XSLF - Pivo Pivo Glasgow - Oct 3rd

XSLF have been using the tag line 'The fire still burns' to promote their current run of live dates, and the proof that the statement is no idle boast was apparent from the first chord being struck right up until the last shook the plaster from the ceiling of Pivo Pivo in Glasgow.

It is without a shadow of a doubt that Henry Cluney, Jim Reilly and Petesy Burns could never be accused of going through the motions, as the material from the first few SLF albums were delivered with far more passion and commitment than most would have realistically expected.

It was as if they had been told that they only had one shot at this and something kicked in and took it to a level that left the audience physically and emotionally spent.

In the aftermath I lost count of the sweat drenched men who stated that the performance surpassed that of the current SLF line up, and while that will be hotly debated, those who have seen these guys firing on all cylinders will find it hard to disagree.

That's not to demean the Burns fronted line up, but to highlight just how much energy was expelled in delivering the songs.

It did no harm that the set was made up of what most would claim to be the best in the SLF back catalogue either.

It's a relentless run of classics that has the audience punching the air, pogoing wildly, crowd surfing at one point, roaring out the lyrics, and in addition helped many lose some weight with a serious aerobic workout. ;)

Fans are aware that Henry has had some health issues, very serious health issues, but it can be seen that he has left them behind as his delivery of the material is a powerful testament to his talents, Jim is a machine, behind the kit he is the engine that never flags, and Petesy dominated the bass.

It would be an act of folly to try and pinpoint one singular negative as there were none.

No one dropped the ball on this, and it is simply stating a fact when they say that ' the fire still burns'.

This was no flickering light in the darkness, but instead a fire that when burning at its brightest could be seen from space.

Outstanding.

In support 4 Past Midnight and The Red Eyes showed why they are both considered the big hitters in the Glasgow punk scene, and new to Pivo The Puzzlers opened the night with a set that would leave the majority of headline acts wondering just how they would follow it.

It could be said that the night was book ended by magnificence and filled in the middle with sterling performances.

If a famous beverage did gigs then this would have been it.

A special shout out has to go out to The Media Whores for stepping aside to allow The Puzzlers to play.

It can't be said often enough how much that meant to the band and myself.

Love, death, family and the soundtrack to our lives

This is not going to be a normal sort of blog update. (Whatever normal is.)

More a rambling monologue, but I will try and section bits off so people can skip to what they are interested in.

Prior to starting I will say that I hope people can appreciate that this is in fact a blog, and not simply a website devoted to music.

Regular readers will be aware of this.

So while there are reviews and interviews there have also been short stories, political rants and posts of a more personal nature.

Some like it, some don't, some understand where I am coming from, while others find it difficult to get to grips with what is going on.

I have had emails praising me for the anarchic no rules aspect of the blog, and equally some have urged me to make it more consistent.

Of course all correspondence is welcome and opinions valued.

Then again that doesn't mean that I will act on any advice given.

That's pretty much a given.

So let's leave it at that and get into this.

Okay, the last few weeks have been a somewhat of a mixed bag with the highs being very high and the lows being...well pretty damn low.

The main thing that has happened is that my uncle has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It's at an advanced stage and apart from providing him with pain relief there's nothing much can be done.

He's the pragmatic sort so there's a great deal of stoic acceptance on his part going on.

What will be will be could be his unspoken mantra.

I would like to think that I could emulate his bravery if similar happened to me, but who can honestly say how they would react until the day comes.

This news has however had me thinking a great deal about family.

Once he passes that is the generation of males that my father belonged to gone

I will then be the oldest male in the family.

A sobering thought.

It doesn't feel like a chapter closing, but the last pages of a book in a series coming to an end.

There is another volume, but his passing will have a finality to it that if I am honest I keep trying to put to the back of my mind.

It would be fair to say that after my father he is the only other male role model I really had, and while I am considered to be very much my fathers son there is a great deal of my uncle in me to.

Without a shadow of a doubt it is his love of music that is the main thing that others see in me.

There is a thread of music fanaticism that runs from my uncle to me, and from there it has been picked up by my son who carries the torch in a certain sense.

My father enjoyed music, but it could never have been described as something we shared a love for.

We connected on other levels, but music wasn't one.

That shared love of rock and roll was/is reserved as the connection between my uncle and me.

