Porteous Photography The photo blog of James Porteous

Biffy Cider / Bulmers Clyro

It's Festival time in Edinburgh right now, which many grumpy Edinburgers will tell you means nothing but expensive taxis and expensive pints, whilst simultaneously dabbing their moist brow with the handfuls of £50 notes that they're making from renting out cellar cupboards to aspiring comedians. Personally, I think the Festival is one of the best things that happens in Scotland, but this year, I've been unable to see as much as I might like, due to the shining inconvenience of twelve glorious days that I had to spend in Florida. Sigh.

Still, I had time to grab a triple-threat comedy combo before I hopped on my flight out to the land of the free / home of the brave, catching some acts that ranged from bollocks and overpriced (Danny Bhoy, whose humour is about as exciting as a wet day at the zoo), to tiny and brilliant (Abandomen, whose hip-hop improv saw my mate dragged onto the stage, and my good self playing a mean cowbell bassline on the closing track). I've actually got some photos from something related to that, which I'll put in a later blog (chronological order be damned!), but to get back to the point of this one, I'm going to talk to you about music, of which there is a boatload at the Festival.

In previous years, I've been lucky enough to be covering various acts (Maximo Park, Editors, Muse and Pendulum amongst others) at T on the Fringe, and subsequently The Edge Festival, but this year, I got a fairly special invitation to come and shoot an intimate, acoustic Biffy Clyro gig that few knew about, let alone had tickets for. Having last shot Biffy several years ago at a sweaty Barrowlands in Glasgow, I put on an air of professional nonchalance, and drove through to Edinburgh rocking the **** out to a pile of their best tracks, head banging like a child that's been on a sugar binge.

For this year, the ever-disappointing Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens has actually had a little thought put into its use, and there's a decent little beer garden down at the bottom. Quite nicely, this means that if you fancy sitting out with a pint of your favourite refreshing beverage - say... a Bulmer's Summer Blend - then you don't have to hike all the way over to the Spiegeltent (although they do have cheeseboards available in that part of town). This little pad was the venue for the evening's acoustic showcase, aboard a special bandstand, belonging to the hosts for the evening, Bulmers cider - who were also doing a fine job of making sure that nobody went thirsty.

Biffy sauntered onto stage in the early evening sun and played a mellow acoustic set, comprising pretty much exclusively of recent material, which although not as eclectic as some hardcore fans may have wished, certainly tied into the summery theme of their surroundings. They chuntered away with the 200-ish strong crowd between tracks, supping the sponsor's brew throughout, and just as everyone wondering exactly what flavour of Domestos had been poured on frontman Simon Neil's head, they made their exit, heading backstage to be greeted by their fellow West-Coast export, funnyman Kevin Bridges, and leaving the excellent Sun Lovin' Criminals to play out the evening.

Hell of a strange thing, seeing a band of that level of exposure playing to a crowd that would barely rival that of a school sports day, but it was good to have the freedom to shoot for as long as I wanted, from wherever I wanted, with a backdrop that shames any festival or venue I've been to - even if it did resemble some sort of carnie ride on acid. A unique experience, both as a photographer, and as a fan. 'Mon the Biffy.