Sauchiehall Crawl
Sunday, 7pm, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £15, 0870 4000 818
Much like London's infamous Camden Crawl, this inaugural event sees acts performing at various venues on Sauchiehall Street, 10 Scottish acts in total taking to the stages of the Beat Club, Nice and Sleazy and ABC2. All the bands are worthy of your attention, though you should particularly be present for the electro-experimental stylings of Galchen, hotly tipped indie troupe Make Model, above, and brooding headliners the Twilight Sad, who should prove reliably sweeping as they gear up to release superb new EP Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did on June 9. Hopefully, this is one crawl set to run and run.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 29, 2008)
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Critic's choice - May 22
The Hazey Janes
Tonight, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Glasgow, £5, 0141 357 6200; tomorrow, 7pm, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, £6, 0131 220 6176
Looking for some power-pop to perk you up before the weekend's debauchery? Look no further than the Hazey Janes, whose laid-back summertime vibe should really see them hailing from across the Atlantic, rather than the slightly less sunny climes of Dundee.
Tonight, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Glasgow, £5, 0141 357 6200; tomorrow, 7pm, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, £6, 0131 220 6176
Looking for some power-pop to perk you up before the weekend's debauchery? Look no further than the Hazey Janes, whose laid-back summertime vibe should really see them hailing from across the Atlantic, rather than the slightly less sunny climes of Dundee.
So it makes perfect sense that they decamped to New Jersey to record forthcoming album Hands Around the City, teaming up with Sonic Youth producer John Agnello. Their single New York - which was released on Monday - merrily blazes along with such momentum that I can only hope their amiable attempts to lay claim to a place in your record collection succeed with similar swiftness of pace.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 22, 2008)Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Connect news
I'll dispense with the witty headline and introduction, and just paste the press release instead, like a good little boy. But yes, Joan As Policewoman, should be good, very good, and a special hurray for Optimo and Soma being there, makes things look all the more promising:
The latest addition of audio delights have been confirmed today (Wednesday 21st May) for the Hydro Connect Festival which will take place at Inveraray Castle from 29th – 31st August.
The Young Knives, Black Lips, Joan as Police Woman and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks have all been added to the festival line up and promise to add their very own twist to the proceedings. Up and coming festival favourites’ The Young Knives will add flavours of indie punk rock to the festival’s musical melting pot, shaking up the waters of Loch Fyne in the process! Joining them will be Brooklyn three piece Joan as Police Woman with front woman Joan Wasser’s mystical, soulful sound and poetic libretto set to provide festival goers with a chance to get lost in a breathtaking set and amidst heather clad hills.
The addition of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and Black Lips will be a rare delight for music fans with Black Lips being renowned for their phenomenal live shows and many festival goers being familiar with Stephen Malkmus from his days in cult band Pavement.
Additionally, DJ’s from Soma and Optimo have been confirmed as curators for The Unknown Pleasures tent and will be booking some of the hottest electronic talent around as well as programming in performances from top club nights Vegas! and Club Noir. It’s safe to say the lineup will be second to none!
There will also be a plethora of alternative entertainment available throughout the festival weekend including activity from Red Bull, Kopparberg and Havana Club.
Deep in the heart of the forest, Red Bull will be throwing a party that forgets it's 2008. Leave the shackles of the 20th century behind and lose yourself with a hearty slice of music, dancing, drinking and merry making, keep it quiet though, this is an experience that is for you to discover! But before you embark on your journey, remember the forest can be a dangerous place, so beware of highway men...stand and deliver!
Kopparberg will be providing music fans with the ‘One Big Tree’ chill-out experience under the amazing natural canopy of the ‘Kopparberg Tree’ which is situated in the Grand pavilion tent. With live DJ’s playing throughout the day and into the night, revelers can relax and enjoy an ice-cold Kopparberg in the ultimate fairytale atmosphere of this sumptuous area.
FULL LINE UP SO FAR:
Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Manic Street Preachers, Goldfrapp, Amy MacDonald, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Grinderman, Duffy, The Gutter Twins, Elbow, Gossip, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev, The Coral (acoustic), The Roots, The Breeders, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Levellers, Asobi Seksu, Foy Vance, Howling Bells, Camera Obscura, Sia, Beardyman, Gomez, Joan As Police Woman, Black Lips, The Young Knives.