You can't miss it,

Very clearly the defining link in the family chain that joins my uncle and myself apart from blood is this love of music.

There's really no getting away from it.

One of my earliest memories is sitting in his home with over-sized headphones on my little preschool head and listening to everyone from The Stones to Elvis, and The Kinks to Johnny Cash.

Thinking back it's now over forty years since I tonelessly sang along to the songs too much amusement from my parents.

There's been a great deal of water flowed under the bridge since then though.

So much that often it doesn't bear thinking about.

Apart from a great deal of water there's also a great deal that I would like to say about how my father and uncle shaped me as a man, but it's difficult.

So difficult that I was actually in two minds about posting anything about this at all.

Then I thought about how eulogies are often tempered with a need not to speak ill of the dead, and how very often there is a need for a positive editing job done on anything that is said in hindsight about those who have died.

It's with that in mind that I then thought I should say something now rather than later.

Something that is mainly for myself, but can't be construed as having a positive spin as it could be it it was said after his death.

I toyed with a few approaches and considered how to phrase it all, but ultimately it would all just be the meat layered over the bones of what basically needs to be said.

The bones being that I want to just say that I love and respect him, and that when the time comes I will miss him.

I will miss him very much.

I'm never sure if talking about things like this makes others feel uncomfortable, but that just takes us back to the start of the update and the thinly veiled point being made that I don't really care.

There's still a bit of me that thinks when I up posts that all I am doing is shouting and muttering stuff into a void.

So with that now out of the way we can now step forward into our shared passion that is music.

My uncle would probably skipped all that and started here anyway.

It's been a while since I have managed to be able to set aside the time to write anything on the bands and artists that I have seen and heard.

In fact I don't seem to have had much time to do quite a few things that I really should have.

The solution may be to register myself as a company and have the government provide me with an allocation of workfare employees, although the words workfare and employee don't feel as if they should naturally go together. so maybe not.

Sweethearts of the prison rodeo

Last night I was in the 13^th Note to see a band called Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, and with a name like that how could I really look to go and see anyone else who was playing anywhere else in Glasgow?

I may be wrong, but without checking I will hazard a guess that they are named after a documentary about cowgirls in prison who compete in penitentiary rodeos.

Although I have no idea why, and maybe it is best not to ask.

The band are from Falkirk - as you would expect from the name (Aye right) - and are more a collective than an actual band.

This being the case it makes it difficult to pigeon hole them as myriad influences proliferate the material.

There was a bit of Booker T, a smattering of Roky Erickson, some garage rock and roll mixed with a post punk attitude going on, and that was just in the one song.

Elsewhere there's some poetry, the topic of the low sperm count in a rabbit to be discussed in song, a bit of socialist rancour and a warehouse of kitchen sinks to be cast into the mix.

To say I was impressed would be an outrageous understatement.

I went to see them based on a casual trawl through the venue listings to see what was on and finding a partially bonkers description of them that turned out to have just been an honest appraisal.

Well worth the four quid admission and I'm looking forward to wrapping my ears around their debut CD and the split cassette that I bought.

Next time our paths cross it will be a more deliberate undertaking on my part as we need artists like this to serve as the flipside of the mainstream coin.

They are the perfect palette cleanser after a day of having heard vacuous chart music being played out in the background as we traipse through our lives.

www.facebook.com/theprisonrodeo?fref=ts

The Shires

Sadly I missed Ayrshire band 'The Shires' play in Pivo, (www.facebook.com/theshiresmusic?fref=ts) but I did catch the soundcheck of their acoustic set and the positive talk about them is something that shouldn't be considered as hype.

There's an impressive slack jawed delivery of the material that is infectiously insolent in the style of a Johnny Rotten or Liam Gallagher.

That's not to say that the band sound like the Pistols or Oasis, but there's a swaggering attitude that the band share with them that many try to copy, but few actually carry off.

A great deal of it is appears to be the sound of Britpop devoid of any sheen.

Instead it's been torn apart and then rebuilt with more functional muscle added to it.

Considering this was the acoustic set getting an airing it would be naïve to consider that the electric set wouldn't deliver harder.

Scarlet Shift/Colour Coded/Quinny

Going back a bit the last show that was consistently good was the Scarlet Shift/Colour Coded/Quinny outing in Pivo.

