was saved until last. But their own songs weren't too bad, especially Juggernaut, and
they had enough about them to suggest they could maybe a wee scottish Superjesus, which is no bad thing. Just
 a shame the boys from evol couldn't all have been there down the front for Genie In A Bottle. Great wee
 venue too, need to try and blag my way into more gigs there...


POLICECHIEF
14th August
Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
support: ?

You were either there or you weren't. The best chief gig ever: the best atmosphere, the best crowd, the
best performance, the best set, best everything. It's always a bit secial for us at the Liquid Rooms but
this was something else again. Straight for the throat right from the start with Zig-Zag and Groovy Boy, all
the favourites coming early on like missile after mssile on Hussein jnr's palace. Play It Safe, Takeover
and Gravity, how can they keep this up? And it just got better and better with a clutch of new songs to
round off a blistering set. No encore, no point even trying to follow that performance. But we did get to
mingle backstage afterwards, free-beer-tastic! We converted lots of virgins from far and wide, canada
 to australia. Ho-hum. You were ether there or you weren't. 


STELLASTARR*
19th August
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: The Sun, GHiJK

Happens all the time, eh? There you are, down the front, waiting on the main act to come on, and you
notice the bass player has the same Ladytron t-shirt as you. And then he singles you out during the gig
for it, and offers you his guitar. Tchah! And then, after the show, some random who's with the band comes
up to you at the t-shirt stall and asks you if you wanna come and meet the band. Two gigs in a row! But
you can't cos you've gotta get the last bus to edinburgh. Typical! Apart from all that, this was a
darn good night: both supports were reasonably good, Stellastarr* were as good as we thought we remembered
they were,and there were lots of t-shirts, stickers, badges and a setlist to be had (but no single: if they
don't have a copy, who does?) Maybe should've taken my camera, but there you go, how was I meant to know I'd
be invited backstage afterwards...


SPEEDWAY
26th August
HMV Edinburgh

These instore gigs are always a bit funny eh? There's no point trying to chit-chat with the audience dear
cos they're all scared of you! Only five songs, good enough, though they didn't do Juggernaut, which I'd
have thought was one of their strongest non-cover versions. You can probably guess what they finished
with, presumably they'll be finishing every gig for the rest of their lives with it. You can already see
the Texas coming out of them, here's hoping it doesn't happen too quickly, eh? Still, it was much better than
the last time I went to an instore at HMV, which is ironic considering who tipped me off about the gig...


MOTORMARK
26th August
Liquid Room, Edinburgh
supporting: Junior Senior

Another one of those "are they as good as we remembered them?" gigs. And once again, the answer
was yup, they sure are! Looking very snazzy they were too in their matching black shirts and ties, kinda like
an enjoyable Pro Forma (if you can get your head round such a crazy concept) The audience weren't quite sure
how to take them, they were a bit more hardcore than I remembered, but at least they were cheering and all
that. Heads were bobbing in approval, especially at Discotech and Tetris, the latter of which culminated
in the smashing of a computer keyboard all over the stage: very rock n'roll, and I'm sure the roadies had
loads of fun picking up all the keys off the stage too. Loveus went down well, though one or two people
seemed a bit miffed at what they did to You Really Got Me. But hey, that's their problem. I buggered off in typically
 arrogant fashion as soon as Motormark were finished, no interest in Junior Senior whatsoever. But I did
 take the time to pick up a Motormark t-shirt, badges, stickers and a cd on the way out: that was worth
the tenner as far as I was concerned...


END OF THE MONTH CLUB
31st August
13th Note Cub, Glasgow
featuring: CNUT, MOTORMARK and BOZILA

Third time in a row for a "were they really that good?" type of gig, this time with Cnut as the band
on trial. What were we thinking, of course they were. It's hard to make a Sparks comparison when there was
only one of them there, but it was still a great set: how can you fail with song titles like Attack Of The
50ft Liberal? PLenty of onstage frivolity too to keep everyone amused, wrestling with paper heads and all
that. A stunning climax of Talking To The DJ as well, with real breakdancing, yup. As for Motormark, they had
a slightly reduced set due to the new licensing for the 13th Note. In fact, it looked like they only found
out about it during the night, cos Motormark were supposed to be coming back later to do an Elvis
tribute: we can only imagine. They didn't even get to do their full set, and that was only five numbers. It
was still worth it, but was it really worth their petrol money from Fife I wonder? You wonder why they
even bothered changing into their Kraftwerk gear. Ho-hum. A good night for three quid though: how often do
you hear Archie Macpherson sampled and put to music?


ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE
15th September
Barfly, Glasgow
support: ?, Homoscience

Been a while since the lads were out and about, almost a year since they last played, so it was nice to see
them back out of hibernation. A lot can change in a year though, so I went to this on my own: well, sort
of. Of all the gigs in all the bars...Good night though. New stuff was good, old favourites were all
there too. A few technical problems (there was at least one song they had to, heh, "Start Again"), but
this place has always been murder for sound. There was a wee bit of brotherly bickering onstage too, with
drunken little brother Alex wittering on about nothing, and sober older brother Tom wanting to just
get on with the fucking songs. Insults were traded, bottles thrown, but nothing of Gallacher-esque
proportions. Besides, it looked like their ma and pa were watching from the wings, so. Note for anyone
thinking of starting a band: impromptu covers of Proclaimers songs is good, especially in Glasgow. But
dropping in little bits of White Stripes songs during one of your own best songs is not, it's wanky. One
down, two to go: last one to the bus station's a nazi...


PEACHES
16th September
Arches, Glasgow
support: Motormark

When we decided to go to this, it was a kinda "yeah, could be interesting, not many other gigs to go to
just now anyway" decision. When we heard Motormark would be the support, that made it a wee bit more
justifiable. But even as we arrived in the labyrinth of the Arches, I must admit I was thinking of doing
the old "see the support, fuck off" routine again. I am so glad I stayed, what a show. Motormark were
blistering enough (GlasgoGlasgoGalsgalsgglsglgslsgooo) and their set was pretty well recieved too. But I'm
afraid they were outshone by Peaches. Numerous costume changes, climbing on monitors, invading the crowd, and
even a duet with Iggy Pop via a giant video screen. And let's be honest, we all thought the two dancers
were girls to start with, didn't we? But the highlight was being spat on with fake blood during the thrilling
climax (arf!) of Fuck The Pain Away. A definate gig first for me at least. And it also made me look quite hard
(arf again!) as we headed out into the Glasgow night, so that was good. Great show, great atmosphere. Two down, one
 to go: I hope this fake blood will wash out of my Motormark t-shirt...


MACHINE GUN FELLATIO
17th September
Cathouse, Glasgow
support: Kudos, ?, Pointless Creation

At this stage in the week I was heartily sick of the sight of the m8. But it's once more unto the breach
cos this was the one I was really looking forward to. But fuck me it was a labour of love: three (yup, three!)
dreadful support bands, each as dire as the shower before, god help us! But it just made us appreciate
MGF all the more when we finally got to see them. KK started things off with some fine solo gargling, before
the rest of the band appeared and launched into their mad disco thing. If Policehcief had been from
Australia. Unfortunatley there was a lot of the audience from Australia too, and the one or two of the loudest
 were standing behind me. Yeesh. Couldn't ruin a great show though (although my visa not working and leaving
 me skint came close) Mutha fukka was all I'd hoped, and they did Romance too. Onstage acrobatics, invading
 the crowd (again), crazy costumes, yup, it's all good. They were a bit older than I expected, but hey, still
loved the widow jones in the flesh!


BALLBOY
8th October
The Venue, Edinburgh
support: The 55's

2 vital ingredients seem to make a great Ballboy gig: lots of booze beforehand and Katie not being present
for some reason. Poor Gordon had to negotiate his way past all our empties at the front of the stage when he
came on, and once again I pestered him for the sash song (which he did) The set was pretty good, (they 
played the two songs I'd let everyone hear beforehand) though there was no Leave the Earth or Blind Man. But
I did get to serenade Penny with Public Park, and I pinched Gordon's setlist, which, I think, is much
better than just getting the bass-players (miaow!) A great night was had by all, but then, when you run up
 a £45 quid table, it fucking should be...


BALLBOY
11th October
Cottier Theatre, Glasgow
support: The 55's

Afraid I have very little memory of this: arrived late and very much the worse for wear after the scotland
game (I washz barely able to get choo tha frunt) One of those functional kinda gigs that you go to out of
routine: nowhere near as good as wed, and I spent most of the time wondering if I could get back in time for
Courtney's birthday piss-up...


