The Ballet video

This is quite an old video, but I wanted to post it because it's great and it'll give you an idea of what The Ballet are about if you haven't heard them before. Remember they'll be playing at our next club night on Saturday 10th January, along with The Hermit Crabs and Miabeane and the Asthamatic Scene.

The video is Flash-based, so it won't work on iPhones or the like. Sorry! It came from this site called PSL (or is it SVT?), which has a load of other good indiepop videos but appears to be written in some kind of foreign lingo incomprehensible to my small brain (i.e. Swedish). I'll be posting videos of the other bands on the bill for HMHB 5 later in the week, so keep checking back.

Cheers, and happy new year!

Flyer for The Ballet

As you can see, we've now got a flyer for our January popshow with The Ballet, The Hermit Crabs and Miabeane and The Asthmatic Scene. It was designed for us by the estimable and esteemed Andy Hart - thanks Andy! You can see more of his work here.

Just Joans/Middle Ones/Mountain Parade/Mat Riviere photos

So that was our first popshow. The turnout was a little disappointing but I suppose that's we get for putting on a gig a week before Christmas. Kudos to those who braved the wind, rain and financial hardship of the festive period and came down to the Twisted Wheel - you are scholars and gentlemen all.

Extra double-plus thanks to all the bands with their brilliant sets, and for being lovely people into the bargain. Thanks, bands!


The Just Joans soundcheck


Mat Riviere


Mat Riviere


The Mountain Parade


The Mountain Parade


The Middle Ones


The Middle Ones


The Middle Ones


The Just Joans


The Just Joans

Gig tomorrow night!

Just the briefest of reminders that our first popshow is tomorrow night. The doors are at 8pm and Mat Riviere will be on at 8.20pm, so please come down early!

Photos from HMHB 4 - Saturday 13th December

Here's some of my photos from the club last night. Huge thanks to everyone who came down and made it what was, for us at least, an awesome night.

Playlist from HMHB 4 - Saturday 13th December

Colin
Camera Obscura - Park and Ride
Miabeane and the Asthmatic Scene - Brannigan Ago Go
Razorcuts - Summer In Your Heart
Pants Yell! - Do You Have Your Ticket?
Je Suis Animal - Amundsen
Cats On Fire - Never Land Here
Ride - Polar Bear
Boyracer - In Love
Another Sunny Day - Anorak City
Beat Happening - Indian Summer
Belle & Sebastian - I Could Be Dreaming (BBC session)
The Smittens - Stop The Bombs

Lynsey
Raymond and Maria - No-one Notices Your Brand New T-shirt
The Byrds - Mr. Spaceman
The Smittens - Doomed, Lo-fi and In Love
The Chiffons - My Boyfriend's Back
Withered Hand - New Dawn
Go Sailor - Last Year
Talulah Gosh - Be Your Baby
Shop Assistants - The Train From Kansas City
Math and Physics Club - La La Lisa

Colin
The Hermit Crabs - Tonight
Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Airport Girl - The Foolishness That We Create Through Love Is The Closest We Come To Greatness
The Smiths - Girlfriend In A Coma
Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
Life Without Buildings - Let's Get Out

Lynsey
The Ballet - In My Head
The Blossoms - That's When The Tears Start
The Royal We - All The Rage
Eux Autres - Merry Christmas Everybody
The Wedding Present - Brassneck
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Rent A Wreck
The Ramones - Rockaway Beach
Cars Can Be Blue - Do You Remember?
Kenickie - Punka
B52s - Rock Lobster

Colin
The Cinderellas - Please Don't Wake Me
The Long Blondes - Christmas Is Cancelled
Ballboy - Avant Garde Music
Tullycraft - Stowaway
Minisnap - Leave It To You
Felt - Apple Boutique
The Chiffons - One Fine Day
The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love
Del Shannon - Runaway
David Bowie - Modern Love
The Smiths - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

