Cutting about in the Shire.

I'm a master procrastinator.

Right now I have a number of things to do.

Just a small number, but it has loads of 0’s following it around, and instead of doing them I am sitting here tapping at the keys and wasting time by telling you about my day.

This is like a real blog post rather than one pretending to be an article on a big boys music website.

Sort of a male perspective on the Bridget Jones thing without the weight issues, boyfriend issues, the how much wine did I drink issues, and okay it’s nothing like Bridget Jones as my day exists in Kilmarnock and there’s a severe lack of lawyers and accountants hanging about wine bars around here.

You would have to go as far as, well I don’t know, maybe Prestwick if you want some of that action.

Initially my plan was to embark on a trip to Glasgow, but a serious bout of throwing up that felt like I had turned myself inside out and led to much tightness of my chest and problems breathing put a stop to that.

I suspect it may have something to do with the chest infection that I have.

(See how clever I am there.

I have a chest infection and as soon as I had some difficulty breathing I knew the two must be linked.

Now where’s my doctorate as with that degree of insightfulness I reckon I am ready to doctor up a storm?)

Anyway I decided that instead of wallowing in self pity I would brave the elements and get some exercise and fresh air with a trip into town.

It’s was a bit quiet today and I just wandered about a bit and dropped in on some of the charity shops.

The British Heart Foundation has apparently dropped the delusional opinion that it’s a high street outlet akin to HMV and clicked onto the fact that selling old for new doesn’t mean the cost reflects the original price when it was still in its wrapper.

Instead of three quid for East 17s Greatest Hit the price has tumbled to a mere 99p.

I suspect they are in a price war with Poundland who will re-brand themselves as 98pland in response to their opening salvo.

I left there with a DVD of Thin Lizzy’s Greatest Hits that carried the princely sum of £1.99 on its cover.

I’m quite happy with that.

A few minutes later I found myself reading, but not paying for, some magazines in WH Smiths.

If you haven’t heard of it then it’s like a library for magazines, but without anywhere to sit and you can’t take the magazines away with you unless you give them money.

Remember how Wetherspoons started as a no frills pub chain.

Well it’s like the library version of that.

It’s pretty basic, but alright if you don’t mind standing and reading.

While there a couple of young guys were standing next to me looking at some Top Gear shit.

Both were in their mid to late twenties, well dressed and had semi-cultured tones.

Probably trainee bank tellers or something like that on their lunch break.

One had a very loud conversational and while standing there he said to his mate at a decibel level that would carry to the back of building “I was pretty drunk and she shoved a cucumber up me”.

For a second I felt like saying “inside voice mate, use your inside voice”, but then he finished the sentence with “and I’ll not be going to any more of her parties.”

I am one hundred percent serious that this is what he said and at what volume.

I didn't mishear him.

So what sort of party was this?

The first part of it could have been a segment on a tv show like “Dates That Went Horribly Wrong”, but this was a party.

When he walked away he wasn't limping so I would hazard a guess that the party was held a few weeks ago.

Then when I left I seen a kid wearing stereotypical emo/skateboarding gear and a t-shirt with the legend “FUCK YOUR OPINIONS” emblazoned across his chest.

It must be pretty cool hanging about with him.

Your cup would be runneth over with scintillating conversations.

Can you imagine being his mum and responding to his question of what’s for lunch with “well it’s a sunny day so I was thinking about a salad” as he screamed back “I DIDN'T ASK WHAT YOU WERE THINKING. WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?”

On the way home I popped into Morrisons and this time I didn't have my “I want to be served by a person” stand off, but I did notice the Suns headline.

No, it’s not about Andy Coulson receiving an eighteen month sentence, nothing to do with Palestine or Israel, and I didn't notice anything about Iraq either.

Instead it’s about the English girl giving blow jobs for a drink in Magaluf.

Only as far as I was aware yesterday it was twenty chaps for a two quid drink and now filtered through the Suns truth capacitor it’s twenty four guys for a four quid cocktail.

Squeezing in the word cocktail is their obvious subliminal attempt to lay claim to a Cock Tale on the cover.

Look, we nearly said a dirty word, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Maybe deep down they want to be the Sunday Sport.

For a minute in Morrisons I also thought about going on a diet and losing a stone or even two, but then I seen fruit salad doughnuts and I have eaten two while writing this.

And that’s about as Bridget Jones as it’s getting.

A quick chat with Henry Cluney of XSLF

"Hi Henry. Lets get right into this and clear the decks with some no holds barred questions.

