The Skinny December 2010

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ISSUE 63 • DECEMBER 2010

Festive filth ❄ Biffy Clyro and Th e Charlatans ring in 2011 ❄

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Interviews:

Plus:

✦ MATTHEW DEAR ✦ THE ALBUMS & FILMS OF 2010 ✦ HELMET ✦ JON SPENCER ✦ 2011 HORRORSCOPES ✦ GARETH EDWARDS ✦ GIFT GUIDE ✦ CHRISTMAS CARDS ✦ HEATHER PEACE ✦ PAUL SMITH AND MUCH, MUCH MORE...

MUSIC | FILM | CLUBS | PERFORMANCE | DIGITAL | READING | COMEDY | ART | FASHION | LISTINGS

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CONTENTS

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4

THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010 Issue 63, December 2010 © Radge Media Ltd. 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 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.

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Editorial Editor

Rosamund West

Online & Music Editor

Dave Kerr

Film Editor

Jamie Dunn

DVD Editor

Keir Roper-Caldbeck

Heads Up Editor

Anna Docherty

Comedy Editor

Lizzie Cass-Maran

Reading Editor

Keir Hind

Digital Editor

Alex Cole

Art Editor

Andrew Cattanach

Clubs Editor

Luke Dubuis

Competitions Editor

Adeline Amar

Fashion Editor

Alexandra Fiddes

Listings/Cyberzap Editor

Anna Docherty

Performance Editor

Gareth K. Vile

Travel Editor

Paul 'Anyway' Mitchell

Production Production Manager

David Lemm

Designer

Lewis MacDonald

Chief Subeditor

Paul Mitchell

Sales/Accounts Head of Sales & Marketing

Lara Moloney

Advertising Sales Execs

Jan Webster

Book Keeper

Inga Ceicyte

Publisher

Sophie Kyle

6: Opinion: Marc DeSadé rages at the state of popular music in The Proposition and Santa applauds Santa in Hero Worship 8: Heads Up: 35 recommendations of places to share your festive joy

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

FEATURES 10: Biffy Clyro look forward to steering the capital's Hogmanay

street party and Kitty the Lion introduce themselves 11: Marooned on a desert island, Tim Burgess couldn't do without vampire rock 12: Clubbing highlights: We've planned your Auld Year's Night so you don't have to 15: Albums of the Year: Ten albums, several interviews, and one long chin-stroke 18: Crystal Baws Year Planner: Ominous tidings from the future brought to you by our very own seer, Mystic Mark 21: Alternatives to Panto: Sick of the genies, the sweeties, the

shouting, the relentless "He's behind yous"? Find your alternative entertainments here 23: Jon Spencer literally puts his Blues Explosion back in the oven 24: Matthew Dear's guide to avoiding an identity crisis 25: Glasgow-based metaphrog give us an insight into their latest

graphic novel, Louis: Night Salad 27: Helmet is Page Hamilton's party and he'll play if he wants to 28: Films of the Year: A poll of the Skinny Film writers has revealed that the winner of Best Picture 2010 is...

29: Gareth Edwards, director of eagerly-awaited new film Monsters tells us why it's being dubbed Brief Encounters of the Third Kind 30: Maxïmo Park frontman Paul Smith explains the need to go it

alone-ish, just for a bit 31: The New Victoria want to reopen the Odeon on Edinburgh's Clerk St, so we asked them how they plan to do it 32: Lip Service star Heather Peace talks about being the only lesbian in the lesbian drama

LIFESTYLE

+ MOJAVE 3 + GOLDHEART ASSEMBLY

THE DUKE SPIRIT

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34: Showcase: Christmas Cards, specially made, by some of our favourite artists 36: fashion has been taken over by a beautifully-shot gift guide

featuring (among other things) a desirable bike 39: The Mexican shitting diaries of Brian Cloughley, and a look at some snowboarding options in Travel 42: Food & Drink presents an easy guide to making a delicious roast dinner, as well as cocktail recipes, veggie options and some news

REVIEW 45: Music: brings in the mighty City Slang Records to review the Dozen as The Boss and Kanye draw their swords in review 53: Clubs: tells you where to take that office party after-hours 56: Film: The month's releases reviewed, as well as festive film events

and DVD reviews 58: Art: Reviews of some exhibitions that the Art Editor was well excited about 59: Reading: Looking for gift ideas? These should help Digital: Gadgets of the year! There's one specifically designed to annoy people 60: Performance: Venue of the month, and some non-pantomime theatrical delights 61: Comedy: Stu Who? in profile, and some comedy DVDs to slap on your Chrimbo wish-list 62: Competitions: Win! The albums of the year. Win! A pile of signed first edition books. Win! Tickets to Edinburgh's Hogmanay.

Win! Tickets to The Stand.

63: LIstings: What's on, and that 71: Starter for 11 With Johnny of Jenny and Johnny; and Crystal Baws

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December 2010

THE SKINNY

5

EDITORIAL IN DECEMBER it is of course traditional to compile lists in a systematic and democratic manner, collating the events and releases of the preceding year and forcing them to fight for supremacy. This year we have obliged throughout the magazine, bringing you our views on the best albums, the best (and worst) films, gadget highlights of the year, and a (not at all democratic) look back on art in Scotland in 2010.

We have unashamedly devoted quite a lot of this issue to the festive season, partially because it’s something to look forward to at the end of what has been a hard year for a lot of folk, but mainly because it gives us an excuse to give the madder elements of the magazine free reign. So, we have a double spread of Crystal Baws offering terrifying visions of your astrological year ahead, accompanied by some similarly horror-filled illustrations. We’ve persuaded some of our favourite artists, illustrators and photographers to make us Christmas cards, proudly displayed in the Showcase. And, as you may have noticed, we dressed up Biffy Clyro in reindeer jumpers on the front cover. Please note the striking resemblance between Simon Neil and a young Santa Claus.

THIS MONTH'S COVER This month’s cover image comes courtesy of long-time Skinny contributor Nick Cocozza.

Nick graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone in 2010 with a degree in illustration. He’s already

There’s also some more sensible Christmas content, like our beautifully staged gift guide in Fashion, an amateur cookbook for your roast dinner in Food, and a frankly astonishing array of somewhat festive prizes to be won in Competitions. We’re also very much looking forward to New Year’s, as demonstrated in our lead feature where we chat to Edinburgh Hogmanay headliners Biffy and Tim Burgess from The Charlatans tells us his desert island discs. We’ve compiled a guide to clubbing highlights on the night, so you won’t be short on plans then the time comes.

Of course, we’ve also managed to include some more normal content, exclusive interviews and previews and reviews and all that sort of thing. We’ve talked to Jon Spencer about resurrecting the Blues Explosion, caught up with Matthew Dear ahead of his Glasgow and Edinburgh appearances, and grilled Gareth Edwards about his hotly-anticipated new film, Monsters. Helmet’s Page Hamilton gives us some revealing chat, Maximo Park’s Paul Smith tells us about going solo and Lip Service’s Heather Peace discusses becoming a pin up. We also have an exclusive insight into travelling in Mexico while trialling diarrhoea medication. Which is, naturally, a delightful read.

That all adds up to a quite astonishing amount of content. Please accept this issue as our Christmas gift to you, and feel free to send us presents in return.

Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year.

[Rosamund West]

making quite a name for himself in the world of street art culture and illustration, and has had several group shows in the UK. His first solo show was held in Berlin in October.

Nick’s work encompasses a mixture of computer based, installation and hand drawn elements and often focus on the notion of urban territories. He says “ My work is inspired by my surroundings, drawing inspiration from people, conversations, textures and memories.”

SHOT OF THE MONTH

GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP SUPPORTING PULLED APART BY HORSES, ÒRÁN MOR, 23 NOV

BY EUAN ROBERTSON

6

THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

HERO WORSHIP

SANTA CLAUS Former department store Santa CHRIS DIAMOND shares his love for FATHER CHRISTMAS

HAVING SPENT the best part of ten years behind the beard it would be a natural assumption that I’m sick to death of Santa. But the truth is: I’m still fond of the scarlet old sod.

As an avid fan of all things Christmas I had no qualms over manning my post on the festive front line. For ten years I made a fat living out of being the main event, so for that reason alone I suppose I should still be in the grip of The Claus. But there’s more to it than that.

You see life in the raw in a grotto. Of course there’s the excitement, fun, laughter, singing, dancing, proud new parents, newborn babies (current record: 3 days old) and doting grandparents. But in amongst the warm comfy glow of twinkling lights and tinsel, you see lots of other things too. A year didn’t go by when I didn’t have to explain to at least one child that a missing parent wouldn’t be back for Christmas. Or talk with another who wouldn’t see another Christmas. Some were so disabled or ill you could only judge from their eyes, sparkling in the fairy lights, that they knew where they were.

My job – Santa’s job – was to make sure that from the moment they came into my magic kingdom they were happy, giggly… and safe.

So I don’t have much time for miserable gits who huff about commercialism or greed – or spout the lazy (and untrue) cliché about Coca Cola inventing

him. I will keep saying: Santa, you’re my hero.

CHRIS DIAMOND WAS SANTA AT FRASERS IN GLASGOW FOR THE BEST PART OF TEN YEARS, AND HIS TIME THERE WAS ROUNDED OFF WITH THE TV DOCUMENTARY I’M SANTA, GET ME OUT OF HERE!. HE’S NOW A RADIO PRODUCER FOR BBC SCOTLAND

SKINNY ON TOUR

The Skinny tourer is this month channelling the Cold War and hanging out nonchalantly in a foreign train station while dressed as a spy. But where is this attempt at espionage taking place?

If you think you know, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ competitions and have a punt.

Closing date: Friday 31 December

OPINION

REEL TALK STINKER(S) OF THE YEAR

THE PROPOSITION THE HOI POLLOI ARE RUINING MUSIC

HAVING DISCUSSED this matter at length over many a fine Cognac at a local gentleman’s club, it would indeed appear that the hoi polloi are destined to destroy popular music for the rest of us.

The very fact you’re reading this in print and it’s not flanked by a paparazzi shot of some stray-titted Essex tart means you are probably not one of them... and if you are one of them, put the paper down and get back to work: fag break was only 5 minutes.

Safe to say it’s best to keep things simple for the lower echelons of society and, in typical Soviet style, their music is safely retailed under the umbrella of “rock and pop”, with only a vague acknowledgement of deviations like “that mad heavy metal” or “techno techno” (generally for bullying/boy racing purposes).

Subtly nuanced genres like minimalist electro, darkwave and nu-skool, East Coast proto-jazz are entirely wasted on them. Likewise many of the clever social trends emerging from some of our more esoteric and mentally taxing genres, including Bobbin Bicycles, NHS specs and public protest, now merely elicit scorn from their poorly educated throng.

Joe Bloggs’ traditions epitomise his Philistine attitudes. Anyone unlucky enough to witness that maelstrom of mundanity, the riff-raff wedding, and find themselves in the function room of a bowling club, watching their second cousin drag his bottletanned new bride around the dancefloor to Angels

by Robbie Williams, knows exactly the kind of unwitting disdain these people have for music. As the sliced oven-pizza and chicken drumsticks gradually cool, cheese footballs accumulate around the perimeter of the room whilst a drunken Aunt chases toddlers with a balloon and a middle-aged male relative bellows a garbled approximation of Dancing Queen, a half-empty pint in each outstretched hand, his belly peeking nosily through the straining buttons of the hired shirt. All the while the classics keep on coming. Hi Ho Silver Lining. Things Can Only Get Better. Dancing In The Moonlight...

And somewhere on Mount Olympus Apollo, God of Music sobs gently.

Such a noble art form trampled underneath trainers, steel-toed boots and strappy heels.

Surely this is not why we spent thousands of years

SCOPOPHILIA ART IN 2010 HOW CAN you tell it’s been a good year for art in Scotland? A bit of retrospect helps. But there’s no time for that kind of rubbish in the fast-paced world of media. We’ve to say what’s good long before it’s even happened. Sculptures are declared masterpieces as they lie half-baked on cruddy studio floors; video works are dismissed as eccentric claptrap before they even reach the editing stage.

It’s our responsibility at The Skinny to get it right, and not embarrass ourselves by championing some horrific nonsense we liked the sound of when drunk. We have high standards here, and all our decisions are sober reflections on a rigorous aesthetic. Honest.

Thumbs up: Glasgow International Festival, with all its tiny galleries breaking the surface like

ILLUSTRATION: JACK HUDSON

Never shy to state his opinion, controversybaiter Marc DeSadé attempts to incite class warfare over the Christmas singles chart

mastering the intricacies of harmonics: so a couple of munters called Jodaan and Gari whose eyes met across a tepid mug of coffee in a call centre in Motherwell can call bloody Dakota by Stereophonics “their song” and cling listlessly to each other’s love handles, waddling back and forth in a drunken grapple every Friday night?

As anyone who has ever bought an oversized Arran sweater from American Apparel knows, this is sacrilege. The lower ranks will never enjoy the pride of sneering one’s way to victory in a heated Thurston Moore discography reappraisal. Nor will they know the glory of eBay victory in the race for a copy of German free jazz pioneers The Peter Brotzmann Sextet’s classic 1969 album Nipple.

syphilitic sores; Kevin McPhee and his pareddown wall drawings, sympathetic to the busy context of the David Dale Gallery; the baroque excess of Michael White and Lila de Magalhaes at SWG3; Martin Creed’s ridiculous ballet at the Traverse Theatre; Rubble Stir at the Glue Factory was more than special; Neil Clements at SWG3 was the most austere fun I’ve ever had; Generator Projects’ new committee made me gag with Be the Hammer or the Anvil; Kate V Robertson proved excellent at Market Gallery and Rubble Stir; and ECA Degree Show was on the whole pretty tasty.

Guff: DCA Degree Show was uneventful; GSA Degree Show (what’s happened?); Martin Creed’s Fruitmarket exhibition was poorly displayed; Robert Barry never reached expectations at the Common Guild; and Edinburgh Art Festival was a somewhat stuffy affair.

And that is our – yes, very arbitrary – summation of what happened in Scottish art in 2010. So now you know. [Andrew Cattanach]

I mean, for goodness’ sake, look at the plebeian musical “greats”. Theirs is an abysmal legacy.

Those prize oafs Oasis have gradually drawled the English language into submission and, thanks to Johnny Rotten’s admission that the Sex Pistols were only in it for the money, it even took privateschool graduate Joe Strummer to bail out the credibility of punk music. How ironic.

And that’s another thing. Irony. Man oh man do they not get irony. I mean, we’re talking about a populace that actually embraces heavy metal at face value! The knowing wink behind handlebar moustaches and alcoholism is totally lost on them. It’s staggering to think that, for many, denim jackets are actual, non-satirical modes of everyday dress and boiler suits are even used in manual labour. Truth be told, across the decades the only real benefit of their preoccupation with pop music has been in getting the proletariat back into camouflage trousers to remind them they should really be in the army, or suits to get them ready for court.

Clearly we have to share a world with these people – for the time being anyhow – but why do we also have to suffer under their yoke? It’s bad enough that their votes count the same, but why must they decide what the country’s popular music is too? We all know who it is buying all that shite that comes out around Christmas. Tell me the last time you saw a Shane Ritchie single in a Bang and Olufsen stereo? Exactly. Never. That single went home in a carrier bag next to a 4-pack of Tennents’ Super and some Findus Crispy Pancakes... Just as it will again this year unless something is done soon.[Marc DeSadé] MARC DESADÉ WILL BE SUPPORTING WAGNER THIS CHRISTMAS

THE STINKER of the year is hard to spot.

It isn’t to be found on the side of doubledecker buses or amid the rancid stench of hot dogs in your friendly faceless multiplex. It has surreptitiously passed itself off as high art despite a plotline that’s an idiot’s salad of invulnerable Aryan henchmen, familial revenge and Nazism.

Throw in some tawdry sex scenes that even Demi Moore circa 1995 would baulk at and you’ve got some exploitation of the highest order. The reason this trash is passing unquestioned by critics? It’s in foreign. What makes this queasy tissue of pulpy clichés even worse is that there were three of them released in 2010. The name of this heinous trio: the Millennium Trilogy – although I prefer the more accurate The Girl Who Got Raped, Beaten and Tortured series.

For those of you uninitiated in this seedy triumvirate, you’ve obviously not passed through an airport WH Smith in the last twelve months, where the bestselling source novels are currently doubling as wallpaper. Here’s the CliffsNotes: Lisbeth Salander, a punky twenty-something computer hacker, along with Mikael Blomkist, a podgy forty-something magazine hack and apparently the only man in Sweden who isn’t a misogynist, investigate some sordid Scandinavian goings-on using only the power of a MacBook Pro and their unconvincing sexual tension.

And here’s why I hate these movies: they’re for people who like the idea of watching Swedish films but find Bergman’s intensity oppressive and Roy Andersson’s Brechtian ghost-actors a bit weird. The Millennium Trilogy gives the middlebrow middle class exactly what they desire: films that combine the sleazy sexploits of Hollywood with the complexities of a particularly asinine Taggart episode. But, best of all, this series has dinner party cachet. In short, it’s cinema for people who hate cinema.[Jamie Dunn]

BEATS N’ PIECES CLUBBING FUTURES WITH THIS issue, I begin my position as Clubs editor of The Skinny. As a true lover of club music and nightlife, I’m delighted at the opportunity to join this fantastic publication and share with you what I think Scotland’s best clubs have to offer.

By way of a formal introduction, I’d like to share my mission statement with you: I aim to maintain the high quality coverage of club nights happening in and around Scotland as previous editor Chris did so well. However, I anticipate changing the section a little bit, moving away from the standard preview/review format. As an avid reader of the Skinny I feel the Clubs section needs more features showcasing the wealth of fantastic artists, labels and club nights operating in Scotland. You’ll be seeing this soon, along with a couple of plans that I won’t let out of the hat just yet...

This month – as you would expect of the festive season – is jam-packed with heavy hitters of the club scene, with everyone from Dave Clarke to Kissy Sell Out gracing the decks. We’ve tried to cover as many events for the month as is humanly possible, so that deciding what to do during the holiday is no longer that painful and exasperating experience you dread.

I would love to hear your suggestions, insights and opinions of the Clubs section so feel free to contact me (luke@theskinny.co.uk). I hope you all enjoy the wide range of exciting things lined up this December and look forward to writing for you all in the months to come.[Luke Dubuis]

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY

7

Tue 30 Nov

Wed 1 Dec

THU 2 Dec

Major new retrospective Revealing The Invisible shows many unseen works from video art pioneers Elsa Stansfield and Madelon Hooykaas, who attempted to redefine how art was presented in a multimedia world.

Take note. CCA, Glasgow, until 29 Jan, Free. Part of a double-hander exhibition with Street Level Photoworks

Labelmate of Hudson Mohawke, and one of the wunderkinds of Glasgow's LuckyMe fold, Rustie brings his kit bag of scattershot beats and Gameboyesque bleeps to the Arches, with the kind of electronic that nicks from the past but sounds like The Future.

