Radar recommends: 20 - 26 Nov

[Findo Gask: bringing their own version of Crufts to Sleazy's on Saturday]

If you live in certain parts of the country, venturing out to a gig is probably the last thing on your agenda, nevermind the fact that you'd need to build some kind of Noah's Arc contraption to go anywhere. But for the rest of us, if you don't mind the whipping wind and lashing rain (and living in Scotland you should be used to it by now) here's this week's gig guide...

Aberdeen

The Slipper Room – Mr Choade’s Wild Ride
Monday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £5
Something a bit different for Aberdeen on a Monday night. The driving force behind the New York Burlesque scene brings a house band made up of members of Belle & Sebastien, the Vaselines and Teenage Fanclub.

Bo Ningen, Amber Pilot, Sarah J Tingle
Wednesday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £5
Japanese punk rock that The Observer once described as being somewhere between wolves and Nintendo. Supported ably by the quite exciting Amber Pilot and the brilliantly versatile Sarah J Tingle.

Fat Hippy Showcase
Friday @ Café Drummonds / 7.30pm / £3
Local label Fat Hippy put on another night of local talent made up of acts on their roster or who’ve impressed them suitably when using their fine recording studio. Hardest working man in Aberdeen and possessor of a fine voice Nicky Powell headlines with support from Turning 13 and the Marionettes.


Edinburgh

Charity Baw
Saturday @ Roxy Art House / 7pm / £10
Raising more cash for Oxfam, this packed line-up of talent includes The Real Tuesday Weld, Aberfeldy, Withered Hand, The Parsonage, Come On Gang!, Big Ned, Little Eskimos and Benni Hemm Hemm. Radio 1's Vic Galloway, The Pictish Trail, On the Fly and Paul Vickers will be DJing. Optional fancy dress theme: Ball Boys and Belles of the Ball.

Field Music, Snide Rhythms, Epic 26
Sunday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £6.50
Acclaimed experimental indie from North East England.
Also playing Captain's Rest, Glasgow on Saturday.

Good Shoes, Copy Haho, Jesus H Foxx
Thursday @ Electric Circus / 7pm / £8
Copy Haho are cadging a lift around the UK from this London band in November, and for their Edinburgh show they've booked recent UtR stars Jesus H Foxx.
Also playing King Tuts, Glasgow on Tuesday.

Futuristic Retro Champions, Vendor Defendor, Death Trap City
Friday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £4
Brighten up your Freitag with indie-pop from the headlining Champs.

Tango in the Attic, Pose Victorious
Friday @ Cabaret Voltaire / 7pm / £5
Upbeat indie-pop in the vein of Vampire Weekend - with Fife accents.

Glasgow

**UtR's gig of the week**
Crufts: Yellow Magic Orchestra Tribute
Saturday @ Nice'n'Sleazy / 7.30pm / £tbc
Findo Gask's residency pays homage to the Japanese act, with sets from UtR favourite Tokyo Knife Attack and Adult Emergency.

Aurora Stands In Snow, Conquering Animal Sound
Saturday @ The 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
If you missed their early and curtailed Oxjam show, here's a chance to get acquainted with the understated allure of Conquering Animal Sound. Aurora Stands In Snow seem to be kindred spirits, judging by their MySpace.

The Little Kicks
Sunday @ Nice'n'Sleazy / 7.30pm / £tbc
Aberdonian indie-pop band who we recently interviewed on our Oxjam podcast while inebriated.

Burnt Island, Rick Redbeard, The Starlets, Autistic Angus
Thursday @ Captain's Rest / 8pm / £tbc
No, their not a tribute to the Fife seaside town. They're the band fronted by novelist Rodge Glass. Support from Phantom Band singer Rick Redbeard and a mystery act with a very un-PC name.

The Pastels, 1990s, Golden Grrrls
Friday @ King Tuts / 8.30pm / £12.50
Glasgow indie stalwarts bring their twee fare to Tuts.

Words: Nick Mitchell, Andrew Learmonth


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

Radar recommends: 18 - 24 Oct

[My Latest Novel: playing Edinburgh on Saturday]

Oxjam hovers over the end of this week's live music calendar like the alien mothership in Independence Day. We'll be closely encountering the multi-legged charity festival during the rest of the week, but before that here are a few gigs where you can splash the cash without any worthy intentions...