Unfortunately it was a show that suffered badly from an audience arriving late in the evening to see Scarlet Shift rather than looking to sample what else was on offer.

It was akin to how people turn out to see the main act on a large tour and make no effort to see the supports.

Unfortunately in this case it means that they missed two acts who were every bit as good as Scarlet Shift and that they would have very probably enjoyed just as much.

Quinny (www.facebook.com/QuinnysMusic?fref=ts) played an acoustic solo set that served to confirm to me that given the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time he would be considered as star quality.

His songwriting, musicianship and stage presence is on par with any successful singer songwriter that you could care to mention, but as a bonus he has a great cross over appeal that could see his material attract a wide spectrum of listeners.

Similarly it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine Colour-Coded (www.facebook.com/colourcodedband) gracing festival stages and performing in front of masses of fans.

It just seems to be the next logical step forward in their career as while they are treading the much trampled indie rock path they do have the songs and stage craft to put them a few steps ahead of the pack.

In fact scratch that.

It's not just a few steps ahead.

They may as well be the dots disappearing over the horizon in the eyes of the competition.

Scarlet Shift (www.facebook.com/ScarletShift) are in the same enviable position to.

If you want to look for one small thing to critique then you would be wasting your time.

Blurring the lines between rock and pop they are writing anthems that have wide mainstream appeal written all over them.

I'm praying that they break through as pop music is in danger of taking its disposable nature far too seriously.

The mainstream charts need to have a band like Scarlet Shift introduced to the world so that they can claw back some artistic integrity before the labels create a perfect storm of blandness scenario.

Photographs from this show can be found at Gobo Photography

Rank Berry/Soul Remover/For What You're Worth

Ouch.

The rock scene of late has been struggling under the weight of all the hardcore bands whose power chords are hammered out in the bowels of hell.

Every amp is on eleven and every vocalists has to sound like Linda Blair revisiting her role in the Exorcist, but via the labour ward.

Or in other words there's a great deals of grunting, squealing and motherfuckers sucking cocks in hell thrown about.

So thankfully both Soul Remover (www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Remover/189322554450387?fref=ts) and Rank Berry (www.facebook.com/rankberrymusic?fref=ts) steer clear of that and instead look to go down a more melodic route to entertain us.

I've not been shy in my praise of Rank Berry previously and there was nothing on show in this performance that would lead to me to distance myself from what I have said in the past.

While the rock and roll they play has a classic sound to it we can't help but hear it with fresh ears as so few others are doing similar.

Meanwhile Soul Remover are solid in their understanding of what makes good rock music and are not shy in delivering it to us.

While grunge music was the response to a rock world that was disappearing under a cloud of hairspray and lip gloss you could argue that Soul Remover have refused to entertain turning their back on the punk sleaze attitude of that era, and instead just took it into the gym and pumped it full of steroids and put it back out on the streets while telling it to walk like a man.

It's a macho thrill ride, but not in any misogynistic sense.

Both acts are a breathe of fresh air in what is increasingly becoming a stagnant scene

For What You.re Worth (www.facebook.com/FWYWBand?directed_target_id=0) are a whole different story again.

While they are a rock band they operate on a different level.

While we are all aware of the pop punk scene that came out of the US these young guys are more indie punk.

This is the sound of a band raised on Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys melding that UK indie rock genre to a more US based punk one while neatly giving the shiny teeth and smiley pop angle a body swerve.

It's difficult to watch them and appreciate that this is a band who are just setting out into the world.

Close your eyes and they sound like seasoned veterans who are finally drawing all their talents together to make something special.

Definitely an act to watch out for.

Tommy Clark and what he did last night.

Jim Dead

You know every once in as while an amazing gig turns up and you think I am NOT going to miss this.

Well last night was one of those nights, but there was a problem.

Like the bus we wait on that’s late only for two to then arrive at once I had the option of two shows.  

What one to go to?

Well of course I did what every good music fan would do and hot footed it between them to catch as much as I could. 

The first performance was from Jim Dead who was playing in Pivo Pivo.

I managed to get in early doors and grab a beer and play catch up with some folk early doors including Jim before he took to the stage.