Arches, Glasgow, 7pm, £10

Gear yourself up for a weekend of indulgence as Foodies Festival hits Edinburgh for a celebration of the best seasonal food and drink. There will be Michelin-starred chefs on hand offering advice, plus the chance to shop for ingredients, feast on festive-themed dishes, and chin some mulled wine. Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, 3-5 Dec, £10 (three-day, all-access ticket)

HEADS UP It's christmas month and everyone's getting far,far too excited...time for lemmy, idlewild, human league and much more besides

Tue 7 Dec

Wed 8 Dec

Taking in four decades of drugs, hard rocking, and the mentoring of Sid Vicious, Lemmy explores the life and career of Motorhead's head lunatic, with young directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski gaining a rare peek at the man behind the moustache. Dave Grohl, Slash and Metallica all pop up to lay praise. The Cameo, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, £7 (£5.50)

New York electronic producer and DJ Drop The Lime takes over the decks at Axis, bringing some house-influenced beats to the table. And, in case you were in any doubt, this is the man that introduced your earlugs to the tune Sex Sax over the summer. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 11pm, £5

COMPILED BY: ANNA DOCHERTY

Mon 13 Dec

Tue 14 Dec

The Pogues play their annual Christmas 'Farewell Tour' for what will be the sixth year running. We're starting to think this is getting a bit insincere... O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm, £30

We can find space in any month for a bit of 80s synth pop and Human League ably provide us with our December fix. There's even a new album on the way, since Wall Of Sound have signed them up for a multialbum deal. Sweet Christmas miracle. HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 7pm, £25

mon 20 dec

tue 21 dec

wed 22 dec

thu 23 dec

While most galleries shut up shop completely during the Christmas period, those thoughtful folks over at Collective are leaving a little fairy-lit surprise behind with their annual Christmas window display, a trinket-laden wonderland created by Laura White. Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, until 6 Jan, Free

New DIY Scottish label Olive Grove Records hold their Christmas party down at the 13th Note, with the label's first EP-releasers, Randolph's Leap, joining Esperi and RM Hubbert for a good old festive knees up. If there are no mince pies, we're outta there. 13th Note, Glasgow, 7pm, £tbc

We're Christmas-partying again, this time over at Sneaky Pete's for their 50s Greaseball Xmas bash, with Brylcreemed special guest DJ BLK MGK. The 5am license should make this one fun (read: messy). Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 11pm, Free

Laura White: Knuckle Paunch 2008

Randolph's Leap

The kings and queens of twee folk, Aberfeldy, are back doing what they do best: making happy little ditties about love 'n' stuff. ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £10. They also play Edinburgh's Liquid Room the following night

wed 15 dec

Back from their brief hiatus (er, that lasted all of two minutes), Idlewild are set to play a handful of special UK dates, where they'll perform 100 Broken Windows in its entirety, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its release. The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 7pm, £16. Also playing Glasgow's Òran Mór on 31 Dec

tue 28 dec

wed 29 dec

thu 30 dec

Fri 31 dec

With some really rather beautiful melodies that sit softly cushioned somewhere between noisy rock and heartfelt folk, My Latest Novel have got it pegged.

King Tut's, Glasgow, 8pm, £7.50

After a break of over 25 years, Scars bring their racket to HMV Picture House for what promises to be a rather special gig back on home turf. They'll be joined

by TV21, Malcolm Ross, and a selection of secret guests. HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 7pm, £20

Doing their best to shake off the post-Christmas blues, The Stand have got a double bill special with Susan Morrison performing Whores & Sores, alongside Vladimir McTavish’s Whisky: An Idiot’s Guide. The Stand, Edinburgh, 5pm, £7 (£5)

From Idlewild at Òran Mór to the mighty Biffy at Edinburgh Castle, by way of myriad club nights and drunken revels, there's a lot of Hogmanay bashes to pick between. Flick to our highlights feature on p12 for the best of the bunch (and, yes, we did just cop out of making a top pick)

Vladimir McTavish

8

THE SKINNY December 2010

Sat 4 Dec

Sun 5 Dec

Tucked beneath street level is The Club (formerly Club 69), the intimate surrounds where CODE stage their quarterly underground techno bash. DJ and producer Tommy Four Seven is December's special guest, taking the tech-house genre to some mean and moody places. The Club, Paisley, 11pm, £10

Making the kind of minimal techno that actually makes us want to stay up all night, we reckon Matthew Dear might have some kind of sinister deal going with the gods of darkness. Or maybe we've just got an overactive imagination. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 7pm, £10

Mon 6 Dec Frightened Rabbit. Two words that never fail to get us excited. The Scottish-brogued local lads play two nights at Glasgow Barrowland, with support from Sky Larkin and Admiral Fallow, before heading off for a three-night stint at Butlins in Somerset. No, really.

Suitable for all the family, apparently. Well, apart from that song about "fucking someone you don't know to keep warm". Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm, £13. Also playing 3 Dec Photo: Markus Thorsen

FRI 3 Dec The GFT are spreading the Christmas cheer early with a late night screening of Gremlins, starring the cutest little mogwai of them all, Gizmo. Alas, you know the score (or at least any self-respecting kid of the 80s does): more critters are unleashed, havoc ensues, and Santa suffocates up a chimney. GFT, Glasgow, 11pm, £6 (£4.50)

Tommy Four Seven

fri 10 dec

sat 11 dec

Sun 12 Dec

We're rather enjoying the CCA's Dark Visions film season. Last month we had dead bodies and real-life morgues, and this month it's all tough guys and million dollar heists, in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 crime noir classic The Killing. CCA, Glasgow, 7pm, £3 (£2)

One of the more unique club nights on the circuit, Balkanarama, rocks up for two December outings, with its (un)usual Balkan flair, full of belly dancing, live visuals, instrumental orgies, and free plum brandy. Guests include the Munich-based Tuna Trio, and Hungarian virtuoso violiners, the Jani Hang Band. Studio 24, Edinburgh, 10.30pm, £7 (£9 after 11pm). Also at Glasgow Stereo 11 Dec

In a secret location somewhere in Edinburgh, the lovely ladies behind Queen of Tarts are hosting a White Christmas-themed pop-up tea shop. They've given us a sneaky peek at the menu and it's an indulgent affair of white choc truffles, creamy rice pudding, coconut and lime granita, and mini feta tartlettes. Dribble. Booking info on Facebook (under Queen of Tarts, Edinburgh)

Plucking gems from their rather impressive musical portfolio, Teenage Fanclub are set to work their live magic on Glasgow. Cue trademark hook-filled harmonising, summery aesthetics, and the whiff of jangly pop perfection. Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm, £18.50

thu 16 dec

fri 17 dec

sat 18 dec

sun 19 dec

Local music blogger extraordinaire, Song, By Toad, calls in some musical chums for a special Christmas party, with electric sets from Jesus H. Foxx, Inspector Tapehead and Meursault, and an acoustic stage manned by Yusuf Azak, Rob St. John, and the Savings and Loan. Queen Charlotte Rooms, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7

Tramway host a mini celebration of all the fresh-faced artists, musicians, and performers who're exciting them at this very moment. Amongst them are experimental theatre collective Junction 25, who'll be performing Gender Divide on the night, alongside a pic'n'mix array of street dance, open mic, and creative workshops. Tramway, Glasgow, 6pm, Free (except Gender Divide, £4.50)

Masters of the slow-building epic, We Were Promised Jetpacks are all about the rolling drums, big guitars, and muthafuckin' massive finales. Suffice to say we like their style. QMU, Glasgow, 7pm, £10

Even if we have played the bejesus out of Belle & Sebastian's new album, Write About Love, we'll undoubtedly fall in love with it all a new when they stage their three-night Barrowland takeover. Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm, £25. Also playing 20 & 21 Dec

fri 24 dec

sat 25 dec

sun 26 dec

mon 27 dec

The GFT dig out It's A Wonderful Life for its annual festive airing. And it's screening six times on Christmas eve so you might as well just give in to the Christmas cheer now. 'Tis the season... GFT, Glasgow, various times, £6.90 (£5.20)

It's Christmas day. There is nothing else happening on the 25th of December other than Christmas.

Fact. So do as you will: eat, drink, and be merry. And have a suitably lovely one, from all at The Skinny!

We've not even gotten round to eating the Curly Wurly from our selection box and Karnival are already pulling out all the stops for a post-Christmas Boxing Day special, hosting a one-off Soma Records night with VIP guests in the shape of Slam and Silicone Soul. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, 11pm, £12

Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander caught our attention with his viral shorts about a team of elite hunters who captured wild Santa Clauses and domesticated them for use in shopping malls. In Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale he transforms the jolly fat man into an ancient demon who once terrorised the indigenous people of Lapland. GFT, Glasgow, 2.15pm & 6.30pm, £6.90 (£5.20)

Photo: Mariano from Magma 75

Photo: Luke Watson

Jesus H. Foxx

Photo: Markus Thorsen

Photo: Crimsonglow

thu 9 dec

Sat 1 Jan

Sun 2 Jan

Mon 3 Jan

Show your hangover who's boss by taking a dive into the Firth of Forth. The rules of The Loony Dook are: you can go in fancy dress, or naked, but strictly no wetsuits. Where's the bar... South Queensferry, Edinburgh, 2.30pm, £6 (donation to RNLI)

If you can handle it, Inside Out bring in the new year for a second time at their Girls Vs Boys alternative Hogmanay. In one room Lisa Lashes battles on the decks with Kutski, and in the other Claudia Cazacu goes head-to-head with Ali Wilson. The Arches, Glasgow, 10pm, £tbc

The Fruitmarket open after their festive break and we don't need much more of an excuse than that to re-visit their current exhibition, Childish Things, a meditation on what curator David Hopkins terms the 'dark poetics' of childhood, with a handful of different artists using toys and early childhood as their theme.

Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until 23 Jan, Free

Claudia Cazacu

Jeff Koons, Bear and Policeman, 1988

December 2010

THE SKINNY

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© Jeff Koons

Slam

Biffy Clyro’s Ben Johnston on why playing in front of 100,000 odd people is a bit more exciting than staying at home. Just a bit, mind interview: Paul Mitchell

James Johnston, Ben Johnston and Simon Neil

It’s one of the world’s top festivals, and this year’s Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations place Biffy Clyro right at the epicentre. Not that this fact fazes the distinctly unflappable Ayrshire trio, who can now justifiably count themselves among the biggest acts around. Drummer Ben Johnston tries to put it in context: “Hogmanay is a big deal for Scottish people. I think we [members of the band] celebrate and anticipate the coming of the new year as much as anybody. But I also think it can be a bit of a let down. We can build it up in our heads quite a lot, then nothing much happens and that’s been the case a few years for me and my friends. So it will be nice to do something different, be part of an event and get out and about, rather than just hanging around in someone’s house waiting for the bells.”

So there we have it. Playing in front of half a million people is ‘different to hanging around in someone’s house waiting for the bells’. But after calling it a serious honour to be asked, Johnston reveals that he, guitarist Simon Neil and twin brother/bassist James have a rather straightforward, but likely effective strategy for the evening. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a crazy scene so we’re just going to stick to the guitar, bass and drums, and not take the orchestra [which has appeared on their recent work]. Keep it simple, keep it lively and fast. I believe we’re going to do two sets, one before the bells and one after, so we’re just going to rock it I think.” What if the weather is not up to scratch, is that going to bother you?

“Ach no, we’re Scottish, we’re used to it.” Fair point.

Biffy’s years of steadily amassing a fiercely loyal

10 THE SKINNY December 2010

❝

It will be nice to do something different, be part of an event and get out and about, rather than just hanging around in someone’s house waiting for the bells Ben Johnston

❞ following before hitting the big time is a tale oft-told.

Since signing to Warner in 2006 they’ve seen singles such as Mountains and That Golden Rule trouble the upper echelons of the charts, whilst latest album, Only Revolutions was nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize.

When asked how this increase in exposure has affected the band, the answer is predictably grounded.

“I don’t think it’s affected us greatly, it just means we’ve been dead busy. We’ve been flying around the world, playing lots of really cool places, but we haven’t changed as people and we’ve still been doing tours in vans around small venues in America and the rest of the world. Not being in Britain so much means we haven’t really had time to stop and realise the level of success we’ve had here, which is maybe a good thing. It keeps your feet on the ground.”

Biffy’s output has always been a mix of straight up angular rock fused with, well, whatever the hell they felt like and Johnston can’t really pinpoint the precise reason for their current mainstream appeal. He does give serious consideration to the notion that this success might have a direct impact on the nature of their future musical output (“Maybe subconsciously”) but then decisively rules it out. “We never try and second guess the fans because I think that would be a huge mistake and there’s no outside influence from the record companies.” Really? “They might make suggestions but we don’t listen to them. The thing is, we got signed after three albums and already had a good fan base. We had proven we knew what we were doing so I think the label knew they weren’t going to be able to walk all over us. Working with the label has just really been about getting more exposure and having the opportunity to play cool places.”

Those cool places and increased exposure saw them collaborating with legendary Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age rocker Josh Homme on one track, Bubbles, from Only Revolutions, a sure sign they’d hit the big leagues, given that it turns out he asked them.

“That was a dream come true, he’s a hero of ours, an icon of our time. We toured with Queens a couple of times and got to know Josh pretty well. It’s cool to say that he’s played on it. He just offered and we didn’t really believe him at first. We were in L.A. when we called him up and he said ‘Where are you, I’ll come find you?’ So he just came and did it. He hadn’t heard the track so we played it for him, had a couple of tequilas and then went for it.” So anyone else lined up for future collaborations? “No, we hadn’t really lined Josh up and it just happened. It’s not like we’re a hip-hop band featuring lots of different people and we don’t like to milk the fact that we’re friends with certain people. It’s a bit cheesy.”

Johnston admits that playing the Hogmanay gig, whilst exciting, holds no particular fears for the battlehardened veterans, who hope to begin work on a new album early next year. “We’ve played in town squares for various festivals; to be honest, we’ve played all kinds of gigs in our career, I think cruise ships are the only ones we haven’t done.”

Unsurprisingly, when asked which of these has been most memorable, Johnston chooses an anecdote about one that didn’t go so well. “It was in Manchester, a double venue with a jazz show upstairs while we were downstairs; there was a strict dress code to get in because of that jazz gig. So, when we turned up, we weren’t actually allowed in the front door. We had to get in via the fire exit but it also meant none of our fans were allowed in so there were about eight people there, who for whatever reason, happened to have worn shoes. So, we weren’t dressed properly to get into our own gig, and then we got asked to keep the noise down so that we didn’t disturb the jazz crowd. Turns out Kerrang! magazine had sent someone down and it was the first gig where we ever got reviewed. Oh well.”

Anna Meldrum, lead singer from Hog The Stage winners Kitty the Lion, introduces the band

Photo: Markus Thorsen

MUSIC

Only (New Year’s) Hello Resolutions Kitty

Kitty the Lion began as me, Anna, playing small solo gigs around Glasgow. Last year, I recruited a band of guys who I had met through gigging and such like: Nick Roan on drums, Joe Rattray on lovely upright bass, Sorren Maclean on guitar and Callum Wiseman on mandolin. We play chirpy folk-pop. Our influences are of course varied but I have a particular penchant for female vocalists such as Regina Spektor, and people who sing in their own accents like Australian Ben Lee. Local acts have also been a big inspiration to me, in particular the likes of Frightened Rabbit. I dislike singers who whine about their troubles but are clearly from a nice affluent family in the suburbs, so have always tried to steer clear of whiny, worthy kind of songwriting and keep our songs upbeat and dance-able.

In the last year we’ve had the pleasure of playing at some amazing events, GoNorth and T in the Park being amongst the highlights. We’ve also collaborated with Scottish fashion designer Iona Crawford, who I originally met whilst modelling (although I use the word ‘modelling’ very loosely!) a dress she made out of discarded tents for a T in the Park campaign. She then made a beautiful dress for me to wear just in time for our single launch and first ever telly appearance in October.

In the last year we’ve also had many vehicular mishaps including breaking down at a gorge in minus temperatures and a near death experience of having to leap from a burning van somewhere on the A9.

Our reaction when they announced us as the winners of Hog the Stage was to burst out laughing and stare at each other incredulously. We are thrilled to be playing on Hogmanay, although I will no doubt be ridiculously nervous. Virtually every time before I go onstage I hate myself for agreeing to play the stupid nerve-wracking gig, but it all feels worth it when people enjoy the tunes, and hopefully the punters will on Hogmanay. Plus, the last time I went to the street party in Edinburgh I smashed up my dad’s car so this year can only be an improvement on that!

Biffy Clyro play Concert in the Gardens, Edinburgh on 31 Dec

Kitty the Lion play the Waverley Stage, Edinburgh Street Party, 31 Dec

www.edinburghshogmanay.org

www.edinburghshogmanay.org

MUSIC

TELLIN’ STORIES

As THE CHARLATANS dust down their arsenal of baggy anthems for Edinburgh's Hogmanay ho-down, frontman TIM BURGESS gives us his desert island discs

❝

Ian Curtis died for all our sins, so I have to have Joy Division in there representing vampire rock at its purest TIM BURGESS

❞

2. Crass – Penis Envy (1981) My love for Crass began with Bloody Revolutions and Feeding of the 5000 but it was the women of the group that changed my life (oh, and one boy called Penny!); Eve Libertine, Joy De Vivre and Gee Vaucher wrote and sang the songs on this album, teaching a young boy from Salford an early lesson about strong, raw, intelligent women.

3. The Beach Boys – Today!

(1965) I absolutely love the Beach Boys but I choose this as a desert island disc for side two of the vinyl, Kiss Me Baby, She Knows Me Too Well, Please Let Me Wonder and my personal favourite (Dennis Wilson sung) In The Back Of My Mind. It’s absolute genius, with a melancholic beauty.

4. The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) I love this recording and to be honest it is my favourite Beatles record. I love the concept. But it’s the songs that kill ya! Lovely Rita, Getting Better, She’s Leaving Home – it’s McCartney’s masterpiece. Plus Being For the Benefit Of Mr Kite and A Day In The Life from John, just to flesh it out – phew!

5. Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch – Soundtrack From Twin Peaks (1990) The series changed my life, or at least changed the way I looked at life. The music was slow and doomy – 50s diner, sinister finger snaps and shimmering synth. Check out the beautiful title track Twin Peaks Theme and the really sexy Audrey’s Dance.

6. Joy Division – Closer (1980) Is it sad to have 2 records made by the same people? This along with Power, Corruption & Lies just goes to show what a huge fan I am of Morris/

Sumner/Hook…Ian Curtis died for all our sins, so I have to have Joy Division in there representing vampire rock at its purest. You can’t lie about desert island discs, because you’re gonna be fucking stranded – right?

7. Psychic TV – Force The Hand of Chance (1982) I love Genesis P-Orridge and had to include one of his many genius records (also check out Throbbing Gristle’s D.o.A, or 20 Jazz Funk Greats). I chose this one because of the reccurring theme in Just Drifting (For Caresse), the song touches me more than any other Genesis P love songs. Also tracks like Ov Power, Thee Full Pack and Message From The Temple are bangers – uplifting, powerful sonic genius. Add to that the song Guiltless with vocals by Marc Almond (who I also love) and you have a great alternative 8os portrait of debauched life in art.

8. Philip Glass – Solo Piano (1989) I absolutely love this album; it’s really peaceful and would remind me to look for passing ships in the night. Quiet or loud, it doesn’t matter – I could dance to Metamorphosis 1 through to 5 (it’s just too good not too).

Pretty sure it would be minimalist dancing, mind you.

9. Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay (1982) Couldn’t make my mind up between this album and the other two Dexys records but I went with this one because of the tracks Until I Believe In My Soul and the incredible Plan B. Also, to be honest, I am a huge fan of Come On Eileen.

10. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966) Mercurial perfection, jumping from Temporary Like Achilles to Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 through to 4th Time Around, I Want You and Just Like a Woman. This record gave me what I needed to understand and explore America. Basically, Dylan was punk; I have always identified with him. I love his polka dot shirt and hair during this era – the beautiful Bob Dylan.

PHOTO: TOM SHEEHAN

1. New Order – Power, Corruption & Lies (1983) From the very first time I heard John Peel play Your Silent Face I was in love. Blue Monday was the hit but never made the album (appeared on the US version of the CD) but it was Your Silent Face, Age of Consent and Leave Me Alone that took me from punk rock to electronic art rock/disco. This record never left my turntable for 6 months, shaped my summer of ‘83 and made me who I am today.

THE CHARLATANS PLAY THE MAIN STAGE AT EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY STREET PARTY ON 31 DEC WWW.THECHARLATANS.NET

DECEMBER 2010

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CLUBS

Hogmanay 2010: A Clubbing Planner

It's nearly here... The most anticipated night of the year, and the one most likely to end in crushing disappointment as the sheer pressure to have a good time overwhelms you, you drink all the booze by eleven and end up passed out on the floor by the time the bells toll. Luckily for you, we're here to help see that doesn't happen, by providing a short guide to the best nights at which to see in 2011 words: Luke Dubuis & Calum Sweeney illustration: Catriona Hood

Edinburgh:

Karnival & Cabaret Voltaire present TooManyDJs’ Hogmanay Bash Karnival and Cabaret Voltaire team up to offer one of the biggest showcases of Edinburgh talent this year: ToomanyDJs. No less than 25 of Edinburgh’s finest DJs descend upon Cabaret Voltaire to offer a truly eclectic mix of dance music.

