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!