Gig Preview - The Spree Festival: The RSNO with Admiral Fallow and The Twilight Sad

When you head along to as many gigs as we do here at Scottish Fiction, it sometimes can take something really special to make your head turn.  That's not to say that we don't love gig going, but you know the feeling when a gig turns into 'just another night'.  Will that be happening on Monday night as we board the bus into the heart of Paisley to catch Admiral Fallow and The Twilight Sad?  Nae danger.

As part of The Spree festival, Paisley's national arts festival now in it's second year, Scottish Fiction favourites Admiral Fallow and The Twilight Sad are playing a very special show in the historic and stunning setting of Paisley Abbey.  Not only that they will both be backed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

It's one of the stand out events of this year's festival and is the brainchild of BBC Introducing DJ Ally McCrae.

The show is unsurprisingly sold out, but if you are lucky enough to be going along, just look for the bearded bloke smiling like a cheshire cat.  That'll be me.  Excited.

For more info and other listings visit The Spree website.

King Tut's Summer Nights 2013 - Line Up Announced!

Returning again to colour the summer months with music is Summer Nights, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut's annual run of gigs during July, and it's packed with some enticing line-ups.  Particular Scottish Fiction favourites already are the singer-songwriter love in on 25th July, with Michael Cassidy headlining, Fake Major, Campfires In Winter and Kevin Harper make the gig on 29th July unmissable, and there's an electro-pop stramash on 30th July where you can see Prides.  There's also some 'TBC' spots to be filled so things can always get more exciting! 

And some joker called Scottish Fiction is doing a Bar DJ set on 24th July.  Sounds ominous.

Full line up is below, and tickets are already available here. 

Thursday 18th July - The Recovery! + Press To Meco + Bear Arms + Shores Of Attica *over 14s
Bar DJ: Diamond and Anchor /// Midnight Guest: What The Blood Revealed

Friday 19th July - Sunshine Social + Cherri Fosphate + Johnny Jack + Tujuana Bibles
Bar DJ: Last Year's Girl /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Saturday 20th July - TeKlo + Roman Nose + The Mighty Cream + Darc
Bar DJ: Milk /// Midnight Guest: Temazo

Sunday 21st July - Alarm Bells + Axes + Vasa + Below Bellow
Bar DJ: TBC/// Midnight Guest: Carnivores

Monday 22nd July - Taffy + The Modests + The Clock
Bar DJ: TYCI /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Tuesday 24rd July - Sienna + The Youth and the Young + Critters
Bar DJ: Scottish Fiction /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Wednesday 24th July - So Many Animal Calls + Wolves at Heart + Baltimore League *over 14's
Bar DJ: Fish In A Sub /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Thursday 25th July - Michael Cassidy + Sam Fender + Little Fire + Ryan Joseph Burns
Bar DJ: Pop Cop /// Midnight Guest: Honeyblood

Friday 26th July - The OK Social Club + A Plastic Rose + Model Jet Pilot + Huevo and the Giant
Bar DJ: TBC /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Saturday 27th July - SOS + The Little Illusions + The Moon Kids + The Holy Ghosts
Bar DJ: TBC /// Midnight Guest: Father Sculptor

Sunday 28th July - Departures + Salo + Owls In Antarctica
Bar DJ: TBC /// Midnight Guest: Citagazi

Monday 29th July - Fake Major + Campfires In Winter + Kevin Harper
Bar DJ: Scottish Scribbler /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Tuesday 30th July - Prides + Discopolis + Plum
Bar DJ: Fantastic Man /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Wednesday 31st July - Waiting For Go + + The Streams + Model Aeroplanes + Redolent *over 14s Bar
DJ: Tenement TV /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Thursday 1st August - Arches + Finding Albert + Minor Delilah
Bar DJ: Tenement TV /// Midnight Guest: TBC

Gig Preview - Lou Hickey - Crofthead Bowling Club

I never thought in all my days I would go to a gig in my little home villiage of Neilston. However, Scottish Fiction favourite Lou Hickey (read her Q&A for the blog here) is bringing her full band along to Crofthead Bowling Club on Friday 30th September for a hometown gig.