Residents from the likes of Fuse, Axis, Bedbug, Pulse and The Sugarbeat Club to name but a few shall be banging out some of the freshest cuts of techno/electro/dubstep and house that Edinburgh can provide.

Cabaret Voltaire Doors: 10pm-5am Tickets £15 + bf

Musika Hogmanay: Booka Shade - Live at The Picture House For anybody attending the festivities in Princes Street Gardens there can only be one place to go for the afterparty: Musika at the HMV Picture House. Expect some of the biggest names in tech house and techno to be taking to the stage to celebrate the New Year: Booka Shade, Tim Green and Gary Beck. This is sure to be a busy night, as German tech house legends Booka Shade will be performing a full live show that has been stunning crowds all over Europe.

HMV Picture House Doors: 10pm-5am Tickets: £28.50 / £33.50

Sneaky Pete’s presents: Sneaky All Stars Edinburgh’s most intimate club and without a doubt my favourite venue in the capital will be hosting a night rammed with residents who have been gracing the decks over the past year. Expect to hear a mix of indie, new wave, italo, electro, techno, and dubstep from Sicknote and This is Music residents. If you like your clubs dark, sweaty

12 THE SKINNY December 2010

and electric then Sneaky Pete’s is without a doubt the place to spend your New Year’s Eve. sneaky pete's Doors: 10pm – 5am Tickets: £5

Departure Lounge Hogmanay Special If you’re looking to avoid the huge crowds and want to experience something truly different then Departure Lounge at the Caves will tick every box imaginable. With a stonking 42 acts ranging from a live Afro-Latin orchestra, brass band, dancers, samba drumming troupe, DJs and a hip hop PA, there’s sure to be something for everyone looking for an eventful night. Be sure to check out Boom Monk Ben in the Bassline Cave for a twisted journey through all things bass. the caves Doors: 10pm – 5am Tickets: £25 + BF

Substance NYE: Surgeon + Neil Landstrumm Having recently been dubbed ‘arguably the finest techno DJ in the world’ by Fact magazine and having consistently been at the forefront of the scene since 1995, Surgeon is without a doubt one of the finest ambassadors of techno. Expect a truly jaw dropping set from the man who blurs the lines between DJ and live performer. As if that wasn’t enough, native Scot and techno monster Neil Lindstrumm shall be gracing the decks with his ever-evolving musical style that explores new avenues in all things bass. the grv Doors: 10pm – 5am Tickets: £17.50 / £20

Glasgow:

Arches New Year’s Eve: Pendulum (DJ set), Kissy Sell Out and more It comes as little surprise that one of Scotland’s most popular venues should be hosting one of

the biggest lineups in the country. Drum ‘n’ bass leviathans Pendulum will be playing a special set alongside MC Verse. Radio One DJ extraordinaire Kissy Sell Out will be playing some of the best in rave, electro and dubstep. Be sure to catch up and coming Scottish act Clouds who recently released an EP with Fake Blood’s label Blood Music and have a forthcoming release with Tiga’s Turbo Recordings. the arches Doors: 10pm – 4am Tickets: £22.50

Slabs and Stay Plastic NYE Party 2010 New Year’s Eve sees La Cheetah club host a double size celebration over two floors with Slabs of the Tabernacle and Stay Plastic. Both nights have decided to bring back their favourite acts from previous parties to offer a real night to remember. Slabs of the Tabernacle host the downstairs with David Vunk (head honcho of Moustache Records) playing a rapid mix of house, disco and italo. Stay Plastic keep the upstairs on lockdown with the help of Photonz, a Lisbon duo who have been making waves with a fantastic release on Dark and Lovely and appearing on the Red Bull stage at Sonar.

LA CHEETAH CLUB Doors: 10pm- 4am Tickets: £20

Cadenza records New Year’s Eve showcase at the Templeton Carpet Factory Most people look for something a little less ordinary for their New Year celebrations. On that count Tic Tac Toe certainly obliges. The growing techno party takes Hogmanay revellers to the unique and architecturally stunning surroundings of the Templeton Carpet Factory, making a statement with the location alone. The line-up for the night is equally impressive, featuring the minimal and

deep house grooves of Cadenza Records pairing Mendo and Lee Van Dowski. If that doesn’t have you enthusiastic enough, the likes of Supermax’s Billy Woods and Affi Koman of Sunday Circus will join residents to ensure the scene is set for a memorable start to 2011.

WEST BREWERY Doors: 7pm - 2am + afterparty Tickets: £30

Optimo presents Hogmanay 2010 This year we find Optimo returning to its roots, paying homage to the soon to be rebuilt Glasgow Art School Union. This is a chance to experience a true end of an era with a night and venue that have given so much to the Scottish Club scene.

Optimo could have booked a headlining artist but have instead opted for a more personal experience; focusing their entire budget into making this night one of the highest production shows on NYE. The assembly hall shall be hosted by Optimo residents JD Twitch and & JG Wilkes with friends from near and far playing downstairs.

THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ARTS Doors: 10pm- 4am Tickets: TBA

Melting Pot NYE Party with DJ Cosmo & Cottam Scotland’s longest running and most prestigious disco night has a fantastic offering in the form of DJ Cosmo and Cottam. New Yorker DJ Cosmo, who runs her own label Bitches Brew is a party DJ to the very core and will play anything that works on the floor. Having been one of the few people with the privilege of playing The Loft regularly it can be guaranteed she knows how to keep the floor moving. Be sure to also check out DJ/ producer Cottam who has influences ranging from soul to techno seeping in and out of his sets. the admiral Doors: 10pm- 4am Tickets: £20

A GIFT RECEIPT WON’T BE NECESSARY.

Give generously. Drink responsibly.

RECORDS

A Year In Music Let's not make a fuss. You know the drill by now; a few thousand albums came out in 2010 and we need to remind you about ten of the finest, with guest commentary from a few of the players

#10 Deerhunter

Halcyon Digest Halcyon Digest is about as descriptive a name as can be imagined for Deerhunter’s fourth album.

Singer Bradford Cox further describes it as a response to how we edit or just downright invent our own pasts, consciously or otherwise. Not that Deerhunter were ever averse to a bit of nostalgia before. When their last album Microcastle leaked, the Atlanta four-piece released companion album Weird Era Cont in an attempt to instil a sense of anticipation for a new release in these jaded times. That album also, inevitably, leaked though

#9 The Books The Way Out

July saw the welcome return of New York City duo Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, with their fourth album as The Books, and their first since 2005’s widely acclaimed Lost and Safe. The five-year gap indicates the dedicated work that went into the record. Their approach, self-described as collage, marries a wide range of live instrumentation – guitar, bass, strings, brass, organ and percussion – with scattershot IDM beats and a virtuosic deployment of a wealth of spoken-word samples.

Tracks such as Chain of Missing Links recall the melancholy, narcotic haze of earlier work,

that was no smear on Deerhunter themselves.

Halcyon Digest pushes things further, the band having asked fans to download, photocopy (how ambient punk!) and plaster their towns with DIY posters. Musically, it finds the band strategically stripped back. That sense of nostalgia, of a dream-like quality, may have been written into redundancy by now, but it’s hard to approach songs like Earthquake, Helicopter or sublime closer He Would Have Laughed without the kind of languid sense that comes from half-remembered childhood summer memories.

Meanwhile, the more upbeat numbers such as Desire Lines and Fountain Stairs have a more active sense of rifling through a gem-filled 70s record collection handed to you by a nowdisinterested uncle, where new worlds and possibilities abound at your fingertips. Fittingly, it all ends unexpectedly, the splendid He Would Have Laughed (dedicated to the late Jay Reatard) unceremoniously cut mid-note at its most beautiful and ethereal moment. We’ve woken from the dream then, but with Halcyon Digest in our lives, we can always go back.[Darren Carle] Deerhunter play Òran Mór, Glasgow on 28 Mar 2011 deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com

with Zammuto’s soft vocals mouthed against a backdrop of muted bass and drum patterns that recalls Tortoise et al. But as Paul de Jong tells us, The Way Out is also a departure of sorts: “[The Books] needed to get away from what we knew of ourselves without denying who we are. One of the first things we decided to do was to include much more up-tempo tracks.” Thus, the album features hyperactive, absurdly frantic pieces like A Cold Freezin’ Night, which showcases The Books’ painstaking rearrangement of spoken-word samples to full effect. “I’ve taken sampling to places where I’ve never been able to go in previous records,” de Jong explains.

A mass of contradictions, The Way Out is both playfully ironic and disarmingly sincere, warm yet clinical, with moods that swing between a mournful nostalgia and frenzied humour; it’s the record’s consistency of technical approach that meshes the whole together. 2010 may not have been a great year for hip-hop by narrow definitions, but along with Flying Lotus, The Books produced work which draws upon that genre’s basic precepts to produce something that sounded genuinely fresh.

[Sam Wiseman]

#8

#7

LCD Soundsystem

Pantha du Prince

If second album Sound of Silver had the provisional title Oh Vanity, Thy Name Is Sophomore Effort, then what self-deprecating working name could we expect of James Murphy’s third and final album under the LCD Soundsystem moniker?

The Disappointing Third Installment to the Series perhaps? Thankfully This Is Happening is more Toy Story 3 than Return of the Jedi.

It’s easy to see why Murphy’s amorphous troupe pull in the plaudits with each release. The relentless barrage of influences that bookended debut single Losing My Edge are peerlessly instilled into each album and This Is Happening is no exception.

Whether you come for pop, disco, rock, electro or any other number of broad touchstones, LCD constantly deliver. Theirs is a pretension-free party without a guestlist; everyone’s invited.

Touted as their final album, This Is Happening starts rather unassumingly with Dance Yrself Clean but it isn’t long before it explodes into a staccato disco stomp that will have any limbs in earshot twitching spasmodically. And from there it doesn’t let up.

There’s the hard-edged electro pulse of One Touch, the bounding, anthemic highlight I Can Change and the typically sardonic You Wanted A Hit. It’s also more fluidly structured than Sound of Silver, ending with Home, a blissful high where previously the party seemed slightly deflated by New York I Love You. There’s little to doubt the veracity of Murphy’s claim that this is the end of LCD Soundsystem.

Yet rather than bow out in downbeat fashion and leave us wondering what might have been, This Is Happening is a triumphant send-off that will have you happily waving them on to their respective futures. [Darren Carle]

German producer Hendrick Weber’s third album as Pantha du Prince, released in February, saw him continue to hone his quietly cerebral take on melodic, shoegaze-inflected minimal techno. His first album for Rough Trade, featuring contributions from Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) and Tyler Pope (LCD Soundsystem, !!!), Black Noise is a complex, painstakingly crafted collection.

As the label and guests suggest, Weber moves in some respects towards a more song-based approach than on his preceding two albums. His techno sensibility, however, always underpins things: Black Noise’s sharpness and attention to detail curtail any inclination to reach for the indie-electronica or folktronica tags. While the continuing proliferation of shoegaze influences felt tired on some guitar records this year, Black Noise’s layering of reverberating melodies and intricate, delicately animated beats never feels like its head is in the past.

Weber favours the use of metallic, percussive samples – steel drums, zithers, xylophones and vibraphones – scattered alongside teeming, hazy ambient washes; the juxtaposition of these sharply distinct elements gives the music a clarity and precision without rendering the atmosphere cold and clinical.

2010 was another good year for electronica, but not many other records managed to combine the warmth and emotive power of Black Noise with a serious attentiveness to the energy of club music. [Sam Wiseman]

This Is Happening

Black Noise

www.panthaduprince.com

www.lcdsoundsystem.com

www.myspace.com/thebooksmusicpage

Get your hands on all of these albums!

Don't miss the chance to win our top 10 albums of 2010 on page 62, courtesy of Avalanche Records.

Judge for yourself and enjoy the actual hard copy, instead of that download you copied off your mate (and those you can't find on Spotify). the books

December 2010

THE SKINNY 15

A Year In Music

The Best of the Rest

#5

Also fighting for supremacy on the office stereo in 2010...

11. Jónsi - Go 12. Errors - Come Down With Me 13. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma 14. Grimes - Halfaxa 15. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty 16. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here 17. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record 18. Quasi - American Gong 19. The Shipping News - One Less Heartless To Fear 20. Meursault - All Creatures Will Make Merry 21. Spoon - Transference 22. John Knox Sex Club - Blud Rins Cauld 23. Autechre - Oversteps 24. Eternal Summers - Silver 25. Chrome Hoof - Crush Depth 26. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster Blood + Fire 27. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid 28. Four Tet – There is Love in You 29. RM Hubbert - First & Last 30. Random Hand - Another Change of Plan 31. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz 32. Super Adventure Club - Avoid Zombies 33. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky 34. These New Puritans - Hidden 35. Chilly Gonzales - Ivory Tower 36. Damien Jurado – Saint Bartlett 37. Wild Nothing - Gemini 38. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul 39. Silver Columns – Yes and Dance 40. Sparrow & The Workshop - Crystals Fall 41. Steve Mason – Boys Outside 42. Alasdair Roberts - Too Long In This Condition 43. The Roots - How I Got Over 44. A Silver Mount Zion - Kollaps Tradixionales 45. Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love 46. The Walkmen – Lisbon 47. Mitchell Museum - The Peters Port Memorial Service 48. Deftones - Diamond Eyes 49. Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin 50. Holy Fuck – Latin

#6 Beach House Teen Dream

Beach House were fully aware of the majesty of third album Teen Dream as they were preparing it this time last year. “At one point i was more excited about every single song [on Teen Dream] that I had ever been before,” guitarist Alex Scally tells The Skinny, “even songs where I don’t really do anything, like Real Love. There was a recording of that we made and I was trying to figure out how to make this thing hold and I probably listened to it fifty times, every time enjoying every single second of it.”

16 THE SKINNY December 2010

The Phantom Band The Wants

It could have been horribly messy, the second Phantom Band album. After last year’s debut blindsided us, seemingly from nowhere, and everyone in the know was touting them as something very special indeed, such plaudits and pressure could have conceivably resulted in an unfocused, humourless hatchet job. “There are things I, and probably all of us, would change of course,” admits enigmatic frontman Rick Anthony on their sophomore masterpiece. “If I had a time machine then I would probably already be going back affecting changes on this album and other aspects of my existence. And yours.”

It’s perhaps a common artistic sentiment and precisely what drives such people in the first place.

Yet Anthony needn’t bother with the flux capacitor. Despite the pressure, and the relatively short

time-span since Checkmate Savage, The Wants eclipsed expectations and did the damn-near impossible by bettering their tremendous debut.

On that note Anthony is more direct about matters. “In terms of where we were as a band, and the pressures that we were facing, from within and without, I would have to say that I am very happy with it.” Happier than with Checkmate Savage?

“Absolutely, yes.”

Anyone who has even had a cursory listen to The Wants will know that these are not the words of someone trotting out hackneyed lines to tout their latest wares. From opening gambit A Glamour, which chugs along with typical Phantom playfulness, before exploding into one of the most sexually satisfying guitar riffs they’ve yet discovered, to Goodnight Arrow’s apocalyptic finale, it’s an album that continually throws unexpected curveballs whilst remaining true to the band’s embracing ethos. Or as Anthony puts it: “more accessible, yet also a bit less predictable.”

It’s the measure of a great band, distilling potential art-house pretension into folk and krautrock gems like Everybody Knows It’s True and album highlight Into The Corn respectively. It certainly bodes well for the future, even if Anthony himself remains somewhat modest. “I suppose one day we might have another go,” he states when asked of a possible third album. “Until then, we’ll just enjoy the free beer while it lasts.” We’ll drink to that.[Darren Carle] www.phantomband.co.uk

the phantom band

Teen Dream has been a breakthrough for Beach House, who are now touring with some of the biggest bands in indie music, but they say nothing’s changed since their self-titled debut and its acclaimed follow-up Devotion. “Every record is a different world,” singer Victoria Legrand says, “but the attention on us now I feel is the result of our steady and persistent working.

It doesn’t feel that different from what we were doing before but people are now noticing more.”

It’s not glamorous, they insist, and work it certainly is: “I think we’re at the 150 [shows] mark right now for the year, which is pretty crazy”, Alex says.

But now that they’ve got here, he doesn’t see the band getting any bigger. “We make music that’s all about intimacy, I don’t think that would translate to an arena. We played at a 1,500 person place and that blew our mind, it felt great, but I think that might be the limit. We just did a tour with Vampire Weekend and 14,000 people were at the Hollywood Bowl, I think it really taught us where we think the upper extent of our music is. Even if we could sell a show of 2,000 people, it might not work.”

Such music-over-money ideals are admirable, and they’re surely about to be tested.[Ally Brown] www.beachhousebaltimore.com

#4 Arcade Fire The Suburbs

Having had three years to stew on it, it’s fair to say that Neon Bible wasn’t the follow up we were hoping for after Funeral (our album of the year back in 2005).

The reactionary hyperbole soon subsided to reveal a good, solid album: nothing more, nothing less. And so, when The Suburbs arrived in August, there were a few skeptical heads awaiting it and a general air of indifference amongst parts of the media. Arcade Fire’s third album, though, represents a quantum leap forward for the Montreal band. Naysayers have been left to eat their words and fans finally have a worthy successor to their brilliant first album.

But The Suburbs is by no means Funeral Mark II. In fact, it’s not until the fifth track (the iridescent Empty Room) that they even pander to their blockbusting whim. This is an altogether more subtle and mature piece of work. At times the lyrics seem to be plucked from the mouths of the kids of Funeral, all grown up and realising that the world isn’t such a wonderful place after all. Parts of Suburbs are dark – filled with disillusionment, resignation and regret. They are drained of the optimism that characterized their early work; the years of working for the “businessmen who drink their blood” (Ready to Start) have taken their toll. Thematically, The Suburbs is a complete inversion of their glorious debut.

Thankfully, it’s not in Arcade Fire’s nature to let their gripes get in the way of a good tune. The undercurrents remain exactly that: buried beneath a constant barrage of beauty. On The Suburbs, they have repressed some of the (fantastically) flamboyant elements of yore and adhered to more traditional song structures. Yet, impressively, they still sound vital and original. Their approach is arguably simpler and less exuberant than the band we fell for, but no less thrilling. From the piano led splendour of its title track and album highlight We Used to Wait, to Régine Chassagne’s star turn on the Blondie aping Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) and the introspective Suburban War, this is one of the most musically accomplished and enjoyable albums to be released in quite some time. It’s good to have them back. [Finbarr Bermingham] Arcade Fire play SECC, Glasgow on 12 Dec www.arcadefire.com

beach house

Swim

Canadian Dan Snaith has been making good records for over a decade now, but in 2010 he made a great one. After years of dipping his toes into dance music, for Swim he dived right in. The Skinny met Caribou backstage at Glasgow’s ABC to talk about his greatest album yet and the year that surrounded its release.

“I’ve been pretty lucky generally. I’ve had some bad reviews but the majority of them have been nice. I actually like reading negative reviews, I have agreed with people who’ve criticised certain aspects of my music. With Andorra, everyone was like: ‘here’s this guy who really likes 60s psychedelia, he’s a retro kinda guy’, and I was like: ‘fuck, that wasn’t the point!’”

Andorra won the Polaris Prize in 2008 – Canada’s Mercury Prize-equivalent – but Snaith was determined to move on to new things. He’s open about the inspiration for the direction he took: it’s one of the guys sitting in the next room, preparing to play before him tonight.

“The last track on Andorra was me trying to figure out how James [Holden] makes music” he says. “The last track, Niobe, was me trying to figure out how to get that dynamic of his, of something growing and falling apart simultaneously.

And even though there was over a year in-between making the records, that was the starting point for

#2

The National High Violet

The National are no strangers to these pages, nor indeed to these yearly charts of ours. Both Boxer (2007) and Alligator (2005) featured highly in their respective end of year polls. Looking back at the release of High Violet in May, then, it’s hard to assess what exactly the expectation might have been, but even the most optimistic speculators would have struggled to call this one. The National are not populists. They are a band one hundred percent committed to attaining musical excellence, on their terms. And yet, here they are, with a UK number 5 album (Billboard number 3) under their belt and five albums in, the world at their feet.

