Tag Archives: The Winter Tradition

Preview – Aberdeen Gig Promotions November Weekender 2012! @ Tunnels

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The North-East’s music scene gets a (encouraging-rather-than-aggressive) kick up the arse this weekend (November 24th/25th) as a ridiculous number of talented musicians descend upon The Tunnels (or is it just ‘Tunnels’? the ‘The’ could be superfluous if you want to be awkward.)

Basically, this might be the most important thing to happen to the local scene since ‘Guitar Wifey’ moved in. For half the price of a Killers ticket, you get to see 20 acts, all organised by the always dependable Aberdeen Gig Promotions. Mathematically speaking, it’s something of a bargain. There’s also a pretty admirable mix of established veterans, exciting outfits ready for the next step, and generally less well-known local artists ready to capitalise on their opportunity to share a bill with some more experienced, well-loved faces. There’s a proper diversity in genre too. Everything’s being chucked into this – acoustic singer-songwriters, folk, pop, rock, indie, electro. No Celtic-rhumba-jazz-fusion, or Christian-folk-metal, unfortunately, but hey – maybe next year.

So, who exactly is playing? I’ll resist going for any literary curveballs, and just stick with running through it in chronological order. Saturday begins with a couple of acoustic singer-songwriters – the musical equivalent of a warm up and light stretch. Or, in my case, pre-drinking. The hype train behind local wunderkind Cara Mitchell will aim to gain momentum, as she brings her new E.P Have You Ever Wondered to Tunnels once again. You need to hear her voice, if you haven’t already. There’s also Foxes frontman and all-round culture enthusiast (he acts as well don’cha know) Nigel Thomas. Give his solo stuff a listen (pick it up FOR FREE here) and there’s a definite sense that he loves the freedom he has doing it himself – he has fun, you have fun, everyone’s happy. Apparently it was recorded in his bedroom, for heaven’s sake. A comfortable, conducive atmosphere for pouring one’s heart out? Or an excuse to not have to get dressed in the morning? You decide.

Once Nigel’s been shooed off, enthusiastic Dundonian rockers The Mirror Trap will look to blow everyone’s wee minds. Their Facebook biography might be the best thing I’ve ever read, and the passion so readily displayed there comes across in their live performances. Their strength mostly relies on their lyrics – don’t worry, they’ve got riffs, but it’s the underlying sense of unsettlement behind ‘My Alabama’ that truly sets it apart from the pile marked “landfill indie”.  Then there’s Tacado, who after winning a Facebook poll to earn a slot on the bill, will have to perform well or else democracy itself will suffer (in case The X Factor hasn’t killed everyone’s faith in it already). They’ll be completely different to anything on before them. They’re difficult to consign to a genre, but safe to say they’ll make you want to dance even though it’s only the afternoon. They really are a band that’ll want to use this thing as a springboard.

This Silent Forest really epitomise that genre that has almost been appropriated exclusively by Scottish bands – that kind of melodic, lilting but emotional indie rock that soars in all the right places. There are echoes of everyone from Idlewild to The Twilight Sad.  They’ll aim to prove they’re impressive in their own right on Saturday.

Hugely popular local alt-rock group Forest Fires don’t really need an introduction to most Aberdonian gig-goers. ‘Recovery’ and ‘Trial And Error’ are massive indie anthems, and if recent track ‘Avalanche’ is anything to go by they’re maturing into a slightly heavier but still melodically-inclined rock group. They’re also an incendiary live prospect (yup, that’s right, incendiary, let that one sink in). For some reason, you can get most of their music for free, here. Don’t expect the same generosity when their new E.P. comes out early next year (quote: “It’ll be out January. So it’ll probably be out February.” Pfffft, musicians.)

The phenomenally titled Tango In The Attic have a solid reputation for putting on a great live show. As well as being the best thing to come out of Glenrothes since Dougray Scott, they’re one of the most innovative bands of the weekend. Look out for seamless transitions between thrashing indie, smooth pop and spiky electro.

Alliteration enthusiasts Brown Bear & the Bandits kind of sound like The View decided the best thing for their careers would be to make a Mumford & Sons cover album. But with less banjos. And though that might be the worst description of anything ever, that’s genuinely the gist of their cheeky, dirty folk-pop. Matt Hickman (lead vocals) just sounds like a bit of a rascal. The young SAMA-winning three-piece will be trying to consolidate some North-East momentum.

