Bootleg: Franz Nicolay - PJ Molloys, Dunfermline 11 May 2011

Franz Nicolay (photo by Last Year's Girl) playing between Ben Marwood and Frank Turner, recorded live at PJ Molloys, Dunfermline on 11 May 2011.

Interviews: Ben Marwood on FreshAir.org.uk Franz Nicolay on Last Year's Girl Frank Turner on FreshAir.org.uk

In My Defence - Vertis

Vertis emerged in late 2008 and have been rising steadily since then, with an appearance on Scottish new music compilation A Sort of Homecoming along with Dirty Modern Hero and Jakil last year, as well as an Edge festival performance. The Edinburgh/Fife-based trio list Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters and Nirvana as influences, and that's pretty much the angle to come from when approaching their new EP In My Defence.

Opener See Through This sounds like Foos classic Everlong if it was played by Biffy, and sets the scene for the rest of the EP. Vocalist Alan Gilliland-Patterson's voice sounds distinctly like Simon Neil, with a tinge of Kurt Cobain; the same can be said of his band's music: grunge-infuenced progressions squeezed into off-kilter time signatures. The overall result sounds distinctly 90's, but has enough Scottish-accented quirks to project a contemporary feel. Without You takes these influences further, bringing to mind Puzzle-era Biffy, particularly Folding Stars. The setting is arguably more accessible than Biffy, however, with Vertis choosing a more steady rock ballad format for the tune, leaving hyperactive rhythms by the road and bringing in some Jimmy Page style, unashamedly rock n' roll guitar soloing. On the other hand, the next track, Injection, follows an aggressive introduction with a hushed verse, the classic grunge dynamic prevailing as the volume claws its way back for the chorus. The title track, In My Defence, displays traces of powerpop and Twin Atlantic-esque hooks, and you get the impression Vertis have some stadium-sized ambition behind them. Unlike the big-sounding tunes, the production is stripped-back and straightforward, sounding more like a live recording, and the EP overall hints at a passionate live band becoming comfortable with their sound.

Stewart McLachlan

GoNorth - Inverness 11 Jun 2010

Friday at GoNorth was like Monday morning at The Priory. Thursday’s showcases had left the conference goers somewhat worse for wear, but coffee in hand and bags under the eyes, Scotland’s musical community stumbled on.

GoNorth is Scotland’s premier showcase festival, with live performances, workshops, panels and seminars for the Screen and Broadcast, and Music industries – basically the mass entertainment community. The town city of Inverness plays host, with venues all over the city taking part, and the event takes place annually in the run up to the nearby RockNess live and dance music festival.

Edinburgh’s Born to Be Wide, one of this year’s biggest contributors to the music side of the event, hosted the Music Making Money seminar, and the small conference room was overflowing with guests waiting to hear details of publishing and performing rights. The most notable speakers were Will Page of Performance Rights Society for Music (PRS), and Keith Harris of Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), two of the UK’s most important royalty distributing companies. These two speakers explained thoroughly what their organisations were responsible for, and what that meant to the average UK musician. In essence, PRS collects and distributes royalties for public performances of music to the songwriters and PPL does the same for the copyright owners and performers of music and videos. Duncan McCrone of Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) explained the meaning of mechanical royalties, royalties for the sale of music, paid to both the songwriters and publishers, and how his organisation collects and distributes them.

The whole system is rather complicated and the vast majority of the one hour seminar was spent explaining the different types of rights and who is responsible for collecting them, or dispelling rumours of injustice or swindle. But the basic message was that all musicians should sign up and register their songs – it costs nothing and you might get money back you didn’t know you were due.

The explanations took so long that there was barely time to hear from Ron Spaulding of Fontana Distribution, on the panel to explain the differences between our system and that of the USA, and Jamie Gilmour, of the British Association of Composers, Songwriters and Artists.

