Math and Physics Club gig - Monday night

 

Our Indietracks warmup show with Math and Physics Club, Very Truly Yours, Bubblegum Lemonade and The Hermit Crabs is only a day away!

Headliners are Math and Physics Club, who are playing their first ever gig in Scotland. They play sweet melodic indiepop in the vein of early Belle & Sebastian or The Lucksmiths. They've released two great albums and a string of EPs and we couldn't be happier to have them in Glasgow.

Support is from Chicago's Very Truly Yours, who play gentle, jangly pop tunes, perennial local favourites The Hermit Crabs and the first ever live show from Bubblegum Lemonade, which is Laz McCluskey (ex-The Stepping Stones)'s latest project. Laz loves his 12-string Rickenbacker and his songs sound like a cross between The Byrds and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Doors are at 7.30pm, first band is on at 8.15pm and you can buy tickets on the door or from Wegottickets.

Math and Physics Club - not long to go!

 

It's just over three weeks until our Indietracks warmup show with Math and Physics Club, Very Truly Yours, Bubblegum Lemonade and The Hermit Crabs.

A little buzz has been building about this show and we think it'll be a great night. You can buy tickets for the gig from Wegottickets for the slightly-cheaper price of £6 +bf. 

Math and Physics Club poster and ticket details

 

Thanks to our friend Andy Hart for desigining this ace poster for our Indietracks warmup show with Math and Physics Club, Very Truly Yours, Bubblegum Lemonade and The Hermit Crabs. 

You can buy tickets for the gig from Wegottickets for the slightly-cheaper price of £6 +bf.  Facebook eventage can be found over here if that's your thing.

The future of Half My Heart Beats

First of all, sorry for the big silence of late from Half My Heart Beats but a lot has been changing behind the scenes and we wanted to be clear on the details before making an announcement.

The short version is that we’re bringing the monthly club night at The Flying Duck to an end and we’ll no longer be putting on gigs under the Half My Heart Beats name. No need to get into the whys and wherefores but we felt the night at the Duck had run its course and I (Colin) wanted to take a step back from the stress of being a promoter.

There are plenty of positives among the gloom though. First of all, we will continue to play records on the last Saturday of the month at The 78 on Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow. We’re on from 9pm til midnight and entry is free.

Secondly, we’ve got one final amazing popshow to bow out on. We will be hosting Math and Physics Club (Seattle), Very Truly Yours (Chicago), Bubblegum Lemonade and The Hermit Crabs on Monday 25th July at The Captain’s Rest. More details to follow, but suffice to say we’re very excited!

Finally, we’ve had the honour of being asked to DJ at the peerless Indietracks festival on Sunday 31st July. We’ve both been big fans of the festival for years and it’s a massive privilege to be asked to play records at what is surely the best indiepop festival in history.

In the longer term, Lynsey will continue to put on club nights at The Flying Duck and gigs under the name Primitive Painters, along with our good friend Stoo – keep an eye on their Facebook page for more info. The first night is on Friday 13th May.

We’ll continue to keep you informed through the blog, Facebook and Twitter about any happening with Half My Heart Beats.

We would like to put on record our huge thanks to Barney, Del and everyone at The Flying Duck, everyone at The 78, especially Lee, everyone who has made brilliant artwork for us (Andy Hart, David Zacharis, May Linn Jomisko and Indiehorse), all the amazing bands that have come and played our shows and anyone who has come along to our nights. It’s been awesome.

This Saturday - Eux Autres, The Hardy Boys + The Honeymoon Period

Just a quick reminder that this gig is on Saturday night at The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street.

You can get tickets in advance for slightly cheaper here.

Hopefully see you there!

Sourpatch gig tomorrow!

Sourpatch - i want you either way from Richard Gutierrez on Vimeo.

Don't forget that we've got our first popshow of 2011 tomorrow night at The Flying Duck. Sourpatch, Town Bike and Maximum Bob are playing with doors at 7pm.

See you there!

