A special solo warm up for her support slots to Neil Young, and I was lucky enough to get tickets, and to get near the front for another mesmerising performance from Laura. I prefer Laura solo and this was no exception. We were treated to a great variety of her best songs and quite a few new ones that will hopefully surface on future releases.
A lovely informal and intimate occasion and songs played and sung perfectly as usual. She truly can do no wrong for me and it was great to bring big Davie along and see his amazed and joyful face, yes she is that special! Bliss.
This weekend saw the SFCA & Magiscroft fishery hosting the annual ALL SCOTLAND competition in memory of Rab “Awesome” Crossan. The match was fished between the Island and Woodside ponds with 26 anglers coming out in memory of a great character not only in the Scottish match scene, but the International one.With Golden pegs 3, 15 & 27 on the Island and 6 & 17 on Woodside would the £587 go today? Let’s wait and see.
All to fish for as the all in was shouted at 11amWith clear sky’s and no wind it was anyone’s guess where the fish would be and with no wind to upset presentation all lines were in easy reach. There was fish to be caught and most started catching small stockies from the off. Best baits for the day seemed to be expander pellet although some caught on maggot with most deciding worm wasn’t really working.
As the day went on the fishing got a bit harder so working all your lines was important although being patient and not moving too quickly also caught more fish.On the Island Pond it was George Glen, Douglas Philips and David Joseph on the low numbers who were catching the bigger stamp of fish with Davie Corcoran (unbelievably fishing his 9th match in 10 days) on peg 11 catching over 50 of the new stockie Carp along with some F1’s and a few silvers. On the higher Island numbers it was Stuart Dalgleish, Colin McKerrell and Ronnie Ogilvie who started best catching small stockie carp tight over at 14m with nothing seeming to be caught down the track.
On Woodside, James Woodrow (again 9 matches in 10 days) and John Perella were going fish for fish on the low numbers with Heather Laurieston over on Peg 21 doing best on the high numbers.It was great seeing some old and new faces and a welcome to Matthew Waugh, James Brown and Dougie Campbell who joined as new members. Many thanks guys and we hope you enjoyed the day. It was also great seeing young Zoe Brooks fresh from her Scotland International Sea fishing callup and again although the fishing was tough it looked like you enjoyed the day. Just one Jnr taking part today in young Eamonn Obrien who fished for free today under the FED deal that Juniors don’t pay in these matches….so to all Juniors who fancy these matches, come along and give it a go. Well done Eamonn on your catch of 12lb.
On the team event 3 teams registered, Colmic Magiscroft, The Barbies and “the FED” pushing to see who would take the title. At the all out the points were counted with the Fed team consisting of John Perella, George Glen, Gus Brindle and Stuart Dalgleish coming out in top spot beating Colmic Magiscroft by a mere 0.5pts
Section winners … A – George Glen, B – Stuart Dalgleish, C – Ronnie Ogilvie, D – James Woodrow, E – Heather Laurieston
So…back to my headline….You Never Lose it. Overall winner on the day was ex Scotland International George Glen who fishing his 1st match in nearly a year came out not only as winner of the match but as he was on Golden Peg 3 he picked up the £587. George was a great friend and team mate to Rab Crossan for many years both at club and International level so he was a worthy and popular winner. Well done and congratulation to everyone who took part.
Overall top 5 … 1st – George Glen 42lb 1oz, 2nd – Stuart Dalgleish 25lb 5oz, 3rd – James Woodrow 22lb 1oz, 4th – David Joseph 20lb 0oz, 5th – Douglas Philips 19lb 8oz
Thanks once again to Magiscroft for hosting this great event and to all the staff and helpers who helped out with the shop/catering and with the weigh in. Good to see John Baird, Johnny Baird, Dave Richardson, Papa Doc and all the other enjoying the sunshine on the patio after the match
Wussy isn’t the most descriptive or promising of band names but I’m glad Andy spotted and recommended them. Led by Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker, the band from Cincinnati, Ohio have been going since 2001 but this is the first time I heard them and I’m now a fan!
At first listen their music sounds like it should be easy to classify … ‘drone-rock’, ‘psychedelia’, ‘shambling’, ‘jangling’ have all been over used … but from what might seem straightforward rock they add a lot of shades and subtleties that makes them a bit different.
Though Electric Circus was far from full, the audience was rightly very appreciative and the band were very happy with the love generated towards them, me included. Much impressed!
