planet pop creeping bent night - edinburgh cas rock,
19/8/98
adventures in stereo/the secret goldfish/policecat
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Scotland's second-favourite record label decamp from the leavy environs
of Glasgow to the capital city and to the surroundings of the Cas Rock in
the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. There's a pretty decent turnout to welcome
the Wegies to town, as befits the status of the bands concerned. Policecat
are first up, consisting of a few organisers f the PlanetPop festival, so
it's to their credit that they're taking a support slot. They seem to change
in sound evry time I see them live, and tonight is no expetcion - they've
come from a thrashy pub blues band to a semi-country combo to their current
and most pleasing incarntion, where songwriting is the main thing. Singer
Gordon anounces 'their obligitory happy song' , though I couldn't see much
depression in the rest of the set. Mind you, this track didn't sound abnormally
happy either, a very easy, almost laconic feel to the vocals all the time,
some lazy (I mean relaxed) steel guitar, and as I said, tunes, and lots
of them. Now that they're officially a Creeping Bent band they will hopefully
put their energiers into getting an album together. When they're not organising
festivals that is. |
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Though I've seen both Policecat and Adventures in Stereo many times this
is the first time I've seen the Secret Goldfish. Big favourites with
John Peel, the band have a terrible soundcheck earlier in the night, which
Katy apologies for. no such problems with the actual set. Again, a band
who have seen changes from the sound of their first album, in fact their
secnd album isn't on Creeping Bent at all but in Germany's Marina Records.
That doesn't stop Douglas, cigar-chomper with the label, filling in very
capably on guitar tonight. Also present is the ubiquitous Francis Macdonald
who is manning the keyboards and giving the whole band sound that Hammondy
feel. The sound problems arrive briefly but all is eventually well, and
the band go back to their roots with a rousing 'Pink Drone' to close, leaving
me wishing I'd seen them around the time of the first album too. Still,
this'll do nicely. |
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And so to Adventures in Stereo, who play as good a set as I've
seen., for a band with a bedrooom past they are adapting to the live way
of life pretty well. Now a six-piece, including occasional flute, they play
a 100 song set which is over in 5 minutes. Well, not quite, but they do
hit the half hour mark with an encore. Most of the songs aired are from
the 'Alternative Stereo Sounds' album, though with some alteration - the
whole feel is a bit beefier, though this is hardly surprising with THREE
guitars on the go at one point. Judith's vocals still manage to soar above
all this.
All in all, there's noreason why Underground Sounds of adventures in
Stereo and their Creeping Bent cohorts shouldn't hit the mainstream, and
deservedly too. |
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