After a half hour lunch break, Born to Be Wide provided its second panel of the day, titled Sync Panel, to provide information about music synchronisation licenses, or ‘sync deals’, where a fee is paid to use music for TV, film, advertisement, even video games. The panel included Kyle Hopkins of Microsoft Media, representing the video game industry, Mark Davies of The Leith Agency advertising, representing TV and radio advertisements, and Craig Pickles, a producer with ITV, representing film and television. The three described how they discover music for their respective charges, and gave advice to the audience as to how to achieve a sync deal. While there are many different methods the panellists had for discovering music, their advice included providing specific details on the type of music you create, to make their lives easier, and to always have versions of the songs without the vocals, to be used as backing music.

Also on the panel was David McGinnis of Mute Song, who contributed a music publisher’s perspective on sync deals. And better-late-than-never Lee Parson of Sentric Music, a company who fight for the royalty rights of UK artists, and began questioning the other panellists’ motives, as if trying to expose them as money hungry thieves in front of a crowd, creating a more entertaining, albeit slower-paced seminar.

The honour of keynote speaker on Friday was awarded to Steve Krill, the president of US based The Radiant Group, a marketing services company that, in his words “put the ‘r’ in bands”, as it works to partner performing acts with corporate brands to create mutually beneficial marketing campaigns.

The room was about twice the size of the room where the Born to Be Wide sessions were held, but had less than half the guests, so perhaps they should have switched. Nonetheless, Steve Krill spoke about his company in a frank and open way. He did his best to address issues people have with bands ‘selling out’ by getting involved with corporations. As far as he can see, if the deal benefits both sides, there isn’t an issue. If the band damages their relationship with their fans, this is bad for both parties, and it would be a rather large blunder on behalf of the band or their representation and The Radiant Group for allowing it. At any rate, a band whose politics are a big concern to their fanbase is probably not the sort of band that brands would benefit from working with anyway.

Krill also dispelled the notion that corporate sponsorship was the new record companies, and would inject the entertainment industry with the cash flow it needs to survive. They may play a part, for internationally recognised bands becoming associated with internationally recognised logos, right down to brands sponsoring ‘unsigned’ music events and tours for emerging artists, marketing synergy will continue to be a source of income in music, but it is not the be all and end all. Not all bands can benefit, and there simply aren’t enough brands in the world to have the whole music industry resting on their shoulders.

Nonetheless, Krill kept things simple, and entertained the audience with his stories of partnerships he’d set up and their varying successes.

Myke Hall

News: 19 June 2010

This Saturday, 19 June 2010, is a very interesting day for music in Scotland. As we previously talked about, Edinburgh is hosting two EP launches on the same night.

The OK Social Club play Cabaret Voltaire to launch their third EP ‘That Howden Sound’. Tickets are £5 and available from Royal Mile Tavern or from the band.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears play Sneaky Pete’s to launch their debut EP ‘Dawn’. Tickets are £5 and available from WeGotTickets.com.

In addition to these two events, Edinburgh will also see the arrival of Happy Mondays legend Bez’s new band Domino Bones, playing Maggie’s Chamber, above the Three Sisters, followed by a DJ set from Bez himself. The night is brought to us by Colossal Promotions, also who are also actively promoting gigs for Leith Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. Support comes from The Vibe, The Stalls, Tams Railways, All at Sea and Kolumbia. Tickets are £8 in advance from any of these bands, or £10 on the door.

And by some strange coincidence (or possibly licensing laws) all these events kick off at 19.00.

Finally, fledgling internet radio station Gap Radio officially launches this Saturday to stream music online 24/7. To celebrate, they have organised a launch party at Harley's in Bathgate, which will include performances from Tango In The Attic, 4 Day Weekend, Fred Astaire's Boots, Bambou Enfants, The Secrets and others still to be announced. Tickets are available on the door.

Myke Hall

Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus

The self-titled debut album by Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of recently reunited Pavement, may have one man’s name and one man’s face on the cover, but the band who recorded the album with Malkmus went on to tour with him as Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and fans consider this that band’s first album.

From minute one the technical musicianship, complex production and instrumentation put The Jicks in a different category than Pavement. Retaining Malkmus’s trademark lo-fi and occasionally dissonant guitar licks in places, the use of synthesiser sounds, a variety of rhythm guitar styles and crystal clear bass defined a sound that characterise The Jicks as a band in their own right.

