Good to be writing about a “wee” show again, as we’ve had a lot of big shiny things on here of late, room for everything and all that though:

Aberdeen’s own grungy, Dinosaur Jr-esque Min Diesel have put this together to coincide with the release of their new EP  ”Mínage à Twa“, which is simultaneously the best and worst name for a collection of recorded music ever.  Quite an achievement, and a great excuse for a celebration.

Also on the bill are noisy Dundonian garage types The Shithawks, and two bands who don’t even seem to have any presence on the internet whatsoever;  Glasgow-based Platypus, who apparently make “woozy, lo-fi psychedelia”, they’re also described as “enigmatic”, which may account for their lack of Google results, and locals Das McManus, who play their first ever show.  All very intruging.

While we’re on the subject of Cellar 35, I’ll draw your attention to a new club which starts there the night before this show (Friday 18 May, 9pm, £2), it’s called Strawberry Wine, and it’s  ”An Evening of C86, Early Creation Records, Shoegaze & 80s Indie.”  Here’s the Facebook event page for it.  Time to get agonising over the perfect badge to wear…

Another day, another pair of tickets to give away, this time courtesy of Midnight Resistance Promotions.  You lucky people.  You’ve only got a few days to enter this one, so get your wee bottoms in gear…

Brighton psych-folkster Chris T-T has more than a few strings to his bow;  described by The Independent as “a national gem”, and with eight albums (and a bunch of EPs/singles) under his belt, he’s a true modern troubadour whose beautifully-crafted lyrics on life, love and politics will strike a chord with anyone in possession of a soul.

He’s also a regular columnist for The Morning Star, charity fundraiser, speaker and panellist at various songwriting and digital seminars/workshops, and has been creating an indispensable photographic archive of every toilet he’s visited since 2010 on Twitter (see the hashtag #loo2012 for this year’s entries).

He pays Cellar 35 (and, no doubt, its bog) a visit on his “Sings Jeremy Clarkson To Sleep Tour” for forthcoming EP The Taking Of Clarkson’s Lighthouse which ”tells the tragic (made up) tale of a divisive genius TV presenter, a violent island uprising and the last surviving Fraggle.”  The mind boggles.  Support on the night comes from London multi-instrumentalist She Makes War and local singer-songwriter Davy Shanks.

Here’s a video for Chris’s 2010 single “Nintendo.”  Watch it, then find out how to win tickets below.

Okay, to be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets to the show, simply answer this easy question:

Which controversial BBC presenter is referenced in Chris T-T’s upcoming E.P?

…and email it to midnightresistance.promotions@gmail.com under the subject “Chris TT Comp” by Midnight on Sunday 22 April, after which the winner will be picked at random.  Good luck!

Tickets:  Fri  Sat  (inc. options for both nights)

We’ve already told you how good the second Little Kicks album is, and with this year shaping up to be a good one for the Aberdeen band, we’d like to draw your attention to two special hometown shows they’re playing at the end of March.  We can even get a couple of you into them for free…

Cellar 35 is the venue, and those of you who’ve been there will know it’s small,  however, it should provide precisely the kind of  house party vibe the band are after for these gigs.  Over the two nights in a specially-decorated-for-the-occasion room we’re promised the new album in full, old tracks, new tracks, covers, special guest support acts and DJs until 1am.  Sounds cool huh?

Weekend tickets are already shifting quickly, but we’ve got a pair of them to give away (the winners get a copy of the album each too).

To stand a chance of getting your mitts on them, simply send an email stating your name to info@thekiosque.com under the heading “Little Kicks Comp” before noon on Friday 16 March.

Good luck!

The Little Kicks

I won’t bore you with the details, but imagine being banished to an internet tundra for a few days, where no-one can hear you scream.

It was like that.

Anyway, while we were there we took the opportunity to give ourselves a wee facelift.  Hope you like it.

Right, back to business, here’s something to do tonight:

The penultimate Do It! night at Cellar 35 featuring DJ Olan of Dublin wonky hip-hop label All City Records (here’s an interview with him from The Irish Times).  Poster below.

Don’t fancy that?  Well, check out our listings then.  Just like you used to…

After a successful launch night in June, Loosen Up! returns with DJ Steven Milne at the helm peddling a mix of indie, disco, electronica, classics, random 45s and a little bit of punk and funk thrown in for good measure. Excellent. This time around, Iain Macpherson (Funky Transport) guests playing a vinyl-only set of pretty much whatever he wants. Get down early though as the room only holds 85 people…

An arts and music double on Friday at Cellar 35; first up from 6pm there’s the chance to buy some work by Honours Year Communication Design students from Gray’s School of Art for the princely sum of a tenner. Then, from 8pm, regular clubnight Cellar Sessions get involved with eclectic tunes from the excellent DJ Giles Walker and guests. All good stuff…

£10 for both events

A two-parter for excellent electronica/funk/arts/visuals night Do It’s second birthday party. Kicking off in Cellar 35 with locals Uraki Riddim, Kid Bell & White Chocolate, it’s then on to Origin where bass-heavy Big Dada bod Offshore joins in alongside a very, very special guest from the respected Hyperdub stable. To find out who it is you’ll just have to go along…

Yusuf Azak’s recently released debut album ‘Turn on the Long Wire’ (on the excellent Song, By Toad Records) has been well received for good reason:  The Glasgow-based Aberdonian’s brand of layered, looped folk-tinged, guitar-picking tunes is pretty special from what I’ve heard…

Comparisons to Nick Drake and Elliott Smith have been made, and no doubt those further South will pick up on his ‘charming Scottish lilt’ (or ‘talking’ as it’s known round here). Check out the video below for a taste, there’s a stream of the album version of the same song here too.

Also on the bill are singer-songwriter Ethan Ash (who’s promoting an EP too) and dreamy-of-voice local Amber Wilson.

Cellar 35 is made for shows like this, so you should go…

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/14062095]

Busy weekend at the slightly under-used Cellar 35 with Julia and The Doogans playing the Lost and Found night on Friday, and this on Saturday:

Mondegreen from Glasgow and Aberdeen’s Min Diesel will fly the flag for angular slacker rock, Dundee’s Pensioner will get mathy and there’s the return of energetic local indie-rockers Marionettes. Want more?  Well, it’d be a bit of a cop-out to just post up the flyer with some more info on the bands wouldn’t it?

Here’s the flyer with some more info on the bands…

The Do It! crew have been putting on great little parties down at Cellar 35 for over a year now, and there’s no reason why this night with a distinct Norwegian flavour to it will be any different.

Said flavour comes, not from a taste of that weird sweet brown cheese they have over there (which is, quite frankly, minging) but rather in the shape of guests Put Your Hand Up For Neo-Tokyo, a duo who’ve been making waves in Bergen’s burgeoning scene of late.  Influences? Aphex Twin, Dimlite, Jeru the Damaja, Gary Numan and Devo. Not bad. Not bad at all. There’s a bit of early Madchester stuff in there too for good measure…

Glasgow deep house/disco don DJ Clinical (Cosmic Microwave) and Do It’s own funk/80′s selecter White Chocolate provide ample extra tuneage alongside all the extra visuals and artwork we’ve come to expect from this lot.  Getting down early gives you the chance to pick up a free exclusive mix from Bergen’s Nabovarsel collective too.  Done.  Forget the oil,  this is one Scando-Scottish exchange we heartily endorse.  Skål!