Jo Bell

eagleowl - The Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 10 May 2013

It only took ten years, but eagleowl’s first album finally hatches

Despite being Edinburgh and UK gig-playing regulars for almost a decade now, this was the night they launched their debut LP This Silent Year, an evening that saw the Fence-signed sextet eagleowl beam in all their slowcore majesty. Well thought-out…

Tinderbox Fest - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 15 Dec

An eclectic evening of music featuring The Dark Jokes, North Atlantic Oscillation and Fox Gang

As Tinderbox Fest made it's yuletide debut, hopes for its innovative programme - a melange of film, art, stalls, workshops and an eclectic evening of music - were high. The event marked the two-year anniversary of the Tinderbox Project, a youth music…

Christopher Owens - Broadcast, Glasgow, Tue 26 Feb

An anti-climactic set from San Francisco's Girls member gone solo

With the recent release of his debut solo album Lysandre there’s hype around San Francisco’s Christopher Owens. In Glasgow it shows in the massive tour bus outside Broadcast, an incongruous addition to the teeny basement venue. A full crowd waits…

Randolph’s Leap - The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 16 Feb

Catchy and lighthearted set from the Leap, supported by Jo Mango and Snowgoose

‘Are you all prepared for the worst voice of the evening?’ comes the playful opening gambit from Randolph’s Leap singer Adam Ross, his seven bandmates settling into position behind him. It’s a point prudently made in light of the intimate evening’s…

Hey, Piano Bar Lady!

Musical comedy taking it back to 80s New York via New Zealand

New Zealand singer Linn Lorkin is perched at her keyboard, tousled red hair, whimsical expression and billowing patchwork dress suggesting she’s quite the eccentric dame. Now in its second year at the Fringe, her one-woman biographical show is a…

Virginia Gay - Dirty, Pretty Songs

Husky voiced soap star lacks plot but brings cabaret showtunes instead

As Virginia Gay’s cabaret commences it’s easy to get the jist: she prowls through the audience, belts out a shiny tune and ends up writhing atop her band’s grand piano. The Australian actress recounts a self-deprecating ‘back story’, referencing a…

Ali McGregor’s Alchemy

Opera-trained cabaret diva does trashy 80s hits

Ali McGregor has the world’s most glittery shoes. The Australian chanteuse is keen to point them out, hoisting her leg up to show the sparkle. McGregor’s 2012 Fringe show ‘Alchemy’ holds parallels with her golden choice of footwear, marrying exquisite…

Fuaim is Solas - Douglas Robertson Photography, Edinburgh, Thu 4 Apr 2013

Film and live music combine at event from Screen Bandita collective

With the location shrouded in mystery until the last minute, those who sought out film collective Screen Bandita’s intriguing Fuaim is Solas joined a winsome crowd on stools and scatter cushions. Hypnotic mastery from singer/songwriter Gareth Dickson…

Fun. - Picturehouse, Edinburgh, Mon 15 Apr 2013

The New Yorkers' music may sometimes sound contrived, but Fun. bring a, er, fun live show

'You guys are awesome', Fun. frontman Nate Ruess declares, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Given their decibel-raising reception it’s easy to see why he looks ecstatic. The sold-out Edinburgh show felt predictably young, although a contingent of different…

Beth Orton - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh, Tue 9 Apr 2013

The ever-pegged queen of British folk is affably personable at this reasonably intimate show

Given the hype around Beth Orton’s sixth and latest release Sugaring Season you might expect the ever-pegged queen of British folk to be flush with confidence. Instead she’s sheepish, funny and affably personable; drinking herbal tea, pulling her jeans…

Frightened Rabbit - Barrowlands, Glasgow, Thu 28 Feb

An awestruck and breathless performance of fan favourites from Scott Hutchison and co

Whatever you think about Frightened Rabbit, they deserve your respect. Their story arc is a familiar one; the slow build. Over four albums, the band have developed and matured exponentially, and after seven years of hard work, are having their graft…

The Twilight Sad - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Sat 23 Feb 2013

Pounding, pensive, semi-'stripped back' show from the Kilsyth trio

The Twilight Sad’s James Graham is relieved that no one took their ‘stripped-back’ tagline too literally. He’s early to praise the full, fan dominant crowd for showing up on such an ambiguous premise, one of a couple of warm up dates in advance of the…