The most striking thing about the album is the lyrical content, rich in stories set in all kinds of romantic settings, such as 19th century Imperial India or Ancient Greek islands, or interesting characters, like Turkish pirates, an Alaska fisherman, and most bizarre of all, actor Yul Brynner. The joy is in the poetic nature of the scenarios, as the stories rarely resolve, and are more like detailed and poetic reflections of people in places, be they modern or during minor historical events. The lyrics flirt with morals, but abandon them, leaving you to write your own conclusions. 'Jenny & The Ess Dog', perhaps the album’s peak, focuses on a strained relationship between a college student and her older boyfriend, in parts told through the eyes of their dog, Trey, who is the only living creature who can witness them alone together.

Well-produced arrangements see guitars pitted against synthesiser, vocals, or more unorthodox instruments like steel drums or xylophone, while installing out of place instrumental or vocal samples in a rhythmic way to add character to an already charismatic set of songs.

Stephen’s voice is weedy, and never strong or confident, and he tries to hit notes that are too low to be heard or too high for him to sing. But his voice fits well atop the overall kookiness of the music. In some cases another instrument will play the melody line along with him, whether this is to reinforce his voice, or just to underline the melody.

Another notable feature is the appearance of ‘mini-songs’ after several of the tracks. A mini-song is about five to ten seconds long and has the same instruments from the track playing an independent little section, treating the listener to a little pace-changing tune between full length numbers.

Malkmus displays his lyrical genius and poetic depths here in ways he never did with Pavement; this album is the flourishing of an artist held back by the limitations of his environment, suddenly unleashed with full studio and musicians who would do what he told them. While it doesn’t have that awkward college radio magic that made Pavement the cult legends they are, it is instead digestible, beautiful, and glowing with a sorcery of its own.

Myke Hall

Gil Scott-Heron - HMV Picturehouse Edinburgh 26 Apr 2010

Gil Scott-Heron has lived a life many thug-posturing African-American artists can only write about. Establishing himself in the 70s as a formidable lyricist with poetic, political and hard-hitting soul, his later years were riddled with drugs, prison and HIV. His return to the spotlight came earlier this year with the critically acclaimed album I'm New Here, a gorgeously sparse record with an unnerving, world-weary power in its songs. Unsurprisingly, when the Chicago-born legend stepped onto the stage of a packed HMV Picturehouse, he was met with an audience electric in its enthusiasm.

After introducing himself with a tongue-in-cheek speech about how Black History Month should be in May (because it's easier to say. Or at least that's what I understood), a confident, charismatic Scott-Heron sat at his keyboard and launched into a stunning solo rendition of 'Blue Collar'. The restless, anticipating crowd was instantly silenced as Scott-Heron's voice cast the decades aside with its soulfulness. An equally arresting version of 'We Almost Lost Detroit' followed, before the first member of Scott-Heron's band, keyboardist Kim Jordan, took to the stage for 'Work For Peace'. The pair's alternating vocals built into a hypnotic climax, prompting the audience's enthusiastic approval.

"This is one of our favorite places in the world", Scott-Heron stopped to remark, to a roar of approval from his fans. The remainder of his stripped-down band (percussionist and harmonica) then emerged for a quirky version of 'Is That Jazz?' with Scott-Heron taking to the front of the stage and encouraging the audience to dance and clap along, though they needed no such persuasion. Such an engaged, participatory atmosphere has long been a hallmark of Scott-Heron's live act, and the ambiance was infectious.