Reflecting on 2010, bassist, guitarist and pianist Scott Devendorf admits being “surprised, given the long road the band has taken.” For him, High Violet is “the culmination of a lot of work, over a lot of years.” As is seemingly the band’s wont, Devendorf speaks humbly and modestly of the their achievements. “All we ever wanted was for people to enjoy our records and come to our shows,” he says. But there is no doubt in his mind that the band’s recent success has been a key factor in making High Violet the record it is.

“A key thing for us was being able to afford our

this record. I went back to it and thought: ‘there’s just so many different ways this track could go.’

“I was so happy with [Swim] when I finished it, but I also thought it might confuse people. It seemed to me that Andorra was a much more straightforward record, it was more concise pop songs. It really stuns me that Swim seems to have captured people’s imaginations in some way that previous albums I’ve made haven’t. I’m so happy because this is my favourite one, but I really didn’t think it was going to be everybody else’s favourite one.

“Thinking about the situation in which it was made and then fast-forwarding to now, it’s totally mind-boggling. I’d love to say I make music because I want to share it with people, but I make music for entirely selfish reasons, I just love doing it so much, and the thrill of when things go right in the studio or at home, that’s the most amazing thing. But then this is just... we’ve always had good shows, but it’s never been the party atmosphere it is now.

“Swim feels like the beginning of something rather than the end, even though the end of Andorra was kinda the beginning of this one, it was also the end of making psychedelic poppy records, I feel like I’ve done what I wanted to do with that. I don’t want to make the same record again, but it feels like there’s lots of points I can shoot off from on Swim.”[Ally Brown]

Joanna Newsom Have One On Me

www.caribou.fm

Caribou

own studio. We built one at the end of the Boxer tour and were able to work at our own, often glacial pace. It gave us more opportunity to experiment with different types of recording, without feeling the pressure of the commercial studios.

We had a lot of people help out on the record, too: Régine (Chassagne) from Arcade Fire, Justin (Vernon) from Bon Iver, Sufjan (Stevens)… to name just a few. That was also a product of having the studio. People could just come in when they were available.”

For many music fans, it’s refreshing to see a band as hardworking as The National become successful, particularly without compromising their values. And whilst there are certainly audible experiments on High Violet, there’s a discernable lineage from its predecessors. They didn’t reinvent the wheel, and Devendorf was happy to explain how exactly they arrived at the sound: “Alligator is a rougher record; it came with lyrics that were about an independent guy out on the street at night. Boxer was a statelier, orchestral piece. The lyrics were more about relationships with others. High Violet is a little in between, sonically. It’s a little rougher than Boxer as far as the type of song and the texture of the sound. The lyrics are more about the relationship that began with Boxer, now beyond its infant stage and it’s about dealing with that. I think it’s certainly more about tones and layers. It’s a lot like archaeology.

Or maybe sculpture.”

The analogy flourishes, as we finally get around to asking what the band had hoped for back in Spring. “Well, we were just happy with the album.

We’re mostly focused on producing the best music we can.” Art, then, the only way it should be.[Finbarr Bermingham]

At no point in the history of recorded music has a triple-album been a good idea, but especially not at this point in history. It’s just too long. Less is more, Joanna. Doubles are already pushing the limits. It just shows you don’t know how to edit yourself, Joanna. To an iPod shuffler, filler is the biggest crime of all, and triple albums are serial offenders. To a multi-tasker, patience is an anachronism and subtlety a hindrance. A triple album by Joanna Newsom!? Next!

Have One On Me, astonishingly, wouldn’t be improved by editing. It’s truly a first: a triple album that justifies its entire length. With Joanna Newsom, more is more.

After the elaborate fantasia of Ys, Have One On Me is comparatively straightforward: instead of sinister pacts between runaway animals, here we have songs about the familiar twenty-something concerns of love and relationships, beginning with a blissful announcement of new love and ending with a sorrowful admittance of love’s failure. But it’s not an easy listen: her voice, modified after a throat injury, is still to newcomers thin and affected; her arrangements are sparse and delicate, her melodies subtle to tease out; her lyrics, more direct than before, are still shrouded by erudite poetry. And – did I mention? – it’s more than two hours long. Have One On Me is not casual listening. It pays to pay attention to it.

Joanna Newsom is a dazzling lyricist, in both senses of “dazzling”, but now almost wholly in the positive. On her first album, she sang “never get so attached to a poem you forget the truth lacks lyricism” and duly remained so attached.

The Milk-Eyed Mender and Ys were full of beautiful lines, but lots of them were impossible to parse; Have One On Me is full of beautiful lines, but few are pure show, and many more lay their truths bare. In Good Intentions Paving Company she develops the story with wonderful phrases like “It had a nice a ring to it, when the old opera house rang, so with a solemn Auld Lang Syne, sealed, delivered I sang”; then she delivers a sucker punch at the end with the plain appeal “I only want for you to pull over and hold me til I can’t remember my own name”. Those moments hit right in the gut, because they’re a reminder that emotions don’t wait for the mind to articulate them. Joanna Newsom is meticulous, but her heart is not.

As carefully as she places each syllable, she places each note. There’s not a gram of fat on Have One On Me. Esme, 81 and On A Good Day

joanna newsom

are entirely solo, just Newsom and her harp. Baby Birch and Go Long feel just as sparse, every slow string twang allowed to live its full life to create an incredible intimacy. Then jagged guitar slaps burst through the former, and a heavenly kora rains down in the latter, and they both very gradually build to stirring conclusions. In California, one of the album’s most beautifully frail songs, has 14 credited performers, unbelievably, as does the title track, which develops over its eleven minutes with quite staggering dexterity. Some players shuffle in for a brief flourish and then vanish; it’s sufficient.

No silence is filled without reason, no solo supported without cause.

Music and technology are moving towards convenience as a common goal, but Have One On Me is not convenient, it’s a challenge. The vast availability of music to the modern listener promotes a box-of-chocolates approach – many flavours, tasted briefly – but Have One On Me defies brief sampling, requiring many listens to reveal all its charms. Scenes and fashions can often be relied upon to flesh out a musician’s image or ideas, but there’s no scene or fashion supporting Have One On Me. It’s a unique and uncompromising album, and in the age of tl;dr, that makes it a totem for the independent artistic ideal.[Ally Brown] www.dragcity.com/artists/joanna-newsom

An expanded version of High Violet is now available on 4AD the national

www.americanmary.com

December 2010

THE SKINNY 17

photo: Ross Trevail

Caribou

#1

photo: Ross Trevail

#3

A Year In Music

THE FUTURE

Crystal Baws: 2011 Year Planner

Wondering what the year ahead will hold for you? Wonder no longer, for The Skinny's resident 'astrologer' Mystic Mark has stared long and hard at his crystal baws to bring you these (presumably highly accurate) predictions Words: Mystic Mark Illustrations: Chris Fairhead

GEMINI 22 MAY – 21 JUN Any Gemini males born in the year 1990 will have a rough February as the Antichrist assumes the papacy and declares anyone fanny-shat into the world under a specific set of stars should be rounded up, thrown on a spike, bummed senseless and then set on fire. He’s looking for the Nazarene. If that’s not you Anne Frank it up in the loft until the end of the year.

c

e

ARIES 21 MAR – 20 APR Shat into being by the Big Bang. In and out of great supernovae we were flung in our aeon-long paths in our various pieces across the vacuum; pulled, squashed, spun, sucked, blown and blasted within the great gravitational heartbeats of the void. Through forces so infinite and infinitesimal in their grandeur and probability we landed here, each of us. Via successive processes and advances, both evolutionary and through our understanding of how we came to be and what we are, created this: Wetherspoon’s on a Saturday night. And you’ll spend every miserable Saturday in there. Forever.

a

CANCER 22 JUN – 23 JUL Cancerians are known to be very sensitive types, and hence like the crab they have the need for a thick armour shell and claws powerful enough to take a child’s fingers off.

But as Mercury goes into retrograde through March your problems with stress are likely to exacerbate when the emoticon-faced Chinese robot army storms across Europe, firing laser rifles at anything impeding its path. Things get better throughout July though when your memory gets wiped, your language skills are replaced with binary Mandarin and you get plugged into the Chinese Matrix to live an avatar’s life. From then on your existence will entail unknowingly powering the gears of the new world order in a pod of reconstituted human jelly. Red is lucky.

d

TAURUS 21 APR – 21 MAY In April you do a Ouija board with your mates “for a laugh”. Shortly after, you start getting the nightmares, the ones that make you feel like your body is being taken over. Lights start going on and off when people leave you in rooms on your own and arms reach out of the shadows trying to grab you and pull you in. You’ll hear large crashes upstairs and find no-one’s there. By August you’ll have fallen into a terrible depression and feel a yawning abyss of madness wrap around what’s left of your mind, constantly with the feeling in your head there’s something horrible there with you, watching you over your shoulder.

b

18 THE SKINNY December 2010

LEO 24 JUL – 23 AUG You have strong bones and muscles.

LIBRA 24 SEP – 23 OCT Venus hurtles through the icy, lonely, empty cosmos before arriving in your chart in mid-September. By then though it’ll be too late to unsend all those love notes made with letters snipped from magazine headlines. In October, as police interrogate everyone in the office, you ask your prospective lover out on a date after comforting them in your arms and telling them everything would be “all right”. The relationship will last until you first remove your top in front of them and it is revealed you’ve madly scrawled their name all over your skin with a razor blade.

g

SAGITTARIUS 23 NOV – 21 DEC At first optimistic with a “new start” you find the supposed rungs on the work ladder you think you’ve been climbing for years are actually made of marshmallow. So it’s around June you’ll be pressed to make a big decision. At lunch time in the canteen you question whether human beings were meant to wear suits, work 9 to 5, forever crave electrical goods and watch Emmerdale on an eyebleeding 60” 3D HD screen. Suddenly you’ll black out. Your brain will return to its factory settings.

In October you’ll come to again, running through heavy bog-land in the middle of nowhere, carrying a spear and wearing only a rabbit skin nappy.

i

VIRGO 24 AUG – 23 SEP The Sun recently formed an adverse angle with Saturn. A similar negative trend with Pluto comes in June when someone puts a cigarette hole in your shell suit and you burst into merciless flames. I may have told you before that Virgoans seem to have a natural affinity with spiritual healing techniques. Unfortunately that was bullshit. My bad. No matter how many crystals you rub on your leathern skin, sobbing yourself dry of tears, forever more you’ll resemble Freddy Krueger on crack.

f

AQUARIUS 21 JAN – 19 FEB Doing your entire Christmas shop at The Barras this year might prove to be a bit of a mistake when viewed in the 20/20 hindsight of a new year. From the possessed Tonka truck you bought your little boy that sinisterly moves around on its own when you’re not looking at it, to that foam toy dinosaur designed to expand in liquid that your youngest will swallow on Boxing Day. And the bootleg Old Spice aftershave that makes sure Grandad never has to shave ever again after his screaming face slides off fizzing into the sink.

Finally those Christmas lights you bought from a plastic crate in the rain will cause an accident that means you won’t need a chart for next year. My chart on the other hand says I’ll accidentally urinate on the fresh, frosty soil of your grave when I Easy Lionel it home in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

k

PISCES 20 FEB – 20 MAR Neptune joins forces with Uranus in your 9th Solar House in May and Scotland is unexpectedly hit with a small earthquake.

It is then you’ll begin to dream of latent, sinister cities built of titan Fibonacci structures whose geometry is all wrong, dripping with thick green slime and covered in nightmarish Cyclopean hieroglyphs. All summer you’ll reside naked and alone in your dwelling with the curtains shut, chanting a half-remembered, unholy mantra “Cthulhu fhtagn”. Your catatonic hands will attempt to render in clay that pulpy, tentacled head that makes rags of your sanity in dreams. I implore you: stay away from the sea at the end of December.

l

SCORPIO 24 OCT – 22 NOV You were not born of woman, rather you were egg-hatched. Be gone! Your aura makes the charts nebulous.

h

CAPRICORN 22 DEC – 20 JAN In January you’ll render linear time obsolete when you invent the flux capacitor.

After attaching it to your rusty Ford Capri you Richard Hammond it to the future, leaving only a spinning license plate and some burning tyre marks behind you on Maryhill Road. You will spend 3 years basking in the utopian idyll of the 28th Century before returning to our time a minute after you first left. From January onwards life will be dull, grey and devoid of all enjoyment after a drunk bam steals the Capri in the night, tears a hole in time and vanishes in a blinding flash back to when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

j

December 2010

THE SKINNY 19

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School of Arts & Creative Industries www.napier.ac.uk/sci 20 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

Image: Kaylie Allan, BDes (Hons) Graphic Design

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PERFORM

Avoiding pantomime

In anticipation of another season of pantomime madness immersing the theatres of Scotland, The Skinny has sought out a host of alternative options for anyone wanting to get down with the festive spirit without having to shout “He’s behind you” Words: Gareth K Vile

Bob Slayer (and three pints)

Bob Slayer’s Rock’n’Roll Cabaret Bob Slayer’s background in music left him disappointed when he turned to comedy. “When I started getting up in comedy clubs I often found the vibe a little on the conservative for what I want to do,” he explains. “It was only natural that I would gravitate towards other outsiders who have a Rock and Roll attitude and who also like to shake audiences up.”

Originally finding himself on stage between rock bands, Slayer’s performance style is aggressive – “in order to stand out amongst bands I was used to punching audiences between the eyes, so to speak” – and he selected his bill accordingly. “All the acts are very individual. They do not conform and like to challenge everything. This is the essence of Rock ‘n’ Roll!”

Like the best cabaret, Slayer refuses to be tied to a particular genre, and hopes that the whole is

Cryptic Nights The variety format has even reached to this decidedly intellectual evening of music, visual and performance art. Coming from the same people who brought the multimedia extravaganza Orlando to The Traverse and Tramway, Cryptic Nights loiter on the margins between different formats for an entertaining glimpse into the cutting edge.

Themed around original instruments made from found objects or junk – The Cabinet of Sonic Curiosities promises to be both musically and visually beguiling. Featured performers include Rose and Sandy on their Cat’s Cradle, Sarah

Yule Nights In the face of an increasingly commercialised Christmas, the Scottish Storytelling Centre is uncovering a traditional yuletide tradition. From gentle Nativity puppetry for all ages to a visit from Britain’s Storyteller Laureate, the High Street venue is a haven from pantomime baddies and corpulent old men with heaving sacks.

The arrival of Taffy Thomas from the south west is a particularly exciting surprise: Thomas wanders the country, swapping tales and wearing a spectacular coat illustrated with stories. A mix of technicolour dream coat Joseph and an avuncular shaman, Thomas refutes the idea that storytelling is just for children. His wry sense of humour, and wicked turn of phrase turns his collection of tales into a unique experience.

more than the sum of the parts. “The traditional Comedy MC’s role is to warm the crowd up and then to control the room and settle them down for the acts,” he muses. “I see it as much more important to create an atmosphere where anything can happen. And it frequently does. In this way I am more of a ring master.”

Perhaps inspired by the legendary Rolling Stones’ event, Slayer is determined to link up variety, circus and rock edginess. There’s even a hint of improvisation in his own set. “I don’t have so much set material. I bounce off the audience with banter and stories that come out of the room.” This free-form attitude, he hopes, will infect the entire show. “Some of the best moments watching bands on stage is when a guest guitarist or singer joins the band,” he concludes.

“A different energy emerges and in the same way I like to see comedians spark off each other. The more it can become a complete show as opposed to a collection of individual sets, the better.”

Kenchington playing a “Hurdalion Gurdalion” and “Bell Tower” and Robbie Thompson on Idimov: A Sound Sculpture.

Thompson has a reputation for engaging with music outside of the traditional gig. Not only was he part of the 85a Collective who turned the film Orzel into a live rock musical and disturbing site-specific performance, he teamed up with Govanhill Baths for a Sonic Soak during the summer.

Prolific music video director James Houston and Cry Parrot VJ Florence To chime in with images during the performances, converting the CCA bar into an immersive theatre of light and movement.

Earlier in December, Mike Maran brings his idiosyncratic fusion of music, storytelling and theatre to Edinburgh, as he retells A Christmas Carol. It might not count as the most alternative Christmas treat – even the Muppets have had a shot at it – but Maran has already demonstrated his skill with a version of Captain Correlli’s Mandolin.

In the weeks before the big day, the Yule Nights series are aimed at adults wanting to escape from the last minute shopping. Storytelling often struggles to find a place between the more urgent demands of music, but it has a natural link to the folk music that is resurging across the east coast. Catch this wave now before it joins the mainstream.

Yule Nights 15-17 Dec, 7pm. Taffy Thomas 21 Dec, 7pm. A Christmas Carol 10-11 Dec 7pm www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk

Cherry loco

Naked Christmas For those of more decadent tastes, Club Noir – Scotland’s first and largest burlesque event – and exquisite boylesquer Cherry Loco are hosting Christmas events for an adult audience. As Tina Warren, the woman behind the Noir throne, suggests, here are Christmas treats that are determinedly not for children.

Club Noir is driven by Warren’s own restless imagination. “I am always on the lookout for new acts, otherwise it gets stale,” she admits. “We have a bit of everything! Lots of short three, four minute acts. We have genuine Cossack dancers. If you are into breakdance, you want to see some Cossack dancing!”

Noir’s format has included acts from opera through to breaking, and Warren explains that it is as much a club night as a show. The mixture of core cast and new acts even extends to the music.

“The resident DJ is DJ Loveless, then we have Jim Gellatly, who was at the last Club Noir and loved it. So we asked him to come and DJ for us,”she concludes. “You can safely say it’s going to be

the biggest Christmas party in Scotland.”

Cherry Loco, meanwhile takes up residence at The Classic Grand with “his very talented performance family that not only includes some of the top names on the UK scene, but also come from performance backgrounds as varied as circus, sideshow, belly dancing and cabaret.”

In a competitive scene, Loco is looking beyond the usual yuletide fare. “There won’t be any twee carolling,” he insists. “Just a visual barrage of top live performance from fire wielding, glass walking, high-camp striptease and a great deal more.”

The contrast between Noir and Loco’s Twisted Christmas emphasises the breadth of the current cabaret scene: there is little crossover between the shows’ aesthetics, apart from a mischevious adult humour and glamorous sensuality. As the scene comes of age, both Warren and Loco are free to pursue their idiosyncratic and daring visions Club Noir, O2 Academy 4 Dec 9pm Twisted Christmas, Classic Grand 18 Dec 9pm www.clubnoir.co.uk

December 2010

THE SKINNY 21

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SOMETIME AFTER 6PM I meet up with my flatmate Sarah at The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow’s west end for an aperitif and a wee bite to eat. You can get two pizzas for eight quid here, which tempts me for a moment until I’m alerted to my desire for meat by an acutely Pavlovian reaction to the mere sight of the word burger. I needn’t have worried, though. My flatmate’s pizza arrives with more meat on it than Elvis’ penultimate sandwich.

One of Glasgow’s hippest music venues, it’s also a suitably atmospheric pub, comparable to something you might find in Berlin. We’re soon joined by pals Max and Ellie who want in on some of our weekday-action.

AROUND 8PM We move on to The Halt Bar on Woodlands Road where we take in some equally laid back atmospherics and enjoy some chat with the friendly bar staff.

At one point my flatmate returns from the toilet laughing hysterically. To get to the loo she had to walk through the middle of a comedy night taking place in The Halt’s second bar. The comedian, seemingly dying a death, invited her to sit down and enjoy the free comedy. She gave a dismissive gesture, only to turn back and walk straight into the toilet door, finally giving the audience something to laugh about.

SOME TIME BETWEEN 9PM AND 10PM We hit Sauchiehall Street and move in on some Sleazy’s action. Going through yet another Renaissance, Nice n Sleazy is open til 3am every night.

It’s the place where everyone winds up, not quite planning to visit, no doubt contributing to its unique, uninhibited energy.

Downstairs we watch a couple of bands performing as part of Oxjam music festival. We catch the end

! n i w AME A, FR MER OF A C L ITA TTLE A DIG A BO ED™ AND SPIC ’S N GA R O M

of The Doledrums' set. They’re pretty good, giving the impression they’ve been together for longer than their collective age. Following them are Selective Service: their songs are a little predictable, but they hone an impressively authentic retro vibe.

