s is for september... as well as: sleepingdog, shearwater and sunset rubdown

september has been a fun gig month! and it has been a month that has been all about the bands beginning with s as it happens! (although i haven't restricted my gig-going habits to only s-bands, but they are the ones that i'm focusing on in this post) oh, and birthdays have also featured highly this month too...

s is for sleepingdog
so, first up was sleepingdog on a sleepy wednesday night at the brudenell (where most of my september gigs have happened, no surprise there really). sleepingdog is chantal acda from belgium and tonight too it is richard knox from leeds. i've been enjoying her 'polar life' album for a while now but hadn't made it to any of the house/cellar/kitchen shows she has done on her visits to leeds, so i was happy to get along to this gig (where she was supporting tiny vipers). i wasn't disappointed. the last song i recall in particular was quite something (although the creaky door did spoil the atmosphere a bit). oh and this was the first birthday gig i've been to this month (it was sam saunders' celebration, who can be spotted in this pic). chantal said nice things about sam, recalling how he made her feel welcome on one of her first visits to leeds (at a gig at the city varieties?) and perhaps as a birthday treat, his offspring william joined sleepingdog on stage (aka not actually on the stage!) for one night only. some snaps here:

and shearwater

a few days later (on a saturday), i went along to see shearwater play a joint headline gig (with clinic). fun, if slightly odd gig, shearwater were definitely the highlight of the night. (not sure if it was anyone's birthday this night or not.)

(i like that blurry one!) more shots here.

and sunset rubdown

and the very next night, it was time for my birthday gig! super-ace is a made-up s-adjective i would describe the sunset rubdown gig... just a couple of shots here. oh and a mention also to the opening act, honour before glory. ok, so the band name doesn't begin with s, but it features whiskas which ends in s! (shots here).

full sunset rubdown set here; with a gallery on DiS (featuring sunset rubdown and honour before glory) here.

more in-depth babblings about my birthday, this gig and the post-gig happenings - featuring me, the band members and the wonderful poster designed by the ace twoducksdisco - can be found on flickrooni (this, being the first time ever i had a photo of me, a super-ace signed poster, and the lead singer of the band who have signed my poster...evidence here...where you can just about see the flame that the dragon is shooting out lighting a birthday candle, ha funny!).

here is a close-up snapshot of the poster, featuring a dragon and its slayer (ooh...what a lovely link to the new album of sunset rubdown, entitled....dragon slayer!) and you can find out all about the design and print process for the poster on the twoducksdisco blog (here).

x