Following an ecstatic, albeit slightly bizarre, solo keyboard performance from the gifted Jordan, the band launched into the classic 'Pieces Of A Man', a reminder that Gil Scott-Heron knows exactly when to bring the mood back down. Age has not withered the song's emotional impact in the slightest, and the audience response was rapturous. The band continued through 'Your Daddy Loves You' and 'Three Miles Down' before exiting the stage. In less than a minute, thunderous foot stamping and applause dragged them back. A euphoric, moving performance of 'The Bottle' provided the night's dizzying climax, and the Picturehouse transformed into an almost spiritual mass of drunken singing and dancing. This is what makes Gil Scott-Heron such a unique figure in modern music: his songs and stories will teach you the horrors of the ghetto, but rather than batter his audience into depression he lets his concerts highlight music as a catalyst for unison and recovery. His audience at the Picturehouse were moved, and left with something positive at the end of the night. Scott-Heron's resurrection is without doubt one of the great comebacks of recent years, his message as essential as it ever was.

Stewart McLachlan

Frank Turner HMV Picturehouse Edinburgh 16 Mar 2010

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

With a background in hardcore punk music, it’s rather surprising that Frank Turner’s (photo by Vikki McIntyre) solo career consists of acoustic songs, but these aren’t sit-down acoustic folk ballads; they’re stand up and sing-along acoustic belters. As his tall frame takes the stage as though climbing a victory podium, he’s flanked by a military snare-loving drum kit, embossing bass and supportive electric guitar players, who come and go at various parts of his set. Frank’s songs burst with life-affirming chants, witty rhyming couplets, and wry observations, aimed at the struggling artist that lounges in the heart of Britain’s pint drinking public. Frank is also a card-carrying political libertarian, and his songs resound with anti-Thatcher, anti-9-til-5 political themes.

His words ring with such personal truth that it isn’t hard to imagine that the majority of his predominantly male audience are also musicians and artists fighting to keep their heads above water in the entertainment business, and can sympathise with every pained word as Frank displays his bruises as proudly as war wounds.

Frank is the embodiment of the ‘try, try and try again’ attitude. Between songs he reminds the audience of his first Edinburgh gig at an empty Whistle Binkies (cheekily adding “I’m not having a go, although now that I mention it, where the hell were you all?”). His career as a failed punk screamer, and his spoken-from-the-heart lyrics, including lines about texting strangers to try to get an audience for his gigs, indicate that he really has fought an uphill battle to get to the point he is at today, but is glad to have taken the journey.

However, not all his songs reflect his career trajectory; songs like ‘Long Live The Queen’ and ‘Father's Day’ retread the oft-walked paths of family and personal relationships. While very few of his songs are “love songs” of the clichéd variety, Frank is not above picking the guitar strings to tug on the heart strings.

Its is only when HMV Picturehouse staff make it clear Frank isn’t allowed back out, by turning up the Tannoy music and getting bouncers to usher out the crowd, that the audience finally gives up their cheering and leave the venue. Nevertheless, a lucky few are treated to a few more songs later that evening at the Vat and Fiddle next door.

Myke Hall

Lostprophets - Edinburgh Corn Exchange 19 Feb 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

The phenomenal Ilan Rubin left Lostprophets last year to play drums for Trent Reznor on the apparent last ever Nine Inch Nails tour. Lostprophets (picture by Andrew Moore) are now on tour now with their new drummer, Luke Johnson, out to prove to the world that they don’t miss him.

The Welsh six piece play high energy emo-tinged nu-metal, coating each track with a sharp biting guitar overdrive and diet metal drums. Their set includes songs from throughout their decade long career, as well as a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’. Lead singer Ian Watkins’ voice seems perfectly crafted to sail through the noise without gruffness, without strain, never struggling to hit high notes. Balancing him is synth player Jamie Oliver, whose metal screams add the required aggression when the song requires it. But aggression isn’t this band’s primary motivation. Tunes ‘Rooftops’ and ‘Last Train Home’ not only get the vast Corn Exchange audience pogoing like 70s punks, but prove uplifting and inspiring. Lyrics like “But there's still tomorrow/ Forget the sorrow/ And I can be on the last train home” breath optimism into a genre too often overfilled with depression and negativity.