With support offered from The Lonely Boy this is a gig well worth popping along to should you be local, or even make the journey down you lazy sods!

Tickets are £10 and are available in person at Kool Kreations in the village or online here. Doors are at 8pm.

What's On? - Aye Tunes Presents

Seeing as I've already committed myself by plugging this gig not once but twice on my Scottish Fiction radio show on Pulse Community Radio, I really should go the full hog.

Just who is Aye Tunes presenting the question may be. Well since you asked...

First up is Kevin P. Gilday who is temporarily leaving the day job of being in How Garbo Died to do a spoken word performance. It all sounds very arty, but it's more than likely worth getting down early for.

Next up is Scottish Fiction's favourite bearded chap, Shambles Miller (check out the Q&A he did for the blog a few weeks back). Hugely looking forward to seeing him live, as his music is a mixture of humour, politics, social commentary and acoustic strumming. All good things.

Jetting into Glasgow for their maiden 'weegie gig is The Spook School. I'm a huge fan of their 'History'/'Hallem' release, which you can listen to/download here, and have given it a fair bit of airplay.

And topping the bill is the jaunty The Sea Kings, who I must admit to not knowing overly much about, so I'm hoping to change that. Judging by what I have heard, it should be a right good time.

So, all of the above for only five of your neatly stacked pound coins (no smash please, Jim will just spend it easier...) there's really no excuse not to travel down to The Captain's Rest on Wednesday night from 8pm.

What's On? - Monday 11th July - Sunday 17th July

Finally! Back in the groove with the gig guide, I definitely need more Monday's off work. Far more productive!


King Tut's Summer Night's begins this week, and with a great gig on every night in the legendary place, you might as well just bring a sleeping bag! I'll miss the first couple as I'm away to Latitude this weekend. Good times!

Tuesday 12th July

Grand Ole Opry - Rock's finest pairing in a long time, Mark Lanegan & Isobell Campbell will be a great live show. Tickets are £17.50, doors at 7:30pm.

Wednesday 13th July

The Captain's Rest - For Abel and Magic Daddy. Entry is free before 9pm, £2 afterwards. The early bird and all that...

Thursday 14th July

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - First of the Summer Night's gigs, sees Sonny Marvello headline, with support from pop rockers The Dirty Demographic, Acutones and The Miss's. In the bar you can check out Jonathan Carr. Tickets are £6, doors at 8pm.

The Captain's Rest - Redwings play with support from Thula Borah and The Clock. Doors at 8pm, tickets are £3.

Stereo - Really gutted I can't make this gig, as it's my pick of the week. Beerjacket brings his acoustic styling, and RM Hubbbert joins him. Also on the bill is Michael Cassidy, who was kind enough to join me in the studio last Monday. Check out his Q&A here. Doors at 8pm, tickets at £5. Bargain!

Friday 15th July

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Second night of Summer Nights, Jumpersknee headline with support from UKReign, The Twist and Little Eskimo's. In the bar is The Rudiments. Doors at 8pm, tickets are £6.

The Common Rooms - If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now are joined by Swan Lee for some gig fun.

Saturday 16th July

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - You've got the jist of this now. Fresh from BBC Introducing stage at TITP, Bwani Junction headline, joined by Selective Service, Inner-Sight and The System. In the acoustic bar is Crayons. Tickets are £6, doors at 8pm.

Sunday 17th July

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - This one is a good yin. Aerials Up headline and Where We Lay Our Heads, Blocherstra and Little Fire support. The acoustic bar will be graced by esperi. Tickets are £6, doors at 8pm.

What's On?

My car broke down this morning, which means I have the day off work. That's handy because otherwise I wouldn't have had time to do a 'What's On' post this week.

Festival season is well and truly upon us, with this weekend alone hosting Doune The Rabbit Hole and Rockness. Head over to both those websites for more information, and I'll try and do a preview on both sometime mid-week.

Also happening this week is Go North in Inverness, which sees performances from a whole host of Scottish talent, including Bwani Junction, PAWS, Mitchell Museum and more. As this event is hosted in Inverness, I'm not going to list everything that's happening, so if you are going or are interested, please see the Go North website (above) for more details.

