The Skinny October 2009

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ISSUE 49•OCTOBER 2009• FREE

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LUCKYM E BUND LE FROM

SEE PAG E 45

RAUNCEHGAYRDRENEINEKVAIEDES TORTUR EDINBURGH'S CAVES

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tinony's s t e k c k i V IP t the s a y

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C E B S IU V A H T Y, E N O H D U M , R E ...YEASAY

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& E IN ID S N O C Y D D A ,P S W O D A SHANE ME ONK D LE O D S Y E K N O M IC T C R A E H T

E H T R E G IG R T O T S G N O "WE WRITE S LEASURE WITHIN." JUICY PEARL OF P

MUSIC | FILM | CLUBS | THEATRE | GAMES | BOOKS | FESTIVALS | ART | FASHION | LISTINGS

Editorial PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

FRI 6TH NOV EDINBURGH QUEENS HALL THE DEADSTRING

THE LOW MIFFS AND MALCOLM ROSS MALCOLM ROSS AND THE LOW MIFFS

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PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

SAT 26TH SEPT CABARET VOLTAIRE EDINBURGH SUN 27TH SEPT NICE’N’SLEAZY GLASGOW

THURSDAY 8TH OCTOBER

EDIN. CABARET VOLTAIRE FRIDAY 9TH OCTOBER

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0871 220 0260

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WEDNESDAY 18TH NOVEMBER

EDINBURGH QUEENS HALL

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DEVON SPROULE PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS O2 ABC2 GLASGOW

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Plus Special Guests

SUN 8TH NOVEMBER EDINBURGH QUEENS HALL

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plus Special Guests

Monday 23rd November The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

0131 668 2019 0871 220 0260

KATE WALSH Glasgow Oran Mor Friday 16th October

Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms

EDINBURGH CABARET VOLTAIRE

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SAT 17TH OCT

Sunday 18th October

THURs 5 NOV glasgow o2 abc

plus special guests

0844 847 2363

Wed 28th Oct

plus special guests

Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell

OCT

Sun 25th Glasgow, Oran Mor Mon 26th Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms Tues 27th Aberdeen, Lemon Tree 0871 220 0260 www.seetickets.com

Glasgow NicenSleazy

0871 220 0260 www.seetickets.com

RAY DAVIES IN CONCERT

MONDAY 14TH DECEMBER

GLASGOW CONCERT HALL

0141 353 8000 www.seetickets.com www.seetickets.com www.regularmusic.com

0871 220 0260 or from ABC Box Office: Glasgow, Ticket Scotland: Argyle St Glasgow, Rose St Edinburgh & Ripping Records.

4 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

This month we're organising our third discussion event of the year, titled 'Is Monogamy Deviant?'

(Tramway, 15 Oct, 5.30pm, free). There's a full preview on page 20, with details on the exciting panel we’ve pulled together, but I'd like to take a little time here to think about some of the questions this challenging title throws up, ‘cause it’s a tricky one…

The event is being co-promoted with ESRC Genomics Forum, the intention being to try to understand some of the underlying scientific principles (both genetic and evolutionary) behind why we behave the way we do. So the question works in two ways: does monogamy ‘deviate’ from either what science tells us we should do, or from what our evolved social sense tells us to do?

One thing likely to come out early on is that we are, genetically speaking, programmed to 'sleep around' rather then be 'faithful', but that social evolution has programmed us to think of monogamy as a good thing. However, it's certainly my hope that we'll get a little deeper into the matter than "yes it is scientifically 'deviant' but we'll stick with it thanks".

One of the reasons we titled the discussion the way we did was to suggest the simple underlying question, namely: 'Is monogamy a good thing?' Of course, to start to answer this (without wishing to be tediously academic about it), we also then need to ask 'what’s monogamy?'.

It would be an easy thing to confuse monogamy with love: passion that leads to dedication and devotion. There may be significant overlaps, but they are different things.

(NB - Love, which I’ll take to be, you know, generally acknowledged as a good thing, is effectively a case of massive bias towards the person you love. So surely in some senses love is 'deviant'.) Monogamy is a decision and it is a habit.

Many of us will have had good experiences of monogamy (and of its being simultaneous with love), but as something that remains the social norm it is occasionally worth asking how and why it works.

People tend to worry about whether monogamy is a good thing either when it encourages sticking together through thin as well as thick, or when it effectively causes us to miss out on fun. Effectively, when it involves significant sacrifice.

Whether or not monogamy is morally right is an old question though, and so hopefully the term ‘deviant’ subverts the debate a bit. This isn’t simply a question of right and wrong, but a subtler understanding of what motivates us on an emotional and biological/sexual level.

Regular readers will know that one of The Skinny’s sections is already called ‘Deviance’. The title of the discussion is partly a reference to that name. From the fact that we chose it that way you’ll probably realise that we reckon ‘deviance’ is a good thing, and that in lots of ways it’s good to be ‘deviant’ (if you take it to mean, as we do: a positive and radical approach to sexuality and difference to the norm, that can perfectly well include monogamous love).

One of the nice things about the process of ‘deviance’ is that it doesn’t stop. It’s about developing understanding, habits, and an informed sense of what is acceptable. Evolution, effectively. It’s already clear that our current attitudes to monogamy have been shaped by evolution; perhaps we should also be asking what we can and should do to shape its evolution in future? Or, to put it another way, what could we do to make monogamy more deviant? ...

The massive event for us this month is our fourth anniversary, Twisted Kids Birthday Party, a near-epic shindig scheduled for The Arches on Saturday 10th. We’re bringing together a troublemaking host of the best Scottish acts to rock it in all directions, from LuckyMe’s The Blessings to Edinburgh’s RBRBR, the frenetics of Over the Wall to the disco-prog of Men and Machines (a full preview, as well as a competition to win tickets, is on page 52).

Naturally enough, every birthday is a time of reflection as well as celebration (tricky to manage any level of reflection while madly typing less than an hour before final magazine deadline). The general sense, though, is that we’re all really fucking proud of The Skinny – that it’s hanging on, flourishing even, in the struggling UK magazine market, and that we’re fulfilling our goal of promoting the best new Scottish culture by putting it on a level with the best international stuff. We’ve still got a way to go (and all sorts of James Bond villain type plans), but thanks for sticking with us – for your feedback, enthusiasm, and word-spreading – through our rollercoaster infancy.

One thing The Skinny has had with absolute consistency: we throw a great party. Hope to see you there. rupert@theskinny.co.uk

THE SKINNY October 2009 Issue 49, October 2009 © Radge Media Ltd.

Publisher

Sophie Kyle

Let us know what you think: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, The Drill Hall, 30-38 Dalmeny St, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Editorial Editor Online & Music editor Clubs editor Deviance editor Theatre editor Film editor DVD editor Comedy editor Reading editor Digital editor Games editor Art & Showcase editor Food & Drink editor Heads Up editor Aberdeen editor

Rupert Thomson Dave Kerr Chris Duncan Nine Gareth K. Vile Gail Tolley Michael Gillespie Lizzie Cass-Maran Keir Hind Alex Cole Josh Wilson Rosamund West Ruth Marsh Jenny Wallace Jaco Justice

The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

E: sales@theskinny.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle ABC: 33,130

Production Creative director Production editor Designer Chief subeditor Subeditors

Matt MacLeod David Lemm Mike Sterry Rosamund West Euan Ferguson Michael Gillespie Paul Mitchell Gillian Watson

Sales/Accounts Enterprise manager Sales Executive Accounts Administrator

Lara Moloney Steven Scott Erin McElhinney

Research Listings editor

Anna Docherty

Contents

DF CONCERTS PRESENTS…DF CONCERTS PRESENTS…DF CONCERTS PRESENTS…

+ LOS CAMPESINOS! (EDINBURGH ONLY)

EDINBURGH CORN EXCHANGE

SUNDAY 6TH DECEMBER

COVER FEATURE

Franz Ferdinand Scotland's biggest band talks to Scotland's biggest magazine about the big things they have planned for the future.

6 14 16 20 22 24 26 28 30 33 34 36 52 61

GLASGOW BARROWLAND T D OU OL SUNDAY S11TH OCTOBER

»8 Heads Up

The best of the month ahead. Now you've no excuse for sitting on your arse and crying with boredom throughout October.

Food and Drink

www.thecribs.com www.myspace.com/thecribs

GLASGOW ABC

GLASGOW SECC

Recession-bucking young businesses blossom, plus fine dining at The Ivy and Amarone.

SUNDAY 4TH OCTOBER

Fashion

SEATING AVAILABLE

An exclusive peak at the latest Norwegian Wood line. Which has nothing to do with crowded Oslo saunas, apparently.

Tuesday 6th October

+ Sons and Daughters

DEBUT ALBUM ‘MADE UP STORIES’ OUT NOW! INCLUDES THE SINGLES ‘MADE UP STORIES’, ‘SHE LEFT ME’ & ‘DRIVE TO THE CITY’.

STANDARD AND DELUXE VERSIONS AVAILABLE DIGITALLY AND ON CD.

GLASGOW ORAN MOR

SUNDAY 1ST NOVEMBER + DINOSAUR PILE UP + STAGE BLOOD

+ TRIPS

GLASGOW CLASSIC GRAND

SATURDAY 24TH OCTOBER

‘Minotaur’, the definitive Pixies boxset collection, available to pre-order now via www.ainr.com

Deviance

Is monogamy deviant? Based on what I caught my parents doing that one time with our border collie: very yes.

GLASGOW QMU

Showcase

Winner of the Skinny Showcase Award at RSA New Contemporaries 2009 Euan Taylor shows us his goods.

Digital

More dick-waggling from Microsoft and Apple, plus we delve into the spaces of Edinburgh's InSpace.

Reading

THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER www.frank-turner.com www.myspace.com/frankturner

GLASGOW ABC2

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

GLASGOW O2 ACADEMY MONDAY 19th OCTOBER

EDINBURGH HMV PICTURE HOUSE TUESDAY 20th OCTOBER Album 'Two Suns' out now www.batforlashes.com

+ SUCIOPERRO + BLACK ALLEY SCREENS

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN + EXIT CALM

Glasgow Barrowland

We talk to the red pens behind new Scottish literary rag Gutter Magazine. Think you're good enough for submission?

WedNESDAY 14th October

Film

You've gotta be tough to tap dance, or so lo-fi biopic White Lightnin' would have you believe.

Theatre

We get to grips with Glasgay! Festival's theatre line-up, plus a preview of Scottish Ballet's autumn schedule.

Comedy Glasgay! swings, Tim Michin sings.

THURSDAY 29th OCTOBER

The new album ‘The Fountain’ released on the 12th October www.bunnymen.com

+ ELLIE GOULDING + FAN DEATH

EDINBURGH HMV PICTURE HOUSE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PCL PRESENTS

SUNDAY 25TH OCTOBER

www.myspace.com/littlebootsmusic www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk The Debut Album ‘Hands’ out now

+ Magic Arm

GLASGOW BARROWLAND

Art

THURSDAY 29th OCTOBER

Edinburgh HMV Picture House Wednesday 9th December

What happens when the kid the year below you in art school makes it big? One writer finds out.

Music

We exchange spit with Thavius Beck, Mudhoney, Yeasayer, The Big Pink, The Mountain Goats, St Deluxe, Citizens, and The Low Miffs.

Clubs

It's filthier than a Falkirk takeaway in Clubs this month, with Torture Garden, Confusion is Sex and our own Twisted Kids Birthday Party.

Listings

In case we've not mentioned it enough: come to our Twisted Kids Birthday Party 10 Oct. There's cake! And nightmarish clowns!

+ THE PHANTOM BAND

GLASGOW ABC

Glasgow ABC

THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER

Thursday 22nd October

‘Mind Blowing…a must see’ The Sunday Times : ‘Top 5 bands to see live in 2009’ The Observer : ‘I cannot get enough of these guys, they soothe the soul’ US President, Barack Obama

GLASGOW ORAN MOR MONDAY 19TH OCTOBER

TICKETS 24HRS 08444 999 990 • www.ticketmaster.co.uk • www.gigsinscotland.com

IN PERSON GLASGOW Tickets Scotland, EDINBURGH Tickets Scotland, Ripping, DUNDEE Grouchos & all Ticketmaster Ticket Centres.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 5

LIFESTYLE

HEADS YOUR

UP MONTH AHEAD Jenny Wallace

Vladimir McTavish WED, 30 SEP

TUE, 29 SEP

THE WIZARD OF OZ-TOBER I’VE had a stint of living in Kansas, and the refrain from The Wizard of Oz of "Lions and tigers and bears - oh my!" always runs through my head when looking at what’s coming up in Scotland for the next month (except instead of the wild animals of Oz version, it goes more along the lines of "Clubs! And launches! And films! Oh My!").

If the 1930s musical reference is lost on you, let’s put it this way: Scotland is pretty damn good on the going-out scene. There are literally hundreds of interesting things to do, and it’s easy to miss some cracking options purely because you haven’t had your ears in the right place at the right time.

But fear not! We’re here to do it for you. A whole 'best of' month of Scottish frivolity has been investigated, mused and presented here so that never again will you have to say ‘I’m just going to have a quiet night in’. Your understanding of the Hollyoaks plot line might suffer, but otherwise you only stand to gain. Shoes on, off you go!

With themes of beauty, pleasure, darkness and corruption running through this blistering dance performance, DORIAN GRAY (Theatre Royal, Glasgow) is set to seduce audiences until 30 Oct, kicking off today. It’s previously been one of the most successful dance performances ever staged at the Edinburgh Festival.

Get ye to The Stand for and Irish/Scottish comedy face off. Glasgow has a crack at the craic with The BEST OF IRISH Comedy whilst Edinburgh consecutively showcases the BEST OF SCOTTISH (The Stand, Glasgow/Edinburgh, 7.30pm for 8.30pm start).

MON-TUE, 5-6 OCT

WED, 7 OCT

Leeds rockers SKY LARKIN flutter down to Scotland (5 Oct - Café Drummond Aberdeen, 6 Oct – Classic Grand Glasgow, 8pm, £7) as part of a two month long tour. Check out the smashing cocktail recipe on their myspace if you fancy a pre-gig tipple.

MON, 12 OCT

SUN, 11 OCT

WHOSE LUNCH IS IT ANYWAY? (The Stand, Edinburgh, 1pm, Free) Offers a hearty serving of improvised comedy when you don’t have the energy to come out with a witty one.

There’s no better way to start the week than with a cold pint, a hot pie and some wonderfully titled theatre. With this in mind, ‘cheery suicide comedy’ THE GLIMMERING NYMPH (Òran Mór, Glasgow, 12pm doors for 1pm start, £12.50) should tick all the start-of-week boxes.

FRI, 16 OCT

GFT launches their monthly LATE NIGHT CULT CLASSICS series with FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (GFT, Fri 16 Oct, 10.45pm, £3.50-5) www.gft.org.uk

E CK I PO' THNTH O M

We’ve all had them; this one is a tad more involving and thought provoking - and doesn’t require any residual grovelling to your other half. AN ARGUMENT ABOUT SEX (Tramway, Glasgow, from Thur 1 to Sat 17 Oct. £5-£14).

TUES, 13 OCT

NICK CAVE hits Edinburgh tonight. (HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 7pm).

Tickets scarce, anticipation abundant.

SAT, 17 OCT

Electronic beats and, if you come to the café beforehand, some nice vegan scran to line your stomach.

NUMBERS (Stereo, Glasgow, 11pm – 3am) features Hudson Mohawke Live with the Butter album launch.

SUN, 18 OCT

After an inspiring Sunday jaunt?

THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART STAFF SHOW features a selection of work from the people that shape the future stars of the art world. Starts Friday 16 Oct, runs till 6 November.

H u d Mo FRI, 23 OCT

The Recoat Gallery in Glasgow presents its first book launch with the LOST AND FOUND STRUCTURES (7pm-10pm) exhibition.

6 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

WED, 14 OCT

Most commonly known as the drummer for Babyshambles, it’s not widely known that musician and DJ Adam Ficek is a talent in his own right. ROSES KINGS CASTLES (The Admiral, Glasgow, 7pm) teeters between Belle and Sebastian and the hallucinatory invocations of Syd Barrett. Beautiful and bizarre.

Unmissable.

SAT, 24 OCT

Ken Kesey's yarn of madness in the madhouse, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, is adapted by streetdance theatre company Bounce into hip-hop dance marvel INSANE IN THE BRAIN (Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 7.30pm, tickets from £12-20).

T ill 15 Nov

LIFESTYLE

o

Fre d MacAulay THU, 1 OCT

FRI, 2 OCT

THE SCOTTISH MENTAL HEALTH ARTS & FILM FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT (The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 7pm, £5) showcases home grown, intimate musical delights.

THU, 8 OCT

FRE E!

Sombre subject matter, yes. Great exhibition, yes again. Tonight previews SHADOWS FADE (The Arches, Glasgow. 6pm, free) Exhibition runs from Friday 9th Oct – Tue 3rd October.

Joining The Skinny with an October birthday bash, FEST N FURIOUS (Dundee, various venues, Fri 2 Oct – Sun 4 Oct) turns five in October, with a packed weekend line up of concerts, films, and cracking acts including the Peatbog Faeries, Saltfishforty and The Hot Seats.

SAT, 3 OCT

Four solid hours of dancefloor joy from everyone’s favourite gingermaestro BOOM MONK BEN (Mixed Bizness, The Reading Rooms, Dundee, 10pm-2.30am, £5)

SUN, 4 OCT

Raise some cash and STAND UP FOR MYELOMA in the excellent company of Fred MacAulay, Miles Jupp, John Gavin and other good comedy souls. You’ll feel all warm inside, what with the funny people and do-gooding. (The Jam House, Edinburgh, 8pm, £15-35).

IN TICW K ET SEE PAG S! E5

SAT, 10 OCT

FRI, 9 OCT

It’s THE SKINNY’S 4TH BIRTHDAY and we’re going to act like complete juveniles…

The Arches, Sat 10 Oct, 10pm. £7 theskinny.co.uk/birthday

Edinburgh's METALTECH (playing Cabaret Voltaire, Oct 9, 7pm, £4) bring a tasty hybrid of dance music, hard rock and scary ass masks to the Capital. myspace.com/metaltech

4

THU, 15 OCT

A triple bill of contemporary choreography mixes the old with the new as part of SCOTTISH BALLET’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR (Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 7.30pm). Runs Thu 15-Sat 17 Oct.

Attic lights MON, 19 OCT

BALANCE (Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8/6) combines breakdance, gymnastics and contemporary techniques to echo the control that can be taken when mental health tips out of sync. Part of the Mental Health Festival 2009.

SUN-MON, 25-26 OCT

Arrow Video teams up with Cult Fiction Movies (www.cultfictionmovies.com) to celebrate the Blu-Ray launch of Dawn of the Dead with a double whammy of DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD in all its big screen glory (25 Oct, Cameo Picturehouse; 26 Oct, Glasgow Film Theatre). Followed by a Q&A with horror icon Ken Foree.

TUE, 20 OCT

Exuberant troubadour JACK PEÑATE hits Glasgow (The Arches, 7pm, £12).

WED,21 OCT

Idlewild’s Rod Jones pulls together some top Scottish acts for MUSIC LIKE A VITAMIN (HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 7pm, £5) for a ridiculously cheap bonanza of a gig.

THU, 22 OCT

The Africa in Motion Film Festival is back and opens with the UK Premiere of IZULU LAMI (The Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 8.15pm) The Film Festival runs until 1 Nov.

TUE, 27 OCT

NOVEMBER ISSUE OUT!

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 7

The Heather's On In the five years since they shook up British indie rock, Franz Ferdinand have become one of Scotland's established acts. But, as Alex Kapranos tells The Skinny, they've still got the hunger and the vision to change the game all over again

8 THE SKINNY October 2009

N FIRE

Interview Gillian Watson WHAT were you doing five years ago? Revising for the next round of exams, breaking up with the last girlfriend but one, recovering from the mother of all hangovers at the office - whatever it was, chances are that Franz Ferdinand’s double-headed monster smash Take Me Out provided the soundtrack. In the dull spring of 2004 (yes, you are that old), the desperation in frontman Alex Kapranos’ come-ons struck a chord with those bored senseless by the pastel emoting of the British indie bedwet set. Soon, the band’s eponymous debut had replaced Is This It in heavy rotation on your CD player (you hadn’t sold it yet).

Five whole years though, eh? By now, Take Me Out’s dazzling mid-song shift from Strokes

Xerox to lolloping, stomping art-punk-disco-WTF moment has ingrained itself in your psyche to the point that it’s as predictable and familiar as the pips that sound the hour on Radio 4.

Kapranos doesn’t sound half as engagingly up for it when he sings those opening lines, because, in real life, everyone’s been clamouring to take him out, from the Observer’s food supplement to paramour Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces.

Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand, now an established act with over 3 million album sales under their belts, have released two intermittently brilliant follow-up records which haven’t exactly left the heather scorched in their wake. This is more a problem of context rather than content.

After all, it’s difficult for any band to live up to a successful debut, never mind one that’s been dubbed as “The Album That Saved Indie” and voted best album of 2004 by NME (once they’d clinched the Mercury Music Prize that year).

How, then, does Alex Kapranos characterise the last five years? “I try not to think back too much at all, really,” he says. “You’d have to be pretty self-obsessed and navel-gazing [to do that] all the time. I listen to other people’s music. I don’t listen back to our own records, I play them live.”

Indeed, Franz have spent much of the past year performing latest LP Tonight, everywhere from tiny pubs in Fort William to the main stage at T in the Park in July. This autumn sees them embark on another UK tour. How does Kapranos feel about playing the band’s big singles for the nth time? “A living band does have new material that comes into the set, but we’re certainly not one of those bands who have that perverse resentment of the material that introduced them to the world – that’s crazy.”

Kapranos’ refreshingly down-to-earth refusal to reject Franz’s pop classics is perhaps down to the fact that the band’s humble roots are still fresh in his mind. “We never intended to write ‘hits’,” he explains. “Paul [Thomson, drummer], Nick [McCarthy, guitarist] and I had all been playing in other bands for over ten years before Franz Ferdinand had any success. There were years of travelling up and down the M6 in a transit van, playing to fifty people in some pub in Camden.

When we wrote the songs on our first album, we thought we’d maybe find an independent label that would put out 500 copies, and if we sold 500 copies and we didn’t still have some left under our bed, then we’d be really fuckin’ chuffed.”

After all, you can take the band out of the 13th Note and put them in any number of stadiums, but you can’t take the 13th Note out of the band.

Franz’s lasting indie attitude led to strained relations during the recording of what eventually became Tonight, when their initial choice of hitmakers, Xenomania (better known as the backroom bods behind Girls Aloud), to man the boards proved a misguided one. Hindsight allows Kapranos to be philosophical about the aborted collaboration, although he admits that he told someone to “fuck off” during the sessions (he’s tight-lipped about who).

He explains that their differences came down to one crucial element: “the motivation for writing songs”. According to Kapranos, “It’s not some abstract concept of what a ‘hit’ is… that’s what Xenomania do, they write songs to be ‘hits’. I’m not saying that that’s cold, but it’s definitely written from a different place.”

In the end, the band recorded the album in a disused drug rehabilitation centre in Govan, that most quintessentially Glaswegian of areas, which is fitting, given that one of the band’s greatest achievements was to repackage Glasgow as a glamorous, darkly exciting city to live in. From lyrics that made myths of mega-supermarkets in Springburn to magazine features hipping the haircut indie-loving masses to venues like Stereo – if Glasgow City Council weren’t slipping the boys a quid or two for their promotional work, then they bloody well should have been: one reference to Transmission parties in Do You Want To? did more to freshen up the second city’s image than any amount of Smiling Better ever could.

What keeps them coming back to Glasgow?

“I suppose it’s home, really,” Kapranos muses.

“Certainly as a band that’s where our roots are, it’s where we formed, it’s where our friends were. All of our influences came from Glasgow. It’s a very fertile breeding ground for bands. While you’re in it, you’re not aware of it, but when you’re away, you do realise what a great environment it is.”

However, in the year that Franz spent holed up in Govan, meanwhile, on the East Coast, our usually flaccid capital has seen a more intense period of musical activity than it has in the thirty years since Franz favourites Josef K and the Fire Engines were propping up the bar at the Tap o’ Lauriston with Penguin paperbacks hanging out their coat pockets. Indeed, Edinburgh seems to be going through a similarly fertile period to that enjoyed by Glasgow in the 1990s, when Kapranos was responsible for putting bands on at the 13th Note: “Stuart Murdoch would be playing songs, and you’d kinda think, ‘Fuck, he’s gonna do something amazing’, and then Belle & Sebastian happened. Stuart Braithwaite and the

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 9

2004: A FRANZTASTIC YEAR

Words Bario Toole Illustration Richard Fairhead

“YOU WRITE SONGS BECAUSE IT TRIGGERS THAT JUICY PEARL OF PLEASURE WITHIN YOU THAT YOU CAN’T GET FROM DOING ANYTHING ELSE IN YOUR LIFE” ALEX KAPRANOS

10 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

other guys from Mogwai were all playing in other wee bands and then suddenly Mogwai came together and you thought ‘… fantastic! Of course!’” he reminisces, enthusiasm undimmed by the passing years.

As a result of Edinburgh’s resurgence, however, Kapranos no longer finds himself at the vanguard, divorced from Auld Reekie’s tightknit scene, which has had many a blogger give themselves cramp at the keyboard in their rabid excitement. Franz’s original contemporaries have had a busy five years too; the post-post-punk scene whose flames the NME were ardently fanning in the mid-Noughties has petered out.

Good riddance, as far as Kapranos is concerned: “I find the whole concept of a post-punk revival a little bit repellent. We certainly weren’t trying to revive anything – when we got a band together, we wanted to create a sound that was new.”

Once US critics had cottoned on to the currency that the New Wave of New Wave of New Wave (repeat ad infinitum) briefly had with the UK’s music press, Franz also had to put up with the obligatory comparisons with Leeds godfathers of angular, Gang of Four. “None of us had even heard of fucking Gang of Four before the critics started saying that we were influenced by them!”

Kapranos has little time for critical trends, and one gets the impression he’s happier to exist outwith any kind of conventional ‘scene’. “To me, it’s the progression of a band that’s important, independent of musical fashions and trends… how the progression will be seen from the end, either when we’re dead, or when the band’s dead.”

So how would an obituarist characterise this period in Franz Ferdinand’s history? While You Could Have It So Much Better, 2005’s sophomore effort, is in many ways a better crafted record – the hooks are subtler and more affecting, the guitar work more inventive – it was a victim of its predecessor’s success. Franz Ferdinand’s initial mission was to make “music to make girls dance” – revolutionary at a time when Travis were the last big Scottish band - but once they’d accomplished it forty-three seconds into the first track on their debut, where next?

Now, girls are dancing to music made by other girls (such as La Roux and Little Boots, who recently had Kapranos man the desks for a remix of one of her tracks). This year’s Tonight was another album full of floorfillers, but you’d be forgiven for feeling a frustrated sense of

expectation: okay, the odd extended instrumental passage and synth texture is all very well and good, but when exactly are they going to deliver the next game-changing LP that’ll have us on our knees again?

Kapranos feels that it’s slightly unfair to demand an artistic left turn of the band. “There has been a trend recently to expect a band to reinvent themselves for every album. I think that’s an unhealthy attitude to take, because it’s not appropriate for all bands. There should always be progression, but you should never be ashamed of your character, and what makes you a good band.”

Franz certainly haven’t discarded what makes them a good band – they’re just as deft with a tune, and their enthusiasm for making music marks them out as a band who still have the power and energy to push pop’s boundaries.

“We’re still four really close friends who enjoy what we’re doing a hell of a lot,” says Kapranos, without a hint of jadedness in his voice. “Sometimes I think people can forget that when they see that you’re on the telly, but we are just the same four guys, and we don’t feel any different.”

In the traditional west of Scotland fashion, it seems he can’t quite get over how well he’s done.

“I’ve always appreciated how fuckin’ lucky we are as a band that we managed to keep it together long enough to make a record. I’m never going to moan about this life, and if I find myself where it seems like a chore or a job then it’s got to stop, it has to. It certainly doesn’t feel like that at the moment.”

And so, rather than living off the back of Take Me Out and its parent album for the next halfdecade, Kapranos finds that the joy he takes from songwriting keeps his creative fires burning. “You write songs because it triggers that juicy pearl of pleasure within you that you can’t get from doing anything else in your life,” he says, with a hunger in his voice. Has he started thinking about the next instalment of the Franz Ferdinand adventure? “I’m starting to write songs, if that’s what you mean, yeah.”

Whatever the outcome of Kapranos’ next songwriting spurt is, it’s bound to be nothing less than interesting. Come back to me in another five years. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to catch up on.

FRANZ FERDINAND PLAY ABERDEEN MUSIC HALL ON 11 OCT, DUNDEE CAIRD HALL ON 12 OCT AND INVERNESS IRONWORKS ON 13 OCT.

In honour of The Skinny’s first proper chat with Mr Alex Kapranos and to get the jump on next year’s inevitable Channel 4 ‘nostalgia trip’ I Heart the Noughties, our dedicated team of historians peer through the mists of time and try to decipher what - if any - meaning 2004 A.D. has on our lives today.

In the ten years before Franz’s burst to prominence, music was officially and deliberately shit (to use the scientific terminology). Having watched the Gallagher brothers' mysterious domination of the charts, popular media and bad house parties everywhere, record companies (in their eternal wisdom….so long suckers) insisted on foisting acts with bland names (Coldplay, Travis, Stereophonics) with even blander repertoires on a gullible, yet paying public. Suddenly, with Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand and eh, The Scissor Sisters were seen as the vanguard in a rebirth of brainy ‘art rock’.

Just how cerebral this cultural epoch was is reflected in the acts which sold the most records that year. Yes, we had ironic cock (rock) revivalists The Darkness, charity ensemble Band Aid and American pop singer Eamon with the heartwrenching break-up anthem ‘Fuck it. You really fucked me over, fucked if I give a flying fuck. You can fuck right off’. Progress indeed.

Besides the banning of mobile phones in North Korea and the re-election of the latest in a steady stream of warmongers, 2004 was also the year that the phrase ‘wardrobe malfunction’ entered the collective lexicon. Had he been dead at the time, Michael Jackson would surely have been spinning in his grave at the thought of his ickle sis baring more than just her soul in front of the massive Superbowl TV audience. Spare a thought for her partner in crime though. Before the controversy erupted, Justin Timberlake would have taken to the stage confident that he might be the only tit up there that anyone would talk about. Bravo to Franz Ferdinand for surviving this pop culture apocalypse.

LIVE ACTS

The Blessings Meursault RBRBR Over the Wall Black Cat DJS

Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club Slabs of the Tabernacle DJs Radio Magnetic DJs David Barbarossa Astroboy Men and Machines PLUS: Freaks, and wierdos, kids’ entertainers gone wrong, fire-eating creepy clowns, a magician, a painting wall, pinatas of our enemies, popcorn, bouncy castle, and lots of cake.

Tickets from The Arches box office, Tickets Scotland, or www.theskinny.co.uk/birthday.

Strictly over 18s. Strictly no good behaviour.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 11

Filming in the Fas

After wowing critics with This is England and Somers Town, Shane Meadows could have easily headed to Hollywood to decided to return to a more DIY style of filmmaking with his 5 Day Features project. The Skinny sat down with the acclaim Paddy Considine and producer Mark Herbert to discuss their first film made in that mould, the faux rockumentary Le Don Interview Gail Tolley “I can imagine most people who see the first bit of [Le Donk] will be thinking ‘what are Shane and Paddy doing?’ exclaims Meadows. Coming from one of Britain’s most respected film directors this low-budget, comedy documentary about a loser roadie may indeed raise a few eyebrows. Made for £50,000, in 5 days and entirely improvised, Meadows’ latest film is a return to a more basic and spontaneous style of film-making, free from the constraints and bureaucracy found on larger projects. “From my point of view,” says Meadows, “it was purely, let’s have fun and enjoy ourselves, let’s fund it ourselves without having to answer to anybody and let’s make it in the shortest amount of time possible.” The end result is an often hilarious, free-flowing film that follows ageing roadie, Donk (Paddy Considine), and his rapper protégé Scorz-Ayz-Ee as they plan to hit the road and head for Manchester where The Arctic Monkeys (or as Donk calls them, The Article Monkeys) are due to play a gig for 50,000 people.

Le Donk has stirred up particular excitement amongst fans as it sees the reunion of Meadows and Considine whose previous collaborations have yielded particularly impressive results. The pair first worked together in 1999 on A Room for Romeo Brass; both had been friends since their late teens and Meadows was pivotal in getting Considine into acting. “I only started to act because of Shane and the fact that before I started that film [A Room for Romeo Brass] I watched Small Time [Meadows’ 1996 debut feature] and thought if these guys can do it I’m going to give it a go.” The two worked together again 5 years later in the savage revenge drama Dead Man’s Shoes which was nominated for Best British Film at the BAFTA awards. Considine has since gone on to star in projects as diverse as big-budget thriller The Bourne Ultimatum and Channel 4’s drama The Red Riding Trilogy whilst Meadows has cemented his talent directing productions such as This is England and Somers Town. Le Donk sees the two reunited on the big screen again. Considine has cut his teeth playing several hard-hitting roles yet Meadows was familiar with another side of the actor that he was keen to see on the big screen. “[Paddy’s] played some pretty savage characters in my films but I’d seen this ability he had with comedy and improvisation. I’ve said to Paddy a few times that ‘we need to show people that you are so funny and so brilliant at comedy’ but he’s never really had the chance to do it.” Until now that is, and Paddy Considine’s flair for comedy has been unleashed in the form of foul-mouthed wide boy Donk.

Donk is no new creation as it turns out, he’s a character who’s been “knocking about for a while now”, waiting for the opportunity to make it onto the big screen. He was inspired by Meadows and Considine’s experiences of being in a band when they were in their late teens. As Meadows recalls, “Me and Paddy were on a college course which we both left at the same time to be in a band. All the time we were in this band we came across these small time moguls that you meet for a week and they’re going, ‘I work with various rock bands and I’ve done this and I’ve recorded that and I’ve got contacts at EMI’ - these crazy blokes, very much like Donk. This one guy turned up to do some recording and he said ‘I’ll bring my portable studio round and I’ll just see if you’ve got it’. He turned up and opened this briefcase and there was a fucking ridiculously shit 4-track cassette recorder in there.

We realised really early on that there were all these shysters out there that when they saw a band that got a bit of a following they’d attach themselves to it.

12 THE SKINNY October 2009

So Paddy started creating this sort of guy, not far off 20 years ago and we made 4 or 5 short films with this character right through the nineties and never really did anything with him. But I always said to Paddy ‘I don’t know where the idea’s going to come from but at some point there’ll be a feature film with this character’.

“We didn’t want to launch 5 day features without making one. You can’t say to people ‘go and make a film in 5 days’ and not prove you can do it yourself.”

Shane meadows Le Donk is that feature film and whilst it gives a platform for one of the director’s favourite characters it also marks a new initiative from Meadows and producer Mark Herbert called 5 Day Features. It’s a scheme to encourage DIY filmmaking with just one rule: the film must be made in 5 days. “After doing This is England and lots of other projects that ended up, from writing to finishing, taking 2 years, I just got exhausted. I was thinking if I take 2 or 3 years to make a film I’m not going to make that many” says Meadows. The desire to encourage a no-nonsense approach to making feature films comes from having encountered numerous aspiring filmmakers in the past. “Me and Mark meet so many people trying to get short films off the ground never mind feature films and struggling through all the local funding. And for people who, like me, are uneducated, I’m not great at filling out forms and applying for things, yet I can make films. So what we’re saying is let’s create something where the application form is ‘go and make one’, it’s not ‘can we please have permission’, it’s just ‘make one’.” What comes across as key to the philosophy of 5 day features is the pro-active, no fuss approach that is fostered by limiting the shooting period to just a few days. There’s no time to dawdle, to think twice or to look back and whilst Meadows admits that “some will be 5 day flops” he is also excited about the prospect of encouraging films that wouldn’t have otherwise been made.

The exact mechanics of 5 Day Features is still to be worked out. “It’s quite punk rock in so much as there isn’t a set structure but we want to help those people we think need the help and who deserve the

ast Lane

od to make his fortune. Instead he claimed filmmaker as well as actor Le Donk and Scorz-Ayz-Ee.

help.” Meadows and Herbert are planning to do this predominantly through a process of mentoring and guidance. “Generally if we think [a film] is in the right spirit and it fits that ethos then we’ll happily give people our stamp of approval and get behind them and help them find distribution and those kinds of things.”

It is this sort of advice which can be most valuable to young filmmakers, as Meadows discovered when he first started out. “The financial help I received was never what made me a filmmaker, it was people taking me under their wing and this is our way of putting a wing out there. The people who would benefit from our help probably aren’t people at film school; they’re already on their way. Maybe it’s people who are a bit more unconventional who wouldn’t have ever seen themselves as a filmmaker, they’re the people we’d like to try and get to.”

"Most filmmakers around my age who’ve done the films I’ve done, they’re trying to get to America where the real money is. This for me is what I want to be doing."

Shane meadows Whilst the duo hopes that the initiative will give a platform to up-and-coming filmmakers they also think that the ethos will appeal to many others too.

“You don’t have to be a 15-year-old, you can be 75 and always fancied making a film, we’re not going to restrict it. Or say a director like myself, sometimes you’re on a film and you get downtime where an actor gets ill and you’ve got two weeks and you’ve got a studio there, why don’t you make one. It’s for everybody really, the rules are very minimal.”

Shane Meadows isn’t just talking the talk, he’s walking the walk too and Le Donk is the proof of the pudding. “We didn’t want to launch 5 day features without making one. You can’t say to people ‘go and make a film in 5 days’ and not prove you can do it yourself” says the director. And Meadows plans to embrace the approach again in the future. “Most filmmakers around my age who’ve done the films I’ve done, they’re trying to get to America where the real money is. This for me is what I want to be doing. Make a big one for myself here and make a tiny microscopic thing here as well. Hopefully that will set an example for people that it’s not about getting yourself noticed then going to the epicentre. Hopefully this will be the start of something that will continue for many years.” It looks like we can expect more micro-budget features from Meadows soon and it also might not be the last we see of Donk either. “He’s such a good character you can take him anywhere, whether it’s backstage at The Arctic Monkeys or to the White House you can almost imagine Donk doing anything” says Herbert. And Meadows agrees, “We had so much fun doing it we might actually go out and have a stab at doing another one.” For Donk and Shane Meadows it appears, this film is just the beginning.

Le Donk and Scorz-Ayz-Ee is released on 9 Oct

Left to right: Dean Palinczuk as Scor-Zay-Zee and Paddy Considine as Le Donk.

www.warp.net/films/shane-meadows

Five low-budget wonders Shane Meadows’ Le Donk is a paean to low-budget filmmaking. Here we present 5 films made in a similar spirit (and also on a shoestring).

The Little Shop of Horrors (Roger Corman, 1960) Roger Corman made The Little Shop of Horrors in two days using sets left over from a previous production. The low-budget comedy was made for $30,000 and tells the story of a florist worker who grows a plant that feeds off human flesh. Given the tight shooting schedule Corman (often referred to as the ‘King of B-movies’) reportedly did most of the scenes in one take. There’s even a small cameo by a young Jack Nicholson which has given the film something of a cult status in recent years.

El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992) Rodriguez raised most of the $7000 needed to shoot his first film by signing up for experimental clinical drug trials. That’s certainly one way to finance your film. The risk paid off though and El Mariachi was picked up by Columbia Pictures for American distribution. The film is renowned for its inventive filming techniques: for example, Rodriguez didn’t have the money to hire a dolly to create moving camera shots so instead he got one of his cast members to push him around in a wheelchair during filming.

Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1977) Killer of Sheep was Burnett’s thesis project for his Masters degree at the University of California. It was filmed for less than $10,000, most of which was grant money (though in order to secure proper commercial release in 2007, the rights to the music featured in the film had to be bought for $150,000). Filmed in black and white with a loose narrative structure it gives a snapshot of a family living in the black ghetto of Watts in Los Angeles.

Restored in 2007 it has been hailed by critics as one of the finest examples of American independent filmmaking.

Killer of Sheep

The Apu Trilogy (Satyajit Ray, 1955-1959) Regarded as some of the most important films in world cinema, the three features which make up The Apu Trilogy tell the coming-of–age story of a young boy growing up in rural Bengal. Made with an amateur cast and crew and on a budget rumoured to be in the region of $3000 it marked the emergence of what was to become one of India’s most renowned filmmakers (Ray went on to make more than 30 films in his lifetime). Unlike Le Donk the filming of the trilogy took many years, often delayed because of lack of funding. Nevertheless, it went on to win awards at film festivals the world over and is a testament to what can be created within tight financial constraints.

Colin (Marc Price, 2009) It’s barely reached our cinema screens (or even DVD players) yet British zombie movie Colin is already causing a stir. Most of the buzz appears to be due to the fact that the film reportedly cost a mere £45 to make, most of which we imagine was spent on the fake blood which features quite heavily in the film. Horror fans have already responded positively to the flick which showed at last month’s FrightFest and during October it will be showing at London’s indie film festival, Raindance.

[Gail Tolley]

October 2009

THE SKINNY 13

Lifestyle

FoodPOSH NOSH AND CHEAP EATS

& Drink

Reaping the Fruits of Recession

It's not all bad news for the food industry at the moment, with some local foodies bucking the downturn and expanding their empires.

The Skinny Whisky Guide

By Ruth Marsh THIS MONTH:

Edradour 10 year old Highland Single Malt

Where’s It From?

Edradour proudly heralds itself as Scotland’s smallest distillery. Arriving on foot to the squat, whitewashed collection of buildings that make up its picture-postcard HQ, via streams and plump geese, it feels like you’ve been teleported into an ITV Sunday night drama, where the worse thing that could ever happen is the vicar misplacing his tandem. Tucked into a Perthshire pocket glen above Pitlochry, the distillery churns out just 12 casks of whisky a week from its tiny copper stills.

I Love Candy

Text Yasmin Ali The recession has a counter effect on some brave individuals: it provides a chance to take a chance, to instigate a change and to buck the trend by expanding rather than downsizing their businesses. The hope is that casting a wider net during the economic sea-change will have the capacity to generate more custom. It is also a good time, as one interviewee put it, for small businesses to capitalise on great offers on leases from potential landlords.

There are a few Glasgow-based food ventures that have recently opened sister enterprises in Edinburgh. Amongst these featured here are three very different establishments: I Love Candy sweetshop and boutique; Lebowski’s pub and bar and Mother India’s tapas café.

First up, is I Love Candy (ILC), and let’s face it, as the name presupposes, almost everybody does. When times get tough, research shows people are more likely not to begrudge themselves simple pleasures like pick n’ mix and more likely to indulge in nostalgia.

There have been a tirade of pound store-style sweet shops popping up all over Glasgow’s de-gentrifying shopping landscape, but I Love Candy is an altogether classier affair with patterned wallpaper and rococo mirrors adorning the beautifully furnished stores.

ILC’s second store is in Edinburgh’s New Town and has been open since July. A marker of its popularity was its immediate popularity, though it was hard for the owners to discern how much footfall was due to the Fringe festival at the time, but fortunately popularity has sustained into the autumn with good support from locals and recommendations. The Edinburgh branch is very much a trial for the business to see how it survives in a true city centre location.

14 THE SKINNY October 2009

Unlike the Glasgow West End main store, this branch lacks the benefits of nearby schools, university and botanic gardens, and a real neighbourhood or community feel. The hope is that, given time, the Edinburgh branch will be able to build up a sustained client base as well as attracting tourists, and signs are that this is already starting.

Lebowski’s is based on the relaxed ‘dude’ ethos of The Coen Brothers’ cult film The Big Lebowski (1998). The website even sells a selection of film tiein T-shirts. It offers chilled drinks and casual dining in a central location. The Edinburgh branch recently opened off Lothian Road, at a popular junction and crossing point, near the Odeon cinema. Famous for its burgers, the renowned Lebowski Burger is one to try. The ‘Dude Lunches’ menu selection has a range of burger variation to take the leading role in your lunchplate. Also on offer is a great selection of cocktails and fully-comprehensive bar list including ‘oat sodas’, which could be beer under a synonym.

The website showcases full menus as well as weekly in-branch specials. There is also an express lunch menu for those doing business or in a hurry, which includes a full range of freshly prepared open plate sandwiches with homemade coleslaw, as well as the recommended Über Soup of the Day, served in a huge bowl with thick buttered bread. The food is all handmade and cooked fresh from raw ingredients, and also on offer is a Sharing and Bites menu which offers a Scottish cuisine tapas-style selection. The Mussel Mountain, priced at £12, proves that it’s not all about bread and dainty dips for these dudes.

Also building on the tapas-style trend is Indian Glasgow mainstay Mother India, now with three Glasgow branches plus two delicatessens and a recent Edinburgh opening to the expanding chain. The Edinburgh branch is situated in Old Town, very close

to the main University of Edinburgh campus, and brings its unique brand of Indian tapas to student lunch breaks and evening diners. The restaurant is open 7 days a week, until 10pm on weeknights and 10.30pm at weekends, and also caters for take aways for those in a rush.

Tapas dining recommend 3-4 dishes between 2 people as a rough guide, and this style is a welcome break from the huge, expensive and insurmountable main portions conventionally served at curry houses, where sharing mains apart from rice is generally frowned upon. The tapas mains start at a reasonable £2.95, with sides and accompaniments from chutnies to chapatis from a mere 95p. Personally, I’m partial to poppadom with my curry; and at 60p apiece there should be ample change in the kitty for a bus or even taxi fare home. Also available is a full range of full-size portion mains, with a wide variety available to choose from from karahi curries to traditional dishes and house specialties, as well as an impressive selection of vegetarian dishes.

