I was enticed out on Friday to see the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster but I was far more interested in the local support bands Torqamada and Fighting Red Adair. Anyway, I got there to find the bar packed with lots of trendy student types which always depresses me. It’s not that I like smaller gigs ‘cos I’m an elitist snob [well, okay, maybe a bit] but mostly because popular bands = loads of people in small space = me feeling claustrophobic and having the choice between squishing myself into the front of the moshpit or having a nice view of someone’s back for the whole gig. It was okay for Fighting Red Adair as people were still arriving and stuff so we stood near the front for moral support. Mind you FRA kind of do better when the audience is a bit unfriendly – gives them something to be offensive about and puts a bit of a hostile edge on their performance. FRA were good – they played a few new songs, a few old ones with an extra guitarist/keyboardist [the latter instrument adding an amusing new dinky facet to their sound] and were sounding rather impressive and powerful until Jim did the inevitable bass string breaking and it all faltered into heckling and frustration. If they were famous they’d be the kind of band that missed an important TV appearance because they were throwing stale doughnuts at eachother in the park down the road or something.

After this, things got very packed and I only got to watch the top of Torqamada’s heads. Which was a damn shame as from what I could see they had some pretty impressive make-up and outfits going on. Torqamada truly believe they are the reincarnation of an American 70s punk metal band and they do it with style and conviction. All makes for a hilariously enjoyable show. I’m not the biggest fan of squealy guitar solo metal but this was fun. Will be huge by this time next year if I’m not mistaken.

And then it was time for the final act. I’m not overly impressed with the 80s Matchbox Your Name Is Too Long – from what I’ve heard of their records they’re a damn sight better than a lot of the stuff the NME is hyping but they still have that ‘why?’ element. Why are they so popular? The songs aren’t that great, they’re not particularly attractive or exciting. I just don’t get it. So they come onstage and play a song that I recognise and it sounds pretty good. Then they play another song and it sounds pretty much the same. And then they play another song and it also sounds pretty much the same. And then I got bored and went home.

So much to talk about…

October was probably the grimmest month of my largely uneventful year. Employment seeking had sapped all life and dignity out of me and replaced it with an overwhelming sense of despair. I had no money to buy records, watch bands or do anything else that required an exchange of currency for goods. And on top of this, a bugle (best described as a trumpet with no valves, for all those unfamiliar with military brass instruments) dropped onto my head from 6ft, seriously impairing my vision for 3 days.

But, christ on a bicycle, November has more than made up for it! Somebody gave me a job and I saw a load of great bands! I’ll start with my watching of Fugazi. Well, I’d heard so many conflicting reports about every show on this tour (read entries below, if you haven’t already). The main criticism seemed to be “the band weren’t really into it”. Well, the Leeds gig I saw was nothing short of life affirming. They played the right mix of songs, the right length of set (1 and and 3/4 hours), and Ian McKaye provided us with an entertaining selection of anecdoting and brief political commenting. But it was their absolute focus and fervent enthusiasm that made it all staggering to watch. They were completely and utterly into it. Watching Guy drop to the floor and flail his legs insanely, while McKaye barked every last gasp of breath from his lungs was staggering. And the quite beautiful and seamless transition from ‘Last Chance For a Slow Dance’ into ‘Sweet and Low’ and then into ‘Repeater’, was something I will always remember.

One week later, I found myself back in Newcastle marvelling at the sounds of Q And Not U and Red Monkey . Actually, my own musical ensemble opened the show with our brief debut performance. I think we all enjoyed and it did seem to go down quite well with the packed-out crowd. Even though, in a bizarre Laurel and Hardy moment, each of us managed to slip over on a rotten banana upon exiting the stage. Yes. A banana. On the floor. Anyway, Red Monkey were phenomenal as per usual, and remarkably tight despite the rumours they’d only practised once in 6 months, and I was really impressed with Q And Not U. Afterwards, every band celebrated the fine evening by attempting to drink some of my friend’s disgusting 98% imported Polish vodka (no, not 98% proof. This was actually 98% alcohol, like almost pure ethanol, vodka. NAILS. HARD AS). Upon mishearing that drinking enough of the stuff might cause blindness, Barry decided to test the theory by actually pouring it into his eye. Cue several minutes of pain. Two eye injury stories in one blog. Outstanding.

