Radar recommends: 12 - 18 Dec

[The Twilight Sad: bringing the festive decibels to Edinburgh and Glasgow]

Status Quo are rocking all over Scotland this week (well, Aberdeen and Glasgow to be precise), so surely there's nothing more to be said for live music over the next seven days? What can possibly survive in the wake of the ponytailed rock gods, you ask?

Well, if Francis Rossi & co don't satisfy your cultural appetite (and what's wrong with you?), then you can at least take your pick from this lot...


Aberdeen
Luke Leighfield
Wednesday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £5
Piano-based pop from the globe-trotting 22-year-old, in support of his recently release pay-what-you-like download album Have You Got Heart?
Also playing Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on Thursday


Dundee
Findo Gask, Popolo
Saturday @ Dukes Corner / 8pm / £5
Glasgow's deranged electronic pop purveyors ply their trade at the Dukes on Saturday, with support from highly rated Popolo. Bring your dancing shoes.

Dividing the Line, Proceed, Paradian
Sunday @ Dexters / 8pm / £6
A night of screamo-emo action at Dexter's as part of the 'Fezant is Present Tour'. There will be shredding riffs (and shredded fringes).


Edinburgh
Trampoline All Day Event: Mitchell Museum, Lyons, Jonnie Common, Debutant, The Scottish Enlightenment, Jill Leighton, Esperi, Lady North, Conquering Animal Sound
Saturday @ Wee Red Bar / 2pm / £5 (£3)
Over the past few months we have recommended no fewer than six of the acts on this all-dayer from Trampoline, so all that's left to say is get down there if you want to hear some of the best new music in Scotland. Simple really.

Hey Enemy, Gatechien, The Fatalists
Monday @ Sneaky Petes / 7pm / £4
Post-punk beats from London's Hey Enemy on tour with twisted French duo Gatechien. Support from local noiseniks The Fatalists
Also at The Tunnels, Aberdeen on Sunday

The Pineapple Chunks, The Leg
Tuesday @ Wee Red Bar / 7pm / free
You'd be hard pressed to find a more gloriously ramshackle, insane gig than this eccentric pairing of Edinburgh bands.

**UtR's gig of the week**
The Twilight Sad
Tuesday @ Voodoo Rooms / 7.30pm / SOLD OUT
Fresh from taking on the USA yet again, the strangely uplifting home-grown miserablists play a pre-Christmas show. If you have a ticket, enjoy, if you don't, too bad.
Also playing Nice'n'Sleazy, Glasgow on Wednesday

Little Comets
Wednesday @ Cab Vol / 7pm / £7
Recent Columbia signings Little Comets bring their major label alt-pop up the road from Newcastle, with support from local indie-rockers The Debuts.

Pulled Apart By Horses, Taking Chase
Wednesday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £6
Energetic and highly-rated hardcore from Leeds' Pulled Apart By Horses with support from Edinburgh's own melodic rockers Taking Chase. Lots of ruckus in one very small room.

Hardcore Christmas Party: The Colour Pink Is Gay, Corpses, Shields Up, Hey Vampires, Fights & Fires
Friday @ Bannermans / 8pm / £6
Good value hardcore punk rock christmas bonanza featuring some of Scotland's freshest talent, plus Worcester's Fights and Fires.
Also at Nice N Sleazy in Glasgow on Thursday 17th


Glasgow
The Phantom Band, Lord Cutglass, Sparrow and the Workshop
Saturday @ The Arches / 7pm / £10
Chemikal Underground double whammy as the Phantom Band celebrate having one of the albums of 2009 in Checkmate Savage.

Remember Remember, Happy Particles, Cheer
Saturday @ CCA / 8pm / £4
The lovely Remember Remember wants to say Merry Christmas - and how better than to share beautiful looping tinkly tunes in a party with the equally pretty Happy Particles.

eagleowl, Woodenbox, Withered Hand
Monday @ 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
E(e)agleowl have a very nice new single called 'Sleep the Winter' which they are launching in Glasgow on Monday. Dan of Withered Hand and Ali of Woodenbox are both keeping it solo in their support slots.

Paper Planes, Peter Parker, Symbolics
Thursday @ Pollokshields Burgh Hall / 8pm / £3
Lucky Number Nine and Say Dirty records team up for a Christmas piss-up in the southside - with UtR-loved Paper Planes and added DJ action from Chris 'Beans' Geddes and Andrew 'Divine' Symington.

Panda Su, Kid Canaveral, The Darien Venture, Tokyo Knife Attack
Thursday @ 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
Those Glasgow PodcART chaps have good taste, eh? And not just because it's similar to ours. Proceeds from this festive frenzy go to the Yorkhill hospital Christmas fund - which should give you a warm seasonal glow.

Big Ned, Nacional, Black Jash, If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now
Friday @ Captain's Rest / 8pm / £1
"Doom'n'roll" Stooges-esque topless cowboy fun from Big Ned, for the Green Door studios birthday bash.

Words: Craig Dickson, Elaine Liddle

What have we missed? Tell us below, or add it to our gig guide by emailing utr.scotsman@gmail.com

Radar recommends: 12 - 18 April

[Young Fathers: playing King Tut's on Friday]

After the copious delights of the past couple of weeks, things slow down on the gig front this week. But we've still managed to select a few choice nights to keep you busy.