10ISH The State Bar, being a more laid back pub, normally precedes Sleazy’s on a night out, but tonight’s geographical trajectory will not allow for deviation.

And besides, my flatmate is a tyrant.

With one of the best selections of beers in Glasgow, and some of the friendliest staff, you’d never think The State Bar was right in the heart of chips and cheese country. A blues band plays here every Tuesday, which is great – if you’re in the mood for it.

And there’s plenty of people who are. Bar man David recommends me a guest ale, which I find perfectly suits the cold evening.

My flatmate insists we move on, but pals Max and Ellie stay on to hear the band out.

BEFORE MIDNIGHT Stereo is our last pub before we hit the nightclub.

One of the only pubs worth going to in this neck of the woods, Stereo is a well known venue, renowned for its sinful acoustics. It’s quiet tonight, with only a handful of punters. We sit and refresh our aural palettes before cranking it up at our next stop.

THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT Sub Club is perhaps best known for once housing the weekly legend that was Optimo Espacio. This low ceilinged sweatbox is rarely a disappointment, and tonight’s no exception. With DJs named Beta and Kappa, I enter Tuesday night regular I AM with some trepidation. Unfashionably early, we find the venue already mobbed, with a hefty queue at the bar. The dance floor, and the already pounding music, give me the feeling it’s a much cooler hour.

We waste little time and break out our edgiest of moves, showing these kids how it’s done. The music is mainly electronic, with occasional retreats into alternative genres.

The crowd is friendly and on the dance floor we get more than one embrace from clientele significantly sweatier than us.

Going from dub step to electro house, the night feels as though it’s going in reverse, or simply winding down, so we decide it’s time to make tracks.

We bail around 2am to do some ill-advised egg frying back at the flat. It is a school night after all!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RALPH MACKENZIE

IT’S A Tuesday evening in Glasgow and your pals want to go out on the randan. It’s a school night and you can’t remember when you last dared transgress the bed-before-midnight rule applicable to all on weekdays except perhaps the Great Gatsby and of course students.

So if you’ve been under the strict enforcement of a weekday ASBO for the past while and your flatmate is intoxicated by a private whim to take you out dancing, then where do you go? Surely the world’s reserves of fun and joy have been spent the previous weekend, and downtown Glasgow is occupied solely by urban foxes? Intrepid reporter Andrew Cattanach investigates.

If you would like to follow in Andrew's footsteps and record your nights out on the town, Morgan's Spiced™ are offering one lucky reader the perfect nightlife prize in the form of a bottle of Morgan's Spiced™, a digital camera and a digital frame so you can capture and keep your memories in pristine digital condition. To enter, just answer this simple question: In what legendary Glasgow club did Andrew finish the night? a) The Shack b) Sub Club c) Cleopatras

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Terms & conditions: Entrants must be 18 years or over. The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. For full conditions please see www.theskinny.co.uk/terms The MORGAN'S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

22 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

MUSIC

WHEN YOU DIG UP THE PAST, THE BONES ARE JUST TOYS –BECK, FLAVOR

With a back-catalogue out of circulation and everyone from Grinderman to the Jim Jones Revue biting their style, JON SPENCER says it was time to unearth, dust off and put the BLUES EXPLOSION back in the oven INTERVIEW: DAVE KERR

THE SKINNY: Take us back to 1990 and the formation of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, how did you get acquainted with Judah Bauer and Russell Simins?

Jon Spencer: Well Russell began playing with some friends of mine in a band called Honeymoon Killers. This was after Pussy Galore – my band prior to the Blues Explosion. I was just kickin’ around and began to hang out with these guys – they were my neighbours as well. Russell was a great drummer, he and I just hit it off. Eventually I got playing with Honeymoon Killers, and then Russ thought it would be fun to play as a duo. Judah Bauer was Russell’s friend, at the time they were sharing a loft together in Brooklyn. Judah was a young kid around 18, he’d just come in on the bus from Wisconsin. So Russell brought him along one day, the three of us started playing together and found out that we could make music.

Did you share very many common interests at the time?

Some, but not tonnes. A real important one for us right from the beginning was Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers – a great blues musician from Chicago. The most important common interest was the desire to kick out the jams, as it were.

There’s a lot of humour to the Blues Explosion, which has meant you’ve not always been taken entirely seriously. How do you respond to that?

It’s a playfulness – but there’s also great joy.

It’s very alive music and I feel that’s a big part of rock’n’roll – it’s a very life-affirming thing for me.

This kind of vitality, this liveliness and this levity – those elements of the band have confused some people. Especially in America, more kudos is given to somebody like Bruce Springsteen than, say, Little Richard. People want rock stars to be a bit more serious – poets of a different sort. Me? I’m a primitivist, I think there’s great truth and beauty in lines like Tutti Frutti.

There was a lot of angst dominating the airwaves when you first appeared on late night MTV, the Blues Explosion looked and sounded like an antidote to that...

Yeah, I think we definitely were a shot in the arm. We were entertainers; there was a sense of show business to what we were doing. We were versed in old traditions and we were interested in carrying that around while a lot of other bands at the time weren’t interested in connecting with an audience, some of them seemed against the idea of entertainment.

Was the band a reaction to that?

A little bit, but not to such a degree that it was hateful. Again, to compare and contrast with Pussy Galore, that was reactionary, and a lot more confrontational.

By the time you released Orange in 1994 you’d found allies in the Beastie Boys – who had come back to embrace their instrumental side – and an emergent Beck. Was that a particularly creative period?

They were all creative times, but I suppose around the time of ‘94-‘95, as the Blues Explosion we’d found ourselves. The first few years were that period of development and definition – things were solidifying in the way the group functioned, the sound and what everybody did in the band as far as songwriting and ideas went.

By that time we really knew where we were and what we were trying to do. At times we felt a certain kinship with other artists, I can’t say it was overwhelmingly so. With Pussy Galore I really felt connected to a scene and this underground culture. Not so much with the Blues Explosion, we always felt a bit on our own, but there were exceptions.

When you came to record Acme four years later you enlisted six producers – including Steve Albini and Dan the Automator – to oversee the sessions, which was a gamble that speaks for the band’s diversity. What drew you to those two very different producers in particular?

They were people we liked, we appreciated what they were doing and what they were about – it was as simple as that. The thing that really made us want to work with Dan was the Doctor Octagon record, specifically Blue Flowers. With Steve it was everything, he’s a brilliant engineer.

Your first decade was the most prolific; what conditions forced you to take your time in the new millennium?

It was all by our own choice, I mean, for the first ten years it was a mad rush – we were just incredibly busy, touring and making records all the time. Then, after so many years, we became interested in not being so busy [laughs], and also interested in making music with other people. So I’ve spent time working with Heavy Trash, Judah Bauer has played with Chan Marshall [AKA Cat Power] for several years, and Russell’s played with a bunch of different people – most recently he’s been spending a bit of time with Harper [son of Paul] Simon.

Blues Explosion albums have been difficult to buy for too long, was that the simple impetus for revisiting the catalogue now?

Yeah – I hope people can get them now! I’m very proud of these albums; I had to make them available again. Everything had gone out of print and it’s all reverted to the band; we own the catalogue.

I didn’t want to do just straight reissues either; I tried to be as complete as possible and include as much material as I could that was recorded at the time of every album.

You say complete – was it difficult to judge what to put out there for public consumption?

With a few exceptions, I didn’t want to include multiple versions of any one song. Enough time has passed that this almost feels like someone else’s band. There’s a separation now between me and these albums, I’ve tried to make them interesting as a fan. Some of the stuff was hard to find. I mean, we own it all but locating it was another thing. And some of the old analogue magnetic tape needed to

be baked because it had gotten a bit sticky.

What’s been your own most enjoyable chapter of the Blues Explosion so far?

For me, as far as albums, I’ve gone through many phases. For a while it was [1993’s] Extra Width, then [1996’s] Now I Got Worry. Of course Orange is a very strong record, but I don’t put that at the top of my list because a lot of outsiders consider it the record. I wouldn’t pick one album, it would be one period – the time that we spent with R.L. Burnside was the greatest for me. Not just that album [1996’s A Ass Pocket Full of Whiskey], but also the time we spent just living with him, touring and playing together. I don’t think a lot of people had ever heard of R.L. or had ever heard his music before we took him out on the road. We weren’t missionaries, we weren’t out there to educate people, but that’s what happened.

I read a story recently that talked about the Blues Explosion in the past tense, as if it was no more. But you never said goodbye…

We never put a stop to it, we never called it quits. We’re largely inactive, but every once in a while we do get together – this year we’ve been more busy than we have in a long time. The reissues were a huge undertaking for me. Our heyday was a while ago, but we’re not finished. The times we are playing it feels great, not much different than it used to feel. It’s still very electric, very powerful, and it makes me feel good.

NOW I GOT WORRY, CONTROVERSIAL NEGRO, THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION YEAR ONE, EXTRA WIDTH + MO WIDTH, ACME + EXPERIMENTAL REMIXES AND ACME + XTRA ACME ARE REISSUED VIA SHOVE ON 13 DEC WWW.THEJONSPENCERBLUESEXPLOSION.COM

R.L. GOT SOUL JON SPENCER pays tribute to late delta bluesman R.L. BURNSIDE and recommends a place to start listening R.L. Burnside – Too Bad Jim (1994) In the same way I thought rock’n’roll was pretty boring as a young person, I thought the same of the blues. To me, a lot of the blues was about Eric Clapton and this hangover from the hippy era, so much of it still dominates. So to discover that there were these people making really honest, weird and funky music – blues – it was a big revelation.

One of those players was R.L. Burnside from the Hillside country in Mississippi, a disciple of Mississippi Fred McDowell. He played all of his life, but it wasn’t until later on when he was in his sixties that he began to really do it in a professional way.

He was a sharecropper who worked all of his life and music was his hobby. R.L., when we met him, was playing as a bass-less trio with his grandson Cedric on drums and adopted son Kenny Brown on second guitar. He played in a hypnotic style, very loose, it was totally idiosyncratic and true to who he is. Too Bad Jim is a good example of that; this is one of my favorites.

WWW.FATPOSSUM.COM/ARTISTS/RL-BURNSIDE

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 23

Before bringing his new live show to Edinburgh and Glasgow this December, Matthew Dear talks gear, aesthetics, and the making of Black City interview: Chris Duncan leave things open-ended for the listener too, since I think there is an invariable amount of questions in all of us. Our vocabularies may address each situation differently, but we’re pretty much all trying to figure the same things out. I can’t tell anyone how to do it, but I can share my maps.”

True to form, Dear’s latest album, Black City, is a departure from his last under his own name – 2007’s Asa Breed – with the former offering being a slower journey through a world that he created from scratch. It seems pertinent to ask which differences between the two he can hear with his own ears and what equipment and recording techniques were employed.

“Black City takes longer, deeper breaths than Asa Breed,” he starts. “My albums reflect where I’m at throughout various points in my life. Asa Breed sounds anxious, and excited, where Black City is a bit more subdued and thought-out. I’m eager in a different way now. I rely heavily on an Eventide H8000, a Roland Chorus Echo, and a Korg Polysix. For vocals I simply add a bit of width and small varying pitch shifts on the left and right channels. I do each vocal in a low, high and normal register, and then find the mix that works best. I’m always trying to record my voice in different stress levels, or conditions as well. I like the fact that I don’t know how it will sound until the day of the recording.”

This month both Edinburgh and Glasgow will welcome Matthew Dear and his live band. As a man who wears so many masks, what can people expect from the performances?

“The new show with the band is a bit moodier than in the past. I won’t give away too much, but be prepared for all points east and west of energy. I felt it was equally important to recreate the atmosphere of Black City, but also move into a bit more aggressive territory at points. I think it’s good for our souls to be loud as fuck every now and then.”

Amen to that.

Playing Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club at Glasgow’s Stereo on 4 Dec and Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh on 5 Dec Black City is out now via Ghostly International www.matthewdear.com

Texan DJ, producer, and avant-garde electro maverick Matthew Dear has done more in his brief career thus far than most artists can balance across their entire creative output. Releasing material under his own name as well as False, Jabberjaw and Audion, touring frequently and creating a respected label imprint, it’s fair to say that this is one of the hardest working men operating in music at the moment. So where to begin – with the founding of Ghostly International along with Sam Valenti in the late 90s, perhaps?

“Sam and I met at a very opportune time in each of our lives,” Dear recalls. “We were both hungry for output, but in our own respective ways. After having met, it seemed we had a place to develop each of our musical narratives. Sam’s attention to detail and desire to craft the label as an art form, paired with my production drive and need to endlessly create music established a suitable environment. It’s worked well ever since, and Sam is still the first person I share my new music with.”

A great emphasis is placed on the visual element of the work at Ghostly. Everything from album artwork, the look of the website, the aesthetics of his shows as Audion and the fact that visual artists are listed alongside musicians on their roster – all suggesting that the look is taken as seriously as the music.

“Absolutely,” he confirms. “We’ve built some amazing relationships with artists over the years.

I don’t think my music would be received as intensely without the aid from Will Calcutt’s design

24 THE SKINNY December 2010

and photography. Creating a world surrounding the music is important, and this is where visual elements play a big role.”

What marks Dear our from so many of his peers, however – and probably the most fascinating aspect of his music, aside from its consistent high quality – is his use of so many monikers to explore different styles and sounds.

“Keeping the monikers separate allowed for more clarity for the audience,” offers Dear. “I didn’t want every release to be under my own name, and sound completely different than the last. Having them spread out into different aliases allowed for creative freedoms within each in the studio. Lately though, I concentrate mostly on the music as myself, and find it difficult to escape. It’s a bit of a therapy of sorts, to sit in the studio all day and let it work on you.”

Upon suggesting that his lyrics are cryptic, I ask if this is a deliberate attempt by Dear to further mask his identity and music.

“I’m never intentionally cryptic,” he suggests.

“I just don’t find it entertaining to be told what to think, or to tell people how to receive a story.

It is also connected with this way of working in the studio. Lyrics are tied into that therapeutic process, and each line comes from an immediate emotion. I try not to dissect them outright, since it becomes more fun later down the road. Often I’ll understand the implication far later. Gem [from his latest album] for example makes a lot of sense to me now, although I wrote it eight or so years ago. I

❝

I think it's good for our souls to be loud as fuck every now and then Matthew Dear

❞

The Twilight Sad's James Graham elbows his way down the front to see Remember Remember blow the roof off Stereo

Photo: Justin Moir

CLUBS

Dear Green Place

A Night to Remember...

Remember

Venue: Stereo Date: 5 Nov

It’s the fifth of November and outside in Glasgow it’s not the usual type of rocket that can be heard on the street. The sky is alight with fireworks and I take in a pre-show amateur display where a friend of mine, who will remain unnamed [AKA The Twilight Sad’s keys man Martin “Dok” Doherty – Ed], nearly blows up a ned before attending Remember Remember’s Stereo gig, which also happens to be principal member Graeme Ronald’s 30th birthday party.

Having seen Remember Remember quite a few times – both as a full band and as Graeme performing on his own – I’ve never been disappointed. With the release of their new RR Scorpii EP, and the occasion itself, I was particularly looking forward to this gig. The set starts off with a projection on the Stereo wall of the amazing 11-and-a-half minute video for Imagining Things, directed by Gregor Barclay and featuring Graeme as a werewolf – so good I watched it again with a brutal hangover the next day.

The band played songs from the debut album, the EP and some brand new tracks that built up my anticipation for a new full-length album even more. There was a point during one where I felt like I was in a scene from The Wicker Man, as windmills started spinning on the speakers at the side of the stage and the band got even more intense as the song reached its peak.

There were also pyrotechnics, with Graeme firing confetti and spinning glittery things into the crowd. But tonight wasn’t just a band going on stage and running through their songs; between the audio and visuals it felt like a well thought-out performance, reminding me exactly what a gig should be and that this band are one of the best – live and on record – in Scotland today. One of my favourite gigs of the year, and definitely a night to remember...remember. Ooft!

Remember Remember and the twilight sad will return in 2011 Remember Remember play Electric Circus, Edinburgh on 25 Nov and support Belle and Sebastian at Barrowland, Glasgow on 19 Dec www.myspace.com/rememberremember

READING

HAVE YOU MET METAPHROG YET? Five years in the making (well, sort of), METAPHROG's new book Louis: Night Salad is out just in time for Christmas. What is it? Read on...

INTERVIEW: KEIR HIND

IF YOU don’t know their work already, metaphrog (the ‘m’ is always lower case) are Glasgow-based writer John Chalmers and artist Sandra Marrs, who have been producing graphic novels since 1998. Their earliest work in this field was Strange Weather Lately, a story for older readers, but since then they’ve concentrated on producing the Louis books, tales for children that adults can enjoy too.

There have been four previous Louis books, but the newest is Louis: Night Salad. “It’s been 5 and a half years since our last book,” John tells me.

“Obviously not all of that has been spent writing the book, there’s been what we call the incubation or gestation period, and we also did a lot of work promoting Louis: Dreams Never Die. As well as that, metaphrog produced a comic book version of Edwin Morgan’s poem The First Men on Mercury, with copies provided to all Glasgow Secondary Schools. Sandra says “The very first time we had an idea for this book was back in 2003, when we did a short story for an anthology called The Round The World Rug Race, which was about 12 pages, and which we really enjoyed doing. So we’d always intended that something similar would be the next book after Louis: Dreams Never Die.” So it’s been a long while coming, but Night Salad is a very intriguing tale which rewards multiple readings. Obviously, some of the reason for the wait was the amount of time the authors spent on the book itself. “There are 96 pages in the book,” Sandra says, “and there were probably 4 times as many as that that were completely scrapped. Some scenes I redid as many as twenty times, just to get the layouts right.” John confirms this, telling me; “When we came to laying it out I think we realised that it was losing some potential emotional impact, and that it would actually be better to rewrite it a bit than rework it, which actually strengthened it.”

The book itself is a wee gem, which Sandra summarises succinctly as ”A quest narrative,” and John elaborates on this: “It’s a very simple story.

It starts with an accident, and Louis is very fond of his friend F.C. (Formulaic Companion) and he sees that F.C. is damaged or broken, and it gets

❝

It's a very simple story. Louis has to strive to figure out what's gone wrong and maybe fix things

❞ worse,” he says. “Louis has to strive to figure out what’s gone wrong and maybe fix things.”

Although the story is simple, there’s a level of complexity throughout that, I admit, confused me at times. But it all becomes clear in the end, and the journey is never an unpleasant one, with Sandra’s brightly coloured scenes contrasting with what is at first quite a dark tale. John says it’s “suffocatingly sad at first, quite miserable.” But a series of steps move away from this sadness, firstly when Louis starts his quest, and then as this quest unfolds in stages towards the resolution.

Louis: Night Salad is a book that will no doubt appeal to different age groups. Children will enjoy the journey, and the art, while adults will be able to appreciate the sadder moments and the way that the initial confusion of the story is resolved in the end. It’s a really nice piece of work, well worth the time that metaphrog put into it. I get the sense they’re becoming aware of this too: “We’ve had responses from readers,” John says “saying they really did care, they wanted Louis to find a cure, and I suppose in that sense we’re glad that the book has worked.” In a way it’s a parallel narrative to Louis’ own – the end might be a while coming, but it’s all worth it when you get there.

LOUIS: NIGHT SALAD IS OUT NOW, COVER PRICE £9.99, FROM AMAZON.CO.UK AND OTHER GOOD RETAILERS OTHER LOUIS BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE TOO...

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 25

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MUSIC

In the Meantime Resurrected by the Zeitgeist, burned by label politics and abandoned by a dozen band members – a battle-hardened Page Hamilton is determined to keep Helmet alive interview: Ryan Drever and Bob Morton his motivation appears to be pretty straightforward.

“I’ll continue to do it, because I was really missing it,” says Hamilton. “There was that period there where I didn’t do anything. I really missed this form of musical expression, there’s nothing like it. There’s no music like it. It’s very true to itself.

I’ve stayed true to the vocabulary and have tried to expand upon it, I guess, in a natural way.”

Seeing Eye Dog certainly continues in the same vein, if not entirely as brawny, with Hamilton flexing his compositional muscle throughout. Though those riffs, the Helmet patent, are present and correct, there’s been something of a maturing period over this last stretch. But Hamilton suggests it’s more an evolution than a reinvention.

