Fat indie band love their fat indie fans!

As many of you are no doubt aware, neither Carter nor myself would ever turn down a good pie (although even we draw the line at Fray Bentos). Although this doesn't mean we shop at 'Fat Lads R Us' just yet, it does pose a certain problem when purchasing t-shirts at indie-type gig venues. Far too often a n extra large fits like a large and a large is only suitable for an anorexic stick insect with silly hair. Over the years, this has led Carter and myself to formulate the the 'Fat Indie Fans' list. A list of bands whose t-shirts are not likely to restrict your breathing when you buy the wrong size and who are not going to mean you have to put said over-priced souvenir on ebay before the ringing in your ears from the previous evening's musical delights have subsided.

Currently on the good list are Ash, the Kings of Leon and the Lostprophets.

Currently on the naughty list are; The Mighty Boosh, Belle and Sebastian, Ryan [not Bryan] Adams, and Idlewild.

The reason I thought I would share this with you is that last night I went and saw the marvellous Magic Numbers gig in the always nasty Bristol Academy. Seeing as this was the first time I was to see them, I thought I would be take the risk of buying some of their over-priced merchandise - especially when it turns out that it's actually really nice. However, this meant I would have to risk the over-priced merchandie table and run the gauntlet of the bloke behind the table who holds up a t-short and akes you guess if you'll fit inside it! Fortunately this time I was succesful and got myself a rather nice t-shirt and a couple of badges. As for the gig itself, well, they were rather fantastic. The new material from their rather lacklustre second album did not jar too offensively with the stuff from their excellent debut and even though they aren't the most chatty band in the world, they made up for it with some cool songs and a well-fitting t-shirt!

Enough Trinny and Susannah style fashions tips. For those of you curious about what is going on in the world of Balustrade this week, well work continues towards our objective of putting out a Christmas podcast. We learnt some very surprising new covers as well as resurrecting an old favourite or two, so keep tuned for more info.