The news about Willy DeVille is a downer and even although it was sort of expected, that doesn't make it any easier to take. Anyway, much hairing about the city of Glasgow pencilled in for tomorrow but for now it's time to take in the relative tranquillity of a Friday afternoon. All going well or to plan, maybe both - I hope to catch this too prior to my first tussle with the Edinburgh festival on Sunday and the Janeane Garofalo thing.

"More Modern Short Stories from HS" gets a release in Germany as of today via Universal, isn't it about time the UK caught up? Still, here's a taste of what we're missing.

RIP - Willy DeVille

RIP - John Hughes

It was something like 19 degrees when I wandered round for the paper at 6.15am this morning. Summer has made an impromptu reappearance here in the rapidly tanking UK. Spent the day in Ed-boro yesterday with my Las (not Glas) Vegan homies Val and Greg. It was day of traipsing, Guinness and deep-fried mars bars then some more Guinness. Good times that also included a schlepp around the Botanics.

Some primo nosh in the Filmhouse bar and closing at The Cameo where it was too late for a school night for me to join 'em to see "Moon". Ran into one Fay Fife there though so it was nice to see her again for the first time in some years. Since the first reunion show at The Liquid Rooms in fact. There is no news to the effect that there are any more Rezillo shows in the pipeline if you were wondering.

So anyway, some local and not-so action coming up in the immediate to mid-range future...

FRIDAY 7TH AUGUST:
EYES WIDE OPEN at the TWISTED WHEEL, Queen St., Glasgow - EL TORO and THE BRUTES, plus guest DJ Jamie Kidd (Get The Records On). Eyes Wide Open is a 60s garage, psych & freakbeat dance party - and this is their last night at the Twisted Wheel before they relocate to Blackfriars.

SATURDAY 8TH AUGUST:
LES BOF!, EL TORO, and THE BRUTES at HENRY'S CELLAR BAR, Morrison St., Edinburgh. A killer triple bill of quality garage & beat to blow away the Embra Festival blues!

The Swirlin' through The Vortex Lux thing is in Coventry this weekend, saturday 8th at The Tin Angel.

No relation to the Philly one presumably?

Had a moderate Friday feeling last night because I'm off today. Doing the tour guide thing around auld reekie and heading up and down the nooks and crannies to partake of the odd hostelry or three. There could be some of that Sassenach dish known as haggis involved but that's not clear at this juncture. I've still to assess the dietary requirements.

It's funny. This thing going out on facebook at the same time as the blog must confuse people. It's a little like those cable channels that repeat all the time. Seems like there's no escape or respite. Perhaps both.

Which brings me to the point, the "Playing with the Past" event that I missed due to a conflicting schedule during the Film Festival is to be given another airing too. On August 22nd (a Saturday, methinks). Must get a ticket for that sorted out.

The weather would appear to have taken a turn for the better despite the driechness yesterday. The building site appearance of the toon is somewhat unsightly through the drizzle that's been coming down of late. We might even make it down to the peedly parliament, who knows.

I shall be off the air completely for the remainder of the day and will check in with anything worthy on the flipside. Maybe.

Amy Allison - Caught in the Carousel

Stop rubbing your eyes... I might be in on this stramash too but meanwhile...

THE FLESHTONES GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

Post-Punk Performance at The University of Leeds is proud to present the FILM PREMIER:

PARDON US FOR LIVING BUT THE GRAVEYARD IS FULL – by Geoffray Barbier
Introduced by Dr Philip Kiszely

September 9th 2009 - 6:00–7:30pm. stage@leeds

The film is being premiered at the University of Leeds’ international conference event, Post Punk Performance, and features alongside speakers such as Paul Morley and Dave Haslam, and an evening performance from legendary punk poet John Cooper Clarke.

