Beady Eye - Different gear, still speeding

It was no surprise that after the lacklustre and patchy releases that failed to revisit the earlier glory days of Oasis that Noel and Liam would finally part ways.
Between them they had flogged that horse to death twice over.
It would however be fair to say that in the aftermath of this decision that the majority would have laid bets that Noel would flourish without the swaggering macho council estate antics of Liam reflecting poorly on him. While Liam himself would slip and slide further down the celebrity status list until the only time we would ever hear about him was if he managed to have a swing at the milkman in the early hours after leaving a tupperware party at Kerry Katona's.
Then in his usual cocksure manner Liam announced that he would be back with Beady Eye to blow Oasis out of the water.
Critics quietly laughed and filed his comments away as the delusional rantings of the compulsive braggart. Last orders had been called on Liam Gallagher.
Now with the album being leaked it would certainly seem that quite a few people, including myself, will have to slice themselves a large portion of humble pie as Liam has just released the best piece of work that he has been involved in since “Definitely Maybe” or “What's the Story”.
Across the breadth of the songs this is the best and most varied he has ever sounded.
Still instantly recognisable, but with a bit of added oomph.
It would seem fair to say that without Noel at the helm he has flourished, or more accurately the whole band have, and I'm sure this will raise much debate. Did he run Oasis with an iron rod to ensure it was his vision, or were the rest of the guys happy to allow him to carry the responsibility on his shoulders while they coasted in his wake? Does anyone really care?
I guess we will never know, but it would be safe to venture that the hardcore Oasis fans aren't going to find much to criticize about this as he has delivered exactly what they have been waiting for.
More surprisingly though is that once “Different gear, still speeding” has sunk in I could envision that there could be quite a few more converts flocking to Liam's corner.
On the album itself the ghost of John Lennon certainly casts a very large shadow, and while it would be easy to claim it was a distraction, the real strength of Beady Eye's debut lies in the career defining vocal performance from Liam and the enthusiasm with which the band attacks the material.
This is very, very, good rock and roll.
I suspect that it doesn't really need stating that it's a homage to the swinging sixties with the crossover appeal that you would expect from that as everything that has come before from Liam has been, but it maybe does need to be highlighted that instead of slavishly recreating the halcyon days of the Beatles, the Kinks et al Beady Eye have successfully dragged that era into the here and now and maintained its exuberance more so than Oasis ever did. No small feat in itself.
They're certainly not the first band to attempt this but they are one of the very few to have done so while maintaining a fresh angle on it.
It goes without saying that Beady Eye should be rightfully proud of their début.
Not because it has redefined anything, or even provided us with a new sound, but purely because it will serve to give many of their maudlin contemporaries a kick up the backside while simultaneously showing others that there is certainly plenty of life in the old dog yet.
Fair play to Liam. The ball is now in Noel's court, and if he returns with some Welleresque balladeering then it will be no surprise if he is the brother who becomes yesterdays nowhere man.
All we can do now is wait and see.
As a side issue I'll add that I fervently hope that “Different gear, still speeding” reignites a love for guitar driven rock and ushers in yet another revival of successful guitar bands in the UK, because we could really do with some more of that to shake up an increasingly sterile mainstream scene.

This land is your land - unless you're a Muslim it seems.

Bit disappointed this evening.
By chance I heard that Darrell Bath (ex UK Subs/Dogs D'Amour/Crybabies/Honest John Plain and more) was playing a couple of shows a hop, skip and a jump away from me in a hotel backing some guy called Micky Kemp.
After a quick search I found Micky Kemps myspace and listened to a few songs.
Not bad at all.
Some nice blue collar americana and at a fiver a ticket it would be a nice quiet cheap evening in good surroundings with some good music.
Then I checked out Micky Kemps facebook page to see if I could find a time when the gig kicked off, and when flicking through some pictures I found his pathetic and hateful views on Islam/Muslims.
Photoshopped images of burning Mosques etc.
That's when the disappointment kicked in as I wouldn't knowingly give a penny to anyone who holds and promotes racist views.

Now don't get me wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but to slate a whole religion because of a minority of extremists is as ignorant as fuck and that's an opinion that I'm as equally entitled to hold.