GOLDFRAPP
23rd October
Carling Academy, Glasgow
support: Mankato

Fucking great gig, end of review. Nah, not really, but this was fabbo, even the support was tolerable (I
know someone who likes floppy-haired indie types strumming their acoustic guitar) Didn't know what to
expect, never having seen them live, but it was a great show, great sound. Certainly didn't expect
Alison to be such a minx, yeesh. I mean, the new album's kinda dark and sexy in places, but I wasn't
expecting her to come out with a whip and do theremin solos with her crotch :) Obviously Train, Twist and
Strict Machine were the highlights, but the old stuff from the first album was really good too, wish I'd
bought it beforehand. Crowd were loud between songs, but didn't do much during, so, as usual, I was the
only one dancing down the front (like I cared!) Got a good t-shirt and badges, had a great time, blah-blah. But
I was caught out at the end, when, during Black Cherry, I put my camera away, thinking the gig was practically
finished: how was I to know the crowd were about to be showered in a hailstorm of silver confetti from the
ceiling? Nice end to the gig, wish I'd been smart enough to get a picture of it. Only two minor gripes: academy's
 a nice venue, but why's the stage so faaaar away, it's not a festival? And why didn't they turn down
 Alison's voice in the mix, it was obviously far too loud...by the way, I could have sworn that was Jo on
the keyboards, so who did I phone during Train?


THE RAVEONETTES
24th October
The Garage, Glasgow
support: fuck knows...

A long, long time since I've been to the Garage, one of my fave live venues. And it'll be an even longer
time before I go back, 'cos I turned up to find the gig had been moved to Tut's. I could've been drinking
all bloody afternoon there! Couldn't really get myself up for this: love the Raveonettes, but the three rubbish
support bands kinda drilled my enthusiasm out of me. I was clockwatching fom about nine onwards, never a good
sign. Like Ballboy a few weeks ago, this was a routine sort of gig, an obligation. Maybe this is what
post-marital sex is like? For a while I just went to see the Delgados for 13, now I see the Raveonettes for
That Great Love Sound, which will forever be the sound of T03 and breaking up :) This sounds like a bad review
but it's not, I was just really, really tired. I did get good t-shirts though...


CAMERA OBSCURA
25th October
Cottier Theatre, Glasgow
support: The Hermit Crabs

Only one way to describe this: fey as fuck. Not a bad thing in itself, but there was dollops of twee all
over this night: the wanky-looking audience, the wanky-looking (but not too bad) support, the venue of an old
church, the rows of seats, the polite applause, the wanky imported lagers. Welcome to a night in the West
End of Glasgow, a place that makes Stockbridge look schemie. I did enjoy it, though I'd have liked to
hear Happy New Year and Your Picture. Enjoyable enough though, and a fine selection of tight, fey t-shirts
on sale at the end too, which do nobody's beer gut any favours. And good riddance to the bloody M8 for another
few weeks...


POLICECHIEF
6th November
Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
supporting: N*E*R*D

Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices. I already had tix for ESP the same night at the Liquid Room, but I had to
give it a miss (much as I'd love to see Sonja again :) It would've been nice to see the MTV awards on the
telly, or just hang out in Leith or Princes Street to savour the atmosphere. But nope, we headed off to
Dalry to show some support for the boys from Airdrie: when the lads are playing on your turf, well, it's
gotta be done, money no object. I did object to the audience though, weird hip-hop types who foolishly
allowed us to waltz in front of the queue to get down the front: sheep! Mercifully the lads were on
first, did seven blinding numbers, and we were on our way back to the Bank before you could say Modern
World. Twenty quid for a set of mostly newies, but it was all good. And at least two nice girls asked me who
this amazing band were, so that's a result for both Policechief and me...


