Edinburgh Under Surveillance: October

Fear not Freshmen, The Skinny will shine you a light...

Feature by Dave Kerr | 13 Oct 2006

Absorbing the music scene in a new city is always an exciting, if a little daunting experience for any discerning muso. Fear not Freshmen, The Skinny has some answers.

The following is a run down of just a handful of the venues on offer, though the city sorely lacks anything equivocal to The Barrowlands in order to capture a lot of the slightly more elusive acts who tend to bodyswerve the 'burgh all too often. Anyway, I digress...

Bannermans Live music is what it's all about at The Underworld venue located within the belly of Bannerman's bar on the Cowgate. Regularly boasting some 40-50 bands per month, with frequent appearances from essential Edinburgh acts ranging from the seasoned Degrassi and Last Great Wilderness to relative rookies The Common Redstarts and The Penny Blacks, The Underworld is a must for the Edinburgh circuit.

http://www.bannermansgigs.co.uk

Cabaret Voltaire Ushering in an eclectic range of the latest cutting edge live music entertainment (having recently featured the likes of Battles, The Twilight Singers, Saul Williams and The Fucking Champs) Cab Vol has now firmly wedged itself on the Capital's map of hot venues. Look out for an appearance from upcoming singer-songwriter Rose Kemp and her elegantly twisted blend of soulful harmonies on the 17th of October as part of the regular New Found Sound showcase.

http://www.thecabaretvoltaire.com

Studio 24 Back from the brink of being shut down - hoorah, fight the power. Beyond an array of progressive house DJs and metal nights, the Studio has hosted gigs by the likes of Nirvana (twice as legend has it). The 25th sees Lily Allen grace its stage and next month witnesses the return of punk favorites Rancid. Don't forget their regular Box Wars battle nights either, ever fancied dressing up as a Transformer?

http://www.studio24edinburgh.co.uk

Subway Cowgate  Along with Bannerman's and The Bongo Club, Subway Cowgate is arguably one of the premier venues for showcasing local talent in Edinburgh. As such, this is another base for local promoters New Found Sound and the avant-garde/metal oriented Axis and Cold Dead Hands Collective.

http://www.sublive.co.uk

The Bongo Club Lending its support to local, left field and more marginalised talents from across the globe, this is no ordinary venue and its aesthetics as well as its choice of bands (from rock, reggae and hip hop through to swing, latin jazz and soul) usually makes for a most intriguing and enjoyable evening on the sauce. You can't go wrong with a jaunt to one of their regular late night music fests such as Fast, Hobo or NEXUSlive.

http://www.thebongoclub.co.uk

The Liquid Room Another staple venue, the prolific Liquid Room has housed everybody from The Smashing Pumpkins and Coldplay through to Public Enemy (making their return on the 1st of this month, boyee), whilst also hosting the Edinburgh T Break heats and East Meets West band battle over the past few years. You'll often find a post-gig club night to bust a move to, should you be so inclined to stick around after the last encore. The Liquid Room also host The Skinny's birthday party on the 21st, featuring the stellar lineup of OBE, Project: Venhell, The Great Ezcape and The Vivians. Be there.

http://www.liquidroom.com

Whistle Binkies A mainstay of late night rock n' roll debauchery, Binkies doubles as a friendly pub and gig venue which also boasts a late license and snapfax promotions. With plenty to offer in the way of local music and resident bands, many a night can be whiled away within its lively alcoves. Binkies is a venue of truly indigenous character.

http://www.whistlebinkies.com

Then there's Henry's Cellar Bar, with monthly events like Boogaloo Bothy and This is Music situated within, (not to be confused with the equally superb Is This Music nights run in conjunction with Babytiger, now at Cafe Royal), The Jazz Bar, The Exchange… the list goes on.