Conference convenor Dr Philip Kiszely: “I’m delighted to be able to premier this movie at an international conference on post-punk music and performance. The Fleshtones’ breath-taking rock'n'roll has all too often been over-looked, but their importance as a band is immeasurable. They are absolutely at the heart of this event, and I’m looking forward to screening Geoffray’s documentary in the amazing stage@leeds venue. At last, the Fleshtones are getting at least some of the recognition they deserve.”

Evening event only: £12 (£10 conc. NUS or unwaged) – movie premier, John Cooper Clarke, Frank Sidebottom + punk & post-punk dj the Duchess.

Full Conference: Reduced rate for non-participatory (audience) attendees (see link below). Includes evening event + addresses from Paul Morley, Dave Haslam, Claire Monk and Richard Witts. Also, papers on the Fleshtones by Steve Coleman and Michael Rose.

Click here to register for either rate and further details.

(Thanks to Prof. Steve Coleman for the info)

Ladies and gents... Blogpost # 4300!

I could really do with disappearing off the face of the earth for a month. Just to see what it's like. No nothing and especially no computers. Pretty sure that it wouldn't be the end of the world. Not that it’s likely to happen mind you because as church mice go, I'm fairly alarmingly skint.

Still, it could be considerably worse and if I managed to find a way to monetize all the crap I don't need (that's in physical volume and also in less than spiritual terms) then maybe, just maybe...

Still it's "Festival" time and the building site known as Auld Reekie will be packin 'em in for the next month. It's pretty hard work trying to cross reference the schedules and it shouldn't be a chore but it is. It's also an expensive pastime this culture lark. However more grave matters have become apparent and the very foundations of our nation have been shaken.

Next they’ll be claiming the shortbread tins are made in China.

Thank heavens for Wreckless Wradio then... new podcast in the ether now!

Bonnier Amigo has embarked on a series of collections from the vault of MNW. An important portal over the past three decades to a vast mine of every type of music you can think of. Of course, practically all of it is Swedish language so perhaps of limited interest to those who don’t speak the language. However, to those of us who never let a language barrier get in the way of enjoying some primo rock action – there’s a wealth of gear to discover here.

There are prog and postpunk comps that look like they might be worth investigating amongst the 18 2 x cd sets that have already come out. But let’s start here with two that would possibly be of immediate interest to NBT-ites.

Stry Terrarie (real name - Anders Sjöholm) was a mainstay of many units across the years. Best known of these outside Sweden was arguably Babylon Blues. He also produced the album, “Enjoy The Creeps”. I never heard the Garbochock tracks before and those sound a little like Roxy Music produced by Joe Meek. I’m looking at the name Mats Gustafsson on the Besökarna cuts and wondering if it’s the same guy that’ll be tearing up a small Edinburgh hostelry later tonight with The Thing?

A general postpunk keyboard driven thread runs throughout from the earlier more frantic material through to the broader based Scandanavian rock model. Rymdimperiet’s quasi-funk leaves me a little cold but that doesn’t hang around for long, that was perhaps a glitsch in transit. Even The Clash approximations of the earlier BB stuff offers promise of what was to come afterwards. It’s cool to hear them grow up. Covering the period from 1978 to 1991, this doesn’t include any Ebba Grön or subsequent collabs with Thåström – there’s much to get your old hearing gear around here.

Wilmer X were one of the first Swedish lingo bands I ever heard. They were and remain a far more traditional unit in the style of mid-seventies pub rock groups like The Brinsleys. They combined that with a Groovies type rock’n’roll sensibility that would ultimately flirt on the outer limits of power pop. Like Eddie and the Hot Rods channelling Manfred Mann, Wilmer X has cut a swathe and remained popular over the years by laying down a timeless, bar-rock blueprint that can only really be pulled off by guys who know the script inside out.

At some points they might sound like (the) Status Quo, then maybe Foghat but the Scandanavian ability to crisply deliver the goods never lets it descend into mere parody. On the other hand, “Gå Hella Vägen” is as good as most of The Undertones catalogue. This kicks off in 1980 so I guess it was several years out of kilter. Had it started in 1978 then it could almost have been charted in tandem with what was happening around the world.