Tickets for Hydro Connect 2008 are on sale now. Weekend tickets are priced £120 and weekend tickets with camping are £140. To buy, log onto www.connectmusicfestival.com or call Ticketmaster on 08444 999 990. Bespoke camping packages and travel are also available from the website or by calling Ticketmaster.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Critic's choice - May 15
Jens Lekman
Thu, 7pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £10, 0141 357 6200
There's a lushness in suave Swedish singer Jens Lekman's songs that means they greet you like a big warm fuzzy hug from a friend, so if you need your mood lifted before the weekend begins, there's no better place to be tonight than Oran Mor. Lekman's rich, sensitive croon nestles among the layers of ornate orchestration that help sweep you off your feet, placing you firmly within his beguiling flights of fancy. In an alternate, far better reality he'd be charming us all from atop the charts, so take your chance to see him in such intimate environs.
Thu, 7pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £10, 0141 357 6200
There's a lushness in suave Swedish singer Jens Lekman's songs that means they greet you like a big warm fuzzy hug from a friend, so if you need your mood lifted before the weekend begins, there's no better place to be tonight than Oran Mor. Lekman's rich, sensitive croon nestles among the layers of ornate orchestration that help sweep you off your feet, placing you firmly within his beguiling flights of fancy. In an alternate, far better reality he'd be charming us all from atop the charts, so take your chance to see him in such intimate environs.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Skipping a generation
As I was watching Madonna take to the stage on Saturday at 'Radio 1's Big Weekend', via the BBC's iPlayer - the oddly wrinkle-free queen bee of pop violently thrusting her groin at all and sundry as she performed a six-song set - a rather disturbing thought hit me.
I'd assumed that the middling reviews for Hard Candy were mainly due to it being a less-than-stellar release, which is frankly fair enough when you're 11 albums into your career. You're bound to have a few small blips here and there.
But watching the performance I realised that she's redesigned herself for an age group that - for the first time in my own experience - is younger than my own, meaning that more than likely I'm just not going to 'get it'. Instead I am left to gloomily mumble about how much better she was when Vogue came out, or when she had Sacha Baron Cohen starring as Ali G - you know, if you can cast your mind back to pre-Borat days - in the video for Music. By hooking up with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams she's latching on to a previously clueless audience who would have little idea about her 80s, 90s or even early 21st-century heyday, and who might otherwise balk at the prospect of buying music made by a 50-year-old multi-millionaire mother, someone who has been performing for well over 25 years.
However, Mrs Ritchie's move is perfectly understandable in one sense, I guess she doesn't want to become irrelevant and long past her sell-by date, as Paula Abdul, Cyndi Lauper and so many of her former peers did long, long ago. Haggardly miming along to Holiday on one of those 'Stars of the 80s' package tours wouldn't bear thinking about, never mind trying to belt out Like A Virgin with any degree of sincerity. It's just a shame that instead of maturing and developing as an artist in a dignified fashion - while refusing to capitalise on her past glories - she's instead splaying her legs gracelessly and prancing about like a stroppy A.D.D.-addled teenager, all while pretending to seduce someone half her age. Not that I can really talk about such things, but I at least I need a good bottle of whisky first to get into that sort of state.
I'd assumed that the middling reviews for Hard Candy were mainly due to it being a less-than-stellar release, which is frankly fair enough when you're 11 albums into your career. You're bound to have a few small blips here and there.
But watching the performance I realised that she's redesigned herself for an age group that - for the first time in my own experience - is younger than my own, meaning that more than likely I'm just not going to 'get it'. Instead I am left to gloomily mumble about how much better she was when Vogue came out, or when she had Sacha Baron Cohen starring as Ali G - you know, if you can cast your mind back to pre-Borat days - in the video for Music. By hooking up with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams she's latching on to a previously clueless audience who would have little idea about her 80s, 90s or even early 21st-century heyday, and who might otherwise balk at the prospect of buying music made by a 50-year-old multi-millionaire mother, someone who has been performing for well over 25 years.
However, Mrs Ritchie's move is perfectly understandable in one sense, I guess she doesn't want to become irrelevant and long past her sell-by date, as Paula Abdul, Cyndi Lauper and so many of her former peers did long, long ago. Haggardly miming along to Holiday on one of those 'Stars of the 80s' package tours wouldn't bear thinking about, never mind trying to belt out Like A Virgin with any degree of sincerity. It's just a shame that instead of maturing and developing as an artist in a dignified fashion - while refusing to capitalise on her past glories - she's instead splaying her legs gracelessly and prancing about like a stroppy A.D.D.-addled teenager, all while pretending to seduce someone half her age. Not that I can really talk about such things, but I at least I need a good bottle of whisky first to get into that sort of state.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Critic's choice - May 8
Silver Jews
Fri, 7pm, ABC, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £15, 0870 4000 818
A seminal alt-rock troupe that's seen cameos from many of the scene's luminaries - including Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, Lambchop's Tony Crow and Will Oldham - Silver Jews have been guided by David Berman, pictured, for going on 18 years। Only starting to tour in the last few years, this is a rare chance to catch the band live and revel in the sardonic glory of their singer's lackadaisical lyricism, soon to be given another airing in the good old recorded form through next month's release of their sixth album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 8, 2008)
Fri, 7pm, ABC, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £15, 0870 4000 818
A seminal alt-rock troupe that's seen cameos from many of the scene's luminaries - including Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, Lambchop's Tony Crow and Will Oldham - Silver Jews have been guided by David Berman, pictured, for going on 18 years। Only starting to tour in the last few years, this is a rare chance to catch the band live and revel in the sardonic glory of their singer's lackadaisical lyricism, soon to be given another airing in the good old recorded form through next month's release of their sixth album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 8, 2008)
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Steady tiger
Fife may not have the reputation as a musical hotspot, but it is increasingly the place to be every May, with Tigerfest again taking grip on the area this year like some sort of mammal of the Felidae family (thanks my wondrous Wikipedia skills for that 'hilarious' quip).