As I took a seat Jim casually walked on stage and began tuning his guitar.  There was the usual people chatting as is the way of things.  Then suddenly Jim looked up and with a simple strum down the strings he begun. 

Right from that moment everything changed.

His set consisted of some songs from his new EP ‘I’m not lost’ and other stretching back through his extensive back catalogue. Songs that I am familiar with, but it was obvious I was in the minority as those around me were wakening up to what Jim does.

Then as he came towards the end of his set something amazing happened and it’s not something I have very often seen.

He stopped strumming his guitar and began to sing acapella. It was totally unexpected, but in that moment perfect.

It is a sign of real talent when someone can hold a rooms attention just with their voice and no accompaniment.

Taking a glance around I noticed that even the bar staff had stopped to listen to this. 

I have seen Jim play several times but never have I experienced such emotion in an audience of his. 

Amazing probably doesn't come close. 

A better adjective for it, to quote the man next to me, was captivating.  On form like this I can’t fathom why Jim doesn't play to larger audiences, but then again maybe that’s not what it’s all about.

A bigger venue with a larger, and noisier, audience would probably take something away from it. 

The intimacy would be lost. 

The connection made stolen from the moment. 

So in hindsight this has to be described as special.

I hope that it can be repeated given the right situation, but if not I am very pleased that I witnessed it.  

From Pivo I did the mad dash up the hill to King Tuts for a 4 band bill featuring The Likely lads, Stonehouse Violets, Soldier on and Steady State Regime. 

As I arrived at the venue the latter of the bands were taking the stage. 

Steady State Regime could be described as Kasabian meets The Stone Roses.

Not a bad thing in my book.

I managed to take in most of their set which consisted solely of original tracks. 

I was surprised to be told that this performance was after only two rehearsals with their new drummer Paul Slavin.

I was highly impressed with how tight they were albeit with a few stage winks. Bands shouldn’t be up to speed so fast when breaking in a replacement, but they carried it off without breaking a sweat.

There’s already some tracks recorded and very soon I will have them aired on the 3^rd Class ticket on Mesi radio and others can pass on what they think.

Literally diving onto stage with some obvious hunger were Stonehouse Violets who similar to Steady State Regime were bedding in a new drummer.

Not that you would pick up on the change, unless of course you were looking.  Mikey looking forever the rock front man told the crowd ‘we don’t have long here so lets get on with it’, and then did just that.

Thrashing through an upbeat set it was back to their best for the Violets who had slightly let me down last time with a performance that may have dipped due to some over indulgence of spirits on their part.

I said when the previous drummer Scott left that they had big gloves to fill, but Matthew has brought a different style and energy to the band and he has to be applauded for slipping in and making the drum stool his own. 

Seeing Stewart jump off stage and play a solo in the crowd was another highlight of a far too short set.

A short sharp burst of rock and roll that hinted again at the band being one to watch.

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to catch The likely lads set due to being caught up in conversations about future airing and possibilities of sessions in the future.  Watch this space for updates!!!!

I headed back into the venue with an expectant crowd for the appearance on stage of Ayrshire mod band Soldier On, and they didn’t disappoint with an explosion of colour and sound from the first beat. 

There’s no reverse gear with these guys. It’s all full steam ahead.

Over the last few months they have worked hard at building up a solid fan base and they were out in force and with their usual mix of upbeat originals and covers the band whipped them into frenzy.

The band know how to work a set and there’s no lulls. It just starts hard and fast and builds ever stronger as it progresses until they bring the curtain down on yet another fantastic night for those lucky enough to see them.

A night to definitely remember.   

I think we may have what you want.

With six gigs already confirmed it's shaping up to be a good year in my opinion. 

While some blogs and promotion companies tend to focus on one genre, and rarely stray from what they know, it's a bit obvious that this isn't how this blog rolls as da kids would say.

(Or if not the kids then Will Smith in his Fresh Prince days.) 

So there you go, a bit of something for virtually everyone. 

Good music is after all good music.

I hope you can see something that you like and attend a show or two or six. 

All the acts appearing come with my personal guarantee that they are all of headlining quality no matter where they are on the bill. 

One gig is already sold out as we can see. 

Lets get the bands the audiences they deserve for the rest.

Happy Birthday Lisa Vermin

This was supposed to be a review of the Distorted Truth gig in Pivo Pivo, but my evening didn't really go as planned.