Next up, 9 X 9, a newly conceived nine-band half-dayer in Newcastle. All in all, an excellent mix of interesting rock music, extremely loud noise on computers, two-piece weirdy jazz bands and other eclectic wonders. My personal highlights were Brown Owl (clever quirk-rock from ex-Diesel Vs Steam, Dragon Rapide members), Cathode (purty electronica), Snail Racing (three bass guitars and drums, but with annoying three-way vocal action) and Futureheads (Yummy Fur meets Gang Of Four, with great four-way vocal action). Maybe band of the night though, was The Unit Ama. Totally unpredictable, post-rock style noise, complete with bonkers onstage moving about. They also played a blinder when supporting the mighty Econoline, who were without 75% of the band, a week later (by the way, nice meeting you, Ian!).

So yeah, one of the best November’s in a long time.

I got dragged out to West 13th last week by Will to see some band called Cayto. I got there a bit late and he casually mentions that the BMX Bandits are opening. Like, the real actual BMX Bandits, reformed after god knows how many years. Blimey, was I excited. I remember seeing the BMX Bandits in Aberdeen ages ago. I’ve even got the setlist somewhere. Everyones’ soundchecking and setting up went way way over time so the BMX Bandits did their first song as a soundcheck, happily concluding that this was the first time they’d ever been applauded for soundchecking. Ahhh. Duglas was his usual sparky/funny self, telling silly anecdotes between every song and generally acting like they were playing in front of ten thousand adoring fans. They played a couple of old songs and some new ones and it was all very jolly and adorable. Apparently they’ve got a new album out soon so I hope to see them play again soon. Their leisurely pace left little time for Cayto to squeeze in their set which didn’t work out too well for them. Neither did the 4cm of space they had to move about in. I’m still in two minds about Cayto. I like them when they’re loud and crazy, when they skip through genres six times in a song but when it gets a bit Epic Radiohead I’m not so keen. And covering a Kylie song is a major faux pas when you’re following the band that wrote ‘Kylie’s Got A Crush On Us’. But Cayto are still A Good Band with interesting intriguing ideas, they’ll just never be one of my favourite bands. After that the Cranebuilders played. They were nice unassuming, understated indie pop. Kind of like Smog playing a bunch of early Creation singles. Early Creation b-sides if I want to be mean. I enjoyed them but they could have played twice as many songs or half as many and I wouldn’t really have noticed. No stage presence. BMX Bandits stole the show really.

not a terribly original gripe, i know, but still one i can’t help but ponder after attending yet another turgidly mediocre gig last night. bright eyes to be precise. with them, or rather him, it can be put down to good old fashioned self-indulgence (so no surprises there) but i still can’t help but feel at least a little cheated. they played, apart from maybe two exceptions, all new songs, exerting as little effort as it was possible to without falling over. we stood and waited patiently while they started a song three times, each time ending when conor forgot the words 20 seconds in. we then stood and waited some more while they arsed around, probably deciding if the audience was worthy of hearing some more songs. i don’t want to go on about it too much, but it was just the latest in a series of disappointing gigs which make me question if any of it is really worth it anymore.

went to see fugazi a couple of weeks ago, after waiting to see them for a few years. they played some of my favourite songs, but the general lack of enthusiasm in the air meant it all felt a bit pointless. and pointless is a word that i could attach to almost every band i’ve seen this year. me and kim were talking last night about how you just never see amazing bands anymore. i’m sure it has more to do with me getting older and perhaps more pessimistic, but a few years ago i would go to gigs that would seriously enrich my very being, make me feel genuinely glad to be alive. now i go to gigs, and get conor oberst throwing his mic down in a huff because he’s so misunderstood or something. i know it’s lame to be bitching about this stuff, but it just seems unfair.

the only truly great band i think i’ve seen all year was arab on radar. finally, i get to see a band who plays with that same kind of unashamed wild-eyed fury that made gigs so great a few years ago. and now rather typically, it seems as if they’ve split up. i think i’m going to have to take up a new ‘hobby’. any suggestions?

in other news, when did london get so sketchy? i’ve never felt worried walking around london at night before, but last night we couldn’t walk ten paces without being accosted by some shady character. obviously it’s always been this way, but i guess i’ve always managed to avoid it before. crazy.

