Cynics Anonymous

I go to as many gigs as is financially possible and thought it would be sensible to keep a journal of gigs I go to, cds I buy, new and old bands I come across and anything else I fancy going on about.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Links!

It has taken a while, but I've finally learned how to add links to my blog. Next there will be photographs, but one step at a time!! Below I'll give a little info on each link and why I've choen it, do explore these sites if you so desire.

JockRock - A site dedicated to the vibrant Scottish Indie music scene. There is news, reviews and a highly entertaining messageboard.

NME - Poor magazine now in my opinion but an excellent place to find out the music news first.

B&S - Home of the quite magnificent Belle & Sebastian, who are in my opinion the finest band in the world.

Beerjacket - A site showcasing the fine work of my good friend Peter Kellys solo project. Get on and listen, the boy will be well know soon enough.

Twisted Nerve Records - Superb label started by Andy Votel and Badly Drawn Boy, also home of Aidan Smith and Misty Dixon. Brilliant site and well worth a look.

King Tuts - This is without a doubt the best venue in Glasgow, the list of bands that have played in the past in impressive and it continues being the favoured venue of new and up and coming bands.

The Goat - This is a pub in the west end of Glasgow which puts free gigs on, see previous posts for my enthusiasm for this place!

Albion Rover - Coatbridges professional football team and the team I have followed since I was a young boy. We may be languishing in the lower divisions of Scottish football but who cares.

Fight Director - I had to put this one in or my mate Carter would have moaned! For all your fight direction requirements contact Carter through his website.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

A Strange Summer - Part 2!

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I was unable to travel to Edinburgh for VHS or BETA...boo hoo. Its been a bad day and if missing the gig wasn't bad enough the cricket was rained off!

Oh well, roll on The Pixies on Sunday, oh yes.

Al

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Mercury Music Prize 2005

Lets not waste time, my favourite album from the list below is The Magic Numbers but I'll wager that Kaiser Chiefs will win. Its not a bad album but not the most inspiring. If they do win, at least it won;t be Coldplay.

Bloc Party – 'Silent Alarm'
Hard-Fi –'Stars Of CCTV'
Kaiser Chiefs – 'Employment'
MIA – 'Arular'
The Magic Numbers – 'The Magic Numbers'
Coldplay – 'X&Y'
The Go! Team – 'Thunder, Lightning Strike'
Antony And The Johnsons – 'I Am A Bird Now'
KT Tunstall – 'Eye To The Telescope'
Maximo Park – 'A Certain Trigger'
Seth Lakeman – 'Kitty Jay'
Polar Bear – 'Held On The Tips Of Fingers'

Its an achievment to be chosen for the list and no doubt very good for cd sales.

Al

SmytherJones R.I.P.

The end has come for SmytherJones, musical differences and questionable commitment from a couple of members has seen the band split up. But for me and three of the band, a new band is in the process of being formed with a new bass player and new found enthusiam and all going well a new demo will be made very soon and we can get back into the business of giging!

More soon...

Al

A Strange Summer

This is the first summer that I can remember that I'm not going to a festival, tickets for Leeds, T in the P, Reading and of course Glastonbury see out well before any line ups are announced and I'm an old traditionalist and would rather give a festival organiser money for bands I actually want to see. However, I'm discovering that maybe next summer we should decide on what dates we like and just go for it, a scary prospect for me.

Therefore, as compensation for a disappointing summer I have arranged tickets for several gigs in the next couple of months. These include;

The Pixies, Idlewild and Teenage Fanclub @ Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh
VHS or BETA @ Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh
The Magic Number @ The Glasgow Barrowlands
Broadcast @ the ABC2 in Glasgow
Belle & Sebastian @ Perth Town Hall

A good start to the last half of the year I'm sure you'll agree and hopefully there will be a good few more to add to that list soon enough.

Al