I wouldn't even have been bothered if he had slated the fundamentalists as they are fair game, but to tar a whole religion because of a minority of wanks who you can find within the ranks of any religion doesn't sit comfortably with me.
Then there's his views on socialism.
He's not for it.
A guy who covers Springsteen, a fella who owes such a debt to Guthrie who was a dyed in the wool socialist.
What's the score there?
Hypocritical much?
Christ for all I know he might think that "This land is your land" is a nationalist anthem
So that's that gig blown out.
Shame really as I would have loved to have seen Darrell Bath play.

Kid British - Northern Stories

Kid British – Northern Stories.
Kid British are back. A new album is in the can and as a thank you to the fans they have released a downloadable ep for free that features four demo tracks that will act as a taster for what is to come.
Now I'll admit to not being overly impressed before, but after my son raved about them post Specials support slot I thought I would redress my casual lending of an ear to them and see if I was maybe missing out on a good band by not really paying enough attention to them.
This resulted in a grudging acceptance that they had something, but in the studio they weren't really doing enough to grab me with their ska tinged attempt at grabbing a slice of the NME reading generation pie.
Now here we are and I've listened to their new ep back to back twice in a row and I'm not finding much wrong with this at all.
On the evidence here they seem to have went for a more traditional ska/light dub sound paired with some socially conscious lyrics that promises to shake things up a bit.
It's actually been a while since we had a band who could raise the profile of ska and with any luck these will be the lads to do it.
Nicely intimate and thought provoking at the same time. Well worth a punt, especially for free.
http://www.kidbritish.com/

My Chemical Romance

Simply because I'm a contrary bastard and want to give a big fuck you all very much to the anonymous hordes who have been complaining about MY blog featuring My Chemical Romance here's some more.
You didn't ask for it, but you're getting it.

I brought you bullets, You brought me your love. (2002)
As a début “I brought you bullets” certainly managed to raise the New Jersey boys profile to a fairly acceptable level even if it's sonically mired in the time of its release.
It's an album that swims in rather safe musical waters and mirrors the sound of many alt acts that were doing the rounds in that year. Nothing too special at first listen and more an album that would attract some casual interest rather than set pulses racing.
Yet any real criticism has to be juxtaposed with the understanding that it was recorded a mere three months after the band formed. It's the sound of a band finding their feet and when that's taken into consideration the finished product is more impressive than initially thought.
It would also be fair to say that while the arrangements are verging on the bland that lyrically it hints at better things to come in one form or another.
The introspective aspect and delivery is blistering honest at times and smacks more of a real emotional struggle than many of their peers could manage.
The main difference seems to be that MCR were managing to express themselves a little more eloquently than most, even if the music still needed to pay a bit of catch up.
It may be a trip into darkness, but it's a recognisable one and rarely if ever sounds contrived.
As angst ridden pop punk goes it's a decent enough dip into the scene of the time and manages to at the very least maintain enough interest that a follow up would be on the cards.

Three cheers for sweet revenge (2004)
A couple of years later, and with a wealth of touring experience under their belts, their second studio album hits the streets and lends credence to the cliché about being in the right place at the right time.
Tracks like the singles “Helena” and “I'm not okay, I promise” key right into what disenfranchised kids all over the globe are wanting to hear, and sound accessible enough to court mainstream attention that gives the band a real shot in the arm.
It doesn't do them any harm that they then tour with Green Day on the American Idiot tour before doing Warped and then co-headline dates with Alkaline Trio to promote it either.
Everything simply clicks into place with this album.
The musicianship has jumped light years ahead and manages to catch up and embrace the lyrics warmly, while the addition of a cinematic quality shows that they aren't afraid to experiment and expand on their vision of what MCR should be.
This is also where the newly introduced classic rock foundation to their music works wonders with guitars that soar and loop over everything without ever dipping into the worst excesses of fretboard masturbation.
The band from the début are still there, but while that was them learning their craft this is a fully accomplished outing for them where they can stretch their musical muscles.
In hindsight it is easy to see that this is where MCR really begin and it's breathtaking to consider that this is a band who have only been together for around three years.
With this, their sophomore release, they set the self imposed benchmark high and while there are those who doubt that they can emulate the success again, the jump from their début to this in musical terms provides ample proof that as long as they keep reaching for something more then there is the possibility that they can still pull something out of the bag.