1-There's been some mixed responses to the formation of XSLF, with long time Stiff Little Fingers fans drawing battle lines over what is really a storm in a teacup. One one side we have those who are claiming you guys are little more than a tribute band, and on the other there are those who seem to grasp that the material you play is equally a part of your own legacy and don't see what the problem is. You have explained your position already on social media, but on you go, rattle it out again.

We are not Stiff Little Fingers, and make no claim to be. We never have.
Jakes band are not SLF either in my opinion...but it is an opinion lol.

2-Does it partially confuse you that in some quarters people don't seem to get that?
I suppose it didn't help when Jake posted some less than flattering comments with the 'real slf' line being dusted off. I know from a previous conversation we had that you don't have any sort of personal issue with him, so was it a bit disappointing that he appears to miss the point you were making about there only being one 'real' Stiff Little Fingers, and that being the line up of the debut album?

It does but to each their own I suppose. Jakes opinion is as valid as mine. The real lineup is Jake,Ali,me,Jim or Brian. That's the way I see it.
Jake unfriended me after that...toys out of the pram lol.

3-I noted that many of the derogatory claims about the worth of XSLF usually started off with 'I haven't seen them but.....' . Does that sort of line immediately flag their criticism as worthless?

It does. Of course it does. Though to be fair I don't see how anyone can criticize a band they have neither seen nor heard and I suspect most people can see that as a rational take on it..

4-The response to the concept has been pretty much the opposite to that of the response to the live shows. One less than supportive, and the other, from those who have actually seen you, predominately positive. Is the reaction from the fans at the shows something that you use to balance out the more negative responses, as regardless of what anyone says criticism does chip away at a persons confidence, even if it is unfounded, unrealistic and unwarranted?

To be honest people can say what they like.
Its personal preference and I have no problem with that.
I don't let it bother me.
If I did I wouldn't be doing it.
The people who come to the shows are there to be entertained and no one has had any complaints on that score.
That will do me.

5-Health wise how are you feeling. I often think that while people are aware that you were unwell they don't really grasp just how near death you were?

Thanks to the man upstairs I am doing great. Wasn't a fun time though. Lol

6-For many people a very serious brush with death is a wake up call. An experience that acts as a catalyst and allows the person to evaluate how they are living their life and then make changes to it. Is that the experience you had, and if so then what did you learn from it and what have you changed?

I'm not sure that I have changed anything. Not a lot gets my goat anyway but at least I'm still me...good or bad. I just appreciate being here.

7-There was some talk of xslf doing some original material. Is this still on the cards?

Yes. We are in the process of putting some stuff together as we speak.
So keep your ears open!!
Still at the early stage though.

8-I see you have UK dates in 2014 already booked. Does this mean that a return to the US is on hold just now?

Yes. I love to play, and the more shows the better. This is where the shows are so this is where I am.

9-In the perfect world what would be the next step?

Just to keep making music and entertaining the crowds we get...it's all a blessing to be doing this so in a perfect world I wouldn't be looking to rock the boat.

XSLF will be playing The Loft (Stewarton, Ayrshire) on Dec 14th.

Tickets can be purchased from The Loft or from RGM in Kilmarnock.

If anyone requires further information then please do leave a comment.

Rose Parade - Sell out B*st*rds

There are two words that when put together elicit equal amounts of joy and sadness.

They are sold, followed by out.

If we aren't going to go down the path of talking about artists who have allegedly sold out their credibility for stardom.

Then what we are left with is the proclamation of the two words together regarding an event being now ticket-less.

On the one side of the coin are the artists who know that people are going to make the effort to come and see them, and a busy night rather than playing to one man and his dog, is ahead of them.

For the venue the words are accompanied by the ringing of their tills.

For a promoter the sound is one of a sigh of relief, and for those with tickets there's a smug little voice reminding them that shelling out early for a ticket was a good idea.

On the other side of the coin are those who thought that they would just leave it until the night and pop in.

The ones who know that they had the chance to attend, but let it slip through their fingers.

With them sharing sad faces are unfortunately the people who simply didn't have the means at their disposal to grab a ticket and are now a tad pee'ed off that the night has arrived and they are still skint.

I feel for the later, but I'm not so fussed about the former.

And tonight is one of those nights that draws out all those feelings.

Rose Parade actually sold out weeks ago, but tonight is the night where all the work they have put into recording their debut album is revealed.

The excitement is mounting and with three excellent supports in place it's all shaping up to be a 'you had to be there' gig.

I'm fully expecting to indulge in a weekend of reading posts from people on the social networking sites that mention how utterly fantastic the gig was.

I would advice people to pop in as early as they can so that they can grab a bite from the much loved menu that the 13^th Note has prior to them securing a space with a prime view.