The food is best finished Indian-style with tea; there are a range to sample from – the Massala tea with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and ginger is a traditional spiced tea served with milk and sugar worth seeking out. All the usual coffee suspects are also available.

The watchword seems to be to think across different scales: provide something small, like tapas or sweeties and think big by expanding on a successful franchise in opening up to new markets and setting up shop in another city. Small, but perfectly formed: these independent traders have got the recession all sewn up. www.ilovecandystore.com www.lebowskis.co.uk www.motherindiaglasgow.co.uk

What Does It Look Like?

Pale yellow and interesting, it has a clean, reflective hue.

How Does It Taste?

Breath in deep and you’ll get a nose packed full of tobacco, wood and demerera. This is definitely an adult whisky to sip-andsavour, with flavours that are multi-layered and super-smooth. A hint of salt and smoke gives way to zingingly fresh grapefruit and almond that’ll linger almost indefinitely in your mouth in a very, very pleasant way indeed.

Where Can I Get It? Due to its limited production, the only guarantee of finding a bottle is through the distillery itself. Alternatively, chance your arm and pop into Peckhams in Edinburgh and Glasgow or branches of Wine Rack.

Around £12 for a 20cl bottle. www.edradour.co.uk

THE SKINNY WHISKY GUIDE IS SPONSORED BY:

Lifestyle

The ivy bar

Amarone

Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 7RX Tel: 0141 337 3006

Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow, G2 1BT Tel: 0141 3331122

In its new more bohemian location of up-and-coming Finnieston, The Ivy finds home in a more hospitable locale than the windy inclines at Charing Cross. Formerly 54 Below, the space has been transformed to a brighter, updated bar with trademark green signage and outdoor lighting.

To start, I had a starter portion of asparagus barley risotto (£3.50), which was very wholesome and filling. My partner had one of the two options for Soup of the Day (£3); a moreish chorizo and pureed potato soup drizzled with oil, served with bread and butter to whet the appetite.

After that filling first round, we both plumped for fish as our mains; mine was pan-roasted coley with saffron mash, fine beans, and olive, capers and tomato salsa (£8.50); my partner chose the day’s special: scallops with seared ham on a bed of puy lentils with hollandaise sauce and spinach with pine nuts (£9). The coley was lightly smoked and

tender and the accompanying sauce was very tangy, softened by the mash. The scallops were a delicately flavoured affair and that difficult hollandaise sauce was faultless.

After some rest we managed desert; our choices from the three on the menu were the divine hot chocolate pudding with ice cream and the delicate iced strawberry parfait with fresh berries, both a very reasonable £3.50 apiece.

We rounded off with killer espresso martinis (£5 each) – a coffee and butterscotch schnapps-based twist on the Absolut classic (also available), which did well to show off the Ivy staff’s bar skills. Far from a one-trick-pony, this bar has a talented chef, well-catered menu and fully-stocked drinks cabinet.The Ivy is climbing new heights with its fresh new menu in its new home. [Yasmin Ali] www.ivybar.co.uk

Amarone is ideally located to provide a respite from shopping, situated on Nelson Mandela place, just off Buchanan Street. A stylish basement restaurant with stained glass windows peeking out on to street level, you can almost forget the rain outside. The ‘Taste of Scotland’ menu aimed to find a meeting point between Italian and Scottish fare. A quick glance at the menu reveals some classic Scottish dishes and produce – Scotch Broth, Aberdeen Angus Steak and Cranachan alongside more traditional Italian staples such as risotto.

Highlights included the delicious seafood starter

(cappesante e gameroni), the succulent Aberdeen Angus steak and the local Dunsyre blue cheese included in our mouth watering Formaggi misti.

However the chunky chips accompanying my fish could have been a little crispier...surely a Scottish essential after all. The staff at Amarone were both attentive and friendly, with a familiarity of all the dishes on offer. [Julie Paterson] 3 courses exc. drinks (outwith Gourmet Glasgow) approx £23 pp. www.amaronerestaurant.co.uk

October 2009

THE SKINNY 15

LIFESTYLE

FASHION

COUTURE FOR THE FUTURE

The High Street Gets Crafty Before Etsy's star label Norwegian Wood hits the high street, we catch up with creator Angie Johnson to hear more

CO he ck:

Interview Alexandra Fiddes

ur e Norwe giaxncluWsivo e p ho t os ho o t o d

WITH online craft and design communities like Etsy already established in the global marketplace, and DIY fashion blogs getting hundreds of thousands of hits every day, it was only a matter of time before canny High Street chains like Topshop logged on and snapped up the work of online design talent. Here, Etsy star Angie Johnson of Norwegian Wood gives us an exclusive insight as she prepares for her collection launch at Topshop.

ove rle a f !

What are your plans for the future and is there anything exciting in the pipeline?

I’d like to keep adding more clothing to the collection, and eventually build up to having seasonal collections.

Financially it’s a big jump to start doing full seasonal collections, so I’m just going to keep working hard and wait for the right time. I’m a big fan of waiting for the right time.

I am also working on my capsule collection for Topshop (Oxford Circus). It’s a 6 piece collection with a few of my favourite current pieces that will be exclusive to Topshop. The concession is called EDIT and will be featuring clothing and accessories from around 20 international designers. This is the second season Topshop is doing this program, and I love them for being so involved in the independent design community, it’s a rarity!

Where do you live and work at the moment and is there support for independent design?

Currently I live and work in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Montreal as a city definitely is a strong supporter of independent design. The arts are a large part of the cultural identity of Montreal, although it can be a tough city to do business in. The low cost of living and creative atmosphere make it a great place for artists, musicians and designers to live, but we all know how much extra money most artists, designers and musicians have floating around: not much! That’s where the internet comes in. Without the internet, I would not have a business. Period.

Did you have traditional training at art school?

I have a degree in Clothing and Textiles with a minor in Marketing, and I also took a bit of graphic design in my fourth year of uni. Other than that I began learning to sew, crochet and embroider from my mother and great-grandmother when I was about 6 and just never stopped.

THE EDIT CONCESSION COLLECTION WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE TOPSHOP OXFORD CIRCUS BRANCH IN TWO PHASES, 6 SEP-25 OCT, AND 25 OCT-24 DEC. ANGIE’S WORK IS INCLUDED IN THE LATTER. WWW.IHEARTNORWEGIANWOOD.ETSY.COM

Who or what inspires or influences your designs?

Random things really: - Old music - Textiles, both new and old - Books (I read pretty much anything I can get my hands on) - Photography - People on the street (including the streets of the internet)

What's On

OCTOBER FASHION EVENTS

How would you describe your personal style?

My own personal style is pretty schizophrenic and completely based on my mood at a specific time. It can range from a feminine retro outfit to a minimal modern look. My closet is about 60% vintage, 10% handmade and 30% new. I have an incredible weakness for impractical shoes.

When I get dressed I try to challenge myself. I think it’s too easy to just dress to make oneself look skinny or pretty or to fit perfectly into a trend. I like to make it more challenging by trying to work with a hard-towear piece, a strange colour combo, or working around some new bizarre accessory I’ve picked up or made.

Basically I do what I seem to do with most things, I complicate it. For me easy is boring.

Your designs seem to be clothing embellishments rather than just functional pieces, do you agree?

Definitely. Initially when I came up with the fringe necklace I was thinking of making tops and dresses with fringe detailing, but then I starting thinking “well how the hell will you wash this top? Wouldn’t it be better if the fringe was removable?” Which made me come up with the idea of making a necklace instead. I really like this idea of making clothing that transforms what you already have. I think that anything that adds detail

16 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

Do you collaborate with other designers, if so what if anything changes in your creative process?

I recently collaborated with a craftsman friend of mine on a leather version of my cage skirt that is now available in my shop. Marc (the leather worker) is a close friend so the process was great as we already knew how each other worked. I’m a pretty decisive person though, so working alone is fine too.

to or changes the silhouette of things you already have is a really interesting way of growing a wardrobe.

Do you have any fashion tips for the coming season that you can share with us?

Hmmm, I’m going to be another one of those supporters of the over the knee boot. I actually bought a pair in London about 3 years ago now, so I’ve endured 3 years of people thinking I was a stripper, and now

that they’re finally more acceptable the heels have completely worn out. My recommendation is to try to find a pair with a lower heel. This is not an easy task, but you want these boots to be something you can wear all the time, trust me! I also love them since they fall into that category of “difficult to wear” since you don’t want to fall into the trashy category, so it’s a bit of a challenge to figure out how to de-sass them a bit, very fun.

THE Glasgow Craft Mafia will be taking a road trip on October 25th, setting up their market in the Inver Cottage Restaurant, a restored croft situated on the postcard perfect shores of Lachlan Bay, Loch Fyne. GCM’s unusual take on traditional crafts including jewellery, clothing, stationary and homewares, will be showcased alongside the cooking skills of the chefs at Inver Cottage. GCM members such as Miso Funky, Girl Industries, Asking For Trouble, Little Crowns, Rachael Albert Designs and Rosie’s Retro Styling will all be showing work at this event.

Glasgow Craft Mafia will also be appearing at their usual Sunday afternoon slot for the relaxed and informal market Handmade Haven where the designers vary each month.

October’s market will be held on the 25th from 1pm-6pm in Mono, King’s Court, Glasgow.

Also in Glasgow, Che Camille celebrate the iconic brand Harris Tweed at their Argyll Chambers showroom and workshop throughout October. In-house designers will be asked to experiment and incorporate the renowned fabric into their own work. Confirmed participating designers are Judy Clark, JRC Couture and William Chambers Millinery. Harris Tweed will also launch their new luxury leather and tweed bag in store. [Alexandra Fiddes] WWW.GLASGOWCRAFTMAFIA.COM WWW.CHECAMILLE.COM

NEW WORK SCOTLAND PROGRAMME 2009 COLLECTIVE are delighted to announce an exciting and varied programme of events for NWSP's tenth year including exhibitions, artist run projects, screenings, talks and workshops as well as professional practice events aimed at supporting emergent artists.

All Collective events are FREE and all welcome

Fri 9 Oct 7-9pm | Exhibition Preview Sat 10 Oct - Sun 22 Nov | Exhibition ANNA TANNER and MICHAEL WHITE (Main Galleries) JENNIFER GRANT (Offsite @ Craig's Close, opposite The Collective) PLACE Projects (The Guest Room) Gallery open Tuesday - Sunday 11-5pm

Sun Oct 11, 18, 25 | Nov 1, 8, 15, 22 | Dec 6, 13, 20 | Jan 10, 17, 24, 31 | 11 - 5pm FANZINE SUNDAY | Workshop Every Sunday throughout the NWSP exhibitions 11-5pm Collective will be open for young publishers, emergent writers and artists to come in to the gallery and use our photocopier to produce new work.

Whether it's a self-published catalogue, a written text or you are looking for the support to set up your monthly fanzine - this is it! Come along and create at Collective where your published work can be distributed throughout NWSP.

Fri 4 Dec 7-9pm | Exhibition Preview Sat 5 Dec - Sun 31 Jan 2010 | Exhibition

Tues 26 - Thurs 28 Jan 2010 | Advice Session

RACHEL ADAMS and KATHARINA KIEBACHER (Main Galleries) PLACE Projects (The Guest Room) Gallery open Tuesday - Sunday 11-5pm Mon 21 Dec - Tues 5 Jan 2010 | Gallery closed for Christmas and New Year.

THE ADVICE BUREAU

Thurs 10 Dec 6-9pm | Talk Event and Christmas Drinks ARTISTS DIY SOAPBOX Do you know what's going on at the grassroots in Scotland? Come along, find out and be inspired by some of Scotland's newest and most exciting ventures. Please get in touch with Jenny Richards at the gallery on 0131 220 1260 or email jennyrichards@collectivegallery.net - if you have a project you'd like to promote for 10 minutes on our soapbox.

Sat 16 Jan 2010 2-4pm | Talk Event NWSP 10YEARS Over the past ten years we've seen not only the development of the NWSP at Collective but also the progression of the New Work Scotland artists and writers from emergent artists to successful and acclaimed international practitioners. NWSP 10YEARS invites some of these artists (TBC) to participate in a discussion around emergent practice and reflect on their own professional development and the support they've received since NWSP.

We're offering you a slot to get advice and feedback from our staff and invited art professionals on future projects you are planning.

Please note this is more a brainstorming session than a portfolio review and we are not soliciting proposals, but offering input, mentoring and expertise. Please get in touch with Jenny on 0131 220 1260 or email jennyrichards@collectivegallery.net.

Sun 31 Jan 2-4pm | Discussion FANZINE SUNDAY On the final Sunday of the NWSP, to conclude the Fanzine Workshop, Collective invite you to take part in an informal discussion around self publishing and emergent writing practice with invited guests to facilitate conversations from the worlds of publishing, writing and online dialogues.

If you want to keep up to date with all the forthcoming events and/or receive information of how to apply for next year's NWSP please sign up for e-invites and monthly e-newsletters via our website: www.collectivegallery.net

NEW WORK SCOTLAND 2009 NEWSPAPER

Out now. Pick one up from Collective. Soon to be distributed to all Scottish Art Colleges and arts venues.

Thurs 22 Oct 6-8pm | Exhibition Event PLACE Projects present completed outcomes by Simon Gowing and Rachel McLean.

Sun 25 Oct 1-5pm | Workshop STARTING OUT WORKING AS A FREELANCE ARTIST The Starting Out workshop is specifically tailored for practising creative professionals. Aimed at anyone with an interest in working in the cultural and creative industries and wanting to establish a business in the sector. The session is a mix of both practical exercises and discussion. For full info and booking see www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk or

10.10.09–31.01.10 NEW WORK SCOTLAND PROGRAMME

RACHEL ADAMS | LOUISE BRIGGS | JENNIFER GRANT | KATHARINA KIEBACHER | PLACE PROJECTS | ANNA TANNER | MICHAEL WHITE | NICOLA WRIGHT

call 0844 544 9990.

Thurs 26 Nov 6-8pm | Screening Event SHOWREEL In an effort to support emergent film practice, Collective have produced SHOWREEL, a film screening event, presenting a single screening of Scottish emergent film that you can be a part of.

If you would like to screen a short film, please send a DVD to Collective or email jennyrichards@collectivegallery.net. Films must be no more than 5 minutes long and formatted as a DVPAL QUICKTIME file.

22 – 28 Cockburn Street Edinburgh EH1 1NY ++44 (0)131 220 1260 mail@collectivegallery.net www.collectivegallery.net

Funded by:

In association with:

LIFESTYLE

FASHION

COUTURE FOR THE FUTURE

I Heart Norwegian Wood Art Director/stylist Alexandra Fiddes Photographer Meghan Giboin www.meghangiboin.co.uk Stylist Olivia Fiddes liv_f@hotmail.com Hair and make-up Kimberley Dewar (using Mac and L'Oreal) kimberleydewar@hotmail.co.uk Model Laura Sneddon Photographer's assistant Chris Black www.solid-images.com Location Sierra Metro, Edinburgh www.sierrametro.com Thank you to Rosalie Doubal.

Clothes and accessories Norwegian Wood www.iheartnorwegianwood.etsy.com Topshop www.topshop.com

Grey elastic harness £28, Norwegian Wood.

Mesh leggings £31, Norwegian Wood.

Corset £32, Topshop.

18 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

LIFESTYLE

Road Warrior harness £40, Norwegian Wood.

Leggings £34, Norwegian Wood.

Boots, stylists own.

Tweed cage skirt £68, Norwegian Wood.

Fringe necklace £39, Norwegian Wood.

Mesh leggings £31, Norwegian Wood.

Top (worn as dress) £25, Topshop.

Belt, stylists own.

Boots £95, Topshop.

Socks, stylists own.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 19

Lifestyle

DEVIANCE

SEX, TRUTH AND POLITICS

Monogamy In the Dock

Monogamy is something many of us take for granted. All the more reason to expose it to scrutiny, we say, ahead of a Skinny-promoted discussion that will approach the subject from scientific, social, and creative points of view Text Gareth K Vile Illustration Kate Hazell When the LGBT section transformed into Deviance over a year ago, it was controversial.

Voices within the LGBT community were concerned that it threatened a marginalisation of non-heterosexual behaviour, and the word suggested condemnation. Yet it reflects a broader trend within The Skinny’s intentions: to cover ‘gay’ events across the magazine while focusing intelligently on provocative areas of sexuality.

Now 'Deviance' is leaping off the page and into the theatre. In tandem with the Tramway production of An Argument about Sex, written

by Pamela Carter and directed by the evermarvellous Stewart Laing, The Skinny is hosting a pre-show discussion: 'Is Monogamy Deviant?'

Challenging prejudices about the naturalness of sexual relationships, this debate hopes to shed light on the play’s themes with the added insight of a scientific perspective, as well as some of the ideas informing the Deviance section. In addition to Laing himself, we’re very pleased to be bringing to the panel the distinguished evolutionary biologist Dr Helena Cronin, who is a co-director of the Darwin Centre at the London School of Economics, as well as a widely published and opinionated writer. The event is being co-promoted with ESRC Genomics Forum - our second collaboration with the organisation, which seeks to involve the public with ideas relating to genetics - and will look at the evolutionary factors (both genetic and social) behind our approach to relationships.

Since the play also deals with questions of gender difference, the panel strikes out for

difficult territory, examining the gap between public tolerance and private morality, and will probably be redefining monogamy and deviance every couple of minutes. Laing sees the panel as an extention of the performance. “We’re trying to do something different: we’re hoping it’s the ideas that will be debated, rather than the show itself.”

The presence of Cronin promises a scientific perspective, and Laing is clear on the relevance of this: “if we accept that evolution plays a part in what we are physically, it seems a small step to believe our brains are part of the same development.”

Monogamy has been the standard sexual relationship of western morality for some time, and despite its associations with male domination retains high status. The recent reforms to allow same-sex unions reflect the belief that monogamy is an important social bond. Yet this is hardly universal: a glance at classical Athens, a foundation of western culture, reveals a subtle relationship between marriage and what we now term homosexuality. And for sure, monogamy has never been purely a heterosexual phenomenon: the early Christian church blessed same-sex marriages; the idea of a ‘life-partner’ long preceded modern civil partnership. Whether it can be claimed as deviant in a modern, liberal climate, or remains accepted as ‘normal’, monogamy is certainly subject to challenge and personal adaptation. [Gareth K Vile] Is monogomy deviant? 5:30pm Tramway, Thursday 15 October 2009 Free, but ticketed. Tickets available from Tramway box office.

Nine

Filament lights up Recently launched in London

by Suraya Singh, Filament magazine is aimed at female readers and offers "stimulating reading, saucy fiction and beautiful men".

And it does this well: it presents pictures and writing that are genuinely both hot and diverse, without dumbing things down.

It was predictably dogged by controversy from the start.

My favourite was the Daily Mail author who all but dabbed at her forehead with a lace handkerchief and reached for the smelling salts, whilst protesting that Filament's images

couldn't possibly be sexy. She apparently thought Filament's readers incapable of deciding for themselves – a position shared by distributors.

The most common reason given for not distributing Filament is that you can't have a women's magazine with a man on the cover. Another popular one is that there simply isn't a market for women's erotica. This is, of course, a surprise to many of us.

Filament's original printers were concerned that if images of erections appeared in the second issue, their clients from

20 THE SKINNY October 2009

the religious and women's sectors would mind. As a result, the Erotica Cover Watch blog set up a campaign calling for people to buy enough copies of the first issue so that Filament could afford to switch printers.

The campaign was successful.

"It's a hard business model to sell entirely through the internet," says Suraya, "but demand exists - we just need to convince the people in power." As a consumer, I’m already convinced by the sneak preview on the website. www.filamentmagazine.com

IS MONOGAMY

The Watcher

DEVIANT? A FREE DISCUSSION

This month sex columnist Phoebe Henderson discovers her natural voyeuristic tendencies

5.30PM, 15 OCTOBER TRAMWAY, GLASGOW In association with the run of Pamela Carter's new play An Argument About Sex at Tramway in October, The Skinny are teaming up with ESRC Genomics Forum to present a fascinating discussion about our deepest drives...

Illustration Thomas Marshall I’M A GIRL who likes porn. Yes, the sight of two slightly vacant, hairless people shagging each other senseless can turn me on. Sex excites me and the thought of another couple having filthy sex excites me - but would I actually get turned on watching a real-life couple have sex right in front of me?

I placed an advert for a couple who’d help me find out. I got a lot of replies, and duly sifted through various maniacs, old-timers and people who composed their emails in textspeak.

“Prof cpl who have done this b4 but would love 2 do again lol” Why are you laughing? Stop pretending to text me.

I finally spoke with Jamie and Lisa, who seemed to fit the bill: attractive, mid 30’s, and as new to this as I was. We arranged to meet that week. They booked the hotel and I began to get a little nervous.

The evening arrived and we met in the hotel bar for a drink. Although the conversation wasn’t in any way awkward, I felt a bit odd. Was I going to witness something which would give me nightmares rather than the horn?

Once upstairs, Jamie closed the curtains and they both sat on the bed. I sat on a great big chair like Ronnie fucking Corbett, wishing that I’d worn my contacts instead of my glasses to make it less obvious I wanted perfect vision for this. As they started kissing I immediately felt like a big old pervert and wondered what the hell I was doing. Would it be rude to run away screaming?

I was very aware of my presence, as were they, and I had a million questions popping into my head.

“What should I do with my hands?” “Is this a smoking room?” “If I can’t get a good enough look should I stand up, or is that just taking the piss?”

At one point I did almost laugh out loud, but purely because my mind was in overdrive and from a certain angle Jamie’s cock looked a bit like a root vegetable. I started saying “one potato, two potato ...” in my head over and over. Thankfully, biting my

"I SAT ON A GREAT BIG CHAIR LIKE RONNIE FUCKING CORBETT, WISHING THAT I’D WORN MY CONTACTS INSTEAD OF MY GLASSES" lip until it hurt stifled any giggles.

I must admit that as they got more into it, so did I. I don’t know how much of the act was for my benefit but they fucked like pros and most importantly genuinely seemed to be enjoying it. I didn’t touch myself, stand up or even speak, but I was transfixed, and my initial embarrassment was quickly replaced by complete fascination and a desire to join in. Not wanting to turn it into another threesome adventure, I sat on my hands and watched quietly until they finished.

They lay back in bed, she lit a cigarette (it was a smoking room – bugger) and, not wanting to kill the buzz, I asked them to keep in touch and left rather sheepishly.

This is something I’d definitely explore further, either by joining in or by having a partner with me and seeing what develops.

I will, however, never look at a potato again in the same light.

PHOEBEHENDERSON.BLOGSPOT.COM

Taking in scientific, social and creative perspectives, an expert panel will look to get the most up-to-date insight into whether we are in fact programmed to be unfaithful, and if so, what we can or should do about it.

An Argument About Sex is a modern adaptation of the classic play The Dispute by Pierre de Marivaux, that explores a failing relationship while also asking who is more faithful in love, men or women?

We will be joined by the adaptation's writer Pamela Carter, the play's Director Stewart Laing, evolutionary biologist helena cronin, with another leading speaking to be announced. genomics forum

This is a free, ticketed event. For tickets please contact the Tramway box office directly.

BO: 0845 330 3501. Tramway, 25 Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE

FULL COLOUR

genomics forum

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OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 21

genomics forum

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Lifestyle

SHOWCASE

of the Skinny Showcase THIS MONTH: EUAN TAYLOR Winner Award at RSA New Contemporaries 2009

From On the Street

22 THE SKINNY October 2009

From 7 Week Filing Job

Lifestyle

A statement from Euan Taylor: The main focus of my job as Chief Director of Inefficient Solutions is overseeing operations in all our specialist areas, which include the following: • Creating and solving problems • Always scrounging • Purveying superficial commodities • Building building sites • Futile endeavour Through continual development Inefficient Solutions consistently complies with these targets. In parallel with all great organisations in the international market, a strict maintenance schedule must be maintained. Like all global leaders, utilising natural resources, technology, workforce and client base to, and beyond, full potential is paramount. This dynamic focus ensures a steady evolution for a rich and healthy, profitable, prosperous future.

October 2009

THE SKINNY 23

Digital

upload

The Window and the Apple

download

Inside Inspace

With new operating systems either out or on the horizon, the two titans of hi-tech are set to square off once more. A new home for digital art in Edinburgh

Text Alex Cole Fourteen years ago, Microsoft took the biggest gamble of its corporate history by releasing Windows 95, a revolutionary operating system and one that changed the way users interacted with their machines forever. Revolutionary only, of course, if you’d never used an Apple Macintosh, in which case it looked eerily similar. While that wasn’t the first duel between the two in Silicon Valley, it touched off what would prove to be years of fierce software combat.

This year is no different, but now, after a several years of Apple riding high on the iPhone and shiny aluminum MacBooks while Microsoft reeled from the PR backlash that was Windows Vista, the tables may finally be turning.

This month, Microsoft is poised to release Windows 7, which promises to be everything Vista should have been and more. A cleaned-up interface, clever toolbar, impressive media handling and streaming and even an absurdly diverse collection of desktop wallpapers all make for great eye-candy, but in this release, Microsoft have mended the functional issues as well. Improved networking, wifi handling, device

the feed

handling, file structure, media indexing, and other features all make this one of the best-reviewed, most customisable and stable versions of Windows ever.

In addition, September saw the release of the new Zune HD which, while not entirely meant to compete with the iPod Touch, is shaping up to be one of the shiniest media players on the market. While there’s no release date for the UK yet, it may finally earn a place for the Zune brand.

Apple, by contrast, has already released Snow Leopard. A low-cost update to the existing OS X running on most Macs, most of the substantial changes in the new release have focused on tools for developers and otehr improvements behind the scenes.

While it was never intended to be the big change Windows 7 was, Snow Leopard suffers somewhat in the comparison by making few user-visible tweaks, only some minor program updates and very poor box art. That, coupled with a lacklustre event last month (an iPod with a camera, hooray), suggests that Cupertino might be running low on new ideas.

The next months won’t settle the argument once and for all, but as long as they keep competing for quality and price, techy consumers win.

Text Alex Cole At the far end of the Edinburgh University campus, hidden in the shiny, mysterious new Informatics building, lies the future of new media galleries.

Inspace, a modern approach to public engagement facilities, is built for the 21st century and, it sometimes seems, inspired by both the Jetsons and Tron. Awash in projectors, camera, sound systems, copious wifi, robot dogs, and a curious sense that you’re about to be served by a robot maid, this is the ultimate performance ground for any new-tech installation project.

The gallery’s opening, held on 11 September, featured guest performances by the Cybraphon, a digitally controlled wardrobe playing music on Twittered command, as well as a massive Puffersphere displaying 360-degree content, rotating LED spheres made by visiting German artists displaying the earliest printed text in Scotland, a time-delayed wall/webcam of the many viewers, several robotic dogs which loved to be petted, and the kind of canapés that could

only come from the future. All very slick, very impressive, and a collective slap in the face to anyone unaware of just what is possible with current digital technology.

The goal of Inspace is to raise awareness of the role of technology in society, biology, art, medicine and the humanities, and to put a 300-square-metre “shop-window” up for exhibitions, education events and the impressive efforts made by artists in residence and Informatics students.

When the initial opening euphoria wears off, it’s hard to say just what the new exhibition space will house – the whole point of the facility is to host surprising and unexpected exhibits.

It’s also difficult to say whether artists will truly take advantage of everything the space has to offer. That said, this is Edinburgh, and if there’s anywhere welcoming to the weird, new and wonderful, it’s here.

Inspace is located on Crichton St, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB. www.inspace.ed.ac.uk

by Alex Cole

New wifi “n” band finally certified, everyone using it beforehand anyway - Orbiting Planck observatory takes first look at oldest light in the universe - Alan Turing finally gets long-overdue apology for WWII discrimination - Western governments want you to ditch your tech when you leave China, fear spying - BBC in row over encrypted HD content, think they can actually curb piracy - £465 million fibre optic cable broadband goes live in Africa - French government approves internet ban for digital piracy

24 THE SKINNY October 2009

DIGITAL

NEW MEDIA SCOTLAND

Left to My Own Devices This month New Media Scotland's Director Mark Daniels checks out the best of the best in digital art

Opera. With tickets at only £10 if you’re under 26, it’s a safe bet.

scottishopera.org.uk

Registered in Scotland Number SCO37531 Scottish Charity Number SCO19787 Registered Office: 39 Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow G2 4PT

Ars Electronica

IN THE ever evolving world of new media art, the best barometer indicating the very state of the art is the Prix Ars Electronica. Awarded annually since 1987 in Linz, Austria the prize is recognized as the Oscars for this artform. It’s an integral part of the Ars Electronica festival that’s been held in the city since 1979. The back catalogue of projects presented over the last thirty years is a timeline like no other when it comes to digital culture.

The developing trend of object based media art was typified in this year’s anchor exhibition ‘Human Nature‘ but across the river at the Ars Electronica Center it was the ‘Device Art’ exhibit that caught my eye and the public’s engagement. The presentation of media art and some forms of visual art is often reliant on the use of audio, visual or some form of electronics to display the content. With device art, this hardware is the content. The technology is celebrated and interfaces permit interaction, joy and response. Above all they serve to widen the prospective audience.

Launched in the autumn of 2004 with the help of a five-year grant from the Japan Science and Technology Agency, a group of Japanese artists and

researchers have been able to create, curate and contextualise device art practice. The work is playful, accessible and can operate beyond the confines of the gallery. It also has the ability to be mass produced and commercially viable.

The key here is that technology should not be feared. These works may have entertainment value, but they can still be read positively with the same value systems applied to traditional Western art practice. In Japan these boundaries between forms of practice and appreciation do not exist, it’s a superflat world. This allows an artist’s concept to be directly part of everyday lives, with the device not separate from the experience.

The Maywa Denki artist collective create beautiful but eccentric devices driven by a desire to wrench technology as far away from the black box as possible. Hearing ‘Misty‘ played on a Maywa Denki device (a smiling pregnant saxophone spoon of a thing) late one night at the Ars Electronica Center will stay with me. In Scotland we have fabulous device artists too, like ~ in the fields and FOUND (the creators of Cybraphon) but what if the Edinburgh Interactive Festival became more like Ars? No puns.

Supernatural History Tours 23rd October – 1st November 2009 Every evening from 6pm – 9pm

2nd November – 31st March 2010* Every Saturday evening from 6pm – 9pm To book visit www.realmarykingsclose.com or call

0845 070 6244

Pre–booking recommended. Subject to availability. *Except 5th, 12th & 19th December.

AS SEEN ON LIVING TV’S ‘MOST HAUNTED’ OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 25

REading

Looking at the Stars The newly launched Gutter Magazine already looks like being a promising step for new Scottish writing. Here's why.

Interview Keir Hind Gutter is a magazine for new Scottish writing, launched this past August. Issue 02 will be launched in February, but the submission deadline for this next issue is at the end of this month – 30th October, to be exact. It’s a prestigious affair – the Editorial board includes writers Kirsty Gunn and Alan Warner, poet Kathleen Jamie and agent Maggie McKernan.

Get a hold of a copy if you can – it’s full of cracking stories and poems, by emerging and established writers, for whom it aims to provide a platform. The editorial of the inaugural issue mentions that “The need for a new magazine is further exacerbated by the demise of Cencrastus and Cutting Teeth, the infrequency of some titles and dominance of criticism in others”. Is it, therefore a noble undertaking? Maybe.

I asked editors Adrian Searle and Colin Begg how the magazine came about. Adrian said “Colin heard a certain Scottish literary critic who’ll remain nameless complain that there were no ‘young literary turks’ out there and we knew for a fact that the new writing scene in Scotland is bouncing”. With this in mind, they’re “particularly keen to give space to fiction and poetry that challenges the status quo, whether that’s personal or collective, real or imagined” says Adrian. “We also want to reflect Scotland now, not 10, 20 or 30 years ago. These days we Scots, whether by birth or by association, are an incredibly diverse and international bunch.”

The first issue of the magazine is stuffed with all kinds of new writing from (at my count) 42 different contributors. One is the established writer Ewan Morrison, who has previously written novels such as Swung and Distance. He reckons Gutter “has potential to be a bit like McSweeneys”, a very positive assertion. He also says “At the moment there is a very tiny self appointed elite who determine what is acceptable literature in this country, I’m talking about people who’ve got themselves into positions of power, and who may be able to determine who and what gets published in future. With so few people determining the arena of criticism and appraisal within Scot lit, this will ultimately lead to conformism and stagnation.” This being his assessment, he sees the magazine as a positive thing: “This is why I’m grateful for the existence of Gutter. It’s a breath of very fresh air in what are now looking like some very stale corridors of power lined by the same portraits of the same old faces.”

On which note, two new faces who feature in the magazine are Patricia Ace and Fiona Rintoul. Ace, who has three poems in the first issue, says “It feels great and especially exciting to have work featured in the very first issue of a new magazine.” Rintoul, who contributes an extract from her novel Leipzig, expresses a similar sentiment “I’m delighted to have my work in the first issue of Gutter. It’s a great-looking magazine and a fantastic read. And - crucially - it isn’t pretentious.” The magazine does seem to have been set up with writers like Patricia and Fiona in mind. When I asked Adrian Searle about the aims of the magazine, he said “Gutter aims to provide a platform for the best established and new writers to publish their work side by side.” Patricia Ace seems to approve of this: “There was definitely a need for a new Scottish lit mag. and I’m impressed by Gutter’s ambition to remain outward-looking and challenge the status quo.” Fiona Rintoul seems impressed too.

“Gutter really is filling a gap in the market. There isn’t another literary magazine in Scotland of this calibre.

With so much good new writing around, Gutter is an exciting and much-needed new outlet. I expect it to have a very bright future.”

Speaking of the market, doesn’t the fact that Cencrastus and Cutting Teeth have expired suggest the magazine is a risky venture? Adrian is confident it’s not. “I think it’s more about readership than market. Nobody ever got rich publishing a literary magazine… but there’s certainly an audience out

26 THE SKINNY October 2009

"Nobody ever got rich publishing a literary magazine… but there’s certainly an audience out there, UK-wide and internationally, ready to read high quality Scottish writing."

Alan Warner

there, UK-wide and internationally, ready to read high quality Scottish writing.” But how can he maintain that high quality? “Hopefully we will get into a ‘virtuous cycle’, whereby publishing good writing means that we get sent good writing. We will also be spreading the word as widely as possible to solicit submissions, reading everything we are sent, keeping our editorial policy tight and, as Gutter develops, directly commissioning more and more work.” His co-editor Colin Begg expresses a similar sentiment regarding the quality of poetry in the magazine “In our reading, we set a minimum quality level, as well as an indefinable ‘Gutter Factor’, so in the unlikely event of there being a limited number of suitable poems we’ll simply publish fewer. I don’t think that will happen though, as the very presence of magazines such as ours will hopefully serve as an engine to drive standards higher.”

Those standards are very high already. A personal highlight in the first issue was Karen Campbell’s ‘Baccalaureate Ecosse’. This work is an essay purported to have been written in an exam in 2028, about Scotland’s ‘recent history’, including a King Alexander Salmond and President William Connolly, and it’s fantastically inventive and humorous. It’s worth grabbing a copy just for that story – though it should be said that the others are really very good too. To get an idea of who they’re looking for, I asked Colin and Adrian who their dream contributors would be.

Colin replied that “In terms of Scottish writers alive today, and if I’d any money to pay them, I’d love James Kelman, Agnes Owens, or Kevin MacNeil to contribute a new story, and Tom Leonard or Douglas Dunn a new poem.” Adrian took a more fantastic tack by answering “Financially, JD Salinger (although I don’t think he’s got any connection to Scotland!).

Emotionally, Iain Macpherson who wrote Wild Harbour in the 1930s, a greatly under-rated Scottish novel.” Something for everyone there – it seems the only common factor is just damned good writing.

Things are going well for Colin and Adrian then, with Colin telling me “I’m very pleased. We received a phenomenal response in terms of submissions, which enabled us to select excellent work”. Adrian adds. “I’ve been delighted at the quality of work we’ve been able to publish and the feedback we’ve had across the board.” So, if you’re interested in contributing, what message does Gutter have? Adrian says: “Please send us your work! We read everything.

If you’re unsure then subscribe - you’ll get an idea of the style and tone of the magazine and see what we’ve published before, which will up the chance of your own work being accepted.” If you’ve any ambitions as a writer at all, Gutter could be just the place to exhibit your work. Get writing!

The Submission deadline for the second issue of Gutter is 30 Oct. www.guttermag.co.uk

ALASDAIR GRAY: A SECRETARY’S BIOGRAPHY

BY RODGE GLASS

GRANDVILLE

BY BRYAN TALBOT

rrrr

rrrr Reviews written for the paperback edition of this entertaining biography are pre-empted by the fact that Gray himself has written his own review of the book in the Guardian. Gray complained that the book overstated his feelings for his first wife, Inge, after their marriage. I suspect this is correct – I know Alasdair Gray slightly (he’s a friend of my grandparents), and so noticed an error where the cover of the book Mavis Belfrage is said to bear a picture “that looks very like Inge”. In fact, it’s exactly like a picture of my aunt which Gray drew for her wedding invitations because he lifted it wholly, with her permission, for Mavis. However, my (nauseating / very Glaswegian) nitpicking should not demean this largely well researched biography of a tricky subject. Glass is not a psychologist, and even the world’s best psychologist would probably regard Alasdair Gray the way a chicken would regard calculus. Yet the book gives a sense of how puzzling a character Gray is, and Glass’s inclusion of himself in the narrative stresses that this is his personal portrait, and in the end that’s how this book should be judged. It’s a portrait to be proud of.

[Keir Hind]

Bryan Talbot’s last graphic novel (if it should be called that) was the phenomenal Alice in Sunderland, a multi-layered exploration of the history of Sunderland and the lives of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, the model for Alice in Wonderland. Grandville is a complete change of pace, an action-adventure comic featuring talking animals, set in an alternate history where France won the Napoleonic Wars. There is a reason for this – Talbot is paying homage to JJ Grandville, a French illustrator who drew anthropomorphic animals representing French society figures in the 19th Century, when this book is set. When an otter (Raymond Leigh-Otter by name – groan if you want) is killed in the sleepy village of Nutwood (get the reference?), it’s investigated by our hero, Detective Inspector LeBrock, a brawling working class badger, and his upper class sidekick, Detective Ratzi.

Yes, he’s a rat. And a rattling good yarn follows as the investigation uncovers dark secrets being kept by the fascist French Government, led by a rabbit called JeanMarie Lapin (Geddit?). Corny puns abound, but this is a stunningly well drawn book with a compelling mystery, and a great detective team at it’s heart. Great stuff. [Ryan Agee]

OUT NOW. COVER PRICE £9.99.

PUBLISHED BY BLOOMSBURY.

RELEASE DATE 15 OCT. PUBLISHED BY JONATHAN CAPE. COVER PRICE £16.99

TRANSITION

SIMON’S CAT

BY IAIN BANKS

BY SIMON TOFIELD

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Edinburgh’s

Music and Audio Library Celebrating women and music Answer the following and you could win an all inclusive dinner for two at The Grain Store.

1 Marion Cotillard became her in La Vie en Rose?

2 Coming soon to Edinburgh with Diamonds and Rust?

3 Who’s that girl (from Aberdeen)?

4 Greatest soul singer of all time – Respect!

5 Strange fruit from Lady Day?

Iain Banks’ new book is of a sort that Iain M Banks could have put his name to – because this book, though it has a (sort of) contemporary setting, is loaded with sci-fi concepts. The main one is that we all live in a multiverse, which is to say there are a (possibly infinite) number of parallel earths, all different to some degree, existing beside one another.

Then there’s The Concern, an organization dedicated to influencing events across worlds, possibly for the better, but possibly for its own gain. It takes a while to work out what’s going on - the book is a challenging read. Exposition is kept to a minimum at first, with readers left to keep up with events over a growing number of apparently unconnected narratives.

This could be alienating, but each story is absorbing enough to carry the reader onwards towards finding out how they connect. Key to the story is that some characters can make transitions, which is to say they move from one body to another across universes – and one of these transitionaries is planning rebellion.

What is initially a complicated book, quickly becomes a fascinating one. [Nat Smith]

Simon’s Cat started off life as an internet animation that developed a cult following. The short films featuring a hungry cat on YouTube gained enough viewers to interest Canongate publishing, who’ve made it into a book. This would seem to reverse the norm, but it works well enough. For those who haven’t seen them, the short films were black and white line drawings of a cat pestering its line drawing owner (who we’ll presume is called Simon), usually for food. The book is much the same, and as the films were dialogue free, so is the boaok. The main difference is duration; the stories in the book never take more than a page, sometimes with around six pictures, but usually just one. The book does build up a world for this Cat – he lives in a suburban home, with plenty of gardens and open space to roam around in, and there are recurring characters other than cat and owner, like a dog, a hedgehog and some birds – but it’s not really what you’d call taxing reading, nor is it meant to be. Extremely amiable, this is a book to dip into occasionally. [David Agnew]

OUT NOW. COVER PRICE £18.99.

PUBLISHED BY LITTLE, BROWN.

RELEASE DATE: 1 OCT. PUBLISHED BY CANONGATE. COVER PRICE £12.99

Answers are available on our blog at: http:// talesofonecity.wordpress.com or pop into the Music and Audio Library and ask the staff!

E-mail answers and contact details to: central. music.library@edinburgh.gov.uk by 23rd October.

Edinburgh Music and Audio Library 9 George IV Bridge Edinburgh www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries October sees the Centenary March for Women’s Suffrage in Edinburgh. We will be celebrating with songs and recitals as well as displaying press cuttings and pictures from the original procession in the Music Library all month.

Largest music library in Scotland • Order and collect music via any library • Diverse • Specialist • Knowledgeable staff

Power to the pussy: Simon's Cat

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 27

READING

REVIEWS

Film

The Dancing Outlaw Stylish and intense, White Lightnin' is a recreation of the life of an unlikely cult figure: Appalachian dancer Jesco White. The Skinny spoke to director Dominic Murphy and actor Edward Hogg about the making of the film and meeting the man himself.

Interview Becky Bartlett After a directorial career spanning twenty years, filmmaker Dominic Murphy has finally made his first feature: White Lightnin’. The director has the air of a seasoned professional - a slightly intimidating, shaven headed man with two of his fingers taped together (the cause remains a mystery). He is just the kind of person one imagines directing this film; a semi-biographical tale of Appalachian dancer Jesco White. Born and raised in rural West Virginia, the real Jesco has led an extreme life filled with drugs, poverty, depression and loss. Scriptwriter Shane Smith’s version of the documentary Dancing Outlaw shares this past, while turning his future into a twisted revenge fantasy loaded with religious subtext and self-sacrifice. “I met Shane about ten years ago and we became friends” recalls Murphy, “He was a writer, I was a director, and we decided we wanted to make a movie together.

Years later he sent me a short story that was a kind of dialect narration of this guy’s life. I didn’t know anything about Jesco at that point; it was just a mad story, told in a way I’d never seen before.”

Visually, Murphy’s film is a low-budget, muted piece of cinema. It verges on monochrome, jumps violently and mixes hellfire and brimstone preaching with black pauses and quiet narration. It portrays hick life in an uncompromising manner, while its violence is suggested more frequently than shown, and all the more brutal for it. “I wanted it to be very cinematic, but not Hollywood”, states Murphy. “I wanted it gritty, with a sort of trash, dated, kind of kitsch, slightly crude flavour, because that made sense to me. That would fit with the material and the people. I wanted to be true to Jesco, to capture the spirit of him. Jesco has a kind of naivety. He sees himself as weak, and I could imagine myself in his shoes, as it were. I didn’t want to be judgemental and portray him as a nasty character”, says Murphy. Make no mistake, White Lightnin’ is a violent film, and onscreen Jesco is a violent man. He spends his childhood being shunted around asylums, lashing out and jacking up, consumed by anger at the murder of his father, D Ray White. Portraying this man - even on a semi-fictional level - in a non-judgmental way, is a delicate affair. Enter Edward Hogg, the man chosen to portray the cult figure. Having spent the majority of his career on stage, this is Hogg’s first leading role in a feature film, and what a role to choose. Jesco, in Murphy’s words, is a combination of “childlike innocence on one level, and psycho on another”. Hogg, in his own words, is “green”. In person he is a quiet, unassuming man. The effeminate hillbilly twang is replaced with

his natural Yorkshire tones, the tightly-wound, barely restrained insanity on screen gives way to a humble, genuine and unavoidably likeable character. Watching White Lightnin’, it is very difficult to imagine anyone other than Hogg portraying Jesco. A lanky man with delicate features, his onscreen persona is very much one that only a person with diminished capacity would consider challenging. This contrast between the external image and the internal anger is what makes Jesco an intimidating, yet empathetic character.

As Hogg reiterates, “He’s a very sweet man. He’s not an evil person, but he’s got that side of him”. Jesco has not seen the completed film, but he’s fully aware of its existence. He allowed Hogg a meeting, during which much alcohol was consumed. “We got very drunk and then shot his guns in the woods, which made me very

this is where Hogg went to learn the moves. He had a choreographer on occasion, but both Murphy and Hogg felt there was more to the dancing than perfect timing.

As Hogg says, “In the end we were less worried about getting the steps right, and more about capturing the showmanship of it. He’s putting on a show. It’s his rock ’n’ roll moment.” This is what White Lightnin’ is all about. It’s not important to capture every second of Jesco’s life accurately, or to make distinctions between the real and the fictionalised moments. Jesco once said, “My past is coming up into my future and messing with my good life”, and this complements both his life and Murphy’s reinvention of his life. If the aim of White Lightnin’ is to capture something of the essence of Jesco as a person, it appears to have succeeded.

