Scottish Gig Highlights – May 2016

Gigs in Edinburgh: May 2016

Veteran cinematic favourites don’t come much bigger than the evergreen Tindersticks, who continue to confound both genre and the very concept of shelf life as they enter the 25^th year of their almost offensively consistent career. The Waiting Room is the Nottingham group’s landmark 10^th studio album, and they’ll be bringing it in all its immaculate, brass-laden glory to the Usher Hall (3 May).

If that sounds a little too rich for your taste buds, then palindromic pop-punkers Tacocat are also in town that night at Electric Circus, where they’ll be unleashing a swift boot to the balls of the patriarchy by dint of snarling, earworm hooks and oddball, pop cultural quips. If you don’t already own a decent set of earplugs, then it might be time to loosen the purse strings, for the full-throttle theme spills into the following week when notorious eardrum-perforators The Joy Formidable (9 May) and United Fruit (15 May) hit the Liquid Room and Sneaky Pete’s respectively. Seriously though: tinnitus sucks.

'The word “legend” is often overused, but' is a sentence overused almost as much as the word itself. Nevertheless, the word 'legend' is often overused, but in the case of Brian Wilson, no other adjective feels applicable. He might have had another falling out with the boys, but this particular tour celebrates the 50th (!) anniversary of Pet Sounds and will be the last time Wilson performs his teenage opus in its entirety. Miss his Usher Hall show (26 May) at your peril (or see the encore at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall the following night).  

Live music in Dundee this May

Rounding up our month on the east coast, there's a quickfire double from the City of Discovery. Malcolm Middleton has been busy operating as Human Don't Be Angry for years, but this month seems him returning to his regular solo guise (but not as you know it) with his electronica-influenced (and Miaoux Miaoux produced) new LP, Summer of ‘13. See how it shapes up at Beat Generator on 26 May (or alternatively Glasgow Art School on 27 May and Edinburgh Electric Circus on 28 May). Canadian metalcore titans Cancer Bats rock up at Buskers the following night (27 May), and that’s a show to wear your shit-kickers for.

Gigs in Glasgow in May 2016

Glasgow’s calendar for the month is predictably fertile. Kicking things off we have A$AP Nast, who – after Yams (RIP), Rocky, Ferg and possibly Twelvyy – stands in line as another influential character from the A$AP Mob. All gratuitous sarcasm aside, what Ferg might currently lack in stature, Nast more than makes up for with bars; probably the most talented pound for pound rapper in the entire collective. Get trill when he plays The Garage (4 May).

Things ramp up from Thursday onwards, beginning with a show from the endlessly curious Minor Victories. The likes of FFS, Iggy Pop’s Post Pop Depression combo and of course McBusted are just some of the potent supergroup combinations to have emerged recently, but this internet borne outfit, featuring Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Justin Lockey (Editors), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai) and filmmaker James Lockey are sounding just a wee bit special.

Minor Victories play their first ever Scottish show at the Art School (6 May); the same night De Rosa head for Stereo in support of Weem – their long-awaited third record and first to drop on the aforementioned Braithwaite’s Rock Action label. Homecoming heroes Holy Esque (7 May) and Sad Boys chieftain Yung Lean (8 May) then round off an exceptional week of bookings at the Art School.

These bloody keep coming; this time it's Bellshill’s favourite son, Duglas T Stewart, blowing out the birthday cake candles on 30 years of the BMX Bandits at CCA (14 May). Joining Duglas's festivities would normally be a no-brainer, but Bossy Love – described within these very pages as one of Scotland’s most talked about new bands – headline Nice 'n' Sleazy on the same evening, presenting an utter bastard of a clash. Young bucks or the old guard, it's your call.

The uncategorisable Anna Meredith – who dropped her debut album Varimants on Moshi Moshi last month – brings her avant-garde compositions to the cosy surrounding of the Hug and Pint (17 May), just as Seattle noise-poppers Chastity Belt head for Broadcast. Yer Manic Street Preachers also make their speedy return north for – you guessed it – another anniversary tour; throwing a bash for Everything Must Go’s 20^th at the Hydro (21 May).  

Not all bands are blessed with such longevity, however, and Jan Burnett’s madcap project The Grand Gestures has decided it’s far better to burn out than fade away. They offer their Final Gesture at Tut's that same night (21 May). Peter Sagar is a man who knows all about leaving, having played as a touring member of Mac Demarco’s band for years before deciding to spread his wings under the guise of Homeshake. He saddles up alongside pop punk prodigies cum surf rock kings SWMRS at Broadcast (22 May), before Welsh treasure Cate Le Bon rounds off our coverage at Stereo on 24 May alongside Alex Dingley.

DO NOT MISS...

Father John Misty, O2 Academy, 12 May

Transgressive folk bizarro John Tilman (aka, Father John Misty) is no stranger to the outlandish and could easily be considered the missing link between Andy Kaufman and Leonard Cohen. During April the arch satirist made headlines after scoring a writing credit on the new Beyoncé album (the song, Hold Up, is amazing, FYI). Regardless of eccentricities, Tilman remains one of the most singular and genuinely brilliant talents in today’s music sphere, and, like his previous two Glasgow shows, tickets for his show at the O2 Academy will be like proverbial gold dust.