I can feel it in my water that this is going to kick off in a spectacular manner.

Tommy Reilly/Tragic O'Hara/Little Fire/Chloe Simpson - Su Casa - 28/07/12 (Ayr)

Is this the winds of change happening?

Two gigs in Ayrshire last night that I know of, and both sold out.

In Kilmarnock the newly reformed Ideals played to a packed Bakers, and according to all early reports it was in colloquial terms a 'belter'.

Meanwhile in Ayr Tommy Reilly stormed Su Casa with some able support from Tragic O'Hara, Little Fire and Chloe Simpson.

While it's sad that in both cases people were being turned away at the doors of the venues, it's also something that I am quietly pleased about as for once the audiences were pulling their weight and making the effort to sample what is on offer from the many talented people we have playing for us around this area.

Speaking of talented people that neatly brings me to Chloe Simpson who was opening the night in Su Casa.

This was the second time that I have seen her play and it was a very different performances than the previous one.

Last time there seemed to be a pop angle to how she was promoting her songs. Akin to someone like Kate Nash. Yet on this outing it's a more modern folkish take on the same material.

Even now in the cold light of the morning after the night before I'm not sure what one I prefer as both are equally as entertaining.

It's not an issue though, as at eighteen years old Chloe has plenty of time to experiment with her own material, and very obviously has the talent to take it in whatever direction she wants.

There's no doubt that it's going to be interesting keeping tabs on how she is getting on.

While a great deal of precocious talent has graced Su Casa it would be fair to say that along with other young women - like Megan Blyth and Anna Sweeney - that Chloe is up there leading the pack.

Following on from Chloe was Little Fire who was playing his second gig after being involved in an accident that left him out of commission for a while.

I'm not sure if he was just enthused at being back playing, or felt that he had some ground to catch up on, but this was a muscular performance with him attacking his material with renewed relish.

Everyone is still waiting with anticipation for the release of his debut album, and performances like this are raising the bar on what to expect.

Yet personally I feel quietly confident that he will deliver on all that is promised.

There's a warmth to his material that's an attraction, it brings people in, even when it is being lustily pushed forth into a crowd as it was here.

It's that spark of a connection that is the sign of a performer having something special, some attribute that not all artists have regardless of their virtuosity, and that something special can't even really be quantified, but Little Fire has it and he proves it every time that he picks up a guitar and sings.

It feels like a long time since I last seen Tragic O'Hara play, and that's probably because it is.

So this was a welcomed opportunity to reacquaint myself with his oeuvre.

I'm not sure if this was a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, but it was as if I was hearing him with fresh ears, and what I was hearing could be described as a master-class in how to entertain.

Solid songs, unbridled talent and an easy, but humorous rapport with the audience made this a real stand out performance.

Along with his own material he threw in his take on the Cypress Hill track 'Hits from a bong that features a nice segue into 'Son of a Preacher Man' while accompanying himself with the aid of a loop pedal.

It all seems so effortless, but of course it isn't of course.

Big surprise for me was the de-constructed 'Jump On' that features a higher pitched vocal performance.

The reworking of it manages to mould it into a whole new song that exists separately from the original recording. Both of them excellent.

In fact lets just say that this was pretty much a faultless performance, and it was one that I thought Tommy Reilly would have a problem following.

Fortunately the night didn't end on an anti-climax and Tommy - who seems to be the shyest most self effacing man in music - delivered a fantastic performance of material old and new.

It's the new songs that really shone though. That's not to take anything away from the older material, but it seems glaringly obvious that Tommy has went from being a very good songwriter to a great one.

Take 'Six Billion People' as an example. It's quite possibly a world wide hit in the waiting.

It's a song that sounds like an acoustic take on a late seventies power pop classic that's bolstered with a chorus that could very easily be transferred to the terraces and roared back at him like an anthem.

Absolutely stunningly good.

Then there 'Shut My Eyes'. A song that if there's any justice should jettison him firmly front and centre of the wider public's consciousness.

I pledged for the forthcoming album that these songs will feature on and while I've heard both from seeing him play before, and revisited them a few times on the excellent Tenementtv, it's only now that I'm feeling that the day the CD lands on my doormat can't come soon enough.

He deservedly left to an enthusiastically baying crowd who wanted more, and while that was the end of the set in Su Casa he will be back in the line ups for both Prestfest and Live@Troon.

Right now it seems that Ayrshire can't get enough of Tommy and based on this performance it's very obvious why.

Links - Tragic O'Hara  Little Fire  Tommy Reilly  Su Casa