13th Oct - Camera Obscura @ King Tuts, Glasgow.

Its already a year since legendary Radio 1 DJ John Peel sadly passed away and to celebrate his life and the huge contribution he made to the music world, the BBC arranged John Peel Day. People all over the country were encouraged to put on gigs in the great mans honour and our gig of choice was Camera Obscura and the Sluts of Trust at King Tuts.

We stayed in the bar for the opening band and waited for Camera Obscura. I've always like Camera Obscura and they have never received the recognition that I think they deserve but John Peel always loved them and invited them to his home to do a session on a couple of occassions. They have been recording their third album in Sweden recently and it was obvious that they hadn't been able to put in much rehearsal and to be honest some of their set was a bit shambolic but it was enjoyable enough and ending in my personal favourite "Eighties Fan" made my night.

Next up was the sluts, and this was the first gig I've seen since Anthony left and John decided to shave his head. The new drummer seems great and after getting used to Johns hair (or lack of it) it was a great set, they played a few new songs that sounded good and the old songs seem to be different with the new drummer. I'm not sure if they have a record deal but I do hope they do and we get a new album some time soon.

All in all a good night and as both bands were favorites of John Peel it was a fitting tribute.

Rest In Peace John.

Al

8 Oct - Belle & Sebastian @ Castlemilk Community Centre

Only a band like Belle & Sebastian would play Castlemilk Community Centre. I've said it before, inbetween major tours they play sporadic gigs is strange places usually to raise money for charity but Castlemilk was playing host to the first Popped Festival and B&S were the Saturday night headliners.

This was my third chance to hear snippets of the new album, which is due for release in early 2006, and apart from one of the tracks, the new album sound very encouraging!

The set lasted an hour and a half and the band looked very relaxed and seemed the enjoy the intimate show. The obligatory request section saw Stevie Jackson sing the Bob Dylan classic Subterranian Homesick Blues and if that wasn't enough his dancing during Electronic Renaissance was the funniest thing I've seen for ages!

Setlist;

The State I Am In
Another Sunny Day
Meat and Potatoes
The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner
Mayfly
To Be Myself Completely
Electronic Renaissance
White Collar Boy
Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan)
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Dog On Wheels
The Boy With The Arab Strap
Sukie In The Graveyard
Me And The Major
The Wrong Girl
Judy And The Dream Of Horses
Sleep The Clock Around

ENCORE
I'm A Cuckoo

No Fox In The Snow, despite our constant shouts but it was a superb night and definately one we'll be talking about for years to come.

Al

2 Oct - Beerjacket @ The Goat

Another good night at The Goat. Oh how I wish I lived within a short walk of there, but 12 miles is the best I can currently do and its always well worth the visit. However, for the first time the crowd pissed me off as it seemed they had been booked by the people that run Bar Bloc as rather tha enjoy the music they all seemed to want to chat and make as muich noise as possible when the turns were on...poor show you ragamuffins!

A couple of new tunes that I hadn't heard which will be on the new album which will hopefully be out in the next couple of months and on first hearing they sounded excellent.

I look forward to my next visit to The Goat but there will be better behaviour next time I hope...

Al