Fret not if you're in other parts of Scotland though, as the event has long since spread its, uhh, legs to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and this year is coming to Aberdeen (with the marvellous A Hawk and a Hacksaw performing). The events at Carnegie Hall are especially worthy of mention, the two marvellous three-band line-ups on the 15th and 17th both must-sees; if you're looking for up-and-coming bands then make sure to check out Fangs, Dirty Summer and The Scottish Enlightenment.
Elsewhere there's the stunning Stars of the Lid and Caribou, but anyway, take a look at the listings for yourself. If there's any time for an introduction to the finest alternative musical talent Scotland has to offer then it's surely in these next few weeks:
Dunfermline / Fife
Fri 2nd May, Monty’s
Molly Wagger, Hippo, + Joint Chiefs of Staff (DJ set), 9pm, £5
Sat 3rd May, The Greenside (Leslie, Glenrothes)
Root System, Bombskare, Big Hand, 8pm, £5
Fri 9th May, Tower House
The Manicdotes / System Arcade / Established, 7pm, £2
Thursday 15th May, Carnegie Hall
Twilight Sad / Frightened Rabbit / Dirty Summer, 7.30pm, £8
Friday 16th May, Carnegie Hall
Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake / The Pearlfishers’ David Scott, 7.30pm, £10
Saturday 17th May, Carnegie Hall
Idlewild / Foxface / The Scottish Enlightenment, 7.30pm, £18
Sunday 18th May, Carnegie Hall
Paul Haig / Fangs / Laki Mera, 7.30pm, £10
Fri 30th May, Monty’s
Yoshi / Ives / Chameleon Jersey, 9pm £5
Aberdeen
Monday 12th May, Tunnels
A Hawk and a Hacksaw/ Benjamin Wetherill, 8pm, £8
Thursday 22nd May, Tunnels
Caribou / Born Ruffians, 8pm, £10
Fri 23rd May, Tunnels
Stars of The Lid / Remember Remember / Glissando, 8pm, £9
Edinburgh
Sat 3rd May, Cabaret Voltaire
fourteenhours / The Stantons, Cabaret Voltaire, 7pm, £5
Sunday May 4th, Voodoo Room
Ulrich Schnauss / Funkspiel / Keser, 8pm, £9
Wed 21st May, Cabaret Voltaire
Caribou / Born Ruffians, 7pm, £10
Thu 29th May, Cabaret Voltaire
Vetiver + support, 7pm, £10
Glasgow:
Thurs May 8th, Stereo
ballboy, Popup, How To Swim. 8.30, £5 (more)
Thurs May 15th, 13th Note
Sonny Marvello, Das Contras, Little Kicks. 8.30, £4
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Critic's choice - May 1
Gemma Hayes
Sat, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £12, 08444 999 990
If you need an injection of loveliness in your life - and who in this weird world of ours doesn't? - then look no further than the absolutely enchanting Gemma Hayes, an Irish singer-songwriter so sweet that the mere mention of her name makes most grown men swoon like the protagonist of a Mills and Boon novel. She's been teetering on the brink of mainstream success for some time now, and her upcoming third album should see her set for the big time, providing it's as full of mesmerising pop-rock gems as her previous releases.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 1, 2008)
Sat, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £12, 08444 999 990
If you need an injection of loveliness in your life - and who in this weird world of ours doesn't? - then look no further than the absolutely enchanting Gemma Hayes, an Irish singer-songwriter so sweet that the mere mention of her name makes most grown men swoon like the protagonist of a Mills and Boon novel. She's been teetering on the brink of mainstream success for some time now, and her upcoming third album should see her set for the big time, providing it's as full of mesmerising pop-rock gems as her previous releases.
(Appeared in The Herald on May 1, 2008)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)