The Black Parade (2006)
The past and present collide with the concept album that redefines the term and drags it screaming and kicking into the present. The sounds of Pink Floyd and Queen battle Sgt. Peppers post punk army and the aftermath is a joy to behold.
The Black Parade is the everyman rock album that manages through its strong sense of melodic narrative to jettison the band beyond the confines of the rigid emo/punk template that bound them.
From start to finish it has classic album stamped through it and that it deals with the depressing reflective story of someone dying of cancer makes it all the more alluring in a perverse sense.
The romanticised demise of the lead character in the tale runs parallel to a joyous noise that encapsulates all the cock sure swagger of the seventies rock bands with a modern take on it that allows it to straddle decades of music and therein lies the genius of this.
Here is a band who can meld music to their own vision and create something that is familiar sounding, but also new and vibrant. A balancing act that a high wire artist would maybe shy away from attempting.
The ensuing success of the album verges on hysteria among fans old and new alike, but unfortunately, and undeservedly, the fan base while becoming larger doesn't widen and the take up of acclaim from those out-with the young punk/emo demographic doesn't emerge.
The success is a double edged sword it seems and with every young Kohl eyed prepubescent child of the night that jumped aboard to pledge allegiance to the cause a music fan somewhere decided not to simply because they had, and the preconceived idea of MCR as lightweight rockers was adopted.
Meanwhile the band would go on from one success to another gaining critical acclaim and plaudits from fans and the music press alike with an album that even to this day sounds faultless in its execution.

Danger Days – The true lives of the fabulous killjoys (2010)
After a four year gap MCR came back and in a sideways move went for the jugular as glam trash terrorists proclaiming the end is nigh to a party beat with a punk rock attitude.
Adrenaline and excitement come at you in equal measure while the ghost of an amphetamine fuelled Bowie looms large over proceedings.
The preceding video for Na Na Na is visually stunning with an unintentional nod of the head to Gaye Bikers On Acid populating an intentional Mad Max post apocalyptic future.
A perfect introduction to the album.
Once again it is melodically solid throughout and flirts with the boundaries while maintaining a degree of accessibility that will attract more fans than it turns off.
More in your face than Black Parade and certainly more urgent it still maintains a common thread that is unmistakeably MCR.
This is a band attempting successfully to bring the sound of a pop art counter culture graphic novel to life and it's as thrilling as that may sound.
I'm at the point that I'm not sure what this band has to do to jump from the success they have to the global and cross generational appreciation that they so richly deserve.
Future rock legends in the making is what they are.

Comments that have a degree of worth are welcome. If you like the band or dislike them that's fine, but if anyone thinks that a comment like "fuck that shit" is going to be upped is kidding themselves on.

Re adverts/links, and even bands featured.

I don't normally make posts like this, but.........
I just received a message from some holier than thou punk ranting on about punk credentials (whatever they are ) and how My Chemical Romance aren't a punk band and then how having adverts makes me a good capitalist scumbag.
I deleted it, but over the last five minutes I'll admit it has fuckin' annoyed me.
So just to make things clear.
Punk for me is about freedom of expression.
That is what it's rooted in and myopic wank stains who think that the genre is limited by a style and a sound can fuck off.
I probably don't have to add this either, although maybe I do, but as it is my blog I'll write about what the fuck I want, feature whoever I want and if I want to accept adverts I will.
Although the links on the right of the page are not paid adverts, but instead sites I like and personally want to promote.
Maybe I should write a manifesto, but then again this is about as much effort as I plan to expend on the matter.
Just a shame I can't name and shame them as they used the anonymous option.
Twat.