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Nov 2012

A concentrated, confident performance from the Edinburgh indie-rockers

As Scottish bands go, the Edinburgh indie-rockers We Were Promised Jetpacks receive continual and considered hype, seeding an expectation of great things from their rescheduled hometown show. Support from mighty post-rock aficionados The Unwinding Hours…

Admiral Fallow - Barrowland, Glasgow, Sat 8 Dec 2012

Stirring, upbeat folk-rock set from the Glasgow sextet

Midway through Admiral Fallow's headline set at the Barrowlands, frontman Louis Abbot promises something: ‘We’re going to play you a song we never, ever play’. The song - 'Burn' - is a bewitching and exquisitely delivered number from second album Tree…

Gary Numan - HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Tue 4 Dec 2012

The electronica legend's performance boasts rousing tracks but little audience interaction

Gary Numan’s name comes with heavyweight pedigree, an original member of the 70s synth-wielding tribe, he has continued to spurn releases, with varying success, over the last four decades. Part of a handful of UK dates on the ‘Dead Moon Rising…

Neu! Reekie! - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Oct

The Spoken Word meets music and film night is candlelit for a Hallowe'en special

Conjure in your mind a darkened hall lit by candles: where poets chant about their parents in spirituous rhythms, atmospheric animated shorts include a vintage Loony Tunes cartoon and live music flits from mesmerising folk to a mythic Russian sea…

Errors - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Sat 15 Oct

Electronic producer Dam Mantle generated a fitting tone as support for fellow Glaswegian’s Errors Saturday night show: ambient house grooves warming a relaxed and ready crowd. Recently condensed into a trio Errors showed some signs of trepidation…

Lady Rizo

New York singer works Neil Gaiman, Dolly Parton and Edith Piaf into her hyper-feminine set

‘I was raised by hippies and rebelled with glamour,’ purrs Lady Rizo, a diva oozing old-school charisma. The New Yorker’s Fringe show is a riotous shindig squeezed into a ‘tiny Dutch circus tent’, her Grammy winning pipes swirling around retro, soulful…

Lach: Up The Anti!

Witty rock and roll renditions from the legendary NY anti-folker

Think of one man. Add in that he’s masterfully strumming a guitar, singing with a deep, gravelly vocal or producing a commendable Bob Dylan impression. Then factor in that, despite an on stage humility, he’s kind of a New York legend. Enigmatic…

Friends & Aluna George - King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Mon 7 May

Disco-tinged set of dazzling pop music

‘Come closer,’ beckons Friends’ enigmatic frontwoman Samantha Urbani, as the Brooklyn quintet make their Glasgow debut. She means it too: blink and next thing, she’s on the floor, shimmying up to an exhilarated crowd. If the intimate touch hints at a…

Tinderbox Orchestra, Teviot Debating Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 25 March 2012

Successful 'classical electronica' experiment

If there’s a slight school concert style to Tinderbox Orchestra’s Teviot show – word processed programmes, arts and craftsy venue design, uniform dress and branded music books - it’s quickly blown into another realm by stunningly executed…

Loch Lomond, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sat 10 Mar 2012

Bewitching chamber folk from Portland

For those of you wondering how the vaguely surreal, harmonic and orchestral notes of Portland’s Loch Lomond might translate to a live setting, the first minutes of their Sneaky Pete’s show would give you a fairly accurate answer: with a bold and…

Rob St John, Banshee Labyrinth, Sat 18 Feb

Intimate gig from a new breed of folk troubadour

The first thing to note about the venue for Rob St John’s sell-out gig is how dark, small and shivery it is – it's basically a subterranean cavern which fits perfectly with the haunted alt-folk to come. Support, marred slightly by sound issues, comes…

French Wives, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Tue 28 Feb

Successful performance from band on the cusp of greatness

‘We’re kind of shitting it’, French Wives frontman Stuart Dougan declares with a semi self-conscious shrug, a statement referencing the thirty gigs his band will embark on over the next month (including a stint at SXSW) and succeeding ‘two great…

Wild Beasts, Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh, Mon 14 Nov 2011

Compelling mix of fluid instrumentation and surreal vocals

‘We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time’ declares Wild Beasts' Hayden Thorpe, raising his tumbler of whisky and Buckfast. After their latest album Smother proved a remarkable follow on from Mercury nominated Two Dancers, the band are fresh…