Lynsey
Jens Lekman - Black Cab
Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time?
The Hidden Cameras - Breathe On It
The Aislers Set - The Way To Market Station
Low - Just Like Christmas
Skeeter Davis - Let Me Get Close To You
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Doing All The Things That Wouldn't Make Your Parents Proud
The Vaselines - Son Of A Gun
The Housemartins - Happy Hour

Colin
Camera Obscura - Knee Deep At The NPL
The Breakaways - That's How It Goes
Rilo Kiley - Portions For Foxes
The Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic?
David Bowie - China Girl
The Magnetic Fields - I Think I Need A New Heart
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride
Zoey Van Goey - Foxtrot Vandals

Lynsey
The Pastels - Nothing To Be Done
The Ramones - Needles and Pins
Teenage Fanclub - Star Sign
Belle & Sebastian - Photo Jenny
The Ronettes - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Abba - Does Your Mother Know?
The Primitives - Crash
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Kirsty MacColl - A New England
Camera Obscura - Little Donkey

facebook group and eeeee!

further to what colin posted below, i can confirm that this is the link to the facebook group, so please go and join it if you are in the facebook way and want to receive regular spam, i mean, emails from me about our nights.

also, we've been doing some organisational bits and bobs for the club night this saturday, the popshow next thursday and the club night/popshow extravaganza in january, and all i can say is: eeeee! there is so much good stuff! i've been listening to a mini-mix of all the bands that are playing next week and i am so fucking excited to see them all. and that's before i even get started on january!

Support for The Ballet on 10th Jan

We can finally confirm the support acts for The Ballet, who we'll be putting on at The Flying Duck before our club night on 10th January (see previous post).


The Hermit Crabs

First of all, we're delighted to announce that one of Glasgow's finest indiepop bands, The Hermit Crabs, will be making an appearance. You can expect to hear songs from their new Correspondence Course EP, which is out now on Matinée Recordings (you can stream a song from it at that link, or more on their Myspace page).


Miabeane and the Asthmatic Scene

The third band of the night was suggested to us by Mark of The Hermit Crabs, and have come as a really pleasant surprise to us. They're also from Glasgow, they're called Miabeane and the Asthmatic Scene, and if the songs on their Myspace page are anything to go by, they're absolutely ace.

So that's the lineup - The Ballet, The Hermit Crabs and Miabeane and the Asthmatic Scene. We hope to have a flyer design in the next week or so, and we'll give you all the necessary details nearer the time.

PS. Hi to anyone who has arrived at the blog via our new Facebook group. As a Facebook luddite, I'll have to ask Lynsey to post the link in case any more of you want to sign up to it, or poke it, or whatever one does to a Facebook group.

Edit - I think this might be the right link, but please tell me if it doesn't work!

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Hi folks, sorry for the long gap since the last blog post. Things have been craaaaazy for me at work but now I'm off for the week, and what a week it's going to be! Of course there's the fourth instalment of Half My Heart Beats on Saturday (13th), but before that there's a popshow and a half that I really wanted to write something about.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are from New York City, and they've surely been the most exciting band to emerge this year as far as indiepop is concerned. They've released an incredible self-titled EP followed by a string of 7" singles and internet-only tracks, and now they're touring the UK with The Wedding Present and doing a few solo shows along the way in advance of the release of their debut album.

I've been obsessively watching this Youtube clip of the band playing an unreleased song called 'The Tenure Itch' recently. The guitar part is so simple I feel like even I could play it, but it doesn't matter. This is pure (no pun intended) breathtaking pop music of the kind Half My Heart Beats is all about.



So anyway, they're going to be playing at The Captain's Rest, 185 Great Western Road on Friday night (12th). According to people on the Anorak forum who've been to the early UK shows, the band is even better live than on record, so I couldn't be more excited about getting to see them. I hasten to add that this gig is nothing to do with me or Lynsey, I just wanted to mention it in case people weren't aware they were in town.