GORDON McINTYRE
10th November
Avalanche Records

A lovely wee acostic show to promote the launch of the new Ballboy album, The Sash My Father Wore. So how
ironic that I should miss the start cos I was watching Killie play Rangers. Couldn't quite get down the front
but I didn't really need to anyway, not like these things are a mad moshpit of flying bodies. He did the
usual mix of old and new, with the highlght being a new track called Hold Me, Kiss Me and Eat Me, which, he
explained, was the touching story of two cannibals who fell in love, and all the complications that brings: only
he could write such a beautiful song, eh? The nicest moment came during the last song Olympic Cyclist, when
the mike blew, and, without missing a beat, he gently nudged the mike out his way with his foot, and just
SANG! It kinda made it a little more, well, personal and intimate. All in all a very pleasant half-hour: they
were selling the new cd a day early at the end, but I didn't have any money, so I consoled myself with
pinching some stickers and the fact that, being a sunday night, a certain someone missed all the fun :)


GORDON McINTYRE
11th November
Virgin Records, Edinburgh

Another day, another instore gig. This was a wee bit more bigtime though, with a wee stage set up and
some violin accompaniment. The set was different too, with Gordon mixing up the back catalogue a bit (which
you would like to think was for the benefit of those people who'd been at the show yesterday) But he did
do the cannibal song again, which Courtney agreed was every bit as funny and lovely as I'd said it was, and
there was more technical misfortune: yesterday a blown mike, today a broken string. And did he think to bring
any spares? Nope. So the second half of the set sounded slightly strange, but that's rock n' roll for
you. And how bizzare was it watching the passers-by gawping in the window during the set? Instore gigs
are a wee law unto themselves, not like real gigs...


STELLASTARR*
16th November
The Venue, Edinburgh
support: RAAR, ?

Ah, the venue, scene of so many great gigs over the years. How dare shite like RAAR tread the same stage
as Catatonia, Linoleum, Lush etc. Very poor man's Torqamada. But on to the main event: you never really
get big massive sets from bands who've just released their debut cd, so you can't complain about it being
brief(ish). I didn't wear my Ladytron tee, and neither did the guitarist. Nor did I buy a new Stellastarr*
one, 15 quid being a bit cheeky for a shirt. But the gig was still enjoyable enough. Once again we littered
the front of the stage with empty black ice bottles and then had a bit of a jump about for a while. The
bassist was just as nice as I promised Kenny, I'm still 4/4 with Mike, and Steve and Jo finally got to
go to a gig with me, so everyone went home happy. There were rumoured sightings of the band wandering the
 cowgate afterwards, but I couldn't be bothered going to find 'em...


THE DANDY WARHOLS
29th November
Barrowlands, Glasgow

In the future, this is how all gigs will be: no support band nonsense, just three hours of the main
act, dragging out all their classics and turning them into 12" classic jams. And I finally got to see
them do their cover of Little Drummer Boy live. Can't really think of any other specific highlights, this was
 just a fucking good gig, too many good points to pick any out, except maybe two: what was that
 Smiths song that he started singing during the fabulous climax of Rave-Up, and who was the idiot that
 went nuts behind me when they did Hells Bells. Some dumb aussie obviously. Fuck this has been a good year for gigs...


BROADCAST
5th December
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: The Projects

It's always a worry when a couple of original members leave a band, especially when it's one of your
favourite live acts. But godammit, that new drummer is fucking shit-hot: Drums On Fire was just written for
him. Aside from that, everything was as great as always with Broadcast, though Trish seems to have developed
a slightly racier, but eccentric dress-style. Got the Book-Lover's for the first time in years (I thought that
one had been left on the shelf-arf!), and Illumination, Hammer and Ominous Cloud were as beautiful
as ever. Very nice little limited cd on sale too, and a cool t-shirt (until we got it in the light and found
it was brown) Special mention to The Projects, who weren't very good, but did have a really beautiful
singer (albeit with awful dress sense)


BALLBOY
20th December
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
support: Hoboken

Has there ever been a more ironic song than There Are Only Inches Between Us But There Might As Well Be
Mountains And Trees? Takes me right back that does, I wonder if they played it in Berlin the next
night? Anyway, another fine set from the 'boy, always funny to see them at the other end of the m8, and all
the jokes about Hibs and so on that that usually invites. Looks like Carolyn is a permanent replacement
for now, she has nice red boots. Usual mixture of old and new, but will we ever hear Leave The Earth Behind
You again live? Hell, I can play it if Carolyn doesn't know the chords. Bonus points for breaking strings on
two separate guitars (it's all about technique), and extra bonus points for the first rammy I've seen at
Tut's during the fine support Hoboken. They were funny. Can't wait for the new new album so I can get
my hands on There Are Only Inches...

 

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