And through in old Reekie, the Leith Festival starts on Friday, running until 19th June. Again, as this is outwith Glasgow and West of Scotland, please direct yourself directly to the Leith Festival website for more information.

The West End Festival continues this week as well, with some tasty gigs spread across the West End of Glasgow as well.

So without further ado, here's What's On this week:

Monday 6th June

The Captain's Rest - Straddling genres like they were thorough bred horses, Matthew Dear is the brains behind False and Jabberjaw. Tickets are £9, doors are at 7pm

Mono - Tight for cash? Never fear, head to Mono for Sad City, which is absolutely blinking free! Doors at 8pm

Pivo Pivo - Having recently played Peenko's Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Daniel G. Harmann plays Pivo Pivo with Adam Stafford and Esperi. Entry is free, doors at 8pm.

Tuesday 7th June

The Arches - Words cannot describe how much I want to go to this gig. Battles are supported by Thank You. Also if you are free during the day, head down to Monorail, where the band will be signing copies of their new album Gloss Drop. Get me a copy if you're there. Tickets for the gig are £15.50, doors are at 8pm.

Buff Club - Hot of their set at yesterday's West End Festival Sunday, A Band Called Quinn play in Buff to launch their new single Wolf Cries Boy. Entry is free, doors at 8pm(?)

Brel - Head to Ashton Lane for some folky/poppy/rocky sounds from Stu Goodall Band. Entry is free, doors at 7:30pm.

The Ship - Barrhead's own The Love Spells play as part of the West End Festival alongside Kate Dunn And The Redundants, Shambles Miller, Sweethearts Of The Radio. Entry is free, doors at 9pm.

Wednesday 8th June

Bloc - Cities And Skylines play along with Wrote The Author, Colin Hunter and Orchestrarara in support of Mary's Meals. Entry is free, doors at 9pm

Flat 0/1 - Milk plays host to Edinburgh band Bwani Junction, and Other People. That's the band Other People, although I'm sure there will be other people there too. Tickets are £3/£4 and doors are at 9pm.

Nice 'N' Sleazy - London band Cats Cats Cats support Thomas Tantrum. Tickets £tbc, doors at 7pm.

O2 Academy - US rockers Korn come to Glasgow. If nu-metal is your vibe then head along. Support from Yashin and Stillwell. Tickets are £27, doors at 7pm.

Thursday 9th June

The Arches - Prepare for the electric sounds of Ladytron, who are supported by Scotland's own Let's Talk About Trees a side project of John Knox Sex Club and Washington Irving. Tickets are £17.50, doors are at 7:30pm.

SECC - Someone must have shouted "hair rock, assemble!" Ron Burgendy style for this one. Journey, Foreigner and Styx unite. Tickets are £40, doors are 7pm.

Friday 10th June


The Captain's Rest - Communion label presents To Kill A King supported by Glasgow's own Sunshine Social, Crow Road and Yonderboy . Tickets are £5 and doors are at 7pm.

The Arches - Mono are a shoegazing Japanese Band. You can watch them watch their shoes. Tickets £12.50 doors at 7:30pm.

SECC - Rocket man himself Elton John brings his show to the SECC. Tickets range from £32-65 (!) doors are at 8pm.

Saturday 11th June

The Captain's Rest - Former Nine Black Alps member Martin Cohen's new project Milk Maid is due an album out soon on the Fat Cat label. With swooning melodies and distorted guitars this is definitely one to try and catch. Support from Robin Adams and She's Hit. Tickets are £5, doors are at 7pm.

The Arches - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are supported by Glasgow's Wake The President. Tickets are £12.50, doors at 7pm.

Sunday 12th June

Box - Catch Culann, Plastic Animals who I've played on the show before, Quinny and Logan La La Land. Entry is free, and doors are at 8pm.

Nice 'N' Sleazy - If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now are playing Nice 'N' Sleazy, however I'm not sure I'd want to live there. Black Jash are also playing and giving away lots of tapes apparently. Tickets are £tbc and doors are at 1:30pm.