Hope to see you there!

Flyer for our December popshow

Just a quick post to show you the flyer for our December popshow at The Twisted Wheel, which we're starting to get really excited about. If you're at gigs around Glasgow in the coming month, expect to see me shivering outside handing these out afterwards.

We're still trying to finalise the support bands for The Ballet on 10th January, but as soon as it's all confirmed we'll let you know. I think that regardless of which other bands we manage to get, seeing The Ballet will be one of my highlights of 2009, even if it is only ten days in.

The links on the right under 'Coming Soon' will take you to the event page for each gig on last.fm, where you can let us know you're coming along, listen to songs from all the bands and upload your photos or review afterwards if you so choose.

Photos from HMHB 3 - Saturday 15th November

Thanks so much to those of you who made it down to the Duck last night. We had an awesome time, and hopefully you did too. Scroll down for photos of the night, and scroll a bit further for the playlist. Remember, the next Half My Heart Beats will be on Saturday 13th December!


Nevada Base


Kid Canaveral


Kid Canaveral

Playlist from HMHB 3 - Saturday 15th November

Lynsey
Neutral Milk Hotel - Aeroplane Over The Sea
Jonathan Richman - I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar
Fabienne Delsol - Vilaines Filles Mauvais Garcon
The Chiffons - My Boyfriend's Back
Nancy and Lee - Summer Wine
Milky Wimpshake - My Heart Beats Faster Than Techno
Stereolab - Ping Pong
Slow Club - Summer Shakedown

Colin
One Happy Island - Earth's Circumference
Jackie DeShannon - Dream Boy
Beach Boys - Darlin'
The Smiths - This Charming Man
Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted
France Gall - Nous Ne Sommes Pas Anges
Orange Juice - Falling and Laughing
The Lucksmiths - Up With The Sun

Lynsey
Herman Dune - I Wish That I Could See You Soon
Housemartins - Anxious
April March - Laisse Tomber Les Filles
Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Cars Can Be Blue - Sun Blows Up
Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
Just Joans - Grant Kelly
Talulah Gosh - My Best Friend
Tiger Trap - Puzzle Pieces
Tilly and the Wall - Bad Education
Magnetic Fields - Desert Island
The Primitives - Crash

Colin
Razorcuts - I Heart You The First Time
Cars Can Be Blue - Coat Tails
The School - Shoulder
Je Suis Animal - Good To Me
Those Dancing Days - Falling In Fall
Talulah Gosh - Bringing Up Baby
Heavenly - C Is The Heavenly Option
Tender Trap - Talking Backwards
The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron
The Smittens - Something Sassy
The Ballet - Corduroy

Lynsey
Orange Juice - Blue Boy
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Aspidistra
Shop Assistants - I Don't Want To Be Friends With You
Tullycraft - Wild Bikini
Velocity Girl - Audrey's Eyes
Kirsty MacColl - A New England
Flatmates - Shimmer
The Tammys - Egyptian Shumba
Belle & Sebastian - Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie
Girls Aloud - The Promise

Colin
The Ronettes - Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love?
Los Campesinos! - Death to Los Campesinos!
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
The Wedding Present - My Favourite Dress
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Everything With You
The Lucksmiths - Good Light
Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
Felt - Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow

Lynsey
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
The Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
Voxtrot - The Start of Something
Smittens - It's A Saturday
Teenage Fanclub - Ain't That Enough
The Ramones - Blitzkreig Bop
The Pastels - Crawl Babies

Colin
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Rattlesnakes
The Concretes - Chosen One
The Aislers Set - Hit the Snow
The Field Mice - Emma's House
Camera Obscura - Number One Son
The Shangri-Las - Give Him A Great Big Kiss
Belle & Sebastian - Women's Realm
The Delgados - Girl of Valour
The Magnetic Fields - Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side

Half My Heart Beats 3/Kid Canveral TONIGHT!