Red hot rhythm and blues, blastin’ beer bust beauties that must be some kind of fun to catch in a bar although at the prices they have over there it’s the powerhouse music that’ll have to be doing the intoxicating. And watch out for a very special comp coming soon from this direction, more on that when available...

RIP - Billy Lee Riley



Thanks to PJ for the link... the crazy beat finally caught up with ol' BLR!

and gracias to Gavin Martin for this...

Coincidence with the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing notwithstanding, some important notes from space have been captured and etched into 12” vinyl by Sick Thirst. These infectious “repeat-o-rock” tones may or may not be perpetrated by a duo. The only clear information about Moon Duo is that Ripley of Wooden Shjips is involved and this is a primitive, ever more Velvets-y descent into the maelstrom. The Shjips are positively orchestra material compared to this. Designed to be played at 45rpm, the trick is to set the controls for 33rpm and let it marinade your grey matter.

So what you get is 4 songs for the price of two, at album speed it sounds like satan fronting Blue Cheer attempting to create Suicide type modulations. JD King’s concept of the 45 at 33 is once again proven to be several light years ahead of its time. I suspect this drone-tastic squall to be the martian black angel’s death song being channelled by an earthly San Franciscan host prone to what some could figure as experiments in sonic terror. Wonder what goes on if you plays it backwards?

Anyway, this is available now in places where fine records are sold but move fast, it won’t be around for anything like forever in this magic vinyl format.

Let's ease you in this Sunday am (of course it's evening is Australia and Japan, etc but we welcome our viewers from there a'naw)...

TOTP outtake courtesy of Grottu Orloff via facebook



and the fantastic Jackie De Shannon... courtesy of Gavin Martin via facebook

The Bambi Molesters in Ljubljana, Slovenia on September 19th
(with Heavy Trash) !

Did you hear the new Willie Nile album yet? Entitled “House of a Thousand Guitars”, it’s a real rush of blood to the memory of the great roots rock scare of the mid-80’s. Anybody who misses The Beat Farmers or The Del-Lords will find much solace here. It’s the kind of album that you hope and dream Springsteen could still make.

Those of us who no longer enjoy spring chicken status will recall that Willie was being hailed as “a new Dylan” around the time that Elliot Murphy and the aforementioned Boss were. This is his sixth album in all these years and it really does crackle. When I first heard it I was sure that Scott Kempner was playing guitar on it but seemingly not.

“Doomsday Dance” would have been something The Cramps could have customised. “Love Is a Train” is a little Forbert-y and enjoys an almost Alvin-esque soundscape. Again, the band sounds so grandiose. You can almost taste the desert and see the heat haze. American music rather than Americana. “House” is blessed with a lot of soul and sounds like it lived. I’m not up for asking for much more than that at this point. It’s chock full of the kind of guitars that turn me to mush and I just found out that there’s a vinyl edition, me - me!.

And while we’re on the subject of that American beat, I was a little disappointed to find out that Amy Speace had been to Glasgow a couple of months ago. There was some word to the effect that she might tour with Mary McBride but that never happened and she snuck in on her lonesome (with her band). Her most recent long player is “The Killer In Me” on Judy Collins’ label, Wildflower Records. As with the Willie Nile album it draws on a vast bank of roots history and blends folk, country and blues through a pop strainer. If you like Maria McKee, Syd Straw and Mary Lee’s Corvette then it’s a shoe in that you’ll find much to enthral you here. In addition to the fact they had their own gig, Captain K tells me that she opened for Colin MacIntyre at Oran Mor too. So maybe third time lucky with regard to catching a show...?