French Wives are perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated bands of the weekend. They’ll be doing the penultimate set on the Saturday, so look for them to absorb all the momentum from those who came before them and just unleash it all back, like some sort of suave, sonically pleasing hyper-beam (yes, that’s a Pokémon reference, for anyone too old/too young). Their album Dream of the Inbetween was released in May, and it’s loaded with string-laden indie-pop anthems. Like Feeder, when they were good. ‘Younger’ is truly epic and ‘Me vs Me’ just oozes charm. If they can make all this translate in the cold, dark depths of Tunnels then they might be a contender for highlight of the weekend.

Katie Sutherland, or as you may know her, ‘yon quine fae Pearl & The Puppets’, has the duty of headlining Saturday night. Probably best known for the playfully happiness-inducing ‘Because I Do’, she and her band will look to give a memorable set to top off a memorable night. Her more recent solo stuff certainly doesn’t indicate a departure from the jaunty acoustic-pop of the aforementioned track, but there’s maybe an element of maturity that, understandably wasn’t there 2 or 3 years ago. It’s a lovely progression, and one that gives great hope for a polished, beautiful set on Saturday. The best comparison is perhaps to Feist – not only is there a vocal resemblance but she also took a successful if slightly twee base of interest and used it to draw people into her, where they just couldn’t get out. That’s definitely a good thing by the way.

Sunday promises just as many potential eargasms, if you’re not too tired. Megan Blyth kicks things off with some hangover-friendly acoustic stuff. Aberdeen has plenty great ‘girls with guitars’ (look up Leanne Smith, Margaret Finlayson, Rambler, Leighann Esslemont and of course you know about Cara Mitchell), it’s something of a challenge just getting noticed. This is a great opportunity for Megan to get her foot in the door. Her songs are heartfelt and she’s got an interesting tone that one senses hasn’t nearly been fully explored yet. Turn up early to find out how she’s doing with that.

Cats In Capes will take to the stage, to build some afternoon momentum with their laid-back indie (not a sentence I thought I’d ever have to write, that). They’re a band very much on the up. But the tracks they’ve got so far suggest plenty confidence and a sort of versatility that few young bands could pull off so effortlessly. They’re followed by AGP favourites The Winter Tradition. They describe themselves as ‘pop-rock’ but, depending on your definition of the genre, they might be selling themselves a little short. There’s great musicality about them, and – particularly live – their soundscapes and atmosphere are just as impressive as any catchy chorus they might come out with.

The Mouse That Ate The Cat have one of the most hotly anticipated sets of the weekend. There was dismay of almost Shakespearean proportions when The Dykeenies formally split this year – I like to think of it as people of a certain age’s ‘Take That incident’ – but frontman Brian Henderson is back, along with former Drive-by Argument chappy Colin Keenan. What does this new project sound like? Well you’ll have to go along to the gig to find out (I’m good at this promotion lark). I can tell you that it’s just as catchy as anything either of them have done before, but it’s obvious that they’re broadening their horizons a little. That vague enough for you?

Much hyped English rockers Angry vs The Bear have a pretty sleek brand of edgy pop going for them. Of course it would be naïve to define them by this alone, but the fact they’re fronted by a GIRL (!) should mean they’re at least providing something different. There must be something about bears that appeals to a musician. A third, if slightly more morbid group appears this weekend in the form of Penguins Kill Polar Bears. The local favourites are back in the game with their trademark almost post-rock wall of sound. They’re the kind of band that usually sound great in a venue like Tunnels, and many people are expecting them to do really well on Sunday.

Stirling indie-poppers Miniature Dinosaurs are probably one of Scotland’s greatest hopes for true commercial success at the moment. They recently released their Turn It On E.P, and critics and fans have been secreting fluids over it at an alarming rate. They’ve got a strange but definite kind of charisma, and the tunes to back it up. ‘Lemonade’ is sensational theatrical indie-pop. Also, they’re driving 10 straight hours to get up to The Deen in time for the gig, to raise funds for Scottish Autism. How cute are they? Seriously though, it would be amazing to get as much raised for that amazing cause as possible. We don’t want to have to phone Bono. Donate here.