HMHB presents Sourpatch, Town Bike and Maximum Bob on Wed 23rd February

It's almost time for our first gig of 2011, and it's going to be a doozy.

We’re very excited to host Californian indiepop group Sourpatch on their first visit to Scotland. They released an outstanding debut album called Crushin’ at the start of 2010 that calls to mind '90s indiepop greats like Tiger Trap, Rocketship, Cub, Go Sailor and Black Tambourine.

The record rattles and buzzes, the production is low-key to the point of non-existence but the songs radiate with a pure pop urgency.

They sing about broken hearts, wistfulness, relationships gone wrong, relationships gone right … you know the deal. The main thing is how they sound, and they sound like a joyous indiepop force of nature.

Joining Sourpatch on their tour will be Town Bike, Liverpool’s finest pop-punk riot. According to their record label, Town Bike are “equal parts Runaways, Ramones and Ronettes - the REAL three Rs that should be taught in school”.

Rounding out the lineup is Glasgow’s own Maximum Bob, a girl-fronted rock ‘n’ roll whirlwind.

Tickets are available from Wegottickets.

Here’s some praise for Sourpatch’s debut album, Crushin’:

“It's hard to put into words how exciting this album is… Every time a tune so perfect finishes you think the next one can’t possibly top it, and yet it does its best to. It’s an emotional onslaught - a kind of shock and awe on your pop senses and nerves” – A Layer of Chips

“This is a knock-out record with the pop hit of Heavenly Vs Satan and the thrill-a-minute of the All Girl Summer Fun Band at their tempestuous best” – Fire Escape Talking

“Songs like “Fun” will get inside your head and make you feel young again, unless you’re young to begin with, which means it’ll just make you feel more alive” – FensePost

Half My Heart Beats DJs at Glasgow Popfest

This weekend sees the first ever Glasgow Popfest, hosted by the hardy souls over at Bubblegum Records.

Lynsey and I (Colin) will be playing records on Saturday night after the bands and we’ll try our best to make it worth sticking around for. Nothing but the sweetest indiepop and girl groups!

We’re taking a break from Half My Heart Beats for the month of December, with our usual Flying Duck night clashing with Bowlie 2 in Camber Sands and our night at The 78 falling on Christmas day, so this will be our last shindig of 2010.

You can buy tickets, download a festival guide and get directions at the Bubblegum Records popfest mini-site.

The Smittens, Springfactory, The Specific Heats + Boy Genius this Monday

The next Half My Heart Beats popshow is an Indietracks warmup special with four ace indiepop bands.

It sees twee pop legends The Smittens, reverb-drenched garage stars The Specific Heats, indie rockers Boy Genius (joined by Ray Neal, from 90s college rock group Miracle Legion) and Springfactory (featuring Peter from Subruban Kids With Biblical Names) all on the same bill.

It should be a great night, and it's Fair Monday so you'll hopefully have the day off!

Tickets are £5 in advance from wegottickets or £6 on the door. Here's the link:

http://www.wegottickets.com/event/86641

Facebook and last.fm details are in the sidebar. Hope to see you there. Yow!

Standard Fare + Half My Heart Beats tomorrow (Saturday)!

Don't forget that tomorrow (Saturday) we'll be hosting Standard Fare, Kid Canaveral and Water Wolves at The Flying Duck from 7.30pm. Scroll down to the previous post for all the details.

Even if you're not coming to the gig, our usual Half My Heart Beats indie/pop dance party will be on from 11pm until 3am.

HMHB presents Standard Fare, Kid Canaveral and Water Wolves - 10th July

We’re delighted to welcome one of the UK’s most exciting indiepop bands, Standard Fare, to their first gig in Glasgow.

The release of their debut album, The Noyelle Beat, has confirmed what some of us have long suspected – that Standard Fare really are something special. They play urgent, jangly indiepop set apart from the rest by Emma Kupa’s amazing voice and funny, touching lyrics.

