Readers of a Reconnaissance Report by a Blatherskite,

Fringe Sunday was okay, it was a way to spend Sunday afternoon. The concept of Fringe Sunday is that Fringe acts perform to the public for free in the Meadows.

The Main Stage featured a mixture of people who were all a bit shoddy; I suppose they might have been fine to have a picnic in front of, as many people did. The Comedy Tent was packed from early on, I haven’t been in a mood for comedy anyway this year, and they’re all peddling the same jokes: goths in summer, MSN Messenger speak, gingers etc. I am far funnier. Outside the tents, the various physical performers competed for the crowds, circles formed around them as they fooled, but once you’ve seen one fire-eater, you’ve seen them all.

I gravitated towards the New Music Tent where XFM Scotland’s Jim Gellatly was announcing the bands onto the stage. I missed Found, who I’m always impressed by whenever I hear them on the radio or television. I watched Das Contras, a band from the Kingdom who play psychedelic jazz-funk with a Latin flavour; I actually enjoyed listening to them despite the genre they peddle. If a band’s enthusiasm spreads out to the crowd, they’re halfway there.

The next band was The Noel Prior Band. I decided to stay in the tent for this one because the poster said they recently been on the Janice Long show, seems like something Janice would claim. I like listening to Janice Long’s show after the Mark Radcliffe’s show if I’m still awake, but it’s best to be asleep before Pause For Thought. Janice’s musical choices for me are split into two camps, the mildly-pleasant-middle-of-the-road-stuff and the really-cool-inspired-stuff. On this inspection, The Noel Prior Band fell into the first bracket. I find it difficult to see much in bog-standard four-pieces but it was mildly pleasant and the MOR wallowers were given a good time.

Noel Prior plugged the next band, North Atlantic Oscillation, but it was difficult to believe the two bands were really mutual admirers. NAO are a duo, one played drums and the other a guitar over some electronic beats. They had the MOR wallowers deserting en masse. I liked their stuff. Sam was thrashing a guitar and Ben was bashing drums. They reminded me of Idiot Pilot a bit. Vocally, I was comparing Sam to Grandaddy and Death Cab for Cutie in my head.

I had to desert after that. No Step Project was the next act, rapper Soom T’s latest solo venture. British Airways had lost her laptop so she was going to rap over some dance tracks. I just can’t take female vocals over dance tunes, these records are the scourge of Radio 1 and I greeted Soom T’s noise in the same way I do daytime Radio 1, I avoid it.