I had that Econoline band staying at my house the last couple of days and it’s been fun. Knackering as well though – I got home last night, ate my dinner and went straight to bed to sleep for 12 hours. I met 3/4 of them outside the old 13th Note cafe [the 13th NOT, harhar] and then we pointedly crossed the road to see what the new 13th Note cafe [aka Mono] was like. It’s hidden away in the corner of Kings Court beside the retro clothes shops and, as I say, spitting distance from the old Note. Shouting abuse distance as well I imagine. Anyway, it’s very nice inside. A wee bit new looking for a 13th Note venture but I’m sure it’ll get worn in soon enough. At least it was warm and welcoming on a typical Glasgow rainy day; the same friendly faces at the bar, coffee and Irn Bru readily available, Stephen Pastel sitting at the next table, everything how it should be. There’s no venue, sadly enough, but there will be a record shop [run by the aforementioned Stephen Pastel] and eventually a shop shop, one selling foodstuffs and organic things. So all very great and recommended next time you’re in Glasgow city centre.

Econoline were a bit worn out from their early morning flight so we traipsed back to my house where they put on the Sonic Youth video and promptly fell asleep. Ahhh. A few hours later we wandered over to West 13th where Ian Scanlon was found propping up the bar, having driven all the way from Nottingham that day. The first band on were most of Urusei Yatsura, now called Project A-KO. It was good to see them back on stage and with new tunes as catchy as the old ones but with less of the rayguns and glitter. I enjoyed it a lot. Then we had Zebedee Numchuck who seemed to have brought hordes of young people with them. The first time I heard of Zebedee Numchuck was when me and Chris met up with Wil Forbis and they were playing downstairs. We toyed with the idea of going to see them but trips down to listen at the door gave a unanimous decision that they sounded rubbish. Well, if they didn’t have such a stupidly memorable name I’d never have believed they were the same band. This was exhilerating hyper-fast hyper-loud guitar riffage and had everyone in the place happy to hear such mighty rock. Then Econoline went on to widespread inattention. They played well and people seemed to like it alright but no-one got over-excited or came over to the stage area to watch which was a bit of a shame. Good to hear the stuff off the new album though and I thought it sounded great.

Next day we wandered over to SubCity Radio at Glasgow University where Econoline were recording a session. They got all their gear set up and, in hilarious cliche situation, the first amplified guitar sounds brought a huffy old academic rushing in with the immortal words, “you’re not actually planning on playing music in the next half hour are you?”. Discovering that this was against the university regulations we were packed off to the pub for half an hour. Then it was back up for lots of level checking and curious students sticking their head round the door [amazingly, none of them did this during the recording] and then the actual recording. I found all this really interesting, having never been present at any recording situations before. They played a nice selection of tunes off the new album and all went well. Then I escorted them to the station and bid them farewell. You’ll be able to listen to the Econoline session online at the SubCity website soon so look out for that.

No point telling you stunning Fugazi were, Marceline’s just done that and I heartily agree with everything she wrote [exept the bit aboot cameras, obviously. Evil things steal yr soul, ye know]. What was amusing was how many of the Scottish rock mafia were out in full at the gig to takes notes or something. Spotted were: Lapsus Linguae, Electric Tibet, Cayto, Small Enclosed Area, 1″ Volcano, Fighting Red Adair, Aereogramme, Biffy Clyro, Stapleton, and hunners more I probably missed.

Speaking of which, most of these fusty buggers have also been involved in the Rock Mess Monsters compilation. Thus there were launch gigs aplenty last week. I popped down to see Frightening Fred Astair in full Halloween regalia [a day early], and donned my own satanic visage for the Lapsus Linguae gig. Pish sound at both gigs, but lots of dressing up, beer and sillyness; which always equals: fun!

It was kind of a while back now though so forgive my memory if I start telling complete lies. First off, Eska were playing a gig with El Hombre which was a treat not to be missed. First on were Hex who I’d heard good things about but not yet seen. Two kids and drum machine and they made the loudest, heaviest ear bleeding noise I’d heard in a long time. I could feel my brain slowly turning into mush. Then they had a bunch of sound problems and decided to take it out on their instruments with almost painful results. Someone with a wicked sense of humour should plug them into Mogwai’s equipment and see how many windows they can shatter. I recommend them. It’s always great to see Eska and I was expecting a preview of their Fugazi support slot. But, no, we got lots of new songs instead! Eska have really developed into a fearsome rock monster but with those little intricate bits to make sure they never fall into some stodgy black hole of doom. By the sounds of things, the next Eska release should be fantastic. Hurray! I’d not seen El Hombre Trajeado for ages and had almost forgotten how cheery they are. Lots of quirky twisty turny instrumentals and the night seemed perfectly complete.