Kid Canaveral are a powerpop band from Edinburgh whose upbeat pop songs sound something like Teenage Fanclub crossed with The Undertones and their forthcoming debut album Shouting at Wildlife is bound to be an absolute treat.

Water Wolves are a stripped-down three piece band from Glasgow who play simple but devastatingly effective indiepop. Fans of Beat Happening would do well to cock an ear in their direction. One of them’s even called Calvin, for god’s sake.

The gig is at The Flying Duck at 142 Renfield Street, Glasgow. Doors are at 7.30pm with the first band on shortly after. We’ll be having our monthly indie/pop dance party, Half My Heart Beats, straight after the bands and your £5 will gain you entry to both gig and club.


Praise for Standard Fare:

Sunday Times
“A riot of hormones, cut-to-the-chase lyrics, bolshie girl-boy vocals and jingle-jangle propulsion… There is something incredibly winning about Emma Kupa’s mix of faux-coy naivety and don’t-f***-with-me stroppiness”

Artrocker
“The finest bouncy, jangly pop songs this side of the Smiths… as close to perfection as you could hope for”

The Girls Are
“Gloriously jangly guitars combine with heartfelt but upbeat boy/girl vocals… it wasn’t long before I was getting all misty-eyed and nostalgic about my misspent youth of endlessly listening to Kenickie and Belle & Sebastian on repeat”

New York Times
“The songs are tightly wound, packing more riffs than you’d expect into their three minutes each, and the attitude is scrappy and resilient”

Sounds XP
“There’s something of a buzz around this lot, and it’s justified. Despite wearing its inherited musical DNA boldly on its sleeve, the Noyelle Beat is a collection of fabulous tunes that deserve to stand on their own for a new audience”

Lynsey and Colin DJing at Bubblegum Records gig this Friday!

Our friends over at Bubblegum Records are putting on the first of their Indietracks warmup shows this Friday at Pivo Pivo, and your esteemed Half My Heart Beats DJs (that's us) will be spinning some indiepop tunes in between bands.

All the details are on the above flyer, so see you there if you're going!

Acoustic special with Morgan Orion and The Middle Ones tomorrow!

Don't forget that our bank holiday popshow at The 78 is tomorrow afternoon from 2pm! We've got Morgan Orion and The Middle Ones playing totally acoustic. Entry is free but we'll be asking for donations for the bands.

Cancelled - The Cannanes and Sarandon on 4th July

The Cannanes

We're sorry to announce that our planned show with The Cannanes and Sarandon on 4th July is no longer going ahead. The bands are unable to make it to Glasgow so they've had to call it off.

Not to fear! We've still got a great summer of gigs, club nights and guest DJ slots lined up for you. Check the sidebar for a full list!

Morgan Orion and The Middle Ones - Bank Holiday special gig

As mentioned in my previous post about the Half My Heart Beats summer of pop, our next gig will be something a bit different. American folk troubadour Morgan Orion will be joined by one of our absolute favourite bands The Middle Ones at The 78 on Monday 31st May at 2pm.

Morgan Orion plays mellow and beautiful acoustic folk songs influenced by the likes of Withered Hand, Herman Dune and Jeffrey Lewis. According to his record label, Morgan "likes to dance and talk about dreams in the morning. He sings songs with trails of words and they flutter like butterflies out of his mouth. He wears brown corduroys a lot and travels the land with a guitar in his hand."

Sounds good to us! If you're still not convinced, watch this great video for his song, 'Let Me Inside When I Knock On Your Door'.

The Middle Ones headlined our first ever popshow back in December 2008 and they're coming all the way from Norwich for one day only, just for this show! They play the most glorious, disarming folk-tinged pop songs you could wish to hear and you really, really should come out to see them if you can.

Entrance is free but we'll be asking for donations to help the bands cover their costs. Hope you can make it! Links to the Facebook and last.fm pages are in the sidebar.

A summer of pop

We’ve been busy planning a summer of exciting popshows for you so we thought a quick blog post was in order to let you know what’s on the Half My Heart Beats horizon.