My Chemical Romance - Glasgow SECC - 15/2/11

THE FUTURE IS BULLETPROOF

It was a bit of a crap shoot evening where you roll your dice and take your chances.
My Chemical Romance were in the SECC, Imelda May in the ABC and some NME darlings called The Heartbreak were playing in the Captains Rest.
Our mission was to secure MCR tickets, but failing that Imelda May would have been our second choice with The Heartbreak being the band we would have went to see just so that the trip wasn't entirely pointless.
Lady Luck was however on our side for a change and we hit the jackpot after a short haggle with a ticket tout and found ourselves in the sold out MCR show.
As I'm still of the opinion that Danger Days : The true lives of the fabulous killjoys was one of the best releases of last year I had a keen sense of anticipation for the nights entertainment. Especially as I'm also a MCR virgin never having seen them play live before.
Thankfully the anticipation served to blank out the worst behavioural excesses of the hordes of kids who were displaying all the worst traits of children with ADHD let loose in a candy store.
At times it felt like I was being swept along with rampaging Oompa Loompas intent on breaking Willy Wonka's chains of servitude during a coup of the chocolate factory.
Sadly the anticipation wasn't enough to keep me on a high through the support acts sets.
First was Lost Alone who I have already had the misfortune of seeing once before ( http://itsaxxxxthing.blogspot.com/2010/02/night-of-living-brain-dead.html) and I've got to say that they haven't improved.
Although their fan base appears to have swollen considerably considering the response they received.
The young crowd were lapping them up and on the screens at the side of the stage I could see that a circle pit had broken out.
Well either that or two fourteen year olds were pushing and shoving each other and a circle of peers had formed shouting “fight, fight, fight” before the dinner lady came and broke it up.
I've said it before but I'm sometimes unsure how much of the reaction is a genuine response to enjoying the band or a Pavlovian “ I hear the music so therefore I must dance a whoop and a holler” reaction.
As for Lost Alone, well there was a bit less fret board wankery going on, and the bassist has reigned in his compulsion to seig heil the devil horns at the crowd in five second bursts, but I'm still at a loss to understand how such a mediocre indie rock act who pander to the emo/goth demographic can secure such high profile support slots. Truly woeful.
The best bit about their set was Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds intro, and if your intro music upstages you then it's time to consider another career in my opinion.
Blackout were next and I'd heard some good things about them. All lies it turns out.
Maybe that's a bit unfair though as there's a good band in there trying to get out.
The duel call and response vocals in a light hardcore stylee sounded horribly dated to me.
The soft melodic delivery juxtaposed with the growl is so last decade and while there's not a lot wrong with regurgitating the past it's usually the norm to wait a little while longer before repackaging it for a new audience.
Once again I was the only one marching in time to the band as everyone else seemed to love them.
It may sound a little arrogant, but after the young crowd have a few more shows tucked under their belts they might realize that all this “Let me hear if you're louder than last nights crowd” and “You Scots must be better than the English” is a very poor level of crowd management/manipulation.
By the end of their set I was sick of watching them leaping about like Jedward and one of the singers gobbing in the air and attempting to catch his own phlegm in his mouth.
You with think that after a couple of minutes of hitting the stage, his own forehead and the drummer that he would have called it a day, but no.
Maybe in future he could hone his skills to the point he drowns on his own spit. It wouldn't be a great loss to the music business.
Harsh?
Say that after you've seen him performing like a drunken monkey for a full half hour.
It's a shame really as the rest of the band and the other front man are very good at at what they do.
If they ever drop the blonde cretin I would even consider going to see them again, but until then it's a big no thank you.
My Chemical Romance were left to show us how it is really done and to say that they did so would underplay just how good they were.
Kicking off with Na Na Na they nailed it. Post apocalyptic glam terrorism never sounded so good.
It's a great shame that so many people of my age look down their noses at this band due to a misguided perception of the music they play.
At their root they are a classic rock band with added frills. It's all there if you care to listen.
From the high octane beginning they then rattle through a set that revisits Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and the high spots of The Black Parade, including a hair on the neck raising rendition of Cancer that was purely vocals and piano.
A song that proves that Gerard Way has the ability to give any singer a run for their money when conveying raw emotion.
Most of their show was however set aside to promote Danger Days, and the new material is solid. Older and more familiar songs struggled to eclipse tracks for the latest album and that's a good sign for the future of any band
A personal favourite of mine Vampire Money sounded like a snot nosed punk anthem writ large in neon. A car crash involving Bowie and the Ramones accompanied by the sound of some honky-tonk piano.
I mean who could resist that? It wouldn't even be fair to say that this was a highpoint as the whole set was the highpoint of the night.
The band themselves are tight and augmented by a couple more musicians who serve to round the sound out and carry over the studio versions into the live arena without losing anything.
In fact they probably add to the originals.
It's literally awe inspiring with the over all performance being pretty much faultless.
Although when I say faultless I wouldn't want anyone to think that it dipped into sterility.
This is after all a live show, and there has to be something else when it comes to playing live.
A note by note take on a song isn't enough. The music has to live and breathe. Force a reaction through it being conveyed directly from band to audience and if you could witness the manic performance of Mama first hand then you would appreciate what I mean.
I was simply blown away by them. I guess that could have been the review. “My Chemical Romance blew me away.” It really conveys it all.
They are so far ahead of the pack musically than most of their peers that it's breathtaking to see them perform.
I've heard, and even participated in conversations where the lack of a future music great is expounded on.
Where is the current generations Beatles, Bowie or Stones?
How long is the shelf life of the current crop of artists in what appears to be a boom and bust scene?
Well the answer is there right under our noses.
My Chemical Romance have the ability to do something very special by pushing the boundaries while maintaining a solid rock foundation.
Their future will be decided by those opening up to them and accepting that their current fan base, and the magazines who feature them, do not truly represent what the band actually do.
In the future I could see them creating a full on Rock Opera featuring an Orchestra and a cast of hundreds. Give it a few years and anything could happen.
As it is they piss all over acts like Green Day and 30 Seconds to Mars who are normally thrown forward as the voices of a disenfranchised generation.
So go on, buy the albums, go to the shows and tell me I'm wrong.


