hullo. I’m pished. ha. I’m still wearing a yellow plastic hairclasp that I got in a cracker at work christmas lunch today and I’m eating a finger of Fudge. I saw Belle and Sebastian last night at their Christmas Charity Do. I arrived while some people were playing cheesy keyboard covers of popular tunes while all disguised with big fluffy hats and fake moustache/glasses/nose combinations. it was fairly amusing. then this girl got up to do a speech on behalf of the anti-war campaign [one of the recipients of funds raised] and completely messed it up. Then Suckle came on. They were shambolically under-rehearsed and did all new songs but it was sounding like there was some lovely stuff going on. Once they get it together a bit more it should be fantastic. Must dig out their album on Chemikal in a minute. Then we got Alasdair Gray talking about politics again and he was even worse than the girl. Cringingly bad actually. It’s this kind of thing that gives politics a bad name. No-one’s interested in politics when some guy goes on about the collapse of Russia in the 1930s, especially not in the middle of a christmas gig. You want short sharp exciting politics. Aye.

So Belle and Sebastian finally came on and played for at least two hours. by about half way through I was feeling very old and wishing for a seat. and some slippers and a cup of tea. They were fab fun though. Most of the members did a little solo spot, singing a cover version and there was lots of fun and frolics including someone dressed as an orang-utang appearing during Isobel’s song about orang-utangs and wandering around the audience with some mistletoe collecting kisses. We also got a bunch more covers, some christmas songs [including a beee-utiful ‘Come O Come Emmanuel’] and a few top B&S hits. All jolly good fun. They also did a raffle half way through, giving out gifts donated by Chemikal Underground, Mogwai [“5 tenners in a brown paper envelope! Not much thought there!”] and B&S themselves including Isobel’s orang-utang and Stuart’s box full of extremely rare B&S stuff. Nice touch. Then they shouted for Monica Queen and she came down and they did Lazy Line Painter Jane. Aye, that was it. I might have some coffee now…

well, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun on a saturday [actually, I’m that sad I probably can if I think about it]. DEATHLEHEM was funny as hell and great too. I arrived to find a group of teenage boys arguing with the doorman then descended into a dry-ice filled cavern full of rock. okay, I’m exaggerating but it was full of nu-metal kids, old metallers, scary people and no goths sadly. the bands I saw were mostly good as well although the presentation usually outdid the music somewhat. I liked EYEBOLT and the band that insisted all their songs were about the Ilisu Dam and the economy in Romania and the band that spent more time making jokes and arguing with the audience than playing their hardcore punk tunes. One of the bands had the most evil person I’ve ever seen in my life playing bass for them. He looked like a teenboy singer from Muse [scary enough] but he also had the most evil piercing eyes and stared at people all the time. it was like a twisted evil goblin was living inside his head. I was very very scared. I could only manage 6 and a bit bands but chris was enjoying himself far too much so ask him about it.

I then wandered the streets for a bit taking photos of the christmas lights and being a bit odd and then I went to see Amélie. I got there 20 minutes early so I could go and sleep in the cinema til it started. Amélie was so perfect I cried at the end. make sure you see it soon.

I also heard a salesman today describing fibre-optic christmas trees as ‘the latest technology’. wait til he hears about phones that fit in your pocket and spaceships that go to the moon!

I was at Instal, a festival of experimental electronic and contemporary classical music yesterday and it was fantastic. seven hours and I wasn’t bored for a single moment. it was kind of like a cross between a music festival and an art gallery with new artists starting their sets in different parts of the venue moments after each other. nice mix of stuff as well although we managed to avoid most of the classical stuff which sounded least interesting to me. we did catch the Symphony for 100 Metronomes though, or rather, since we were a little late, the Symphony for 5 Metronomes. I was more interested in watching other peoples’ reactions to watching the last 2 metronomes click-click-clacking for ten minutes but then Koji Asano started his set and everyone got bored of watching metronomes. Koji Asano was probably my highlight of the event, loud but really textured and I could hear so much going on. Philip Jeck was another highlight, looking like a dusty old history teacher but bringing out the beauty of his old deteriorated records. Local acts Rhomboi and Defaalt gave different tones to the event with echoing throbbing guitar and interactive graphics respectively.

