Billy Bragg – Leamington Spa, Assembly

Billy Bragg gigs are part-concert/part evangelical political rally and tonight the Bard of Barking is on top form, inspired by the student protests. He immediately lights a fire under our complacent middle-English arse, kicking off with two decades old songs ‘World Turned Upside Down’ and “To Have and To Have Not”. By doing so we [...]

Whippet out – Marc Almond, Glasgow ABC

Did you know the Whippet goes everywhere with a bible and a gun? His argument is it’s better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them. Laudable words. He set out in the blizzards to further the 80s kick he’s been on by seeing everyone’s favourite half of Soft [...]

The Blood Arm with the 1990s – Captain’s Rest, Glasgow

The history of popular music, as wide and varied and simply huge as it is, provides any aspiring musician with a veritable treasure trove of ideas. There’s just so many people, so many areas to study. The spark of creativity can be lit by studying what went before. However, the dangers inherent in this theory [...]

Do’s and Don’ts – Gigging

Following on from last week’s article on noisy pups Twin Atlantic and their somewhat skew-whiff approach to playing live, we offer practical advice to any touring acts on how to get the most from being on the road. DO – attempt to pick gigs which are suitable to you. If you are a Norwegian Death [...]

Dinosaur Jr & Built to Spill – Glasgow, ABC

When the world was two decades younger, young men and women dressed in plaid shirts and Sonic Youth t-shirts ruled the world. Well, at least the cooler pages of the Melody Maker. What came to be known as grunge in the wake of Nirvana’s epoch-shattering success was really less a movement and more a loose [...]

ELM Presents – Fram

ELM Presents kicks off in May with a show at Glasgow’s 13th Note. Headlining will be Scots post-rockers Fram, whose debut This is How We Live Now was one of 2008′s best kept secrets. We talked to frontman Scot van den Akker about all things music: ELM Presents – we’re excited; how are you feeling [...]

The View – Bongo Club, Edinburgh

When it comes to music, the relationship between suppliers and customers is far different to that in the real world. There are responsibilities on each side to be adhered to; the transaction isn’t finished the second the fan hands over the money. Both sides invest a lot more in to this relationship than Tesco and [...]

Brendan Benson- ABC2, Glasgow.

Most people who love music have a little bit of music snobbery in them. They like things small, exclusive, a little elitist and, most of all, things that no-one else knows about.

The Friday 5 – 5 reasons why we love rock’n’roll

Light and shade. That’s what we strive for round these parts. In ELM Towers, you’ll find rooms bathed in a light so shiny and white you’d swear you’d walked in on Simon Cowell, whereas the adjoining room would be dimmer than Manni Dinogue. For steady repetition is not good for the soul. But we’ve been [...]

T in the Park – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

ScantRegard hates most living things, yet that hasn’t stopped her becoming a T in the Park Stalwart. Here’s her guide to what you can look forward to; It’s that time of the year again, when half of Glasgow and Edinburgh packs up and heads north to terrorise the good citizens of rural Kinross for a [...]

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