Limbo 068 - Thursday 16th April 2009
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So, your Limbo mailer is late this week. But hey, I'm sitting on the side of a Welsh hill surrounded by sheep watching the evening sun go down. There are red kites overhead too, so do I really care? Not really!
Dead Boy Robotics duo Mike and Gregor have played Limbo four times since their first appearance last August, which makes them something of a resident band and, while they have been writing new songs and developing their material throughout this time, for this date they have brought along a pair of floor toms to embellish their performance. DBR are an act who split the audience down the middle but, however you feel about their abrasive sound, one of the main attributes that has always set them apart from other acts of this nature is their great sense of humour. This principally manifests itself in Mike and Gregor dropping one-liners between songs, usually at their own expense - a self-deprecating style which pervades the music as well, as they apply yelps, screams and moans to their melodic synth lines and guitar play, cheerfully reinventing new wave electronica with punk spirit. This set delivered at least two new songs both of which demonstrate that they've taken their sound to the next level in terms of production. However, the new set really comes to life when Mike and Gregor attack their floor toms in unison whilst singing in harmony. This song takes the music beyond the realms of pre-sequenced structure and gives it a vital, organic quality. An exciting direction for Dead Boy Robotics.
French Berliner Fred Bigot takes the stage as Electronicat, using just a sampler, multi-effects machine, guitar, microphone and mixer, looking every bit the confident star in the spot-light. There's quite a long pause as he checks all his levels are ok, since he's borrowed the mixer off Dead Boy Robotics, who have themselves just been using it on stage. Then he begins. Heavy on distortion and weird effects (especially one which reconfigures his voice to make it sound like he is speaking in tongues), Electronicat's sound follows DBRs' quite naturally, particularly as his first track is a glam rock stomp. From here Limbo gets vintage rock n roll motifs, heavy beats and even heavier bass, all of which comes across crystal clear on the Voodoo Rooms PA and half an hour zips by. Then, partially lit by low level spots, suddenly Electronicat is standing on top of his table throwing rock star poses. It's enough to get the Limbo crowd cheering for more, but with so little time left, he can only fit on one more song. But with such an original, incendiary style, you can be sure he'll coming back to play more before too long.
Paul Vickers And The Leg have only played Limbo once before, but they stood out by a country mile on the bill that night and it was obvious they needed to be asked back at the earliest opportunity. The most obvious touchstone for their raucous, unhinged approach is The Fall and, with Vickers himself also hailing from the north of England, they bear this similarity in more ways than one. But, essentially they have their own style, which would be very hard to confuse with any other band, especially since they all come on stage in full panda bear regalia (with drummer Alun taking the costume to its most logical conclusion, fully made-up, and cellist Pete and guitarist Dan wearing what look more like Mexican wrestling masks than standard panda outfits) and currently includes the sound of banjo, guitar, drums and cello, plus Vickers' inimitable vocals. They don't pull any punches, either, going very much for the uncompromising, artistic jugular and ending their set with their apocalyptic cover of Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time, a genius climactic manoeuvre if ever there was one. Altogether, this may well be an acquired taste for some but guarantees a rapturous response from their swelling fan-base. If you do one thing you've never done before this year, go and see a show by Paul Vickers And The Leg. However you may feel about the music they make, they're re-defining the concept of a rock show for the twenty-first century.
myspace.com/paulvickersandtheleg
So, you read this mailer every week, but you've still not made it down to Limbo. Well, now Limbo is going to come to you! April 23rd sees the Limbo Live Volume 1 Launch Party Extravaganza, which is the launch of our LIMBO LIVE series and you're going to love it. The first volume, recorded live at Limbo in the last six months of 2008 features tracks from Zoey Van Goey, Found, Punch and The Apostles, Meursault, Over The Wall, Come On Gang!, Kid Canaveral, Night Noise Team, Haight-Ashbury, Thieves In Suits, Sparrow and The Workshop, Cancel The Astronauts, A-lix and Isosceles and the launch party will feature at least NINE of these fantastic acts performing LIVE for your delectation.
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FOR SALE:
1 Peavey TK0115 bass amp VENUE INFO 
Limbo takes place at The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street, Edinburgh.
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Just one week to go before the first CD in the Limbo Live series launches on April 23rd at Limbo. The first volume, recorded live at Limbo in the last six months of 2008 features tracks from Zoey Van Goey, Found, Punch & The Apostles, Meursault, Over The Wall, Come On Gang!, Kid Canaveral, Night Noise Team, Haight Ashbury, Thieves In Suits, Sparrow and The Workshop, Cancel The Astronauts, A-lix and Isosceles.
In combining a love of ancient Greece, Hello Kitty and Kate Bush it’s unlikely you’ll fail to be charmed by the quixotic world of Marina and The Diamonds. Marina herself is a pocket-sized star, a fiery combination of Greek and Welsh who spends her time between song-writing hand creating merchandise and selling vintage clothing. Described affectionately by The Guardian as a “seriously warped mind in the body of a fox”, Marina’s sound is all encompassing, taking on gentle piano ballads, synth heavy tracks, brass, bird calls, chanting and ooohs and ahhs in varying vocal styles. Wonderfully varied yet utterly distinctive. Marina is currently working towards her debut album with Pascal Gabriel (New Order, Kylie) whilst the debut single will be release early 2009 on Neon Gold Records, founded by Derek Davis of Good Weather For Airstrikes and will follow up the label’s debut release from Passion Pit. She is Marina, we are her diamonds.
because she generally escaped the deluge of ones-to-watch lists for 2009, she's probably the one to watch right now...
My Cousin I Bid You Farewell also impressed Limbo in January. They are from Glasgow and the invention of 24 year old Jonathan Sellar. Their debut live performance was at the BBC on the 5th of November 2008. Their second was a sold out show at Nice N Sleazy on November the 14th to launch their first single, Neverland. Their third appearance live was on the Big Stage in Glasgow's George Square as part of the Christmas Winterfest entertainment on Thursday the 11th of December. The band are currently recording in order to further the interest of various labels and they plan to start work on their debut LP sometime in 2009.
Edinburgh quintet Cancel the Astronauts are preparing for the imminent release of their EP, which is guaranteed to put them on the indie-popping map nationwide when it comes out. They write instantly affecting, bittersweet songs about love, death and disco dancing - you know, important things like that. It's jaunty, fun, gimmick-free and utilises that classic new wave line-up (drums, guitar, synth, bass) and, oozing crate-loads of positive energy through its major keys and sweet, upbeat melodies, offers the perfect antidote to these sour times. While their hilariously self-deprecating singer Matthew is a bit of a hit with the ladies, the bands' collective charms will win your heart for sure, talent dripping from all their pores like infectious beads of sweat. Yes, there's something immediately arresting and accessible about Cancel The Astronauts. Check out their EP on myspace for positive proof that they've got what it takes to go all the way.