The day of reckoning is upon us! After what seems like an impossibly long time, the third Half My Heart Beats is tonight. Remember to come down early if you can to see the lovely Kid Canaveral and Nevada Base (doors from 8.30pm approx). Entry is £4 either way, so think of it as a free popshow with dancing afterwards, or the other way around if you prefer.

Both my iPods have packed in, so requests might be a bit more limited than usual on the night but feel free to ask - between me and Lynsey, we should have something you'll like. Even if you don't have a request, do come up and say hi. It gets lonely up there in that booth.

Hope you can make it down tonight!

PS. I'll post a playlist and photos tomorrow, so check back for that.

The Ballet at Half My Heart Beats

Greg Goldberg of The Ballet. Photo by Bao Nguyen

Well, it looked like it wasn't going to work out but we're pleased to confirm that one of our favourite bands, The Ballet, are going to be playing a pre-club popshow at Half My Heart Beats on the 10th of January! I worried I'd never get to see this band live, and now they're only going and playing at our club!

If you've never heard The Ballet before, imagine a chunk of Belle & Sebastian, a dollop of Magnetic Fields and a bucketload of sass and you'll be somewhere close to the mark. Their 2006 album, Mattachine!, is one of the best goddamn things I've ever heard. This is going to be a popshow to remember.

Don't forget we've got two incredible popshows between now and then! Kid Canaveral and Nevada Base will be playing from 8pm before Half My Heart Beats this Saturday at The Flying Duck (see the post below for details), and we'll be hosting The Just Joans, The Middle Ones, The Mountain Parade AND Mat Riviere at The Twisted Wheel on the 18th of December.

We've got last.fm event pages set up for all three, so if you're coming along do let us know:

Kid Canaveral + Nevada Base
The Just Joans + The Middle Ones + The Mountain Parade + Mat Riviere
The Ballet + guests

Request for requests

It's only four days until Half My Heart Beats 3, and we're starting to get excited about it. Sorry if the five-week gap since the last night has thrown some of you off - Lynsey said she met some people at the Flying Duck on Saturday night who had come along thinking our night was on. Rest assured that we're out of sequence for this month only, and from December onwards we should be back in the second Saturday of the month slot for the foreseeable future.

The main point of this post is to find out if you've got any requests for Saturday night. We're trying to rejig our playlists this month to hopefully give you something to dance to early on, so any suggestions are welcome. My playlist is coming on nicely, with songs from the new Lucksmiths album and the One Happy Island and Lorimer Sound EPs a certainty! I've also been toying with the idea of doing an Amelia Fletcher triple header - Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Tender Trap back to back. I don't know about you, but I think that would be awesome. If you'd like to suggest a song by any of those three, do let me know.

Is it too early to give you stats about what we've played after two nights? Probably, but I'm going to anyway. Here are our most-played artists so far:

Equal first (four plays each):
Belle & Sebastian
Camera Obscura
The Hidden Cameras
The Smittens

Equal 2nd (three plays each):
Beat Happening
Felt
Irene
Jens Lekman
The Aislers Set
The Just Joans
The Lucksmiths
Tullycraft

We'll do more blog posts between now and Saturday, so remember to keep checking back.

Remember remember the fifteenth of November

Well, I was lucky enough to be able to spend last weekend at the Fence Halloween party up in Anstruther, and I had a very jolly time indeed (some might say I had far too jolly a time on the Friday night, but that would be up to them to decide - I didn't lose my cutlass or my eyepatch, so I consider the evening a success). I got to see some amazing live music, and it's proper put me in the mood for a November popshow. I, for one, am really excited at the prospect of some jangly, punky indiepop, and even more excited that it's going to come from Kid Canaveral, who I've been listening to loads over the past few weeks.

Support will come in the form of some lovely electropop from Nevada Base. Hope you can all make it down! Doors are at 9pm and it'll be £4 in for the gig, which will include entry to the club afterwards.