White Lightnin’ is out now.

preview

Gail Tolley

aim higher A few weeks ago I was sent one of those Facebook challenges asking me to list 15 films which had had the most impact on me in 15 minutes. It seemed a pretty pointless exercise, as with most things on Facebook; a narcissistic act to inflict your taste on your (no doubt uninterested) virtual buddies. The task did, however, make me slightly curious as to what films I would rate as having had a lasting impression on me.

nervous”, admits Hogg. “I shot his gun once and felt very powerful. I had to phone my mother and tell her I’d shot Jesco’s gun! He shot it maybe twenty times - he obviously feels good with power”.

The latter half of Murphy’s film may be fictionalised, but Jesco’s past needs little exaggeration. “He told me stories about his life”, says Hogg, “and he danced a bit for me in his living room. His sister came around with her friends and they all took their clothes off and danced in their bras and pants. There’s things in the film he hasn’t done, but there are bits of his life more extreme than the film. He’s kind of wonderful”.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Jesco’s dancing is a therapeutic, spiritual event, without which he would not be the cult figure he is. Typing his name into Youtube provides a few hundred clips of him, and

The few that immediately came to mind were almost all (and perhaps I should be a little ashamed of this) from the UK, America or Europe. I’m guessing part of the reason for this is because in the UK, our exposure to films from these countries is far greater than the exposure to films from Asia, Africa and South America. Having said that, the regular themed seasons at the Filmhouse and GFT provide a chance to correct

africa in motion 2009 Filmhouse, 22 Oct - 1 Nov

the balance a little. This month the Africa in Motion film festival is particularly impressive. It’s the biggest African film festival in the UK with more than 60 different films and events.

Even if you don’t have a specific interest in African film, the festival gives you the chance to see work which you’d really struggle to get hold of anywhere else. It really is an opportunity worth grabbing hold of.

The UK’s largest African Film Festival is now in its 4th year. It launches to life on the 22 Oct with My Secret Sky, a beautifully shot tale of two South African orphans who embark on a trip to the city in order to fulfil their dead mother’s dream. It’s a heart-warming story with memorable performances from the two young leads who themselves are from impoverished backgrounds. Also recommended is La Maison Jaune about a family living in the remote Aures Mountains in Algeria. This award-winning film will be shown on the 27 Oct and followed by a Q&A with its director Amor Hakkar. And if you missed Johnny Mad Dog at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival you can see it again here, applauded for its powerful depiction of Liberian child soldiers. [Gail Tolley] Full programme details are available at www.africa-in-motion.org.uk

28 THE SKINNY October 2009

Johnny Mad Dog

FILM

FILM REVIEWS THE BEACHES OF AGNES DIRECTOR: AGNES VARDA STARRING: AGNES VARDA, JACQUES DEMY, CHRIS MARKER, JEAN-LUC GODARD RELEASED: 2 OCT 2009 CERTIFICATE: 18

PONTYPOOL DIRECTOR: BRUCE MCDONALD STARRING: STEPHEN MCHATTIE RELEASED: 16 OCT 2009 CERTIFICATE: TBC

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rrrr Pontypool may be disguised as a zombie film, but it in fact offers a whole new take on the concept. More in keeping with the plague-ridden undead in 28 Days Later, the menace here is infected people, all seen - or more accurately, heard - by Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), a wizened, grizzly radio DJ in the small town of Pontypool, Canada. Almost nothing is seen outside the radio station, instead the tension rises as increasingly hysterical reports of riots and bizarre swarms of people are phoned in. Relying heavily on casting, director Bruce McDonald (who some may recognise as the director of ultra-low-budget Canadian horror Roadkill) has found the perfect actor in McHattie, whose disgruntled performance and sleazy, growling voice are ideal for the role. With the abundance of special effects in cinema today, Pontypool is a refreshing reminder that clever shooting and a smart concept can be equally (if not more) intense than the big reveal. [Becky Bartlett] WWW.PONTYPOOLMOVIE.COM

A delightful and idiosyncratic autobiographical documentary from one of cinema’s greatest directors: Agnes Varda.

The Beaches of Agnes combines clips from the director’s own films with imaginative recreations of moments from her life to create a patterned collage of memories and anecdotes (in one instance we see Varda with a cardboard cut-out of a car, recalling how in one of her homes she would have to do a 13-point turn to get her car out each day). The film is also a fascinating insight into the

filmmaking community Varda was a part of: from working with Alain Resnais and Jean-Luc Godard during the French New Wave to her marriage with director Jacques Demy which lasted until his death in 1990. It is during the moments when Varda reflects on the relationship with her late husband that the documentary reaches real poignancy. Sincere, intelligent and wonderfully eccentric The Beaches of Agnes is one of the most life-affirming documentaries of recent years. [Gail Tolley]

THIRST DIRECTOR: PARK CHAN-WOOK STARRING: SONG KANG-HO, KIM OK-VIN RELEASED: 16 OCT 2009 CERTIFICATE: 18

rrr There have been several vampire flicks in recent months but Park Chan-wook is definitely not jumping on the band wagon; his latest gorefest, Thirst, has been more than 10 years in the making. It tells the story of a village priest who offers himself up for an experiment that is hoping to find a cure to a mysterious virus.

After becoming infected and almost dying he makes an unexpected recovery only to find that he is left with an unquenchable ‘thirst’. The film starts off strongly and displays all the strengths the Korean director has become known for, in particular his eye for striking images. However the story rapidly begins to run away with itself, becoming increasingly bizarre and morphing into quite a different beast by the end: a comedy, vampire romance. If you make your mind up to go along for the ride you’ll find this entertaining enough but fans of Old Boy may be left wishing for a tighter execution. [Gail Tolley]

DVD REVIEWS HERE COME THE GIRLS

LUCK, TRUST & KETCHUP

IP MAN

DIRECTOR: VARIOUS STARRING: GUINEVERE TURNER, LUCY LIEMANN, ROBERTA MUNROE RELEASED: OCTOBER 12 2009 CERTIFICATE: 18

DIRECTOR: JOHN DORR, MIKE E. KAPLAN STARRING: ROBERT ALTMAN, ROBERT DOWNEY JR., TOM WAITS RELEASED: OCTOBER 19 2009 CERTIFICATE: 12

DIRECTOR: WILSON YIP STARRING: DONNIE YEN, SIMON YAM, SIU-WONG FAN RELEASED: OCTOBER 26 2009 CERTIFICATE: 15

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rrrr A DVD showcase for lesbian short films: about fucking time! Here Come The Girls would be a welcome release regardless of content, and, despite a few false notes, it’s definitely worth sifting through. The less ambitious efforts cover cheating heterosexual wives (A Soft Place), coming out angst (Below the Belt), growing old (Congratulations Daisy Graham) and bedroom politics (Happy Birthday) – these all suffer from being just a bit, well, dull. But then Abbe Robinson’s Private Life, is, if you overlook rather cheesecakey production values, a feisty and imaginative take on gender reversal in repressed 50s England, while Dani and Alice urgently tackles issues of stereotyping and domestic violence. The stand-outs include: Wicked Desire (a Texan mother gets a shock revelation); (the star of the disk) Guinevere Turner’s mysterious Late; and Fem, a performance art montage celebrating femininity and sexuality throughout the ages, from empowerment and submissiveness to defiance against the witch-hunters. Take that Lars von Trier! [Lisa Bourke]

You may not have seen Robert Altman’s genuinely ground-breaking 1993 drama Short Cuts. But you probably have seen Magnolia, Crash or Syriana, in which case you will have unconsciously appreciated its daring and sublime approach to ensemble storytelling. This documentary provides an invaluable record of the Raymond Carver inspired production, but its also an intimate and candid insight into the methods and attitudes of one of American cinema’s true mavericks. The cast interviews are refreshingly honest and insightful (Downey’s wired presence has a poignancy given his subsequent tribulations) and the on-set footage is intimate and fascinating. But Altman is undeniably the star. Always erudite, the director never loses his cool as he describes his attraction to the material, fights his corner over the controversial nudity, gauges performances from disinterested children, gives directions like “Start the pissing!” or receives a touching gift from Carver’s widow, Tess Gallagher. As she says, it all makes you think about “the thingness” of life. [Michael Gillespie]

Grandmaster Ip Man trained Bruce Lee. Frankly, he could have done nothing else and died a proud and happy man. But he also survived the Japanese invasion of China, publicly defeated their martial artists and escaped to Hong Kong as WWII raged around him. Well, according to Ip Man he did, anyway. This action biopic plays as fast and loose with historical fact as a beating from Iron Monkey and Hero star Donnie Yen, but it scores points for asserting the master’s Confucian life philosophies and the defiance of the Chinese under occupation (thankfully without sliding into full-on jingoism). The conventional narrative eschews the slapstick humour and structural tangents of many Hong Kong films, its focus never deviating from Ip Man, his family and his frankly astonishing ability to mete out a severe doin’. Yes, the fights are brilliant, Sammo Hung’s choreography junking high wire hi-jinks in favour of ground level scrapping with real emotional gravitas. Bruce would be proud. [Michael Gillespie]

VINYAN

JACK SAID

TIME BANDITS

DIRECTOR: FABRICE DU WELZ STARRING: EMMANUELLE BÉART, RUFUS SEWELL, JULIE DREYFUS RELEASED: OCTOBER 5 2009 CERTIFICATE: 18

DIRECTOR: LEE BASANNAVAR, MICHAEL TCHOUBOUROFF STARRING: SIMON PHILIPS, DANNY DYER, DAVID O’HARA RELEASED: OCTOBER 5 2009 CERTIFICATE: 18

DIRECTOR: TERRY GILLIAM STARRING: JOHN CLEESE, SEAN CONNERY, MICHAEL PALIN RELEASED: OCTOBER 5 2009 CERTIFICATE: PG

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As the loss of their child overwhelms them with grief, a successful couple (Béart and Sewell, both on good form) retreat to a mysterious place where they hope for reconciliation, but instead find… Well, that would be giving it away. But if this synopsis sounds familiar, that’s probably because it is. After gleefully subverting every convention of the backwoods horror with Calvaire, Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz’s second feature is a much more straightforward affair, doing little to confound our expectations of how a story like this will pan out. Aesthetically owing much to the transgressive ordeal pictures of Gaspar Noé, Michael Haneke and Bruno Dumont, Vinyan skilfully establishes an uncomfortable atmosphere, as our protagonists head into a Conradian post-tsunami Burma. But the flat characterisation and cold direction mean that by the time the ho-hum climax arrives, we’ve lost interest. The film has some interesting ideas, but nothing to match the melancholy of Don’t Look Now or the naked urgency of Antichrist. [Steven Dalziel]

In a surreal cameo, snooker star Jimmy White has his fingers cut off by undercover cop Jack (Simon Phillips). Worryingly, The Whirlwind has more acting ability in his remaining pinky finger than Phillips’ entire tubby frame. The lead is snookered from the start, though, as the script for this film noir/crime thriller feels like The Bill’s writing team have gotten their talons on a new Harry Palmer film – clutching at every cliché of the respective genres along the way. Jack’s mission is to take down a London gang headed by the ‘Guv’nor’ (bizarrely played posthumously by a CGI’d Mike Reid) and his Nuts magazine model daughters. Jack must also find friend and former gang member, Nathan (played by a rather sheepish Danny Dyer), who’s forced to go underground after robbing from the stereotypical cockney gangsters. Respective stars for Jimmy White’s efforts and the cinematography, which at least make this mental torture easy on the eye. [Alastair Roy]

rrrr When Going Live Live’s Trevor and Simon constituted TV entertainment for a generation of kids, Terry Gilliam’s tour-de-force Time Bandits burst onto the screen. Dwarf burglars smash through young boy Kevin’s closet, taking him on a thieving adventure through time: escaping predicaments with a map swiped from The Supreme Being.

Meeting and stealing from Napoleon (Ian Holm), Robin Hood (Cleese) and Big Tam’s Agamemnon along the way, the ramshackle troupe face a final showdown with the map obsessed Evil Genius (David Warner). As we prepare for the much anticipated CGI fest Doctor Parnassus, this nostalgic nod back to a time of painstaking set design and optical illusions reveals Gilliam’s artistry still submerges the audience in his nightmarish, surreal and hilarious take on history and fairytales. Though revisiting childhood favourites can be a demystifying experience, Time Bandits still stands on its stop-motion legs. As Gilliam says in the accompanying interview to this re-release, it is “intelligent enough for children, exciting enough for adults”. [Alastair Roy]

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 29

Theatre

Bursting with Pride Glasgay! Festival is controversial, dynamic and taboo-busting, and this year's theatre line-up is no exception Text Lesley Dickson Illustration Edward McGowan

O’Connor describes the play as an “exploration of those on the fringes of society” – a humorous dabble in social realism but with a modern Big Brother twist. O’Connor is quickly becoming one to watch and Playing Houses is set to be a sure-fire hit of Glasgay 2009.

Ginge, Ginger Nut, Carrot Heed, Fire Balls – sound familiar? Hair I Am (4-5 Nov) forms part of the festival’s boutique programme at the CCA. Following on from her show The Hair on my Head is Dead we’ve got to ask:

It has been branded cutting-edge, political and controversial. Certainly, even in its 16th year, Glasgay!, still has the radical energy that has made the festival worth talking about since its advent. Yet 2009 allows the festival to boast of its maturity. Initially attracting audiences from the LGBT community, Glasgay! is now defining itself as an epicenter for fearless social and political discourse reaching a wildly eclectic audience. And this year we’re talking Family and Femininity: ginger liberation, harridan mammies, transsexual deity, and some quintessential gender politics for good measure.

A focus on the twin themes of Family and Feminine is typical of Glasgay’s fearless attempt to debunk stereotypes. Hot on the agenda this year is the question of what feminine actually means. Is femininity inner or outer strength? Can a profanity-spitting harlot be feminine? Is an indoctrinated female oppressed by a predatory male the definition of feminine? And will we remain nailed to the medieval damsel in distress scenario? Let’s hope not! The Feminine is a multi-dimensional notion and Steven Thompson and the Glasgay team are ready to give some vanguard depictions of every flavour of the feminine identity, as revealed in the wide range of performance styles and stories in the festival’s theatrical programme.

The debate kicks off at the Theatre Royal with Matthew Bourne’s 21st Century androgynous depiction of Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray (2-3 Oct) bringing decadent dance to Glasgow. Visually scrumptious, this is a modern Ugly-Betty take on Wilde’s canon. Memory Cells at The Arches (20-24 Oct) is the darkest offering on the programme. Writer Louise Walsh plunges audiences into the misogynistic world of Barry as he preys on a woman locked in a chamber. It’s a study of body abstraction “inspired by recent cases of young women being kidnapped and held captive by predatory men,” as Director Sam Rowe explains. The intensity of compressed violence revives the unimaginable horrors of cases such as Elizabeth Fritzel and Natascha Kampush. The question is: how much power does the oppressed have over the oppressor? Provocative stuff to say the very least.

Another female, another crisis, well a mid-life crisis.

Maggie Kinloch‘s The Maw Broon Monologues (3-8 Nov) sees Scotland’s most notorious matriarch take to the Tron stage to delve deep into her past. A hilarious and sinister treat, Maw Broon meets Gordon Broon, reads Tolstoy and goes for colonic irrigation – let’s hope some things are left between the lines! On the family tip, Martin O’Connor returns to Glasgay with his first full length play, Playing Houses (13-17 Oct). Set in the gritty cavern of The Arches it displays pure Glasgow humour infused with gender conflict and identity struggles a la Pinter.

this year we’re talking ginger liberation, harridan mammies and a transsexual deity. what is it with writer/performer Helen Cuinn and her hair? “Well now!” retorts the zealous recipient of the Arts Trust Scotland Funding, “Ah’ve actually got a bee in ma bunnet aboot that!” Cuinn doesn’t want public hanging of barnet bigots, but she’s damn sure she’s unearthing the attitudes to red hair on stage. Exploring the roots of anti-ginger, this play ruptures our deep-rooted prejudices, Cuinn states: “I see the theme of ginger hair and its treatment in Scotland as a metaphor for how we deal with difference.”

And there’s more. Bette/Cavett (6-10 Oct) at the Tron is directed by Alan Bennett of Glasgay’s 06/07 hit Talking Heads. At the same venue, A Child Made of Love (2024 Oct) explores the issue of paternal longing, followed

by Jesus Queen of Heaven (3-7 Nov) which asks, what if God were a transsexual woman on a mission to promote sexual egalitarianism? At the King’s Theatre we see Roxy Hart razzle dazzle us in Chicago (5-10 Oct), while over at the Tramway Queen Elizabeth I visits Glasgow in Regina (23-24 Oct), a multi-media dance extravanganza. Glasgay 2009 promises to be a thoughtprovoking expose of cliché and a meticulous vivisection of social norms. And there’s something for everyone.

Weep, laugh and ponder. Let the exploration begin! www.glasgay.com

Gareth K Vile

The personal is the theatrical By the time you read this, I shall have continued my experimental stage-invasion by performing my party-killing monologue, Mentioned in Passing, from the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Either a brave confusion of live art, stand-up tragedy and critical analysis, or an hour long exploration of stage-fright to be tagged as “guy making fool of himself” on YouTube, I am hoping to present some of the reasons why I write to a London audience before they escape to The National Gallery.

Theatre is really bursting out of the section this month:

I found myself muscling in on Deviance and the Clubs sections, wondering if Confusion is Sex should be under Theatre and worrying whether my advocacy of queer diversity will surprise my mother. With The Creative Martyrs wandering around The Merchant City Festival, and storytellers offering a strong claim to a dramatic tradition – not to mention increased discussion on the website – performance seems to be rambling like an old-school blues man.

A strong theme seems to be emerging – like my mash-up

30 THE SKINNY October 2009

bastard monologue article, theatre is acting the hybrid.

Tours this month include The Red Room, a live art and dance collision that is previewed online, and Bounce’s hip-hop vision of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, while the Traverse introduces Friday lunchtime dramas where eating meets acting. While there is always space for old classics and their advocates, I am excited by companies willing to get busy with the new – to co-create and copulate; to seek out possibilities in times of change and technology.

Top Five october Theatre Events The Dough is Rising Traverse, Fridays, 12.30 Soup, Sandwich, a short play from top writers including Torben Betts and Ursula Sarma. www.traverse.co.uk A Play, A Pie and A Pint Oran Mor, Monday to Friday, 12.30 Popular grub'n'drama season still running with new scripted work.

Antipode Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 25 October, 7.30 Platform, Glasgow, 27 October, 7.30 Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh, 30 October, 7.30 Male dancers and a live double bass from Retina dance company. They come from Belgium.

The YelloWing Scottish Storytelling Centre 3 October 7.30; Eden Court, Inverness 4 October 7.30; CCA, Glasgow 13-16 October 7.30 Physical theatre and feminist musings on mental illness, based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s novel, The Yellow Wallpaper.

The Elephant Man Dundee Rep, 20-31 October, 7.30 From the screen to Broadway, a rare chance to see an award-winning adaptation.

THEATRE

VENUE OF THE MONTH

Traverse Theatre The Traverse proudly boasts that it is the home of new writing. However, even more lurks behind the elegant foyer...

By James Hogg

Adapted by Mark Thomson

FAITH FANATICISM MURDER MADNESS

16 October – 7 November 2009

www.lyceum.org.uk/sinner BOX OFFICE 0131 248 4848 GROUPS 8+ 0131 248 4949 TEXT RELAY 18001 0131 248 4848

Company No. SCO62065 Scottish Charity Registered No. SCO10509

LYC0100009 Sinner Skinny Mag Ad 155x126.indd 1

Text Michael Cox Photography Alastair Wight “SO MUCH of theatre, for me, is about the experience for the audience, and I’m very keen we offer as many different experiences as possible: not in just the sort of plays but in the way that we present them.” So says Dominic Hill, the artistic director of the Traverse Theatre, one of Scotland’s flagship theatre companies.

In describing the Traverse, Hill says that it is “possibly the only presenter and producer of new work in Scotland. It’s a place to go to if you want to see the latest that’s going on in Scottish performing arts. So, it’s about the new. New work.”

The Traverse is home to two theatre spaces.

“Traverse 1 is very flexible. It can operate as a proscenium theatre, but it can be reduced to something intimate but still remain grand,” explains Hill. “Traverse 2 is a great limited space. What’s good is that between the two you can present all kinds of work on whatever scale you want.” Hill has now been in the post for just over a year, coming in from Dundee Rep. “Now I’m developing new plays, working with writers and presenting new companies. Before, it was about working with old texts with a particular group of people. It’s a much wider, more open remit.” In speaking about the past year, Hill is obviously pleased.

“Lots of really exciting things have happened. One of the things that I was really keen to do when I started was to increase the amount of activity in the building.

We’ve done that massively. We have lots of different things, whether it’s lunchtime drama or theatre in the

21/9/09 16:23:09

bar, introducing new kinds of music or scratch performances. We’ve presented a season of debut plays with the NTS. Those have all been very exciting.” And the work continues. Hill is in rehearsal for a new play: The Dark Things. Written by Ursula Rani Sarma, it follows a group of survivors from a serious road accident.

“It’s about guilt and loss and survival. And it’s an extraordinary and wonderful play.” Hill initially read a draft and knew he wanted to do it. “Sarma is a poet, and it’s a very haunting, poetic piece full of imagery.

It’s wonderfully funny. It has a strange, quirky David Lynch-esque quality to it, which I really enjoy.”

Future work at the Traverse includes an eclectic mixture of companies and styles. Vox Motus returns with Bright Black before heading out on a Scottish tour. A partnership with Tramway brings An Argument about Sex, a production that will use both theatre spaces. And Visible Fictions bring their Christmas show Zorro, which Hill calls “a mad enough idea for me to go with.” “What really excites me,’ concludes Hill, “is that, for Scotland, the Traverse is unique. We are the only theatre that develops and commissions work and puts it on. But something that excites me, particularly this autumn, is that we’re producing such a range of work. We’re doing new music. We’re doing contemporary dance. We’re doing a new opera. And that’s what makes the place so exciting: the huge variety of work that’s going on year round.”

10 CAMBRIDGE STREET EDINBURGH, EH1 2ED 0131 228 1404 WWW.TRAVERSE.CO.UK

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 31

Theatre

Previews An Argument about Sex

Lone Gone Lonesome

When Pamela Carter and Stewart Laing created Slope, they cemented their reputation for thoughtprovoking and theatrical innovation. While they remain tight-lipped about the design for An Argument About Sex, their shared history – and intention to use multiple spaces in the Traverse and Tramway - suggest another memorable excursion into philosophy and possibility.

Sourcing Pierre de Marivaux’s 1774 comedy La Dispute, Carter has “recontextualised the ‘experiment’ and written an entirely new framework.” For the heart of the play – is there an intrinsic difference between men and women? – she has “stuck closely to Marivaux and the rhythms of his language.”

This balance between past and present is familiar from Slope., which dealt with artistic creation. An Argument, however, addresses the naturalness of social relationships.

“I think theatre is about examining human behaviour,” Carter continues. “If you can’t explore sex, gender, language in the theatre then where else are you supposed to do it?”

Director Laing is excited by Carter’s script, especially her adaptation of themes. “Pamela has focused on the financial industry, where the division of labour is still quite extreme,” he adds. “There is also scientific material in the early 21st century that helps us understand gender difference, and we have researched some of this, and referenced it in the production.”

Combining perennial meditations, a modern context, an imaginative use of the theatre, Carter’s sharp script and Laing’s directorial flair, An Argument promises to be both a showcase for dramatic excellence and an evening of provocative thought. [Gareth K Vile]

Thomas Fraser sung the country blues. His posthumous albums have been called “the best American music you will hear”, and tell of smalltown frustrations and love in the tradition of singing cowboys and Nashville loners. Yet Fraser was a fisherman who never left his native Shetlands.

He is celebrated by an annual festival, but Duncan McLean admits that Long Gone Lonesome, a new offering from the National Theatre, emerges from personal enthusiasm.

“I loved his albums when they came out,” he smiles. “And there are connections between my band and Fraser. Fraser grew up in a community without electricity until 1952, when he heard Jimmie Rodgers. Our violinist came from a selfsufficient family with no electricity.”

Mclean’s experience as musician and playwright insisted that he was the writer to lead the tribute.

The form of Long Gone draws on the traditional pub session, incorporating story-telling and live music alongside the script. With the atmosphere of a Highland Ceilidh – most nights will be followed by dancing to Mclean’s Lone Star Swing Band – it even tours the sort of fishing villages that Fraser inhabited. In the past, Scottish Theatre has had a hard time creating something that drew on its own traditions without being nostalgic and has tended towards gritty urban drama with dismal social realist scripts. Long Gone Lonesome hopes to bring theatre into the community, explore a personal history and, like Fraser himself, bridge the gap between tradition and contemporary art.

[Gareth K Vile] The Tolbooth, Stirling on 15 Oct at 7.30pm The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen on 21 Oct at 7.30pm

Glasgow, Tramway 1-17 Oct, Edinburgh, Traverse 19 Oct - 7 Nov

Town Hall, Dingwall on 23 Oct at 7.30pm

www.tramway.org

www.nts.co.uk

Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season

photo: bill cooper

As Ashley Page’s leadership of Scottish Ballet matures, the company is increasingly engaged with contemporary choreography. This triple bill, of Balanchine, Forsythe and Dutch National Ballet’s resident choreographer Krzysztof Pastor, showcases the possibilities and potential of ballet. Although Balanchine is accepted as a master of classical ballet, Rubies is abstract, eschewing traditional narrative and aiming at a dynamic, impressionistic vigour.

Revived recently by the Royal Ballet and Russia’s Mariinsky, it offers almost camp musical theatre from the corps de ballet and a virtuosic pas de deux: premiered in 1967, it reveals the influence of contemporary approaches without departing from balletic rigour. William Forsythe created Workwithinwork in 1998, and it comprises a picaresque series of setpieces, even more abstract than Rubies but founded on strict precision. Formal in structure and presentation, conversational in tone, Workwithinwork

32 THE SKINNY October 2009

Tell Me A Story suggests complex relationships through an almost dry choreography. A recent outing at the Edinburgh Festival evinced Scottish Ballet’s comfort with this cerebral style, a clear signpost of their movement towards challenging dance. Pastor’s In Light and Shadow betrays Russian influence, but draws heavily from Balanchine’s manipulation of ensemble.

Through these three works, Scottish Ballet make a clear claim to be a contemporary company, playing to their strengths and championing modern, energetic dance. With their new premises offering the space for great new work, and brave programming that is accessible without being obvious, Scottish Ballet are taking their remit to create a national ballet identity seriously, and lining themselves up with radical performance. [Gareth K Vile] Dates at venues across Scotland throughout October, see www. scottishballet.co.uk for details.

Is storytelling theatre? Often aimed at children, and associated with folk music and informal gatherings, it is excluded from the high art aspirations of theatre. Yet, from Johhny’s Big Gay Musical through Live Art monologues to many National Theatre productions, storytelling is influencing performance even as it evolves itself. Between 23 October and 1 November, international and Scottish storytellers line up together in the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. Linked by the inevitable theme of “homecoming”, the Scottish Storytelling Centre hosts events ranging from an evening of Celtic tales told to clarsach accompaniment to academic lectures on Scotland’s influence on Native American tribes.

Special guest Rangimoana, a prominent actor in the fusion of western theatre and Maori culture, makes the connection explicit. Both drama and storytelling are reservoirs of cultural capital, drawing on past

traditions and protocols to communicate ideas and to entertain. Equally, they respond to modern issues in a way that goes beyond reportage. From a performance perspective, the teaming of Fringe success Sean Cholburra, Jess Smith and Anne E Stewart promises a humorous evening of dance, music and stories: the Filmhouse will be showing the film The Cheviot, The Stag And The Black, Black Oil, John McGrath’s political drama from 1974 that drew on the Scottish ceilidh.

Aside from the intrinsic theatricality of a storyteller in full flight, these are signs that telling tales is no longer the preserve of school-children and this folk tradition is ready to take its natural place alongside the script and choreography. [Gareth K Vile] Various venues and events across Edinburgh and beyond 23 Oct - 1 Nov www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk

Comedy

PreviewS Tim Minchin: Ready for This?

Various venues in Scotland, 8-12 Oct

Whilst I admit to a soft spot for both the Gingers and the Aussies, I come around slowly to Tim Minchin not least because most musical comedy leaves me cold. I’ve seen too many good cabaret musicians who just aren’t funny or side-splitting comics who make Alanis Morrisette look sophisticated. And I’ve seen far too many bad musicians who couldn’t instill laughter from a crowd of three year olds on a cocktail of nitrous oxide and Sunny Delight, but that’s another story. Minchin, however, delights and

surprises by having both brilliant comic insight and undeniable musical talent.

I first saw Ready for This? at last year’s Fringe and thought it was great, the song If I Didn’t Have You being a personal favourite. Some of the tunes were a little self-derivative, but now it’s been toured right round the world at least once, I’d expect Minchin is showing his very polished best. [Lizzie Cass-Maran] www.timminchin.com

Glasgay’s Swinging Sunday Sparkler

T H E

The Stand, Glasgow, 18 Oct

Glasgay! has already been running since 3 September, so if you’ve not seen anything yet, we're tempted to ask where you've been. Fortunately, the UK’s leading LGBT festival runs until 8 November and the diary is filled with theatre, film, dance and visual art, all tuned around this year’s theme of ‘family and feminine’.

With just five comedy nights spaced over its two months, make sure you plan ahead if you want to catch some of the homosexual humorists in their element. The Swinging Sunday Sparkler is a glitzy mix of comedians, including The Skinny’s own bloggers Elaine Malcolmson and Stephen Callaghan, alongside magician Mandy Muden, and the irrepressible Scott Agnew. All this held together with the fine sticky tape of host Jonathan Mayor - a “self obsessed glittery queen” according to the Manchester Post.

Gay nights at the Stand can lead to all kinds of sparkly chaos, so to find the uncontrollable comic heart of Glasgay!, be sure to stop by. [Edward Whelan] www.thestand.co.uk

COMEDY CLUB LIVE COMEDY

7 NIGHTS A WEEK

www.glasgay.co.uk

Correction

In our September preview of Improv Wars, we told you all it was replacing the fabulous Dance Monkey Boy Dance. We were wrong. Apologies to Raymond Mearns and co for our mistake. The good news is that Dance Monkey Boy is going nowhere and you can see both shows at the Glasgow Stand this October - upstart newcomer Improv Wars on the 5th and stalwart old hand Dance Monkey Boy Dance on the 12th. So everyone’s a winner.

333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow

0870 600 6055 5 York Place, Edinburgh

0131 558 7272 www.thestand.co.uk

Sparkling wit: host Jonathan Mayor

October 2009

THE SKINNY 33

Art

Winner Takes All

A solo show in the Modern Institute at only 24? We take a tour around Alex Dordoy's new exhibition, barely concealing our envy.

Text Andrew Cattanach I first got to know Alex Dordoy as a student at The Glasgow School of Art. He was in the year below me and about to go on exchange to the same university in California I went to the previous year. Friendly, cheerful and too nice to ever come to anything, he wore a silly bobbled hat and a foppish curly fringe.

It was clear he lacked the required edginess to ever make it in the art world. This is when I thought that every successful artist was cagey and elusive and art school where you went to cultivate that attitude.

Over three years have passed and I’m on a bus from London to Scotland reading the latest copy of Frieze magazine when I come upon a full page advert for Alex’s solo show at The Modern Institute, Glasgow. Soiling myself, I frantically text expletives to everyone I know in that mixture of excitement and jealousy that comes from finding, much to your ambivalent horror, that your peers are getting ahead in life.

I later insist on meeting up with him at the gallery for a chat and a sneak preview of the show. He’s still the friendly and enthusiastic guy I remember (minus

the hat and fringe), and his work is similarly vibrant.

Most of it lies around the floor in that transitional stage between studio and gallery. One huge painting in particular dominates the space. Lying on the floor, a sheet of blue tarpaulin is awash with abstract painterly marks from an indiscriminate, lively palette. Recognisable forms and figures loom out from the surface –particularly a bearded man in half profile.

The man, it turns out, is the American painter and film director, Julian Schnabel, best known for his large-scale portraits painted on canvases strewn with broken dinner plates. Along with Jasper Johns, Schnabel is a significant influence on Alex’s art. He describes to me a “lyrical quality” that underpins Schnabel’s otherwise bombastic work.

There’s something quite bombastic about Alex’s work too: the unashamed celebration of everything painterly, the combination of found objects and artistic gesture. I almost gasp when he tells me that he’s cast his own face in plaster and given it the Jackson Pollock treatment. He picks off the floor and gently holds in his hands a grubby, paint-streaked face.

Sleeping and dead, endearing and morbid, he hangs

it on the wall for us to have a better look – his very own death mask, filling the space with its weary melancholia.

In the middle of the room stands a metal shelving unit that looks like it’s been hit by a car. It’s the kind of unit you might have seen in the art department at high school, only this one’s been assaulted by a disruptive student. It embodies a certain tension, perhaps inherent in all the works, between the violence it implies and its ostensible elegance.

This very ambivalence, between the pathos of grim degradation and the optimism of an against-allodds courageousness, seems to be reflected in the show’s title, Winner. The advert shows a rabbit-like creature with what can only be described as a feather headdress, stained with yellow and blue paint, holding a cable-tie. Is this poor creature what winning looks like?

The title, he explains, is named after a model of bicycle he used to own – a Raleigh Winner. The name appeared in some of his earlier paintings as a kind of motif and it just seemed natural to continue this pattern in the show’s title. “I wanted it to be provocative and bold,” he goes on, “but also to set up a situation

Rosamund West

on puffins and kelvingrove This month I have mainly been being a tourist in my own country. While this is oh-so-very 2009, staycationing, recessionista, and whatever other newly coined soundbytes you would like to throw at it, it’s not been particularly great for my contemporary art knowledge.

Unfortunately I didn’t decide to head towards Inverness for its ReImagining the Centre weekend of urban art (including some rather insane knitting on lampposts, my sources tell me), or Aberdeen’s North East Open Studios event, offering extended open access to

the shady environs of the area’s art practitioners. Instead I went to Oban and Mull, to be treated to the sight of some rather shoddy watercolours of puffins. Ah, the Highlands. Unashamedly living up to stereotype, on the West coast at least. There was an interesting-looking exhibition in Antobar, the Tobermory arts centre, entitled In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird, a photographic recreation of the journeys of a Victorian female author and traveller. I didn’t manage to see it, as I went on the Sabbath and it was of course closed.

34 THE SKINNY October 2009

Back to reality, and I’ve paid my first visit (yes, very belatedly) to the refurbished Kelvingrove, and thought it was amazing. I left feeling very proud of coming from Glasgow, amazed at the drawings of great exhibition pavilions of the 19th century, and at the level of consideration that has gone into re-presenting the existing collection as something that will provide both information and a genuine enjoyment of learning, without being self-consciously worthy or preachy. If you haven’t been yet, go. I’m embarrassed it took me so long.

that, like the bike, the work simply can’t live up to.”

I suddenly get an insight into the edgy artist beneath the jovial front. And despite his successes – gallery representation and solo shows – he seems acutely aware of the contingency of it all, that there is always an alternative, more grubby existence waiting in the wings.

But despite the underlying pessimism he’s getting on better than most of us lowly art graduates, especially seeing as he’s only 24. I ask him if he’s got any advice for current art students and he offers a suitably tongue-in-cheek answer. “As a wise man once said,” he begins a little mockingly, “there are three elements to success: talent, luck, and determination.

Only the latter is in your hands, so work hard.”

It’s apparent that Alex has all three of these qualities in some abundance, and with a prestigious, two-year residency in Amsterdam coming up, it seems there is little getting in the way of his success.

And if his current trajectory is anything to go by, Alex’s future career can only be a testament to the winner taking all.

5 Sep - 17 Oct 09 www.themoderninstitute.com

Top Five october art Events NEW WORK SCOTLAND 2009

COLLECTIVE, EDINBURGH 10 OCT – 31 JAN It’s back, and it’s bigger than ever. This year’s emerging artists are Katharina Kiebacher, Anna Tanner, Michael White, Rachel Adams and Jennifer Grant. A must see.

FRIEZE ART FAIR

REGENT’S PARK, LONDON 15 – 18 OCT The focal point of Britain’s art money calendar, featuring Scottish galleries in the form of doggerfisher, Mary Mary, Sorcha Dallas and the Modern Institute. Likely to be filled with expensive suits and hysterical gallerists.

IT’S BURNING EVERYWHERE THOMAS HIRSCHHORN

DCA, DUNDEE, UNTIL 29 NOV Spectacular installation and the first UK solo show by the internationally acclaimed artist.

THE DISCOVERY OF SPAIN

NATIONAL GALLERIES, UNTIL 11 OCT Last chance to catch this year’s blockbuster show on the mound.

STUDIO PROJECT 19: LEDE RECKMAN

MARKET GALLERY, GLASGOW, UNTIL 24 OCT The culmination of a full ten weeks of residencies undertaken by the Dutch artist between the Glasgow gallery and Lumsden’s Scottish Sculpture Workshop.

[Rosamund West]

Sometimes it Makes Me Wonder What I Fought For: Katri Walker

It’s Burning Everywhere: Thomas Hirschhorn

SWG3

rrr

dundee contemporary arts

rrrr Upon entering the dark warehouse, Katri Walker’s video triptych dominates the far wall. The three projections side by side create an atmosphere while building a fuller picture of the life of the piece’s subject, Jimmy, a veteran Black Watch Paratrooper.

Walker’s film presents the viewer with a portrait of a man, often emphasising his at times painfully apparent loneliness through her juxtaposing of images.

An image that stands out for me in the film is that of Jimmy sitting on his own in his regular café while on the other side of the frame another elderly man sits with (probably) his grandchild, illustrating Jimmy’s lack of even a family for company. This becomes apparent in the shots of his home, dirty and squalid, indicative of someone who has given up on life, as the

Art

reviews

title of the piece suggests.

Walker’s videoed still lives are also worth a particular mention. They are keenly observed stills of the café counter tops and of the surfaces of Jimmy’s home. The lack of human presence in these shots again continues the thread of loneliness that runs throughout the piece and the natural lighting and apparently spontaneous composition give the shots an ordinary beauty.

Walker deals with her subject in a sympathetic manner and doesn’t shy away from the hard fact that this is a forgotten man, a man who once fought for a country that ignores him, as its inhabitants walk past him on the street. As Jimmy himself says, “It’s a mug’s game, you never win.” [Suzanne Neilson]

In the supplementary notes to Thomas Hirschhorn’s show It’s Burning Everywhere, there’s a telling quote from Dostoyevsky’s The Possessed: “I really don’t know if it’s possible to watch a fire without some enjoyment”. For the huge, immersive installation that fills Gallery 2 of the DCA, it’s impossible not to feel a shiver of pleasure when confronted by the sheer spectacle of all this chaos of stuff.

The room is filled almost floor to ceiling with painted cardboard, dismembered mannequins, strip lights, wooden objects and masses of jerry cans, much of it held together by miles of parcel tape. Some mannequins (termed “subjecters” by the artist) stand mutilated behind glass in an improvised shop window display, while others have come in wedding regalia bearing silent witness to the carnage before them. The middle of the room is dominated by a vast fallen tree sculpture diagonally intersecting the area, and slogans have been spraypainted around the place: WAR shouts one. It’s very clear indeed that bad things have happened here. The experience is one of overload, overkill, a deliberate assault on the viewer with text and image used as the artist’s weapons of choice. There’s no chance of escape from the barrage of visual information that assaults the eye from all angles.

Elsewhere, in the gallery’s ancillary space, works from Hirschhorn’s<> series pair fashion magazine adverts with war photography to create, in the artist’s words, “a new worldview”. These works are utterly consistent with the defiantly unsubtle tone of the whole show, a (lack of) feeling inherent in twenty-four hour rolling news channels being just a channel flick away from fashion week catwalks. Supermodels share newspaper space with disasters of war, a state of affairs that may strike as jarring and discomfiting... but then that’s entertainment.

[Ben Robinson] Until 29 Nov www.dca.org.uk

open day Friday 30 October 2009 9.30am - 4.30pm information, talks and tours

Ojos de Brujo

edinburgh college of art

A world of music Joan Baez 12 Oct Christy Moore 21 Oct Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club 28 Oct Ladysmith Black Mambazo 14 Nov

register online at www.eca.ac.uk/openday

Staff Benda Bilili 17 Nov Ojos de Brujo 30 Nov

0131 228 1155 www.usherhall.co.uk ECA Open day Ad_V1.indd 3

22/9/09 11:19:41

October 2009

THE SKINNY 35

Music

In The [Big] Pink The Big Pink have produced one of the most talked about debut albums in ages, but on the day of its release, is the pressure beginning to show?

Interview Paul Mitchell Photo Tim Saccenti

in particular. I think his production is fantastic and we are certainly influenced by it. Really what we like is the Phil Spector wall of sound method and the stuff he did with girl groups like The Ronettes, and The Crystals in the 60s. At the same time, people say things to us like ‘Oh, you sound like Chapterhouse, or Echo and the Bunnymen’, but the thing is I’ve never listened to those bands in my life. We get a lot of comparisons vocally with Richard Ashcroft. I know for a fact Robbie [Furze, bandmate] has never listened to The Verve in his life.

Now in retrospect I can see the similarities, but it’s just not his thing at all.”

What might help explain the astonishing level of early awareness is the fact that both Cordell and Furze are eminently well-connected (the ubiquitous Lily Allen is a pal) and have already run their own record labels (Cordell’s Merok Records featured early releases by The Klaxons and Crystal Castles). Still, there is a certain amount of bristling when it’s mentioned that they have been disparagingly derided as mere ‘scenesters’. “We do have a lot of friends we like to play music with and that keeps things fresh, but I don’t even know what that word means. It is a horrible expression but it also seems to be born out of jealousy of other people doing something. Maybe when someone walks past a venue and looks at a bunch of kids having a really good time, jumping off the bar, they’ll say something like: ‘That place is full of scenesters’. If that’s scenesters I want in. I think those comments are maybe made by people who are past the age of having fun, or people of the same age who just aren’t having any fun… that’s all it is.”

The theme of love is certainly well-worn in the realm of art and literature, but Cordell feels there is always room for additional perspectives to be added to the canon. “Without wanting to sound cheesy - though I know I will - love is a fundamental aspect of our existence. I was talking to a friend the other day and we discussed the fact that the meaning of life is to reproduce. If you don’t reproduce there is nothing else, it’s over. To reproduce is sex, and in humans sex often comes from love, so basically love is the meaning of life.”

OK, that ‘cheesy’ warning was well-advised, but Cordell goes on to explain his stance in the context of the album.

“Love outdates culture, language even. I think people were in love before they could speak. I’m not saying love is always good. It can also be really bad. It can provoke very negative feelings, jealousy, paranoia, rejection; we tried to encompass every aspect of that in the album, not just the happy happy, sunshine and holding hands routine, but also love in its darkest form, all its natural forms. So it’s a sad record as well as a joyful record.”

The Skinny catches up with Milo Cordell, one half of the electro-pop duo The Big Pink on the day their debut album A Brief History of Love has been released, wondering if we’ve interrupted a flurry of celebratory excitement. “Actually, it feels like your birthday,” Cordell says. “When you’re kind of expecting something amazing to occur but nothing’s quite happened yet. I’ve been on the phone, done some washing and I’ve got to go to rehearsal in a minute.” That would be a ‘no’ then. He has however taken time out to read the reviews, which have appeared en masse in most of the national titles, the BBC website, and of course, this venerable publication.

The music press has well and truly taken note of these guys, and big things, it seems, are expected.

"The meaning of life is to reproduce. If you don’t reproduce there is nothing else, it’s over" Milo Cordell “The publicity so far’s been great. We’ve won the NME thing [Philip Hall Radar Award for Best New Act] and featured in a BBC poll, having only released one single. It just came out of nowhere and we didn’t take it too seriously. Up until this point it’s just been about us making records and going on tour. Now we’ve come to a point where those awards seem to have raised expectation levels, and now in the last few weeks the reality has kicked in where it’s not just about making music, it’s about selling music as well.” So, no pressure then? Cordell laughs. “Actually talking to you now I’m just realising that there might be.”

The aforementioned reviews have in fact been generally quite enthusiastic, though one particular My Bloody Valentine-shaped spectre looms large in almost all of them. Cordell is unsure whether this may prove a help or a hindrance. “I think it’s unfair to always compare us to MBV but I think we are indebted to Kevin Shields

Playing King Tut’s, Glasgow, on 14 Oct

Dave Kerr

cash still rules So it’s clear that (despite the huffing of auld sourpuss Noel) Jay-Z’s headlining slot at Glastonbury last year was a pretty big watershed moment for the mainstream British rock festival, right? But the trouble is – and I say this listening to Hova’s so-so new album of champagne flute clinking tokenisms – how will any hip-hop artist ever climb to the top of the main stage bill at Glasto again without first becoming some diluted, Cristal slurping compromise?

Hip-hop is many things to anybody who cares to listen; for me, it’s Heltah Skeltah diffusing

the tension in a sweaty Czech club where a metal detector greets you at the door. It’s an untouchable Wu-Tang Clan assuming control of a 3,000 capacity circus tent before they’ve uttered the first syllable. It’s in everything De La Soul touches.

