Yes, I’m heading back to Edinburgh’s Electric Circus. They just keep putting on great line-ups that I can’t afford to miss. Tonight is the Vic Galloway curated evening that has become a regular in the venue’s calendar, occurring monthly.

Sadly the next date isn’t until April as our host will be gallivanting in Texas at SXSW. Tonight promises to be loud. On the bill are a trio of local bands, operating in the electronic sphere of the local music scene. Suffice to say I’m fairly ignorant of the bands since this sphere isn’t my usual area, but there’s enough online buzz about Lady North alone to intrigue me.

Last time I entered these doors I was adorned with an All Seeing Eye by the Sharpie wielding young lady on the door. This time she manages a pretty good approximation of an Egyptian eye. Like the entire venue’s staff, she is smiling and cheery, which is nice. If you haven’t been before, it’s an oddly shaped venue. You enter with the DJ/sound booth on your left and a bar, with seated area, to the right. The stage, with a wall of video screens, is opposite the booth. Over to the left of the venue is a door that leads to karaoke rooms. It creates an interesting blend of clientele at times, with office parties sometimes wandering past as a band is mid-set. The video wall tonight is playing Battle Royale, so at least if the bands don’t do it for me I’ll see one of my favourite films on mute (thankfully it’s subtitled).

Birdhead are first up. The 2-piece takes to the stage that has a synth and laptop, so it should be interesting. The set gets off to a bit of a false start. Some laptop issues mean the guys have to restart but once they get going I’m pleased to hear it rocking quite hard. Quite literally too. I swear the building is vibrating. It’s a good example of electronic tinged indie rock and they perform a solid set. There are some great bass synths, a few good melodies from the guitarist and some great drumming. I’m into this and then time itself slows as the MacBook, sat atop a stand, topples off and falls about four feet to the stage. I’m literally in tears here and it’s not even my MacBook. Tragedy has cut the set short, but Birdhead were pretty impressive. I shall see them again. I may even take some gaffer tape with me just in case.

I treat myself to a nice (insert popular soft drink name here) from the bar and bump into some record label types (Andy and Paddy from Gerry Loves Records and Ian from Song, by Toad and Kirkcudbright Tape Club) who kindly invite me to share their company. Since I’m flying solo with my notebook I’m happy to have humans to talk to. Before long Homework are set up and ready to roll. Twin synths are at stage front, while the drummer and bass player are set up slightly back. It’s a high tempo, electronic driven set. The sheer energy the band put into the set seems to work its magic on the crowd. From my vantage point over to the side of the venue next to the bar, the sound isn’t great and the music sounds a little derivative. I’ll confess that this doesn’t make me want to get over and watch from a closer vantage point. Ian does though, so off we go and instantly I feel foolish. From a central viewpoint the sound is great. There’s a lot of substance and weight added to the music and I feel like an idiot for not doing this earlier. Apologies Homework. I shall not fail you again.

Battle Royale has ended in an inevitable bloodbath and now The Warriors are getting chased all over New York City via the video wall behind the stage. Last band of the night are Lady North are taking to the stage. Described to me as “Math rock”, there seemed to be something of a buzz about the venue when they took to the stage. Never before have I seen such an array of pedals in front of a guitarist. There are hundreds of them (give or take a few) and they waste no time firing into their set. They are technically brilliant, but they also make for a great live experience.

The guitarist spends most of the set working the fret board with both hands, which is a first for me. He is incredible, hands flying all over the place while he alternates between jumping about and playing with his myriad of pedals. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the bass guitarist is throwing some impressive shapes while also applying fairly dextrous hands to his guitar. As good as the two frontmen are the drummer is mesmerising. His hands fly around that kit so fast they are a blur. There’s a stunning moment of visual and aural synchronicity when the video wall shows a record playing, a reel-to-reel tape player and output levels on an amp as Lady North rock out. It was a perfect moment of a great set. There’s an awkward moment at the end of the set when our host Mr Galloway tries to get the band to play one more song, but they’ve emptied the locker and leave to a good response from the crowd and apologies from the host. I head off for the drive home feeling pretty good. A couple of these bands wouldn’t be my natural choice in terms of what they deliver, but I’m glad I came along and challenged myself with new things as I’ve really enjoyed the night. I do feel I owe Homework another gig though, not giving myself the chance to fully appreciate them. Birdhead and Lady North were both great and I’d go and see them again without hesitation. Another great night at Electric Circus. Who said Edinburgh’s music scene was dead?

Steve McGillivray