“Every day you live your life, you work on your guitar, you work on your singing, you read books – you have more life experiences. So theoretically, as a musician, you should grow and things are going to progress. But to take a complete left turn and try to reinvent yourself is more of a self-conscious approach, and that works for some people.”

Overall, despite the band’s influence on the contemporary metal landscape, and very little of the original group remaining intact today, it seems Hamilton is in no hurry to shut it down just yet.

“I don’t feel the need to disband or discontinue Helmet, cause everybody knows that I formed the band from scratch with an ad in Village Voice or, if they don’t know that, they know I write the songs and play the guitar and do the arrangements. It’s my band, y’know?”

Helmet play The Cathouse, Glasgow on 17 Dec www.helmetmusic.com

Formed in New York as the 80s bled into the 90s and grunge began to percolate, Helmet made music that bridged the gap between the simultaneous waves of punk, hardcore and metal that crashed against the mainstream floodgates.

Eschewing instrumental intricacies and melodic focus for a considerably more primitive, no bullshit approach to their riffs and rhythms, the band were more streamlined and direct than Nirvana and their Seattle brethren.

By the time their second album – and major label debut – Meantime dropped in ‘92, a burgeoning fanbase turned on by this influx of all that is hard ‘n’ heavy had coalesced around the band and their ironically titled MTV hit (Unsung), granting modest success to say the least. People began to take notice of their punishing, mechanical breakdowns, and many took notes.

“I hear it all over the place,” says vocalist/ guitarist Page Hamilton of his group’s prevailing influence today. “Kids today have no idea at this point, because they got into, say, Korn, System Of A Down... I’ve heard Helmet riffs in Evanescence.”

But it’s not like he doesn’t understand why. “Because it’s thematically strong,” he asserts, before impersonating an atypically chunky riff. “It’s just a musical thing; anybody can use it in any context.

It would sound great orchestrated; it would sound good in a pop song, so it’s just a kind of vocabulary.

“Bands like Mastodon and Norma Jean tell me ‘oh, we ripped you guys off with this,’ or ‘we got turned on by that.’ Some bands do cool things with it, and there’s a bunch of shitty bands that have imitated us too. But there’s nothing quite like Helmet.”

As interpersonal tensions and line-up changes began to take their toll on the chemistry (drummer John Stanier would bitterly summarise his time with the band as “four years and a bunch of crap”), just as general mainstream attention was beginning to quieten down; the band eventually met their somewhat untimely end in 1998, shortly after touring fourth album Aftertaste.

The remaining members went their separate ways – Stanier moonlighting as a hip-hop DJ

before founding Tomahawk and Battles, whilst bassist Henry Bogdan became lap steel guitarist for hire – as Hamilton himself kept busy, performing in film scores (Heat being the most notable), playing sessions for David Bowie and picking up a side-project dubbed Ghandi in the intervening years. But, after nearly five years, he was spurred on to salvage the wreckage and start again, culminating in two albums – the hefty Size Matters and relatively sparse Monochrome – released in fairly quick succession in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

“I had the Ghandi band in New York with a bunch of friends and it was hard to maintain it because I couldn’t afford to pay them what they were getting in their other groups,” reasons Hamilton. “So when I got back out to the west coast, Jimmy Iovine at Interscope asked me to make a Helmet record, which was nice because it meant I’d have money to make a record rather than it coming out of my pocket. So it was easier to put a band together.”

Enlisting former Helmet touring guitarist Chris Traynor, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello and White Zombie’s John Tempesta on drums for the project, Hamilton went about reconstructing the music he had. “The songs I was writing at the time weren’t that un-Helmety,’ he elaborates, “but there were a lot of keyboards and strings going on that I had

❝

There's a bunch of shitty bands that have imitated us, but there's nothing quite like Helmet PAGE HAMILTON

❞

never done in Helmet before, so I just scrapped that and rearranged some of the Ghandi songs for two guitars, bass and drums.”

As Helmet v.2 embarked on a world tour, more lucrative commitments began to lure members away on a fairly regular basis, rendering the band a revolving door business. Fast-forward to the present day, and after surviving some grisly business with short-term label Warcon surrounding their last full-length release, a battle-hardened Hamilton remarkably finds himself on album number seven, Seeing Eye Dog. “I knew I was going to make a record,” he says with confidence. “I mean, I wanted to make a record, but it took some time because we got burned by the last record company – so I was a little bit gun-shy. That had never happened to me before, my relationships with [previous labels] Amphetamine Reptile and Interscope were both excellent, respectful and they were men of their word.

“It’s a really bad feeling,” he confesses. “You write your songs and they go out there to the world, you fulfil your end of the bargain or the contract or whatever and [the label] just go ‘Hey, we’re going bankrupt. Sorry, but we can’t pay you, and we’re going to hold onto this for a while cause we’re making some money off it.’ And that’s what happened.”

Hamilton adds, almost nonchalantly: “So it’s been a pretty lean couple of years for me and I’m in debt right now because I paid for this album with my credit card and my manager’s good faith.

“Once I was clear last summer I sat down for a couple of months and just started writing songs, and it came together. I felt very comfortable and confident. I think you reach that point where you just do your thing.”

A trained jazz guitarist, producer, composer and session player, Hamilton still has his fair share of extracurricular activities to divvy up his time between.

In the face of so many changes, particularly the personnel department, it’s a curious thought that Hamilton stands so firm in his resolve to battle on with a band that has already tasted the peak of its success. The answer to any possible questions on

First Impression Pantera’s Phil Anselmo recalls the night he discovered Helmet

Pantera were upstairs playing a gig with Prong and a band called Mind Over Four in Minneapolis at a place called First Avenue and 7th Street Entry one night in ‘91. Downstairs they had this little smaller club for late night shows where, on this particular night, the Melvins were playing. I was a huge Melvins fan, so I was excited.

Pantera did one of the fastest sets in history and I went downstairs thinking I was probably going to miss the Melvins, but instead there was no band playing and some guy next to me says “Helmet’s coming on next.” I was like ‘awww, shit man, I’ve got to sit through this band called Helmet?’

Well, the guy told me “dude, they are badass, they killed here last time.” I ended up watching the show, I was floored – blown away – they fuckin’ destroyed and I bought Strap it On that night!

December 2010

THE SKINNY 27

FILM

Time For Anti-heroes: Top Ten Films of 2010 The Skinny film writers sort through their ripped up ticket stubs for Sex and the City 2 and those Girl Who Got Raped And Beat Up films to bring you the cream of 2010's cinematic crop Words: Jamie Dunn

The Social Network

Dogtooth

Where have all the heroes gone? In days of movie-going yore audiences would flock to the brave antics of wise-cracking maverick cops and nice-but-dim sporting underdogs for their cinematic kicks. You’ll find few such inspirational protagonists in The Skinny’s best of 2010. Take our film of the year, The Social Network, the story of a flip-flop wearing über-geek with a borderline personality disorder who shafts his best bud out of millions for no justifiable reason.

Mark Zuckerberg is a man you wouldn’t want to have a pint with but he’s a prince compared to some of the sleazeballs, sickos, and sociopaths that populate our top ten. Bad Lieutenant’s drugsniffing, OAP terrorising Terence McDonagh (Nic Cage), Four Lions’ cell of nincompoop terrorists, and Dogtooth’s Fritzl-esque patriarch, a man with inventively psychotic applications for VHS cassettes, are the obvious reprobates but even the year’s more conventional protagonists are hardly heroic. A Prophet’s greenhorn jailbird Malick (Tahar Rahim) brutally murders the closest thing he has to a friend to save his own skin. In The Ghost, Ewan McGregor’s eponymous writer is a pervy hack who can barely cycle across a gravel driveway, let alone bring down international political corruption. And in Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a dream thief whose last big job involves subjecting an innocent man to a Freudian mind-fuck to help one huge conglomerate take down their slightly bigger competitor. Propping up the list, meanwhile, are Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and White Material; the former is a tale of a smug Canadian hipster, played by smug Canadian hipster Michael Cera, the latter concerns an aloof plantation owning Frenchwoman, played by aloof Frenchwoman

28 THE SKINNY December 2010

A Prophet

Isabelle Huppert. Hardly a pair to be confused with Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn, are they?

So why did we at The Skinny fall for these degenerates? I’d like to think it’s because our writers are edgy iconoclasts, ready to bring down the notion of the hero in cinema; but this list isn’t the work of idiosyncratic critics. It’s a broadly representative glimpse at what was great in 2010. Perhaps, then, it’s the filmmakers who’ve abandoned heroic protagonists, and who could blame them? In a world of crooked politicians, dastardly financial institutions and hollow celebrity, the idea of the good guy winning out feels a little antiquated.

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying, as a black cat-suit clad Olivia Newton-John memorably taught us at the end of Grease, it’s fun to be bad.

The Skinny Film Writers’ Top Ten (or Eleven, to be more accurate) 1. The Social Network (David Fincher) Is this the movie of the internet generation? Only time will tell, but for now it’s simply the movie of the year. =2. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog) After years of searching, Bavarian maverick Herzog finds, in Nicolas Cage (Bad Lieutenant) and Michael Shannon [My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?], two fearless actors to match the fish eyed lunacy of his best fiend, Klaus Kinski. At The Skinny we give the edge to Cage’s hysterical mania. =2. Inception (Christopher Nolan) Nolan’s brand of pompous bombast certainly has its fans: it’s currently sitting fourth on IMDb’s top 250 list, nestled snuggly between The Godfather Part II and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It won’t stay there long, but for now

Mary and Max

there’s no denying it was the year’s most ambitious blockbuster spectacle. =4. A Prophet (Jaques Audiard) Audiard continues to stake his claim as cinema’s finest populist director with this swaggering crime epic. Lead actor Tahar Rahim is a star in the making. =4. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich) Pixar’s Toy Story 3 rounds off cinema’s finest trilogy.

Take that Star Wars fans and Antonioni aficionados!

6. Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos) The horrors of the Joseph Fritzl case seeps into celluloid, as three children are kept within the confines of their home, hermetically sealed from outside culture – chilling and brutal.

7. Four Lions (Chris Morris) Morris does an extraordinary thing: he humanises the terrorist. Instead of western hating killingmachines he makes them lovable nitwits. It’s an approach that’s hilarious, tragic and utterly terrifying.

8. The Ghost (Roman Polanski) An antidote to the high octane, mile-a-minute, wobbly-cam madness of Bourne, Polanski has made a film that’s stylistically three decades out of date but politically right on the button. =9. Mary and Max (Adam Elliot) Elliot has painstakingly crafted a beautiful claymation tale that’s both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Narrator Barry Humphries joins Sissy Spacek (Badlands), Michael Hordern (Barry Lyndon) and Finlay Currie (Whiskey Galore!) in the voiceover pantheon. =9. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Edgar Wright) We knew Wright could do arch comedy and wham-bam editing, but who knew he could make something so visually sumptuous? A candy coloured explosion of pop-culture references. Delightful. =9. White Material (Claire Denis) White Material may not match the lyrical poetry of last year’s 35 Shots of Rum, but it is still a stirring piece of cinema from the world’s finest filmmaker.

Four Lions

Bad Lieutenant

FILM

British Cinema’s Renaissance Man

After a long slog on the festival circuit, Gareth Edwards’ Monsters finally goes on general release.

The Skinny talks to the talented young director about his genre-blending romance/monster movie, which has been wittily dubbed ‘Brief Encounters of the Third Kind’ interview: Jamie Dunn

❝

I love the contrast between something as insane as a giant four storey alien creature and the mundanity of trying to buy a ticket or fill out a form to travel across the infected zone Gareth Edwards

❞ Gareth Edwards is a cinematic Renaissance man. For his debut feature, Monsters, he is credited as its director, writer, production designer, cinematographer, and visual effects artist. Rumours that he also provided the craft services are unconfirmed, but with a crew of only four – his two leads, Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able, editor Colin Goudie, who doubled as boom operator, and himself – and a tiny budget – £15,000 is the sum doing the rounds on the blogosphere – I wouldn’t be surprised.

His film, which garnered much deserved praise on the festival circuit, is difficult to categorise. Its setting is a bizarro Mexico where the perennial pests are no longer mosquitoes or hurricanes, but enormous tentacled aliens that were deposited across the country six years ago when a NASA space probe carrying samples from Jupiter crash landed. Part love story, part screwball comedy, part American foreign policy allegory and part travelogue, it follows charmingly sarcastic photojournalist Andrew (McNairy) and his boss’s beautiful daughter Sam (Able) as they make their way back home to America during high creature season.

Edwards has found that there’s a fine line between being original and being unsellable. “Producers want to know, ‘What’s so different about this? Why should we bother doing it?’”, he tells me. “So you explain exactly why it’s different. Then you go make it. And then you come back and the marketing people say, ‘Oh my God, what have you done? This is different. We can’t market this.’ It’s a hard one.”

The film’s cinéma-vérité camera style has brought comparisons to the shaky-cam shenanigans of District 9 and Cloverfield, but Monsters is a square peg in the round hole of the bombastic

action and breakneck editing of 21st century sci-fi.

Its CGI creatures are rarely on the rampage – they tend to be just over the horizon, or roaming deep within dense jungle. Edwards instead prefers to focus on the push-pull courtship between Sam and Andrew or on pantheistic panoramas of Mexico at sundown. Imagine if Terrence Malick were to make a bucolic Godzilla, but with a brood of bashful 50ft octopi replacing the eponymous rambunctious reptile, and you’d be half way to picturing the dreamy road trip that Edwards’ protagonists take through alien-infested Central America.

Conflict in Monsters comes not from alien attacks, but from the minutiae of day-to-day inconveniences caused by the migrating creatures. “I think it was Hitchcock who said, ‘Drama is real life with all the boring bits taken out’. I was trying to put the boring bits back in,” says Edwards. “I love the contrast between something as insane as a giant four storey alien creature and the mundanity of trying to buy a ticket or fill out a form to travel across the infected zone.”

Though the creatures are seldom on screen, their presence is never far from the audience’s mind. The uncanny world that Edwards creates is saturated with reminders that the extraterrestrials are fully integrated into the fabric of daily life.

What’s remarkable, though, is that the design of this dystopian near future, like the film’s dialogue, is improvised. “There was a list of things I wanted to be in the film, including graffiti and murals on the walls, and cartoons featuring the creatures on TV. I just didn’t know where they were going to go,” Gareth explains. “So when we were driving around filming I just kept looking for places where I could include this stuff post-production; so if there was

a TV I’d shoot it, any blank wall I’d film there. The tricky part was incorporating the characters and the story. So I’d be filming the actors improvising the scene, waiting for the perfect moment where I could go off them into the sky, say, and put in some military helicopters later. It would drive the producers crazy because they’d be watching the raw footage and there’d be this brilliant little scene that’s really emotional and I’d just move the camera away to nothing and they would think: ‘What’s this guy doing? He’s the world’s worst director.’”

This high level of detail is woven seamlessly into the fabric of the movie’s world, allowing image and soundtrack to reveal as much of the story as dialogue. “I like it when there are two layers to what’s going on screen: there’s visually what you’re looking at, there’s what you’re thinking about, and there’s what you’re hearing, and I like the idea that if you’re hearing something, you’re seeing something else,” Edwards tells me. “I’m not into films that are just, ‘I’m talking so you hear me and then you talk and I see you’. There’s a role for the audience as well: they’ve got to fill in the gaps; they’ve got to invent this world in their minds. When filmmakers fill it all in for you because they’re very excited about showing you everything, you feel a bit redundant... but maybe that’s just my excuse for not showing the creatures very much."

This self-deprecation masks what is most impressive about this debut: the sheer confidence of vision with which it has been made, and the abundance of talent of the man who made it. That Edwards is from a filmmaking culture where new directors tend to reach for the kitchen sink instead of the stars makes it even more impressive. “I never even thought about doing a different genre. I

love sci-fi. I grew up with it. I’m from the Star Wars generation. It’s the default genre for me,” he says enthusiastically. But he explains that it wasn’t just about throwing his considerable CGI skills (before directing Monsters Edwards had a buoyant career as a visual effects artist) at the screen, either. “It was important that the film works without the computer graphics. What we filmed was the skeleton of the story; it works emotionally. The effects just elevate it,” he says.

Edwards’ independent spirit and technical know-how might draw comparisons to tech-savvy directors like James Cameron or George Lucas.

But Monsters contains several telling moments of homage that make clear his cinematic mentor – Steven Spielberg. “There’s some Spielberg in there, for sure,” he confesses. “But in a weird way it’s kind of like kids who rebel against their parents.

I see Spielberg as my hero, but when I got the chance to make my film the last thing I wanted to do was copy him, so I went in completely the opposite direction and tried to make the art-house version of that kind of movie. But it’s kind of like the world: if you push so hard in the other direction you come back to where you started. I only realised this in the edit when I was watching thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is someone so trying to be like Spielberg.’ At first I felt a bit guilty and embarrassed, but then there are so few films out there that are harking back to the 70s and early 80s era of films that I love that I thought: ‘you know what, I don’t mind because I wish someone would put this type of film back in the cinema again.’”

You too can hark back to this era from 3 December, when Monsters goes on general release. www.monstersfilm.com

December 2010

THE SKINNY 29

MUSIC

WALK THE MARGINS

Taking a break from his frantic charge at the helm of MaxÏmo Park, PAUL SMITH explains why some songs were meant to be sung solo INTERVIEW: DAVE KERR THE SKINNY: Your debut solo album [Margins] is miles away from what fans would expect – ambient, introspective, sedate and slower than anything you’ve done with Maximo Park – are these songs that just didn’t fit?

Paul: I’d done some shows over the last two or three years – had six or seven songs that didn’t really fit in with the band – and I would go out and play them just with an acoustic guitar. My friends said it was good and I thought other people might too, which got me thinking I’d put something out myself and keep control of it – make sure it’s all done the right way. So I got David Brewis from Field Music to play bass on the record over Christmas time. Once he’d done that – even though it was just me playing guitar, my mate playing drums and him playing bass – it felt like a real band.

You’ve toured the world and released three albums in fairly quick succession with Maxïmo, was this as much an opportunity to step off the rollercoaster for a bit?

Definitely, I’ve always tried to not get too embroiled in being the singer in an alternative rock band. That’s a huge part of my life, but the bigger reasons I wanted to put this record out are that a) it’s quite scary for me to do something myself after being in a band for 5-6 years, and b) I don’t want to keep doing something that’s frantic all the time. In some ways it’s a nice little get-out clause from ever being bored with Maxïmo Park.

I’m glad to say that we’ve always been happy with doing other things; I mean, I recorded stuff with Modeselektor a couple of years ago. I like to try and spice things up a little, not just for myself but in order to keep the band a vital force.

30 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

Has being on a label like Warp helped in that respect?

That was one of the reasons [Maxïmo Park] signed with Warp, we were getting offered more money in other places that for me would have potentially been a short-term thing – people trying to mould you into the latest thing. We’ll never be a cool band, but I’d like to think we’ll always be an interesting band. Fashion has left a lot of people behind. I’d still say we were part of some media constructed wave, but by being our own men we were allowed to do anything we wanted on Warp. So rather than people going ‘shock, horror – Maxïmo Park are doing this’, it’s like ‘oh well, they’re on Warp, I knew there was something weird about them.'

What’s the plan for 2011?

The Park have been writing songs gradually over the year, even though we’ve all been busy with our own things. There’s a good launch pad, but for the first time we’ve not set ourselves any limits and said ‘OK, we need to put another record out by autumn’ or anything like that. Next year’s going to be a completely creative time. I just want to do something amazing that blows people away. But it’s very difficult to do that, we had a lot of success with our first album and a lot of people got to know the band, which sets you up in a nice way – people are waiting for your music. But it also means that people have a preconception of the band. Even just releasing Margins is one way of throwing something else into the mix and making people think again. But that’s our task, that’s our next year.