So instead if I was to keep a diary then I suppose this is what I would have filled it with.

Some days you have to look at the flow of humanity and question where we are going.

Underneath Central Stations Guinness record breaking glass ceiling you could be forgiven for thinking that in the vast expanse of space it would hold a microcosm of the whole world.

All of the weird and wonderful could press shoulders with the everyday and the mundane.

Yet when I arrive all I can see is predominately three different groups of people.

There's the nine to fivers looking worn down and killing time till they can get home and shut the world out.

Wage slaves of which I am one.

Then there's the people who have fallen through the cracks of society and are looking to find something to get them through the night into the next day.

It could be fifty pence for a cup of tea, or a couple of pounds that they can put towards whatever their chosen oblivion provider is.

Hanging about, and adding sizeably to the throng, are the tribal kids.

Look at us! We are all so different in our uniformity.

There's nothing wrong with their naivety.

They're just filling time between the innocence of youth and the reality of adulthood.

Is this really it though?

Between birth and death is this really all we can be?

Of all the sparks of electricity firing inside our heads and carrying ideas and dreams from one place to another is this the sum of our efforts?

Thank fuck FOPP was still open and its array of what is the end product of creativity could distract me for a while and lift me from the edge of the pit of despair that I sometimes hover over.

The box set of War Child seven inch singles I picked up was the perfect dark cloud buster.

Fifteen singles featuring artists covering a classic with the original version being on the b-side.

Now that what I call a result.

Kelly set her sights on the limited edition metal box set of AC/DCs Black Ice album and quickly secured one.

A nice purchase that if I was flush with cash I would have grabbed myself.

I'm sure that some would ask why a man of my age would want a CD that comes in a metal tin with some stickers, a plectrum and a large flag?

I would ask why a man of my age wouldn't want one?

Wetherspoons provided a cheap meal for us in the gap between the shops closing and the gig starting.

It really is the poor man's version of dining out.

My southern fried chicken wrap with chips is as exotic as my finances stretch it seems.

The gig wasn't really a normal gig at all and instead was doubling up as a surprise twenty first birthday party for Glasgow punk Lisa Vermin.

I'd like to say I know her, but I have only ever spoken to her maybe twice in passing.

Lovely girl though, and it was heart warming to see that people care enough for someone to make the effort to arrange a whole gig just for them.

No one does that unless the person is rather special.

Lovely really, and a good example of what the punk scene should be, but often isn't.

Met a young guy at the gig.

He had the punk uniform of tartan bondage trousers, sleeveless band shirt et al, but I was pleasantly surprised when we started chatting and he revealed himself to be open minded in general about music and life itself.

It was refreshing to meet someone of such tender years who fundamentally got what punk is.

He could learn some old dogs some new tricks.

He works down south on yachts because it's the job he wants and feels passionate about.

I suspect no one will steam roller him into fitting a tidy box to suit their expectation.

Buzzbomb were as good as I expected them to be.

Between the three guys in the band they can vocally cover anything you want. From melodic pop punk in the style of The Ramones to some bone crunching rock.

It's all down with a great deal of energy and the covers of Sonic Reducer and Halloween were given a bit of a slap and delivered at 100mph.

My enjoyment of them was impacted on a bit by a growling stomach pain that was becoming increasingly distracting as they played.

When they finished I made a bee line for the toilets and lets just say that is anyone has the number for the Chernobyl clean up crew then can they pass it on to Pivo Pivo.

It's entirely possible that my anus looks like a gunshot wound.

I could have left the gig at this juncture, but big Kyle Thunder of Filthy Little Secret and The Bucky Rage had told me I really need to see Alkotron so many times that I felt obligated to hang about.

I'm glad I did.

Starting off with an instrumental in the vein of the Shadows, albeit a Shadows without Cliff and featuring a thumping bass line.

After that it was a case of all bets were off.

Sometimes it sounded like JJ Burnell on bass and David Gilmour on guitar.

On a couple of songs I was taken back to the leafy glades of Glastonbury where out of my face on Gorbachovs I'd dance to extended dub reggae jams bathed in strobe lights.

Mental stuff.

There's really no point in trying to pigeon hole the band as that's not what they are about.

Their whole set just screams an appreciation of music.