And Barack Obama’s right – Kanye West is a jackass, riding a wave of desperation with his irritating autotune/no-autotune shtick. He’ll no doubt complain that he too has earned that main stage slot soon enough, but one listen to any old cut from forward-thinkers like the Bomb Squad or El-P confirms that the biggest is never necessarily

36 THE SKINNY October 2009

the best. Coming from a white working class family in Scotland and introduced to rap via nonsense like Hammer (you've got to start somewhere, eh), I for one can’t pretend to understand the woes of a disenfranchised black America, yet do understand that the achievements of artists like Jay-Z, Kanye, Fiddy and Lil Wayne are seismic.

But – as with many aspects of this filthy industry – money made the whole thing stink a long time ago.

A Muso's Top 10

Why?

Since Alopecia came out, we’ve been on tour for maybe half of those months. We’ve been all over the US twice, all over Europe four times, Japan once and Israel once. We also finished the Eskimo Snow album earlier this year. In the past two weeks we’ve been rehearsing for our upcoming tour - hopefully we’ll make it back up to Scotland this spring. We have a couple of new members playing with us this go-round: Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson (of Fog, who both also played on Alopecia and Eskimo Snow). We’re also getting ready to shoot a music video next week for our song This Blackest Purse.

1. Ellington, Roach and Mingus - Caravan 2. Madvillain - Figaro 3. The Beatles - You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away 4. Buck 65 - On All Fours 5. Bob Dylan - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands 6. Joanna Newsom - Only Skin 7. Dump - The History of Love 8. The Game - Ol’ English 9. The Band - I Shall Be Released 10. Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay

- Yoni Wolf, September 2009 Here’s what Why? has been bumping on the stereo...

Eskimo Snow is released via Tomlab on 5 Oct www.myspace.com/whyanticon

You might recognise Thavius Beck as Saul Williams' right hand man of recent years. This month he prepares to strike out on his own with a masterclass in rhyme and rhythm.

Interview Bram Gieben Illustration Kate Copeland THAVIUS Beck’s speech is compact and concise. Dense info-bytes of personal opinion and thought are delivered in a calm, clear staccato baritone, just like the tracks on his first entirely solo hip-hop album, Dialogue. Many of his micro-fables thunder, judder and rumble their bass-heavy weight across the finish line in under three minutes - punk-rap hybrids powered by the machinery of glitched-out hip-hop, grime and filthy breakcore.

In the spirit of his compressed attack, we'll quickly review the facts about Thavius Beck’s career so far. A profligate producer, he was part of LA-based supergroup Global Phlowtations, and still part of the deeply experimental Labwaste, with partner-in-crime Subtitle. Beck co-produced Saul Williams’ Trent Reznor-assisted Niggy Tardust, and has also released two solo LPs; plus he masterminded the recent album by k-the-i???.

A prolific producer and multi-instrumentalist, Beck is an ambassador for the music software

“IT’S EASIER TO THROW PEOPLE OFF WITH MUSIC. WITH WORDS, IT’S LIKE A PURGING THING.” THAVIUS BECK company Ableton, conducting workshops for new users as he tours. For years a prolific collaborator and enabler, with Dialogue he has produced a deeply personal squall of beats and rhymes with no outside assistance.

Beck is a producer first and foremost, but it’s the writing that was in his blood, nagging at him to produce a personal document like this latest work. “Honestly,” he starts, “I think what is most important is writing. You’re able to express yourself in a much more direct way. You can stir up different emotions and create different visuals, which you can’t really do with just music. Doing beats, you can be very vague; very round-about.

It can be whatever you want it to – you can name it Pretty Rainbows, even though the inspiration was that you were depressed. It’s easier to throw people off with music. With words, it’s like a purging thing.”

Drawn on the subject of compression in his work, Beck admits to a nasty critical moment: “I read a review of Decomposition, which was the first record I did on Mush. One of the main complaints was that the songs were too long.

So I really thought about it: ‘Am I engaging the listener enough to justify making a five minute song?’ I decided I would rather have someone buy an album that’s thirty-five minutes long, and when it’s over, they would be like, ‘Damn, I wanna hear this again,’ rather than have them be bored with it forty minutes in and there’s still twenty minutes left. I want people to want more.”

Beck’s tastes have always been diverse, but he admits to being schooled on electronica by Subtitle: “He was always saying to me, ‘You’ve gotta hear this, you’ve gotta check this out.’” A trip to the UK during the glory days of underground grime was a turning point: “We heard some grime on pirate radio and were just blown away. I think it was some really old Wiley stuff.

That sealed the whole deal for me.” Hearing rap that was not dominated by US hip-hop was a revelation: “There were influences from electronica, four-four stuff… plus, these people were from different parts of Africa and the Caribbean islands… just hearing how all that fused together was really inspiring for me.”

Beck is just as influenced by prog rock and jazz: Labwaste toured and were good friends with The Mars Volta. He is an advocate and practitioner of fusion: “I just love the dark sound – the melding of different genres. I think that’s the main thing with the fusion stuff that’s always been inspiring to me: mixing rock elements with jazz elements, different percussion from other parts of the world, and fusing that all together to create something new.”

Using Ableton as a basis for his productions, Beck has reached new levels of innovation: “It’s opened up a lot of possibilities, because there are things that I can do now that I never would have even thought to do, let alone attempt. It’s freed me up a lot – it’s allowed me to be more creative, because I’m not sitting there thinking, ‘How can I timestretch this and make it into a loop so it repeats on beat?’ It means I can be less of a technician, and focus on being an artist.” Speaking of which, Beck already has plans for his next album – “It’s kind of a pipe dream, but if I could make it happen I would love to work with Beth Orton; artists of that calibre… It would take a little bit to make that happen, but I don’t think it’s that far-fetched. I would love to go in that direction.”

The sonic architecture of his new album is complex and bass heavy, with the vocals often riding in amongst the beats. Beck explains: “I wanted Dialogue to be loud, and for the music to be in-your-face. If the beats don’t hit like they should, I feel like something’s missing.” In contrast, his recent work with k-the-i??? sounds different: “His delivery, the stuff that he says…

I think for an artist like him you need to have the vocals stand out. With Dialogue I feel like my lyrics really complement the beats, and I think they are kind of melded together. They have to be even and level. Just make it loud!”

The album may baffle those listeners previously unacquainted with the loop-madness of Ableton-produced beats, or those more familiar with the lazy eight-bars of most US emcees. For those of us with the taste for it, Beck’s new LP is a vibrant soundclash that manages to meld complex double-time rap, extreme breakbeats and complex philosophy in Burst Culture-style digestible chunks. So Mr Beck – you play it louder, we’ll listen faster.

DIALOGUE IS RELEASED VIA BIG DADA ON 5 OCT. THAVIUS BECK WILL BE TOURING THE UK WITH ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM IN DECEMBER – DATES TBA. VISIT WWW.WEAPONIZER.CO.UK TO READ MORE OF BRAM GIEBEN’S JOURNALISM.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 37

MUSIC

Hip-Hop: Louder, Faster

Music

A centre for the arts and creativity Now opeN exhibitions artist talks performances workshops To find out what is going on at Trongate 103 this month please visit www.trongate103.com

WWW.THEGIGCARTEL.COM

The Comsat Angels + Special Guests John Lever’s Second Skin

The Chameleons 82:87

Hugh Cornwell & Band Performing for the first time ever the Classic Stranglers album

Rattus Norvegicus IV

cOME HErE GO AnYWHErE

fOr MOrE infOrMATiOn On THE UniVErSiTY Of ABErdEEn visit: www.abdn.ac.uk/thedifference call: 01224 272090 or be our friend at: http://aberdeenuniversity.bebo.com, www.myspace.com/universityofaberdeen or www.facebook.com/universityofaberdeen

THAT’S THE diffErEncE

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+ Special Guest Sandi Thom 40th Aniversary Christmas show

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The Charlatans Alhambra Dunfermline Sat 19 Dec

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38 THE SKINNY October 2009

After a 20 year absence, Seattle scuzz progenitors Mudhoney finally make their return to the capital this month.

Yeasayer have kept us waiting on their second album, but their fans' patience is about to be rewarded. Anand Wilder gives The Skinny a progress report.

Text Nick Mitchell

Interview Dave Kerr Photo Steven Dewall Mark Arm [nee McLaughlin] and Steve Turner have done it all in Mudhoney’s 21 year career, from unwittingly triggering a worldwide phenomenon with their dirty and distorted kind of howling punk rock to visiting the Clinton White House after a toke on the philosopher’s blend. The duo also recently reformed Green River and intend to record again under that name with its full lineup next year. But none of this gets them off the hook for having played Auld Reekie just the once in their lifespan so far. The Skinny gives them the third degree.

Mudhoney gigs are a rarity in these parts.

Mark, the last time we talked to you said you’d try and get to Scotland for the next touring cycle but you never showed. The kids cried that Christmas. When did you last play Scotland and what memories of our beloved land do you hold dear?

Mark Arm [checks the internet]: “Glasgow with the Catheters in 2002 at the QMU…that’s not really a long time ago in Mudhoney terms, that’s recent history. One of the most memorable times we played up there was with the Wildebeasts and Cosmic Psychos in some sort of weird cavern.”

Steve Turner: “Around 1995, I recall our bass player at the time – Matt Lukin – and Ross Knight from the Cosmic Psychos stayed up drinking all night on our tour bus and were absolutely destroyed by the time we got to Glasgow, That was kinda funny.

Arm: “I remember the first time we came over

though, hanging around in Edinburgh and Glasgow: we stayed up late with this kid Damian at his mum’s flat listening to Joy Division and Hawkwind records.

We tracked down the kids from the Vaselines, Eugene and Frances…drank with them for a while.

I’m pretty stoked to be playing with them at this Edinburgh show.”

You’ve been in bands with everyone from Ron Asheton to Thurston Moore over the years [Arm also occasionally fronts MC5], when was the last time you were star struck?

Turner: “That doesn’t happen often. Early on, all the musical heroes of mine were pretty low level, it ended up that I was meeting so many of them really quickly.

People like Sonic Youth were huge to me and we met them in 1985! That said, seeing Nick Knox from the Cramps walking about backstage and looking as badass as possible, I was definitely star struck, afraid of him even. Iggy Pop was a big one; I remember Mark was really nervous. I didn’t even say a word...”

Arm: “We played with the Stooges a couple of years ago and even though I’d met Ron before and we’d played with Iggy in ‘93 and ’98, the very first time I met Iggy I actually ran into the bathroom to compose myself first.”

Your mate Iggy has taken a lot of stick for punting car insurance lately. I’ve heard people call that “the true death of punk rock,” but then the man does have to eat. Could you picture Mudhoney selling a song to an advert or writhing around. Is that something that Mudhoney have done, or would do?

Turner: “Nobody’s asked, strangely enough [laughs].

I don’t think we’d have so much of a moral problem

with it though, it seems like that line was broken a long time ago. Some people just won’t allow it, Neil Young has always been very adamant about that.

That’s great, if that’s your position.”

Still, there’s always bad taste. I mean Courtney Love certainly opened the floodgates when she licensed Breed to that Clive Owen film a few years back, which was just unnatural. Then there’s the Kurt Cobain avatar on the new Guitar Hero, an abomination...

Turner: “I agree, and they don’t need the money. You could try to keep it pure, but I don’t think there’s much pure about Courtney Love.”

If Mudhoney could pick a product to endorse with its music, what would it be?

Turner: “Maybe toilet cleaner.”

Arm: “Oh, I think drain cleaner would probably be the most appropriate.”

Which song from your repertoire would you market it with?

Arm: “Something with a big scream as it flushes…”

Turner: “Touch Me, I’m Sick.”

Many of your contemporaries have found a new lease of life playing acoustically. I’d like to see ‘Mudhoney Unplugged’ sometime…

Arm: “Oh no, you wouldn’t.”

Playing The Picture House, Edinburgh with The Vaselines and St Deluxe on 9 Oct. A post-gig party will take place at Henry’s Cellar Bar from 11pm-3am. www.myspace.com/mudhoney

Just over a year ago we spoke to Yeasayer singer Chris Keating, and, as well as stories of hanging out with Beck and crossing fingers for Barack, he had this to say about his band’s recording plans: “On the last record I feel like we made a lot of mistakes, but I’m happy with the way it came out ... We don’t want to remake that record, but we don’t want to start from scratch either.”

Skip forward to September 2009, and guitarist Anand Wilder confirms that the band are putting the finishing touches to the long-awaited follow-up to All Hour Cymbals.

“We’ve almost finished it. We had our last celebratory day of mixing yesterday and then we’re shooting a music video in LA in the next few days. Then we come back and then we’re doing recalls of the mixes and hopefully we’ll be able to finalize it by the end of this week.”

But how have the Baltimore-via-Brooklyn psych-funk scientists been occupying themselves for a whole year? Well, they contributed a new song for the Dark Was the Night charity compilation, Keating and bassist Ira Wolf Tuton worked on Bat For Lashes’ own second album, and Wilder started composing a suitably far-out sounding musical. From February, however, the three founding members of Yeasayer (drummer Luke Fasano has fallen by the wayside) finally turned their attention to their sophomore LP. “Um, well it took a long time because we basically had a lot more time to spare, we had a little bit more money to play with,” Wilder says. “We weren’t working jobs or anything so we pretty much just bunkered down in Woodstock, New York.”

After three months of no-pressure experimentation, the band gauged public reaction to the new songs at summer festivals like Bonnaroo and Pitchfork, before going back to hone the raw material. As for a working title, Wilder stays tight-lipped. “We do have one but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to talk about it. It’s something very different, it’s good... It won’t be a surprise let’s just put it that way.” So no album title, no details of a new record deal (although the US / European labels “will be revealed pretty soon”) and no due date more accurate than early 2010. What is relatively certain is that Yeasayer will support Bat For Lashes at a couple of shows in Scotland this month, and Wilder will have some words with Natasha Khan: “I didn’t do anything on her record so I’m gonna have to give her a hard time for not asking me!”

Supporting Bat For Lashes at 02 Academy, Glasgow on 19 Oct and HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on 20 Oct. myspace.com/yeasayer

October 2009

THE SKINNY 39

Music

Here Comes the Fuzz

Yeasayer: Wait for the Winter

MUSIC

Cutting the Slack They've been hailed by Alan McGee as a "Scottish Nirvana for the twenty-first century", but don't let that put you off. Glasgow's St Deluxe insist they're a different breed altogether Text Ian Crichton Photo Heidi Kuisma IN ANY band’s lifetime, the chance to collaborate with your primary influences is a rare honour - for many musicians, it’s simply impossible; you can’t jam with the dead (unless you buy Guitar Hero, of course). But in Glasgow four-piece St Deluxe’s short time together, they’ve already chalked up at least four, with more on the cards.

“It’s good working with people like that, people we respect and are influenced by. It takes us, not out of our comfort zone, but encourages us to be more experimental,” enthuses singer and guitarist Jamie Cameron. By “people like that” he means Calvin Johnson and Stuart Braithwaite, who’ve both lent their production skills to some new material, and Sonic Boom, with whom they’ve now twice shared a stage - all musicians who have had some hand in shaping St Deluxe’s nebulous noise-pop beginnings (in Beat Happening, Mogwai and Spacemen 3 respectively).

St Deluxe’s particular concoction of noise-pop is one treated with squalls of tremolo guitar and Cameron’s washed-out American slacker croon, and it’s surprisingly upbeat. By keeping their pop punk sensibilities intact, they’re sidestepping the inherent weariness that comes with the genre, leaving them to gaze at the stars rather than their shoes. And it’s winning them fans fast, including the aforementioned Johnson, Braithwaite and Sonic (that’s Peter to his mum), who are now shaping the band’s sound in the most literal way, offering guidance in the studio and on the stage.

All this fraternising with the indie elite didn’t happen Garage October Skinny Section PRINT.pdf

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40 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

who took his work home with him.

Coincidentally, the band’s current producer, Joe Foster, recorded JAMC’s debut single, and co-founded Creation Records with Dick Green and, their biggest fan, Alan McGee (“That ‘Scottish Nirvana’ thing really split people down the middle...” says Kirwan, “but it was a great gesture”). Foster also put out their eponymous debut on his own Poppydisc Records in January of this year, and despite it being barely eight months old, the second LP is already underway. “We’re thinking about getting it out early next year,” Kirwan reveals. “Joe has produced two out of the four we’ve got so far - we’ll definitely continue working with him. He’s always got great ideas.”

“THAT 'SCOTTISH NIRVANA' THING REALLY SPLIT PEOPLE DOWN THE MIDDLE..." by accident - since the band’s inception in 2005, Cameron - alongside Martin Kirwan, Stuart Kidd and Brian McEwan - have been their own managers, recording in their own studio and organising the gigs they want to play. “The DIY ethic is important to us, it’s really another part of the inspiration from the bands and labels we‘ve always listened to, like K Records and Sub Pop,” says 22/9/09

14:57:53

Cameron. And if St Deluxe haven’t had their favourite bands in the studio, they’ve probably had them round for tea - Cameron is the son of veteran musician and producer Duncan Cameron. “I grew up in a house with The Jesus and Mary Chain recording the drum tracks in the hall!” he recalls, with the kind of fondness one wouldn’t usually associate with the memory of a father

And with a wealth of material, a solid work ethic, and a too-perfect-for-words support slot with Mudhoney and The Vaselines lined up, it seems St Deluxe have plenty great ideas of their own.

PLAYING THE PICTURE HOUSE, EDINBURGH WITH MUDHONEY & THE VASELINES ON 9 OCT.

MUSIC

A Spoonful of Hardcore Glasgow trio Citizens prove that there's much more to hardcore punk than the BPM Text Lauren Mayberry Photo Takeshi Suga AS with any genre, the true characterisation of ‘hardcore’ is difficult to pin down, what with the emergence of copious subsets and fusions within each definition over time. Many artists highlight just how far hardcore punk has come since its North American birth; thicker, heavier, time signatures side-stepping from the beat. But melodic?

Tuneful? Not always. It is in this regard that Glasgow’s Citizens are something of a rarity.

The three-piece, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Craig McIntyre, bassist and vocalist Owen Batchelor and newly acquired drummer Iain Stewart, came into fruition almost two years ago. “I find it very difficult to describe the band to people because I never wanted to sound exactly like anybody,” explains McIntyre. “We all really like bands like Jesus Lizard and Shellac but draw influence from weird stuff like folk, country, jazz and black metal. I always got bored playing standard stuff.”

Beginning to garner a big live reputation (and a loud one at that), Citizens are keen to shirk any presumptions usually associated with the heavier ilk. “I write most of the stuff on acoustic guitar because I am really interested in melody,” says McIntyre. “And if it doesn’t sound good played acoustically then it probably won’t translate to electric.” It was, in fact, the wish to avoid predetermined notions about their sound which led Citizens to choose their moniker in the first place. “We just wanted something that would give listeners no preconceptions about how we sound, and it seemed to fit.”

This year has so far been a busy one for Citizens, playing shows across the UK, as well as recording and

releasing their debut EP. Following a line-up shuffle at New Year, things were quiet until their introduction to Stewart by other local buzz-collectors United Fruit. “It just worked so well that we have managed quite a lot in such a short period of time,” McIntrye notes. The EP in question, Try Smiling, was recorded at Lofi Studios, and is available via Wolves Among Wolves, their co-operatively run label/promotions company. “I started putting on gigs with [friend] Phil Differ when we were quite young just because no one else would put our bands on. We got more and more involved and started bringing up bands from England and overseas, and decided to make it a legitimate project.”

Calling upon a CD Presents-esque ethic and the experience of their own tours, Citizens recognise the importance of connections and community in their pursuits.

Citizens, it seems, are doing well in an environment where tight, idea-filled rock music is finding a hungry audience, working alongside commendable local promoters such as Unthank, This Is Our Battlefield, Predestination Records and Cold Dead Hands. With upcoming tours and intentions for a split release or album with Art For Blind Records, as well as plans with other musical outlets (each member is already in another band, with McIntyre and Batchelor recently taking on vocal duties in a new grind project), the rest of the year is set to be enviably busy, including opening for Lords in December, proving that, in a time where a ukulele seems to be a local band’s best friend, there are still some who have the capacity to be imposingly heavy and melodically adroit.

PLAYING O’HENRY’S, GLASGOW, ON 9 NOV AND CAPTAIN’S REST, GLASGOW, ON 19 NOV.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 41

MUSIC

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FROM THE JAM 22nd October

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AVOID THE MORNING 24th October

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ALABAMA 3 Whether you’re an opera virgin, a closet fan or just love a live performance enter now for your chance to win 2 tickets to The Italian Girl in Algiers.

(Soap) opera as you’ve never seen it before - no corsets or horned helmets just beach babes in bikinis and a plot Footballers Wives would be proud of. Set in a TV studio during the filming of a Latino soap opera, this cheeky take on Rossini's comedy is a riot of bunny girls, beach balls and small screen heroes with big screen egos. You'd think the scandal would be confined to the outrageous storylines, but there's as much action off set as there is on...

Playing 21 October to 27 November 2009 in Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

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42 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

26th November

ELLIOT MINOR 29th November

GALLOWS DECEMBER 12th December

GOLDIE LOOKIN’ CHAIN Tickets available to buy in person from: HMV Aberdeen | OneUp Records Aberdeen No booking fee for cash transactions

The Skinny waxes with leader singer of The Mountain Goats John Darnielle to talk ambition, God and Santa Claus

Interview Finbarr Bermingham There are few bands that combine durability with innovation like John Darnielle’s Mountain Goats.

Approaching the 20th anniversary of their celebrated career, with a prolific turnaround rate of nigh on an album per year, the concepts seem to be growing more and more interesting. Darnielle’s recent EP with John Vanderslice was based around an organ harvesting farm on the moon (think Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, gone lunar). But nothing could have prepared us for the challenges presented by their new album, The Life of the World to Come.

Each track is named after a biblical passage, each of which has resonated with Darnielle in some shape or form through his life. He has applied each one to an issue close to his heart, some personal, some global.

Matthew 25:21, for instance, recalls the death of his mother-in-law, and is truly heartbreaking. “When you’re in a room with someone dying of cancer, it’s hard,” says Darnielle when told how touching the song is. “I had some trouble getting through that one.”

Another track was inspired by his diagnosis with a chronic illness last year, which led to the cancellation of an Australian tour and comes with the defiant chorus: “I won’t get better, but someday I’ll be free. I am not this body that imprisons me.” John, a former nurse, explains that he tried to write the song from both patient and carer’s perspective. “I’ve spent a lot of

time in hospitals as a worker and clinics as a patient.

It’s a place and role that’s been under examined by songwriters. I wanted to broaden it and give it a third dimension.” And it works.

Listening to The Life of the World to Come is like cracking a code and its depth and quality combine to make it one of the Mountain Goats’ finest releases to date. But when I put it to Darnielle that his religious zeal may alienate some of his fanbase, he laughs. “Believe it or not, I don’t have any faith. I think that this, the guy talking to you today, is it. After I die, that’s it.

But I’m sort of the opposite of most people who don’t have faith in that I think it would be awesome to have it. You have people like Christopher Hitchens, who is happy to share his atheism, and that’s cool for him.

But I remember the morning that kids came into my Catholic school telling me that they’d figured out that there was no Santa Claus. I knew, but didn’t wanna know. I was like: “Guys, it’s way more fun if there is a Santa!”

Despite not possessing faith, Darnielle is a spiritual person. He attends church and prays, because for him, “there’s a great deal of pleasure to be had in it”. I suggest to him that in pursuing such activities he is merely hedging his bets. “No!” is the quick response.

“If the great God the Christians talk about is real then there won’t be any bet hedging. You can’t say: ‘Well, I showed up at church’. You really have to either take the leap or not. Americans really like to think, well,

"Believe it or not, I don't have any faith. I think that this, the guy talking to you today, is it. After I die, that's it" John Darnielle

hey I did this and I did that, so he’ll let me in, I’m cool.

Of all the possible escapologies, that one’s not right.”

But Darnielle’s seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of the scriptures is enough to put the most devout Christian to shame. For a confessed atheist, it’s a peculiar specialist subject to have. John, however, refutes that claim. “I have a selective knowledge of the parts that resonated with me. If you were to quote to me a verse that I hadn’t been using, I wouldn’t know where it came from, unless it was pretty clear. I have a working knowledge of the scriptures.”

As we approach the end of the decade, Darnielle is thankful for the fortune that has come his way.

“Man, ten years ago, I never would have thought the Mountain Goats could have been a full time thing.

Well, certainly not at this level. I still don’t expect much, though. I grew up with not so much money so my general hope each year is that by the end of that year I will have a roof over my head and a stove to cook food on. That really is as high as I set my goals.” But when it is put to him that his ideas and songwriting ability should be enough to ensure continued appreciation, he is simultaneously modest and subersive. “I feel as though all of my ideas have to be coming from somewhere outside of me. I don’t really believe in invention, everything is probably a perversion of something I’ve heard somewhere.”

The Life of the World to Come is released via 4AD on 5 Oct.

October 2009

THE SKINNY 43

Music

Songs and Scripture

RECORDS

THE DIRTY DOZEN

Back to Stirling for Jack Butler’s Surgery 1984 (***), which steps the competition up a level via the simple method of slowly building towards a climactic explosion.

It’s the first great moment of the D12 so far, and herkyjerky b-side This Soul Accelerates is pretty good too. The name Bonobo rings a bell – Wikipedia says they are also known as Pygmy Chimpanzees – disambiguation fail!

Apparently, this ape-like Ninja Tune producer specialises in the kind of lounge grooves that got stuffed onto a billion chillout compilations around about the time The Brothers Movement are familiar with. An album’s worth might be tiresome, but The Keeper (***) is pretty smooth on its own.

Wild Beasts are doing rather well for themselves, despite their singer shrieking throughout All The King’s Men (***).

But he hits the notes, so like in Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights, the agile vocal melody becomes a big part of the appeal.

Take It (****) by Auld Reekie’s Action Group is a real low rider, built of rhythm upon rhythm upon riff upon rhythm. It’s moody and dark, and almost danceable, and while it never fully takes flight there’s a lot to appreciate in their approach to songcraft. The Nextmen’s Round of Applause (****) is the only hip-hop track in this month’s D12 – a laid-back party jam based on a couple of New Orleans funk samples. It’s flippant, but fun. Same same but different is Virgil Howe’s Someday (****), which uses soft hip-hop beats and a brief vocal sample with trippy guitar lines and atmospherics to construct an enchanting single of the month. [Ally Brown]

Nick Mitchell wrote some of the greatest Dirty Dozen single review columns of all time. Now it's Ally Brown's turn.

BELIEVE it or not, the Dirty Dozen isn’t the dregs of the promo pile – some singles don’t even earn a casual dismissal.

Unfortunately, Stirling’s Vegas Nights just squeeze in. They’re apparently gaining support in the Far East, which is presumably why their warbling harmony vocalist seems to be trying to sing in a tonal language. Touch And Feel / It Came As No Surprise (*) suffers from more problems than I’ve got space to mention. Its difficult to find much right in Alley Cat (*) by overdrive-heavy power-poppers Monocle Rose either. Their boring singer seems to be requesting a less-boring person to lead her astray; it appears to be much needed. Meanwhile, Kid Harpoon’s Back From Beyond (*) boasts all the edge and charm of a boiled potato.

Despite his claim to be “still singing tunes about you”, there’s no discernible tune about anywhere.

Finally we hit a second star, and it’s for – gulp – Airdrie screamo.

Flood Of Red’s Home Run (**) makes a ridiculous melodrama out of driech skies, but at least there’s some energy and good drumming in it. The Xcerts’ drummer is having a ball on Nightschool (**) too, but their epically earnest pop is hard to distinguish from a clutch of other tear duct-teasing bands. Irish quintet The Brothers Movement combine BRMC’s sleazy swagger, the Verve’s woozy swagger, and Oasis’s boozy swagger, into one swaggeriffic package. Standing Still (**) has caused this band to miss the boat by a good 7 or 8 years.

Virgil Howe

SINGLE REVIEWS DIRTY PROJECTORS

MASSIVE ATTACK

TEMECULA SUNRISE EP

SPLITTING THE ATOM EP

OUT NOW, DOMINO RECORDS

5 OCT, VIRGIN

rrrr

rrr

Call this a bite-size Bitte Orca if you will...two of the ‘easier tracks’ on a very accomplished album alongside a couple of previously unreleased songs from the same sessions. Dave Longstreth and cohorts’ mission to fuse, meld and distort genres to the point of joyful schizophrenia continues unabated. Cannibal Resource and Temecula Sunrise are Dirty Projectors at their most accessible.

Upbeat, acoustic, groovy and gloriously disembodied they are joined on the EP by the similarly eccentric Ascending Melody. Layers of percussion, tambourine and vocals rise and collapse against each other with abandon. Emblem of the World appears as an insouciant sibling of their recent David Byrne collaboration, Knotty Pine. Simple rhythms adorned with fantastically surreal vocals.

Impressive indeed. [Paul Mitchell]

PAPER PLANES

Having allegedly shelved sessions with Liz Frazer and Mike Patton, the standard for Massive Attack’s new studio output must be through the roof, right? 3D and Daddy G emerge from their bunker with this taster EP only to tumble some way down from the summit reached by the glorious Live With Me in 2006. Imagine Leonard Cohen reinterpreting The Message over a chord organ loop and you’ll already know its title track.

The trundling Pray for Rain with Tunde Adebimpe and a chilling remix of Psyche by Knife collaborator Christopher Berg do yield some ‘next level’ promise for LP5, but Subliminal Kid’s lulling trance dub of Bulletproof Love is only good for 40 winks. Guy Garvey could’ve phoned in his vocal from the bath. [Dave Kerr]

ASH

BRONTO SKYLIFT

THE BEARDED FISH AND THE JACKALOPE EP OUT NOW, DINORAWK RECORDS

rrrr Given how hard these two guys play in the live arena, recording them must be as much a matter of trying to cut out the sound of shaking fixtures and windows as anything else. As expected, this succinct little EP resides stubbornly in the red throughout. Lioness has the obvious hooks of a flagship song, but it’s on Tiger and Hekla that Bronto really find themselves. Skittish and illtempered, both tunes shirk off previous grungy comparisons and see the band press on towards art-punk and its refreshing potential for musical adventure.

Devotees will also quickly recognise the Rhubarb-and-Custard-esque gonzo guitar line of closing number and live favourite Cobblepot. [Austin Tasseltine] PLAYING STUDIO 24, EDINBURGH ON 2 OCT AND THE VENUE, DUMFRIES ON 3 OCT.

FIRST AID KIT

DORIS DAY

TRUE LOVE 1980

HARD BELIEVER

12 OCT, LUCKY NUMBER NINE/SAY DIRTY

12 OCT, ATOMIC HEART RECORDS

5 OCT , WICHITA

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The multinational Paper Planes are three quarters Scottish, one quarter American. One listen to Doris Day and you’ll probably have a hunch as to which member hails from across the Atlantic; Jennifer Paley’s rawk-yelps closely redolent of Karen O’s. Paley isn’t the bands’ only import, however, with the Scottish contingent making a fair old racket packed with rockabilly swagger and rollicking rock ‘n’ roll thrills, which sound more like the product of fifties-style diners and road trips to the coast than drizzle and grey skies. This is an exciting, eye-opening debut from a band already displaying vast promise. [Chris Buckle]

With Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective opening the log cabin door for the plaid-shirted flocks of pastoral folk bands, it’s likely First Aid Kit will see their stock rise soon. Much has been made of the fact that although they’re a pair of teenage Swedish sisters, they sound like careworn Appalachian chanteuses. Hard Believer is a simply produced hymn of acoustic guitar, banjo, and piano, and those remarkable voices combining beautifully. In the wrong hands, the refrain ‘And it’s one life, and it’s this life, and it’s beautiful’ could sound saccharine: when First Aid Kit sing it, it’s impossible not to be moved. [Euan Ferguson]

PLAYING GRAND OLE OPREY, GLASGOW ON 8 OCT

It’s a long time since anyone really cared about Ash, so in a valiant attempt to halt their decline, the Northern Irish rockers have promised to release 26 singles (one every fortnight for a year) instead of a new album. It’s an interesting idea aimed at maintaining the interest and attention of fans over a longer period of time, but it could fall flat if all the songs are as poor as this one, the first of the proposed 26. True Love 1980 is a New Order parody, right down to the trite lyrics and flat singing, which aren’t elements of New Order’s sound that anyone should attempt to replicate. With tinny synths and schmaltzy verses, True Love 1980 is more foolish than brave. [Ally Brown]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GLASGOWPAPERPLANES

PLAYING FAT SAM’S, DUNDEE ON 23 OCT.

WWW.THISISFIRSTAIDKIT.COM

MIIKE SNOW

WONDERSWAN

NO AGE

BLACK AND BLUE

FURRRPILE

LOSING FEELING

19 OCT , COLUMBIA

5 OCT, GOOD FORM CLUB

5 OCT, SUB POP

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This Swedish three piece (ok, singer Andrew Wyatt is American) have previous in that two of them (as Bloodshy and Avant) wrote and produced Britney Spear’s 2004 megahit Toxic. They’ve also worked with Madonna, Kylie, J-Lo and so on. These collaborations have tended towards the bombastic so it is some of a surprise that this track, and those that appear alongside it on their eponymously titled debut album, are comparatively serene slices of unfussy electro-pop. Singer Wyatt channels Paddy McAloon’s breathy vocal style (sadly without the lyrical wit) to a plaintive keyboard riff energised by lively synth and percussion. Decent, but the inevitable plethora of remixes will likely be more interesting. [Paul Mitchell]

Leeds quartet Wonderswan say on their MySpace that they formed out of “a shared love for scuzzy 90s lo-fi slacker bands.” No shit! The reason everyone’s gone crazy about the upcoming Pavement reunion is because it’s been demonstrated for a decade now that nobody can do Pavement quite like Pavement. Furrrpile is a crushingly dull imitation, featuring overdriven out-of-tune guitars recorded in low fidelity along with a flat and witless vocal: “Throw me on the furrrpile and I’ll climb inside, down in the furrrpile we’ve got our own styles,” and so on. Slacker cool can’t be manufactured. [Ally Brown]

To hear Losing Feeling is to see a nail tapped squarely on its head. Its title track starts with a mischievous, time-skewed riff served up in stereo before the unabashed pop-punk kicks in. In four minutes the LA duo show and prove their Hüsker Dü-like mettle, all innovative and infectious. They further demonstrate their versatility with Genie, as close to a lullaby as they’ve commited to wax yet: sugary and soothing but wholeheartedly distorted.

Following the dreamy ambience of Aim at the Airport, they drop the curtain with the sweaty, sun-bleached You’re A Target. No Age don’t need to prove a thing, but here they hammer home their uncompromising style and keep it catchy as they go. Never a mean feat in 14 minutes. [Gordon Bruce]

PLAYING CABARET VOLTAIRE, EDINBURGH ON 29 OCT.

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WONDERSWANBAND

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/NONOAGE

44 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

The Low Miffs and Malcolm Ross may not seem the perfect match, but as The Skinny finds out on the eve of their collaborative LP, they're really a match made in heaven

TEN TRACKS FOR FREE In a reverse of the norm, we're giving you a present on our birthday. How do you like them motherfuggin' apples?

As we have hardly failed to mention, The Skinny turns 4 this month.

To help us celebrate, our partner music download site Ten Tracks have further partnered with killer Glasgow music collective LuckyMe, to offer our readers an exclusive set of ten tunes to download and keep. Seriously, we're that good to you.

In a further spin on this ace-music love-in, LuckyMe stalwarts The Blessings are playing at The Skinny Twisted Kids Birthday Party (which takes place at The Arches, Saturday 10 October

Interview Billy Hamilton When music past and present collide, the result tends to be less a meeting of creative minds, more an opportunity for chart-jolting fellatio. For every Nick and Kylie, there’s an Eminem and Elton, a Tom and Cerys, a Paul Weller and, well, just about every lad-rock outfit of the 90s. Those 15 blithe minutes of commercial gain may swell the pockets of all involved, but does anyone really care what Steve Cradock’s doing now?

Such career-eroding collusion is a perilous alleyway for any legacy-hankering band to tread. For Glasgow’s Low Miffs the decision seems even more peculiar.

Remember, this was a quartet once billed as Scotland’s most intelligent new tune-makers as they stacked articulate vignettes upon vaudevillian cuffs of tune.

Yet here they are, caught in cahoots with ex-Josef K and Orange Juice guitar fulcrum Malcolm Ross on the release of their joint venture LP. “I’ve known Malcolm for a few years now - we first worked together when he stepped in to cover for our guitarist Peter on a tour of Scotland with The Horrors, and found his contributions and attitude to be quite the thing,” explains Miffs frontman Leo Condie.

“Working with him on a record seemed like a great opportunity... I was interested in seeing if we could break through his nice-guy image with our incessant bickering, massive cynicism and base humour.”

Despite the sneers accompanying the record’s arrival, the juxtaposition of Ross’s spider-webbed fretwork and Condie’s erudite quips has left many Postcard aficionados salivating. Recalling the heyday pomp of The Associates blushed with a crisp, modernistic sheen, it’s as if Ross has turned back the clock, doused the oil and finally struck a light under his past.

“We share a great deal of musical taste and sensibilities. Although the Low Miffs are still young, they are extremely talented and sophisticated musicians,” says Ross. “I admire the energy and drama that’s contained in The Low Miffs music. It’s also exciting that when they start working on a piece anything can happen.”

Funded by the Scottish Arts Council, the album’s collaborative front masks the fact that this is The Low Miff’s debut full-length recording, whereas Ross has a career spanning four decades. So who pulled the strings: the well-versed veteran or the wet-eared upstarts?

“I was careful not to stamp [my authority] too much,” says Ross. “In the end the songs sung by myself and those sung by Leo were recorded with us assuming different roles. I exerted more influence on my own songs than those sung by Leo, on which I functioned as an advisor, co-producer, musician and referee.”

Condie, with a wry hint of ambiguity, concurs: “I’m afraid we are far too bloody-minded as a band when it comes to musical decisions. Everyone goes in with an idea of the song in their head and fights their corner, but the mutual respect we have for each other, obviously including Malcolm, means there’s a very positive and constructive air to the proceedings.”

With the obligatory post-release touring firmly underway, The Low Miffs and Malcolm Ross are veering towards a familiar crossroads encountered by all freewheeling liaisons: is it time to go their separate paths or will this queerly suited coupling settle down for something more permanent?

“We’ve got a lot of gigs coming up to promote the album, including some support slots with Edywn Collins that I am really thrilled about,” beams Condie.

“We’ll take it from there. More songs, more singing. I can’t wait.”

Ross, however, is slightly less enthused: “I’m sure we will work together again but not on the next projects we undertake. The Low Miffs should establish themselves without me... I’m proud of this album. It’s maybe a good one to bow out on.”

Playing The Skinny Stage at Sloan's Bar as part of Oxjam Festival, Glasgow on 24 Oct and supporting Edwyn Collins at ABC, Glasgow on 25 Oct Malcolm Ross and The Low Miffs is out now via Re-Action Records.

- see page 52 for more info), and will feature on the compilation alongside badass tracks from the likes of American Men, Dema, J Prada, Tiago, and Respite. 'Dubstep for supermodels' they call it - now for you too...

All you have to do is visit

theskinny.co.uk/luckyme to collect your present from us!

(We just made you all supermodels (though we both know you were already).

saturday 31 october at the roxy arthouse advance tickets from: www.tentracks.co.uk get ten free tracks with every purchase!

www.myspace.com/thelowmiffs

October 2009

THE SKINNY 45

Records

A Chance Meeting

www.tentracks.co.uk

RECORDS

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: SUFJAN STEVENS

THE BQE

19 OCT, ASTHMATIC KITTY

rrrr Taking a break from his grandiose (and surely impossible) dream of documenting life in 50 US states through song, Sufjan Stevens draws on altogether more mundane subject matter for his latest project. The traffic-clogged artery that is the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway may be an unlikely mother lode for a songwriter, but Stevens has conjured something magical from his unpromising muse.

Commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The BQE was a huge critical hit when performed live back in 2007 with Stevens’ super-8 footage accompanied by his evocative John Barry-like soundtrack. Now released as a full multi-media package, the project

will delight fans of the artist’s widescreen vision.

Stevens has always shown a fascination with orchestral colour and sound, and his instincts are given free rein to run wild here. Skittish woodwind passages merge into spare elegiac-fluent soundscapes – perhaps evoking the contrast between gridlock and plain sailing on the infamous highway. In common with most soundtracks, this suffers slightly when shorn of its visual accompaniment, but as an artistic achievement, The BQE is another feather in this remarkable man’s hat. [Duncan Forgan] WWW.SUFJAN.COM

ALBUM REVIEWS THE TWILIGHT SAD

DO MAKE SAY THINK

WHY?

FORGET THE NIGHT AHEAD

OTHER TRUTHS

ESKIMO SNOW

5 OCT, FAT CAT

21 OCT, CONSTELLATION

5 OCT, TOMLAB RECORDS

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The Twilight Sad’s debut Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters was The Skinny’s Album of the Year 2007, so it’s safe to say we’ve been excited about the follow-up for a long time. But Fourteen Autumns’ unforeseen success meant the sequel was always susceptible to second album syndrome; Forget The Night Ahead suffers only a mild slump.

Why? James Graham’s vocals aren’t as furious as before, while his lyrics swing between cryptic and impenetrable; without their Scottish folkreferencing accordion, the Sad’s guitar noise aesthetic loses a little of its local charm. But taken on its own merits, Forget The Night Ahead is never less than impressive. Any LP with songs as anthemic as I Became A Prostitute, as ferocious as That Birthday Present, and as unsettling as At The Burnside is worthy of attention. If Forget The Night Ahead were a debut, we’d be hugely excited about the sequel. [Ally Brown]

As one of the leading reasons for Constellation’s impeccable reputation, Toronto’s Do Make Say Think somehow make being brilliant look and sound infuriatingly easy. The eight current members mix multiple drum kits, guitar, bass, violin, percussion, brass and woodwind into a vibrant nebula of jazz meets post-rock meets folk. Improving on the wobbly sound quality of some earlier releases, Other Truths is thankfully a relatively hi-fi recording, beautifully communicating the subtleties of this inspirational octet’s lavish music. Opening track Do is the most urgent of those on show (the others unsurprisingly titled, Make, Say and Think) with an uncharacteristically prominent use of guitar, yet it never lapses into the delay-heavy arpeggiation of lesser contemporaries like Explosions In The Sky. Perhaps thanks to their folk background, DMST also hold onto a natural, airiness; avoiding fussy arrangement or heavy compression, allowing room to breathe and providing this album with a freshness on repeated listens. [Chris Cusack]

Short-but-sweet opening track These Hands announces Eskimo Snow’s emotional register. Blessed as ever with a grandiose gift of the gab, these ten tracks see Why?’s Yoni Wolf “facing history with little-to-no irony”, his distinctive speak-croon articulating personal quandaries as opposed to simply dazzling with word-games. OK, so there’s still a fair amount of irony scattered amongst the introspection, but combining wit with intimacy continues to serve Mr Wolf well: for example, the poignant “these hands are my father’s hands but smaller” introduces a paternal theme hammered home nine tracks later, in album highlight the Blackest Purse’s appeals for parental vindication: (“what should these earnest hands be holding?...Mom am I failing?”). Musically, Why? drift further away from previous hip-hop experimentations, moving them closer to conventionality.

But they retain enough idiosyncrasies to ensure that textbook strings can’t eclipse their sparkling intellect, mellifluous innovation and, most profoundly, the rhythmic heart propelling these revelatory lyricisms. [Chris Buckle]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THETWILIGHTSAD

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DOMAKESAYTHINK

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WHYANTICON

ATLAS SOUND

NANCY ELIZABETH

IDLEWILD

LOGOS

WROUGHT IRON

POST ELECTRIC BLUES

19 OCT, 4AD

5 OCT, LEAF

5 OCT, COOKING VINYL

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Bradford Cox was understandably upset when an innocent filesharing error on his part resulted in an unfinished Logos being hawked around cyberspace, so much so that (now deleted) blog posts indicated he might never complete it. Luckily he’s dropped the intransigence to polish the LP to its intended glory, though perhaps Pathos would be a more apt title, its persuasive charms appealing more to the heart than the head. In his Deerhunter guise, Cox’s compositions are hardly ‘ordinary’, but with Atlas Sound he ventures further leftfield, playing with texture and form and using repetition to draw out the nuances of his graceful compositions. But despite his reputation as a singularly creative, renaissance-style maverick, Logos is occasionally hijacked by its guests, in particular Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadler who causes Quick Canal to sound like, well, Stereolab. But since Stereolab are awesome, this only makes the pastime of getting lost in these looping lolls even more appealing. [Chris Buckle]

Sometimes an album is beautified by a dominant sense of isolation. It happened with Bon Iver’s debut LP, and Nancy Elizabeth has hit on comparably secluded gold dust on her second effort. But whilst For Emma… was cast with anguish, Elizabeth seems blissfully removed from reality and its tribulations on Wrought Iron. Written between the peripheries of the Faroe Islands, a derelict Spanish school and the Lake District, this is a sparse album, dusted with piano, breathy vocals and harmonies, and touches of acoustic guitar, horns and accordion. Opening track, Cairns, recalls the sumptuous instrumental intro on Tindersticks’ The Hungry Saw and sets the tone for eleven tracks of crystalline splendour. The album peaks with Lay Low, but there are highlights throughout. “I need no-one to tread the water with me”, sings Elizabeth on Feet of Courage, and judging by the brilliant fruits of her labour, we have no reason to doubt her. [Finbarr Bermingham]

Their malnourished student days of sinewy, art-school angst increasingly a thing of the past, Post Electric Blues ironically sees Idlewild continue to evolve into a distinctly positive, melody-orientated rock band. It’s bound to incur criticism from those pining for the frantic undulations of their Captain era, but such is the burden of any band trying to evolve their sound away from the artistic constraints of punk and the various fickle entrapments that label entails. Like it or not, Idlewild have always demonstrated an affinity and, indeed, a knack for pop. With age has come self-assurance and the financial resources to properly communicate these ideas, which is no bad thing. Throughout Post Electric Blues there are reminders of the band that penned A Film For The Future. If you feel alienated by this album, ignore the initial awkwardness and bear in mind that this is the same friend, you just have a bit of catching up to do. [Chris Cusack]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BRADFORDCOX

SUPPORTING EFTERKLANG AT ÒRAN MÓR, GLASGOW ON 30 OCT.