Duke are quite surely becoming a favourite within the local music scene. Reminiscient of (sorry) Biffy Clyro, they have their own fresh-faced energy to go with the adventurous rhythms, soaring choruses and searing riffage. They stay the right side of the pop-rock/alt-rock line at all times, and they’ve identified where that line is alarmingly quickly. They should be good. Just don’t shout ‘Mon the Duke!’, or anything similarly upsetting.

The Fire And I are regarded as a pretty formidable live prospect. They’ve basically pilfered all the best aspects of pop, punk, alternative and post-hardcore to craft this riotous collection of hooks and heavy riffs. Tunnels is in for a noisy night. The Fire And I are basically made for this sort of venue: dirty (in a good way), stabbing, but still inherently musical rock music. With any luck they might treat the crowd to some material from their unreleased (and probably as yet unfinished) second album.

So, after 19 artists that couldn’t get more varied, it’s up to Fatherson to headline the whole shebang.  Poor things. It’s pretty handy then, that Fatherson are rather good. The Killie quartet/occasional quintet are pretty well loved, and were something of a no-brainer in terms of picking a headliner. They’ve got that lovely Scottish lilt. They’ve got choruses – good choruses. Emotive lyrics: check. In short, they’ve got everything necessary to provide a cathartic finale to a bloody huge weekend. This shit’s better than Twilight. To be honest, if you don’t have much of an interest in local music, or don’t think you’d like it, go to this and find out for sure. You’ll find something you like. Probably a few things. It’ll change your life. Ok, it probably won’t change your life, but it’ll be the most important weekend Tunnels, Aberdeen Gig Promotions and quite a few bands have experienced in a long while.

 

Here’s what you need to know:

It’s Saturday and Sunday the 24th and 25th of November.

It’s 3pm-11pm both days.

Tickets cost £12.50 each day, or £22 for both. Get tickets from One Up or the AGP website.

Have a look at the Facebook event page, and click ‘Attending’. Yes, you do actually have to attend as well.

Alan Henderson

The Birthday Suit + The Deportees + The Winter Tradition 18/2/11

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Edinburgh’s own The Winter Tradition set the tone for the night with their opener; unmistakably Scottish indie rock, but not quite in the vein we’ve become so accustomed to after the rise of Frightened Rabbit and co. At least, they felt a little harder-edged than a post-gig MySpace refresher suggests to me, but however you like your indie these guys will please in both respects. Point is, they made for a most enjoyable crowd warmer, and if in retrospect they were outshone that’s testament not to any shortcoming but to the quality of the superb acts that followed.

Speaking of – The Deportees. I’ve already covered these guys back when they supported Broken Record in December, on the same stage no less. Tonight, they knew that they were on home turf, and were all the stronger because of it. I’ve said before that they’re more diverse than their bandcamp page hints at – to do them justice, I need to tell you that they can (and do) play just about anything, from catchy folk to pleasingly dark singalongs to thunderous, digit-endangering jams. Perhaps it’s to be expected of a 5-dude setup with more instruments than I can name, but they can’t be pigeonholed into any one compartment of the genre. It’s not obvious which of their sounds defines them, but given that they’re evidently growing in every given respect (not to mention growing on me), this is definitely no bad thing. Expect only bigger things to come for what has to be one of Aberdeen’s most exciting bands.

And now for the million dollar question – is The Birthday Suit simply ‘Rod Jones: The Band’, or something more? Well, it’s a bit of column A, a bit of column B. There’s no doubting that Rod, though he may be one of the self-professed ‘aul mannies’ of Scottish indie, can pull off a solo as well as he ever could – and although people tend to talk about frontman Roddy Woomble when they talk about Idlewild, it wasn’t him that put the wicked guitars into Post-Electric, Too Long Awake, just about everything in The Remote Part… or, to cut to the chase, just about everything they’ve ever done. Arguably, it’s this element that is the real soul of (maybe discounting Biffy) Scotland’s preeminent alt-rock act. Letting it loose makes for quite a spectacle. And that’s not downplaying the rest of the band – a few acoustic numbers from his solo album are given the full four-piece-with-backing-vocals treatment, and they’ve made a cracking job of it (take “Sing your Praises”; a mile away from the folksy acoustic affair of A Sentimental Education, it was the sort of all-go frenzy that slid into the rest of the set seamlessly). Hearing the fully-fledged makeover was a treat for any fan of his solo material; for those of us who knew him from Idlewild, we got to see what has to be one of Scotland’s most entertaining guitarists doing the thing that made them such a success. Go and catch him before Roddy, Rod and everyone else decide to take another hiatus – it’s a helluva show.