Aberdeen
Edwyn Collins, The 1990s
Sunday @ The Lemon Tree / 7.30pm / £15
One of the few Scottish pop stars of the 1980s with his credibility intact, former Orange Juice man Collins is joined by jingly-jangly popsters The 1990s. Touring the Highlands and Islands during the rest of the week, and playing

Everything Everything, Findo Gask, North Atlantic Oscillation, Kocha
Wednesday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £5
Mancunian band on tour, with eye-catching support in the shape of UtR faves Findo Gask, North Atlantic Oscillation and Kochka. Also playing Cab Vol, Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Edinburgh
James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players
Monday @ The Bongo Club / 7.30pm / £12.50
The Fence stalwart's tour rolls into the capital.

Bat for Lashes, Yeasayer
Tuesday @ HMV Picture House / 7pm / £17
New age pop pixie Natasha Khan tours her Two Suns album, with support from Brooklyn's finest sonic explorers, Yeasayer. Also playing ABC, Glasgow on Monday.

Maps
Thursday @ The Ark / 7pm / £8
Maps is Mercury nominated electro dude James Chapman. Quite a coup for The Ark.

**UtR's gig of the week**
My Latest Novel
Saturday @ Cabaret Voltaire / 7pm / £9
Stunning indie rock from the west coast. If you're not knackered from Oxjam the previous night, this should be worth making the effort for.

Glasgow
Dirty Bingo vs Loud & Quiet Tour: Crocodiles, Divorce, Golden Grrrls, She’s Hit
Monday @ Stereo / 7pm / £tbc
Touted toothy San Diego duo swim over with their brand of electronic rock. If you get into them now you can say … I was into them before … blah blah blah. Couple of Scottish bands in support, including She’s Hit who we were into before ... blah blah blah.

Jon Allen, The Boy Who Trapped the Sun
Wednesday @ King Tuts / 9pm / £8
Bluesy acoustic fare from main act and London based Scots lovely Colin MacLeod.

Basshunter (really? - Ed)
Wednesday @ O2 Academy / 7pm / £21.50
If you want to know what it feels like to spend your money on the worst Eurodance cretin, here’s your opportunity.

Fleetwood Mac
Thursday @ SECC / 7pm / Sold out
4/5th - an almost reunion is good enough for me. Stevie Nicks and co present their beautiful back catalogue that includes songs you’ll remember from your childhood like Rhiannon, Little Lies and The Chain.

The Mill: Light Guides, Pacific Theatre
Thursday @ Oran Mor / 7pm / Free
Pepper your evening with new music at The Mill.

Johnny Flynn
Thursday @ Nice’n’Sleazy / 7.30pm / £9
A wee solo-burst from the male Laura Marling before he jaunts off to support Noah and the Whale.

ATP film screening, feat. Les Savy Fav
Saturday @ O2 ABC / 7pm doors – film starts 8.15pm sharp / £10
ATP and Warp Films showcase their Butlins-style festival film with music from the brilliant art rockers.

Words: Aimi Gold, Nick Mitchell

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

For all your Oxjam information check back tomorrow and the rest of this week...

On the radar: Futuristic Retro Champions

Hinterland Preview

Are we on the verge of a pop renaissance? Is pop finally hitting back after several years of landfill indie/rock domination?

Maybe, but here's a caveat for you: when I say 'pop' I don't mean the most statistically popular, because that would entail dross like Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson. No, I mean the pop sensibility folks; that kaleidoscopic, instantaneous appeal that needn't be a byword for mindless chart-bating.

Recently, acts like Bat For Lashes, Ladyhawke and Neon Neon have been making pop music of longevity and quality, but what about here in our so-called dour wee nation?

UtR spoke to Harry 'H Bomb' Weeks, guitarist and laptop prodder in one of Scotland's most colourful bands (despite what the above photo suggests), Futuristic Retro Champions, on the eve of their show at Hinterland...

What can we expect from Futuristic Retro Champions at Hinterland?
[Harry]: You should brace yourself for some big, loud, silly and shouty pop music. Our aim for this gig is to persuade indie kids that listening to Kylie Minogue is NEVER a bad thing. Carla (our keyboardist and main songwriter) is a pop encyclopaedia and I think that indie/rock bands could learn a lot from the songwriting in pop music. So hopefully you can expect some cracking pop songs, played in a suitably over-excitable manner.

Play: Futuristic Retro Champions - You Make My Heart


What do you think of Hinterland and the Scottish music scene more generally?
I'm a big fan of Hinterland 'cos it means bands like us can tell people that we're playing a festival with Metronomy. Also, because we're playing last at the Admiral I can tell my mum that we're headlining and its only half a lie! Scottish music-wise, we've never felt hugely involved in a 'scene', I'm not even sure if there is one. But there are some ace bands kicking about. Dirty Summer have been going for a while now and are still only about 14. They are awesome, they're album is a big loud, shouty, amazing mess.