PLAYING VARIOUS DATES ACROSS SCOTLAND, 1-7, 28 NOV.

EDITORS

IN THIS LIGHT AND ON THIS EVENING 12 OCT, KITCHENWARE

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LOU BARLOW

GOODNIGHT UNKNOWN 5 OCT, DOMINO

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CALIFONE

ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FUNERAL SINGERS 5 OCT, DEAD OCEANS

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If Ian Curtis hadn’t hanged himself in 1980, and Joy Division had carried on throughout the ensuing decade, they may well have ended up sounding like the new Editors album. Of course, Editors have often been criticised for their overt Joy Division-via-Interpol genealogy, but with album number three they’ve moved on – into New Order territory. There are divergences from this safe strategy however, such as the motorik beats and primitive keyboards on Bricks and Mortar, a full-on Sweet Dreams-style intro on Papillon, or the industrial post-punk clatter on The Big Exit. But the problem with their progression is that they lay on the retro electronics too thickly, as if eager to prove how much they’ve changed. As for the lyrics, while most are oblique and disconnected, singer Tom Smith even evokes the 1980s’ unashamed melodrama when he sings “headlights in your rear-view mirror, a panther’s eyes as he preys on fear, you hunt for love, you election-eer.”[Nick Mitchell]

On his first solo album since 2005’s acoustic Emoh, Lou Barlow, an alternative stalwart who boasts legendary groups such as Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh among his past and present projects, sounds clear-eyed and self-assured. Although this is a collaborative effort that sees notables such as Lisa Germano and the Melvins’ Dale Crover helping out, at the centre of this kaleidoscopic shifting sound is Lou himself. An underrated instrument of folky beauty, his voice is alternately smudged to sound disturbingly calm under layers of instrumentation and clear and tender on the tunes most reminiscent of Sebadoh’s stellar early ‘90s work. The beefed-up arrangements are dense but kinetic: acoustic guitar strums that sound alternately like a caress and a stab in the back are layered with curious synths and choppy drumming. The result is an LP that haunts, charms and refuses to be musical wallpaper. In short, he still hasn’t lost it. [Gillian Watson]

Such a vast variety of instruments crop up on Califone’s sixth album that to list them all would fill this review’s entire word count, leaving no space to eulogise the way its multifarious and ambitious ingredients are weaved into an incessantly inventive whole. Sweetly simple and Elliott Smith-like one moment, murky and abstract another, and like Four Tet playing Wilco covers at another still, there’s a rewarding inquisitiveness at work throughout. Lyrically, occasional high-cultural allusions and mysterious plotlines add charm rather than pomposity, while purposeful melodies display a keen pop nous that plays off against their more unorthodox tendencies superbly. Intriguingly, the album is only half the story: ringleader Tim Ritili has also been working on a feature film of the same name, incorporating many of the record’s themes and characters and aiming to premiere in 2010. The promise of equally evocative images accompanying this record’s sizable charms is tantalising indeed. [Chris Buckle]

PLAYING BARROWLAND, GLASGOW ON 13 OCT

WWW.LOOBIECORE.COM

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CALIFONEMUSIC

46 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

THAVIUS BECK

KURT VILE

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

DIALOGUE

CHILDISH PRODIGY

THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME

5 OCT, BIG DADA

5 OCT, MATADOR

5 OCT, 4AD

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Big Dada continue their mission to sign every single groundbreaking hip-hop act in the world. Perhaps because Thavius Beck laces his lyrics integrally with his beats, Dialogue is a daunting prospect on first listen.

Grime-speed lyrics that encompass hermetic philosophy, vigorous social commentary and deeply personal reflection sometimes get lost in the heavy rush of electronic kicks and bass synths. However, repeated listens unravel more meaning and subtlety in Beck’s flawless double-time flow, encouraged by the sub-three minute duration of most tracks. The wonky rhythms of Hardcore evoke Rusty and Zomby, while the freaked-out 8-bit keys and challenging manifestos issued on 4 Part 2 are genuinely difficult to categorise. Smashing boundaries within electronic music and hip-hop simultaneously, it’s hard to be anything but awed by this album, though it’s likely to scare less adventurous hip-hop heads and dance music fans. Buy it, play it, freak yourself out. [Bram Gieben]

Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty were referenced in reviews of last year’s compilation Constant Hitmaker, but on the evidence of this record Kurt Vile is a far more interesting proposition than that. It’s not that comparisons to two totems of American singer-songwriting are a bad thing, just that this Philly-based ingénue’s particular brand of craftsmanship is that little bit more beguiling. Proceedings start conservatively with Hunchback – a bombastic slice of sludgy rock that takes its cues from The Jesus and Mary Chain. Despite recording the songs with a band, Vile has cultivated a home made aesthetic which brings a slightly ethereal feel to the table on bluesy tracks like Blackberry Song and Dead Alive. But less traditional influences lurk elsewhere, especially on the propulsive centrepiece Freak Train, which summons up the spirit of Krautrock heroes Neu! With all due respect to the Boss, that is a direction he has never been likely to go. [Duncan Forgan]

Few albums will send you rifling through a 2,400 page tome. But such is the gravity, beauty and heartbreaking sentiment within The Life Of The World To Come – a trip to the Bible seems obligatory. Each song is named after a biblical passage, the relevance more obvious in some than others. Occasionally, John Darnielle adopts a persona (a prisoner on 1 John 4:16), but it mostly seems unflinchingly autobiographical with consistently breathtaking results. Matthew 25:21 is a harrowing account of rushing to someone’s bedside to watch them die: “the last of something bright burning, still burning; beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy.”

Darnielle’s voice comes as close as it ever will to wobbling on a track that will well up the eyes of the most secular listener. Whether you agree with the author’s piousness – affected or genuine – shouldn’t stop you from hearing this. Christian rock this is not, but it’s one of the stand-out folk-rock records of 2009. [Finbarr Bermingham]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THAVIUS

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/KURTVILEOFPHILLY

WWW.MOUNTAIN-GOATS.COM

MAN GONE MISSING

PORTICO QUARTET

LIGHTNING BOLT

BEYOND DESOLATE

ISLA

EARTHLY DELIGHTS

OUT NOW, SELF RELEASED

19 OCT, REAL WORLD RECORDS

12 OCT , LOAD

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Whilst the Scottish mutation of dubstep – aquacrunk - explodes around us in a fireball of hype and wobble bass, it’s always astounding to hear a record that confirms the vitality of the blues; the stuff that started it all.

Man Gone Missing, aka Simon Currie, has evidently immersed himself.

The soul of crackling Robert Johnson records is distilled with 21st century clarity, and the effect is haunting; on the instrumental Creag nan Gabar, the recording is so microscopically clear you can hear the strings buzz off the neck of his resonator guitar. What makes Beyond Desolate extra special, however, is the atmosphere of the recording location, All Souls Church, its reverb bleeding into the songs, and adding a choral purity to Currie’s already arresting voice. This is the best blues release I’ve heard this year; devastatingly sincere, and, thanks to its evocation of church music and Scottish folk, also entirely unique. [Joe Barton]

Jazz isn’t a genre that features heavily in these pages, so the question that arises when reviewing the new Portico Quartet album is this: does it have crossover appeal? Isla – the London outfit’s follow-up to their Mercury-nominated debut LP Knee Deep in the North Sea – does, though not in the cheap, populist sense (Jamie Cullum I’m looking at you.) No, this retains its musical integrity but reaches beyond jazz to skirt the outer shores of ambient electronica and modern classical; even the sort of harmonic arpeggios used by Radiohead of late (especially on Clipper, which is more than a little reminiscent of Yorke et al’s Reckoner). But despite the fact that John Leckie at Abbey Road produced it, this is jazz first and foremost, and there are segments of wild improv sure to turn off fearful jazzophobes. For less sensitive ears, though, this is a rich, rewarding, thought-provoking listen. [Nick Mitchell]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MANGONEMISSING

PLAYING ELECTRIC CIRCUS, EDINBURGH ON 4 NOV AND THE ARCHES, GLASGOW ON 5 NOV

GET BACK GUINOZZI!

SHIELDS UP

26 OCT, FATCAT

5 OCT, WASTED STATE

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WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GETBACKGUINOZZI

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LASERBEAST

SHIELDS UP

CARPET MADNESS

The relationship between the French and the English has not always been smooth, but this debut album by the joyously unhinged Get Back Guinozzi! is an engaging example of cross-channel détente. The London-based band harvest a host of fashionable new wave influences, but the distinctive tones of Toulon-born singer Eglantine Gouzy adds an alien ingredient that steers proceedings away from predictability. Gouzy’s vocal style channels the stridency of Yoko Ono with the impenetrability of The Cocteau Twins’ Liz Frazer, while the ramshackle lo-fi backdrop is resolutely amateurish. Yet when they click, GBG are as effective a pick-me-up as a chink of sunshine on a grimy day. Opener Where Are You starts slowly before emerging into glorious technicolor at its soaring chorus, while a sprightly cover of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves wears its Slits clothing proudly. Best of all is the title track – an irresistible African-influenced rave-up seemingly designed to prolong the summer for as long as it can. [Duncan Forgan]

It begins with what sounds like a chainsaw being run though a wah-wah. Within seconds the first of many stomach-churning riffs dive-bombs into your consciousness and you’re dead before you know it lurching forwards, falling fast into hell with the sound of garbled screaming in your ears. And through all of this you’re aware that somewhere a man is losing a fight with a drum kit. Yup, Lightning Bolt certainly come out swinging on LP number five, but you have to wonder how many records this duo have left in them, such is this album’s resemblance to their previous work. Sure, the production is a little crisper this time around, but at no point do they scale the heights of 2005’s aptly named Hypermagic Mountain. Yes, there are still some incredible improvisational chops on display here but the frisson of genuine excitement is notably lacking. You’d still sell your grandmother into slavery to see them live though. [Mark Shukla]

This five-piece hardcore troupe, hailing from Edinburgh, have certainly hit the ground running. Formed in the first half of 2009, they recorded this debut album in their home studio a mere matter of weeks later, thanks to an intense practice and writing schedule. Points for the pro-active disposition. Of course, as with so many products of the home-studio revolution, it lacks the power of proper production, but in fairness its thinner sound is oddly reminiscent of some of the Washington DC hardcore scene’s output in the late 80s and does lend a nostalgic charm. Likewise, the music is relatively unevolved, opting for a direct hardcore approach, largely abandoned since the post-hardcore and metalcore scenes exploded, especially that infamous mono-pitch vocal. However, the considerable instrumental competence on show clearly demonstrates potential for success in the future. Hardcore devotees lamenting some of the genre’s pretentious tangents should take comfort in this. [Austin Tasseltine] PLAYING BANNERMAN’S, EDINBURGH ON 8 OCT; V CLUB, GLASGOW ON 17 OCT AND MUCKY MULLIGAN’S, PERTH ON 24 OCT.

EFTERKLANG & THE DANISH NATIONAL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

PERFORMING PARADES 19 OCT, THE LEAF LABEL

rrrr When orchestras and pop (in the loosest sense) collide, the results tend to be either peculiarly misjudged (say, Metallica’s S&M) or pleasant-but-pointless (any earnest attempt to dodge ennui with strings). Efterklang’s Performing Parades pleasingly falls into the elusive third category, in which the instrumental depth only found in a roomful of top class musicians enriches the songs. A reworking of Parades arranged in collaboration with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra, this is music from another star, bubbling with complementary refrains and topped with charming eccentricities. Moreover, an accompanying DVD offers promos, a making-of, and best of all, the full concert film: what impressed on CD astonishes when combined with the sight of fifty artists resembling constituents of Much Ado’s enchanted forest, in conical hats and dabbed face paint. The DVD pushes the package from curio to essential for existing Efterklang fans, and marks them an overdue discovery for anyone else. [Chris Buckle] EFTERKLANG PLAY ÒRAN MÓR, GLASGOW ON 30 OCT

ARCHITEQ

GOLD + GREEN 26 OCT, TIRK RECORDINGS

rrrr It’s 10.30 on Sunday night in Glasgow. You’ve been waiting in a goodnatured queue in Jamaica Street, and suddenly you’re past the bouncers, paying your money and down the stairs. As you walk through the doors into the main room of the Sub Club, the sound hits you: a fat, writhing, dubbed-out slow-jam dragging you towards the dancefloor. This album has exactly the sort of sound you’d expect to hear early on in an Optimo set, and Architeq is actually a Scot based in London, so maybe there’s some truth in that analogy. Imagine Leftfield given a twisted dubstep update, or perhaps more accurately, especially on Spinning Plates or Odyssey, one of The Orb’s extended, wobbly workouts. The glitchy beats and sparky synths of Bird of Prey or Into the Cosmos also bring to mind a more expansive Harmonic 313. This is quality, challenging late-night listening that never lets itself become indulgent. [Euan Ferguson]

TOP FIVE ALBUMS

REVIEWS ONLINE

1) SUFJAN STEVENS THE BQE

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AA BONDY WHEN THE DEVIL'S LOOSE

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ANCESTORS OF SOUND MIND

2) THE TWILIGHT SAD

FORGET THE NIGHT AHEAD

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BLACKHOLE DEAD HEARTS

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COBRA KILLER UPPERS AND DOWNERS

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ELECTRIC EEL SHOCK SUGOI INDEED

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LETHAL BIZZLE GO HARD

4) THAVIUS BECK DIALOGUE

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NEPHU HUZZBAND ELEMENTARY

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OM GOD IS GOOD

5) DO MAKE SAY THINK

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RUSSIAN CIRCLES GENEVA

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VIC CHESNUTT AT THE CUT

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WOJTEK GODZISZ WOJTEK GODZISZ

3) WHY? ESKIMO SNOW

OTHER TRUTHS

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ARCHITEQ

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 47

RECORDS

ALBUM REVIEWS

Pastels/Tenniscoats Stereo, 2 Sep

Jesus H. Foxx

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The Bowery, 12 Sep

rrrr It’s hard to find a common musical thread amongst the showcase at The Bowery tonight. First up, New York import Golden Ghost (***) – a plugged in solo crooner with soft, rural vocals – doesn’t elicit a reaction from the shoulder-bag set, despite a good effort. Joined by a drummer who complements her lo-fi aethetic with hushed percussion, her bluesy sincerity ends a little lost on the crowd.

Shame about Some Young Pedro (****) as well. Not that their raucous set doesn’t connect with the crowd – more that the band announced it would be their final gig before hiatus. Like most good post-punk/rock bands, SYP haven’t completely forgotten the energy and melody of the genres they’re post. And, Mogwai or Shellac comparisons aside, the band’s simply on point, right down to handling heckles by placing a microphone in the crowd – “This is for opinions.”

Not about to have the spotlight stolen at their EP release, Jesus H. Foxx (****) take the stage, delivering the record’s contents and capping off with some unreleased material. 'Epic' isn't a word that often applies to indie-pop, but it must for Foxx. Tonight, they employ beautiful and captivating brass, percussion and vocal arrangements with the tightness of live pros, advocating dense song structure as well as their openers offer a well measured stripped-down style.[Jason Morton]

photo: Markus Thorsen

Playing Electric Circus, Edinburgh on 26 Nov.

There’s something of a coming-of-age about tonight’s opening set from boxfresh Glasgow indie-poppers Veronica Falls (***). Roxanne Clifford and Patrick Doyle, alumni of the sadlymissed Royal We and the un-Googleable Sexy Kids, have now formed a quartet whose spare and intense sound sees them approaching their full potential. There’s an awkwardness to their stage presence, but enough Orange Juice sparkle in the guitars and genuine enthusiasm from the crowd to suggest a healthy future.

Eighties DIY legends The Pastels have never really grown old. Although linchpin Stephen McRobbie has become something of an elder statesman, his perenially adolescent outfit have never settled for long nor become cynical.

Though on record their collaboration with Japanese duo Tenniscoats threatens to push them into ‘mature’ territory, there’s enough enthusiasm in their collective live show to allay any fears that they’ve lost it. Tonight there are kaleidoscopic delights from album Two Sunsets, while scrappy snippets from The Pastels’ past become things of wonder; there’s even a deranged pop interlude from Tenniscoats tossed into the encore. The clear highlight, however, is the muscular, erotic pulse of Pastels back catalogue behemoth Baby Honey, which gives us hope that when they finally return with their next album ‘proper’, these vivid youths won’t forget that while beauty has its place, ugly can be lovely too. [Gillian Watson] www.myspace.com/thepastels

Gang of Four

Sunset Rubdown

HMV Picture House, 18 Sep

Stereo, 10 Sep

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As post-punk classics go, Entertainment! nestles beside Unknown Pleasures and Metal Box as one of the most exemplary and influential offerings from the genre’s year zero. Since 1979, the funky, twitchy, paranoia that Gang of Four perfected on their debut album has proven perennially relevant. Thirty years hence, with only two fourths of the original line-up left, age has not tempered the anger of Natural’s Not In It or At Home He’s a Tourist. Maybe it’s just a result of the technical problems that beset the performance tonight, but Andy Gill and Jon King look the frustrated part as they revisit the seminal work of their youth.

The lone new song introduced during the encore is satisfyingly taut and wiry, though the dated new-wave dalliances plucked from Songs of the Free are less welcome. Nevertheless, spend an evening in their presence and the reverential namedropping feels something like justified. [Ian Crichton]

Prog is not a dirty word. It’s occasionally worth reminding ourselves of that. The authority-baiting allure of punk can convince many an adolescent psyche of prog’s irredeemable ridiculousness, delaying the acceptance that grandiose multi-part opuses are sometimes quite alright thankyouverymuch.

Sunset Rubdown are most certainly prog (evidence: their new album’s called Dragonslayer and tonight’s audience includes one excitable gent playing air-piano while a compatriot wields an imaginary baton and conducts, I dunno, probably a goblin orchestra…).

They are also fantastic. Spencer Krug is already a niche-legend, his repute emblazoned on posters for tonight (though he self-consciously worries the byline “featuring members of Swan Lake, Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes” doesn’t give his bandmates enough recognition). Throughout, his voice carries a dramatic urgency which their epic compositions build upon, piling musical motifs high without becoming tiresome. Moreover, there’s not a wizard’s cape in sight.

Prog without self-indulgence? Baroque n’ fucking roll.

[Chris Buckle]

www.gangoffour.co.uk

Times New Viking Nice ‘N’ Sleazy, 17 Sep

rrr The sound of Beach Boys classic Good Vibrations fills the air at Sleazy’s preceding Times New Viking’s set tonight. Fitting, because once one pares away the lo-fi, blown-out sounds of their records, TNV are proven indie pop specialists. In the live setting, robbed of these production qualities, the Ohioans start a little slow out of the gate.

However, once their sound issues are sorted and drummer/vocalist Adam Elliott gets to showing off some stand-up power drumming, the band pick up speed. Giving Glasgow a taste of the forthcoming Born Again Revisited, the trio rips through half a dozen noise pop nuggets, even managing to work in a little Sabbath riffage to bridge a couple of numbers. While the crowd could benefit from a bit more of this newfound vigour, the set ends quickly. And though this is disappointing, the night’s highlights defy the sceptics to show that TNV hold up as a solid rock band, even without the amps cranked to 11. [Jason Morton] www.myspace.com/timesnewviking

48 THE SKINNY October 2009

photo: Sarah Roberts

Music

Live reviews

www.sunsetrubdown.net

Okkervil River

Tori Amos

Òran Mór, 9 Sep

Royal Concert Hall, 8 Sep

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Okkervil River are good to their UK fans, making the trip to our shores at the drop of a hat these days. Tonight there’s no new record to promote and (presumably) no outstanding label obligation to fulfil, yet here they are, back in Òran Mór for the second time in ten months, and I’m presumably not the only wide-eyed audience member who’d happily make it an even more frequent arrangement. Highlights are bountiful, with Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe the possible pinnacle - live, its quiet bits are quieter, its loud bits louder, and its distortion bleeds even more profusely. Elsewhere, the opening of A Stone scythes conversations into reverential silence, before the Beach Boys-channelling John Allyn Smith Sails reignites the room. “I aint coming back again,” Will Sheff sings in a closing Westfall, but it’s safe to call his bluff on this one. [Chris Buckle]

Reputations are mysterious things. Rumours of past gigs had painted Tori Amos as a humourless virtuoso who’d sooner tell talkative fans to sling their hook than let their blethering encroach upon her arpeggios. Well, if that Tori exists she’s hidden tonight behind a mesmerising performance, the intensity of its apices offset elsewhere with a playful showiness. It helps that she has pockets of fans for whom the word ‘devotional’ doesn’t seem sufficient, and though it takes a while for the first strangled “I LOVE YOU TORRRRRI!” to lurch forth, Amos plays to their enthusiasm throughout.

In particular, her stool-straddling Janus piano-playing is damn impressive, and a sly

www.okkervilriver.com

smile suggests she’s all too aware of its ability to drop jaws. Even an unfortunate blunder from the Concert Hall - leaving the PA playing Blondie during part of her set - doesn’t spark a diva tantrum, Amos either unaware of the distraction or unwilling to let it ruin tonight’s highlight, a solo Taxi Ride. Early favourites - Cornflake Girl, China - are drip-fed but Abnormally Attracted to Sin naturally dominates, with a fierce Strong Black Vine proving most memorable. The first few rows are on their feet and worshipping at her ankles before its last chord is struck, but even those less animate in their appreciation seem suitably impressed. [Chris Buckle] www.toriamos.com

Music

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THE SKINNY 49

MUSIC

Live Music

PREVIEWS

Highlights

YO LA TENGO ABC, 6 NOV

Like Sonic Youth if Kim’n’Thurston had fallen in love while chatting baseball instead of art, and if Lee Ranaldo was a Simpsons buff, Yo La Tengo have long been US alternative’s secret weapon.

There’s a lack of mystique about this goofy New Jersey trio which belies the fact that they’re just as prone to tossing off moments of transcendence as their NYC counterparts are at consciously creating them. If you like your droning instrumentals with side orders of classy pop and drunken, fuzzy garage-rock, topped off with vocals that are rarely in tune but sound ridiculously good anyway, join those in the know at ABC in early November. [Gillian Watson]

by Mark Shukla

7PM, £14 WWW.MYSPACE.COM/YOLATENGO

THE FIERY FURNACES

BAT FOR LASHES

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, GLASGOW, 10 OCT

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 20 OCT

The Fiery Furnaces are always good for a laugh, whether it’s because they’re punning about spiritually lost dogs or promising to release covers albums of their own albums, or claiming that “more than a millennium of sheet music” is “anticipatory plagiarism” for their next record, which will be completely silent.

Which wacky way will they turn next!? While almost all of their albums do, at least a few times, stumble up some totally brilliant alleys, it’s still probably Blueberry Boat that collects most of these moments in the same hour. New LP I’m Going Away is patchy, but definitely better than the next one’s gonna be. [Ally Brown]

Bat For Lashes’ wonderful second album Two Suns featured collaborations with Yeasayer and Scott Walker, and now Natasha Khan has persuaded one of these guests to support her on a UK tour. Sadly it’s not the reclusive 30 Century Man, but Yeasayer will do just fine instead. Their debut All Hour Cymbals featured terrible puns and stirring neo-psychedelic grooves, such as in the spellbinding 2080. A new album is due out in January, by which time we expect Two Suns to have featured prominently in just about everyone’s 2009 year-end round-ups. And you know what? Fur and Gold was even better. [Ally Brown]

7.30PM, £8.50

7PM, £17

WWW.THEFIERYFURNACES.COM

WWW.BATFORLASHES.COM

PIXIES

JONATHAN RICHMAN

SECC, 4 OCT

ÒRAN MÓR, 10 OCT

Pixies Sell Out, again. For the first time since 2005, Charles, Kim, Joey and Dave bring their reunion schtick to Scotland, this time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of landmark album Doolittle. Like every birthday party where junior’s parents don’t get along, this promises to be a white-knuckle affair - but two decades of Doolittle are well worth celebrating. The quartet’s second LP packs fifteen knockout punches’ worth of face-melting, mindbending power, and if Mum and Dad can channel their tension into taut, kaleidscopic brilliance onstage (as they’re wont to), it should be a very happy birthday. Luckily, in the cavernous SECC, the fixed grins won’t show up in the photographs.

[Gillian Watson]

“One-two-three-four-five-six!” With this rallying cry, Jonathan Richman kickstarted not only his career with his band the Modern Lovers’ anthem Roadrunner, but the movement of proud suburban losers and romantics which somehow metamorphosed, through a lineage taking in bands as diverse in style and quality as Talking Heads and Weezer, to become what we now know as indie rock. With his off-kilter, semi-spoken paeans to ordinary life and loneliness, Richman established himself as something like a visionary, trapped in the body of an awkward young man. As with many visionaries, however, he’s ploughed a lone furrow, often by choice, shedding band members here and there, but never losing his wistful outlook on the world. Go along and see if you share it. [Gillian Watson]

Carpet-bombing Scotland in early October, Cats and Cats and Cats deploy super-inventive post-rock(ets) that explode with punk energy on impact. They aren’t afraid to aim for the heart with bitter-sweet indie vocals either. Weapons grade guitar music, this. Go see them at Glasgow Classic Grand on 4 Oct, Aberdeen Tunnels on 5 Oct and Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire on 6 Oct. HIGHLY recommended.

Supersonic Leeds three-piece Sky Larkin are hands down one of the best power-trios doing the rounds right now. With anthemic distorted guitars, pretty melodies and some of the most down-theline and just plain spunky basslines you’ll hear this side of Krist Novoselic circa 1993 (that’s right, we went there). You’d be a sap to miss them at Aberdeen Cafe Drummond on 5 Oct and Glasgow Classic Grand on 6 Oct. We don’t usually feature covers bands - but when Gaz and Danny from Supergrass started thrashing the hell out of classics by Bowie, The Beatles and the Beasties (among many others) we sat up and took notice. With a Nigel Godrich produced album in the pipe and a selection of the best songs ever written at their disposal, you don’t need us to tell you that Hot Rats’ gig at Glasgow King Tut’s on 11 Oct is going to be insane.

Noisy East Larndarn pixie Micachu has a tendency to deconstruct her already quirky pop tunes when she plays live, so expect some off-the-wall sounds when she throws it down at Glasgow Captain’s Rest on 9 Oct and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s on 10 Oct. Hyperactive, melodic fun shall win the day.

Love him or loathe him, there’s a reason Nick Cave is one of the most revered live performers of his generation. Few have his stage presence or sense of theatre - not to mention a moustache the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the heyday of Magnum P.I. Move fast for tickets at Edinburgh HMV Picture House on 13 Oct. As much as we wish that Girls was a side project involving members of Women, they’re actually a very-hot-right-now posse from San Fransisco who deal in lush, wordy psychedelic pop. Their new LP is an intelligent, hearts-on-sleeves snapshot of modern life and they sound like a lot of fun live check the buzz at Glasgow Captain’s Rest on 13 Oct and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s on 14 Oct. Brummie fuzz-pop fiends Johnny Foreigner

FEW HAVE NICK CAVE'S SENSE OF THEATRE - NOT TO MENTION A MOUSTACHE THE LIKES OF WHICH HASN’T BEEN SEEN SINCE MAGNUM P.I. will play Glasgow King Tut’s on 15 Oct. Relentlessly upbeat, their pedal-to-the-metal ethos and complex hook-laden songwriting guarantees fireworks whenever they hit the stage. This is ADHD rock music played with feeling and sincerity.

So you’ve all heard The Dead Weather by now, and even if you were disappointed by the album you have to admit that the prospect of seeing White and Mosshart on the same stage is pretty dang exciting. With a full compliment of sultry, noisy rockers and a nice line in impromptu cover versions, chances are they’ll raise the roof at Edinburgh HMV Picture House on 22 Oct. Good god, are Ash still going? Apparently so, and you can see them at Dundee Fat Sam’s on 23 Oct, The Loft in East Grange on 24 Oct and Falkirk Behind the Wheel on 25 Oct. Renowned as one of the loudest, tighest bands on the circuit and possessed of an enviable back-catalogue, you’re pretty much guaranteed wall-to-wall hits.

October ends with a bang courtesy of Japanese garage-metal geniuses Electric Eel Shock. Copping hooks from every classic punk and rock outfit and imbuing it all with the spirit of Sabbath, this is a band who have never written a ballad. Feel the fuzz at Glasgow ABC 2 on 28 Oct.

6.30PM, £30 WWW.MYSPACE.COM/PIXIES

7PM, £18.50

THE XX

RICHARD HAWLEY

CAPTAIN’S REST, 5 OCT

QUEEN’S HALL, 13 OCT

The xx are a music hack’s wet dream, and, correspondingly, have been showered in praise (pardon the phrase) by the Guardian and Pitchfork among others. The London quartet are barely out of school and boast a list of influences that bear the hallmark of Spotify, provocatively juxtaposing Rihanna with The Cure, while sounding in reality like neither. Instead, they’re like Young Marble Giants if they’d never seen the countryside, or Pixies on industrial quantities of cough syrup. It’s music for holding hands late at night in multistorey car parks, and how it will translate live is anyone’s guess. Our money’s on it being a nice post-work comedown, with the extra satisfaction of saying “I was there”. [Gillian Watson]

Richard Hawley hails from a bygone era, crooning like Scott Walker before he turned avant-garde and penning luscious odes to courting couples and, er, his hometown of Sheffield. Despite graduating from Pulp, being Mercury nominated, and even garnering more populist award nods from the Brit committee, Hawley still largely operates under the radar, his chamber-pop shtick too kitsch for some. A new album in the same vein is unlikely to alter his standing greatly, but let’s accentuate the positive: rather than suffering soulless corporate enormo-venues, we instead get to savour his symphonies in the more alluring Queen’s Hall.

Lovely. [Chris Buckle] 7PM, £19.50

8PM, £7.50

ALSO PLAYING GLASGOW FRUITMARKET ON 12 OCT

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEXX

WWW.RICHARDHAWLEY.CO.UK The Dead Weather, Edinburgh HMV Picture House, 22 Oct . Photo: David Swanson

50 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

Music Isis, Stereo, Glasgow, 25 Oct

Words Austin Tasseltine Remember when guys in leather jackets or cut-off denim were the evil henchmen in action films?

Remember Superman making a monkey out of that gang of bikers who looked like they enjoyed a bit of Thin Lizzy? Or the general wardrobe of the Terminator? What the hell happened to the image of the metal fan to make them such a pushover? Certainly a decade of Faster Pussycat and Poison didn’t do much for machismo. Just ask Pantera, who might well stick the head in you rather than discuss their early outfits. Try one beard, one studded belt, two or three naked ladies drawn on your chest and two big, hairy fists. That’s metal.

Check Scandinavian heroes Wolf. Here’s a band not afraid toCathouse make a stand to try and reclaim August 256x155 Skinnytheir PRINT.pdf genre. See for example their tag-line: “Real metal for

true bastards.” That’s what it’s all about. Honestly, mark these words, the quality of modern action films will rise exponentially if these men get their way. You can pump fists with these Swedish titans at Ivory Black’s (11 Oct). If that’s too big of a first step, across town prog fans can see the legendary Dream Theatre play more notes than have actually been discovered at SECC (11 Oct), joined by Opeth.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh newcomers Fighterplanes, making big nods towards Laeto and similar alt-metal pioneers, can be savoured at The 13th Note that same night.

Edinburgh actually gets off to a quick start in October. Bannerman’s in particular hosts a run of promising shows, starting with some black metal in the form of Kathaarsys and Haar (1 Oct). The following night at that same venue sees head-mashing brutes Charger and Glasgow’s Corpses, shaking loose some teeth (2 Oct). Lastly, Irish post-metallers 20/7/09 09:32:21 and touring machines And So I Watch You From

Afar swirl their anthemic majesty round those same subterranean caves on the Cowgate.

Meanwhile poor little unsuspecting Elgin enjoys a visit from crushing Glaswegian doom-sayers Black Sun, supporting Lazarus Blackstar at New Elgin Hall (3 Oct). Quite how that will go down with the residents committee should be interesting.

Back in Bannerman’s, recently formed Shields Up throw down some righteous hardcore from their impressive debut album (8 Oct). That venue’s busy month is rounded off when Threshold Sicks and Leather Pig do some damage (23 Oct). The following weekend finds Edinburgh’s GRV hosting another Black Metal Festival (24, 25 Oct) this time showcasing the throaty talents of Achren, Mithras, Scythian, Spearhead, Burial and the aforementioned Haar, amongst others.

Vessels make a trip north with their crushing metallic post-rock, calling at The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow (16 Oct), then Sneaky Pete’s in the capital

(17 Oct). Support for their Glasgow show comes in the form of two highly tipped domestic talents, with Take A Worm frontman J Quimby performing as Loss Leader and Ayrshire riff machine What The Blood Revealed also supporting. Vessels themselves have enjoyed some unanimously feverish media attention, with Steve Lamacq in particular singling them out for praise. Up to Tayside, and on 16 October United Fruit make a rare trip to Dundee, kicking hell out of The Balcony Bar. Back in Glasgow, the infamous Isis do their very best to level Stereo (25 Oct) followed by Raging Speedhorn off-shoot Viking Skull getting all denimed-up at The Cathouse (26 Oct). The latter also makes an appearance at Hustlers In Dundee (29 Oct).

Finally, there must be few better ways to celebrate Hallowe’en than listening the the tongue-in-cheek gore metal of Cannibal Corpse (31 Oct) at the clumsily named O2 ABC1. More of a license plate than a venue perhaps.

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October 2009

THE SKINNY 51

CLUBS

Help Us Celebrate An impartial and objective outlook is essential in any field of journalism. With that in mind, lets look at the event those fine, talented and witty folk at The Skinny and Ten Tracks are hosting this month, their Twisted Kids Birthday Party.

of seeing them live. The pair take their name from the night in Stereo which spawned them and make great use of keyboards, laptop beats, guitars, mandolins, trumpets, cowbells, harmonicas, hurdy gurdys and kazoos in their live setup in order to create their unique sound.

DJ sets will be provided by Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club, Slabs of the Tabernacle, Radio Magnetic, David Barbarossa, Men & Machines and Astroboy.

Regular readers of this section will no doubt be aware of our love for Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club. In spite of being less than two years old, Huntleys and Palmers has consistently proven to be ahead of the curve in terms of its musically diverse booking policy. Guests such as Aeroplane, Silver Apples and James Holden have all previously appeared and our friends over at Ten Tracks offered Huntleys and Palmers its own channel alongside the likes of Soma, Optimo and Men & Machines.

Which brings us rather neatly onto aforementioned Men & Machines, hosts of their own splendid monthly night in Stereo and a prime-time slot on Subcity Radio (Thursdays, 10pm-12am).

Previous guests at Men & Machines include Dompteur Mooner, The Bass Explorer, Luke Abbott, Allez-Allez, Nicolas Stefan, DJ Bobby Wilson, I Am Blip and Gavin Russom performing as Black Meteoric Star.

The Slabs of the Tabernacle night was recently moved from the abruptly shut Twisted Wheel to the upstairs area of The Universal in Glasgow. The Slabs collective have a combined record box that would make a grown man weep so expectations are very high indeed.

All this musical talent and more, including bouncy castles, a magician, plates of E numbers, cake, fire-eaters and pinatas of our various enemies. Bring your own bat.

TWISTED KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY, 10PM-3AM, £7, 10 OCT. WWW.THESKINNY.CO.UK/BIRTHDAY

WIN ONE OF 10 PAIRS OF VIP TICKETS TO OUR PARTY To enter just answer this question :

What did infamous American serial killer John Wayne Gacy dress up as to entertain the neighbourhood children?

Text Chris Duncan BIASED, us? Never! That said, there is a shared belief here at The Drill Hall that we’ve organised quite a treat to celebrate our four year anniversary and the first birthday of Ten Tracks. Live acts confirmed so far include The Blessings, Meursault, RBRBR, Over The Wall and Black Cat. FineArt and Dom Sum create music under

the name The Blessings and spearhead the ground-breaking LuckyMe collective, whose creative output falls strictly under the category of holy-shit-what-do-we-call-this? Instead of wasting time trying to pigeon hole anything they do, let's simply establish that everything these guys touch turns to gold.

Moving on from the King Midas duo we have RBRBR, a five-piece from Edinburgh who

HIP HIP (apparently we can spout fully formed sentences now) along with Ten Tracks, who are turning one. The party takes place at The Arches and more information can be found in the feature above.

In Aberdeen, Everything Else Sucks finds its feet at new venue Origin, starting proceedings with an appearance from Shadow Dancer on October 10. Fresh from celebrating their second birthday are Ballers Social Club. Never ones to take a well deserved rest, Ballers

52 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

A) Cowboy B) Clown C) Oncologist VISIT THESKINNY.CO.UK/COMPETITIONS BEFORE 8 OCTOBER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! Terms and Conditions: Please refer to theskinny.co.uk/terms.

DJSEAN CHART BROSNAN (FUTURE DISCO)

Chris Duncan

AS SUMMER wheezes to a lethargic close, it’s time to combat the waves of seasonal affective disorder by taking shelter in the various club nights October has to offer.

October 3 marks the welcome return of Vitalic to Glasgow to launch his new album Flash Mob at the O2 Academy.

The following evening over at Cabaret Voltaire, Killer Kitsch present their special guest from Leeds, Grum.

October 10 promises to stand out as we at The Skinny celebrate our fourth birthday

successfully blend rock and electro where so many others have failed. They cite their influences as being as far flung as Captain Beefheart and MF Doom, but a quick glance at their Myspace page reveals a lot of respect for the current electronic music scene in France, in particular the output of Ed Banger Records.

Elsewhere, Over The Wall have been praised by just about anyone who has ever had the pleasure

have LD and Loops Haunt appearing live at Stereo on October 9. Finally, a busy month for Huntleys and Palmers as they bring James Holden, Nite Jewel, Dollskabeat, Chops, Daedelus, Fox Gut Daata and Darrell to Stereo across three dates this month.

Over on the website there’s an in-depth look at Halloween themed club nights, covering everything from Club Noir to Optimo Espookio, Fake Blood at HYP? to the screams emitting from the northern lights.

1. Fromage – Vicious (Runaway Remix) - Needwant The first record to be released on my label Needwant. I’ve gone to every corner of the globe for this one; a Melbourne duo, remixed by New Yorkers, for a London label.

2. Jonathon Jeremiah – Happiness (Morgan Geist/Quiet Village remixes) Two remixes that both have a retro feel, Morgan touches the 80s while Quiet Village go for the big 70s soundtrack strings.

3. 40 Thieves – Don’t Turn It Off – Permanent Vacation One of those records that people just want to dance to: feelgood modern-day disco.

4. Faze Action – I Wanna Dancer – Faze Action Music Faze Action are so underrated as producers and a band.

Great production and it's on the new Future Disco mix.

5. Shit Robot – Simple Things (Todd Terje Mix) - DFA This was a grower for me, but Terje has added so many layers you don’t get bored of hearing it.

6. The Faint – Battle Hymn For Children (Tensnake remix) - Boyz Noise My producer of 2009 - Tensnake does another great remix. Somewhere between house and disco.

7. Azari & iii – Reckless With Your Love – CDR My friend sent me this and I've been playing it ever since, a hark back to some New York 90s house.

Soon to be big, I‘m sure.

8. Knightlife – Discotirso – Cutters Choice Filter disco is back! Every time I play this, people rush to the dancefloor.

[Chris Duncan]

DJ Mehdi Let It Bleed, 31 Oct

Big and scary. Big and scary with a quaffable helping of joie de vivre! Aberdeen’s Let It Bleed are offering a frighteningly boisterous option for this year’s Hallowe’en activity with Ed Banger insider Mehdi commanding the 600 capacity Forum - complete with Funktion One sound.

The French are awfully good at transforming themselves into an uber-marque of coolness. So much so that I, like many others, pull out my jealousy stick and tap it relentlessly to the heinously meaty mix of hip-hop and house that they’ve dominated since the mid-90s. Collaborating closely with the usual gallic suspects as well as Stateside superstars Busta Rhymes and Timbaland has spiralled Mehdi’s pedigree into stratospheric planes befit of a movie stardom - which could explain his film soundtrack work too, MERDE! It’s really enough to make you quite sick (with envy), so tonight make as much goo and slime on the floor as you can. No really, get messy. Get bad. [Jaco Justice] 10pm-3am, £12, 31 Oct

Fake Blood HYP?, 30 Oct

October sees yet another Glasgow club night turn two years old; 2007 must have been a creative year. As it’s also Hallowe’en, the HYP? masterminds behind the slogan How’s Your Hallowe’en? have chosen a DJ appropriately shrouded in seasonal flyer imagery as well as an air of mystery, his true identity being a source of much speculation across the club community. In 2008, Mars, and his spawn of banging remixes, got the electro-house scene salivating. By February 2009, he was playing to a teeming Sub Club, with wind- and rain-swept guests queuing from 9pm to get a door ticket.This night shouldn’t be too different. His golden remixing skills are a sign of what to expect live - addictively choppy vocals, ecstatically energetic electro hooks, and pulsating bass lines which morph into pounding techno beats as they drop. Support comes from future heroes Drums of Death, playing with a full live band. [Rosie Davies] 10pm-3am, £12, 30 Oct

Fortified Sessions Third Birthday Vic Bar, 30 Oct

Scotland’s longest-running exponents of dubstep, the Electric Eliminators, will celebrate the third birthday of their Fortified Sessions this month.After giving Scottish debuts to scene main-players such as Digital Mystikz, Skream and Plastician, they’ll be doing it in style with a proper, bass-heavy nu-skool-meets-old-skool session.

Bristol’s Joker couldn’t be any hotter right now, thanks to his slick brand of psychedelic thriller-funk which has seen him deliver such global anthems as ‘Gullybrook Lane’ and ‘Purple City’, so expect his set to exceed expectations.

Another of dubstep’s nu-wave who will rock this night is west Londoner Silkie, whose full-length debut ‘City Limits Vol 1’ was the first on Digital Mystikz’ Mala’s Deep Medi label. Like Joker, Silkie is another producer steeped in the funk, serving it up over his distinctive musical backdrops.

Also making an appearance will be El-B, a figurehead from the dawn of now a truly international sound. El-B’s been responsible for some of the heaviest and most influential dubplates out there, earning him a well-deserved ‘Roots Of El-B’ retrospective album. Longstanding collaborator MC Rolla will be joining him on the night. [Colin Chapman] 11pm – 3am, £10/£12, 30 Oct www.myspace.com/theelectriceliminator

Funk D’Void Mixtape, 9 Oct

Aberdeen club Snafu has a strangely diverse roster of club nights. What seems like the clubbing equivalent of a multi-purpose retail-park branch of Asda manages to retain its credibility, however, in two ways: its 350 capacity means it’s forced to remain “intimate” (surely the clubbing scene’s word of choice at the moment); and Friday night fixture Mixtape continuously pulls in guests worthy of the most super superclubs - Green Velvet, Vitalic and Erol Alkan alternate with niche sounds from across the electro-tech spectrum, with an emphasis on booking DJs from around the world.This month they’re not moving far: Soma’s Funk D’Void specialises in the brand of solid deep house and techno which still characterises Glasgow. With the kind of muscley expertise that gives any technical DJ a shiver of excitement, D’Void carefully manipulates his dancefloor, taking it up and bringing it down with impressive ease. [Rosie Davies]

Clubs

Previews Mayer Hawthorne & The County King Tut’s, 24 Oct

Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mayer Hawthorne was soon introduced to neighbouring Detroit’s rich musical heritage thanks to his father playing its rich soul and jazz output on childhood car journeys. The singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has certainly built on these early musical foundations, though now counts his biggest inspirations as Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield. Though all too easy to label Hawthorne’s sound ‘retro’, respect is definitely due to an artist that writes all his own songs and plays all his own instruments, a fact that definitely didn’t go amiss when Stone’s Throw label boss Peanut Butter Wolf first heard him. Impressed by the 29-year-old suburban white kid’s heartfelt sentiments, he signed him up based only on two songs, something he’d not done with any other Stone’s Throw artist. Since the tender-falsetto-meets-breakbeat of first release ‘Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out’, the plaudits have snowballed, with recent debut album ‘A Strange Arrangement’ gaining particular acclaim. Time to discover what all the fuss is about. [Colin Chapman] 8.30pm, £8, 24 Oct www.myspace.com/mayerhawthorne

Shadow Dancer Everything Else Sucks, 10 Oct

Everything Else Sucks have gathered a solid following since they established themselves last year. Judging by the excited social media babble, it seems they have plugged a gap in the Aberdeen music scene. The crowd were tempted in by the promise of “100% filth” in the form of crunching basslines and heavy, heavy drops - the sort of music which, in their defence, can only be described as ‘dirty’. The calibre of both residents and guests certainly helped - Hostage, Foamo, DJ Zinc and Jack Beats. Their first birthday continues the celebration with Shadow Dancer (Boys Noize). With a similarly serious sound to their label’s founders, Shadow Dancer are cleaner and sharper, with acid house references and elements of crisp techno refining the fuzzier, heavier electro moments. Not happy with simply using the standard birthday gimmick, the night is also a christening of sorts - they’ve moved to the newly reopened Origin.