Couple of night later I walked miles and miles in the pouring rain to see some bands promising ex-Yummy Fur members. When I finally arrived at the door, the price had mysteriously risen to six pounds in a canny ‘wet people seeking refuge’ plan. Worked for the most part as well. Inside I was overjoyed to spot John McKeown himself helping out with the first band Michael Dracula, a rather sparky new wave disco band fronted by a glamorous blonde straight out of a Yummy Fur song. Hang on, that makes her sound like a prostitute. Umm. I guess I mean she looked like one of Lung Leg. She looked great anyhow and if we could have a Lung Leg revival that would be completely fine by me. They were quickly followed by Alex from the Karelia and the Yummy Fur’s new band whose name I have forgot and they were pretty great too. There was something a bit jarring about the vocals though that was putting me off a bit so I didn’t like them as much as the first band. The audience insisted on an encore though which I always love when local bands are supporting supposedly more famous American bands. For Gogogo Airheart were headlining. They were a bit odd really. Steven pointed out that the singer looked like Jon Bon Jovi which then made it difficult to take the band seriously. There was also lots of mucking about going on in the audience which was rather funny so I was pretty distracted throughout. I was too busy thinking about that six pounds as well.

And then finally it was Fugazi night, which seemed though it would never come, ticket #00002 having been stuck on my pinboard since June. We got there super early to get a good spot for taking photos although lengthy discussions with the promoter about whether our cameras were too professional and whether we’d leave them for Fugazi to check held us up a bit. I totally agree with all Fugazi’s venue demands [no barrier, no photo passes, not allowing huge telephoto press cameras, lights on in the audience etc.] but we were just fans with half decent cameras fitted with normal short lenses and prior permission from Southern. Hardly worth giving us the third degree over. It all got sorted out though but by the time we got upstairs Senator were on their last song which was a bit of a shame. More of a shame though was the fact that there was still a barrier up in the venue so Fugazi were seperated from the audience by a huge gap and it was almost impossible to take any good photos that didn’t have acres of barrier or stage in them or some security guy’s fat head. Bah. I am not fond of the Barrowlands. Eska looked great up on that big stage though and sounded even better. Glasgow gave them loads of support and it was all just heartwarming really. Ahhh. Fugazi themselves were simply amazing. There’s just no other band with such sincerity, kindness and a sense of their own power. It’s rare I don’t find my mind wandering while bands are playing, especially when I’m taking photos, but I was transfixed the whole time. Fugazi are the only band I go all guitar geek over. I’m just constantly in awe of how Ian and Guy play and interact wth each other. I got to hear pretty much every song I wanted to hear and it was pretty much perfect. Couple of songs were let down by bad sound but they were minor glitches in a set that kept getting better and better, culminating in a staggeringly great Shut The Door. And then they came back on and did a whole extra bunch of songs and you just wished they’d stay onstage forever. If you missed them this tour then go bang your head against the wall for being an idiot.

Last week saw a vertual plethora of gigs in Bristol and one in Oxford. The Nought/Noxagt/Giddy Motors show mentioned below on Tuesday; Cat on Form in Bristol on Wednesday; Jackie O’Motherfucker (or something like that) on Thursday and then on Friday Fugazi and also Oceansize. Yet even though I’m the diskant events handler I only managed to get to the Friday gigs. How crap is that? Anyhow first time I’d seen fugazi and they were great. Everything I expected plus they played most of the songs I wanted to hear and the bonus was they finished by about 9.30 (excluding encore) and so I had time to nip over to see Oceansize. Who were a little disappointing really. Lots of new songs but they don’t seem to have too many ideas. Lots of big hairy riffs and loudness though which matched my mood for the evening. So 5 gigs over 4 nights and I only manage to make 2 of them. Crap, huh. I really wish I’d have got to the Nought show as it sounded ace. I did however get to the cinema to see ‘The Road to Perdition’ and I really liked it. Beatifully shot and well acted, but the plot had some holes and I’m not sure Tom Hanks was the person to cast in the lead role. The kid was wicked though. ‘Donnie Darko’ next week which from every review I’ve seen should be fab and so that’s something to look forward to. Plus I have a job interview next week so fingers crossed everyone….Thanks….