PAUL SMITH PLAYS CLASSIC GRAND, GLASGOW ON 3 DEC MARGINS IS AVAILABLE NOW ON BILLINGHAM RECORDS MAXIMOPARK.COM

ART

ARTS WARS: A NEW HOPE? An organisation aims to turn Edinburgh’s old Odeon on Clerk St (or THE NEW VICTORIA, as it was originally named) into a multi-arts venue, restoring the Art Deco building to its original grandeur and opening up one of the city’s best loved spaces as a flexible environment that is both creative and profitable. Sound almost too good to be true? Artistic Director Helen Raw talks to The Skinny about how they plan to achieve their ambitious dream INTERVIEW: ROSAMUND WEST

NOVEMBER SEEMED a pretty dark month for arts venues in Edinburgh, as the collapse of the Edinburgh Settlement saw the Roxy close, the Forest threatened and the GRV bought over. But whisperings also started to emerge of a new project, news spreading first through social networking sites, and gradually seeping into excited real life conversation as it became increasingly apparent that The New Victoria was just the kind of venture that locals had been waiting for. Still, don’t get too excited – nothing is certain as yet, as the team have still to secure purchase of the building.

First, a bit of background. The New Victoria project is spearheaded by a core team of three.

There’s Sarah Colquhoun, whose background is in hospitality and venue management; Helen Raw, who has extensive experience of working in theatre; and Vicki Simpson, a part two architect who has been busy creating the actual plans and drawings of what this restored venue could look like, turning around the extensive details of an ambitious project in a remarkably short time.

Surrounding them is a large network of volunteers, skilled professionals from accountants to web designers who are donating their time for free, which, as Helen says, “Goes to show how much something like this is actually needed in Edinburgh, by the public, and how close it is to people’s hearts.”

One of the most remarkable things about The New Victoria is how quickly everything’s started coming together. “It’s been a relatively short space of time [three months] that all of this work has gone in.

We’ve got a business plan; we’ve got our architect drawings. The amount of work that’s been done you would normally expect to have taken the best part of the year.” The short time frame is the result of the marketing period of the building, which is three months. This is the time organisations have to submit proposals on what they would do with the building,

❝

[It] goes to show how much something like this is actually needed in Edinburgh, by the public, and how close it is to people’s hearts.

- HELEN RAW

❞ with the current owners able to reject bids that they deem commercially unviable. It went on the market in the autumn, so it is expected that a decision will be reached in late December. Other bids have already been rejected.

So what exactly will The New Victoria do? “We want to make as much use of the building as possible. The main parts for restoration are the façade, the Crush Hall and the main auditorium, and everything else we would bring up to the same standard and keep it 1930s Art Deco. Back to how it was, with a modern twist on it.

“There’s going to be music, theatre, cabaret, concerts, conferences, weddings. A café bar and

IMPRESSION OF THE NEW VICTORIA

ice cream parlour would be in the foyer. Then you would come through to the Crush Hall where we would have informal dining, informal events, and a grand piano in the corner somewhere, just a nice atmosphere.” On either side will be further rooms, flexible in their purpose, from cabaret to cinema, “So each space can be used simultaneously for a different purpose. You could have a cabaret show for 30 people in one room, a private film screening in another, a wedding elsewhere. No venue in Edinburgh can do that.”

Upstairs, the old auditorium will be another flexible space, for music, theatre, pantomime, cinema and so on, seating 500. “We would also anticipate that this would be our red carpet venue, because there’s not been a red carpet premiere in the Southside of Edinburgh for about ten years now, since the Odeon ceased to be a proper cinema. It would be great to bring that back as well.”

In between, the mezzanine floor would be made into a café bar, reopening the grand Art Deco balcony that currently lies desolate, a visible reminder to passersby on Clerk St that we are currently leaving one of our most iconic buildings to rot.

The New Victoria plans are grand, but they are also practical. They are very clear that they want to set up a business that is profitable, and does not rely on regular funding handouts. Says Helen, “We don’t want to be another arts and events venue that is consistently, constantly asking for funding.” And how do they plan to achieve this? “We’re focusing on an arts, theatre, film and music venue that is different enough that corporate people would want to come there too. The money for keeping everything going would come from the commercial side rather than the art side. So it’s not a wedding

venue that has a cinema tagged to the side, it’s very much focusing on what the venue is with the arts side, and that will also bring people in for weddings, conferences and so on.” One side feeds the other?

“Exactly.”

These plans are undeniably exciting, and could potentially create a (much-needed) new space for performance, workshops, screenings, and much more in the capital’s Southside. They would also create jobs in the besieged arts sector as well as,

crucially, saving a beautiful building for the Scottish public. There are still many variables unfortunately, from securing the building (down to the whims of a property company) and then securing investment (although they have already had a healthy amount of interest). If you’d like to join the supporters, go to www.thenewvictoria.com/get-involved. Even something as small as ‘liking’ them on Facebook could help to demonstrate how great the desire to see this venue become a multi-arts space really is.

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 31

?

Heather Peace – The Only Gay in the City

Following the run of the UK’s first lesbian TV drama Lip Service, we chat to Heather Peace, who plays DS Sam Murray interview: lizzie cass-maran illustration: Kate Copeland Much like the Native American in the Village People, Heather Peace is the only real-life lesbian in the cast of BBC3’s Lip Service, and seems resigned to her conclusion that this is why she’s getting the bulk of the press attention. “Put it this way,” she tells me, “If Ruta [Gedmintas, who plays Frankie] was gay, I don’t think anyone would be paying me any attention at all.”

In fact, Peace first auditioned for the part of Frankie (along with every tomboy actor in the country), but admits it didn’t really suit her. “I remember sitting there saying, ‘Well, Sam I could do standing on my head’ and as soon as it came out of my mouth I thought ‘Brilliant – what if they get you to read now and you’re rubbish?’”

Fortunately, writer Harriet Braun (also a Real Life Lesbian, if you’re counting) agreed she was perfect for the part.

And, beguiling as Frankie is, Peace might be doing herself a disservice: a quick Facebook poll of some Edinburgh queers shows Sam as the clear favourite – mostly because she’s dependable and one of the sanest characters on the show. Seems lesbians really do want someone they can move in with on the second date Her status as the only lesbian wasn’t something she was aware of at all during filming. “All of the women in the show are women that love women – they’re women, whether straight or gay, who want to tell stories about women. I don’t think you have to be having sex with other women, it’s just a case of wanting to tell female stories.”

Lip Service – along with probably every lesbian drama in the next fifty years – will inevitably be compared to The L Word, but Peace rejects such a comparison: “L Word was issues-based – lesbians having babies, getting married, all those issues. This series is just trying to be a really entertaining show. It’s more like This Life than The L Word. I think what’s different about it is that it becomes for the masses, because it deals with things that everybody does, whether you’re gay or straight – friendship, love, betrayal, things that are not about being gay. I think that’s where it’s groundbreaking.”

However, with a recent BBC survey finding that 18% of people are still uncomfortable with the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people on screen, the show, which can be very explicit, runs the risk of alienating some audiences. Peace agrees that the show is graphic (although “beautifully lit”) but suggests that more people are probably uncomfortable with seeing male gayness than female. She also feels that a lot of commentators have got caught up in the shock factor of some of the sex scenes – in particular when Frankie has sex in a mortuary in the first episode. “It’s a one-time scenario.” she explains. “There’s so much fixation with that, but it just shows where she’s at in her head; she’s crazily mixed up and nothing is sacred to her… It shows lives that are not actually that different from everybody else’s.”

At the same time, she feels it unlikely that we’ll see a transfer to a main BBC channel after its trial on BBC3. Most of the cast and crew seem up for a second series, and the BBC is happy for the time being, too. But it does cater to a specific demographic, and she thinks it would be a very bold move to ask half the population to watch a lesbian drama. But then, the idea of a smaller audience suits Peace well – she turned down a role in Coronation Street for the part of Sam. Although some might think of this as a risky move, she tells me that, following her higher profile roles in London’s Burning and Ultimate Force, it was a very

32 THE SKINNY December 2010

easy decision. “Everything I’ve ever done has been prime time TV. London’s Burning was massive in its day and we were front cover of every magazine and to be honest it’s not my bag being part of that. Lip Service is still a niche market, I can still go down to ASDA in my jogging bottoms and nobody knows me. Or I can choose to go to a gay bar in Brighton and everybody knows who I am – I can choose to be in it or out of it at the moment. It’s also just a very cool exciting show – I thought if this does well, and I don’t do it because I was doing Coronation St, I’ll kick myself.”

❝

I don’t think you have to be having sex with other women, it’s just a case of wanting to tell female stories Heather Peace

❞

In any case, Peace is in a good place to take risk – in between acting gigs, she’s building a reputation for herself as a jazz singer. Her recent launch as a soloist has coincided nicely with the airing of Lip Service; the show was originally due out in March and she tells me that she wasn’t prepared then for the gigs she’s playing now.

The gigs are selling out and she’s well aware that people are booking because of Lip Service, but hopes they’ll like what they see enough to come back for the music. And although she’s always had a gay following, she expects the show’s success to change the demographic of the audience a bit.

Her parents are coming along to her gig in Hebden Bridge (once dubbed the “Lesbian Capital of Great Britain” by Thatcher’s former press secretary Bernard Ingham) and she’s warned them it might be a bit different to other gigs they’ve been to: “I’ve got a feeling I might get a bit of heckling. I do quite a bit of chat in between, Q&A and all of that, so I said to Mum, ‘Bring some ear plugs, there might be some things you don’t want to hear!’”

Talking of things you don’t want your mum to hear, some of the stories I’ve heard suggest the scene where Sam gets down and dirty with Cat in a police station is not a far cry from reality. So I can’t resist asking Peace whether she’s ever been party to such stories. In response, Peace – now very much taken – only tactfully concedes that “there might have been a phase in my very early twenties.”

I’m sure we can all relate to that.

Lip Service comes out on DVD on Monday 15 Nov www.heatherpeace.com

ASHLEY PAGE Music SERGEI PROKOFIEV

Choreography

“A MAGNIFICENT PRODUCTION FOR ALL AGES” The Observer

GLASGOW

Theatre Royal 14 - 31 December 2010 0844 871 7647* www.ambassadortickets.com*

EDINBURGH

Festival Theatre 12 - 15 January 2011 0131 529 6000* www.festivaltheatre.org.uk*

ABERDEEN

His Majesty’s Theatre 19 - 22 January 2011 01224 641122* www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

INVERNESS

Eden Court Theatre 26 - 29 January 2011 01463 234 234* www.eden-court.co.uk*

BELFAST

Grand Opera House 2 - 5 February 2011 028 9024 1919* www.goh.co.uk*

* Booking fee

For full details visit www.scottishballet.co.uk

Sponsored by

December 2010

THE SKINNY 33

SHOWCASE

The Skinny Christmas Card Special is back for another year, featuring festive cards made especially for you, dear readers, by the artists, illustrators and photographers who have been in the magazine over the course of 2010. Merry Christmas, one and all LEFT TOP: Rabiya Choudry, RUNNINGFORCRAYONS, Liana Moran LEFT BOTTOM: Diane Edwards, Ashley Good, Jamie Johnson

34 THE SKINNY December 2010

RIGHT TOP: David Lupton, David Shrigley, Martin Bech-Ravn RIGHT BOTTOM: Paul Jon Milne, Ursula Cheng, Nick Cocozza

December 2010

THE SKINNY 35

FASHION

Hint Hint...

Compilation and styling Alexandra Fiddes & Olivia Fiddes Photography Michele D'Elia www.micheledeliaimagein.blogspot.com Location Such and Such studio www.suchandsuchstudio.co.uk

Feeling low on Christmas spirit? Feeling uninspired? No problem, we've been searching high and low for the best gifts around so that you don't have to

1. Headband by Emily Goodwin available at The Spider And The Fly. £14 2. Jumper by Laura Laura available at The Spider And The Fly. £52 3. Neckpiece by Jan Rooney available at Au Boutique. £130 4. Pop & Bang bags both by Angel Jackson available at Covet. £297 5. Book 'FashionBox, The Immortal Icons Of Style' text by Antonio Maneinelli. Thames And Hudson (rrp £19.95) 6. Book 'Fanzines' Teal Triggs. Thames And Hudson (rrp £19.95)

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7. Book 'A Girl's Guide To Vintage' Lynne McCrossen. Luath Press Ltd (rrp £7.99) 8. Bracelet by Caroline Cloughley available at Such and Such. £160 9. Ship in a bottle. Lyndsey Gray available at The Spider And The Fly. £38 10. Knickers by Little Sister Lucy available at Che Camille. £18 11. Swallow wall decoration by Wooden Tree available at The Spider And The Fly. £4 12. Crochet cushion by Emma Lamb. £54 13. Zine 'Permo', by Jamie Johnson and Al White available at Such and Such. £6.50 14. Tote bag 'Creamola Foam' by Gillian Kyle. £17.50 15. Pugs Not Drugs Tote available at The Maisonette. £12

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16. Breakfast Bag available at The Maisonette. £12.50 17. Leggings (both purple and orange) by LoulaCreates. £99 18. Cardigan by Laura Laura available at The Spider And The Fly. £65 19. Crochet flower garland by Emma Lamb £30 20. Neckpiece by Nicola Proctor available at Au Boutique. £350

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21. Bangle, by Jan Rooney available at Au Boutique. £250 22. Bangle, by Julie McLatchie available at Au Boutique. £200

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23. Tights (pink, blue, yellow) by Tights For Sore Eyes. £15

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24. Shirt by Nadia Scullion. £245 25. Necklace by Nadia Scullion. £150 26. Knitting Cushion available at The Maisonette. £27 27. Cosy Cushion available at The Maisonette. £45

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28. Cushion (blue cherry blossom) by Lovely Pigeon. £40

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29. An Owl Called Clive Plusg available at The Maisonette. £15 30. Nail varnish set by StrangeBeautiful available at The Moon And Mars. £56 31. Legwarmers by M.O.M. available at Che Camille. £30 32. Tunnocks Tea Cake badge by NikkiMade. £2 33. Caramel wafer badge By NikkiMade. £2 34. Felt Toadstool Pin available at The Maisonette. £7 35. Happy Heart Pin available at The Maisonette. £10

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36. Bicycle 'Pashley Sonnet Pure' available at Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op. £494.99

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37. Knitted dress by Warmi available at The Moon And Mars. £245 38. Mug 'Scottish Pride' by Gillian Kyle. £10.50 39. 'Lil Felt Flags available at The Maisonette. £3.50

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40. Moustache To Go available at The Maisonette. £6 41. Skull wall decoration by Penny Forbes available at The Spider And The Fly. £4.50

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42. Clutch bag by Angel Jackson available at Covet. £203 43. Purse (pink, purple, turquoise) by Becksondergaard available at Covet. £35 44. Watch by Triwa available at Covet. £125 Stockists/designers: Gillian Kyle www.gilliankyle.com Che Camille www.checamille.com The Spider And The Fly www.thespiderandthefly.co.uk Such and Such www.suchandsuchstudio.co.uk Covet www.thoushaltcovet.com The Maisonette www.wearemadeintheshade.com Lovely Pigeon www.lovelypigeon.blogspot.com Edinburgh Bicycle CoOp www.edinburghbicycle.com The Moon And Mars www.themoonandmars.co.uk NikkiMade www.nikkimade.folksy.com Tights For Sore Eyes www.tightsforsoreeyes.folksy.com Au Boutique www.auboutique.co.uk LoulaCreates www.loulacreates.com Emma Lamb www.etsy.com/shop/EmmaLamb Nadia Scullion nadiascullion.com

36 THE SKINNY December 2010

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December 2010

THE SKINNY 37

MOVE YOUR

FEET can’t dance?

won’t dance!

We are on a mission to help you on your way to finding that inner dancer. What a great joy it will be for us all when you discover that one of those two left feet is actually a right foot screaming to get out and partywith its pal.

It’s there, trust us.

14-16 Grassmarket 28-30 Ferry Road 0131 225 5525 Edinburgh dancebase.co.uk

New season of classes begins 17 January 2011 and booking is now open Glasgow

0141 552 2442 dancehouse.org Registered Charities: Dance Base (SC022512) Dance House (SC025343)

38 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

Since 2009 The Skinny has teamed up with Glasgow Film Festival to produce a daily guide to the festival, the imaginatively titled CineSkinny. Filled with up to date interviews, previews, reviews and listings the magazine provides an essential, up to the minute (nearly) information source distributed daily in key venues across Glasgow.

For GFF 2011, we're looking for eager volunteers to get involved and work with us on the CineSkinny, where they will gain valuable experience in the workings of publishing under pressure in the highly competitive arts festival environment.

There will be opportunities to network with other film lovers, writers, photographers and lots of exclusive parties and amazing free films...

Are you keen to join the team?

Printing & Distribution Assistants (x2) 17–27 February – full time A key role in ensuring the product reaches its readers.

You will be responsible for: Printing The Cine Skinny every day of the Festival, ensuring high quality print to deadline.

Guaranteeing distribution to venues around the city.

Working with partner venues, finding choice placement and key distribution spots in the city.

Maintaining a distribution report for each day of the festival.

Design Assistant 17–27 February – part time The successful candidate will: Work with the Editor to place content in a pre-made template, ensuring accuracy in written content, design and images.

Maximum 3 hours a day - evenings.

InDesign skills and a keen eye for detail are required.

Digital Assistant 17–27 February – full time

Spring courses begin Sat 8 Jan (enroll by 21 Jan) or drop-in to any of 45+ classes every week

Venues across the City

THE CINESKINNY

Responsible for: Uploading daily issues of The Cine Skinny to issuu.com and linking to relevant websites.

Updating social media.

General online promotion of the CineSkinny to GFF, Skinny and wider audiences.

Deadline for all applications: 10 January 2011 To find out more visit www.theskinny.co.uk/jobs Send applications to jobs@theskinny.co.uk with a CV and a cover letter explaining why you are interested and your suitability for the role. Please include The Cine Skinny & job title as the subject line.

TRAVEL

On: The runs in Mexico – The Diarrhoeas of a Medical Triallist

Our man in Mexico pulls out all the (pit)stops in the name of advancing science WORDS: Brian ‘Constitution of an Ox’ Cloughley PHOTOS: Charlotte Rodenstedt So there I was, suddenly being offered a free trip to Mexico. It seemed too good to be true; surely there must be a catch? Of course there was; there’s always a catch.

The trip, you see, was part of a clinical trial being conducted by a pharmaceutical company. An unsettling prospect to most, clinical trials, conjuring up images of things going horribly wrong and your ending up with a third ear growing out of your heart, or something. Nonetheless, this seemed pretty legit – the trial was more concerned with stopping faecal malfunction than mutating your cardiovascular system. It was for an anti-diarrhoea drug that had reached its final stages of testing, and the final stages of testing involved feeding it to feebly constituted Europeans, packing them off to Mexico and then keeping an eye on their comings and, more pertinently, their goings. It seemed reasonable enough to me; you’re likely to be playing Russian roulette with your innards if you go anywhere with a different diet, so why not give their miracle cure a whirl?

To take advantage I was required to make a few clinic visits to deepest Clydebank, where I would be administered the dope and given further instructions. The nature of the drug they were testing meant my bowel movements were of great interest to them. Which was an odd experience.

The doctor qestioning me was a dry, serious man but I’m sure he was close to laughter when he asked me how well my stool kept its shape once it hit the water. These are hard things to put into words if you’ve never tried. My main task for the weeks ahead was to keep a diary, outlining the regularity and firmness of my stools. Slightly more ominously, I also agreed that if I passed anything with the consistency of soft scoop ice cream (that was the straight-faced doctor’s expression, not mine) I would pop it in a sample jar and call for a courier to whisk it off to the lab.

Reading through the paragraph I’ve just written, I can understand that some people might find the whole process a little, ah, intrusive. In reality, it caused very little annoyance. The diary was straightforward, indeed it was rather informative to look back over my movements throughout the previous month. For the record, August the 17th was a very interesting day but I’m not comfortable sharing the specifics.

As for the stool sampling, well I can appreciate that it sounds pretty unpleasant. To be more accurate it sounds bloody disgusting. I dodged a bullet though, in that the situation never arose where I had to bag up my own filth. Not everyone would be so lucky, but to redress the balance somewhat, participants get a small bonus for every sample that they produce. A fellow experimentee that I ran into in Mexico boasted to me that he’d already made about £150 from calling a courier to come out and pick up little packages of his faeces.

An unconventional way to make a few quid, sure, but I suppose one has to work with the gifts the Lord gives one.

