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Nov 27

Far-out Fibrillation with Franz on Friday

Posted on Sunday, November 27, 2011 in Music by Ah Fong

Franz Nicolay, the eccentric and entertaining former Hold Steady ( he must be fed up of that) member is in Glasgow this coming Friday. A gig not to be missed

Oct 18

Sleepy’s marchin’ on…Stateside!

Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 in Music by Ah Fong

So it’s not too often you hear of a Scottish artist embarking on a US tour these days. There are exceptions, like yer SXSW when (mainly) shite indie bands get a grant to be chased by Vic Galloway who gets some licence fee money to be a cock on a different continent than usual

However the good ole boys in the southern US are in for a treat, as the King of the Clyde Delta Blues has gambled like rain man and been the wheels merchant for an out of town heist crew on enough occasions to score a ticket for his spiritual home. Aided and abetted by Slate Dump (a fine fellow if ever there was one) Sleepy Eyes Nelson is embarking on his week long tri state tour ‘Covered in Blues’ this coming Saturday. If you’re in Mississippi, Tennessee or West Virginia, check out the dates on the poster below.
Y’all know us at Hooverville are confirmed fans of our man, but isn’t it great to see him head to the states and realise an ambition? Hopefully he’ll not only enjoy himself but pick up a few fans and contacts to further his popularity. It seems to have been a good year for Sleepy, with plenty of cool gig bookings, and I don’t think it’ll jinx the situation to say he’s getting up a head of steam. I was thinking ‘maybe he’ll even get some arts funding for SXSW’ but that’s probably a non starter. He doesn’t have that carefully scruffy mid length wankers hair cut you seem to need and would probably give a good right hook to the fat jester when he asks ‘So why you called Sleepy Eyes? Actually….that interview could be a youtube sensation. Let’s start a campaign!

Feb 26

The day Sleepy Eyes Nelson and James Apollo made me leave the house twice in one day.

Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011 in Video, review by Ah Fong

I used to go to plenty of gigs back in the day. Not every night, maybe 5 or 6 a month. Averaged that is, less in winter and more in summer. But lately (meaning past few years) my monthly average must be about 0.3. Mainly due to work commitments but also due to a loathing of crowds in general and gig crowds in particular. You know the ones, The Talker, The Big Fucking Rucksack, The Overexcited Student, The Complete Arsehole etc etc… But even misanthropy can be usurped by the lure of guys like Sleepy & James and I found myself attending 2 gigs in one night. I was almost like an overexcited student…

Firstly at Stereo to see Sleepy Eyes Nelson. If you’ve been to Hooverville before you know I’m a fan of Nelson’s simple, straight talking Clyde Delta Blues. Among Glasgow’s heavily oversubscribed and under qualified music scene Sleepy Eyes is a beacon for all rational, dignified and cool as fuck music fans like what I am. It was certainly going to be a test for him as he had to follow a very fresh faced band who among many, many other things were VERY LOUD. A lesser bluesman may have balked at this, but our hero took it all in his stride after sinking his 8th, or maybe 14th, beer. The few times I’ve been in stereo the sound has been terrific and Sleepy Eyes benefited from it tonight as his solitary guitar really filled the room. I won’t bullshit you, the crowd wasn’t huge. But they all enjoyed his set especially You Don’t Steal From Me and Dying Rodent Blues, and he sold quite a few Cd’s which I take to be a sign of his increasing popularity. Sleepy’s marchin’ on, baby.

So from Stereo to The Bay to see James Apollo. It’s nigh on five years since i first ran into James and I always make sure to catch him when he’s in town (‘cept that one time i was on holiday) He’s got a certain je ne sais quoi about him, has James. A rakish and likable young fella, he has been slowly gathering pace over the last few years with ace reviews in the press and invites to radio stations galore. What has James got that the others don’t? Style, baby. And vision. Anyone can do songs about heartbreak and loneliness but James Apollo wraps them in a dramatic, cinematic fur coat. His live show has always been entertaining and tonight was no exception. The sound was a little muddy but he held strong for the likes of Happiness and Call Off The Violins, and the closer of Bad Old Buzzard was excellent.

So two gigs in one night, and two different crowds. When I got home my wife asked if i enjoyed myself. I said Yes. Yes I did. Thanks Sleepy, James.

Nov 24

get it right up ye, Drop.io

Posted on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 in Music by Ah Fong

as you can see, we use drop.io for our filehosting here. its quick, simple and pretty cheap.
but now they’ve been bought out by the whores at facebook. good for them! but i wouldn’t mind having my premium account fee returned. some how i think that will be a drop too far.
i’ll be shifting the files over to a new host soon. if you have any suggestions, let me know

Sep 11

More from the Reverend

Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2010 in Music by Ah Fong

So Reverend Dan got wind of our post about his excellent show ‘Music For Nimrods’ (on KXLU radio) and decided to do a tribute to Scotland!

After threatening to play McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre for a full hour he let loose some amazing vintage Scottish tracks from the likes of Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rezillos, Johnny and the self abusers, The Valves and more! That’s right, in one 40 minute set a Los Angelean DJ played more credible Scottish music than our own commercial stations play in a month…

The Tartan tribute starts at around 1hr in!