[Rosie Davies] 11pm-3am, 10 Oct

Adventures In Sound & Beat Control HMV Picture House

Lothian Road has undergone quite the makeover. As theatregoers flock back to the refurbished Usher Hall and hen-night hellhole Subway is finally swallowed up by the cursed earth from which it emerged, HMV Picturehouse’s announcement of two brand new nights, Adventures In Sound and Beat Control, has given the ‘Burgh’s club scene a long-awaited facelift after a year of ‘legal wrangling’; much to everyone’s dismay, proceedings were not overseen by frenzied taps of the gavel from Macho Man Randy Savage QC. Altogether less concerned with a judicial smackdown, Adventures In Sound resident DJ Andy Wilson will host a great big stack of nosebleed electro and righteous toe-tapping indie on Friday nights.

Meanwhile, Beat Control will see EVOL founder Keiron Mellote running the rule over Saturday nights with his eclectic offerings of elusive remixes and leftfield hits.

Lothian Road: not looking too shabby now, eh? [Ray Philp] www.mamagroup.co.uk/picturehouse

Midfield General Ctrl Alt Dft, 10 Oct

Midfield General are hard to pin down. Their first album, Generalisation, was a mixture of soul, hip-hop, techno and a genre which the act’s alter-ego Damian Harris claims to have created himself, namely “nu-skool breaks”. Its high point was Midfielding, which had Noel Fielding (waaay before the Mighty Boosh phenomenon hit) providing one of the strangest, most hilarious monologues he’s done, over the top of a laidback hip-hop beat. It pretty much sums up the ethos of the act, whose varied output echoes Harris’s tongue-in-cheek persona; the next big track, Disco Sirens, was an electro-pop/hip-hop tune (yeah, try and imagine that) in which rapping, coming courtesy of Vila from Bumblebeez, battles with rave-style sirens and a funk bassline.It’s a mature booking for locally-revered Dundee night Ctrl Alt Dft, and one which will surely be rewarded by a diverse, interesting set from one of electronic music’s quirkiest background men. [Rosie Davies]

October 2009

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Knights of the Night In these hard times, it’s difficult not to be impressed when a club night manages to not only reach, but celebrate its fifth birthday. Just look at Glasgow's Sensu.

Interview Colin Chapman Photos Brian Sweeney THIS month, Sensu joins only a handful of similar Glasgow nights who’ve accomplished this milestone.

“I’d been DJing for quite a while and decided it was time I started organising a regular event to play at.” says co-promoter/resident DJ, Barry Price, explaining the origins of the house and techno bi-monthly. “Gio Ferri, Ralph Turner and I booked out the now defunct Q Club; filling it mainly with friends but after a while, others who wanted to check out the night”. “I played firstly as a guest; then got more involved”, adds fellow promoter/resident DJ, Junior Ingram. “It made more sense than doing my own thing which was what I’d been considering.”

In September 2005, they moved to the larger Liquid Lounge, with Ralph bowing out of involvement shortly before. “Our first event there was a Wee Chill After-Party, with Trentemøller”, says Junior. “We wanted to build on what we’d already achieved and get more guests new to Scotland. We followed him with Todd Bodine, Troy Pierce, Marc Houle and Two Dollar Egg, but ultimately we knew we’d have to broaden our booking policy if we wanted to attract a regular, mixed crowd to our nights.”

Two years later, Sensu again changed home, this time upping sticks to the Sub Club. By this point Gio had moved on, leaving Barry and Junior as co-promoters.

“I think we impressed them with the enthusiasm and ideas we presented, but they were also aware of our past bookings and how well we’d been doing”, admits Junior. “Our first event at the club took place between Christmas and New Year 2006,” follows Barry. “We booked Lawrence from Germany’s Dial Records to play live and Mr C to DJ and though it probably wasn’t the best time of year to attract a crowd, we managed to fill the place.”

“That was probably my favourite ever Sensu night”,

54 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

Junior reveals. ”I’m a big Lawrence fan; like all things deep when it comes to house and techno and by 1am, when he was still playing this type of stuff at a time when you might not hear it in a club, I felt we’d truly succeeded…we’d built up a definite following, allowing us total control over what was being played rather than having to give in to what a crowd might normally demand.”

The following February they returned with Cocoon-label affiliate Andre Galluzi guesting, with Tobi Neumann coming next. “Since he played, we’ve become really good friends, which is great, as Tobi’s helped spread the word about Sensu to other DJs and producers on the scene”, says Barry. By this point, they’d become a bi-monthly fixture at the Sub, appearing on the third Friday and it’s remained this way since.

Over time, they’ve welcomed, amongst others, Raresh, Octave One, Tiefschwarz, Josh Wink and Italoboyz to the decks, not to mention Loco Dice, who’ll be returning this month as part of their Fifth Birthday celebratory double-header, having enjoyed himself making his Sub debut last year as Junior’s keen to point out. “We’ve had great feedback from all those who’ve played Sensu, but especially from Loco…almost immediately after his set he told us he wanted to come back.”

However, because they usually hold just six events a year, they’re forced to be persistent with agents to finally comfirm the DJs they want to appear. “It’s often hard to match their availability with our dates, so we have to wait our turn…it’s all about staying in regular contact, being proactive. It took us three years to book Loco Dice”, concedes Junior.

Aside from organising and playing at the night, (alongside fellow residents, Junior’s brother, Christopher, Chesco and Alan Belshaw, who play on rotation), the pair are also involved in a Sensu ‘live’ project, as Junior explains: “Barry, a fellow DJ/producer called Esa and I, all perform together using a pair of laptops, a sampler and a drum machine; merging elements

"WE’VE GOT SOME EXCITING GUESTS LINED UP AND WE’RE KEEN TO PUSH THE LIVE THING FURTHER TOO” BARRY PRICE

of various tracks together, but also playing complete tracks and our own stuff too.” As well as playing various club nights, including their own, they’ve appeared at The Wee Chill, T In The Park and Rockness and want to build on this, with the possibility of ‘Sensu’ productions in the future.

So, having successfully completed five years, what’s next? “To keep on doing what we’re doing”, concludes Barry. ”We’ve got some exciting guests lined up and we’re keen to push the live thing further too.”

SENSU IS FIVE PART 1, 16 OCT, WITH MICHAEL MAYER (KOMPAKT) + SENSU DJS, 11PM – 3AM. PART 2, 23 OCT, WITH LOCO DICE (DESOLAT) + SENSU DJS, 11PM – 3AM. BOTH AT SUB CLUB, £12/£20.

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SENSUEVENTS

BDAY CHART SENSU'S FIFTH BIRTHDAY PICKS Minilogue - Doiicie A (Minilogue 002) Barry Price: “A perfect groove-based track that effortlessly builds, drawing you in with very simple changes and elements. A record that, when you hear in a club, it’s impossible not to dance to… well for me it is!

Also makes cool use of narrative from a Gus Van Sant short film.”

Jay Haze – ‘Soul In A Bottle’ (Dubbed mix) (Kindisch) Junior: “It’s surprising this track wasn’t as big as it should’ve been. Perhaps a good thing, as it means it’s been in no way over-played. Perfect for the end of night; or for slowing things down.”

Precession - Sandcastles (Mike Huckaby remx) (Deep Transportation ‘Limited 02’).

Paul Ingram: “Originally released on Ferox Records’ ‘Adventures In Techno Soul Compilation’ in ‘96, this

track was re-released as a limited picture disc on Huckaby’s Deep Transportation label in 2004. A bit of a secret weapon for me; it’s a timeless track that’s perfectly suited to the intimate surroundings of the Sub Club and more recently has gained support from the likes of Intrusion, Luciano and Loco Dice.”

Ricardo Villalobos - 808 Bassqueen Francesco Ferri: “Over the last 5 years, I’ve never left home without it..that’s all that needs to be said!”

Bart Skils & Anton Pieete AKA District One The Shining (100% Pure) Alan Belshaw: “I waited a while to get my hands on this one after vaguely remembering how it went when Dan Curtin played it at Sensu back in August 2007. It’s a nice, solid house track that sounds excellent over the Sub’s sound system…but then again, almost anything does!” [Colin Chapman]

Launch Me Into Space Underground label Solardisco Recordings is making quite a name for itself with a radio show, club night, and now releases in association with New York label DFA Interview Anna Seale “PRIMARILY I started Solardisco Recordings to put out my own edits and productions, but I signed an exclusive deal with Eskimo shortly after the second release. I decided to focus on putting out some of the unreleased music I was being sent coupled with remixes from guys who I really respect, guys like Blackbelt Andersen, John Daly, Sneak Thief and Pete Herbert.”

Paul Gordon, aka Maelstrom and the founder of Solardisco Recordings, is talking about the incredible rise of his label since its humble beginnings in late 2008. Now on its sixth release, the label has become home to Maelstrom’s own 12-inch edits as well as artists such as Sankt Goran.

“The sixth release is being pressed as we speak and I plan to keep going for as long as I can!

The response to the releases has been great so far, with the last release from Altair Nouveau licensed to DFA, which can only be good for future releases.”

Ah yes, the asociation with the ever successful Death From Above record label. Solardisco and DFA began working together after Maelstrom’s edit of Metro Area’s Miura received some well-deserved attention from the likes of Prins Thomas and James Murphy.

But Solardisco has now grown from an independent record label into a musical venture that includes a regular night and aAd_AUG_PRINT.pdf show on SubcTunnel club General Skinny ity Radio. “We’ve been running [the Solardisco

club night] for around a year now and we were fairly nomadic until we set up in The Brunswick Hotel. We’ve been there for four months now and I think the space really lends itself what we’re into... really compact, low ceiling, sweaty affairs. In the past we’ve had guests such as Pete Herbert, Rune Lindbaek, Dicky Trisco and more recently local lads Ooft Music. The last couple of nights we’ve focused on playing ourselves but we’re talking to Pete Herbert about getting him back very soon as he thoroughly rocked it last time.”

The latest addition to the Solardisco family is the arrival of the new show on Subcity Radio.

Running on Sunday nights between 8 and 9pm, the show offers a selection of leftfield disco and balearic sounds. After launching on 13 September, the show has already broadcast the likes of KZA, Joakim, Neurotic Drum Band and Todd Sparrow. “I have a new found respect for radio presenters, as the first couple have been a real baptism of fire.”

So where now for this promising label and its various works? “In terms of what the plans for the future are, just more of the same for the label, with remixes from the likes of Bjorn Torske and Tony Lionni, to name but a few. Then sharpen my radio skills and hopefully host more successful nights at the Brunswick.”

25/8/09

10:00:21

SOLARDISCO IS ON SUBCITY RADIO EVERY SUNDAY MORNING BETWEEN 8AM AND 9AM. WWW.SOLARDISCO.COM

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CLUBS

No Pain, All Gain Long to get exotic and erotic with a bevy of burlesque beats and beautiful bodies? Good news then: infamous club night Torture Garden is coming to Edinburgh Text Gareth K Vile “TORTURE Garden has been running for 20 years and remains the only club of its kind. A multi-dimensional night led by the energy of the crowd, fuelled by the DJs, it caters for the open-minded - from the young fashionable clubber to alternative artsy types, from sophisticated burlesque fans to fetish club regulars.

The Autumn Ball will be an environment that accepts and encourages individualism, diversity and freedom of self-expression.”

Itsy’s Collective has been providing alternative Edinburgh with cabaret nights and music festivals for the past year, promoting local talent alongside national superstars. In collaboration with the London-based, globe-trotting fetish night Torture Garden, they are taking over the Caves in Edinburgh for a night of hedonism, entertainment and music-led bacchanalia.

Dee from the Collective takes up the story. “The Caves is a unique space and the atmospheric caves and arches lend themselves well to a multi-roomed club.” With three main spaces, clubbers will be spoilt for choice.

“The ballroom in the main cave will be defined by the heavy dance music alongside TG’s trademark fetish freak show stage performance. The boudoir stage will have a cheekier and fun environment with a sideshow and cabaret feel. The Dungeon will have a more chilled out sound and is the place for fetish play and will also feature an art display from local artists.”

While Torture Garden’s identity is strongly defined by the fetish scene and the presence of performers who tread the line between burlesque and live art, the night’s ambience is determined by the music.

Each space has its own DJs, each with their own agenda. Allen TG – one of The Garden’s founders and a pioneering VJ lays down hard left-field dance in the ballroom, partnered with David TG, artistic director and master of dark drum’n’bass, and the experimental electronic mash-up and local dark ambient maestro Neil Fimbulvetr.

In the Kabarett Boudoir, Dee herself will be teaming with David TG to offer neo-swing, rock’n’roll, retrotreats and exotica, as well as a classical and ambient chill out set in the Dungeon. While the emphasis across The Caves is on intensity and the alternative, the range of sounds makes Torture Garden the fetish equivalent of a weekend festival, contained in a single night. A set from Prime 8’s Kat rounds out the line up with his encyclopaedic knowledge of lo-fi indie and obscure pop.

More than just setting the scene, the DJs stamp their authority on the night. Torture Garden has been notorious on the London scene for its early adoption of harder styles, from hard house through to its current fascination with nu-skool breaks: the chill out spaces have always been an eclectic mix of anything from film soundtracks to eastern and ritualistic loops. Linking back to the golden age of the 1990s, when the influence of Balearic beats dissolved genre and boundaries, it can be unpredictable and challenging, seeking out rare grooves and occult tracks.

The DJs reflect both Torture Garden’s core aesthetic and the collective’s support for local artists. Dee notes that “we are keen to provide an outlet for counter culture arts in Scotland whether that be through music, performance art or the fine arts and TG certainly fits our remit.” Her enthusiasm is obvious. “We are honoured to be working with them and can’t wait to unveil it to the Scottish audience. TG has toured the world recently with events in Tokyo, Paris, NYC and Toronto in addition to their regular event in London; we thought it was time to bring TG back to the Scottish capital.”

By placing performance within the club, Torture Garden puts the music into a broader artistic context, and well as creating a unique, immersive atmosphere.

The acts represent a particular strand of burlesque, which goes beyond traditional glamour and striptease

56 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

into more provocative territory.

The Scottish performers, in particular, are pushing the boundaries of cabaret’s expressiveness. Malady de Winter is well known for her anti-capitalist routine, a witty tale of socialist consciousness and work-place radicalism, and the captivating Cat Aclysmic can compress complex concepts into five minute bursts of romanticism or fire-fanning mayhem. Cherry Loco, a West Coast boylesquer, confuses gender certainties with a kitsch take on feminine accessories through a confident, enthusiastic masculinity.

TORTURE GARDEN HAS BEEN NOTORIOUS ON THE LONDON SCENE FOR ITS EARLY ADOPTION OF HARDER STYLES, FROM HARD HOUSE THROUGH TO ITS CURRENT FASCINATION WITH NU-SKOOL BREAKS Cherry is promising an act that is “a man-eating whirlwind of feathers, glitter, napalm and more than just a hint of raunchy indulgence.” Like Dee, he admits “I’m truly clawing at the walls in excitement. Torture Garden is in many ways a burlesque performer’s - or any fantasist for that matter - dream... Though it is without doubt an adult-entertainment event.” He continues “There’s also an overall sense of play and make-believe which is just so fun and refreshing when it seems so few scenes really embrace or encourage individualism and self-expression.”

Dee agrees, and explains a little more. “Those who have never been to a Fetish club night can expect a night for the most open-minded individuals which is very welcoming. Due to the multi-dimensional layout, it is a night where you can pick your preferred arena, whether it be the hi-energy ballroom, the more laid back Kabarett stage, the fetish-led playroom or the market of fetish clothing, or even just hang out at the bar checking out the high fashion of the crowd.”

Between the art-work, performance and DJs, Torture Garden is another example of a club that loves the music, but aims for a total, immersive experience. In place of superstar DJs or big-name live acts, there is a constant flow of experience and drama, shifting moods and attention-seeking events.

“Ultimately it is the crowd above all that generates the energy and atmosphere of any TG event” Dee concludes. “Given that the crowd is the most diverse, radically dressed and cutting edge crowd in the world-wide fetish and burlesque scenes, every event is something very special. As well as staging extreme artists and discovering future big names when they were unknown - Dita Von Teese made her UK performance debut at TG in 1999 - all the scene's biggest names appear regularly at TG. More than anything else Torture Garden is world renowned for its incredible theatrical performances and fashion shows.”

9PM-3AM, £14/£12, 24 OCTTHE CAVES WWW.TORTUREGARDEN.CO

Berlin decadence, old-school clubbing, provocation, pole-dancers and freaky dancing. Who says clubbing belongs to the mainstream? Enter Edinburgh club night Confusion is Sex

CLUBS

Subverting the Norm

See Right Through Them Glasgow club night in so-hot-right-now act booking frenzy. Six arrested, thousands flee, mayor declares state of emergency

Clear as mud: Crystal Fighters

Interview Gareth K Vile BACK in the early 1990s, clubbing wasn’t just about the music: it was connected, however naively, to a network of counter-cultural protest and experimental performance. While outposts of resistance remain – Death Disco or Optimo’s themed nights spring to mind – the rise of the superstar DJ and the sheer number of club options has left the more radical nights isolated.

Confusion is Sex is the latest night that redresses the balance in favour of the immersive experience.

Having created a buzz around its mixture of live music, banging tunes, burlesque and art installations, Confusion is establishing itself as an alternative to the pulling and puking scene. Founder Gamma Ray Dali calls it her “art project”, a fusion of her years acting as a host in underground clubs and a desire to find “a space where anything can happen”.

Taking up both floors of the Bongo Club, decorated by intoxicating aesthetes The Red Desert, and showcasing ferocious live acts from across Europe, Confusion is Sex grapples with the possibilities of clubbing, straddling visual art, music, theatre and the 60s notion of the ‘happening’. As Gamma insists, “I want the abnormal to be normal. The idea is to discourage any normality.”

Since the night emerged from Gamma’s clear vision, it has a unity, despite the wandering brides in animal masks, the BDSM imagery and burlesque interludes, all of which are jarring interventions into the serious beats. “I am sure about what I want,” Gamma says. “I thought about having a sign on my flyers: a jumper with a cross through it. I’d like everyone to dress up. I was thinking about having a face painter, so if people aren’t dressed up, they have to have face paint!”

The wandering brides aren’t an accident, though.

“The dominant part of Confusion is The Freaky Brides,” she admits. “I came up with them - these women married to rock’n’roll. Each girl has a character.

They rock out on the dance floor, have fun and are building up to their own act.” Even when the burlesque acts aren’t on, The Brides maintain that David Lynch vibe, and keep the atmosphere deviant.

Musically, Confusion promotes underground, edgy electro and appropriately alternative bands: past guests include Plazblanche - “a strobe light set to music” and “strong fags for fans of Berlin” Glitter Klinik. “I spend a lot of money bringing over these bands from Berlin and Paris because they perform on stage: a lot of British bands don’t have that thing: they stand really still!” Gamma notes.

On 2 October, Aniaetleprogrammeur’s “technoindustrial-punk soundclash” features, while the Hallowe’en Ball will roll heavy on the dancefloor on 30 October. Gamma has lined up a vampire blood act, performances from musical theatre mavericks Craft, Scottish witchcraft rock from the delectable Daiquiri Dusk and a dance-clash between The Freaky Brides and The Auld Reekie Roller Girls.

Burlesque is healthy in the Central Belt, and the clubbing scene is broad: what Confusion is Sex does is to make the link between the cultures, pushing the limits and overwhelming the audience.

“I want girls, and everyone, to be comfortable. It is really a good atmosphere”, Gamma says. “It is good to create a dream world, where people can do whatever they want.”

Text Chris Duncan THIS month, tucked away in an Arches line up to rival a respectable festival, are two standout live acts. First up, Kitsune’s rather interesting Crystal Fighters, who should come as a shock to those who still associate Death Disco with nothing more than WHOMP WHOMP fidget electro.

Due to the fact that the story of the band taking their name from “an unfinished opera written by the singer’s deceased grandfather during his final months of insanity” sounds like nothing more than PR bullshit, lets focus on their attention-grabbing sound instead.

Crystal Fighters merge the sound of traditional Basque folk music with modern basslines and energetic vocals, resulting in a uplifting live performance that has seen them headline Durrr, Dollop, Matter, Cargo, The End, Secret Garden Festival and beyond.

Their brand of folktronica shows influences from Fischerspooner to Animal Collective via Patrick Wolf and the songs of bands such as Eskorbuto, Sinistro Total and Golpes Bajos.

In 2008, the group took London by storm. Their infamous live shows led to an ever growing fanbase and a Radio 1 Live Session for Rob da Bank. The year was finally rounded up when their online track ‘I Love

London’ appeared in Mixmag’s Top 100 Records for 2008, the only unreleased record in the list, coming in ahead of the likes of Toddla T and Bloc Party. It finally gets released on Kitsune this next month.

Manchester trio Delphic also join the line up for the October event. They boast that they are a band who not only realise that four chord indie guitar hegemony is tedious, but know what to do in order to correct it.

Delphic may just be the next logical step on from groups such as The Klaxons and Late Of The Pier, a threesome who value classy design over empty flash.

Once Delphic started playing live ten months ago, things snowballed pretty fast. Live footage shown on Manchester TV station Channel M brought the A&R men scrabbling up the M6 to sign them. Delphic soon found a home for their debut single on Belgium’s classic ‘90s techno label R&S, home to the likes of Aphex Twin and Derrick May. Through R&S, Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson heard the band and is now on board to produce their album, to be released through Polydor on Delphic’s own Chimeric label.

10PM-4AM, 17 OCT, £16, THE ARCHES. CRYSTAL FIGHTERS AND DELPHIC APPEAR ALONGSIDE BUSY P, SO ME, BREAKBOT, FEADZ, KISSY SELL OUT, JACK BEATS, ANDY GEORGE AND JAMO.

BONGO CLUB 2 & 30 OCTOBER WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CONFUSIONISSEXCLUB

The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow 0141 565 1000 www.deathdisco.info

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 57

TRON THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE WEST END SMASH HIT PLAY

‘Explosive and gobsmacking.’

THE OBSERVER

UK REGIONAL PREMIERE

TUE 6 - SAT 24 OCTOBER BOX OFFICE 0141 552 4267

www.tron.co.uk

58 THE SKINNY OCTOBER 2009

TRON THEATRE LTD IS A SCOTTISH REGISTERED CHARITY NO. SCO12081

Glasgow music Thu 01 Oct Boxer Rebellion ABC, 19:00–22:00, £9

Indie rock.

This Town Needs Guns, Jocasta Sleeps Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Swimming, Ryan Bisland, The Vespas

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Melodramatic pop.

Johnny Whoop and friends Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Techno electro.

J. Tillman

Acoustica

Acoustic blues.

Mixed bag of indie.

The Nimmo Brothers

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Call This A Getaway, Scores, I Am Enforcer, 7 Car Pile Up

Acoustic Jam Session

Acoustic rock.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Wed 07 Oct

Alternative indie.

Three Blind Wolves

Daniel Merriweather

Speech Debelle

Country blues for crying to.

Folky singer/songwriter.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £4

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

2009 Mercury Music Prize winner.

Tragic Trash Tease

The Shed Live (Models For The Radio, Acrylic Iqon, The Stagger Rats, Daybreak)

Mike O’Donnell, Steve Adams, Michael Stevens

Music, burlesque and a screening of Glasgow exploitation movie ‘Babes Over the Barras’.

The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £8

The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £2

Pick’n’mix of new music.

Dave Dominey

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Funked up loops, bass and a guest soloist.

Acoustic Thursday’s Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Acoustic session with Madeleine Prichard and Jenny Flowers.

Kochka

Mono, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Live album launch.

Mystery Juice

Ambar, 20:00–23:00, Free

Top long-standing Edinburgh band.

Bow down.

Shut Up and Eat Your Math Rock (Oslow ) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Paint-by-numbers math rock.

I Need Musik, Synomyn, Savage Sound System, Model 2 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £5

Blue October, Ream Onn

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £11.50

Rockers on tour.

Sun 04 Oct The Pixies (The Pixies) SECC, 18:30–23:00, £30

Tattooed Millionaires

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

OTT American rock.

Zero 7

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Nice floaty chillout tunes.

Cats and Cats and Cats, There Will Be Fireworks, The Little Yellow Ukeleles Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Experimental indie.

Baddies, Cougar

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Alternative beats.

King Khan and the Shrines Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £9

Quartet of live bands.

Pshychedelic freakiness with a twist.

Tom McRae, Brian Wright

No Tribe

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £15

Gentle acoustic tunes.

Fri 02 Oct Forever Never, Switchblade, Scream, Hellatus

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Alternative rock for alternative people.

Digital Dinosaur, The Red Orchestra, Rose and Mane 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Experimental electro.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Hey Monday, Out of Sight, Every Avenue

Vinyl (Tangerine, Streak)

Powerpop.

Alternative rock.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £5

The ABC’s DIY mix-up.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £tbc

Mon 05 Oct

Trapped in Kansas, City of Statues, Reginald

Skindred

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Trio of live bands.

Indian Red Lopez

The Flying Duck, 19:00–23:00, £4

Punked up reggae.

Chris Helme

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Acoustic fare.

Any Colour Black, Fridge Magnets, Skitten Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Electro rock.

Alternative indie.

The XX

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Acoustic folk.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Uisge Beatha, 20:00–23:00, £5

Acoustic Jam Session

Craig Hughes, James Apollo, Missing Cat

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Folky blues for the soul.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8.50

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Mundy, Mick Hargan

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £10

Guita rock.

Animal Kingdom, The Parlotones, Self-Shelter Alternative indie.

Tue 06 Oct

Melodic pop.

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Alternative poppishness.

PJ Bond, Matt Reynolds

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Metal rock.

Indie folk.

Flood of Red

Swashbuckle, De Soto Firefly, Valrog

Tornado of rock.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £5

The ABC’s DIY mix-up.

The Glasgow Slow Club, featuring Nicky Powell

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £5

Unkle Bob

Òran Mór, 19:00–22:00, £6 Unkle Bob road test material for their new album.

Run Toto Run, Zoobizaretta Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Electropoptastic.

Suspire (Salon Society)

Stereo, 19:30–23:00, £5 in advance, £6 door

Single launch party.

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Stripped back music.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

The Fiery Furnaces

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Experimental rock.

Stripped back music.

Smelly Bum Pyjama Party Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Suicide Tuesday, White Trash Circus 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Silly live music fun.

Always Until Victory, Comply or Die, Dip Dab 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Punk rock mix.

The Big Pink, Amazing Baby

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Indie pop.

Wed 14 Oct

Pop rock.

I Like Trains, Swimming, The Kabeedies

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Melodramatic pop.

Sat 17 Oct Truth Be Told, Echo Bass, Citagazi, Anaesthesia, Diallis

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Would Be Kings

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Jazzed-up pop.

Rocking pop.

Rock pop type stuff.

Duelling Winos

Soul Remover

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Bluesy electronica.

Resistance

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Sic Alps, TV Sefal, Gummy Stumps

Thu 08 Oct Simian Mobile Disco (Young Fathers) ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

SECC, 18:00–23:00, £30

Funky metal.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Stereo, 19:00–23:00, £5

Fun indie rock.

Ambient rock.

Eat Dr Ape, Cats on Ladders

findo gask

Danceable alternative rock.

Electro pop.

Sicknote play live at this MOJO fundraiser.

Mono Jazz

Spandau Ballet (Spandau Ballet)

Punkish trio.

The Hot Rats

The Fallen Angels Club (Lucy Kaplansky)

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Folk rock.

Single Skin Promotions Present

Dirty pop.

Information Libre

Killaflaw

Monthly indie rock shenanigans.

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £5

Soul and blues.

The Mill (United Fruits, Orko)

Òran Mór, 20:00–22:30, Free Free new live music showcase. Request tickets from www.themilllive.com Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £tbc

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

The Skinny and Ten Tracks Twisted Kids Birthday Party The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £7

Live bands, DJs and us!

Sun 11 Oct The Progressive Nation Tour (Dream Theater, Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect)

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Johnny Foreigner, Tellison, Japanese Voyeurs

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Pop melodies.

Thu 15 Oct

Hiroshima Blackout, Dip Dap, Midnight Masquerade

Power punk.

Andrew Rainey, Kill the Kids and Paletine DJs Mix of live music and DJs.

Indie rock shenanigans.

Manic Romance

SECC, 19:30–23:00, £37.50 to £60.00

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £tbc

SECC, 18:00–23:00, £30

Shut Up and Eat Your Rock ‘n’ Roll (We Are Not Kool, Rodan, The Wildcards, The Lazarenkos) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

A quartet of rock ‘n’ roll to shake some action to.

The Occasional Flickers 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Wonky pop.

Underground Heros, Tie For Jack

Punk rock.

Super Furry Animals (The Phantom Band)

Noisettes (MHPO)

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Proper indie, with sterling support.

New diva on the block.

Noah and The Whale

No Tribe

Sweet folky tales of love and loss.

Valrog, Assynt

Alternative rock for alternative people.

Seckou Keita Quintet

Black metal.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Fighterplanes, Albino Monk

Acoustic jazz fusion.

Graeme MacDonald

Chunks, Mike Nisbet, K9 Kev and Chad The Lad

Mixed-up rock.

Robin Adams

Melodic new wave pop.

White Belt Yellow Tag, Glider, Engine 7

Album launch night.

Cumbernauld Comes To Glasgow Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Live Cumbernauld bands, including Macabre Scene.

Kill It Kid, Sparrow and the Workshop Rootsy blues.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Jazz, blues and other such niceness.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £11.50

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £10

Indie schmindie.

Mon 12 Oct Newton Faulkner with Lisa Mitchell

Òran Mór, 19:00–23:00, £12

Classic Grand, 19:00–23:00, £12

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Punk rock.

Sun 18 Oct Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Box, 19:00–23:00, Free

Òran Mór, 19:30–22:00, £5

Yaman

Acoustic Thursday’s Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Acoustic Session with Gavin McGinty.

Invasion

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

Psychedelic metal.

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Indian classical music on sitar and flute.

CJ’s Amazing Rock Night Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Wild local rock and garage.

The Slow Club

Acoustic live show.

The Shed Live (Raymond Mearns, Chris Henry and Scott Agnew)

Wolf

A night of uncut laughter

Delays

Teitur

Shut Up and Eat Your Pianist (Penny Black, The Dirty Demographic, Shimmer)

Nice indie rock.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Three bands who like to tinkle the old ivories.

Fri 09 Oct Cliff Richard and The Shadows (Cliff Richard and The Shadows) SECC, 18:30–23:00, £55 to £60

Tamikas Treehouse (Park Circus and Euan Platter)

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Thrash metal.

Brel, 19:15–23:00, £8

Indie pop deliciousness.

Inspiral Carpets frontman.

JAMIE T

Victor Pope

Barrowlands, 19:00–23:00, £15

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Algernonn Cadwaller, Teenage Coolkids, Kaddish, Carson Wells

The talented wordsmith is back and touring.

Sugar Crisis

Bingo Wings

Indie mix.

Indie electro pop.

Punk rock.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Vessels

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Devon Sproule

Tom Hingley

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Garage grunge.

Band of Skulls, Lost In Audio

Addictive rock tunes.

Interesting singer/songwriter from the Faroe islands.

Chill out tunes.

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Tom Jones (Tom Jones)

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £7

Open Mic Night

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6.50

New indie.

Schnapps

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Thrash metal mix-up.

Death metal. Take cover.

Gentle rock idols.

Sat 10 Oct Edging On Ecstasy, Black Hack, Komatoze, Silvertrace, Deadline

Wave Machines, Isosceles

Experimental rock.

Lions.Chase.Tigers (Light Guides and Farewell Singapore)

Girls, Swanton Bomb

Mono Jazz

Catchy pop.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Johnny Whoop Presents with Matthew Craig Techno electro.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Sky Larkin, Lost City Lights, The Banter Thiefs

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Experimental folk.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Tue 13 Oct

Open Mic Night

Little Redde

Techno pop.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10.50

The Paradox, Drive By Audio

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards, Rags and Feathers, Lean Tales

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitar.

Annihilation, Stormaway, Blood Symphony

Go:Audio

Stereo, 21:00–23:00, £10

Starless and Bible Black

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Screaming Lights, The Martial Arts, What The Heros Say

Sat 03 Oct

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

James Yorkston and The Big Eyes Family Players Music from his new album of covers; ‘Folk Songs’.

Dancey hip-hop.

Metal hip-hop.

Acoustica

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Monkey Puzzle with Eddie Railton

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £12

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Country rock.

Acoustic Session with Thomas Jonsson and Burnt Island.

Vivien Scotson, Patrick Bullen

Alternative indie.

Sick Sinus, A Lost Generation

Quirky trio.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Acoustic Thursday’s

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Pared down covers.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

The new buzz band, likely a sell-out.

Michachu, Invisible

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Regular Music Presents Dead String Brothers

The Shed Live (Big Vern, The Shootahs)

Progressive rock.

Modern blues guitar.

Mr Wroe’s Ho’s, Ross Macinnes, Michael Coogans

Live acoustic tunes.

CCA, 19:30–23:00, Adult: £13.00 + Booking Fee: £1.00

Twee indoe pop, just how we like it.

Òran Mór, 20:00–22:00, £14

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

Joe Carnall and The Book Club

Atlas

Stereo, 19:00–23:00, £tbc

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Indie rock.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Strike the Colours (Zoey Van Goey)

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Fri 16 Oct

Them:Youth, The OK Social Club, The Mixups

Box, 19:00–23:00, Free

Mildly controversial pseudo-songwriter.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

The Shed, 20:00–23:00, £2

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

The Flying Duck, 20:00–03:00, Free

Slow and moody tunes, perfect for a Sunday.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Mon 19 Oct Green Day (Green Day)

Julia and The Doogans

SECC, 18:30–23:00, £35

Blissful acoustc folk.

Classic Grand, 19:30–22:30, £15

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Richie Kotzen

The Longcut, Shimmer

Rock. That I all.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Inde rock, with bells on.

Bingo Wings

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Punk rock.

October 2009

THE SKINNY 59

Glasgow music The Tennessee Three The Ferry, 20:00–00:00, £18.50

The Nolans (The Nolans)

Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band, Billy Liar, Roscoe Vacant

Alesha Dixon

Cassidy

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Single launch night.

Sun 25 Oct

The Wave Pictures (Stanley Brinks, Freshcard) Mono, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Melodic rock.

Acoustica

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Acoustic Jam Session

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

The Dangerfields, The Bucky Rage, The Jackhammers 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Punkish rock.

The Answering Machine

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £10

Indie fare.

Tue 20 Oct

Acoustic folk fundraiser.

Mono Jazz

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Showcase Night

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Hotly tipped A Jokers Rage play live.

The Cheek, Apples, Mickey 9s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Guitars, drums and bass.

Thu 22 Oct The Comsat Angels ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

Alternative rock.

Johnny Flynn

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Classic roots tunes.

Gai Epicus

The Shed Live (Jono, October Sky, The Toi)

Progressive rock.

Pick’n’mix of new music.

Jack Penate

The Mill (Light Guides, Pacific Threatre)

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £12

P_nate tours his new album.

The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £2

Òran Mór, 20:00–22:30, Free

VNV Nation

Free new live music showcase. Request tickets from www.themilllive.com

Alternative electro.

Acoustic Thursday’s

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £15

Andy Miller

Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Acoustic Session with Graham McGeoch.

Open Mic Night

Mono, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Acoustic guitar.

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Stripped back music.

Sinkabeza, Vchecka, Albino Monk

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Afro-beat rap mix-up.

The Glasgow Slow Club Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Chill out tunes.

Jon Allen, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Journeybox

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Acoustic rock.

Wed 21 Oct Symphony Cult

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Metal rock.

Tinariwen

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

Rock and blues.

Nels Andrews, Ana Egge Brel, 19:15–23:00, £5

American folkiness.

Elliott Smith Tribute Night Tribute to the late Elliott Smith.

Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood Mac)

SECC, 20:00–23:00, £45 to £75

Flo and The Kicks

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Soulful rock.

Shut Up and Eat Your Horror (Devilish Pressley, Tragic City Thieves, Blood Lunch) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Three bands bringing gothic drama.

Wishbone Ash

The Ferry, 20:00–00:00, £13.50

Classic rock as the band celebrates 40 years.

Cryoverbillionaires, I See Shapes, Little Yellow Ukeleles 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Experimental rock.

The Law

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Indie rock.

Experimental beats.

This Will Destroy You

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Ambient rock.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Mono, 19:00–01:00, Free

Experimental indie.

Garage soul from yesteryear.

Edinburgh born singer/songwriter of Orange Juice fame.

Therapy, Ricky Warwick

Long Way Home

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £12

Led Zeppelin tribute.

Jakil, The Starlets, Odeon Beatclub

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Pop rock.

All Leather

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Francis Dunnery’s Brand New It Bites

Wrinkly rock.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Guitar songs.

Mon 26 Oct

Cancel The Astronauts, The Pilots

The Nolans (The Nolans)

Indie pop.

Breathe Carolina

The Graveyard Jonnys, The Plimptons, The Bucky Rage

Screaming indie.

Box, 21:00–23:00, Free

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Rockabilly punk.

Mayer Hawthorne and the Country

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7.50

Cool soul.

Sat 24 Oct All Tomorrow’s Parties Film Screening (Les Savy Fav)

SECC, 18:30–23:00, £35

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Alphabeat

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £11

Your daily dose of cheesy chart pop.

Cats on Ladders

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Four piece folk act, with guitars and bongos.

Bingo Wings

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Punk rock.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £14

Acoustic rock.

Wed 28 Oct

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

A little bit rock, a little bit roll.

Five on The Ferry

The Ferry, 19:30–01:00, £10 (£8)

Five local bands play live.

Electric Eel Shock (Peelander Z)

Michael Simons

Punk metal.

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitarist.

Kemantian, Break The Skyline, Lost Persona, Red Krytonite

Alan McKim, Tragic O’Hara, Rebecca Pollock

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Nicey-nicey acoustic singer/songwriters.

The Young Republic

Monkey Puzzle with Eddie Railton

Alternative metal.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Nice folky rock.

Mono Jazz

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Revelations

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

The best on the local scene.

Twisted Wheel, Kaleidoscope Eyes, The Vespas

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £14

Indie fun.

Thu 29 Oct

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Indie rock.

Los Campesinos, Copy Haho, Sparky Deathcap

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £14

Poptastical tunes.

Sat 31 Oct Cannibal Corpse ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Halloween themed tunes.

The Young Veterans, El Ray, We Are Jawbone Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Nine Black Alps with Black Alley Screens

Drums and hip-hop.

Alternative indie.

Inide pop spectacular.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Dead City Radio

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Camera Obscura

Bowerbirds

Floaty indie pop.

Acoustic Americana.

Barrowlands, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

60 Persons

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Indie rock.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £10

Ghouls Aloud (Isa and the Filthy Tongues, XMRV, The Number, Galoshins)

Acoustica

The Shed Live (Mr Kil, The Strike Nineteens, Palytime)

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

NEARLY DAN

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Soft rock.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Special film screening with live music.

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £12 in advance, £14 door

Steely Dan tribute.

The Senses, Common Empire, Expanding Demands Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Alternative rock.

Does It Offend You Yeah Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

Indie punk upstarts.

Ducksoup Presents: Subscene Records

The Flying Duck, 19:00–23:00, £4

Live music from Subscene bands.

The Gaither (Bill Gaither, David Phelps, Michael English, Wes Hampton and Mark Lowry) SECC, 19:30–23:00, £24.00 to £28.00

Cake Free Bakesale

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

A night of music hosted by Jonny Terrell.

Fat Vamp Presents (Rieser, San Toy, Holycoves) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Indie, dub reggae and more.

theskinny.co.uk 60 THE SKINNY October 2009

Whole Lotta Led

Johnny Whoop Presents

The Ferry, 20:00–00:00, £17.50

The Who tribute band.

Motown at Mono: Halloween Special

A night of loud metal. You have been warned.

The Zombies

Who’s Who

The Sky Mangle

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Techno electro.

Neo-soul.

Edwyn Collins (1990s and The Low Miffs)

Throatwrench

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Chill out tunes.

Quartet of rock-type bands.

New wave indie.

Our Brother The Native

Americana rock.

Post punk electro.

Days of Days

Fri 30 Oct Epica, The Provocateurs, Kill The Vibrations

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £11

Syth, 15 Times Dead, Amok, Circle of Tyrants Classic Grand, 19:00–23:00, £6

Gothic rock.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Enigmatic French band.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £11

Stripped back music.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7.50

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £15

San Diego duo.

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Paradise Lost, Katonia, Engel

The Glasgow Slow Club

Phoenix

Chipmunk, Ironik

Open Mic Night

Guitar rock.

A Storm of Light, Minsk

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

Eastwood Park Theatre, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Indie folk.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Metal mish-mash.

SECC, 18:30–23:00, £35

Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Chris TT, Dave Hughes

Stolen Order, Monstertone

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

The Nolans (The Nolans)

Fri 23 Oct

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Go Greener Presents Mary K Burke and friends

SECC, 18:30–23:00, £35

Chart pop.

Acoustic punky folk.

Crocodiles (Golden Grrrls)

Tue 27 Oct

Country rockabilly.

Halloween shenanigans.

The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £5

Halloween Spooktacular

Acoustic Jam Session

Hey Vampires, Arcades, Fights and Fires

Ghoulish guests and maybe some live bands too.

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Disco beats.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Sun 01 Nov

Therapy, Ricky Warwick

Tigetown Presents

James Lindsay

Acoustic rock.

Mark Morris of the Bluetones headlines this night of top drawer music.

Jazz session with James Lindsay.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £16

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Edinburgh music Thu 01 Oct

Sat 03 Oct

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Saturday Afternoon Jazz

Medley of live bands and singers.

Ease yourself into the weekend, jazz style.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Declan O’Rourke

The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Irish troubadour performs an intimate set.

The Jazz Bar, 15:00–18:00, Free

Georgia Crawl, The Zips, Dignan Dowell and White Whistlebinkies, 16:45–02:30, Free

Jealous of the Stars, Casino Queen Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Alternative indie rock.

Open Mic Night

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Turn up and do your thing. Loudly.

Tue 06 Oct

Mersault, Ross Clark, Washington Irving

Mix of blues, funk and rock.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

A top trio of new bands.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

The Mill (Be a Familiar, Cancel The Astronauts)

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:30–22:30, Free Free new live music showcase. Request tickets from www.themilllive.com

Hit The Brakes

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Post punk.

Kathaarsys

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Black metal.

Odemba OK Jazz

The Queen’s Hall, 20:30–23:00, £12 (£10)

Driving rhythm and bass.

Blacklisted, Spanky Heroes

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Soulful pop.

Fri 02 Oct TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Zion Train

The Caves, 19:00–21:30, £10 (£13)

Dub reggae.

Nite Jewel

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Liquid cool loungey tunes.

Trampoline Presents (Tresspassers William, Glissando, Eagleowl) Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £7

Ambient folk.

Twin Atlantic

Studio 24, 19:00–22:00, £9

Up-coming Glasgow popsters.

The Wynd, Inspired, Vertis The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Alternative indie.

Vantage Point, DRD, Lycanthrope

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:30–23:00, £5

80s-influenced heavy metal.

Charger

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Filthy sludge, doom and screaming.

International Guitar Night: Gore, Reinhardt, Erez

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Action Group

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£4)

Lyrical pop.

Drive By Audio, Ghosts Elysium, Lords Of Bastard Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Solid rock from Kirkaldy.

Pearl and the Puppets

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Soothing female vocals.

RBRBR, Any Colour Black

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Cats And Cats And Cats, There Will Be Fireworks, Free Korps

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Alternative indie.

James Apollo

The Caves, 19:15–22:00, £5

Haunting Americana.

Glasses, November 13th

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:30–23:45, £5

Punk double-header from Germany.

Electro pop.

Soulussion, Red Light District, Jane Street Division

BLOC PARTY (Grammatics)

Funky trio.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Bloc rockin’ beats.

The Complete Stone Roses Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 19:00–01:00, £12.50

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Stone Roses debut album.

Whistlebinkies, 22:00–01:30, Free

White Noise (Casiokids, Skibunny)

The Electric Circus, 22:00–03:00, £6

Trashy keyboards and sugary pop melodies.

Wed 07 Oct

Axis Of, A Fight You Can’t Win, The Blessed Order Of The Fallen Stars

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Post-hardcore from Ireland.

Obits, Tropics

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:30–23:00, £4

Sad Society

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Punk rock, without smiles.

The Bowery Presents (Kid Canaveral, Popup, Cancel The Astronaut) The Bowery, 19:30–11:00, £5

Tip-top Edinburgh indie-pop.

And So I Watch You From Afar

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Instrumental rock from Ireland.

Jam The Box

The GRV, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk, soul and disco.

Sun 04 Oct Cougar, The Great City Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Electro rock.

Dizzee Rascal

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £18

Hip-hop and rap from The Master.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Pure rock.

Sparrow and The Workshop, Kill It Kid

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Hotly-tipped floaty folk.

The Cult (Aqua and Nebula Oscillator)

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £30

Alternative rock.

Leith Folk Club (Ken Campbell’s Ideal Band) The Village, 19:30–22:45, £6

Poppy rock.

Maybe She Will

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Thunderous post-rock.

Unkle Bob

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £5

Folk rock.

Whistlebinkies, 20:30–02:30, Free

Confusion is Sex

Elohymn, Tabasco Fiasco, 100 Philistine Foreskins

Lackadaisical covers.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£4 in costume)

Electro and glam techno - plus visual artists and the ‘Freaky Brides’.

