Edinburgh Under Surveillance: July 2006

Well it's not long until a fair few thousand miscellaneous artists, pikeys and culture vultures descend upon our fair city and eclipse anything that's in the least bit Scottish for a month or so, we'd best dig the local vibe and relish our haggis suppers while we still can people…

Is it a bird, is it a plane? Hell no, it's Falkirk's Y'all Is Fantasy Island reaching dizzy heights with mellowing wistful melodies at The Bongo Club on the 3rd, see our review of the excellent 'In Faceless Towns Forever' in these very Sounds pages. Do you dig Sufjan? Bonnie Prince Billie? Get down there then.

Following a month that saw The Skinny reluctantly utter the immortal words "now now lads, it's the taking part that counts…" as we humbly took part in judging the stiff competition at the Emergenza Edinburgh final which will see grungey Fife upstarts Elysium and electro infused indie merchants Capstin Pole, the eternal struggle of band vs. band rages on. The battleground for the few remaining heats of the latest gig night to deliver fresh talent, New Found Sound is split between Cabaret Voltaire (4th), Subway Cowgate (6th, 7th) and The Bongo Club (26th). See our website for coverage of the event thus far, as well as the blow by blow on the Emergenza verdict.

Also this month, Cab Vol launch a series of gigs where zero admission fee is required and a round at the bar won't break the bank, aptly named 'Duty Free' – but fortunately without the soulless monotony of an airport lounge (phew) - the nights (on the 8th, 18th and 27th) promise a stack of sounds for you to get down and debauched to, from the McGee touted Stereoglo to Aberdonian pop-punk peddlers the Needles (see the adjacent gig review and our run through the single on the website). Oh yes, and across town on the 8th at Studio 24 sees the 5th instalment of Boxwars with Skinny faves Big Hand and The Love Bastards on hand to supply the soundtrack to the insanity… so there might be some collision there. Just kit yourself out as Optimus Prime for the night and see how it goes.

Finally, after a wee jaunt to Aberdeen and Glasgow and apparently with a fresh new Robinson Crusoe get up, Idlewild main man Roddy Woomble branches out on his own (well, kind of) as he appears with friends at The Queen's Hall on the 26th, just a few days in advance of his forthcoming debut solo LP 'My Secret Is My Silence'.

So there we have it, some highlights for July in a nutshell, enjoy.