You’ll have to excuse me if blogging etiquette has changed over the past couple of months and i’m inadvertently upsetting or abusing some of you. ANYWAY i did something that i’d like to share, i went to see some bands last night and they were all great. it was a vacuous pop-sponsored gig at the zodiac in oxford. first up were GIDDY MOTORS who for some reason i expected to be some kind of quirky, shaky indie band, but who turned out to be fiercely full-on intensity in a very complicated, very proficient, very out-there, very NOW kinda way. plus, the lead singer looked like Alex of A Clockwork Orange crossed with Leatherface of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. hurray! and just as they were becoming ever so slightly samely, AlexFace began stomping around the empty space in the front of the stage, banging a maraca against a tambourine like a deranged fundamentalist christian. double hurray! NOXAGT, next, were very polite (“hello ladies and gentlemen, we’re noxagt from norway”) to make up for, i presume, the absolutely mind-crushing heaviness of their music which was, to put it in the worst, unoriginally journalistic style possible, ‘like shellac falling down a flight of knives into a death metal band’. absolutely bleedin’ GREAT, too. the audience was left reeling after their performance, only to be further bludgeoned into submission by NOUGHT – they played at that AUDIOSCOPE festival, you know – who continued the theme of complicated jazz-style structures as performed by noisy motherfuckers, throwing a power drill and guitar-abuse-with-screwdriver-and-drumstick into the mix. exceptional, and exceptionally original. as were all three of the bands, constantly making me wonder where they get their musical cues from, and constantly amazing me with the sheer precision with which they made their seemingly random and chaotic sounds. you gotta see all these bands!!

Hello, I’m Will Marshall. Who the fuck are you? Send me shit now so’s I can hate it. And bundle it into stormdrains. And give it hug. Because everyone needs their mother. I am the human pendulum of knasty knives and huggy fur. Love me. Hate me. We need balance, damn you.

I manage band called Cayto -enough! Self imposed rule of non-caytopoitation on diskant begins here. Wouldn’t want to be a caytobore now, would I?

This week playes host of weath of great gigs in support of the Rock Mess Monsters compilation, and the ‘mini-in-the-city’ Musicworks. Plus fugazi play Glasgow for the first time in, like, years. So I’ll have some good to rant about soon. Lately everyone at diskant seems to have got a life. Not I! Busy slaving away am I. What IS the outside world?

Finally did something fun last week that wasn’t Cayto related. Took a trip through to city of smoke, and magnanimous crust: Edinburgh! The cavernlike Bannerman’s played host that eve to Fighting Red Adair, Par Avion, Sam’s Hot Car Lot, and Torqamada. Yeah. It’s rock. We like rock.

I like Fighting Red Adair a lot. I consider them to be close-personal-friends-of-mine. I reality they pushpins up my fingernails and shit in my shoe in my sleep. They have also been known to send sane people on the downward spiral by an elaborate sleep deprivation act that involves thee intense discussion of gay Transformers. Nice lads. Their music reflects this: grumpy, sleazy, puuuunnnnkkkROCK with tales of human weakness, embittered characters, wrapped in a dry, brutal sense of humour. This band is cursed. Never have I seen the play without technical mishap. Tonight was typical. Broken strings all over the place but they laugh it off and throw themselves about a bit to compensate. Band as an amimal: hawk.

I want to like Par Avion more than I do. The tunes are there and it all SOUNDS good. But they are totally soulless I the flesh. Sadly they are doomed to be ‘great on record’. Band as an animal: some fucking porpoise.

I have a problem with Torqamada. Namely, there are the opposite of Par Avion. All fun and bluster live- Calling everyone ‘Mutherfucker’, and pretending to be from Texas. Fast and furious punk rock. No song over 2m 30s! Their recorded downtime shows them up for what they are. Stoopid punk Rawk. Ramones/Stooges/Thunders punk rawk. But damn they’re fun live. Rumour has it that Poptones are interested. They will fit I well with the NME trend for prettyboy garage punk revivalism. See ’em now before they are on the front cover and you hate them properly. Band as an animal: hyena.

Last time I saw Sam’s Hot Car Lot I wanted to mow them. To cleave them. To rain fire down upon therm. Anything to bring death upon them in thee most heinously old testament way. I did not like them. Drunken foos playing derivative pish REALLY REALLY LOUD. I should pay more attention really. I could have swore there was four of them and they were dreadful. Now they are three. This has my foot taping and head bobbing. I am liking this. Change is good. Two songs in and somebody tells me we have to catch a bus. And just like that, we’re gone.