Robbie Lesiuk

In any recording of a live concert, or any concert footage on TV, there always seems to exist the same phenomenon. People cheer when the band plays their favourite song. This is a good thing, but what tends to annoy me is that the cheering never seems to start until the first words are sung. Regardless of how long the intro has gone on before it.

Maybe I am biased, because I play guitar, but surely you cheer favourite song at the opening guitar lines? Is the throbbing bass introduction not worthy of your applause? Or do people simply not recognise what song is playing until it is confirmed by the lyric?

One of the most recognisable introductions in the history of pop music has to be the plinky-plonky piano intro to “Close to You” by The Carpenters. I’m not a great fan of The Carpenters, but I am fairly sure none of their other songs begin in the same way. Yet, picture the scene; The Carpenters are headlining Glastonbury 2008, they have yet to play their most famous song, it’s getting to the end of their set… when… “Do-doo-d-do-doo….” the piano strikes up that instantly recognisable hook. Silence. Four bars later, Karen Carpenter sings, “Why do bi…” and before she finishes the third word, the place erupts in an overjoyed spackload of cheers and screams.

Of course, Karen Carpenter selfishly had to go and starve herself to death, so my theory can never be tested. Thanks a fucking bunch Karen.

Zoey Van Goey are a band based in Glasgow, with songs so catchy that I still can’t get them out of my head despite it being a couple of months since I saw them play live.

When I was playing with YIFI, Zoey Van Goey, Alan Bissett and ourselves embarked upon a short tour, which was frankly brilliant. Four nights straight of the Zoey’s tunes being beamed into my brain has left an indelible mark and a bit of a craving for more.

Luckily for me, that craving will be quenched shortly when they release their debut single. In fact, it’s already on their myspace page for a preview listen and I have had it on in the background almost constantly since I noticed.

Go and listen for yourself: http://myspace.com/zoeyvangoey, then once you are hooked like me, go along to their single launch night and buy a copy. I am so keen to go, that despite playing a gig in Motherwell on the same night, I am going to drive like a maniac up the M74 as soon as I get off-stage in the hope of catching at least the end of their set.

Today I finished making the website for my covers band, R4:

Go on… have a look!

Whis was, in all, pretty good. Alan Bissett joined them on stage for the first time since we did the Super Puny Humans tour, reading some of his prose while the band provided melchy, low-fi background noise.

It was pretty interesting to hear how it sounds not that I am not involved and can give an objective opinion from the audence’s perspective. I have to be brutally honest and say that it was great. They seem to have coped with the loss of my talent and personality admirably.

It was my intention to take loads of pictures, but an unwillingness to use flash and an unfamiliarity with the camera I had stolen from my father made for poor results. I messed with this in photoshop for a while… I am not sure it is all that great, but I kinda liked it.

Still, it’s nice to show face, support my friends and make sure we are all still talking to each other.

I made this picture ages ago, forgot all about it and it took me a good few minutes to notice/remember what the joke was.

Well, at least I thought it was funny.