First of all, we’ve planned a special Bank Holiday daytime acoustic show with one of our favourite folk-pop bands The Middle Ones and their American friend Morgan Orion. This won’t be a conventional gig – it’s either going to be a house show or an outdoor guerrilla gig somewhere in Glasgow (we haven’t decided yet). Either way it will be on Monday 31st May kicking off around 2pm.

Moving on to Sunday 4th July, we’re extremely proud to be hosting Australian indiepop legends The Cannanes on the Glasgow leg of a rare UK mini-tour. Playing alongside them will be English noiseniks Sarandon and maybe one other band (to be confirmed, as is the venue).

Less than a week later we’ll be doing another special Half My Heart Beats pre-club popshow at The Flying Duck with one of the best bands of the last twelve months, Sheffield’s amazing Standard Fare. They’ll be joined by Edinburgh-based powerpop group Kid Canaveral and the bloody excellent Water Wolves from Glasgow. That will be on the night of Saturday 10th July.

Some of you might remember our pre-Indietracks gig in the kitchen bar at The Flying Duck last year with five amazing indiepop bands. It was one of the best moments of 2009 for us and we’re delighted to be doing it again. We’ll be joined once again by The Smittens from Vermont, Boy Genius from Brooklyn, Gordon MacIntyre from ace Edinburgh popsters Ballboy and Springfactory from Stockholm, Sweden (featuring Peter from Suburban Kids With Biblical Names). That’ll all be on the night of Monday 19th July.

We’ve got a few other things to announce, like guest DJ slots and what-have-you, but that should be enough to be getting on with! We’ll put out more details on all of the above when we’ve got them.

<3

Lynsey and Colin DJing at The Hidden Cameras

Sorry for the late notice, but we will be DJing tomorrow night at Stereo on Renfield Lane, Glasgow for The Hidden Cameras' return to Glasgow. Reports from London and other shows so far on this tour have been glowing - sounds like we're in for a treat!

We'll be spinning a few between the bands and carrying on afterwards until 3am. The afterparty takes the form of a club night called Unite, and we'll be joined by ex-Twee-as-Fuckers Baby Honey from that London. Entry is free if you've been at the popshow or £3 if you've not.

Oh, and support comes from our favourite Glasgwegian indiepopsters, The Just Joans!

The School, Allo, Darlin' and The Social Services at HMHB 19 this Saturday

We announced this gig absolutely ages ago and it's finally here! On Saturday night we'll be hosting The School, Allo, Darlin' and The Social Services at Half My Heart Beats.

Doors are at 7.30pm and the first band will be on no later than 8.30pm. If you needed any extra incentive, advanced copies of the debut albums from The School and Allo, Darlin' will be available on the night.

Please stick around once the bands have finished - we'll be playing indiepop classics, girl group sounds and more until 3am.

Tickets for the gig are available now at wegottickets and the ticket price includes club entry.

Hope to see you there!

Half My Heart Beats DJs at The Hidden Cameras

The Hidden Cameras

We're very excited to announce that indiepop legends The Hidden Cameras are coming to Glasgow, and the two of us (Lynsey and Colin) will be playing records on the night.

The gig is taking place at Stereo on Renfield Lane, Glasgow on Saturday 20th March. There will hopefully be an after-party at another location, and if so, we'll be DJing there too. More info on that when we get it.

Tickets for this gig are available from the promoter, Bubblegum Records, Monorail Music and Tickets Scotland.

Tickets on sale for The School, Allo, Darlin' and The Social Services

Tickets are now on sale for the popshow we're putting on in March with The School, Allo, Darlin' and The Social Services. The link to the ticket page is in the sidebar on the right, but here it is again just in case.

The above flyer was designed for us by Lynsey's talented friend Charli. The shonky-looking text was added by me but the drawing is all Charli's work.

In case you've forgotten what the March gig is all about, there's more on the bands here.