Yet again I accompanied Karen to sing along to her favourite Bowie songs performed brilliantly as usual by TSDBTB. New lead guitarist did a good job and It was taps aff for John! Love on ya!
5 bands for a fiver! …and a really enjoyable night it was too. I principally came to see Britney, but hadn’t been to upstairs at Opium before so arrived in time catch all of the bands.
First up were 3 Days To Retirement … (I wish!) and though competent and earnest, post-rock style nonsense isn’t for me, but good luck to them. Next a 3 piece all the way from Seattle called Acid Tongue, brash and enthusiastic, just like you expect bands from Seattle should be! Good songs and I bought their EP cassette … Yes cassette!
For me Britney were stars of the show and I loved their anarchic set of seemingly chaotic noise, but with lots of hooks and humour too. Well they make me happy! Poly-Math from Brighton were the penultimate band and though their instrumental only attack was energetic and polished, good musicianship didn’t compensate for lack of tunes IMHO.
Headliners Let’s Talk Daggers from Eastbourne have bit of hype around them and have an impressive swagger to their angular, heavy racket. Pretty good, I like! A really good venue and a great job by the promoters, must go back.
‘This Is The Kit’ is the name used by Kate Stables from Winchester for her solo and band music. I had seen her supporting Anaïs Mitchell in 2014 when I bought her album ‘Wriggle Out The Restless’ and a teatowel! Since then she has built up a big profile from lots of plays on Radio 6 and rave reviews for her latest album ‘Bashed Out’.
I was a bit disappointed that Kate was playing mainly solo without her full band. Would have been good to get the full band experience, but she is a lovely singer with strong songs so I enjoyed the set, but still don’t get what all the fuss is about!
7/11 Attended by George, Andy, Jude, John N, Neville
Wow! Impressed is an understatement … I’ve not seen anything as atmospheric and musically dramatic for a long time. Much smoke and dim lighting preceded a long instrumental intro, showcasing some stunning and innovative drumming with lots of Pink Floydy guitar. My big smile started then and stuck with me the whole show!
Only after the first track did Anna appear from hiding behind her keyboard and add the big organ sound and her striking vocals. Im not going to make the usual easy comparisons, pick any well known female singer with unusual delivery, but the way she orchestrates the music to match her range from whisper to shriek is a joy.
For one song she ventured to stage front but most of the time her organ sound is the key to the effect and the band add a very subtle ‘prog’ style accompaniment from quiet to really powerful. Bravo to them all and I will definitely look out for her again.
What a lovely occasion in a very intimate setting. I hadn’t seen Rachel live before but was kicking myself for missing her gigs with Anaïs Mitchell a few years ago, I enjoyed the videos and now follow her music avidly. And though I was looking forward to this I didn’t know quite what a treat it would be!
Rachel is originally from South Dakota but is now well travelled and has an extensive collection of interesting experiences informing her songwriting and storytelling. In fact the stories of the songs are an important part of her performance and add a great deal to the emotion and enjoyment of the show. Sarah Smout joined Rachel on cello and vocals and apart from her lovely additions she is a really good singer songwriter and performer in her own right.
2 sets flew by, concluded by the 4 songs from Rachel’s ‘Cardinal’ EP which I’ve been listening to a lot recently. I bought beautiful handmade EPs from both Rachel and Sarah. As an aspiring songwriter myself I found Rachel’s honesty, dedication and sheer talent really inspiring.
Soundhouse is a fascinating small venue, the house of our gracious hosts Douglas and Jane-Ann. We’ll definitely be back. Thanks Rachel, see you again ASAP!
It’s 3 years almost to the day since TJF last played in Scotland, and I only ‘discovered’ them last year, so I’d been waiting for this and jumped at an exclusive ticket for one of their small warm up gigs in advance of their upcoming tour. They have a reputation as a great live band and that was certainly confirmed. For me that hasn’t translated to record that much yet but maybe their upcoming album ‘Hitch’ will sort that.
King Tut’s is a magic wee venue, and after a nice meal in the bar Karen and I rushed upstairs to the front for the best view … well you’ve got to! And it was great to see Ritzy own the stage (with a little room for Rhydian and Matt), she can certainly hold an audience. Only problem at King Tut’s is they never get the sound right down the front … but I stuck it out, especially for the Glasgow banter (see ‘Ailsa Craig!’ video below).
They even ventured out into the crowd to play an acoustic song ‘The Brook’ which was very nice (see video below). Sound issues apart, I was impressed and will definitely catch them on tour soon … maybe where I can hear the songs a little better!
George Glen 