It's an aural magical mystery tour of excellence.

Highly recommended to the open minded.

Then my guts started to issue a four minute warning again and after another major evacuation I decided that leaving was a better idea that ruining Lisa's party.

I have no doubt that Splinter and Distorted Truth would have continued the evening in fine style.

Hurray For The Riff Raff - Pivo Pivo, Glasgow, 30th Aug

In just little over a week I have the pleasure to be putting on Hurray For The Riff Raff on what is the first night of their headlining UK tour.

I don't think I can really convey how excited I am about this.

Whenever anyone uses the word promoter to describe me I cringe.

I'm not a business man.

The simple truth is that I'm a music fan who sometimes puts on a gig or to.

So the excitement I feel has nothing to do with any money - it's a non profit making gig with the money after my outlay going to cover the cost of Hurray for the Riff Raff, and the rest being split between the supports – and everything to do with my appreciation of the talents of the band.

Since I first heard them there's not a day goes by that I don't listen to them.

Sometimes it is the whole of one of their albums, other days it is just a song here and there as I share them out online as I promote the show.

Whenever I do listen to them I actually feel a bit of a thrill.

There's something primitively enchanting about them.

They just sound.....well real I suppose.

Lacking in the trappings of showbiz.

Part of the attraction is also that on studio recordings it is so very obvious that they are primarily a live band, and I'm literally counting down the days until they arrive.

I just now that on a stage in front of an audience they will push things onto the next level.

Friends have commented about the link with Alabama Shakes and their success (They share a producer), likewise the media attention that the band are now getting (mentions in The Sun, Sunday Times, Mojo and Uncut) as if this has anything to do with why I am looking forward to the gig.

In some peoples eyes it seems like a big deal, and it is, but the main thing for me is that I'm involved in putting on a band that I truly admire. 

The icing on the cake is that all the supports, Little Fire, The Dirt and Matt Scott are all friends.

In my head the night is going to be like a big warm family party.

So far sales of tickets have went very well, and without exaggerating to generate more sales it does look like it will sell out.

I sincerely hope it does.

The band deserve nothing less than a honestly rousing support to start their tour off.

Now listen to this with an open mind and forget what is in or out of fashion. Just listen.

The Hostiles/Car Crash Radio/The Kimberly Steaks/Cal Murray - Pivo Pivo - 02/08/12 (Glasgow)

I don't think many people would disagree that with every solo gig that Cal Murray tucks under his belt that he just gets better and better.

He's certainly blossoming as a solo artist.

It's not that the material he is playing has gotten stronger as it was topically powerful from day one. Instead it seems to be that he is just becoming increasingly comfortable playing front and centre on his own, and that confidence allows his set to flow far more evenly resulting in a firmer connection with an audience.

Previously pretty much everything on the technical side has been in place, a good voice, solid songs and the ability to play them well, but along with that a certain amount of personal charisma needs to be promoted as well, and that has been increasingly revealing itself to the betterment of the set.

For the style of music that he is playing I could argue strongly that he's a technically better singer than Billy Bragg, and far more honestly belligerent in promoting what he believes in than Frank Turner.

From the amount of people who made the effort to arrive early, or disengage themselves from the bar area to take his set in, it looks like others are starting to pick up on how talented he is.

Things are only going to get better.

 04-Pay My Way by Cal Murray 

The Kimberly Steaks who were next are a band that I've been told that I must have seen before. Yet I drew a complete blank on them.

There was absolutely nothing jogging my memory at all.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy them. In fact I did. I just don't ever remember seeing them before and I doubt I have as you could file them away as once seen never forgotten.

From the first song I was immediately transported into the past and instead of the gig taking place in Pivo Pivo in the present I could have been standing in the basement of the 13thNote or Nice and Sleazy from nights long past.

It's classic pop punk. Gilman street seen through beer bottle glasses from Sauchiehall Street.

Not that this is a bad thing.

It's not a style of music that is riding the crest of a wave any more, but who cares.

If you want a nostalgia trip as this was your thing then these guys will deliver.

You also wont be disappointed if you care not a jot for what is being pushed as the current trend to follow and are just looking to be thoroughly entertained.

Hell. I'm giving them a big seal of approval.

All the way from Carlisle 'Car Crash Radio' sound like they aren't going to take any prisoners.