Set List

Look Alive, Sunshine (Intro)
Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
Give 'Em Hell, Kid
Planetary (GO!)
Hang 'Em High
Sing
Vampire Money
Mama
The Only Hope For Me Is You
Party Poison
Summertime
I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
Famous Last Words
Destroya
Welcome To The Black Parade
Teenagers
Helena

Encore:
Cancer
Vampires Will Never Hurt You

The future is bright. The future is OMC

The Original Music Collective have recently came into existence in an attempt to promote the rights of artists and bands in the west of Scotland.
Fiercely opposed to the premise of pay to play they have already managed to secure a venue that is willing to work hand in hand with them to create a scene that has a fair division of the profits accrued from bands offering live entertainment.
While this may not be a new idea the people involved have many years of experience in playing at a grass roots level and have the enthusiasm and energy to remould the current disproportinate status quo into something that will benefit all.
So I am very pleased to bring you the first interview from one of the men behind it.
I give you a conversation with Joe Bone.

ElD - Do you want to fill the readers in on what OMC are. Your manifesto of intent if you will?

Joe Bone - The Manifesto Of The OMC if you could call it that is built on the punk do it yourself ethic . Working on a zero budget and building funds through a membership scheme and trying to get some local business's on board.
We will arrange our 1st gig soon promising the bands a min of 50 pounds of GB Sterling when they perform on the night (3 bands one night with a 45 min slot each.)
The night will also be MC'd and photographed. It's as simple as that!
We have fans as well as bands coming on board and they know how much their fiver membership can help to hopefully sustain a successful string of events. Pivo Pivo ( A venue in Glasgow City Centre) have kindly backed us as well by waiving their venue hire fee.
The success of the whole Collective will depend on bands and fans getting on board and supporting the whole concept though.
The Collective is aimed solely at bands playing original music as it seemed that they were the ones who were suffering the most .

ElD - So what was it that acted as a catalyst to nudge you from talk to action?

Joe Bone - Ah now that is not an easy question to answer as it was not one singular event that spurred me to put words into action.
It was more a niggling over the years of seeing bands being totally ripped off.
Second rate boozers full to the hilt because bands were playing and they were walking away with not even a free drink while the tills were being filled by their support.
Bands folding because they had enough digging into their own pockets, band members getting married and the financial burden of being in a band couldn't be sustained within a family budget, all because it was all take take take. They were the talent yet it was them who were folding while others were flourishing.
There is one pub in Glasgow who has been exploiting bands like this for years I will not mention them in case I get sued ... It's THE BOX in Sauchiehall St.
I forgot you can't get sued for telling the truth.

ElD - Currently with the rise of downloading it is very obvious that record labels are losing their grip on the market they had cornered and artists are looking to earn a living/make a success from the live arena again. Yet the venues and some promoters seem keen to hang onto their slice of the pie so to speak and this leaves the actually musicians stuck in a sort of no-mans-land. No one wants to pay for the music and the people putting the gigs on don't want to let the bands in on the action either. While that makes no sense at all does it sound like a fair assessment?

Joe Bone - It's a funny situation this El . I think the reason they are still holding on to their big slice of the cake is the amount of new bands out there. Their eagerness to get a gig at any cost falls right into the lap of these people and because they are new on the scene their family & friends will be eager to come to see them which in itself is a false economy but in true capitalist principle thinking, the money will be taken with no long term thought for bands or music itself.
There is money in the live music scene it's just bands aren't getting any of it. But when it come down to it if you think it's a good gig for your band then do it. If a promoter or venue lays down exactly what is involved and you play and don't like the fact your to blame. And bands always need to remember if you are told you need to sell a certain amount of tickets it's PAY TO PLAY.