More popshow goodness

Just a quick update to let y'all know of a few more bits and pieces that have come together over the past week or so.

Firstly, we've added another act to the bill for our December popshow extravaganza: Mat Riviere plays percussion for the Middle Ones, and is going to be doing a support set all of his own.We're also utterly delighted to announce that Kid Canaveral are going to be playing as part of our November night on the 15th. We're still getting everything organised for the next night, including sorting out another band to play, but we'll let you know more details nearer the time. Hope you can all make it down!

Popshow!

We're in a five-week lull between club nights, so I thought I'd let you know about the next of our little ventures. Namely, Lynsey and I are going to be organising our very first popshow (or gig, if you must) in Glasgow, and we're very excited about it.
Top of the bill is going to be The Just Joans, in what will be the last show of a stellar year for them following their two outstanding releases on the WeePOP! label. Possibly even more exciting than that is that we'll have two bands joining us on the last date of their mini UK tour, and those bands are none other than The Middle Ones from Norwich and The Mountain Parade from Oxford. Anyone lucky enough to see The Middle Ones at this summer's Indietracks festival will attest to what an adorable band they are live, and if the video clips I've seen of their friends The Mountain Parade is anything to go by, they're going to be right up there in the warm glow stakes*.
The popshow kicks off around 8pm on Thursday 18th December at The Twisted Wheel on Queen Street, Glasgow. We'll have more information nearer the time, but for now you can head over to the last.fm event page and let us know you're coming or leave us a comment.

* Incidentally, I preferred the Warm Glow Stakes's early stuff...

Photos from HMHB 2 - Saturday 11th October

I didn't really get any good photos from last night, but I thought I better throw up what I got.

Playlist from HMHB 2 - Saturday 11th October

A huge thanks to those of you who made it down for the club last night. We learnt a lot from last night, and next month we'll try to structure the playlist so that you can have a dance a bit earlier in the night, but here's what we played this time.

Lynsey
Sodastream - Warm July
The Clientele - Saturday
Rozi Plain - Barbs & Velcro
Trembling Blue Stars - Sometimes I Still Feel The Bruise
Hari and Aino - Your Heartache and Mine
The Motifs - Envelopes
The Smittens - Sapphire
Math and Physics Club - April Showers
Pipas - Mental

Colin
Fireflies - I Was A Brontosaurus
Pants Yell! - Bi-Coastal Serenade
Wild Carnation - The Lights Are On (But No-one's Home)
The Garlands - You Never Notice Me
The Felt Tips - Treat Me Gently
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Laughter (Victims)
The April Skies - Three Minute Singles
A Smile And A Ribbon - My Bunny's Back
Bubblegum Lemonade - Just Like You
The Carrots - The Best Part of Breaking Up

Lynsey
The Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine
King Creosote - King Bubbles In The Sand
Your Heart Breaks - Start By Walking
Acid House Kings - Do What You Wanna Do
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Later Operator
Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun
The Ballet - The Face of Everything
Red Pony Clock - Don't Forget Who Your Friends Are
Slow Club - Me and You
Cars Can Be Blue - I Like You
Herman Dune - This Will Never Happen
The Diskettes - 12345

Colin
McCarthy - Kill Kill Kill Kill
Boyracer - They're Making Money Off Of You
Slow Down Tallahassee - Don't Cry Baby
Another Sunny Day - I'm In Love With A Girl Who Doesn't Know I Exist
The Just Joans - Hey Boy... You're Oh So Sensitive
The Besties - Prison Song
Trembling Blue Stars - November Starlings
Phoenix - Too Young
Milky Wimpshake - Blowout at 80 Miles Per Hour
Je Suis Animal - The Mystery of Marie Roget
Talulah Gosh - Steaming Train
The Chills - Heavenly Pop Hit

