Limbo 062 - Thursday 12th March 2009
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As you may have heard, we've had to adjust our door times because of noise complaints. This means that THE FIRST BAND IS ON AT 8.30 SHARP!
Snide Rhythms go on first and they're exhibiting a little bit of various old favourites. There are strong shades of legendary Fall front-man Mark E Smith in lead singer Colvin but also some of the swagger of that other old Manc hero, Sean Ryder, from the Happy Mondays. The rhythm section is flawless and their guitarist comes correct as well. Musically speaking they go for a glam-rock stomp mixed with a little Stooges-style guitar distortion on ECA, while Channel 4 demonstrates more of a surf-rock-come-lounge vibe but it's possibly Enough Of This Feeling that stands out the most, as Colvin drops some electronic sound effects and echo into the mix to give the all-round production a fresh atmosphere. There's a moment where someone in the crowd shouts something and it prompts a bit of a dialogue with the front-man. For a second it looks as if we're about to get some of the legendary Cruickshank wit, but apparently Colvin's keen to stick to his more rehearsed material. They play a short set and top it off with a cover of Wire's 12XU, which is a bit of a favourite at Limbo HQ. Obviously it's still early days but, for a debut, it's impressive stuff. Keep an eye on Snide Rhythms.
Randan Discotheque is on next and a crafty costume change means his drummer and bass player are not immediately recognisable as the same two guys who were on stage before. Singer-songwriter Craig Coulthard has been around the block and released two albums already, so he's certainly no newcomer, although he has only started working with a full band very recently. He stands stage right with the rest of the band on the left. It's an unusual stance. Also unusual is a comical opening sequence involving a girl from the audience, who suddenly rushes across the stage and slaps Craig in the face. He looks surprised, composes himself and then begins. There's a strong country & western vibe to much of this evening's set, which is fully dressed up and ready to party, but the best stuff tonight is his more stripped down material and folksongs, the most memorable highlight of which is Daily Record, 1993 (which also featured in the recent Art School Dance film, soon to be released on DVD). This kind of social commentary exhibits a more original voice, which has encouraged positive feedback from some reputable critics. We expect more to follow in time as this artist develops.
Last, Ross Clark and The Scarfs Go Missing come on and they really shakes up the room, immediately commanding the crowd to get up from their seats and approach the front of the room, ‘so we can get this rock n roll party started.' It's impossible to deny that his chutzpah has an impact: the effect is instant. And we're off. Ross's musical style will be familiar to any fans of classic Fifties rockabilly and early rock n roll, from the guitar parts and beats to a tremulous voice reminiscent of Elvis et al, and he's got such a distinctive presence, such convincing on-stage charisma that everyone in the room becomes a fan tonight. Off-stage Ross is one of the friendliest, most unassuming people we've worked with at Limbo, so it's all the more exciting and surprising when this rock n roll persona emerges in the limelight. He's got an highly poetic style, returning to themes such as lost love and loneliness, life and death. It's a very familiar, universal story but perhaps that's why it's so affecting. We expect to see much more of Ross Clark this year.
myspace.com/electricpolyester
Next week's Limbo sees the launch of our brand new IRREGULAR collaboration with Canongate Books (which will happen irregularly, of course).
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We've been dying to get Unicorn Kid on at Limbo since we first discovered him on myspace early last year. His 8-bit sound, reminiscent of vintage old school arcade game soundtracks and hand-held toys such as the Nintendo Gameboy, is very Eighties and all the rage right now. Expect a riot of colour, club kids and candy-floss sounds.
Echoes of The Housemartins in the vocal styles but a synthetic sound more like Erasure makes Sugar Crisis one of the more exciting pop acts we've come across on 'the space' of late. Topics range from the heroic/triumphant (We Are Here To Save You) and more prosaic (Sunshine Kid) to the mundane/workaday (We Are Stuck In Traffic).
Easily one of our favourite Edinburgh artists, Ex Lion Tamer finally made his Limbo debut at our first birthday party after a few abortive attempts to get him on. Fresh, polished and more pop than almost anything else in Edinburgh right now, he's been a real revelation in the city over the last six months and slotted in particularly well before the final DJ set of the night of November 27th. We're expecting more of this next week. Ex Lion Tamer's music is pure electro-pop, what with all the synthetic vocals/vocoders and naive synth melodies, with an occasional dose of electric guitar. It's got buckets of soul and real depth too, though, as he bares all on vox as well via his trusty vocoder. We're reminded of contemporary artists such as Schneider TM, Matthew Dear, Daft Punk and Vector Lovers but ELT also hails bands such as Yazoo and Erasure, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Cyndi Lauper on his myspace. At last, an Edinburgh act unashamed to wear his gay pop influences on his sleeve! And Ex Lion Tamer really is that POP too. It's a very mature and accomplished sound which we think will find fans all over the globe once word spreads. Which shouldn't be long now; he's recently inked a deal with local music-blog-turned-fledgling-label 17 Seconds, the first fruits of which will be out as a digital download on Monday 9th March. Mind the bubbles! This one's really popping.
DAN RHODES is the literary heavyweight with the light touch. Anyone who hasn't read Rhodes's prizewinning debut, Timoleon Vieta Come Home (Canongate), should be immediately granted a sick note and a prescription for this heart-wrenching, crackpot doggy tale. Described by critics as 'bittersweet as a Morrissey couplet' Rhodes's deadpan prose is irresistible, funny and macabre. In his most recent offering, Gold, he created the most entertaining story of pubs and heartbreak ever written, and arguably – in 'The Children From Previous Relationships' - the best-named pub-quiz team. Besides his notorious collaboration with Brian Eno and a can of helium, Rhodes's live sets are also celebrated for his 101 word short stories, taken from Anthropology with which he lurched onto the scene ten years ago. Rhodes can often be spotted at pub quizzes around Edinburgh.
JOE DUNTHORNE is Wales's answer to JD Salinger. Twenty-six years young but with a belly full of talent and a way with words, Joe Dunthorne is no stranger to live events, running his monthly Homework night at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Currently working in London, he hails from Swansea where his side-splitting debut novel Submarine (Penguin) is set. Dunthorne's joyous talent is a rare, refreshing, revivifying thing.
TIM TURNBULL is a stage-poet, a page-poet and an all-round linguistic marauder. Turnbull's laconic, caustic, hilarious style has won him a big following nationwide, winning him the inaugural Edinburgh Poetry Slam for his poems on stage and more recently earning him a shortlisting for the 2008 Forward Poetry Prize for his work on the page. His three volumes of poetry are published by Donut Press, with his newest, Caligula on Ice, out soon. Hailing from Yorkshire, Tim currently lives in Perthshire and is Writer in Residence at Saughton prison. Heckle at your peril.