West End Festival Sunday

Today is the West End Festival Sunday, a free event held in Kelvingrove Park. There is plenty to do and see, and the famous Mardi Gras parade snakes it's way through the park. There's plenty of live music as well, with bands spread across 6 stages in the park and beyond. Here's a rundown of what you can see:

The Main Stage
 
12.30pm     Sunshine Social

1.30pm       Man at the Window

2.30pm       Brooksy and the Sound Collectors

3.30pm       Captain Slackship's Mezzanine Allstars 

4.30pm       Domino Gumbo

5.30pm       Das Contras

6.30pm       Esperanza

The Vintage Guru Stage

12pm          Punto the Feef

12.35pm     Little Buddha

1.10pm       The Coy Dogs

1.45pm       Toni Etherson

2.20pm       Baudelaire

2.55pm       Underclass

3.30pm       Selective Service

4.05pm       UKreign

5.00pm      Strawberry Ocean Sea

5.35pm      Gav Livs

6.10pm      The Imagineers

Lord Kelvin Acousitc Stage 

1.15pm       Cairn String Quartet 

2.15pm       Puff Uproar & The Shimmering Sound Affair 

3.00pm       Parade Passes

4.00pm       Clanadonia 

4.30pm       Eletricat

5.00pm       Puff Uproar & The Shimmering Sound Affair 

5.30pm       Juba de Leao and Samba Ya Bamba  

Rio Cafe Stage 

1pm - 6pm   Mark Robb  -  DJ sets

Kelvingrove Art Gallery 

1pm           Clanadonia

4pm           Glasgow Fiddle Workshop Ceilidh

5.30pm       Kings of Macumba 

Hear Glasgow Stage 

1pm          Samba Band

1.15pm      Switchback Road

1.45           Pedantics

2.10pm      Laura Divers

2.30pm      Wake the President

3.00pm      Ironic

3.45pm      Woodenbox and Fistful of Fivers

4.30pm      Ryan McDowall

4.45pm      The Dirty Demographic

5.10pm      Miniature Dinosaurs

5.35pm      A Band Called Quinn

6.05pm     Kitty the Lion

Check out the full listings at the West End Festival website.

West End Festival Preview

Today is the start of The West End Festival which runs until 26th June. You'll be able to see a full listings, not only of gigs but all events on the website, but here is a selection of my choices that you should try and get along to.

Saturday 4th June - Oran Mor - The Electric Honey label present a line up of White Heath, who are promoting their new album, Woodenbox With A Fistful Of Fivers, The French Wives and Minature Dinosaurs. With such a great line up, you won't (like me) want to miss this! Tickets are £6 and doors are at 6:30pm

Saturday 4th June - The Captain's Rest - The Lava Experiments are launching their new EP 'Love, Lust & Loss'. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 7pm.

Sunday 5th June - Oran Mor - The Fence Collective host this show, where the line up is not revealed until the night of the show. However, with a catalouge of great bands on the label you can be sure this will be worth the ticket price. This is definetly a pick for the festival! Tickets are £12 and doors are at 5pm.

Monday 6th, 13th, 20th June - Brel - Folk sessions and informal jamming sessions held each night by Sarah Haynes of Admiral Fallow and Laura Wilkie from Rachel Sermanni's band. These sessions should be great fun, so try and head along to one!

Monday 6th June - The Captain's Rest - Straddling genres like they were thorough bred horses, Matthew Dear is the brains behind False and Jabberjaw. Tickets are £9, doors are at 7pm

Tuesday 7th June - The Captain's Rest - Post punk veterns and one of John Peel's favourites The Wild Swans are supported by Stealing Sheep. Tickets are £12 and doors are at 7pm.

Thursday 9th June - Oran Mor - Ayr indie rockers indiecode head up the M77 to play Oran Mor. Tickets are £10 and doors are at 7pm.

Friday 10th June - The Captain's Rest - Communion label presents To Kill A King supported by Glasgow's own Sunshine Social. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 7pm.

Saturday 11th June - The Captain's Rest - Former Nine Black Alps member Martin Cohen's new project Milk Maid is due an album out soon on the Fat Cat label. With swooning melodies and distorted guitars this is definitely one to try and catch. Tickets are £5, doors are at 7pm.