Lynsey
Yo La Tengo - I Should Have Known Better
Colin Clary and the Magogs - The Shape of This Town
Withered Hand - New Dawn
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945
Guided By Voices - Glad Girls
Velocity Girl - Sorry Again
Teenage Fanclub - Sparky's Dream
The Hidden Cameras - Breathe On It
Belle & Sebastian - String Bean Jean
The Essex Green - This Isn't Farm Life
Irene - Baby I Love Your Way

Colin
Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off The Bridge
Cats On Fire - Draw In The Reins
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - This Love Is Fucking Right!
Beat Happening - Cat Walk
The Smiths - These Things Take Time
The Lucksmiths - Sunlight In A Jar
Camera Obscura - San Francisco Song
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Rent A Wreck

Lynsey
Tullycraft - The Punks Are Writing Love Songs
Jens Lekman - The Opposite of Hallelujah
Blondie - Sunday Girl
The Angels - I Adore Him
The Aislers Set - The Way To Market Station
The Shop Assistants - Safety Net
The Ramones - Rockaway Beach
Helen Love - Does Your Heart Go Boom?
The Housemartins - We're Not Deep
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
Nolan Chance - Just Like The Weather
The Pastels - Nothing To Be Done

Colin
Dexys Midnight Runners - Burn It Down
Felt - Crystal Ball
Voxtrot - Raised By Wolves
Irene - Stardust
Jens Lekman - Black Cab
Mint Royale - Don't Falter
Belle & Sebastian - I Could Be Dreaming
The Go-Betweens - Love Goes On!

HMHB 2 tomorrow!

Okay, so my promise of updates during the week didn't really materialise. All you need to know is that the second Half My Heart Beats is tomorrow at The Flying Duck, from 11pm onwards. I for one am really, really looking forward to it.
Don't forget the first 30 people through the door get a free Cloudberry compilation CD, which is well worth having. Hope you can make it down!

Flyers! Lots of them!

The runup to our next night has well and truly started with the delivery of these babies... we've got another box full in addition to what you see there too. If you're going to be in Glasgow over the next week, keep an eye out for these little beauties.
Our thanks again go to David Zacharis of The Smittens for making such a great design for us, and to The Flying Duck for printing them!
Also, keep checking the blog throughout the week; we'll keep you right up to date with everything that's happening in advance of the night itself. Remember, Saturday 11th October at The Flying Duck, 11pm start!

Cloudberry giveaway!

A bit of an update on that free gift that Colin mentioned in the previous post, then...

We've just received a batch of 30 3" CDs from Roque at Cloudberry Records, so the first 30 people through the door at the next night on Saturday 11th October will get a free 5-track Cloudberry Records CD that looks a little something like this (except less pixellated, of course):




These are all numbered discs and are only going to be available at Half My Heart Beats and two other club nights (Big Pink Cake in Bristol and Hit The North in Hamburg). We're not quite sure how best to distribute these yet as the entrance is going to be shared between us and another club night, so if you don't get one of these lovelies at the door, please come and harass Colin or me for one.

Speaking of the door, we're now planning on starting the night at 11pm rather than 10pm (we'll still be running until 3am). If you want to come down before 11pm and take advantage of the free entry, you should still come in the door in the alleyway which you would have come in last time. The kitchen will be open from 9pm and we might turn up early and stick some CDs on and have a drink anyway. Because of problems with noise in that alley, the back door has to be closed at 11pm, and if you arrive after that you should go in the front door on Renfield Street. Confused? Us too, a bit, but it should all become clear when you get there. In summary: before 11pm, you get in free and come in via the kitchen; after 11pm you have to pay four of our British pounds and you have to come in via Renfield Street and the main room.

And speaking of the main room.... I think Colin already said in his previous post that we'd be moving rooms. I'm sure there will be some small teething problems with the new set-up too, so please feel free to come up and chat to us on the night if you want to make any suggestions regarding how we can improve the night (I know you're not shy).