Departure Lounge The Caves, 23:00–03:00, £7

Funky soul with DJ Astroboy, Jiminez and Mr Zimbabwe

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 20:00–23:45, £4

Sinister post rock.

Mon 05 Oct Soulacoaster

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:00–23:30, £7

12-piece soul band.

Punk legends.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £10

Country rock.

Millions

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Hardcore and punk-rock.

Laptop Lounge

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–01:00, Free

Contemporary electro.

Brightside, The Colour Proposal, Knock Out Kaine, Falling Red

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–23:00, £21.50

Intoxicating folk rock.

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Roses Kings Castles/ Adam Ficek

Noisy classical rock.

The Caves, 19:15–22:00, £5

Dead Class, The Drella’s (Billy Liar)

Alternative folk pop.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Antipop tour.

White Noise (Delta Machine, Haight Ashbury)

The Electric Circus, 22:00–03:00, £4

Sun 11 Oct

New psychedelia.

Wed 14 Oct

Live funk and soul.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Fri 09 Oct The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Fuked Up, Streetcar, The Beau Nasties

Whistlebinkies, 18:30–02:30, Free

Funky folk.

Metaltech, A Torn Mind, Backlash

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £4

Metaltech album launch.

This Is Music

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Night of live music.

Grungey punk with top support from The Vaselines.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Richard Hawley

Fullmetal Racket, Crevis, Inspection

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Dubstep and bass, featuring Ramadanman.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Soundtrack to Cave’s new book.

Night of alternative indie.

The Caves, 22:00–03:00, £6

Heard It Through The Bassline

Thu 08 Oct

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Musique Boutique

Mudhoney (The Vaselines and St Deluxe)

The Caves, 22:00–03:00, £5

Citrus Club, 19:30–22:30, £10 in advance, £12 door

Nick Cave: The Death of Bunny Munro

Band of Skulls, Lord Auch, Lost in Audio, Remnant Kings

Mix of rock, pop and metal.

Medley of live bands and singers.

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Folk rock with a hint of blues.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–22:00, Free

The Deadstring Brothers

Live music night in aid of Oxfam.

Colours

Classic rock covers to cure the hangover.

The Media Whores, Chill

Eddie and The Hot Rods (TV21)

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Assassanachs, Killaflaw

Acoustic guitar.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, Free

Traditional Scottish songs.

CRANACHAN

The Queen’s Hall, 20:00–23:00, £12 (£10)

Oxjam

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Atlas Band

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

EP launch night.

Only in Abstract

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Heavy metal rock.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

RBRBR, Call To Mind

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £5

RBRBR and their dancing ninjas.

Groove Armada

Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Jumped up beats.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Girls, Swanton Bombs, St Judes Infirmary Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £6

New indie.

Leith Folk Club (Kent DuChaine)

The Village, 19:30–22:45, £8

Americana blues.

Paul Wishart Dark dance.

The Bowery Presents (Glaciers)

CRANACHAN

Ambient Americana.

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Bowery, 19:30–22:45, £5

Bannerman’s, 20:00–22:00, Free

Classic rock covers to cure the hangover.

Sick Sinu, A Lost Generation Henry’s Cellar Bar, 20:00–03:00, £5

Hardcore punk.

The Number, Scrap Brain Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Electro influenced indie and rock.

Glory Days, Comply or Die Whistlebinkies, 21:30–01:45, Free

Punk jams. Good with toast.

Raven

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–23:30, Free

Turn up and do your thing. Loudly.

Thu 15 Oct TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Mon 12 Oct

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Curators, Wintersleep DJs Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, Free

Experimental beats.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Immaculate Machine

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

Indie rock.

Doll and The Kicks, Come On Gang

The Mill (Meursault, The Redwell)

Az-tech

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Breaks, beats and funk.

Editors

Free new live music showcase. Request tickets from www.themilllive.com

Sat 10 Oct

Indie rock.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £10

The Caves, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£6)

Saturday Afternoon Jazz The Jazz Bar, 15:00–18:00, Free

Ease yourself into the weekend, jazz style.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Noisy pop, just how we like it.

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

Experimental pop from the Mull Historical Society frontman.

Soulful rock.

Estel

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

James McMurty

The Bongo Club, 19:30–03:00, £14

Texan singer/songwriter.

Laughing Assassins

Song By Toad Presents: The Autumn Paty

Funky instrumental hip-hop.

Song By Toad’s quarterly party.

Example

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7

Raw hip-hop and clever vocals.

Colin MacIntyre and Band

Zero 7

Medley of live bands and singers.

The Bowery, 18:00–22:45, £5

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:30–22:30, Free

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:30–23:00, £5 Zombie movie inspired instrumental rock.

Nikson, No Drive Home

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Open Mic Night

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Turn up and do your thing. Loudly.

Tue 13 Oct

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Breakneck melodic punk.

Stuntman Mike, Tape, Voodoo Fire in Haiti

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–01:15, Free

Rock. Rock. Rock.

Fri 16 Oct

Micachu, The Invisible, Epic 26

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Indie electro.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Timebomb Soldiers, Chutes

Invasion, Jackie Treehorn, Aperture Tree

Big Tuna, Modus, China Shop Bull

Alternative indie.

Pshychedelia.

Pop and rock.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £3

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Whistlebinkies, 18:30–02:30, Free

October 2009

THE SKINNY 61

Edinburgh music The Jam House Experience The Jam House, 18:30–03:00, Free before 8pm, £5.50 after

Live music, DJs and piano combos.

Black International, Roller

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Art school pop.

Gaius Epicus

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Power metal.

Blue Soul, Dignan Dowell and White, Jojocoke Oxjam

Medley of live bands and singers.

Free new live music showcase. Request tickets from www.themilllive.com

Live music night in aid of Oxfam.

Youves, Holy Ghost

Ian Ryan

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Oxjam

Punky tunes.

Electro disco.

Live acts raising cash for Oxfam (lineup tbc).

Julie Fowlis

Insanita, Siphon Plane

The Queen’s Hall, 20:00–23:00, £15

Gentle folk loveliness.

Thrash metal.

Open Mic Night

Turn up and do your thing. Loudly.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, Free

Tue 20 Oct

Stricken City, North Atlantic Oscillation

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Melodic pop.

Medley of live bands and singers.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

The Bowery Presents (Panda Su, The Last Battle)

Everything Everything. Findo Gask

Panda Su is a one-woman band from St Andrews.

Two top alternative local acts.

Oxjam Presents (My Electric Love Affair, Snide Rhythms, Shellsuit Massacre)

Bat For Lashes

Live music in aid of Oxfam.

The Bowery, 19:30–22:45, £5

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Five Corners Quintet

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £17

Finnish jazz.

Ritchie Kotzen

Seckou Keita Quintet

Good old American rock.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £14

The Bongo Club, 20:00–22:30, £14

Senegalese kora player.

Carbona Not Glue, Glassface

Beauftiful haunting tunes.

The Caves, 19:15–22:00, £15

Leith Folk Club (Melissa McLelland, Ameila Curran) The Village, 19:30–22:45, £8

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Blind Assassins, Flora Cook

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Rock ‘n’ roll.

NEARLY DAN

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £12

Steely Dan tribute.

Ramones tribute band.

Sons of Fionn, Kodelle

Threshold Sicks, Leather Pig

BALKANARAMA

Alternative rock.

Pure, unadulterated heavy metal.

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5

Studio 24, 21:00–03:00, £tbc

OTT night of Balkans fun.

Sat 17 Oct Saturday Afternoon Jazz The Jazz Bar, 15:00–18:00, Free

Ease yourself into the weekend, jazz style.

The Ged Hanley Trio and Safehouse

Whistlebinkies, 16:45–02:30, Free

Bluesy classics.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

The Jam House Experience The Jam House, 18:00–03:00, Free before 8pm, £7.50 after

Mythical songs.

Whistlebinkies, 22:00–01:30, Free

White Noise (Mitchell Museum, The Scottish Enlightenment)

The Electric Circus, 22:00–03:00, £4

Simmering new meodic pop.

Wed 21 Oct TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Music Like A Vitamin Presents (Attic Lights, Rob Jones Solo and Frightened Rabbit)

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Sat 24 Oct Saturday Afternoon Jazz The Jazz Bar, 15:00–18:00, Free

Ease yourself into the weekend, jazz style.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

My Latest Novel

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £9

Multi-layered acoustic rock.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, Free

Acoustic folk.

Twitchy, catchy tunes.

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £5

Whole Lotta Led

Crooked Still

Ono Palindromes

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £12

Boundary-bending bluegrass.

New punk.

Wishbone Ash

Indie pop fest.

Vessels, Kays Lavelle, Lady North Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

Experimental rock.

Stiff Little Fingers

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £16

Punk pop.

Sworn To Oath, The Black Lights

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Sleazy, dirty rock and roll.

Sun 18 Oct Party Program

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

EP launch.

The Wave Pictures, Stanley Brinks, Freshard Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Jerky rock.

CRANACHAN

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, Free

Classic rock covers to cure the hangover.

Kate Walsh

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £10

Gentle folk.

Mon 19 Oct Basshunter

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £21.50

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Sharon King and The Never Never Cowboys

The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £3 in advance, £5 door

Countryesque melodies.

Leith Folk Club (Naomi Sommers)

The Village, 19:30–22:45, £6

Bluegrass, jazz and old-time country.

Punk from Barcelona.

Exit State

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Rock quartet.

Towerblocks

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Old-school punk from Germany.

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–01:00, £9

Sun 25 Oct

Driving metal.

Easy Tigers

Salute Mary and Cut Glass Accent

Special Ryan Adams covers set.

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–01:15, Free

Experimental rock.

Thu 22 Oct TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Cassidy, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Melodic pop.

Emily Barker, Jonny Deacon, The Wintergreens Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

Folky acousticness.

The Dead Weather

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

Alternative rock from Nashville.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Ivory, Live Like Lions, Exit State

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Electro and rock.

Fri 23 Oct

Catfish Keith

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Cutting edge US blues.

Medley of live bands and singers.

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £12

Sam’s Dice

Reformed punkers.

Progressive metal.

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:30–23:45, £5

Guitar rock pioneers.

Ukulele open mic night. No guitars allowed.

James Yorkston and The Big Eyes Family Players

Horror

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Cindytalk

The Bowery, 19:30–23:00, Free

Symphony Cult

Music from his new album of covers; ‘Folk Songs’.

Led Zeppelin tribute.

Ukeboogie

Dance your socks off tunes.

The Bongo Club, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Jonquil, The Great Eskimo Hoax

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6

Experimental pop.

Nine Black Alps

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £10

Indie rock.

Leith Folk Club (Jenny Gustafsson, Ingrid Storlimo) The Village, 19:30–22:45, £6

Creative musicans taking in Scandinavian folk, american fiddle and classical music.

Grant me Revenge

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Deathcore from Glasgow.

Thu 29 Oct

Gary Moore

Acoustic indie solo show.

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Wed 28 Oct

Indie funk.

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Clues (Munch Munch)

RBRBR, Gothenburg Address

Shimmering boppable beats.

Amoriste

Ben Taylor

The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £13

The Electric Circus, 22:00–03:00, £4

Top Vitamin line up, as per.

The Zephyrs

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £11

White Noise (Be A Familiar, I See Shapes)

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Indie pop.

Live music, DJs and piano combos.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

The Gap Presents (The Leads, The Nines, Japanfour, The Novelties)

HMV Picture House, 18:30–23:00, £5

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

62 THE SKINNY October 2009

The Mill (The Set Up, The Fusiliers)

TEATIME ACOUSTIC

Alternative rock.

Whistlebinkies, 21:30–02:30, Free

Tue 27 Oct

Whistlebinkies, 18:30–02:30, Free

The Electric Circus, 18:00–22:00, £tbc

Stereo Decade

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Sweet electro in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Little Boots

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £10

The lady of the moment.

Vice Squad (Sad Society)

Citrus Club, 19:30–22:30, £9 in advance, £12 door

Re-formed 70s punk band.

CRANACHAN

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, Free

Classic rock covers to cure the hangover.

Mon 26 Oct Shields Up!

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Hardcore punk.

The Unthanks

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £15

Mercury prize nominees.

Electric Eel Shock

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Bonkers rock from Japan.

Akil

Medina, 21:00–03:00, £10

The legendary MC from Jurassic 5 plays live.

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £26.50

Guitar rock.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:30–22:30, Free

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Fri 30 Oct TEATIME ACOUSTIC

The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Bowerbirds, Eagleowl Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £10

Acoustic niceness.

Deacon Brown, Pog, Son of Portslade

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Alternative pop.

Reverand and The Makers HMV Picture House, 19:00–23:00, £12

Funky indie.

The Brown Note Halloween Party

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 19:00–03:00, £6

Psychedelic noise and doom.

Miya, Storm in a D Cup, Cherenkov

The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Alternative rock.

Monstertone, Adastra Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Stoner rock and groovy metal.

Hed Kandi

The Caves, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Pure disco glitz and glamour.

Sat 31 Oct Saturday Afternoon Jazz The Jazz Bar, 15:00–18:00, Free

Ease yourself into the weekend, jazz style.

TEATIME ACOUSTIC The Jazz Bar, 18:00–20:30, Free

Medley of live bands and singers.

Callel Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £5

Callel album launch and Halloweenthemed gig.

Our Ladies of Sorrow, The Leg, Art Leg Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Calming electro.

Trampoline Presents (Grouper, Debutant and Esperi) Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Electro folk.

Who’s Who The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Who tribute band.

Ten Tracks Present The Bowery, 19:30–22:45, £5

Music from the wonderful Ten Tracks service.

Gin Goblins The Ark, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Psychedelic punk, with a cool name.

Bombskare, Mystery Juice, Standley Odd HMV Picture House, 20:00–22:30, £8 in advance, £10 door

Top bands play this Halloween special charity gig.

TV21 (The Axidents, Fire Exit) Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Spooky old-school punk night. Boo!

Behind The Light Henry’s Cellar Bar, 20:00–03:00, £3

Halloween extravaganza of experimental hip-hop, metal and dubstep.

Glasgow Clubs Thu 01 Oct Boxer Rebellion ABC, 19:00–22:00, £9

Indie rock.

This Town Needs Guns, Jocasta Sleeps Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Alternative indie.

Speech Debelle

The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £8

2009 Mercury Music Prize winner.

The Shed Live (Models For The Radio, Acrylic Iqon, The Stagger Rats, Daybreak) The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £2

Pick’n’mix of new music.

Dave Dominey

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Funked up loops, bass and a guest soloist.

Acoustic Thursday’s Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Acoustic session with Madeleine Prichard and Jenny Flowers.

Kochka

Mono, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Live album launch.

Mystery Juice

Ambar, 20:00–23:00, Free

Top long-standing Edinburgh band.

Bow down.

Shut Up and Eat Your Math Rock (Oslow ) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Paint-by-numbers math rock.

I Need Musik, Synomyn, Savage Sound System, Model 2 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Quartet of live bands.

Tom McRae, Brian Wright

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £15

Gentle acoustic tunes.

Fri 02 Oct Forever Never, Switchblade, Scream, Hellatus Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Alternative rock.

Vinyl (Tangerine, Streak) ABC, 19:00–22:00, £5

The ABC’s DIY mix-up.

Swimming, Ryan Bisland, The Vespas

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Melodramatic pop.

Johnny Whoop and friends

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Techno electro.

Three Blind Wolves

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £4

Country blues for crying to.

Tragic Trash Tease Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £5

Music, burlesque and a screening of Glasgow exploitation movie ‘Babes Over the Barras’.

Blue October, Ream Onn

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £11.50

Rockers on tour.

Sun 04 Oct

Them:Youth, The OK Social Club, The Mixups

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Mixed bag of indie.

Wed 07 Oct Daniel Merriweather ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Folky singer/songwriter.

Mike O’Donnell, Steve Adams, Michael Stevens Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Live acoustic tunes.

Mr Wroe’s Ho’s, Ross Macinnes, Michael Coogans Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Quirky trio.

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitar.

Tattooed Millionaires

Little Redde

OTT American rock.

Catchy pop.

Zero 7

Mono Jazz

Nice floaty chillout tunes.

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Cats and Cats and Cats, There Will Be Fireworks, The Little Yellow Ukeleles

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Experimental indie.

Baddies, Cougar

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Alternative beats.

King Khan and the Shrines Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £9

Pshychedelic freakiness with a twist.

No Tribe

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Alternative rock for alternative people.

Digital Dinosaur, The Red Orchestra, Rose and Mane 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Experimental electro.

Hey Monday, Out of Sight, Every Avenue

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £tbc

Powerpop.

Mon 05 Oct

Strike the Colours (Zoey Van Goey)

Atlas

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Wave Machines, Isosceles Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Alternative poppishness.

PJ Bond, Matt Reynolds 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Indie folk.

Swashbuckle, De Soto Firefly, Valrog

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £5

Thrash metal mix-up.

Thu 08 Oct Simian Mobile Disco (Young Fathers) ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Dirty pop.

Killaflaw

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Bluesy electronica.

Sic Alps, TV Sefal, Gummy Stumps

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Punkish trio.

The Fallen Angels Club (Lucy Kaplansky) CCA, 19:30–23:00, Adult: £13.00 + Booking Fee: £1.00

Stereo, 19:00–23:00, £tbc

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Twee indoe pop, just how we like it.

Progressive rock.

Trapped in Kansas, City of Statues, Reginald

Skindred

Trio of live bands.

Punked up reggae.

The Shed Live (Big Vern, The Shootahs)

Indian Red Lopez

Soul and blues.

The Flying Duck, 19:00–23:00, £4

Chris Helme

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Acoustic fare.

Any Colour Black, Fridge Magnets, Skitten Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Alternative indie.

The XX

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

The new buzz band, likely a sell-out.

Electro rock.

Acoustica

Vivien Scotson, Patrick Bullen

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Uisge Beatha, 20:00–23:00, £5

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

Acoustic folk.

Acoustic Jam Session

Craig Hughes, James Apollo, Missing Cat

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Folky blues for the soul.

Mundy, Mick Hargan

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £10

Guita rock.

Sat 03 Oct Annihilation, Stormaway, Blood Symphony Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Death metal. Take cover.

Lions.Chase.Tigers (Light Guides and Farewell Singapore)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Òran Mór, 20:00–22:30, Free

Free new live music showcase.

Request tickets from www.themilllive. com

Acoustic Thursday’s Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Acoustic Session with Thomas Jonsson and Burnt Island.

Cumbernauld Comes To Glasgow Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Live Cumbernauld bands, including Macabre Scene.

Alternative indie.

Kill It Kid, Sparrow and the Workshop

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8.50

Tue 06 Oct

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Rootsy blues.

Go:Audio

Chunks, Mike Nisbet, K9 Kev and Chad The Lad

Techno pop.

Jazz, blues and other such niceness.

Sky Larkin, Lost City Lights, The Banter Thiefs

Screaming Lights, The Martial Arts, What The Heros Say

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10.50

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £7

Gentle rock idols.

Open Mic Night

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

The ABC’s DIY mix-up.

Stripped back music.

Unkle Bob

The Glasgow Slow Club, featuring Nicky Powell

Unkle Bob road test material for their new album.

The Mill (United Fruits, Orko)

Animal Kingdom, The Parlotones, Self-Shelter

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £5

Òran Mór, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Shed, 19:30–23:00, £5

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Chill out tunes.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Experimental rock.

Fri 09 Oct Tamikas Treehouse (Park Circus and Euan Platter) ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Acoustica

Acoustic blues.

Acoustic music by candlelight with free pizza.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Nimmo Brothers Òran Mór, 20:00–22:00, £14

Modern blues guitar.

Michachu, Invisible

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

Alternative indie.

Acoustic rock.

Sick Sinus, A Lost Generation

James Yorkston and The Big Eyes Family Players

Dancey hip-hop.

Music from his new album of covers; ‘Folk Songs’.

Regular Music Presents Dead String Brothers

Pared down covers.

Stereo, 21:00–23:00, £10

Country rock.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Tue 13 Oct

Metal hip-hop.

New indie.

Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards, Rags and Feathers, Lean Tales

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Melodic pop.

Sat 10 Oct Edging On Ecstasy, Black Hack, Komatoze, Silvertrace, Deadline Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Metal rock.

Flood of Red

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6.50

Tornado of rock.

The Fiery Furnaces

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Addictive rock tunes.

Band of Skulls, Lost In Audio

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Rock pop type stuff.

Information Libre Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Monthly indie rock shenanigans.

Experimental folk.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Girls, Swanton Bomb

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Johnny Whoop Presents with Matthew Craig

The Paradox, Drive By Audio

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Techno electro.

Schnapps

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Garage grunge.

Open Mic Night

Vessels

Box, 20:00–23:00, Free

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Stripped back music.

Smelly Bum Pyjama Party Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Silly live music fun.

Always Until Victory, Comply or Die, Dip Dab 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Punk rock mix.

The Big Pink, Amazing Baby

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Indie pop.

Experimental rock.

Suicide Tuesday, White Trash Circus 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Pop rock.

I Like Trains, Swimming, The Kabeedies

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Melodramatic pop.

Sat 17 Oct

Wed 14 Oct

Truth Be Told, Echo Bass, Citagazi, Anaesthesia, Diallis

Devon Sproule ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Jazzed-up pop.

Funky metal.

Duelling Winos

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Would Be Kings

Fun indie rock.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Eat Dr Ape, Cats on Ladders

Soul Remover

Rocking pop.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Danceable alternative rock.

Stereo, 19:00–23:00, £5

Ambient rock.

Resistance

Mono Jazz

findo gask

Sicknote play live at this MOJO fundraiser.

Weekly jazz residency, with house four-piece.

Electro pop.

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £tbc

The Hot Rats

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Folk rock.

Mono, 20:00–23:00, Free

Single Skin Promotions Present

Live bands, DJs and us!

Pop melodies.

Sun 11 Oct

Andrew Rainey, Kill the Kids and Paletine DJs Mix of live music and DJs.

Indie rock shenanigans.

Johnny Foreigner, Tellison, Japanese Voyeurs

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £7

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £tbc

The Skinny and Ten Tracks Twisted Kids Birthday Party

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £8

Shut Up and Eat Your Rock ‘n’ Roll (We Are Not Kool, Rodan, The Wildcards, The Lazarenkos) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

A quartet of rock ‘n’ roll to shake some action to.

Thu 15 Oct

The Occasional Flickers

Hiroshima Blackout, Dip Dap, Midnight Masquerade

Manic Romance

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Punk rock.

Power punk.

Underground Heros, Tie For Jack

Noisettes (MHPO)

Super Furry Animals (The Phantom Band)

New diva on the block.

Proper indie, with sterling support.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £11.50

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

No Tribe

Noah and The Whale

Alternative rock for alternative people.

Sweet folky tales of love and loss.

Fighterplanes, Albino Monk

Seckou Keita Quintet

Mixed-up rock.

Robin Adams

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

White Belt Yellow Tag, Glider, Engine 7

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £10

Indie schmindie.

Mon 12 Oct Newton Faulkner with Lisa Mitchell

Òran Mór, 19:00–23:00, £12

Classic Grand, 19:00–23:00, £12

Acoustic jazz fusion.

Acoustic Thursday’s Brel, 20:00–23:00, Free

Acoustic Session with Gavin McGinty.

Teitur

Brel, 19:15–23:00, £8

Interesting singer/songwriter from the Faroe islands.

Inspiral Carpets frontman.

Barrowlands, 19:00–23:00, £15

Algernonn Cadwaller, Teenage Coolkids, Kaddish, Carson Wells

The talented wordsmith is back and touring.

Sugar Crisis

Bingo Wings

Indie mix.

Indie electro pop.

Punk rock.

Victor Pope

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Mildly controversial pseudo-songwriter.

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Sun 18 Oct Valrog, Assynt

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Black metal.

Yaman

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, £2

Invasion

Indian classical music on sitar and flute.

Psychedelic metal.

CJ’s Amazing Rock Night

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

A night of uncut laughter

Thrash metal.

Punk rock.

Melodic new wave pop.

Wolf

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Box, 19:00–23:00, Free

Album launch night.

Acoustic live show.

ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

Wonky pop.

Graeme MacDonald

Òran Mór, 19:30–22:00, £5

The Shed Live (Raymond Mearns, Chris Henry and Scott Agnew)

Electropoptastic.

Single launch party.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Starless and Bible Black

JAMIE T

Box, 19:00–23:00, Free

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Indie rock.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–03:00, Free

Joe Carnall and The Book Club

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Tom Hingley

Stereo, 19:30–23:00, £5 in advance, £6 door

Acoustic Jam Session

Call This A Getaway, Scores, I Am Enforcer, 7 Car Pile Up

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £12

Run Toto Run, Zoobizaretta

Suspire (Salon Society)

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, Free

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Monkey Puzzle with Eddie Railton

Indie pop deliciousness.

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £6

Fri 16 Oct

J. Tillman

The Shed, 20:00–23:00, £2

Shut Up and Eat Your Pianist (Penny Black, The Dirty Demographic, Shimmer) Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Three bands who like to tinkle the old ivories.

Julia and The Doogans 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £3/£5

Blissful acoustc folk.

The Longcut, Shimmer

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £7

Inde rock, with bells on.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:30, £3

Wild local rock and garage.

The Slow Club

The Flying Duck, 20:00–03:00, Free

Slow and moody tunes, perfect for a Sunday.

Delays

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, 22:00–23:00, £6

Nice indie rock.

Mon 19 Oct Richie Kotzen

Classic Grand, 19:30–22:30, £15

Rock. That I all.

Bingo Wings

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Punk rock.

October 2009

THE SKINNY 63

Glasgow Clubs Subculture

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Dubbed out electro, for itchy dancing feet.

Sun 25 Oct Liquid Cool

Common, 21:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 after

Long-running house night.

Disco Badger

Bamboo, 22:00–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £5 (£4) after

Hip-hop, house and electrofunk.

Dischord

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Punk, rock and hardcore.

Sabotage

The Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes, with requests accepted all night long.

Mon 26 Oct

Elevator Fridays

Vanity

Hip-hop, grime and dancehall.

Funk, electro and R’n’B.

Bounce

Blackfriars Basement, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Long-running indie house night.

Sick Note (Villains)

Music For Pleasure

Villains DJ set, as part of Alternative Fresher’s Week.

Bamboo, 22:00–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £5 after

Electro, soul and funk.

Pressure Halloween Party The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £15

Minimal, progressive house and techno.

Ballbreaker/Vice The Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Rock and dance split over two levels.

Damnation

Riot Radio

Common, 22:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 (£3) after

New beats.

Metal and punk.

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free before midnight, £5 after

Indie classics.

Thriller Night The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Do the ‘thriller’ dance until you drop.

Tetris

Bamboo, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 (£3) after

Hip-hop, pop and funk.

*

Audiocouture

Byblos, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Chart cheese and R’n’B

Wed 28 Oct Haribo Wednesday’s

Sneaky Beats

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Hip-hop, soul and electro.

Fri 02 Oct Jackhammer Boat Party Cruz, 19:00–01:00, Free before 10pm, £3 after

Boogie on the boat.

Velvet Underground

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, Girls free entry before 11pm (boys £2), £5 after

Classy classics.

Kandiflip

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £3 before 11pm, £6 after

House and R’n’B.

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £6 after

Retro-fest, playing anything from 1970 to 1999.

Tokyoblu (Friendly Fires DJ set)

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £7 in advance, £9 door

Hip-hop, house and pop.

Friendly Fires DJ set, as part of Alternative Fresher’s Week.

Cosmic Microwave

Acid Fascists

Bar Bloc, 20:00–23:00, Free

Funky electro.

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 23:00–03:00, £4

Garage punk.

Confusion is Sex

Electro and glam techno - plus visual artists and the ‘Freaky Brides’.

Rockin’ indie and electropop.

Thankyou Frankley (French Wives)

The Caves, 23:00–03:00, £7

Student night with bouncy castle.

Thu 29 Oct

The Garage, 20:00–03:00, £8 (£6)

Òran Mór, 21:00–02:00, £4

Monthly club night with live bands.

This month sees French Wives launching their debut single.

Club Noir Halloween Burlesque

Bazodee

O2 Academy, 21:00–03:00, £14.50

Reggae and dancehall.

Homegrown

The Halt Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Common Room

Common, 21:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 (£3) after

Gory gruesome glamour, plus tassels Bamboo, 22:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Indie, dance and soul.

Party anthems past and present.

Absolution

Croc Madame Vs Croc Monsieur

Metal mayhem.

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £tbc

DIY art-rock party.

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Cathouse Saturdays

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£4 in costume)

Departure Lounge Funky soul with DJ Astroboy, Jiminez and Mr Zimbabwe

Electrosexual Relaunch CC Blooms, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dirty electro bootlegs.

Misfits

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Twisted disco.

The Underground

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

New wave and punk.

Sat 03 Oct Vegas

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:30–01:00, £5

A night of 50s fun with showgirls a-go-go.

The Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Saturday’s At Opal

The Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2

Happy clappy mix of classic rock and emo pop beats.

Resident DJs spin disco electro.

Eureka

Der Supermax Love Machine

Cryotec

Underground dance.

Bamboo, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dance, indie and hip-hop.

Skint/Vengeance

The Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2

The Brunswick Hotel, 23:00–03:00, £5

Rock ‘n’ roll discoteque.

Emo and pop rock. Or go dark in the back bar with death metal.

Electrofunk

Thursday’s At Classic Grand

Funky beats

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Rock, metal and funk.

Fri 30 Oct Audio Filth

Common, 17:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 (£3) after

Ivory Blacks, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Modern Lovers The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £3 before midnight, £5 after

Mogwai DJ set.

Sabado Saturday’s Byblos, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£5)

Dance, R’n’B and soul.

Funky pick’n’mix.

Subculture

Back To The Future Halloween Special

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

O2 Academy, 20:00–03:00, £14

Hardcore and old skool, plus ghosties.

Pinup Night: Halloween The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5

Classis indie, electropop and soul with a Halloween twist.

64 THE SKINNY October 2009

Chart cheese.

Halloween night with a £400 prize for the best costume.

The Arches, 22:30–03:00, £3 in advance, £5 (£4) door

*

Common, 17:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £7 (£5) after

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £2 after

TONGUE IN CHEEK

Octopussy

ABC verified as Scotland’s largest entertainment & listings magazine (33,130 copies each month!)

This Is

Kitsch

Halloween

Bamboo, 22:00–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £5 (£4) after

to find out more, check out

Sat 31 Oct

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Common, 22:00–03:00, Free before 11pm, £5 (£3) after

Mixed bag of ‘sweet’ tunes.

...and over 105,000 people think our website rocks too!

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

60s soul, blues and boogaloo.

Old and new house classics.

Twitter Tuesday’s

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Friday Street

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Tue 27 Oct

Thu 01 Oct

Byblos, 22:00–03:00, £3 before 12.30am, £6 after

Passionality

Byblos, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Edinburgh C

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Beep Beep Yeah @ Speakeasy

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £3

New night of 50s rock, 60s grooves and 70s psychedelia.

Liquid Soul

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £4 before 11pm, £7 after

Retro, disco and funky house.

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £6 after

60s mod, rock and soul.

Ultragroove

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Low-key funk residents night.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Poptastic mix of chart and retro disco.

Dubbed out electro, for itchy dancing feet.

Headspin

The Rockshop Halloween Special

Ashley Beedle graces Bongo HQ.

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free before midnight, £5 after

Rock’n’roll, all night long.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 before midnight, £8 after

Jam The Box

The GRV, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk, soul and disco.

gh Clubs The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2.50 before 11pm, £5 after

Mish-mash of sounds, from 60s garage to ska-punk.

Sun 04 Oct Rise

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Mashed-up and remixed tunes.

Killer Kitsch

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Hot Rods!

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Old school garage punk.

Jerk Alert

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Indie pop.

Twisted disco.

Mudhoney Aftershow Party

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 23:00–03:00, £5

Dubstep and jungle.

Our House @ Speakeasy

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Thu 08 Oct We Could Be Heroes

Remedy

Kitsch tunes and cool visuals.

The Electric Circus, 19:00–03:00, Free

Mixologist’ DJ Dan on decks.

Vanity

Coalition

Funk, electro and R’n’B.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

JungleDub

New wave, 80s synthpop and chart smashes.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5

Misfits

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

A celebration of grunge.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £5

Glammed-up house.

Vintage Violence

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £5

Dirty soul and rockabilly.

Sat 10 Oct Saturday’s At Opal

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Dubstep and breaks.

Bounce

Resident DJs spin disco electro.

Sections

Long-running indie house night.

Alternative punk, metal and goth.

Sick Note

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £10 (£8)

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Mon 05 Oct DSO

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Electro, house and pop.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

The residents slug it out on the decks.

Kitsch

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £2 after

Trade Union

Chart cheese.

Playing everything but cheese.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£1)

Sneaky Beats

Twisted

Hip-hop, soul and electro.

Soul shaking club classics.

The Electric Circus, 00:00–03:00, Free

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Nu-Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

New producers showcase.

Tue 06 Oct

Carry On

Classic hits and dancefloor faves.

Fri 09 Oct OVERTIME

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Electric Circus, 17:00–22:00, Free

Nu disco and electro.

Pre-club free fun.

Passion

Gumbo Funk

Missbehave

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart mash-ups; this fortnight with a ‘bling’ theme.

Split

The Voodoo Rooms, 21:00–23:00, Free

Funk, afro and latin grooves with DJs Jiminez and Astroboy.

Karnival

Funky D’Void plays electro soul.

Liquid Soul

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £4 before 11pm, £7 after

Retro, disco and funky house.

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £6 after

60s mod, rock and soul.

Ascension

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Electro goth.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Poptastic mix of chart and retro disco.

Fake

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £2

With special guest Mikey Magic.

Grafik

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Indie rock.

Messenger Sound System The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £6.50 (£5)

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Motherfunk

Antics

Motherfunk is back! Soul, hip-hop and funk.

Substance

Alternative anthems.

Velvet Underground

Third birthday party special.

Faultless breaks and hip-hop.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Love Hertz

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Freestyle heavy bass.

The Pit

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Metal and rock request night.

Wed 07 Oct Chambles

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk and party classics.

Itchy Feet

Studio 24, 22:00–03:00, £tbc Happy clappy student night.

Delinquents

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mash-up of iconic anthems and new tunes.

Potterrow, 22:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, Girls free entry before 11pm (boys £2), £5 after

Classy classics.

Kandiflip

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £3 before 11pm, £6 after

House and R’n’B.

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £6 after

Retro-fest, playing anything from 1970 to 1999.

The GRV, 23:00–03:00, £10

Ten Tracks Presents (Popscure, The Vangelis)

The Electric Circus, 23:00–03:00, £6

Night of musical delight from Ten Tracks.

The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2.50 before 11pm, £5 after

Mish-mash of sounds, from 60s garage to ska-punk.

Sun 11 Oct

Telefunken

Rise

Telefunken’s fifth birthday.

Mashed-up and remixed tunes.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £10

Cosmic

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Psyche trance.

We Are Electric

Devil Disco

Underground electronica.

Rap, boogie and electro-funk.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free before midnight, £2 after

Reggae, featuring MC Ras Echo.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 in advance, £5 door

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Killer Kitsch

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free New wave, 80s synthpop and chart smashes.

Remedy

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mixologist’ DJ Dan on decks.

October 2009

THE SKINNY 65

Edinburgh Clubs Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep and breaks.

BREAKING BOUNDARIES IN MUSIC 7th October 2009 7pm - 10pm

Sparrow & the Workshop

with KILL IT KID + YUSEF AZAK 12th October 7pm

VEGAS!

From 8.30pm - 1am. Admission £5 (no advance tickets).

..18th .. .. ..OCTOBER . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..09.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..7pm .. .. ..-...10pm ................................ ..thewavepictures.com .. .. .. .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..THE . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..PICTURES ................. .. .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ...WAVE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .Stanley . . . . . .Brinks . . . . .(Andre . . . . . Herman . . . . . . .Dune), . . . . .Freschard ........

Plus support. From 7pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £5

20TH OCTOBER 2009 7PM - 10PM

Thursday 8th October 2009

Monday 5th October

SOULACOASTER Wednesday 7th October

UNKLE BOB From 7pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £5

LAPTOP LOUNGE From 8pm in The Speakeasy. Free admission.

Friday 9th October 2009

FINDO GASK PLUS GUESTS

22ND OCTOBER 09 7PM - 10PM

CASSIDY

THE BOY WHO TRAPPED THE SUN

GUMBOFUNK From 9pm - 1am in The Ballroom. Free admission.

Thursday 15th October

COLIN MACINTYRE

(aka Mull Historical Society) and Band+ 8 Track Stereo+ Sorren MacLean From 7.30pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £10 stbf

Friday 16th October

MYSPACE.COM/CASSIDYUK

28th October 2009

JONQUIL Support From:

The Great Eskimo Hoax plus guests

THE FIVE CORNERS QUINTET From 7.30pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £14 stbf

Saturday 17th October

FATALISTS + YOUR LOYAL SUBJECTS + LORDS OF B**TARD From 8pm in The Speakeasy. Free admission.

Sunday 18th October

KATE WALSH

A Regular Music Presentation. From 8pm.£10 stbf

Monday 19th October

sugarbeatclub.com

CATFISH KEITH

From 8pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £12 stbf

Thursday 22nd October PLUS SUPPORT SOUL BISCUITS, MOTHERFUNK, THE FOUNDATION CREW, MADHAT& THE MCF FAMILY, EMCEE LOKI, SHOW N’ PROVE BSP Concerts & Cabaret Voltaire present

Daniel Johnston

Wednesday 4th November The Queen’s Hall, EDINBURGH

With very special guest

LAURA MARLING

THE SPEAKEASY For table bookings & corporate or private hire: speakeasy@thecabaretvoltaire.com RIPPING RECORDS T: 0131 226 7010 WWW.TICKETWEB.CO.UK T: 08444 77 1000 TICKETS SCOTLAND T: 0131 220 3234

WWW.THECABARETVOLTAIRE.COM

66 THE SKINNY October 2009

Passion

Cheesy disco, comedy and childish games.

Chart mash-ups; this fortnight is ‘Commando Party’ - make of that what you will.

Electro, house and pop.

Saturday 3rd October

Come On Gang + Guests

The Snatch Club

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

From 7.30pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £15 (stbf ).

JON ALLEN

From 9.30pm in The Speakeasy. Advance tickets available.

Friday 23rd October

NEARLY DAN

From 7.30pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £12 stbf

Saturday 24th October

CINDYTALK

+ The Tenebrous Liar+ Somatic Responses+ Blackmass Plastics DJ From 8pm in The Ballroom. Advance tickets £9 stbf

Monday 26th October

THE UNTHANKS

A Regular Music Presentation. From 7.30pm Advance tickets are available from The Voodoo Rooms, Ripping Records, Tickets Scotland (Edinburgh & Glasgow), & www.ticketweb.co.uk. For more information visit www.thevoodoorooms.co.uk

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Alternative punk, metal and goth.

DSO

NEIL INNES - ONE MAN SHOW

Tue 20 Oct Missbehave

Retro-fest, playing anything from 1970 to 1999.

Mon 12 Oct

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS Friday 2nd October

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £6 after

Sections

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

36 BLAIR ST, EDINBURGH. 0131 220 6176

Planet Earth

Trade Union

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£1)

Playing everything but cheese.

Twisted

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Soul shaking club classics.

Mixed Up

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Nu-Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

New producers showcase.

Tue 13 Oct Missbehave

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Nu disco and electro.

Split

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Faultless breaks and hip-hop.

Antics

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Ghantin

The GRV, 23:00–03:00, £7

Tribal beats.

Misfits

Nu disco and electro.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Split

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Faultless breaks and hip-hop.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Antics

Twisted disco.

Alternative anthems.

Xplicit

Love Hertz

Drum and bass.

Freestyle heavy bass.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Sat 17 Oct Saturday’s At Opal

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Resident DJs spin disco electro.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Pit

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Metal and rock request night.

Wed 21 Oct

Bang Bang @ Speakeasy

Chambles

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £5

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Sleazy underground beats.

Funk and party classics.

Liquid Soul

Delinquents

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £4 before 11pm, £7 after

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

Retro, disco and funky house.

Mash-up of iconic anthems and new tunes.

Tease Age

We Are Electric

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £6 after

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free before midnight, £2 after

60s mod, rock and soul.

Underground electronica.

Love Hertz

Ultragroove

Jerk Alert

Alternative anthems.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Freestyle heavy bass.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £10 (£8)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Indie pop.

The Pit

Tenth birthday bash, with the mighty Joey Negro.

JungleDub

Metal and rock request night.

Basics

Dubstep and jungle.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Wed 14 Oct Chambles

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk and party classics.

Delinquents

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mash-up of iconic anthems and new tunes.

We Are Electric

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free before midnight, £2 after

Underground electronica.

Jerk Alert

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Indie pop.

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 23:00–03:00, £5

50s and 60s soul.

Beat On Beat Off

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Electro indie.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Classic rock.

Sick Note

The Egg

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2.50 before 11pm, £5 after

The Electric Circus, 23:00–03:00, £6

Dananananakroyd take over the decks.

Sun 18 Oct

Vanity

Mashed-up and remixed tunes.

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk, electro and R’n’B.

Killer Kitsch

Bounce

New wave, 80s synthpop and chart smashes.

Long-running indie house night.

Sick Note

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

The residents slug it out on the decks.

Kitsch

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £2 after

Chart cheese.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Remedy

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mixologist’ DJ Dan on decks.

Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep and breaks.

Mumbo Jumbo

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Sneaky Beats

Funk, soul, electro and house.

Hip-hop, soul and electro.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fri 16 Oct OVERTIME

The Electric Circus, 17:00–22:00, Free

Pre-club free fun.

Velvet Underground

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, Girls free entry before 11pm (boys £2), £5 after

Bounce

Long-running indie house night.

Rise

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Kitsch tunes and cool visuals.

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Vanity

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Wire

The Electric Circus, 19:00–03:00, Free

Wishy-washy loveliness.

Fuel

Dubstep and jungle.

We Could Be Heroes

The Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £8

Funk, electro and R’n’B.

Mish-mash of sounds, from 60s garage to ska-punk.

Thu 15 Oct

Thu 22 Oct Maps

Poptastic mix of chart and retro disco.

JungleDub

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sections

Alternative punk, metal and goth.

Mon 19 Oct DSO

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Electro, house and pop.

Trade Union

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£1)

Playing everything but cheese.

The residents slug it out on the decks.

We Could Be Heroes

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free

Kitsch tunes and cool visuals.

Kitsch

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £2 after

Chart cheese.

Sneaky Beats

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Hip-hop, soul and electro.

Fri 23 Oct OVERTIME

The Electric Circus, 17:00–22:00, Free

Pre-club free fun.

Motherfunk

Potterrow, 22:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Motherfunk is back! Soul, hip-hop and funk.

Velvet Underground

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, Girls free entry before 11pm (boys £2), £5 after

Classy classics.

Alternative

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

House, dub and ghetto techno.

Kandiflip

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £3 before 11pm, £6 after

House and R’n’B.

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £6 after

Classy classics.

Twisted

Retro-fest, playing anything from 1970 to 1999.

Axis

Soul shaking club classics.

Definition

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £9 (£7)

Axis returns with remix masters Jokers of the Scene.

Kandiflip

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £3 before 11pm, £6 after

House and R’n’B.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed Up

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Nu-Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

New producers showcase.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Second birthday of this house and electro night.

Four Corners

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 before midnight, £5 after

Party soul for throwing shapes to.

Aberdeen Music Misfits

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Twisted disco.

Sat 24 Oct Saturday’s At Opal

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Resident DJs spin disco electro.

Liquid Soul

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £4 before 11pm, £7 after

Nu-Fire

Motherfunk

New producers showcase.

Motherfunk is back! Soul, hip-hop and funk.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Tue 27 Oct Missbehave

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Nu disco and electro.

Split

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Faultless breaks and hip-hop.

Retro, disco and funky house.

Antics

Musika

Alternative anthems.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £15

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

House, techno and electro.

Love Hertz

Tease Age

Freestyle heavy bass.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £6 after

60s mod, rock and soul.

Big ‘N’ Bashy

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 before midnight, £7 after

Reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Poptastic mix of chart and retro disco.

Grafik

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Pit

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Metal and rock request night.

Wed 28 Oct Chambles

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk and party classics.

Delinquents

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mash-up of iconic anthems and new tunes.

Indie rock.

We Are Electric

Noriega’s Disco (DJ Johnny Creamsoda )

Underground electronica.

Potterrow, 22:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Velvet Underground

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, Girls free entry before 11pm (boys £2), £5 after

Classy classics.

Kandiflip

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £3 before 11pm, £6 after

House and R’n’B.

Planet Earth

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6(£4)

Legendary rock night.

Sun 25 Oct Rise

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Thu 29 Oct Vanity

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Funk, electro and R’n’B.

Bounce

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mashed-up and remixed tunes.

Long-running indie house night.

Killer Kitsch

Sick Note

New wave, 80s synthpop and chart smashes.

The residents slug it out on the decks.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

Remedy

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mixologist’ DJ Dan on decks.

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free

We Could Be Heroes

The Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free

Chicke Wire

Kitsch tunes and cool visuals.

Live blues explosion.

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £4

Zombie Halloween Night

Beats and breaks a-plenty.

Macfloyd

Confusion Is Sex Halloween Ball

The Warehouse, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4 in costume)

Freaky Halloween ball, with special guests the Auld Reekie Roller Girls.

Indie Pop Night

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £4

Indie pop a-plenty.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

Noise Pollution Pure techno.