As the end of the set draws closer, the band are killing time. Throwing bottles of water to a dehydrated and grateful audience, and pouring on the praise as bands always do “You guys are pissing all over Glasgow”, but eventually they get to the point and close the set with the broken beats and staccato guitar riffs of their first major hit ‘Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja’. Extended cheering leads to their reappearance, but the encore tune, a song called ‘The Light That Shines Twice As Bright...’ from their January album The Betrayed, is slow, atmospheric and eerie, leaving the audience somewhat bemused by this stylistic sidestep. To come full circle, the song was rather reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails.

Myke Hall

Spoon - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut Glasgow 14 Feb 2010

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

American college indie rock is a well-explored genre in the States, but the barrage of t-shirt and jeans bands rarely seem to bleep on our radar. Two such examples are Spoon, who hit their stride in the mid-naughties, and White Rabbits, more recent scenesters.

White Rabbits’ light rock guitar songs are made especially eerie and dancey as their six-piece line-up includes a percussionist as well as a drummer, who thundered drums and cymbals alike in spite of a rather nasty-looking cast on his arm. The band’s broken-beat Dirty Projectors-style harmonies, subtle use of piano and gritted-teeth lead vocals can be used to create either strange little pop oddities or off-kilter post-rock epics. Add their warm booming basslines and you’ll be following White Rabbits into Wonderland.

Spoon (pictured) are much more rough around the edges, with some spiky guitar clashes, staccato piano and laid-back but agitated vocals. The Texan four-piece’s songs are often made up of minimalist riffs and uncluttered drum parts, allowing the instruments to stay well-separated, creating a sort of hollow space in the middle range for you to listen to the song from. Lyrically, they float between odd and sometimes unreadable metaphors, and sentiments that ultimately convey a general discomfort with the world they inhabit.

Describing the music as “indie” by British definition is way off. There is little to nothing in common with Britpop or art-rock or the Madchester scene or any of the other things we class as indie in this country. This is music that will make most sense at 1AM to tired students going over their revision notes for the hundredth time. Interesting, then, that it cast a similar spell from the darkness of the King Tut’s stage. Highlights of the set included new single ‘Written In Reverse’ (below) and the sombre but dramatic ‘The Beast and Dragon, Adored’.

Myke Hall

Myke Hall

Johnny Foreigner Interview

edRock.net chats with Birmingham ADHD-punk band Johnny Foreigner in the green room before their gig at Cabaret Voltaire about bands from Birmingham, the controversial Christmas number one, their new album, and Craig Finn.

Myke Hall

Chew Lips - Sneaky Petes Edinburgh 27 Jan 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

The show opened with Leith based outfit My Tiny Robots, appropriate to the electro-disco genre of the other bands in name alone. The band gave a rather awkward and self-conscious performance, switching between instruments at every opportunity: including guitars, bass, synth, drums, trumpet, melodica, maracas and ukulele. Unfortunately they seemed to think a variety in instrumentation could make up for their lack of performance skills. Only their lead singer had the charm and charisma to warrant the audience’s attention.

Conversely, every member of Glasgow four-piece Boycotts was a well oiled indie-disco machine. The female vocals had the toughness of alternative rock, without being angry or angsty, and were backed by very snappy high-hat beats on the drums, overdriven, fidgety guitar, and disco-funk rhythms on the bass. The songs are designed to get the heart pumping and the foot tapping, and succeeded.

By the time London based Chew Lips (picture by Edmund Fraser) came on stage, Edinburgh’s smallest venue was packed sardine-style. The band is made up of lead singer girl, Tigs, centre stage, flanked by her two musical lads: Will Sanderson and James Watkins. The drums and most of the bass is pre-programmed and sequenced. The boys play synthesisers most of the set, sounding very 8-bit and glitchy, but will sometimes pick up a guitar or bass to add some buzz. Tigs’s vocal parts are poppy like Little Boots or recent Kylie Minogue.

More than any other instrument, the use of drums can affect the on-stage energy of a band, and although programmed drums blend well with synthetic music, the atmosphere ultimately suffers without having someone banging the kit. Fortunately, that’s the only area where the band lacked energy. The singer skipped happily to cyber-bleeps, while the boys convulsed to the beat like they were receiving very well timed miniature electric shocks.

