It’s a hot, wild night in lower swinging Leith Walk , and not just because some footy team have won a cup after 114 years.  Its the inaugural night of Riot Girl Revolution Style Now by Selkie Music Productions in the intimate and funky fairy-lit Leith Depot. And a stellar line up awaits us, with all acts featuring graduates of the first few terms of Girls Rock School Edinburgh…

First up is razor-sharp barbed singer/songwriter Lou Mclean,  endearing and charming the rapt audience with her quirky self-penned songs; laying bare her personal relationships. Tonight Lou’s a bit worried about some of the near the knuckle content of her autobiographical lyrics as her parents are in the audience (it’s her Dad’s birthday, and he gets a big cheer).  Lou gets a warm reception, winning us over with her strong, confident delivery and her unabashed patter, shamelessly plugging her debut EP September to December.  Definitely one to watch.

Next up are Sinister Lamb, with Leith Walk's own Joette Thomas and Rik Hodgson, delivering some dark, original  songs  sung over a brooding Twin Peaks stylee backing track of guitar and drums (their drummer is on holiday).  Joette’ s resonant and soulful voice is beautifully complemented by the Rik's rhythmic rapping, he's smartly dressed in a shirt and tie and chucks in a lovely spot of groove-tastic dancing for good measure.

Selkie Music is the brainchild of our hostess-with–the-mostess  Ashley Stein,  scheduled to be fronting her band The Astroturf Skirts tonight. The Skirts are in the wash, so trooper Ashley steps up to the microphone to perform with Dan Collins on guitar as The Polymorphs. All  green and blue mermaid-y hair and face jewels, Ashley ably delivers some country-punk covers in a lovely strong, full bodied voice reminiscent of '70s Stiff label chanteuse Rachel Sweet.  

The room is now rammed and sweaty, with headliners ZALU! and the Unrepentants  dripping before they even start, and the band crank the temperature up some more  with a set of full throttle punk. Lead singer Sonja Esteparia sings in Spanish and English, her accent making songs such as ‘Health and Safety’ sound way more dramatic than the title suggests.  The audience are up dancing, and it's cracking along at a breakneck pace until the heat forces the band to demand drinks from the bar.  Then it's cans of lager and taps aff all round (apart from Sonja), treating the front row of punters to a thrilling display of some hairy well-defined abs. The set’s end sees the audience howling for an encore, but it’s out of the question as some punters are now  in serious danger of spontaneous combustion.

Going home up Leith walk, picking our way gingerly through the football party debris of  empty beer cans, broken bottles, and inert bodies, we all agreed it had been a great night - and can’t  wait to see what Selkie Music Productions put on next...

Selkie Music Productions Presents Riot Grrrl Revolution Style Now is a monthly happening, more details of forthcoming events can be found here... https://www.facebook.com/revolutiongirlstyle/