Sat 31 Oct Vegas

Ocean Terminal, 21:30–03:00, £15

12th Birthday party celebration, with showgirls a-go-go.

Retro, disco and funky house.

Rahzel

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £10

Sneaky Beats

Poptastic mix of chart and retro disco.

Hip-hop, soul and electro.

Halloween Headspin

Mon 26 Oct Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Electro, house and pop.

Trade Union

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£1) Playing everything but cheese.

Fri 30 Oct OVERTIME

The Electric Circus, 17:00–22:00, Free

Pre-club free fun.

Twisted

Autobahn

Soul shaking club classics.

Kraut rock, synth-pop and punk.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Strathmore, 20:00–00:00, Free

Mixed Up

Club Absynth @ Speakeasy

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Experimental electro and retro-goth.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cabaret Voltaire, 21:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Snafu, 19:30–22:30, £tbc

Alternative indie fare.

Swimming (The Marionettes, Belgrade, Hold Fire)

The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £5

Experimental melodies.

Sat 03 Oct IMP presents (ZOEY VAN GOEY, STRIKE THE COLOURS) Snafu, 19:30–22:00, £6

Unashamedly indie-pop voyagers with upcoming LP on Chemikal Underground.

Jive Candy Funk Night

The Lemon Tree, 20:30–23:00, £5

Strut your funky stuff.

Sun 04 Oct The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Mon 05 Oct The Peatbog Faeries

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £15

Celtic dance music, moving from traditional jigs to jazz, hip-hop and reggae.

Sumptuous tunes.

Alternative punk, metal and goth.

DSO

Weekly live music showcase.

Tease Age

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £2 after

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

This Town Needs Guns

Cats + Cats + Cats + Cats

60s mod, rock and soul.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free before 11.30pm, £4 after

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 before midnight, £7 after

Halloween special, with the residents doing their funky thing.

Halloween Special

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £5

Open Mic Night

MUSA, 20:00–03:00, Free

Rock up and do your thing.

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Tue 06 Oct The Twang

The Warehouse, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

Indie pop bad boys.

Rock, indie and metal, plus costume prizes.

BLOC PARTY

The Egg

Bloc rockin’ beats.

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2.50 before 11pm, £5 after

Mish-mash of sounds, from 60s garage to ska-punk.

Music Hall, 19:30–23:00, £22.50

Nerina Pallot

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £13.50

Sweet singer/songwriter with lyrical depth.

Ruby Tuesdays

Bar 99, 21:00–01:00, Free

Weekly acoustic sessions.

clubbing

is fun theskinny.co.uk

Tue 20 Oct

Franz Ferdinand

Dance. Dance. Dance.

Human beatboxer Rahzel plays with collaborator JS-1.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £2 before 11pm, £6 after

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Psychedelic rock.

Jazz, obviously.

Po Na Na, 22:30–03:00, £4 before 11pm, £7 after

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Vocoustics Presents (Unkle Bob, Panda Su, Stanley)

Resident DJs spin disco electro.

Liquid Soul

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Basshunter

Belhaven Sunday Jazz

Opal Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Open Mic Night

The original indie rockers.

Saturday’s At Opal

Sections

Chart cheese.

Flood of Red

Music Hall, 19:30–23:00, £20

Dubstep and breaks.

The Hive, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Weekly sessions with local blues and folk singers

A scary mix of techno and house.

Kitsch

Belhaven Sunday Jazz

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, £7 before midnight, £9 after

Weekly live music showcase.

Rock up and do your thing.

Sun 11 Oct

Indie rock.

Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £10

MUSA, 20:00–03:00, Free

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £2

Dubstep and jungle.

Rhythm and blues.

Shell Friday Live

Indie pop.

The Mission

Fri 02 Oct

Music Hall, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£17)

Sugarbeat

The Egg

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Vocoustics Presents (Crooked Still, Smokin’ Catfish)

Mon 19 Oct

The Blues Band

Retro-fest, playing anything from 1970 to 1999.

Jerk Alert

Mish-mash of sounds, from 60s garage to ska-punk.

Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Sat 10 Oct

The Warehouse, 19:30–22:00, £6

Post-punk, DIY and garage.

JungleDub

DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Mystery Jets DJ Set)

Weekly sessions with local blues and folk singers

Weekly folk and blues sessions.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £6 after

Twisted disco.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Deen’s institutional live music/ club cross-over, expect weekly electroindie rock to fall in love to...

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Jazz, obviously.

Misfits

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2.50 before 11pm, £5 after

Snafu, 22:00–02:00, £3/2/Free with a flyer

Shell Friday Live

Friday Live

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:30–03:00, Free before midnight, £2 after

Henry’s Cellar Bar, 23:00–03:00, £5

Thu 01 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB

Thu 08 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB

Snafu, 22:00–02:00, £3/2/Free with a flyer

The Deen’s institutional live music/ club cross-over, expect weekly electroindie rock to fall in love to...

DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Ross Clark, Washington Irving) Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Fri 09 Oct

Music Hall, 19:30–23:00, £21.50

The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £5

Mon 12 Oct

Young Trad Tour 2009

The Lemon Tree, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Finalists from the BBC Radio Scotlland Young Traditional Musician of the Year.

Ruby Tuesdays

Bar 99, 21:00–01:00, Free

Open Mic Night

Weekly acoustic sessions.

MUSA, 20:00–03:00, Free

Rock up and do your thing.

Wed 21 Oct

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Tue 13 Oct

Everything Everything The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £5

Art-pop blasts, spaghetti guitars and never-ending tempo changes.

Thu 22 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB

Snafu, 22:00–02:00, £3/2/Free with a flyer

Ruby Tuesdays

Bar 99, 21:00–01:00, Free

The Deen’s institutional live music/ club cross-over, expect weekly electroindie rock to fall in love to...

Weekly acoustic sessions.

Wed 14 Oct

DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Ono Palindromes)

Doll and the Kicks (Atlas Skye )

Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £5

Oozing energy, also hand-picked by Morrissey to support him on tour.

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Fri 23 Oct Friday Live

Thu 15 Oct

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Stiff Little Figers

Weekly folk and blues sessions.

Pop punk.

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

The Warehouse, 19:30–22:00, £20

IMP presents (James Yorkston, The Big Eyes Family Players, Mary Hampton) The Tunnels, 20:00–23:00, £10 + BF advance

Fence Collective and Domino Records stalwart brings his graceful folk and subtle song-writing skills back to the Aberdeen fray. Huge talent - not to be missed.

DIRTY HEARTS CLUB

Snafu, 22:00–02:00, £3/2/Free with a flyer

The Deen’s institutional live music/ club cross-over, expect weekly electroindie rock to fall in love to...

Shell Friday Live

Weekly sessions with local blues and folk singers

Funeral For A Friend

The Warehouse, 19:30–22:00, £15

Indie rock.

Sat 24 Oct Hayseed Dixie

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £12

American rockgrass.

Sun 25 Oct Belhaven Sunday Jazz

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Jazz, obviously.

Fri 16 Oct Friday Live

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Mon 26 Oct

Weekly folk and blues sessions.

Julie Fowlis

Shell Friday Live

Gaelic singer and instrumentalist.

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Weekly sessions with local blues and folk singers

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £15

Vocoustics Presents (Chris T-T, Clayton Blizzard) The Tunnels, 20:00–00:00, £6

Weekly live music showcase.

Sat 17 Oct

Open Mic Night

Kate Walsh

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £6

Floaty acoustic folkiness.

MUSA, 20:00–03:00, Free

Rock up and do your thing.

Black Tooth Rock Lounge (Robert Temptle, Fudge DJs)

Sun 18 Oct Belhaven Sunday Jazz

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Jazz, obviously.

From The Jam, with Rick Butler and Bruce Fonxton The Warehouse, 19:30–22:00, £20

Live music special.

Edwyn Collins (1990s)

The Lemon Tree, 19:30–23:00, £15

Former Orange Juice frontman, now solo artist.

Snafu, 21:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Dark and dirty rock.

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Tue 27 Oct

Friday Live

Enter Shikari

Ruby Tuesdays

Weekly folk and blues sessions.

Four-piece rock by numbers.

Weekly acoustic sessions.

The Lemon Tree, 12:00–14:00, Free

Music Hall, 19:30–23:00, £16

Bar 99, 21:00–01:00, Free

October 2009

THE SKINNY 67

Aberdeen clubs Thu 01 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Mystery Jets DJ Set) Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Octopussy

Tiger Tiger, 23:00–03:00, £4(£3)

R’n’B classics.

Fri 02 Oct Friday Night Session (Artful Dodger DJ Set)

Tiger Tiger, 22:30–03:00, Free before 11pm, £4 after

Old school garage.

Kamikazi (DJ PSYDOLL)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Weekly alt. rock and punk night

MIXTAPE (Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Weekly club sessions in the dirty side of electronic moosick

Sleaze Records Party (Troy Pierce, Hans Bouffmyhre) Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £8

Top tunes from the Sleaze crew

Sat 03 Oct Adventures In Stereo (DJ Steve Milne)

The Warehouse, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Indie electro disco club... weekly

Jungle Nation presents: Pendulum (DJ SET)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Drum and bass heavyweights

THE DEEP END (Iain MacPherson)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Bliss Club Night

Octopussy

Tech House, electro, progressive and techno.

R’n’B classics.

The Tunnels, 23:00–03:00, £3

THE DEEP END (Iain MacPherson)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Funky Transport (Classic/Playhouse) hosts the long standing house music night, one of the premier weekly events in Scotland for fouring to the flooring.

Mon 12 Oct Latin Night with DJ Yuri The Tunnels, 19:00–00:00, £3

A latin night, with salsa classes.

Offshore

The Rig, 19:00–02:00, Free

Alt. indie and oil rig punter puns

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Wed 14 Oct Funky Milk

The Tunnels, 22:00–03:00, £4

Funky little disco.

ELECTRIQUE BOUTIQUE (GILES WALKER)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £3/ Free with a flyer

Electro

Thu 15 Oct Oxjam and Dirty Hearts Club Present

Snafu, 20:30–03:00, £3 before midnight, £4 after

Funky Transport (Classic/Playhouse) hosts the long standing house music night, one of the premier weekly events in Scotland for fouring to the flooring.

In aid of Oxfam, with live bands and DJs.

Trash Disco

Tiger Tiger, 23:00–03:00, £4(£3)

The Tunnels, 23:00–03:00, £5

House music mayhem.

Mon 05 Oct Latin Night with DJ Yuri The Tunnels, 19:00–00:00, £3

A latin night, with salsa classes.

Offshore

The Rig, 19:00–02:00, Free

Alt. indie and oil rig punter puns

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Wed 07 Oct Funky Milk

The Tunnels, 22:00–03:00, £4

Funky little disco.

ELECTRIQUE BOUTIQUE (GILES WALKER)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £3/ Free with a flyer

Electro

Thu 08 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Ross Clark, Washington Irving) Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Octopussy R’n’B classics.

Fri 16 Oct Kamikazi (DJ PSYDOLL)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Weekly alt. rock and punk night

Mixtape (Caged Baby, Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6 in advance

Playing tunes on the wrong side of sleaze.

MIXTAPE (Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Weekly club sessions in the dirty side of electronic moosick

Sat 17 Oct Adventures In Stereo (DJ Steve Milne)

The Warehouse, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Indie electro disco club... weekly

THE DEEP END (Iain MacPherson)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Funky Transport (Classic/Playhouse) hosts the long standing house music night, one of the premier weekly events in Scotland for fouring to the flooring.

Mon 19 Oct

Octopussy

Latin Night with DJ Yuri

R’n’B classics.

A latin night, with salsa classes.

Tiger Tiger, 23:00–03:00, £4(£3)

Fri 09 Oct Kamikazi (DJ PSYDOLL)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Weekly alt. rock and punk night

Mixtape (Funk D’Void, Lunik, Gibby)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £5 in advance, £7 on door

Playing tunes on the wrong side of sleaze.

MIXTAPE (Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Weekly club sessions in the dirty side of electronic moosick

Sat 10 Oct

Dundee Music

The Tunnels, 19:00–00:00, £3

Offshore

The Rig, 19:00–02:00, Free

Alt. indie and oil rig punter puns

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Wed 21 Oct

Tiger Tiger, 23:00–03:00, £4(£3)

Fri 23 Oct Edit-Select (Raudive, Tony Scott)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6 in advance, £7 on door

Techno electro.

Kamikazi (DJ PSYDOLL)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Weekly alt. rock and punk night

MIXTAPE (Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Weekly club sessions in the dirty side of electronic moosick

Sat 24 Oct Funk Machine Presents Super Siz Funk Machine The Tunnels, 20:00–03:00, £4

A night of funk.

Adventures In Stereo (DJ Steve Milne)

The Warehouse, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Funky Transport (Classic/Playhouse) hosts the long standing house music night, one of the premier weekly events in Scotland for fouring to the flooring.

Mon 26 Oct Latin Night with DJ Yuri The Tunnels, 19:00–00:00, £3

A latin night, with salsa classes.

Offshore

The Rig, 19:00–02:00, Free

Alt. indie and oil rig punter puns

Black Tooth Rock Lounge (Robert Temptle, Fudge DJs) Snafu, 21:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Dark and dirty rock.

THE BLACK TOOTH ROCK LOUNGE

Snafu, 23:00–02:00, £3/2/free with a pass

Live music/ club crossover with dive bar blood running through it’s filthy veins

Wed 28 Oct ELECTRIQUE BOUTIQUE (GILES WALKER)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £3/ Free with a flyer

Electro

Thu 29 Oct DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Kashmir Red, We Hung Your Leader) Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Top tunes and guest DJs.

Octopussy

Tiger Tiger, 23:00–03:00, £4(£3)

R’n’B classics.

Fri 30 Oct Kamikazi (DJ PSYDOLL)

The Warehouse, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Weekly alt. rock and punk night

MIXTAPE (Giles Walker)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Weekly club sessions in the dirty side of electronic moosick

Sat 31 Oct Cut/Edit/Rewind Halloween special The Tunnels, 20:00–03:00, £4

Turntabiliism trickery, plus live bands and MCs.

Adventures In Stereo (DJ Steve Milne)

Six Star Hotel

Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £6

Alt indie

Sat 03 Oct Martin Stephenson Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £10

Wed 07 Oct The Twang

Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £12.50

Thu 08 Oct RBRBR

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £6

Electro, reverbs, you clever people

Sat 10 Oct Joe Carnall and The Book Club, The Bouffants The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £5

Fri 16 Oct Enter Shikari Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £16

Stiff Little Fingers Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £16

Punk pop.

Sat 17 Oct

Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £15

Fri 23 Oct Ash Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £16.50

Tue 27 Oct Cassidy, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £5

Melodic pop.

Sat 31 Oct Sham 69 Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £10

The Underground Heroes

Twisted Wheel, The Brogues, The Twist

Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:30, £8

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £6

Dundee Clubs Thu 01 Oct Mind the Gap

Underground, 18:00–02:30, Free entry before 10pm. £6/£3 after

R&B

Fri 02 Oct HEADWAY

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Techno

One Pound Fridays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 03 Oct Mixed Bizness

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £5

Hip hop, house, drum &amp; bass, funk, dance hall, electro, garage, break beat and disco.

Saturdays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

TAY FM’s John Milne proffers a helping of cheese, chart and dance

Sun 04 Oct Neon Foam Party

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Wed 07 Oct Beta

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Thu 08 Oct Mind the Gap

Underground, 18:00–02:30, Free entry before 10pm. £6/£3 after

R&B

Fri 09 Oct Midfield General

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

One Pound Fridays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 10 Oct SPACEBALL

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Techno

Saturdays London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

TAY FM’s John Milne proffers a helping of cheese, chart and dance

Wed 14 Oct Beta London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Thu 15 Oct Mind the Gap Underground, 18:00–02:30, Free entry before 10pm. £6/£3 after

R&B

Gold Pros and Tennis Hoes Dundee University Students Union, 22:30–02:30, £3

Fri 16 Oct One Pound Fridays London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 17 Oct Optimo The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Diverse music policy.

Saturdays London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

TAY FM’s John Milne proffers a helping of cheese, chart and dance

Wed 21 Oct Beta London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Thu 22 Oct Mind the Gap Underground, 18:00–02:30, Free entry before 10pm. £6/£3 after

R&B

Fri 23 Oct Autodisco

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

One Pound Fridays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 24 Oct DJ Vadim

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £8

Saturdays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

TAY FM’s John Milne proffers a helping of cheese, chart and dance

Wed 28 Oct Beta

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Thu 29 Oct Mind the Gap

Underground, 18:00–02:30, Free entry before 10pm. £6/£3 after

R&B

Fri 30 Oct Messenger Sound System

The Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Sweet reggae rocking with Scotland's original roots & culture sound system, feat MC Ras Echo. 360 degrees of consciousness www.myspace.com/messengersoundsystem

One Pound Fridays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 31 Oct Halloween Special

The Reading Rooms, 21:30–03:00, £tbc

Rock, indie and metal, plus costume prizes.

Halloween Glam

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Saturdays

London Nightclub, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

TAY FM’s John Milne proffers a helping of cheese, chart and dance

Indie electro disco club... weekly

Funky Transport (Classic/Playhouse) hosts the long standing house music night, one of the premier weekly events in Scotland for fouring to the flooring.

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

DIRTY HEARTS CLUB (Ono Palindromes)

Trash Disco Halloween Special

Indie electro disco club... weekly

Top tunes and guest DJs.

House music mayhem.

68 THE SKINNY October 2009

Fri 02 Oct

Wed 21 Oct Funeral For A Friend

The Warehouse, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Electro

Snafu, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £5

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £6/3 before midnight

Adventures In Stereo (DJ Steve Milne)

The Warehouse, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Rockabilly

The Reading Rooms, 20:00–22:00, £tbc

THE DEEP END (Iain MacPherson)

THE DEEP END (Iain MacPherson)

Thu 22 Oct

Fri 09 Oct Floor of Red, Lower Than Atlantic, 3 Times Over

Indie electro disco club... weekly

ELECTRIQUE BOUTIQUE (GILES WALKER)

Snafu, 23:00–03:00, £3/ Free with a flyer

Thu 01 Oct VINCE RAY & THE BONESHAKERS

The Tunnels, 23:00–03:00, £5

theskinny.co.uk

Glasgow Comedy Thu 01 Oct Bratchy and the Wee Man’s Comedy Pub Quiz The Arches, 20:00–22:00, Free

Teams of up to five people

The Thursday Show (With Ian Coppinger, Sandy nelson, Rory OHanlon and Gordon Alexander.

Hosted by Susan Calman.)

The Stand, 21:00–22:50, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 02 Oct The Friday Show

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9

Sat 03 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–23:02, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 04 Oct Glasgow Kids Comedy Club

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £3

Recommended for ages 8-12. No under 5s.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

The Stand, 20:30–22:39, £5/£4

The Ivory

Ivory Bar & Restaurant, 20:30–23:00, Free

New talent show with professional headliner

Mon 05 Oct Improv Wars

The Stand, 20:30–22:54, £4/£2

Brand new fast paced improv show featuring the nation’s top comics.

Tue 06 Oct

Tim Minchin: Ready for this?

The Pavilion Theatre, 19:30–21:59, £17.50

Hiya and Higher

The Stand, 19:30–00:00, £8 (£7)

The Post-Menopause has never been so infectious! Crack open the latest Take A Break and brace yourself for an uplifting experience with the Stockport-born mother of five and lover of a bargain, Mrs Barbara Nice.

The Ivory

Ivory Bar & Restaurant, 20:30–23:00, Free

New talent show with professional headliner

Stewart Francis Tour De Francis

The Stand, 20:30–22:34, £10/£8

Mon 12 Oct Dance Monkey Boy Dance (John Ross, Allen Chalmers and Raymond Mearns.)

The Stand, 20:30–22:20, £4

Monthly show featuring a mix of topical stand-up, filmed sketches and improvised games and songs.

Tue 13 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £2/£1

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Wed 14 Oct Midweek Comedy Cabaret The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £4/£2

With Graeme Thomas, Rick Molland, The Wee Man and host Keir McAllister.

Thu 15 Oct The Thursday Show (With Seymour Mace, Jonathan Mayor and Jay Lafferty.

Hosted by Fred MacAulay.)

The Stand, 21:00–22:50, £8/£7

Red Raw

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

The Shed Live (Raymond Mearns, Chris Henry and Scott Agnew)

The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £2/£1

Wed 07 Oct Wicked Wenches (With Bernadette Pauley, AL Kennedy, Janice Phayre and Carly Baker. Hosted

by Susan Calman.)

The Stand, 20:30–22:45, £5/£3

Thu 08 Oct Scottish Royal Variety Performance

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 19:00–23:00, £55-75

The inaugral event, bringing together comedy, dance, music and theatre

The Thursday Show (With Ian Cognito, Bernadette Pauley, Paul Pirie and Martin McAllister. Hosted

by Raymond Mearns.)

The Stand, 21:00–22:50, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 09 Oct The Friday Show (Mrs Barbara Nice, Sandy Nelson, Janice Phayre and Inder Manocha.

Hosted by Joe Heenan.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9

Sat 10 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–23:02, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 11 Oct

The Shed, 20:00–23:00, £2

A night of uncut laughter

Fri 16 Oct The Friday Show

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9

Doors open 7pm

Sat 17 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–23:02, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 18 Oct Glasgow Kids Comedy Club

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £3

Recommended for ages 8-12. No under 5s.

Glasgay’s Swinging Sunday Sparkler

The Stand, 19:30–00:00, £5 (£4)

Hosted by Jonathan Mayor and featuring the fabulous headliner, Magic Mandy Mudenup, along with up and coming acts.

The Ivory

Ivory Bar & Restaurant, 20:30–23:00, Free

New talent show with professional headliner

Mon 19 Oct Reginald D Hunter: The Only Apple in the Garden of Eden and Niggas The Stand, 20:30–22:40, £12/£10

Tue 20 Oct

Glasgow Kids Comedy Club

Red Raw

Recommended for ages 8-12. No under 5s.

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £3

The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £2/£1

Edinburgh Comedy Wed 21 Oct Milton Jones- Milton’s Paradise Jones The Stand, 20:30–22:46, £10/£9

Thu 22 Oct The Thursday Show (With Silky, Patrick Rolink and Kim MacAskill. Hosted

by Scott Agnew.)

The Stand, 21:00–22:50, £8/£7 Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 23 Oct The Friday Show (Phil Nichol, Silky, Patrick Rolink and Kim MacAskill. Hosted

by Susan Morrison) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9/£5

Doors open 7pm

Sat 24 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–23:02, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 25 Oct Glasgow Kids Comedy Club

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £3

Recommended for ages 8-12. No under 5s.

The Ivory

Ivory Bar & Restaurant, 20:30–23:00, Free

New talent show with professional headliner

Mon 26 Oct Alun Cochrane... Is a Daydreamer (at night) The Stand, 19:30–00:00, £10 (£8)

Observational comedy, droll storytelling and fantasy all collide to create very funny sort-of-jokes amusingly articulated by arguably one of the best comedians on the circuit.

Tue 27 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £2/£1

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Wed 28 Oct Best of Irish Comedy (Neil Dougan, Caimh McDonnell, Donnchadh O’Conaill and Jeff O’Boyle. Hosted

by Michael Redmond.)

The Stand, 20:30–22:57, £7/£6/£4

Thu 29 Oct The Thursday Show (With John Gordillo, Caimh McDonnell, Silky and Viv Gee. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.)

The Stand, 21:00–22:50, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 30 Oct The Friday Show (John Gordillo, Caimh McDonnell, Barry Mcdonald and Viv Gee. Hosted

by Bruce Devlin) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9/£5

Doors open 7pm

Sat 31 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–23:02, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 01 Nov Glasgow Kids Comedy Club

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £3

Recommended for ages 8-12. No under 5s.

The Ivory

Ivory Bar & Restaurant, 20:30–23:00, Free

New talent show with professional headliner

Thu 01 Oct

Wed 14 Oct

Wed 28 Oct

The Thursday Show (With Addy Van der Borgh, Colum McDonnell, Wendy Wason and Derek Johnson. Hosted

by Vladimir Mctavish.)

Benefit in aid of Amnesty International

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

The Thursday Show (With Ben Norris, Magic Mandy Muden and Joe Rowntree.

Hosted by Bruce Devlin.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:17, £8/£7

Fri 02 Oct The Friday Show

The Stand, 21:00–23:21, £10/£9

Sat 03 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–22:05, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 04 Oct Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 12:30–15:00, Free

Improvised comedy led by by audience suggestions, with Stu and Garry.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 20:30–23:01, £5/£4

Mon 05 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:55, £2

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Tue 06 Oct Wicked Wenches (Bernadette Pauley, AL Kennedy, Janice Phayre and Carly Baker. Hosted

by Susan Calman) The Stand, 20:30–22:24, £6/£5/£3

Wed 07 Oct Melting Pot

The Stand, 20:30–22:27, £5/£4/£2.50

Watch a series of short comedy sketches, presented by top actors and comedians. Vote for your favourite, and see a longer version next month.

Thu 08 Oct The Thursday Show (With Sandy nelson, Janice Phayre and Gordon Alexander. Hosted by Mrs Barbara Nice.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:17, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 09 Oct The Friday Show

The Stand, 21:00–23:21, £10/£9

Doors open 7pm

Sat 10 Oct Tim Minchin: Ready for this?

Usher Hall, 19:30–21:58, £17.50

The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–22:05, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 11 Oct Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 12:30–15:00, Free

Improvised comedy led by by audience suggestions, with Stu and Garry.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 20:30–23:01, £5/£4

Mon 12 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:55, £2

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Stewart Francis Tour De Francis

The Stand, 20:30–22:33, £10/£8

Tue 13 Oct Midweek Comedy Cabaret The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £4/£2

Lineup TBC

The Stand, 20:30–22:40, £10/£8

www.amnesty.org.uk

Best of Scottish Comedy (Joe Heenan, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood and Kim MacAskill. Hosted

by Susan Morrison.)

The Stand, 20:30–23:03, £6/£5/£4

Thu 15 Oct

The Stand, 21:00–23:17, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Thu 29 Oct The Thursday Show (With Joe Heenan, Daniel Sloss, Billy Kirkwood and Kim MacAskill. Hosted

by Susan Morrison.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:17, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 16 Oct The Friday Show

The Stand, 21:00–23:21, £10/£9

Doors open 7pm

Fri 30 Oct The Friday Show (Neil Dougan, John Ross, Donnchadh O’Conaill and Sean McLoughlin. Hosted

by Susan Morrison.)

Sat 17 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–22:05, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9/£5

Doors open 7pm

Sat 31 Oct

Sun 18 Oct Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 12:30–15:00, Free

Improvised comedy led by by audience suggestions, with Stu and Garry.

The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–22:05, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Reginald D Hunter: The Only Apple in the Garden of Eden and Niggas The Stand, 20:30–22:43, £12/£10

Mon 19 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:55, £2

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Tue 20 Oct Milton Jones- Milton’s Paradise Jones

autumn09 12 Sep – 4 Dec

The Stand, 20:30–22:46, £10/£9

Wed 21 Oct Gavin Webster’s Falderal The Stand, 20:30–22:49, £8/£7

Thu 22 Oct The Thursday Show (With John Gordillo, Bernadette Pauley, John Cooper and Bob Graham.

Hosted by Joe Heenan.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:17, £8/£7

Ease yourself into the weekend with top laughs and delicious food.

Fri 23 Oct The Friday Show (John Gordillo, Bernadette Pauley, John Cooper and Bob Graham. Hosted by Joe Heenan.)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10/£9/£5

Doors open 7pm

Sat 24 Oct The Saturday Show The Stand, 21:00–22:05, £13

Top acts. Hot food. An altogether great night out.

Sun 25 Oct Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 12:30–15:00, Free

Improvised comedy led by by audience suggestions, with Stu and Garry.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 20:30–23:01, £5/£4

get on your dancing shoes drop-in classes and workshops for everyone

Mon 26 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:55, £2

New acts, new material from old acts; a classic lucky dip of comedy.

Tue 27 Oct Alun Cochrane... Is a Daydreamer (at night)

dancebase.co.uk 14 – 16 Grassmarket Edinburgh EH1 2JU

The Stand, 20:30–22:35, £10/£8

Observational comedy, droll storytelling and fantasy all collide to create very funny sort-of-jokes amusingly articulated by arguably one of the best comedians on the circuit.

Scottish Charity No. SC025512

October 2009

THE SKINNY 69

Glasgow Theatre 13th Note

King’s Theatre

Initial Itch

The Stripper

08:00PM, Mon 5th, Mon 12th, Mon 19th, Mon 26th, £2

Various times, 01 Oct—03 Oct Tickets £12 - £25.50

Poetry, music, performance: an alternative to cabaret

CCA Even In Another Time 07:30PM, 30 Oct—31 Oct, £7 (£5 conc)

Shadows cast shadows; the past still lingers in all of our lives. Six women confront demons, dark truths and exploding egos in three shorts inspired by the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Citizens Theatre House of Bernada Alba 07:30PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, from 9.50

Female hothouse classic

Gilmorehill G12 Love Indeed 07:30PM, 22 Oct, £10

Antony and Cleopatra get the aerial treatment.

The Pilots 07:30PM, 23 Oct, £8

Two men pretend to be able to fly, like they are in a Wham! video.

Peribanez 07:30PM, 29 Oct—31 Oct, £8

Spanish passions from Lope de Vega’s script.

RoyalConcertHall Scottish Royal Variety Performance 07:00PM, 08 Oct, £55-75

The inaugral event, bringing together comedy, dance, music and theatre

New play from the writer of Rocky Horror

Chicago Various times, 05 Oct—10 Oct, £12 - £34.50

Glamorous and decadent, the show that revels in darkness topped off with gorgeous melodies and risque choreography

West Side Story 07:30PM, 12 Oct—17 Oct

Romeo and Juliet in gangs.

Pivo Pivo Lucky Dip 08:00PM, Tue 6th, Tue 13th, Tue 20th, Tue 27th, £3 (£1.50)

Platform Antipode 07:30PM, 27 Oct, £8

Four dancers, one double bass

The Arches The Red Room Various times, 02 Oct—07 Oct, £9–£11

Savage dance with added Al Seed mayhem

Playing Houses 07:30PM, 13 Oct—19 Oct, not 18th, £10

Part of Glasgay! Martin O’Connor expands to Big Brother and family mishaps

International Order 09:15PM, 14 Oct—15 Oct, £8

Part of Glasgay! New York style poetry

Glasgow Art Memory Cells 07:30PM, 20 Oct—24 Oct, £10 (£8 conc)

Louise Welsh brings us her thrilling, new atmospheric and tense, gothic drama Memory Cells which explores constriction, sexuality, power and obsession. A Glasgay! commission and world premiere written by Louise Welsh and directed by Sam Rowe.

Architecting 04:00PM, 28 Oct—31 Oct, £11

Apocalypse and change

The Buff Club Burn 11:00PM, Mon 5th, Mon 12th, Mon 19th, Mon 26th, £5(3)

The Pavilion Jolson Show 07:30PM, 04 Oct—17 Oct, £14–£15

Life of the jazz singer

Theatre Royal

Johnny’s Big Gay Musical 07:30PM, 02 Oct, £10.50

Four star fun with the West Coast winner

King’s Theatre The Steamie 07:30PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, various prices

Curse of the Demeter

Glasgow domestic warhorse gears up for a revival

Fear-filled fun for ages 11 up.

The Stripper

Curve Foundation

07:30PM, 09 Oct—10 Oct, £10.50

Various times, 01 Oct—03 Oct Tickets £12 - £25.50

Love Indeed

New play from the writer of Rocky Horror

07:30PM, 03 Oct—24 Oct, £10–£10.50

New work from Brunton residents 07:30PM, 24 Oct, £10.50

Aerial Antony and Cleopatra

Othello

07:30PM, 28 Oct—29 Oct, £10.50

Chicago 07:30PM, 05 Oct—10 Oct

The sexy musical hit arrives again.

With a live String Quartet

The Silver Darlings

Antipode and Relative Danger

07:30PM, 06 Oct—10 Oct, contact venue for details

07:30PM, 31 Oct, £10.50

Bass and male dancers

the Tron

Much loved Scottish novel takes to the stage

The Silver Darlings

Manifesto

07:30PM, 06 Oct—10 Oct, contact venue for details

Political cabaret

The Grapes of Wrath

08:33PM, 11 Oct, £5

EFT Little Shop of Horrors

07:30PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, contact venue for details

07:30PM, 13 Oct—17 Oct, contact venue for details

Another classic novel hits the stage... social realism and dust bowl misery ahoy.

Another outing for this highly amusing yet increasingly over-performed musical horror

Entertaining Angels

Autumn Triple Bill

A widow finds out the truth about her husband, the vicar.

07:30PM, 08 Oct—31 Oct, not 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, Contact venue for prices–contact venue for details

07:30PM, 19 Oct—24 Oct, contact venue for details

Italian Girl

Autumn Triple Bill 07:30PM, 08 Oct—31 Oct, Contact venue for prices–contact venue for details

Transmission David Hoyle 07:00PM, 16 Oct, Free - no tickets required

Celebrating 25 years of Transmission, David Hoyle comes to Glasgow with his own unique blend of performance art. Set in Transmission”s fabulous new gallery at Trongate 103 come and see the future of art today.

Tron Theatre That Face 07:30PM, 06 Oct—24 Oct, not 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, £14.50

A Family on the Edge. From awardwinning writer

Bette/Cavette re-imagines one of the most memorable and candid US television meetings in history. And throws a few twists into the mix for good measure.

CCA Static Cinema 12:00PM, 01 Oct—10 Oct, not 4th, 5th, free

Collins Gallery Namad:A Persian Journey in Felt Various times, 10 Oct—31 Oct, not 11th, 18th, 25th, free

Goma sh[OUT] 10:00AM, 01 Oct—31 Oct, Free

GSA Dai Nippon 10:00AM, 01 Oct—10 Oct, not 4th, Free

Mary Mary ‘The Power Structures, Rituals & Sexuality of the European Shorthand Typists’ 12:00PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, Free

Torsten Lauschmann Various times, Multiple dates, free

Elixir of Love

Bright Black

Haunted Graffitti

08:00PM, 27 Oct—31 Oct, £14.50

12:00PM, 01 Oct—18 Oct, not 5th, 12th, free

07:30PM, 30 Oct

Opera

07:45PM, 21 Oct—24 Oct, £8.50

Part of Glasgay!

Puppetry genius

Recoat Gallery

Lost and Found Structures

12:00PM, 23 Oct—31 Oct, not 26th, free

Sorcha Dallas The Bedfords

11:00AM, 01 Oct—09 Oct, not 4th, 5th, Free

Charlie Hammond

11:00AM, 23 Oct—31 Oct, not 25th, 26th, free

Solo show.

Street Level Taking Liberties

Various times, Multiple dates, free–Free

The Flying Duck All The Young Nudes - Life Drawing

08:00PM, Tue 6th, Tue 13th, Tue 20th, Tue 27th, £4

The Slow Club

08:00PM, 18 Oct, Free

Modern Institute Alex Dordoy

Various times, 01 Oct—17 Oct, Free

Tramway Hilary Lloyd

12:00PM, 23 Oct—31 Oct, not 26th, free

Lara Favaretto

12:00PM, 23 Oct—31 Oct, not 26th, free

Transmission Bee Paintings

11:00AM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, Free

Edinburgh Art Royal Lyceum The Beggar’s Opera 07:30PM, 01 Oct—31 Oct, £14/£8–£9-£27

Vanishing Point Theatre Company drags John Gay’s 18th Century satirical ballad opera kicking and screaming into the 22nd Century

Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall 07:45PM, 06 Oct—10 Oct, from £9

Again, a book is adapted for the stage.

This time, it is madcap Spike Milligan’s turn.

Confessions of a Justified Sinner 07:45PM, 16 Oct—31 Oct, not 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th, from £12

Lyceum homegrown piece, adapted another Scottish classic.

Voodoo Rooms Vegas 08:30PM, 03 Oct, £5

Traverse The Beggars’ Opera 07:45PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct, various prices

Award winners take on the Gay classic

The Dark Things 08:00PM, 06 Oct—17 Oct, not 11th, 12th, from £8

Survivors of a crash deal with it.

Hanging by a Thread 07:30PM, 09 Oct—10 Oct, £16

Puppetry

Lunch time play and sandwich session

07:30PM, 27 Oct—31 Oct, contact venue for details

Curse of the Demeter

70 THE SKINNY October 2009

Vanishing Point Theatre Company drags John Gay’s 18th Century satirical ballad opera kicking and screaming into the 22nd Century

Group exhbition by five young london based artists

A Child Made of Love

Kes The play of the film of the book. Northern social realism.

07:30PM, Multiple dates, £14/£8–£9£27

Get modern with Balanchine, Forsythe and Pastor

Insane in the Brain

Hip-hop dance does Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Yet another film adaptation.

The Beggar’s Opera

07:45PM, 06 Oct—10 Oct, £8.50 (Conc £6.50)

07:30PM, Wed 21st, Sat 31st

07:30PM, 23 Oct—26 Oct, not 25th, contact venue for details

12:00PM, 10 Oct, free

Bette / Cavett

Get modern with Balanchine, Forsythe and Pastor

Opera: love and betrayal

Components of the Image

07:30PM, 23 Oct—24 Oct, £9

07:30PM, 01 Oct—03 Oct

Celebrity obsessed Wilde dance.

+44 141 Gallery

Regina

Dorian Gray

Edinburgh Theatre Brunton Theatre

Tramway

The Dough is Rising 12:30PM, Multiple dates, £8

07:30PM, Sat 3rd, Thu 22nd, Fri 23rd, Sat 24th, £10–£10.50

Fear-filled fun for ages 11 up.

28 Spottiswoode Artspace2let Salon Exhibition

Various times, 25 Oct—26 Oct, Free

Beyond Words We Love Lomo

Various times, 01 Oct—31 Oct, free

We Love Lomo is a showcase of images by local artists, all shot using Lomo cameras.

Bourne Fine Art Boyle Family: Works from the 1960s to 1970s

Various times, 09 Oct—31 Oct, not 11th, 18th, 25th, free

All of the key series’ embarked upon by the Boyle Family are represented.

Collective New Work Scotland

11:00AM, 09 Oct—31 Oct, not 12th, 19th, 26th, free

An annual exhibition of emerging Scottish artists. This year includes exhibits work by Katharina Kiebacher, Anna Tanner, Michael White, Rachel Adams and Jennifer Grant.

Corn Exchange Lilah Fowler

11:00AM, Multiple dates, Free

Dean Gallery A Model of Order: Concrete Poetry

10:00AM, 04 Oct—31 Oct, free

This Keiller Library display is part of a programme of events, organised in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library, which will take place in venues across Edinburgh from October 2009 to January 2010.

‘Painter’ and The Studio 10:00AM, 11 Oct—31 Oct, not 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, free

Printmakers Gillian Murray; Lesley Logue 10:00AM, 01 Oct—24 Oct, not 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, Free

Scotland’s Islands & Edges; Beautiful Trophies. New print works.

Fruitmarket Eva Hesse Studiowork Various times, 01 Oct—25 Oct, Free

Ingleby Gallery David Austen 10:00AM, 10 Oct—31 Oct, free

National Galleries The Discovery of Spain 10:00AM, 01 Oct—11 Oct, £8 (£6)

Modern Art Artist Rooms 10:00AM, 01 Oct—31 Oct, free

National Gallery The Discovery of Spain | British Artists and Collectors: Goya to Picasso 10:00AM, 01 Oct—11 Oct, free

A celebration of Spanish culture, as seen through the eyes of British artists and art collectors

RSA FARTHER AFIELD 10:00AM, 01 Oct—19 Oct, free

Works inspired by travel from the RSA collections

Research 09

Various times, 01 Oct—18 Oct, free

Works by RSA Members and Scholars

10:00AM, Mon 5th, Mon 12th, Mon 19th, Mon 26th, free

A whistle-stop tour of the activities of some of Scotland’s most prominent and up-and-coming artists.

Sierra Metro In the Absence of Wolves 10:00AM, 10 Oct, free

Stills Joachim Koester

11:00AM, 01 Oct—25 Oct, free

Joachim Koester uses strategies of montage, archiving and storytelling to illuminate and complicate historical events that form a collective mythical construction of the recent past.

Talbot Rice An Entangled Bank: Darwin and Edinburgh

10:00AM, 24 Oct—31 Oct, not 25th, 26th, free

An Entangled Bank will show a series of diverse but interrelated works byfive invited artists and will be accompanied by an extensive education andevents programme.

The Forest Café Habitat

10:00AM, 01 Oct—12 Oct, free

The Saint Gammel Butikken

12:00PM, 01 Oct—06 Oct, Free

Voodoo Rooms Laptop Lounge

08:00PM, 08 Oct, Free

PRIZES!

COMPETITIONS TRULY WE SPOIL YOU

WIN A YEAR OF FREE THURSDAY COMEDY AT THE STAND! Since opening in 1995, The Stand Comedy Club has built a tremendously loyal following of comedy connoisseurs from far and wide for its continued commitment to new Scottish comedy, as well as providing an intimate atmosphere for stand-up acts to shine. As a special treat, The Stand have teamed up with The Skinny to offer a pair of golden tickets to one lucky reader, who'll no doubt be laughing all the way to the bank; these golden tickets allow free entry, every single Thursday, for a full year at The Stand in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Not only that, but holders of this ticket will also be entitled to a £5 discount to Saturday nights, where you'll get to see five of Scotland's best comedians for a gen-up bargain price of £8.

To enter just answer this question :

Which Stand regular hosted a show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival entitled The Last Woman On Earth?

VISIT THESKINNY.CO.UK/COMPETITIONS BEFORE 28 OCTOBER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! Terms and Conditions: Please refer to theskinny.co.uk/terms.

WIN PREMIERE TICKETS TO THE AFRICA IN MOTION FILM FESTIVAL! Africa in Motion (AiM), the UK's largest African film festival, returns to Edinburgh's Filmhouse for its fourth edition, providing a platform to challenge, engage with and explore issues surrounding the African continent and its films. The festival includes a range of classic and contemporary films - long, short, fiction and documentary.

AiM 2009 will open with the UK premiere of My Secret Sky (Izulu Lami) on Thursday 22nd October. Hailed as South Africa's answer to Slumdog Millionaire and acclaimed for the brilliant acting of its main child characters, themselves from an impoverished background, My Secret Sky is a poignant tale of suffering and redemption.AiM has joined forces with The Skinny to offer you the chance to win one of 5 pairs of tickets to the opening night film and the South African themed after party in the Filmhouse cafe bar. Winners will also receive an AiM goodie bag.

To enter just answer this question :

South African director Gavin Hood oversaw another modern African classic, Tsotsi, in 2005. What was the name of the 'X-Men' movie he directed this year?

VISIT THESKINNY.CO.UK/COMPETITIONS BEFORE 14 OCTOBER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! Terms and Conditions: Please refer to theskinny.co.uk/terms.

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO SEE GROOVE ARMADA! As part of their UK tour, Groove Armada touch down at The Corn Exchange on Sunday 11 October in advance of their forthcoming album, Black Light.

Groove Armada, already renowned for their on-stage exuberance, up the ante in spectacular fashion as they plot a live show that promises to be bigger and better than ever. What's more, to celebrate the release of their new longplayer, the London duo have leaked new single Warsaw to whet appetites in the meantime. For more information, visit www.groovearmada.com. Support comes from Northamptonshire electro-pop trio Fenech-Soler, an outfit that once prompted The Guardian's Paul Lester to declare that he will "eat his hat" if they weren't the next big thing by 2009. The Skinny have three pairs of tickets to give away to this fantastic gig; all you have to do is answer the simple question below.

To enter just answer this question :

Warsaw is the capital city of which European country?

VISIT THESKINNY.CO.UK/COMPETITIONS BEFORE 6 OCTOBER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Please visit www.theskinny.co.uk/terms for terms and conditions. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.

OCTOBER 2009

THE SKINNY 71

nOvEmBER OCTOBER Until 4 Jan 2010

DOCTOR WhO ExhiBiTiOn

8 nov

AnDREA BOCElli 10–11 nov

EDDiE izzARD 11 nov

DEEP PuRPlE •

Kelvingrove art gallery & MUseUM

12 nov

3 oct

16 nov

ADAm hills: inflATABlE the garage 4 oct

PixiEs 11 oct

ThE PROgREssivE nATiOn TOuR

Will YOung •

3 dec

JAmEs mORRisOn

25 nov

5 dec

lilY AllEn

ThRillER livE

25 nov

10 dec–3 Jan

AliCE COOPER • 26 nov

17 oct

CluBlAnD livE

sPAnDAu BAllET

26 nov

30 oct

Barrowlands

miChAEl mCinTYRE 4–5 dec

Al muRRAY •

Jim JEffRiEs: hAmmERED

2 dec

ROY “ChuBBY” Brown •

14 oct

TOm JOnEs

DECEmBER

26 nov

JOOls hOllAnD •

DisnEY’s BEAuTY AnD ThE BEAsT • 11 dec

simPlE minDs

2010 6 Mar

13 dec

sTATus QuO

Elvis PREslEY in COnCERT

gARY numAn

14 dec

hMv PictUre hoUse

PlACEBO

26–28 Mar

28 nov

17 dec

28 aPr–8 May

hOmECOming livE

PET shOP BOYs

JimmY CARR • hAiRsPRAY • clyde aUditoriUM

TO mAkE YOuR BOOking

log onto: telePhone: 0844 395 4000 in Person: BoX office at the secc all events listed are at the secc or clyde aUditoriUM Unless otherwise stated. all ticKets sUBJect to availaBility. Please BooK early to avoid disaPPointMent.

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