The stand-out song from the set was ‘Salt Air’, whose uplifting melody is a refreshing in contrast to the dance-punk claustrophobia of the rest of the set.

 Myke Hall

Them Crooked Vultures - Edinburgh Corn Exchange 15 December 2009

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

I can’t imagine Josh Homme was too popular with the Corn Exchange staff, who are more at home doing wedding receptions and corporate events, when he told the sold out crowd they were welcome to climb on peoples’ shoulders, drink heavily and crowd surf.

Probably even less popular when he handed his half-necked bottle of vodka into the crowd for them to pass around.

But this “we’re going to do it anyway” motto is one that Them Crooked Vultures (photo by Trixta Photography) seem to subscribe to strongly. It’s clear that the band are playing the music they want to play. Clearly written in jams, it seems very little thought has been put into mundane nuances like catchiness, commerciality and accessibility. Instead the band favour concepts like ‘edge’, ‘balls’, and how fun the song is to play.

The three piece are the very definition of a hard rock supergroup, made up of Josh Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal, on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, playing the drums, and John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin, playing the bass; three household names in the world of rock music.

That effectively gives them license to do whatever they want (and apparently encourage the crowd to do the same), and what they’ve decided they want to do it play riff-driven tunes with lots of heavy guitars, noisy bass parts and keyboard parts.

While the songs often flirt with some brilliant riffs, they seem to go off on sonic adventures and lose focus. Most of their tunes probably go on too long to be radio friendly as well. However, you can’t fault the band on their variety. While at times they play White Stripes-style dirty blues, at other times they experiment with high doses of psychedelia, and then they fall into some alternative metal and come out of it dripping with distortion and feedback.

It will be surprising to some to learn that Josh Homme is the only one of the gang who is on microphone duty. Not even Dave Grohl, who is completely confident in front of the microphone in his own band, interacted with the audience at all. He just hid behind his long hair and massive drums, just like the Nirvana days, and supplied the occasional harmony.

John Paul Jones’ contribution was indeed significant. Playing some electric piano, as well as riff bass and stretching the instrument to play sub-bass, the elder statesmen of the trio held his own against the young bucks. Although there is really no excuse good enough to get away with coming on stage with a 12 string bass.

The fourth corner of the square is Alain Johannes, who is joining the trio for the tour. A virtuoso guitar player, the band even gave him a chance to perform some solo blues guitar. As he slid and jammed all over the fretboard, Johannes held the crowd in the palm of his hand, and he’s just the session player.

Overall, as rule-breaking as they may act, Them Crooked Vultures are not re-writing the book of rock, but the audience went there to see three of their heroes rock hard, and that’s what they got.

Myke Hall

Franz Nicolay and Mark Eitzel - Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 4 Nov 2009

In an interview with Stereokill, Franz Nicolay(pictured) is quoted as saying, "I think musicians had two business models for thousands of years: the Troubadour, where you had to travel from town to town and sing for your supper, or the Patron, where you courted the favour and worked at the pleasure of the idle rich."

It’s clear from his performance, if not directly from his music, that Franz Nicolay really is a man from another time. On stage he's more of a cabaret performer than a musician (appropriate considering the venue title). Between songs, he tells stories from his travels and makes jokes, smiling broadly from behind his Mario Bros moustache and his black suit and hat.

Franz’ voice is as rich as the red wine he drinks straight from the bottle, and has the air of professional vocal training. He plays some songs on the guitar, and others on the banjo, both of which he can handle with ease. Fans of The Hold Steady will know there are few instruments Franz hasn't mastered. His style can be applied to rock, folk, even ragtime tunes, but most often he employs it for stirring, inspirational ballads.

Through the content of his lyrics, it’s clear Franz has not only a fistful of life experience and a worldly view on life, but also a cultured taste. Though he appears to be a man of the past, he also seems to be able to predict the trends of the future; one of his songs references 'Nick and Nora'. It’s not clear whether that's a reference to the 1934 book The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, one of the six films, the TV series or the radio show that the novel spun off, the 1991 Broadway musical based on the same characters, or the novel 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' that was inspired by the characters. Whichever it was, the characters have recently been seen on cinema screens in the 2008 adaptation of 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'. So has Hollis Mason, subject of Franz's song 'The Ballad of Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior' and narrator of the 1986 classic Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen and the 2009 film adaptation. For a man who seems to be from the past, he certainly does seem to see into the future.