The Loose Acoustic Trio ’s zydeco-flavoured good time that is “Sorrow Be Gone” has wormed it’s way under my skin in recent weeks. Even the porch version of “Pinball Wizard”. From Portland, Oregon – they’ve kicked up a pretty swingin’ affair. “Love Me, love You” reminds me of ACC’s take on “Jet Boy, Jet Girl” and the whole accordion fuelled shebang is very tasty indeed in a twistedly straight way. Who couldn’t love a group that’s down with “Soup On A Bun”? It comes in a very nice quality quasi-digipack too on the Big Book imprint. A tasteful operation all round.

So far, no rainstorm of biblical proportions as was forecast but this could all change within an instant. No big plans this weekend but a fair supply of little ones. Let's see if I can counter those with the slightly lost/detached vibe that is currently clouding my judgement.

I was looking at the end of the month stats as one and this is shaping up to be the second biggest ever. February when Lux up and left was the highest. And talking of which, “Karl” sent in this image from the town of Söderhamn (in Sweden), “about 13 miles from the Brainbombs hometown Hudiksvall”. Apparently there is said to be a Sky Saxon wall there also.


In a related note, this weekend Scandanavian Garage jazz monsters, The Thing are in Edinburgh. They kick up quite the racket to the point that experiencing their ouvre first hand is not unlike standing or sitting in front of a jet engine. If I was in any sense of the imagination financially flush then I’d be heading for Perth this weekend. Pretty solid bill for the town’s Southern Fried festival including Los Lobos first-ever Scottish appearance taking place tonight on a bill with Booker T. Lucinda tomorrow.

So before I take off to start taking care of them "little things", I'll leave you with a new JD King story and this link to a pretty good sounding combo brought to my attention by David Brogan – Stolen Hearts. Wonder if they’re Barracudas fans?

And finally... Adiam Dymott in Berlin but as we're in Germany, why not check out the Beat Club archives too. That oughtta keep you amused...

Thanks to those who got in touch re - the Sam Phillips thing. Guess I didn't recall he was dead or maybe I thought he was still alive. Definitely the latter (probably).

No idea what I was on last night but I also typed Mike instead of Mick Medew. (Thanks to Craig for pinting out this errant clumsiness). Must try harder...

I'll be back way on the other side of 6am with what's coming up other than the forecast of torrential rain and of course it becoming August. It's just two bloody months until the clocks go back. So apologies for the misfires, plain and simple divotism, what can I tell ya...?

Mick Medew and the Rumours released the 9 song “All Your Love” on the fine I-94 Bar imprint a month or so ago now. The solo on the opener “Spinning Wheel” doesn’t so much blister as totally remove any coating you care to administer. Australian rock is a hardy thing, they can really make it sting and taking a bloody hammer harmonic to the title track was a masterstroke. Remember when bands used to project? Did you ever watch The Hellacopters and wonder just why they weren’t gazzillioplatinum? Then this is for you. Incase you're not of sufficient vintage, Mick was in The Screaming Tribesmen...

Shades of the Hoodoos harder moments with Dictators riffage are given that special antipodean rock action wallop. Unashamedly backdated, everything on here trounces each and every cut on the latest AC/DC record. The one cover, a version of “Another Girl, Another Planet” is very faithful albeit a tad more rip-roaring and come to think of it, didn’t you ever envision Peter Perrett singing “Igloo”? A little of that monolithic Kiss-ish axe-tion never goes awry with me and I’ll take that over Turbowhassname any old day. Ah, the old days when fanzine types would turn very peelly wally at the mention of Simmons and co. I don’t care much for their ethics now but damn those first 4 records are good.

Like The Riverdales, MM and co. are dealing in a commodity that combos with an excel spreadsheet or access to a record collection to plunder will never ever orbit. They have the heart and the soul that will never let ‘em settle for an approximation. It runs even deeper than dna. You can hear it in every lick. Your two favourite kinds of music, kids – rock AND roll – with an extra scoop of the former and packing the spiritual volume to make it count.