Stag & Dagger 2012

Now firmly established on Glasgow’s spring gigging calendar, Stag and Dagger has endured huge extremes of weather in the city. As music fans trooped from one venue to another in 2010, they were baked by blistering heat, while last year a canoe might have been an appropriate means of travel between sites as a taxi or bus. No matter; the bill was so weighty that the hoardes willingly braved the monsoon for a swatch at a bill that packed exhilarating sets from the varied likes of Warpaint, Three Trapped Tigers and Desalvo.

So who knows what climate awaits this year’s festivities – at this stage you wouldn’t bet against snow. What you can bank on is another tasty event that caters for all tastes across a number of venues (ABC, CCA, Sleazys, The Art School, Stereo, Chambre 69, Captain's Rest) with the pride of modern Scotland's underground rubbing shoulders with tested international hypes on Saturday, 19 May.

For a kick-off, we have erstwhile Fiery Furnace Eleanor Friedberger (playing CCA), bringing the chirpy vibes of Last Summer to the table. Rising Stockholm electropop trio Niki and the Dove will be swooping in to the Art School; see them at close quarters while you can. Willy Mason also rears his bonce above the parapet with a set at the CCA. The soulful New York troubadour has been quiet lately, despite showing genuine promise with two albums in the last decade. Currently at work on his next one, forthcoming material appears to be a certainty while Mason’s sunny stage demeanour should attract fans old and new, whatever the weather.

We can exclusively give you the full bill and running order of The Skinny stage at Stereo, which promises to be a meal in itself. Electronic prodigy Miaoux Miaoux offers a taste of his imminent debut LP (19:15), and if Bear in Heaven (21:00) shake the building with the devastating synths of tracks like Lovesick Teenagers and Dust Cloud, then Erika M. Anderson AKA EMA (22:15) will melt into the frazzled soundscapes of feedback and e-bowed from last year's stellar Past Life Martyred Saints. Leave it to Wirral producer Forest Swords (23:30), then, to pick up the pieces with his brittle but stellar electronic dreamscapes. 

What about the homegrown contingent? Well, there’s plenty of that too, assuming we can stretch the definition to include Django Django (O2ABC). You probably know the story: Despite now being London-based, these guys met at Edinburgh College of Art and they’ll doubtless still be hailed as returning heroes at the other end of the M8 (even if their drummer is a Fifer). Their long-awaited debut longplayer has already been touted as an early album of the year contender, while its inventive singles to date have been all over the radio. Despite their experimental leanings, they've retained an undeniable mass appeal. In other words, get down early. 

Moving from vaguely local to very much local are The Phantom Band (also at O2ABC). With two much loved albums now firmly under their belt, we’re hoping this Stag and Dagger appearance will be a mix of the classics (Left Hand Wave and Goodnight Arrow, please) and a smattering of the new stuff (yes, LP3 is in the oven). Either way, expect Rick Redbeard and co to throw down.

A much lesser known quantity are Die Hard (Captain's Rest), whose debut we clocked a few months back. Yet to play a gig (or even reveal their faces), this is a band working purely to its own agenda. But if they can harness the quality of their recorded output (ambient pop meets dark electro) with the live show, then the anonymity they so clearly strive for simply can’t last. See the band above.

With recent additions including Glasgow's Holy Esque (Captain's Rest) who'll no doubt go down a treat with fans of recent tourmates Wu Lyf; leftfield doo-wop wonder Adam Stafford (Nice'n'Sleazy), and Edinburgh's euphoric bright young things Discopolis (Captain's Rest), we're still barely scratching the surface of this 40+ band bill. Keep an eye on www.theskinny.co.uk and Stag and Dagger's website for developing informationand the full running order in the lead up to the event.