Scott Reid

The Winter Tradition + The Bronze Medal + Support

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Café Drummond 24/11/11

 

Ok, to the people who braved the cold-as-the-ice-inside-my-soul weather and found the will-power to go to a gig on a Thursday night, well done. Not only are you all credits to humanity, but you got to see a perfectly decent selection of bands at a perfectly lovely venue (that’s Café Drummonds, in case you couldn’t be bothered reading all of the title). Unfortunately, there weren’t that many courageous souls present on this particular evening, even considering what we had was a largely unknown couple of bands with some local support. It’s a shame really – imagine travelling all the way from Bristol (like The Bronze Medal have) to play to, at an extremely optimistic guess, 40 people. It’s enough to discourage potentially great musicians from dedicating their time to making good music for our benefit.

Rant Over.

Giving some attention to the bands themselves, it must be said that everyone impressed in some way. Of course headliners The Winter Tradition and The Bronze medal looked and sounded as sleek and professional as one would expect from headliners, but perhaps even more interesting were the support.

Firstly, immense credit must go to Forest Fires (http://www.facebook.com/ForestFiresBand?sk=app_178091127385#!/ForestFiresBand?sk=wall ) for having the testicular fortitude to perform sans bass, as if reports from audience members are to be believed, bassist Liam Pettitt had to go to hospital (if this is true then ASR expresses sincere good will towards his recovery, and if he has already recovered then, emm… well done J ). Anyway, on stage were two men, a microphone, a guitar and a drum kit, which were all utilized skilfully (i.e they were pretty good). I would say the two of them made enough noise for four people, but that would be stupid – it’s half as many people. But they undeniably pulled the whole thing off, and never seemed to let any sort of pressure get to them.

Next up was young local band You, And What We Are (http://www.facebook.com/pages/browser.php#!/pages/You-and-What-We-Are/190175901013271 ). When I say young, I mean fresh-out-of-the-box, shit-on-your-hand-if-you-try-to-pick-them-up young. Seeing them actually doing something with themselves makes me think of my 18 years of existence as vacuous fluff. Seriously though, by any standards, these guys can play, and with a little more experience they’ll only get tighter and find their own groove. The guitar-work from Matthew Smith was particularly notable. They’re also already confident enough to finish their set with a previously unplayed, self-composed song. What should say it all though, is by my reckoning they got the most enthusiastic reception of the night. So kids: stay in school, listen to your parents, eat your vegetables, and practice, and kids, someday you could be rock stars. Then once you’ve become rock stars you can do whatever the hell you want.

Co-headliners The Bronze Medal (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Bronze-Medal/158874500798217 ) perhaps handled their set with the most skill and consideration of any of the bands. Their multi-layered, atmospheric sound and what seems like 74-part harmonies are nothing if not impressive. They are, for the most part, lost in the sound of themselves. While in other bands this may come across as detached, for some reason they do it in such a way that it is thoroughly engaging. They spend a lot of the time closed eyed and weirdly postured, but they still have great stage presence. This might be a result of playing on a small stage but the crowd’s eyes never leave them. The music is not balls to the wall rock, neither is it treble-saturated twee. They’ve come up with a considered, melodic sound that makes for a decent record and an even better live experience.

The Winter Tradition (http://www.thewintertradition.com/ ) also come across even better live than in the studio. They have a certain energy, a gravitas if you will, that just makes them fun to watch. The songs are nicely constructed indie-ish pop-rock (ASR, re-defining genre labels one step at a time) that succeed in doing what all good songs in that style should do: make you tap a foot and very slightly nod in time to the music while either sipping a pint, singing along, or pretending to chew gum. ‘Game Of Ghosts’ comes across particularly well live. It seems remarkable that they haven’t even released their debut album yet. They’re already very tight and have a couple of anthems-in-the-making that prove they are a band to watch. Go and see them if you can.

Alan Henderson