Oso, Enemies and Super Adventure Club
Monday 13 Apr, Cassette, Glasgow, FREE, Doors 8pm
Respect to Oso. The polyrhythmic Californians have packed six (yes, six) Scottish dates into their UK jaunt, and this one could well be the highlight, because sharing the bill are UtR favourites Super Adventure Club. [NM]

Play: SAC - Tommy Sheridan


Withered Hand, Ray Rumours, Francois
Mon 13 April, The Bowery, Edinburgh. Doors 7.30pm, £5
We can’t tell you much about support acts Ray Rumours and Francois, but we do know Withered Hand (aka Dan Wilson) are absolutely sublime. Skewering crisp melodies with arresting experimentation, Wilson’s textured folk canters are a dichotomous sonic treat that never fail to captivate the ear-canals. Backed by myriad local luminaries, it’s also an ideal opportunity to spot a few Auld Reekie celebrities. [BH]

Wine, Women and Song featuring L-Marie, Jake Cogan, Nuala Kennedy
Wed 15 April, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh. Doors 7.30pm, £8
A new night on the Edinburgh circuit, Wine, Women and Song’s raison d’etre is to highlight the fairer sex's musical virtues. This inaugural eve sees a sterling line-up of nu-soul cooer Lizzie-Marie, Edinburgh songstress Jake Corgan and folk hustler Nuala Kennedy appropriate the Voodoo Rooms' ballroom. Here come the girls? You bet. [BH]

**UtR's gig of the week**
We Are Trapped in Kansas, The Darien Venture and Esperi
Thursday 16 Apr, Captain's Rest, Glasgow, £tbc, Doors 8pm
This night of semi-experimental sounds is headed by Scotland's most accomplished math rock act (and there aren't too many of those at the last count), We Are Trapped in Kansas, and bolstered by the poppier Darien Venture and recent UtR stars Esperi. [NM]

Play: Esperi - Proverb

Limbo featuring Marina and The Diamonds, My Cousin I Bid You Farewell
Thursday 16 April, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh. Doors 8pm, £4
In a week where Edinburgh gig pickings are slimmer than Kate Moss on Atkins, it’s left to old faithful Limbo to once again produce the goods. On the cusp of a major league breakthrough, Marina and The Diamonds’ acrobatic trinkets soar skywards with the grace of Kate Bush and the brazen intensity of Bat for Lashes. Supported by My Cousin I Bid You Farewell (soon to be ‘on the radar’), this is sure to be another corking Limbo showing. [BH]

Esser, Young Fathers and Jesus H Foxx
Friday 17 Apr, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, £6, Doors 8.30pm
Young London trendy Ben Esser headlines this gig at Tut's, but it's the supporting acts we're more interested in. Young Fathers are leading the way for Scottish hip-hop in their own blistering style, while Jesus H Foxx are finally set to deliver on the hype with a new EP. [NM]

The Sexual Objects
Saturday 18 Apr, Mono, Glasgow, FREE, Noon-Midnight
To mark Record Store Day, the muso haven that is Monorail plays host to live music and DJs in an all-day event. Don't miss The Sexual Objects at 7pm, the enigmatic group fronted by ex-Fire Engines veteran Davey Henderson. More info here. [NM]

Goodbye Lenin, Sebastian Dangerfield, The Byrons
Saturday 18 April, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £5
We’re suckers for an old-fashion slosh of indie here at UtR and, fortunately for us, that’s exactly what this trio of Edinburgh-based miscreants do best. Radiohead (well, Ed O'Brien) commended riff-mongers Goodbye Lenin are the vanguards of a night that showcases the exuberant guitar flutterings of Sebastian Dangerfield and The Byrons’ caged-beast schlock ‘n’ roll. Definitely one for Converse loving indie-aficionados. [BH]

- Billy Hamilton & Nick Mitchell

Have we missed something? Let us know below...

On the radar: Esperi

Surprises keep life interesting, and this fact hasn't been lost on Chris Lee-Marr, singer-songwriter behind Carnoustie folk collective Esperi. There are no guarantees when it comes to their live show, and Lee-Marr believes it's this spontaneity that sets them apart:

"There is some obvious stuff [that makes us different], like I play bells with my feet whilst singing and playing guitar, and we use some interesting homemade instruments and a hydrophone, but also the fact that the live setup is always in constant flux.

"I play a lot of solo performances but also duets or there may be three, four or five of us using drums, harp, cello and bass with all the percussive and electronic trimmings."

Play: Esperi - Proverb


This seems to be what makes Esperi tick: the ability to shapeshift to suit their surroundings; a creative freedom that doesn't place too much stock in the conventions of music-making. They have been together three years now, and as well as Chris, Esperi includes his wife Cat and fellow members of The A Forest, Starling, Bullet Hell and Nomogram.

Lee-Marr cites his main influences as Mice Parade, Joanna Newsom, Adem and Iron and Wine, who he values for their "good musicianship and interesting approach". And with such experimental post-folk now seemingly leading the way, what does he make of the current Scottish music scene?

"I think it's great. All the bands we've played shows with recently (Meursault, De Rosa, Yahweh, Brother Louis Collective, The Kays Lavelle, Panda Su) have all been great and it's been a real pleasure performing alongside them."

Esperi currently have an EP out called 21:21 and are in the process of making their first album.

Play: Esperi - Dialled


Discover Esperi for yourself at one of the following shows:

13 April: Drouthy Neebor's, Dundee
16 April: Captain's Rest, Glasgow
24 April: Kinloch Arms, Carnoustie

- Nick Mitchell