George Glen

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I’d enjoyed seeing Goat Girl twice before supporting Girl Band and Moonlandingz, but I think this is their first headlining tour in support of their first album that has a lot of justified attention and hype. I really like their off kilter approach to riffs and melodies and dry, even sarcastic lyrics and attitude.

They’ve added additional violin and keyboard/effects players but though they added the odd touch, the bands overall sounds just the same to me, maybe a bit early to be looking for growth and direction … they are getting better at what they do which went down a storm with a packed Sneaky Pete’s. Wonder what is next for Goat Girl? Will definitely see them again.

7/11 – Attended by George & Douglas

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I really liked support band She Drew The Gun last time I saw them, an easy decision to go to Mash House to catch them again and see what all the fuss was about Cabbage. And She Drew The Gun from Liverpool are still good, some new songs and a more polished feel. Some room  to be more musically adventurous though, but in Louisa Roach they have a frontwoman with real charisma and impact.

I wasn’t so sure about Cabbage but the audience of mainly young guys certainly were! I’ve not seen the front half of the Mash House moshing so enthusiastically all at once. I was quickly ejected from near the front to a safe distance. I’m still not so sure about Cabbage. Though the audience was excited by their music, I wasn’t and didn’t hang around to the end.

6.5/11 – Attended by George

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Sneaky Pete’s was packed out and loaded us all in a tardis back in time to the early 70s with Trembling Bells, what a great trip! ‘Acid Folk’ has been used as a name for their particular blend of psychedelia and folk, pretty appropriate and though I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was brilliant and I smiled all the way through. Think Fairport Convention meets early Pink Floyd, might give you a clue.

Lavinia Blackwell provides the focus for most of the songs with her pure but distinctive voice. Drummer Alex Neilson is main song writer and seems to be band leader, he does the bantering and some of the singing. But it’s a whole band effort, entertaining and extended instrumental wig outs punctuate the songs. Nice!

Ambitious songs too, with proggy twists and turns, and unusual lyrics and titles too … ‘My Father Was A Collapsing Star’ was particularly nuts, but in a really good way, and ‘Christ’s Entry Into Govan’ is genius! Must see again … soon!

8/11 – Attended by George, Andy, John

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Frankly The Smiths are frankly, brilliant! A 90+min, 23 song set list was gleefully lapped up by us and an enthusiastic Bathgate Saturday night crowd. Go and see them … soon!

7.5/11 – Attended by George, Karen, Jan

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Can’t be sure what decided me to go along to see Dream Wife? Maybe the Riot Girrrl attitude and Iceland connection from singer Rakel was it for me, but Glasgow agreed and packed out Stereo so much I nearly melted in the heat. And they are good at what they do, simple but anthemic punky grunge with nice riffs and yelpy vocals. A bit Sleater-Kinney ish in the riffs which I like, but not so much variety or melody, so while the crowd was enthusiastic, I was less moved by relatively samey songs.

They went down a storm though and I can understand the appeal, they look great, sound tight and have a cool attitude. Fun!

6.5/11 – Attended by George

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Gotta admire Gary for longevity and persistence. He has always kept working and has a loyal and supportive fan base, including Jan, so I was curious and happy to chum her along.

I do find his post Tubeway Army, Gothish style, not really to my taste. Professional as always of course, but mostly a bit dull though the impressive light show was cool … the poor sound didn’t help. But the sound seemed to snap into place after an hour of ho hum and the song ‘I Am Ruin’ was unexpectedly and spectacularly good as were a few songs following. He did 3 Tubeway Army era songs and while ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric’ were disappointing, ‘I Die You Die’ was great. For fans only.

7/11 – Attended by George & Jan

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I didn’t go out intending to see Bob Log again, but after seeing iDestroy and TuneYards I wandered past Opium and he still wasn’t on yet … so why not? And I’m glad I joined in for another fun packed performance, just like last time at Sneaky Pete’s, complete with balloon bursting, inflatable boat crowd surfing and Bob’s unique punk slide guitar blues. You must see him sometime. How does he do it? How does he get away with it? What a man!

7.5/11 – Attended by George, Andy, Douglas

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tUnE-yArDs is the name adopted by Merrell Garbus from New England for her various changing musical projects. I liked a version of her from quite a few years ago, I bought a ticket she was so intriguing, and she is still certainly that, but this version I didn’t really enjoy so much. Liquid Room was packed out with loving fans though, so … my problem, not theirs!

6.5/11 – Attended by George

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I saw bassist Becky Baldwin play with Hands Off Gretel when they supported Skating Polly, and later found out more about her variety of work as a professional bass player and was well impressed. Seemed rude not to catch one of her many bands iDestroy at Bannermans en-route to see tUnE-yArDs at Liqid Room later. They were cool and went down well with a full house. More straighforward rock than my hopes for my favourite ‘riot grrrl’ sound, but great playing and attitude. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay long enough to see more than part of their set.

6.5/11 – Attended by George

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We combined a lovely weekend trip to Copenhagen with seeing First Aid Kit again … the 8th time for me since that magic night I first saw them in Sneaky Pete’s 8 years ago. And with a new album Ruins I wasn’t quite sure what to expect having hardly heard the new songs. But the Söderberg girls never let you down, always so musical and more professional than ever.

What a great show with a lovely atmosphere from their many adoring fans. I still think a couple of the new songs are a bit too straight country for me, but that didn’t really matter since everything else was their best songs delivered perfectly. Though seasoned performers, they still seem able to have fun on stage during big tours and that came across well. Playing bass frees Johanna from behind her keyboard to let loose! Quite right! See you again soon! xx

9/11 – Attended by George & Karen