Headliners Icebreaker International were in a class of their own though. Funny, intriguing and vaguely mad in person, we left our interview just as confused as when we arrived, our heads full of economics and well-spun tales. Live, they were definitely the most acccessible act with their flowing electro-pop and NATOarts business suits. sadly they got cut short by a technical problem – a sad note on which to end such a well-organised event. I ended up stumbling home in the frost at 1am where I saw a fox watching me from the roadside. I then had seemingly endless strange electronic music soundtracked dreams and woke to a group of economists discussing world trade on the radio. my head’s been a bit odd since.

I went out in the cold and the wind and the rain last night to support both the 13th Note and also the musical rock scene of Aberdeen. Really good turnout I thought even with headliners Purple Munkie having to cancel. So we were left with Nero and Maple. I was keen to see both as it’s been well over a year since I saw either of them, seeing as I moved to Glasgow and that.

So, Nero. I remember being pretty horrible about them the first time I saw them but damn me if they weren’t great this time. They had pop tunes, rock guitar, three-way singing, jokes, charm and dance routines. they were pretty much all over the place really but tremendous fun to watch, especially since the singer reminded me a bit of John from the Yummy Fur with his geeky looks and jerky dancing. but the songs are the main thing and Nero’s are stupidly infectious, or maybe infectiously stupid. the kids should love them.

Nero had reminded me how funny and crazy Maple were so I was all excited. there was something different going on though. Maple have really grown up in the last year and they’ve now got this serious practiced edge. the riffs are solid and loud, the vocals have lost the overt crazyness and it was all just sounding, well, professional. it took me about four songs to start getting to grips with this new version of Maple and then they only played maybe one more song and just stopped. so I hope they come back soon so I can give it another go.

I keep seeing John from bis and Aidan from Arab Strap in town. I want some different lo-fi glasgow rock stars to spot.

Oh aye, Mogwai are in Kerrang! this week with wee stuart right on form: “If you’re into Westlife, you’re fucked. You may as well get into crack”.

I went down to the 13th Note on Wednesday to have a look at Cayto. Well, I actually went to the cafe first ‘cos I was thinking too much about how awful it will be if the 13th Note has to close. Once I’d realised my mistake I backtracked to the club and was greeted by a ‘can I see some ID?’. I must have looked pretty incredulous, told him I didn’t have any and that I was TWENTY SIX and he let me in. gee, how many more years til people believe I’m not 17?

Anyway, I picked up my raffle ticket er, ticket and walked into an appalling wailing noise which turned out to be Slowloris. I’d kind of liked their track on the Smoke compilation so I was surprised, but they soon picked it up and the rest of the set was generally good stuff. Haunting vocals and nice atmospheric beats. After meeting up with diskanteer Will and getting a free badge it was time for Fighting Red Adair. I had nothing to go on here except that they had a good name and one of them had a hat on [often a good sign]. But they literally launched into their first song, throwing themselves about the place as they bashed out an instrumental OXES/Reynolds kind of thing. I was stupified with glee and all ready to proclaim them as my new favourite band. the rest of the set wasn’t quite up to that level but still had me laughing to myself and I was that person left still applauding when everyone else has stopped. heh. they did some dual vocals on the rest of the songs with one singer having an americanised sounding voice and the other just a mental shouting voice. they just made me laugh a lot and I really want to see them again. it’s making me laugh just thinking about it. haha.

but I was technically here to see Cayto and I was now very worried. I’d not been overly impressed with their EP and after that display of rock activity I couldn’t see that they could impress. but I was pretty much hooked in from the first song. I guess they come across like a more energetic Radiohead, like if the early punky Radiohead had the song structure and technology of current Radiohead. It all just sounded really big and much more powerful than their records. the singer reminded me a little of stevipus [Steve of The Oedipus, diskant fact-fans] in the way he ran about and jumped off the stage and stuff. they had one song with a clarinet bit which was kind of painful to watch and didn’t really sound of anything but most of the songs were pretty great.

After that they did their legendary raffle but I didn’t win anything [and I could have really done with those biscuits]. so, basically I’m glad that I got off my lazy ass and went down to the gig. if there’s any possible good thing to come out of the 13th Note’s situation it’s that people like me are more prepared to go out to mid-week gigs on a recommendation or a whim. I even forced myself to drink alcohol so as to give them more money. I felt like going up to the bar and saying, ‘I’ll have one of whatever you make the most profit on’. Ah, all hail the 13th Note!