Who else will you be trying to see at the festival?
I'm really glad we're playing at the same venue as Sugar Crisis, I've wanted to see them for ages, but never managed it. Also Juno, who I think are on at Classic Grand [downstairs, Friday, 7.45pm - ed], they are friends of ours, and don't play all that often. I'm noticing a proper pop trend in my selection of bands! I'll balance that out by saying Damn Shames, even though I won't get to see them. We're playing with them the night before though...

What's on the cards for the band? Any releases planned?
We have an EP that we did for our gig in London with The Vaselines last month. It's five songs on a CD-R with some very snazzy artwork and some felt-tip pen drawings on each CD so you can put it on eBay when we get famous. Apart from that, we have some gigs around Scotland, and really want to go back to London again, 'cos that was ridiculous fun.

Have ridiculous fun yourself by watching Futuristic Retro Champions at Hinterland, at The Admiral, Friday, 9.50pm.

- Nick Mitchell

Radar recommends: 19 - 25 April

[Meursault: playing support at Sneaky Pete's on Wednesday]

Compared to last week's meagre pickings, we've got a banquet of quality giggage coming up over the next seven days. But with great choice comes great indecision, so which delectable aural treat are you going to tuck into? Go on, be gluttonous, you know you want to...

Haight Ashbury, Suplex the Kid, The Works and Chris Crosbie
Sun 19 Apr, Maggie May's, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £5
Haight Ashbury don't just wear their influences on their sleeves; they have them painted on their faces (that's still a metaphor by the way), plundering as they do the music and vibe of late '60s West Coast hippy-dom before it turned sour. Expect psychedelic guitars and possibly even some unashamed sitar usage. [NM]

Das Filth and Bronto Skylift
Mon 20 Apr, Captain's Rest, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, FREE
Das Filth are appropriately named, because their music is a grubby, snarling rabble of guttural riffs, incessant synths and spat-out lyrics. Get down and dirty at this their single launch, where they're supported by the equally in-yer-face duo, Bronto Skylift. Rawk! [NM]

**UtR's gig of the week**
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Concern, Meursault
Wed 22 Apr, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £7
Yet another triumph for the folk at Sneaky Pete's this week. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone's lo-fi scuffling and morbid tale-telling is sure to appeal to any beard stroking afficionado worth his oversized specs. With support coming from mercurial Edinburgh crowers Meursault (you know, the band EVERYONE's talking about right now?), this night's sure to be a sell out. Best get your running shoes on, then. [BH]

Duty Free presents Popup, Alan Bissett (spoken word), Futuristic Retro Champs, Kirstin Inness (spoken word)
Thu 23 Apr, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, FREE
Narrated by a brogue so dense it makes James Graham seem refined, Popup's fleet-footed ditties remain a sadly unexplored trove on Scotland's rich musical landscape. But, with any luck, this Duty Free showing alongside the retro-tastic Futuristic Retro Champs (aided by an interlude or two from a duo of fine local wordsmiths) will encourage local lugs to finally succumb to the Glasgow quintet's ravishing indie-pop clattering. [BH]

Zarif, Dead Boy Robotics, Popolo, Keser
Thu 23 Apr, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £5
Hotly tipped as a bright eyed chart-topper of the future, part-Scot/part-Londonite starlet Zarif brings her sassy brand of feel good pop to Edinburgh's dankly-lit Cowgate. Already a firm favourite of daytime radio playlists across the land, the Groove Armada/The Rakes collaborator will need to be at her peak to outgun the primary coloured electro-screeching from supporting trio Dead Boy Robotics, Popolo and Keser. [BH]

The Hand & Ichi and Jo Foster
Thur 23 Apr, Tchai Ovna, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £2
Female singer-songwriters don't come more delicate than Fence Collective member Jo Foster. But what she lacks in gusto she more than makes up for in lyrical and vocal guile. Fresh from her Homegame appearance, here she plays support to Bristol folkie duo The Hand & Ichi. [NM]

Stripped Back for Malawi: The Vaselines, Malcolm Middleton, Aidan John Moffat and Bridget Storm
Fri 24 Apr, Oran Mor, Glasgow. Doors 7pm, £10
OK, a line-up of such established greats normally wouldn't fall 'under the radar', but since this gig is in aid of the Zomba Orphan Project in Malawi, and since the bill includes three of the greatest Scottish acts of recent history, we couldn't resist giving it an honorary mention. [NM]

- Billy Hamilton / Nick Mitchell

What do you think of our selections? (Dis)agree? Comment below...