ElD – Funny you say that because I had someone once ranting at me because I had offered tickets to a support band to sell. For some reason he had a mental block on the fact that the selling of tickets was not conditional to them playing.
The strangest thing was that they had nothing to do with the band at all.
Anyway, where are you ultimately wanting this to go. The music union doesn't seem to do much for artists so would you be wanting to expand this and offer musicians an alternative?

Joe Bone - Where do we go from here? well no long term plan in place as it will depend on the support from the start to whether we can continue or not.
If it grows there will be other avenues we can explore, but hopefully it will catch on as there is no profit gain to the people running it,
That being myself & Allan Doyle who has put an immense amount of work and time into the project setting up the bandradar website, cards posters etc.
If bands are interested please contact the OMC website and sign up http://www.bandradar.co.uk/index.php/2011/02/03/omc-memberships-now-online/

ElD. - There has been attempts to do this sort of thing before in one shape or another and I've been less than keen to participate as all of them without exception appear to lose focus and end up encouraging a cliquish jobs for the boys attitude that flies in the face of the original intent.
How are OMC going to avoid this common pitfall?

Joe Bone - Keeping it simple, stick by the principles laid down at the start, that being it's for the bands first & foremost nothing will ever compromise that principle and hopefully all will benefit from happy bands playing and doing their best to bring a crowd in full knowing that the whole Original Music Collective lifespan depends on it.

So that's the skinny as they say. I sincerely hope that bands, promoters and fans will get on board with this and ensure that musicians can look forward to a brighter future than what is currently on the horizon.

Alan Bishop (The Red Eyes) /Ross Gilchrist/Barry & Munro - Dirty Martinis - Kilmarnock 11/2/11

What's that saying? When life gives you lemons then make lemonade?
It's something like that.
In my morning after the night before befuddled mind that phrase keeps popping up, but it's apt. When Kirk Brandon fell ill and postponed his acoustic tour we were left with two options.
We could pull the night completely, or find someone else at short notice and make it a free show.
The latter seemed the best option and the guys in Dirty Martinis jumped forward and sorted out a young guy called Ross Gilchrist to fill the bill and that was it done and dusted.
Three acts for nothing, nada, zilch and even gratis as way of an apology to those who had committed to attending the Kirk Brandon show.
It was a nice and relaxed evening from the start. More akin to a party than an actual gig.
It just had that hassle free atmosphere to it with everyone being pleasantly ego free and happy to play whenever and for however long suited.
Alan Bishop of The Red Eyes volunteered to go on first and treated us all to a set of acoustic versions of Red Eyes songs and some punk covers.
“Kids” from their last album went down really well, as did an unrecorded track about the personal price people are paying for the war in Afghanistan.
Alan doesn't often get political, but this was an incredibly moving tribute to those who have lost their lives, the families that suffer that loss and lyrically it doesn't shy away from pointing the finger of blame at those in power who commit young lives to conflict zones without losing sleep over it.
The blatant honesty revealed in the song acted as a catalyst for people to approach Alan later on in the evening and speak to him about how it touched them. As a songwriter he must have been moved himself to know that something he had created could have such a direct impact on people.
It's in moments like those, that make you realize how important music is. How it aids communication and brings people together communally.
It's maybe true that no song changed the world, but on a daily basis they change how you feel and Alan keyed right into that with his set being fun, familiar, and thought provoking depending on where he was taking it.
This was areal revelation for me as I have only previously seen him fronting his Red Eyes and while they have always impressed it didn't prepare me for how good Alan would be on his own.
Ross Gilchrist was also a huge surprise to me. A week ago I hadn't heard of him and even the day before the gig I had only heard two songs, but this is a very talented young man indeed.
Due to having had a lay off for a few years from playing solo acoustically he admitted to being a bit nervy before going on, but he needn't have worried at all.
Instead of dipping his toe back and seeing how a song or two goes he dived right in at the deep end with a full set that went down very well with the increasingly lubricated crowd.
Initially you could be forgiven for thinking that there's a casual lightweight element to his indie rock material, but it's actually pretty deceptive.
There's a bite to it, an underlying strength that slowly reveals itself.
While he doesn't sound like Weezer musically you could take them as a jump off point as an example of how music can have hooks, melody and a wide appeal while still maintaining a degree of credibility, and then translate that over to what Ross does.
He has a great ear for a song, but also an attitude of artistic integrity that commands more respect. It's all very well balanced and probably far harder to do that most of us would appreciate..
As someone who occasionally promotes a gig or two I would certainly have him back.
Local heroes Barry and Munro, who between them have probably been in every great band to come out of Ayrshire over the years, then followed Ross and regaled everyone with a set of punk covers that added to the party atmosphere.
It's not all straight runs at the classics though. There's a jazz influenced medley of pistols stuff, and even a bit of country and western twang thrown in at another point, and while that may sound strange everyone was roaring with approval between the matey heckling that was going on.
The evening could have ended there, but no one seemed too keen on heading home so another guy who I don't know borrowed Alan Bishops guitar and did a few numbers.
Unfortunately while he was good his laid back style wasn't keeping the party train rolling and most people contented themselves in catching up with old compadres and only got back into the swing of things when MC for the night Faither started playing classics from the late seventies and early eighties.
To say that it was a perfect nostalgia trip wouldn't do it justice. He didn't put a foot wrong with the song choices and in no time at all people were dancing like they probably hadn't for a decade or two.
By this juncture of the evening everyone was pretty much slaughtered on the drink, but there hadn't been one hint of trouble.
As last orders were shouted out I reckon we could have went on for another hour or two, but I'll go with the argument that it's always best to leave people wanting more and just say that I had a blast from start to finish.
Dirty Martinis is without doubt where it is at for music in this area.
Regardless of whether it is Kel and myself promoting a show or anyone else I would say that everyone should be out there supporting live music and the venues that provide it.
Everyone who was there on the night would tell you there's no downside.
Great times had by all.