There’s something just great about going to the cinema in the afternoon, particularly how it’s daylight when you go in and evening when you come out. I’m going to do it more often. Anyway, the film was pretty damn good. All cartoony looking and funny and true. I was kind of perturbed by the storyline though. Either I’m a complete stereotype or they based that movie on me, just changing the location and details so I could complain it wasn’t like how it really happened. It was kind of funny actually although a bit too deja vu on occasions. I did think Thora Birch was too pretty to be believable though and I didn’t really like the ending much. Still, it’s probably the best film I’ve seen this year [out of all the, er, three films I’ve seen this year]. Yeah, go see. Unless you’re Greg Kitten and they’re not showing it anywhere near you. Hoho.

I wasn’t scared and I didn’t cry and it was generally just great. They played lots of songs that I wanted them to and it was just one of those gigs where you’re kind of overwhelmed by actually seeing the real people and by hearing the songs in real life. Low themselves are so huggably cute and do their little joking about between songs. Aww. Highlights for me were the times when they all sang away from their microphones so you could hear their real voices as well as the amplified versions. It was just heartwarmingly lovely. We got an encore of about 3 songs and then once they’d gone there was a hardcore of about 50 people hollering for them to come back and props to them as Low did indeed reappear despite half the audience having gone home thinking it was all over. and even played a christmas song as the audience were so insistent that they should.

I’ve been listening a lot to the new Papa M album which is just your perfect autumn/winter record and today I picked up the James Orr Complex single on Rock Action which just shines with Chris Mack’s character and personality. Buy them both. As soon as possible.

I went to see Mogwai last night. I paid my £12.50 and went there with large amounts of trepidation as the last time I saw Mogwai at the barras was definitely my worst Mogwai gig and the one that temporarily stopped my statement after every Mogwai gig that it was the best I’ve seen them. but thankfully it was not to be like that again and they really were the best I’ve seen them.

It must have been very close to sold out and not as huge a number of neds as last time, definitely an enthusiastic but in the right places audience. they weren’t over-frendly to support band Sophia though who had a fun heckle bout in between every song. I really liked Sophia, absolutely no pretensions to them.

I’d been granted my ten minutes of jostling in the photo pit and after that I got myself a nice vantage point where I could still take photos quietly without flash. I also stole wee Stuart’s bottle of Irn Bru that he’s left behind after watching Sophia. To drink, mind, not to keep as some sick souvenir or to sell on Ebay.

Anyway Mogwai pretty much picked all the songs that make me all tearful. I’m getting to be a right sap now. I thought it was just the overdrinking at Leeds that made me want to cry but no. Stuart’s voice is just getting better and better and that version of Cody is going to be in my top ten highlights of my life. well, maybe not quite that high. I’ve never heard Cody live before but it was all dragged out and Low-like. I’m just so glad Stuart got over his singing embarrassment thing and sings loud now. Chances of me crying at Low next week now stand at 84%.

The only bad bit was Secret Pint which sounded pretty rubbish. Stuart was complaining about something technical but the whole song just sounded out of sync and wrong. and John didn’t stay and break everyone’s hearing at the end of the encore, they just all left the stage and left the noise playing for a good ten minutes during which half the audience left. heh.

Well The Dismemberment Plan were fun. They had tunes and a cute geeky singer with some robotic dance moves. For some reason the audience was mostly made up of crazy american college students who ran down the front, danced wildly, whooped, sang along and heckled. There was a group of them at the front then a foot of space and the all the local crowd standing bemused at such outward displays of enthusiasm over a relatively unknown band. one of the guys was heckling so enthusiastically during one song that the singer kept giggling while trying to sing and ended up inviting the guy onstage to dance to the next song. I like gigs where you spend half the time laughing even when you’re there all on your own [sob etc.]. very funny guys and they seemed to be having a great time too. There seemed to be some people from Fracture there as well but I don’t know who. I’ve spent all morning trying to organise my million of photos and now I think I might wander down to Byres Road and do some shopping before Wil Forbis of Acid Logic webzine arrives.