Despite appearing without his backing band of indie all-stars, Major General, the coup de grâce of an excellent solo set was his performance of the hard rocking Jeff Penalty, a song about the now-grown-up punk scenester’s relationship with the Dead Kennedy's front man. Franz performed the song with enthusiasm, slaughtering his guitar strings and stomping his foot resoundingly on the hard wooden floor, lost in the energy of the song until about two thirds of the way through, where he embarrassingly filled a quieter bit by explaining "this is the part where there's usually a guitar solo".

There are some stark contrasts between Franz Nicolay and his touring partner, Mark Eitzel. While the San Francisco man, formerly lead singer of American Music Club, also sports a Fedora, a suit and facial hair, their music and performance style differ greatly. Franz bubbles over with positivity, showmanship, and an entertainer's spirit. Mark Eitzel is a different breed. His is a self-deprecating dark humour, and his stories, he contends, intriguing as they may be, are situations were he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's almost too shy for the stage, but it would be such a shame if he didn't get up there and tell his crazy stories and sing his beautiful tunes.

Mark is an old fashioned crooner. With just a piano accompaniment, his rich, deep, somewhat throaty voice glowed like hot embers. Mark reminds us of how powerful music could still be long before rock and roll existed, and how a great singer and some piano are sometimes all you need for a moving performance.

Some of his most memorable pieces included his rendition of the classic 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco', which his style took to a dark, regretful place, and the song The Blood on My Hands, during which he was joined on stage by Franz Nicolay for accordion and backing vocals.

Myke Hall

Nine Black Alps and Sucioperro - Electric Circus Edinburgh 28 Oct 2009

Sucioperro have brought intelligence to a genre that demands nothing but passion. The guitar and drums have been carefully formulated to compliment each other very well. The guitar itself is usually highly distorted, but also makes use of muting and bright picking parts in order to provide a wide variety of sounds to Sucioperro's range of tunes, meaning their sound can stretch between uplifting power rock ('Don't Change (What You Can't Understand)') to grunge-metal ('Dirty Dirty Sick Sick'). Sometimes the use of guitar goes a step further to a level of some serious creativity; there are some very interesting sliding and harmonic sounds in 'Liquids,' for example.

The bass is strong throughout, playing root notes when required, and playing more playful riffs that parry the movements of guitar and drums when there is room to. The drums are consistently tight and snappy. The vocals do sometimes suffer from ‘Transatlantic Syndrome’, that is, a Scotsman trying to sing in the American accent of the band he's inspired by, but this is not true of every track.

On stage, the Ayr trio have no problem executing complex songs without breaking a sweat, and are watchable without being cocky.

The other comment to make about Sucioperro is their colour co-ordination. All in black and red, with armbands and crosses, matching the drum kit too. There were no such stylistic concerns when Nine Black Alps (pictured) took to the stage.

Nine Black Alps’ first album was hailed by grunge fans for picking up where Nirvana left off. Screamed vocals, angry lyrics with dark metaphors, and chromatic overdriven major chords typified their songs, and a dishevelled, brand-free dress sense and unkempt hair characterized their image. Since then, they have expanded their sound, taking lessons from post-Seattle sound bands like The Vines and Bush.

Now on their third album, the four-piece haven't gained much in the way of commercial success. But their performance has the heart of a band playing what they love, and there is still enough of an audience there to keep them going, which is all any musician really needs.

The two guitars match each other, countering each other's heavy riffs and elevating the song, instead of just copying one another. The drums have the right amount of violence to keep the audience rocking out; while still being controlled enough contribute to the architecture of the whole tune, rather than just the foundations.

The band gave an exuberant performance with an unstoppable spirit, really feeling every chord they struck and I look forward to the next time they’re in town.

Myke Hall