The Red Eyes - http://www.myspace.com/theredeyesglasgow/music
Ross Gilchrist - http://www.myspace.com/drrosko

Free Music For The Masses

Here at itsaxxxxthing we live to share music.
So with that in mind I would love to redirect you to a great site that has provided me with hours of pleasure.

It's the Beatles complete on Ukulele.

It's a project that has been going for a while now and has thrown up some wonderful arrangements of Beatles tracks that have the common thread of featuring the Uke.
About once a week it would seem a new track is added and they are all free to download, and for each there are exhaustive notes to accompany them to.
The artists, recording history, how they picked the songs and how they got into the Beatles is just the tip of the iceberg of info.
Truthfully though you don't even have to be a Beatles fan to dig these songs as most of them use the original track as a jump off point to create something completely different.
Open your minds and give the site your patronage. Few will be disappointed.
Kudos to Steve Conte who pointed me in the direction of this great site, and of course a huge thank you to the people who had the idea and then made it a reality.
http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.com/

The Boss Hoss - Low Voltage

While Boss Hoss have been very successful in their native Germany with their Country and Western cowpunk covers of everyone from Outkast to Britney Spears they are often viewed with overt contempt from music fans.
Personally I've never really been sure why.
On a daily basis I could reel off a long list of acts who piss me off, but Boss Hoss wouldn't be on it.
So while bands like Hayseed Dixie manage go from strength to strength and The Baseballs and Overtones grace the UK charts with nary a blink of derision Boss Hoss are still struggling to be taken seriously. (Well as seriously as a band doing country styled covers could be taken.)
Their homeland success has however allowed then to make a living, and even get to the stage of releasing a greatest hits package, but not one that you would expect.
On “Low Voltage” the band decided that instead of treading water with a compilation they would record the hits acoustically with a 30 strong orchestra backing them up.
In doing so they may raise some eyebrows, but with a bit of luck a few converts may be found.
Strangely enough on much of this they sound like Alabama 3 without the beats if you can wrap your ears around that concept.
To be blunt though I'm of the opinion that if the listener can leave the misguided snobbishness at the door that goes hand in hand with the claim of being a “real” music lover then there is much on this album to impress.
More than just a novelty act these guys can play and have an ear for an arrangement that most musicians would struggle to emulate.
While some people would be happy with speeding a song up or slowing it down, Boss Hoss strip them down and then rebuild them in the style they want to put across.
Probably harder to do than most of us appreciate.
The only downside to this is that their lack of popularity over here in the UK will mean that while we occasionally get to see the guys live there will be no chance of catching them backed by the orchestra.
A great shame in my opinion.