They're the next evolutionary stage from what The Kimberley Steaks are doing. They've still got the pop punk skeleton, but it's padded out with a more modern take on the sound.

Specifically impressive is the attitude of the front man who plays the set as if he's performing to a stadium full of ecstatic fans.

It's that sort of attitude that can sometimes separate the wheat from the chaff.

By wearing that self confidence like armour the band are far removed from those who are playing in clubs and will never escape them.

There motto could be 'treat the club like a stadium and one day it will be'.

Apart from the front man the band are all tight with the bass and drums providing a solid frame work for some impressive guitar work to be layered over.

I liked them so much that I'm going to try and catch them playing again this weekend before they head back home.

They're another band whose names getting tucked away in the mental file labelled 'one to keep an eye on'.

It's been literally years since I last seen the Hostiles and sound wise it's a whole new ball game.

Maybe others who have seen them regularly would disagree as they have participated in the gradual change, but for me it sounds like they have dropped the pop overtones on their ska sound overnight and and are now encroaching on Operations Ivy's more aggressive style.

Or in short this is a muscular beast of a band, and all the more impressive for it.

Watching them it's very obvious that they are well deserving of securing the support slot on the forthcoming Reel Big Fish tour.

In fact they are so good that the tour shouldn't be viewed as a headliner with a support, but instead a double headlining tour.

Everyone should make sure they get there early and grab a prime spot to watch the guys from.

I fully expect them to pick up plenty of new fans on every leg of the tour and by the end of the year this could be they can look back on it as a one of the best they have had as a band.

There's two more nights lined up to celebrate the release of their new ep.

One in Prestwick and another in Edinburgh.

If ska punk is your thing then do yourself a favour and make sure you make it to one, or both.

The Hostiles   Car Crash Radio   Cal Murray   The Kimberly Steaks 

Devilish Presley Tour Diary - Glasgow Pivo Pivo - 20/04/12

GLASGOW

 Friday 20th April 

 Pivo Pivo.

We left London at 7-30pm on thursday evening heading for Stoke, and as we stopped to get some fuel I saw a black Range Rover with tinted windows and the number plate MI5 I SPY - it "must" have been James Bond surely? Or a berk....?

We stayed in a place called "StokeTalke" which sounds like an "Olde Worlde Radio Showe" where everyone phones in and talks about Manglewurzels and shrubs. The "Stoke Talke Little Cheffe was Closde" Harpo was delighted with his sofa-bed but as usual with Travelodge because we had a dog with us were downgraded from 3rd class to "fucked up shit class".Big hole in one wall, water stains on the ceiling, bootmarks on the bed - the usual (before we arrived I hasten to add).

Set off about midday Friday and the weather was mental, sunshine, shower, sunshine, shower....As we got up near Carlisle the scenery started to get more impressive and the clouds were doing their best "biblical sky" kind of thing. Stopped at a services surrounded by rolling hills, sunshine in one direction, evil black clouds in another and lots of mist. Harpo was heard to mumble "fuck me this is a BIG park!"

We arrived outside Pivo Pivo at 5-30 pm and I loaded in while Jacqui sat like a spider waiting to pounce on the parking spot right outside the venue. Pivo is situated right near Glasgow’s main station and the area is how shall I put it “vibrant” at night time. Parking space acquired, gear set up and sound engineer sorted THEN our mate Meester Mainy arrived looking very dapper like a cross between Clockwork Orange and a Parisian Beatnik all tooled up for the Parisian riots in 1968. Mainy paid me upfront an example to all and a feat shared by some of the bikers we have played for in the past. I said hello to Kel and was introduced to Pauline & Claire. Everything ran like Clockwork (Orange) and all the bands were on time and there was no fucking about.

We set up the merch and I have to say a special thanks to Lorna (who arrived looking glam in leopard skin) who took over whilst we were feeding Harpo and continued to do the merch’ during the night. Many times in the course of the night she handed me money and said “CD & T-shirt” in her cool Glaswegian accent. Thanks mate.

Melisa Kelly & The Harmless Thieves were on first and were a really pleasant surprise to me. Melisa has an amazing voice, Jacqui came up to me and said “she sounds like Stevie - Stevie Vann Jac’s vocal coach – who also has an amazing range and power. Melisa could earn a fortune doing sessions but does her own songs which are great.

