Camera Obscura and my new favourite band

Excellent times on Friday night going to see those lovely Scots Camera Obscura play. Tracyanne Campbell's voice was suffering a bit from a cold, but the band did admirably. So down to earth too - she managed to pick out a guy in the front row as having formerly worked at Oxfam. Nuts.

No love, unfortunately, for the rockabilly looking guy who insisted on busting some impressive but space-consuming dance moves in a really packed venue. He should just stood around and stroked his chin like the rest of us.

Photo of Ms Campbell here. And she's tinier than I'd expected.


My big discovery of the night was an awesome Perth band called Institut Polaire. I unfairly dismissed them as Architecture in Helsinki rip-offs when I noticed they had a trumpeter and a violinist. But they were superb. You can hear some of their jangly, arty pop music at their myspace - and I hear an album will be released this year. Their 7" "City Walls And Empires" is doing the rounds on my turntable at the moment. And the covered "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea". Good times.

Categories: Indie
Tags: camera-obscura; institut-polaire; cuteness-overload