Monday 13th June - The Rio Cafe - Having supported the likes of Crocodiles, Vivian Girls and Wavves, Schnapps play Glasgow. Entry is free, and doors are at 8:30pm.

Monday 13th June - The Captain's Rest - Glasgow PodcArt present Jacob's Stories, who will have a new album out this year, and support comes from post rockers Midas Fall

Wednesday 15th June - The Captain's Rest - tUnE-yArDs a.k.a. Merrill Garbus are supported by Thousands who are signed on the Bella Union label. Tickets are £7 and doors are at 7pm.

Wednesday 15th June - Oran Mor - After dabbling with Cat's Eyes Faris returns to Glasgow with The Horrors. Expect their third album this summer, this is undoubtably the showcase gig of the festival. Tickets are £10 and doors are 7pm.

Thursday 16th June - The Wise Monkey - Up and coming Glasgow band The Fiction showcase their brand of alt rock. Entry is free and doors at 9pm.

Friday 17th June - The Captain's Rest - Glasgow's own Olympic Swimmers have supported Admiral Fallow in the past. They are joined by Rick Redbeard and Tesla Birds. One to see fo' so'! Tickets are £4 and doors are at 7pm.

Sunday 19th June - Oran Mor - More famously known as Mull Historical Society, Colin MacIntyre has sinced released albums under his own name. A forthcoming album as well as plenty of hits will ensure perfect pop at this gig. Tickets are £13 and doors are at 7pm.

Tuesday 21st June - The Captain's Rest - If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now are a Scottish all girl group creating exciting new sounds. Supported by Nico's Bike, Miss The Occupier and The Fnords. Tickets £tbc and doors are at 7pm.

Wednesday 22nd June - The Captain's Rest - With new album 'The Proximity Effect' out now, you can catch Laki Mera live as well. Tickets are £6 and doors are at 7pm.

Friday 24th June - Oran Mor - Communion presents a night in Glasgow after success in London, Dublin and Belfast. Expect to see acts on the Communion label. Tickets are £8 and doors will be at 7pm.

Friday 24th June - The Captain's Rest - Returning following their 2009 LP, Wake The President return. Support offered by Casual Sex and Post. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 7pm.

Saturday 25th June - The Captain's Rest - London band Tellison have supported the likes of Biffy, Johnny Foreigner and Noah & The Whale. On this gig they are joined by Parento and JJ Bull. Tickets are £5 and doors at 7pm.

Sunday 26th June - Brel - The Little Kicks bring some melodic indie pop to Ashton Lane. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 7:30pm.

Sunday 26th June - The Captain's Rest - Belfast's Girls Names make reverb jangly pop songs. Tickets are £5, doors at 7pm.

The West End Festival is an extremely multi cultural event, and chances are you will find something on somewhere which will catch your interest. A great deal of the events are free as well! At the very least you should head along on Sunday 5th to Kelvingrove Park for the opening parade!

What's On?

There's something momentous about this post. I'm not quite sure what, but I reckon if I keep going with it, I'll remember. 'What's On' is basically my weekly gig guide for Glasgow and surrounding areas. I'll always try to provide as comprehensive a list as I can, but due to time/resources some things may slip past me. If you know of or are participating in an event which you think should be included, then let me know! What's on, you ask? Well, let me tell you, a bloody lot, and it makes me wish I wasn't skint.

Monday 30th May

Moved from original venue The Garage, to King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (to give it it's full name) Hellogoodbye are playing with support from The Dangerous Summer and Gold Motel. Tickets are £12.50 and doors are at 8:30pm.


Lo-Fi alt rocker Jad Fair plays Stereo with support from Gilles Rieder and Phat Trophies. Tickets are £8.50, doors at 7pm.

Tuesday 31st May

Laki Mera launch their new album 'The Proximity Effect' in Admiral with support from grnr. Entry is free and doors are at 8pm.

Beerjacket play Bloc along with Reverieme. Entry is free and doors are at 9pm.

Ricky Egan, a.k.a. Tangles plays a free gig in Mono at 8pm.

Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett plays The Captain's Rest. Tickets are £9 and doors are at 8pm. 

Wednesday 1st June

Bloc host Trapped In Kanas along with JKLMNO. Entry is free and doors are at 9pm.

Head along to Buff Club for a trio of acts. The Barents Sea are up first, followed by Medicine Hat, and headlining are The Fiction. As far as I know, entry is free, but as I can't confirm this, have some pennies in your pockets just to be safe. Doors from 9pm.

Ross Leighton (he of Fatherson fame) is playing along with Scarlet Shift and Kaskrute at Nice 'N' Sleazy. Entry is £3 and doors are from 7:30pm

Indie trio The Subways are playing at Stereo along with Young Aviators to mark the opening of Glasgow's new Gio-Goi store. Head over here for a chance to win tickets for this gig. Doors at 7:30pm.

Playing at 13th Note is Chris T-T on his 'Words Fail Me' tour. Support comes from Hordes of Unstoppable Skeletons, Roscoe Vacant and The Gantin' Screichs. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 8:30pm.

Thursday 2nd June


Head down to The Black Sparrow for a trio of free music provided by Kerrie Lynch, Tragic O'Hara and Neilston's very own The Lonely Boy. Doors from 8pm.

Playing in Classic Grand is Kate McGill with Mike Dignam if acoustic-y music is your bag. Tickets are £6 and doors are at 6pm.

Charles Hayward is playing at CCA with support from Capillary Action and the wonderful RM Hubbert. Tickets are £6 and doors are at 7pm.

Oran-Mor  plays host to James Blake supported by Cloud Boat. Tickets are £10, doors at 7pm.

Peenko Presents: The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is in the Hidden Lane Cafe. You can catch Randolp's Leap playing with I Build Collapsable Mountains and Daniel G. Harman. Tickets are £5 and doors are from 7pm

Friday 3rd June

Brel host Captain And The Kings supported by Endor playing an acoustic set, as part of the West End Festival (more about this later in the week hopefully). Tickets are £5 and doors are at 8pm.

Phosphorescent  is playing in Stereo. Tickets are £10 and doors are at 7pm.

Another West End Festival gig, this time at The Captain's Rest. Check out Julian Lynch, Ducktails (ah woo ooh?) and Big Troubles for £7 with the doors at 8pm.

The band with one of the best names in music, Dananananaykroyd play Ivy with support from Bloc Party's bassist Gordon Moakes new band Young Legionnaire and Bronto Skylift. Tickets are sold out, but if you want to chance your arm on the door, be there for 7:30pm.

Over The Wall and The John Knox Sex Club play in Nice 'N' Sleazy. Tickets for £5, doors at 7pm.

Another West End Festival gig, Glasgow singer-songwriter Tommy Reilly plays Oran-Mor. Tickets for £11.50 and doors are at 7pm.

Saturday 4th June

For Abel, Tragic City Thieves, How Garbo Died and Brendan Cambell all play 13th Note. Tickets £tbc, doors are at 8pm.

As part of the West End Festival, the lovely Woodenbox With A Fistful Of Fivers play the Oran-Mor. Also playing are White Heath, who are promoting their new album, French Wives and Miniature Dinosaurs. Tickets are £6 and doors are at 6:30pm.

Blind Watchmakers  are playing O2 ABC with support from Ocean House, Heretics and Chasing Amy. Tickets are £6 and doors are at 6pm.

Promoting a new album, is Benjamin Francis Leftwich and to do this, he is playing Classic Grand. Tickets are £8 and doors are at 7pm.

Releasing a new EP are The Lava Experiments, who play The Captain's Rest along with Organs Of Love. Tickets are £5 and doors are at 8:30pm.

Song Of Return are playing The Arches. Tickets are £4 and doors are at 6pm.

Sunday 5th June

A special show for the West End Festival, Fence Records, The Fench Collective play Oran-Mor. Line up will be announced once tickets have sold out, so go on put us all out of our misery and buy a ticket for only £12. Doors from 5pm.

Oh aye, it's my first ever 'What's On' post. That's momentous surely?