Gig - The Ginger Quiff

Amyl & the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness Live in Glasgow

November 8, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs courtesy of Christopher Hogge

A month to the day that I get to go to New York for the first time and I awoke to the news the whole of the sane world was dreading, the USA have re-elected an incoherent rambling fool to be the head of the most powerful country in the world. As if the world isn’t fucked up enough, the UK is being run by a “sir” whose socialist ideals are as far away from Labour as I’ve ever seen, and that after we finally got rid of the moral bankruptcy and increasingly fascist ideals of Tories as well.… Read the rest

Shrunken Head Promotions present Thee Scarecrows aka in Glasgow

November 4, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

It was a Saturday of highs and lows. The highs? Back to back plays of the stunning new album from The Cure, Songs From a Lost World, a record that is going to be top of so many end of year “Album of the Year” lists. The lows? My football team’s unbeaten run ended… well not so much ended as was ripped asunder with a humiliating annihilation at Hampden…

Nothing else for it, who cares about the football anyway? There is music to be enjoyed…

If you missed out because you didn’t heed the recommendations and low ticket warnings, more fool you as you missed a quite extraordinary experience.… Read the rest

Scottish Music Collective Halloween Bash with Sister Madds

November 1, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All Hallows Eve in Glasgow and the streets were filled with orange jumpsuited convicts, pirates and zombies… so no change there then from any other night… Who can really tell anyway? The post apocalyptic wasteland that is Sauchiehall Street these days looks like the Zombie apocalypse has already come to pass. Anyway, having fought my way through the hordes of the undead I made it to Scottish Music Collective’s sold out Halloween spooktacular in Nice n Sleazy, a fearsome four band bill headlined by the unstoppable force that is Sister Madds.

Before the headline act we were treated to a smorgasbord of diverse bands in the shape of Naked Actress, Vigilanti and Sean Choon & the Prawn Monsoon.… Read the rest

Carol Hodge - Photographer John Middleham

Carol Hodge – Selenite Songs Tour Preview Interview

October 27, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

I recently interviewed The Courettes after their show in Glasgow, a duo often labelled as the hardest touring band on the circuit. Closer to home another artist who seems to be touring/playing live incessantly is friend (no relation…) to these pages, Carol Hodge, who must have mornings like “today its Yorkshire it must be Selenite Songs/Steve Ignorant/The Wildhearts/rare day off at home* (*delete as appropriate).

Within that busy touring schedule Carol managed to squeeze in some time for a chat about relentless touring, part two of the Selenite Songs tour with Julia Othmer, her new album EffortLess InSecurity and being an independent touring artist.

… Read the rest

Bodega – Brand on the Run tour, Glasgow

October 22, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs courtesy of Chris Hogge (@chrishoggephotography) • Instagram photos and videos

It feels that there has always been an affinity between Scotland, particularly Glasgow, and New York. It seems that the spirit of the cities live within each other. Perhaps it’s because we look alike, with Glasgow often substituting for the Big Apple in Hollywood blockbusters and then there is New York hosting a Tartan Week, perhaps it’s because both cities have a strong musical heritage spawning some of the worlds best bands and having some of the most iconic music venues, past and present. Or maybe it’s just because each cities people know how party and have a good time.… Read the rest

The Courettes – Live (& Interview) – Room 2, Glasgow – The Soul of The Courettes tour

October 15, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs of The Courettes courtesy of Christopher Hogge Photography Chris Hogge (@chrishoggephotography) • Instagram photos and videos

The new album by The Courettes came out on my birthday, what a gift to receive. Fortunately I’d had access to the album in advance so by the time I received the vinyl, I was well versed in the songs contained within the grooves. After all these years, and there have been more than a few now, there is still nothing like playing a record for the first time, and a band like The Courettes really should be listened to on vinyl…

I had been looking forward in anticipation to a huge list of gigs in September, but unfortunately I never made the majority of them, and the one’s I did make it to, while the gigs were great, I wasn’t as locked in as I normally would be, my head and thoughts were often elsewhere and try as I might, I couldn’t lose myself in the music the way I usually do.… Read the rest

Sister Madds, The Froobz, Lemon Drink & comfort girl – King Tuts Summer Nights Live

September 1, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

My gig game has been weak recently. I’ve missed several fixtures that should have been easy home wins. For some reason I’ve gone down the route of weak football analogies here, I should point out that as an armchair Aberdeen fan, I may be giddy through their early season success, as I started to write this my team was sitting in the recent uncharted territory of the top of the league.

Personally, I’ve not been match fit recently so my first gig back for a while was an opportunity to test my fitness levels. Not my actual fitness levels, testing them would most definitely not have a positive outcome, but what I mean is my ability to seamlessly slip back into the pattern of play as if nothing had happened.… Read the rest

Govanhill Street Music Festival – Scottish Faultlines, Junk Pups & San Jose live

August 12, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

After recent weeks events with the racist right wing rioters taking to the streets (of England & Northern Ireland) to claim “are country” back it was heartening to see UK-wide counter protests claim the streets back from these knuckle-draggers to prove that the fascist scum are in the minority.

To join in on these celebrations of togetherness, I ventured out to my first “gig” in about 3 weeks to the sun swathed Govanhill Street Music Festival, three stages in the area catering for every music taste.

Scottish Faultlines

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the Reggae Stage at the Bees Knees Cafe with the Bass Warrior Soundsystem, my day kicking off in the early afternoon sunshine at the Belljar Stage being entertained by the inimitable Hugh Haggerty in his guise of Scottish Faultlines.… Read the rest

Scorpio Leisure – Audio Pleasure- album release gig – review

July 20, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All Photos courtesy of Trevor Pake

I Believe in Scorpio Leisure

2024 continues to be a dick of a year for so many reasons, and yeah, my mood is more negative than positive at the moment. Ironically I started this blog as a way of managing my mental health and mood through writing about my favourite subject… but my output is worse than ever because I’ve slipped into old habits in managing, or should that be not managing, said mental health.

As I reached the end of another working week, my “peopling” quota for the week had reached critical mass, so on arriving at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms I ditched my usual objective of being stage front and slipped quietly to the back of room with my pint of Tennents to enjoy the soothing and entrancing rhythms of Accident Machine, providing just the right balance of helping dissipate the stresses and anxieties of the week, and to build up the anticipation for the main event. … Read the rest

Junk Pups, Apologies and National Playboys – live in Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow

July 14, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

I’ve not been at many gigs recently so a Saturday night in Sleazys was a most welcome release from the pressures of life that are sent to try us. And after missing a couple of Junk Pups recent performances, including their appearance at the Variety Bar for Crowded Flat’s third birthday celebrations, having this most extraordinary of bands at the centre of the nights entertainment made it all the better.

Glasgow’s Junk Pups were bookended by Apologies from Falkirk and Edinburgh’s National Playboys. Apologies were the first band on the bill, playing what I believe was only their second or third gig as a four piece.… Read the rest