Mainy was sitting out on the stairs for a great deal of the time (Pivo is a basement) and I kept popping out to chat with him, on one of these occasions I met Homesick Aldo (Alan Smith) who was the next on the bill. Aldo was every bit as good as I was expecting blowing up a one man storm on his harmonica, playing minimal drums and blues-wailing. Unlike some wannabe blues guys Aldo opts for the Johnny Thunders meets Slim Harpoimage and sound and was terrific.

More folks were arriving all the time and I met long time fan and friend Lisa M and had some photos taken with her and sister Pauline M & their friend “DP first timer” Joanne who was a party on legs!!. This is one of the perks of the job.  Also caught up with my mate Antony Crimson Black (who we stayed with in Whitby last year) who made it to the gig after a very long drive from Sheffield!

And then there were The Coffins fronted by the dude Joe Bone. Now I was lucky enough to see Glasgow’s finest son Alex Harvey and I can think of no higher praise than to say there were distinct echoes of SAHB here, maybe it was the vocals & accent, maybe it was the bank robbers balaclava or the excellent band (the bass player was superb) but whatever I loved these guys. “Get into the Coffins before you die” wise words indeed!

Then we were on and it was a such great crowd. Fucking excellent gig. Mainy did us proud at The Barfly in 2008 and he did it again, thank you so much mate.

A bit of a hectic rush to pack up and get out....Lisa M asked if she could help me pack up because she quite rightly felt we should have some roadies (so do I but I can’t afford them). Lisa I have to say the next day when we went to set up the stand for the flag it literally fell to pieces – no worries we sorted it out – and you have got the job!!

A few more photos outside and it was all over – apparently there had been mayhem earlier in the evening around the venue – Jacqui saw a large group of people hitching a ride on a garbage truck and a big fight – but we got some deep fried pizza and wished we could rewind the night and do it all over again. Maybe we will!!

Just got a short and sweet review in from Mr Anarchoi aka Mysterious Stranger (For 'Plastic Punks' Only) 

DEVILISH PRESLEY/THE COFFINS/HOMESICK ALDO/MELISSA KELLY... PIVO PIVO/ FRIDAY 20TH APRIL 2012. 

Great turnout for a Friday gig, and that was with a coupla other things goin on in the city.

Sadly I missed Melissa Kelly who was 1st on but I was reliably informed her set went doon well wae the punters.

Next up was Homesick Aldo who sported a 'Johnny Thunders' t shirt....top marx straight away fae me!!!! He done a 1 man band playin some drums,harmonica and anything else he could get his hands or teeth into!!! Like a blues meets glam meets sleazy punk in cbgbs which certainly messed up the rules of punk, he kept it going well and the crowd were eatin outta his hands by the end of it!!

The Coffins were up next and treated us to some Garage influenced rock which was met with an equally frantic crowd, horror and murder the order of the day...or night...crackin band live!!! Devilish Presley ended proceedings and they've never disappointed at all, drum machine and guitar and bassist all served up a tasty mix of 70s punk and Joan Jett influenced attitude!!! Once again, a well promoted gig not relying on big names just honesty and attitude.

Mucho gracios amigos.

Poster is free to download.
Help yourself.

Not really a blog update, but instead a thank you list.

Thank you to Devilish Presley for once again restoring my faith in rock and roll.
Thank you to The Coffins who once again took it to the limit.
Thank you to Homesick Aldo for being a fuckin' star. Thank you to Melisa Kelly and her Harmless Thieves for adding some class to proceedings.
Much love goes to the venue Pivo Pivo for allowing me to host the gig in their venue.
And obviously thank you to everyone who came along. I'm especially proud of those who supported me in this and were willing to try out something new that possibly wouldn't have previously been their thing musically. Converts to the church of rockin' one and all.
I am genuinely very pleased that the acts were an eye opener for some, and happy that the appreciation of their talents was given so freely.
I would also like to thank the people who messaged wishing me luck and gave their reasons for their non attendance.
It's not a hassle.
Life often gets in the way of a good night out and I also appreciate that you took the effort to offer your reasons as opposed to excuses. I have no idea what is next, but I suppose I will be dipping my toe in again.

Mainy.