A fortnight after the clinic visit, I set off for Mexico with Charlotte, my travelling partner and fellow experimentee, stool diaries and sample kits in hand. Romantic. One of the conditions of the trial was that we were obliged to stay in one place for the first week (within shitting distance of one of the organisers’ labs). This meant that we spent the first 7 days in the southern city of Oaxaca.

Which was fine, because if your movements are to be restricted you may as well be in Oaxaca.

Oaxaca’s a small city but it’s pretty and it’s vibrant.

A week is maybe a bit of a stretch, but there’s plenty enough sights in the city to keep anyone amused for a couple of days. It’s pretty interesting from a digestive perspective too. The local culinary speciality is chapulines, or fried grasshoppers.

I was pretty unenthusiastic about sampling this supposed delicacy, but curiosity got the better of me, and I eventually hunkered down to a stuffed roast pepper. I flipped the pepper open and, wow, I saw an unco sight! I was unprepared for the mind-blowing number of grasshoppers that could fit inside a single pepper. It was a veritable grasshopper apocalypse. I managed to subsume my guilt and eat the blighters, though predictably, my part in this genocide brought about my least formed stool of the trip (though I didn’t deem it worthy of the sample jar and courier treatment).

Damned natural justice.

Freed from our week long internment in Oaxaca, we headed for the Pacific coast. By the time we reached Puerto Escondido I had become increasingly confident about the ability of my drugreinforced stomach to handle whatever Mexico could throw at it. Seafood from grubby beachside shacks? I processed them with exemplary aplomb.

Lurid green soups with unidentified floaters and flies hovering nearby? A delight both to eat and to pass. Curious beverages with three parts lager and one part salsa? I went back for more. And more.

❝

My main task for the weeks ahead was to keep a diary, outlining the regularity and firmness of my stools

❞ Alas, Charotte would not be so lucky. At some stage, something in Mexico disagreed with her and she suffered from the very symptoms that the drug was supposed to dispel. Perhaps she received a placebo, and was thus incapable of replicating my iron-bellied feats, or perhaps she’s just a delicate little one. In any case, medical science is unlikely to provide an explanation since she took the decision to cop out of the stool sampling part of the experiment. An understandable course of action; bagging up your shit isn’t a barrel of laughs at the best of times, but it becomes an extremely uninviting proposition when you’re too nauseous to walk.

I might add that her boyfriend’s singular refusal to assist her in the sample collecting process made it even less likely to happen.

In any case, neither she nor I appear to have incurred any long term damage (Charlotte returned to regularity soon after returning). Our dealings with the trial organisers were trouble-free too. They organised the trip, and logistically it was fine: we were booked on the correct flights, put up in a fairly classy hotel, paid our expenses on time – the whole thing was as effortless as passing soft scoop ice cream.

December 2010

THE SKINNY 39

TRAVEL

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Go Away!

To Ski and Snowboard School, Cairngorm Mountain Where?

The Ski School and The Snowboard School – Cairngorm Mountain.

What?

For those with an interest in traversing soft and crunchy frozen water at really high speeds (and let's face it, it is great fun) this is a not-for-profit ski and snowboard school (Cairngorm Snowsports) catering to tentative novices, omnipotent snowgods and all those in between.

Why? They say that those who don’t like skiing/snowboarding are those who haven’t tried it. Cairngorm (meaning ‘blue hill’), overlooking the town of Aviemore is home to Scotland's busiest ski resort and Cairngorm Snowsports are the only ski and snowboarding school based on the mountain. Open

40 THE SKINNY December 2010

all day every day over winter (except Christmas Day) they run lessons and packages for all ages and abilities. These can take the form of private lessons or group lessons, or a variety of courses for beginners, improvers, performance groups, freestyle, racing, instructor training and backcountry.

How? If travelling by road, the A9 (north and south) goes to Aviemore. After this take the B970 from the roundabout at the south of Aviemore and then continue towards Cairngorm Mountain until you get to the car park. Aviemore is well served by train and bus links.[Paul Mitchell] * Christmas gift idea: Cairngorm Snowsports supply vouchers for either a specific package or lesson. For further information phone 08455 191 191 or email info@theskischool.co.uk www.theskischool.co.uk

Festival Watch: Vikings @ Up Helly Aa Ah, the Vikings and their renown as history’s most hirsute bunch of raping, pillaging murderers. Well, perhaps this is not quite the case. Recent research from some cardigan and corduroy-donning speccy boffins at Cambridge University suggested that this widely-accepted view of marauders in horned helmets is something of an unfair caricature. In the eighth century the Vikings did land on these shores, hacking monks and suchforth to death and terrifying the populace as a whole, but they soon became an ‘integral part of the fabric of social and political life’. This abiding influence of the Vikings, who arrived in Shetland just over 1000 years ago, is celebrated on the last Tuesday of January every year, by the largest fire festival in Europe – Up Helly Aa, a tradition that originated in the 1880s.

The festival involves a torch-light procession of up to a thousand ‘guizers’ (performers in appropriate costume – which in this case involves replica Viking costumes and, well...battleaxes, mega-cool)

in Lerwick where a full-size replica Viking longship is ceremonially burned. And then everyone goes to the nearest pub, which seems only fair.

This year’s Up Helly Aa takes place on 25 Jan and getting there isn’t as difficult as one would imagine. Nightly ferries leave direct to the Shetland Islands from Aberdeen and there are flights to Sumbergh Airport from Edinburgh and Glasgow on a regular basis.

There is ample accomodation in the form of B&Bs, hostels and hotels but if travelling on a real budget, why not stay in a böd, a building formerly used to house fishermen but now essentially a camping barn. On the higher end on the scale there’s the option to hire out your very own lighthouse... yes, a lighthouse![Paul Mitchell] To find out more about getting there and away, check out www.northlinkferries.co.uk For accommodation, see www.camping-bods. com; www.lighthouse-holidays.com www.uphellyaa.org

u P of p to itc in £ h f ve 10 or st ,0 m 0 en 0 t

Had a brainwave?

November 2010- January 2011

Join The Celebration Of Scotland’s Winter Season

We can help you make a business Find out more and apply:

www.scotlandswinterfestivals.com

www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk/starterfor6 T: 0844 544 9990 Applications close at midnight, Monday 31 January 2011

originated by

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 41

FOOD & DRINK

How to cook: xmas Dinner

Worried about cooking your Christmas roast? Never fear, The Skinny has assembled an extremely amateur guide to help you create a dazzling feast with a minimum of stress Words: Tom Farrington & Rosamund West Illustration: Sarah Tanat-Jones

Jamie MacDonald of Stockbridge’s exclusive cocktail snug The Raconteur has created Santa Nicol’s Gin-ger Eggnog cocktail specially for those who’ve been naughty this year. Not only will the warming combination of ginger, cream and nutmeg put you right in the mood for a few rounds of Silent Night, you can get away from festive retail hell down in sleepy Stocky by visiting the Raconteur in person.

Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to meet Santa Nicol on his rounds.

Santa Nicol's Gin-ger Eggnog 35ml Edinburgh Gin 20ml Kings Ginger 3 barspoons sugar 10ml Appleton Estate VX 1 whole egg 20ml milk 20ml cream Dry shake then shake in Japanese cobbler with handcracked ice. Serve in a goblet with grated nutmeg.

Tuck yourself away with this festive treat at The Raconteur 50 Dean Street Edinburgh, EH4 1LQ 0131 343 3221 www.theraconteuredinburgh.com

42 THE SKINNY December 2010

Planning Plan to leave yourself two hours to relax before folk arrive for dinner. No matter your imagined efficiency, this will turn into about half an hour on the day. Most of the trimmings won’t suffer from being cooked the day before and reheated while the turkey rests, though potatoes do make the place smell good. Don’t do everything yourself either – get the scavengers to bring the later courses: decent cheeses (great with good honey, seriously), Christmas pudding and expensive ice cream.

Booze Make some flavoured vodka by leaving crushed fruit (whatever’s on sale – cranberries work well), a few cloves, a cinnamon stick, a few spoons of sugar and some citrus zest in an airtight jar in the fridge for a couple of days, before adding to a bottle of vodka and steeping until Christmas.

Strain out the bits before use. Fire those same flavourings into a large pot full of cider or wine, add the citrus juice, the spent fruit, and a few decent measures of whisky, warm it gently, and lo, a drink is mulled. Even the cheapest booze satisfies after a good, stern mulling.

Starters Smoked salmon is often best served simply on fresh bread, with a heavy showering of lemon juice and black pepper, but for something less visibly ordinary, try chopping and mixing with chives, grated horseradish and cucumber, before dressing with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and serving on toast. Don’t overdo the starters – they’ll be happy with this and a similarly dressed salad of rocket and halved cherry tomatoes.

Turkey Preheat the oven to maximum. Half a couple of onions, and throw them in a roasting pan along with a few unpeeled carrots and about ten unpeeled cloves of garlic. Lay the turkey on top.

Chop fresh sage, mix with butter and squish this between the turkey’s skin and the breast, retaining some of the sage butter for basting. Season all over. As soon as you put the turkey in the oven, turn the temperature down to 180ºC, and roast for 40mins per kg, cooking the stuffing separately. Turkey’s a dry bird, so it’s best to baste whenever you re-booze. If you don’t drink, then that means about once every three quarters of an hour, and quickly, so the oven loses little heat. Once it’s done, transfer to the carving altar, cover with foil and rest for 30mins. Serve a haggis too, or boil and bake a small ham, studded with cloves and dusted first with mustard powder, then with icing sugar for its last fifteen minutes. If you’re vegetarian then a fine substitute for the main event is something you’ve made yourself.

Potatoes Perfect roast tatties are a highly prized foodstuff, and the ability to conjure them up from just potato, oil and a little salt is as close as mere mortals can come to magic. You’ll need sunflower oil (half a tablespoon per tattie) and potatoes, as many as your guests require, peeled and chopped to taste.

Don’t be tempted to go for a fancier oil or fat option, you’ll be wasting your money. Also avoid vegetable oil, as it tastes rubbish. Place your roasting tray in the oven (metal works best) and heat to 200ºC. Put your spuds in a pan and cover with boiling water. Bring to the boil, and leave to cook for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, gently heat the oil in a saucepan, being careful not to set it on fire. When the time’s up on the tatties, drain, then put back in

the pan over the heat for thirty seconds, shaking continuously to fluff them up. Spread them evenly over the pre-heated roasting tray, and spoon the heated oil over one at a time so each is coated but not drenched. Season to aid crispiness, and shove them in the oven for approximately 50minutes, turning once or twice.

Stuffing Incorporate finely chopped elements from the other dishes into your stuffing, like apples, nuts, and sage. Apricots are good too. Throw it all in a bowl and use breadcrumbs and an egg for binding, then wrap it all in bacon and cook at 190ºC until the bacon’s done (about 20mins).

Trimmings and sauces After boiling and before roasting, carrots benefit from orange zest, honey and a little cumin. At the same time, try adding some cinnamon and apple

pieces to your parsnips, and cover everything in butter. Jesus loves butter.

Make a simple cranberry sauce by boiling down cranberries, brown sugar and orange juice for about 5mins, and add a spoonful of this to your gravy.

There can never be too much gravy, and you can make it whilst the turkey’s resting. Sit the roasting pan on the hob (still containing the vegetables), and deglaze with a little cider or red wine, scraping up the good stuff with a spoon. Add hot chicken stock, sage, a bay leaf and the cranberry sauce.

Boil rapidly in the roasting pan for five to ten minutes, mashing everything down until it hits the right consistency, then pour it through a sieve. If it’s still a little thin then whisk in an equal mixture of butter and flour (a roux). If it’s lumpy then sieve it again.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Food News December to advise on diet and health.

Wannaburger Wannaburger have just launched an innovative new burger bar on Queensferry Street in Edinburgh. The refurbished bar has a clean, contemporary style based on the classic New York burger joint, and is the first of its kind in the capital to bridge the gap between premium burgers and cheaper high streets brands, providing self service, fast food burgers using the same high quality ingredients as before, but delivered at even greater value. This new fast food direction has been developed in response to challenging economic conditions, whilst still catering for a more ethically minded, health conscious public.

The menus have a host of new options, from locally sourced draught beers from brewdog to a hotdog menu and drinks including iced tea and American-style lemonade. And for students, there’s even a 15% discount.

7/8 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PA 0131 220 0036 www.wannaburger.com Follow Wannaburger on Twitter and Facebook

Real Foods For anyone yet to discover them, Real Foods offer treasure troves of decent healthy food from local producers. There’s an amazing range of vegetarian, organic snacks, ready to eat food and every imaginable ingredient for making tasty meals. They also have the best selection of free-from foods around.

Every day there are special offers – often at less than cost price – and friendly staff are always happy

Living veggie With Hillhead Bookclub {hb} Recently, this braw nation of ours has been experiencing some particularly nice weather… if you’re a duck. At the time of going to press, no ducks are employed at {hb} and, presuming The Skinny readership isn’t peppered with culturally savvy mallards, we’re as peeved at this as you are.

37 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3JU, or 8 Brougham Street, Tollcross EH3 9JH – open 7 days a week Shop online at www.realfoods.co.uk Follow Real Foods on Facebook and twitter

presents to you...

THE GLASSHOUSE Foodies Foodies – Edinburgh’s Christmas food and drink festival – returns on 3, 4 and 5 December to the grand surrounds of George Street’s Assembly Rooms. The stars of the show are of course the chefs who will be cooking their signature festive recipes live in the Chefs’ Theatre. As well as watching and learning from the masters, visitors can feast on dishes from favourite local restaurants; sip seasonal cocktails and mulled wine; and shop for Christmas gifts and speciality food and drink. Experts will be on hand to help with Christmas entertaining (the more sophisticated parts that aren’t covered by the recipe guide to your left), with masterclasses in canapé making, cocktail mixing, champagne tasting and food and wine matching.

For more information and event timetables visit www.foodiesfestival.com. Tickets are £10 and valid on all three days, purchasable online or on 0871 230 5573

Newly refurbished and ready to warmly welcome you this winter.

Grab a beer, a coffee or a festive bite and relax in our new chilled space. The perfect venue for your Christmas Party too!

Current Exhibition: Drawings & Prints from Tessa Dunlop 7a Lansdowne Cresent, Kelvinbridge, Glasgow G20 6NQ t: 0141 334 4653 e: lansdownebar@maclay.co.uk www.lansdownebar.co.uk

Allow to cool slightly.

Serve with a nice dollop of vanilla ice cream {plenty of dairy-free options out there for vegans}.

We’ll be enjoying this with a nice cinnamon & pear cocktail along with some festive magic from James Brown’s Funky Christmas.

Season’s greetings folks, ducks and all…

Fingers crossed then for a white Christmas, not a wet one. Wenceslas not wellingtons. As it’s our first Christmas, Bookclub is throwing some pressies your way with Granny Would be Proud Vintage Fairs {Sundays}, a festive sewing club {Tuesdays} and a Vegetarian Christmas Dinner {8 December} plus some cinnamon cocktails, acoustic pop-ups and hot toddies for cold customers. Make sure to get involved with our giving tree to get gifts to those who might not otherwise see Santa. ‘Til then, here’s what we’ll be doing to spice up our plums this month:

Humbug-free mulled plums You’ll need: 300ml red wine and 100ml port Zest of 1 lemon A handful of your favourite berries {juniper/ blackberry/ sloe} A couple of cinnamon sticks A bunch of ripe plums {about 350g for those who like numbers} 3 large spoonfuls of decent brown sugar 5 cloves Add the wine and port to a saucepan…bring to boil then reduce heat.

Add the lemon, cinnamon, berries, cloves and sugar… stir and simmer for ten mins.

Hillhead Bookclub 17 Vinicombe St Glasgow G12 8BE 0141 576 1700 www. hillheadbookclub.com

December 2010

THE SKINNY 43

44 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

MUSIC

Live Music Highlights

METAL COLUMN

words: Mark Shukla

Photo: Claire cox

When afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti died in 1997 he left a legacy of musical innovation and political dissent that is quite unique. His son Femi Kuti has since proved himself a firebrand very much in the same mould, carrying the torch for afrobeat whilst spreading the message of activism and empowerment. Soul, funk, jazz and pure rhythm are the basic ingredients but under Kuti’s leadership they add up to something completely transcendent.

Get down to HMV Picture House on 1 Dec and Glasgow Arches on 2 Dec if you want to hear something spectacular.

Perennial indie mainstays The Wedding Present continue to age rather well: Gedge still knows how to write ‘em and his band are never less than solid.

Touring their celebrated sophomore album, 1989’s Bizarro, they may not have many tricks up their sleeves but for fans of lean, punchy guitar-pop the Weddoes always deliver. See them at The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 30 Nov, Aberdeen’s Tunnels on 1 Dec and Glasgow QMU on 2 Dec. Victims of perhaps the most egregious and widespread critical misappraisal in recent memory, Detroit underdogs Electric Six have long been written off as a novelty band – but that shit stops here. With seven albums released on the downlow – longplayers filled with enough joyful hooks, mischievous wordplay and unexpected pathos to make you weep with shame for having ignored them – and possessing one of the last great frontmen in the form of the stupendous Dick Valentine, missing their gig at Glasgow ABC on 3 Dec would be tantamount to self-harm. We hope we’ve made ourselves clear.

Perhaps we’re showing our age but it only feels like five minutes ago that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were being touted as the next big thing. That never happened, but to their credit the band have remained steadfast in their commitment to smoking moodily, wearing shades indoors and writing swarthy rock n’ roll songs about being an intense loner. Shticky perhaps, but they always play loud, hard and from the heart – and that’s all we can ask for. Glasgow O2 Academy 6 Dec. Conor J O’Brien’s folk-rock outfit Villagers have only been around for the blink of an eye but already they’ve established themselves as live favourites thanks to their intoxicating blend of poise, verve and raw intensity. O’Brien may have quite a flare for the dramatic but there’s no doubt that the songwriting is there too – Glasgow Òran Mór on 6 Dec should be ace.

Johnny Flynn is a curious proposition: once quite the mover and shaker in theatrical circles, Flynn has now taken up the mantle of the worldworn folkie – with a smooth pop twist of course.

idlewild

Just another role for Flynn perhaps, but this boy can walk the walk – and to hell with your bogus notions of ‘authenticity’. Spacious, restrained songwriting and elegant, keening vocal lines await those who make the trip to Edinburgh’s Liquid Room on 7 Dec. New York’s Nina Nastasia will be bringing her lilting, delicate brand of folk-rock to Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on 8 Dec. Her latest album Outlaster marked a return to the form of career highs Dogs and The Blackened Air, embellishing her characteristic haunting arrangements with rich, velveteen strings.

Rabble-rousing indie favourites Arcade Fire take to the stage of the Glasgow SECC on 12 Dec and we’re sure they’ll have no trouble filling the space, given the beauty and expansive charm of their rousing third album The Suburbs. Move now for tickets ‘cause they won’t be around long.

Thee Moths (aka lo-fi folktronica veteran Alex Botten) conjures bizarre improvised songs/soundscapes using miscellaneous electronics, voice and whatever else he can drag onto the stage – including audience members. He plays Glasgow’s Rio Café on 12 Dec, Dundee’s Art Bar on 13 Dec and Edinburgh’s Bongo Club on 14 Dec. Should

be a weird one.

With a slew of deluxe-reissues on the shelves now seems as good a time as ever to remember just how good Saint Etienne actually are. Plotting a stylistically precarious course that takes in classic pop, ambient house, electro and folk, their sound has aged astonishingly well. Glasgow ‘s O2 ABC on 16 Dec should be lush.

So Acoustic Ladyland are calling it a day – kind of. Having stated their intentions to change both their band name and musical direction in 2011, their gigs at Aberdeen Café Drummonds on 18 Dec and Edinburgh Electric Circus on 19 Dec will be the very last chance to witness their beautiful paroxysms in the flesh. We’re sure whatever they decide to do next will be great but we wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Local favourites My Latest Novel are set to play Glasgow King Tut’s on 28 Dec and although the band have been flying just under the mainstream radar for a number of years now, their graceful, atmospheric sounds are always worth the price of admission. The band promise material from their cult debut Wolves, 2009’s Deaths and Entrances and a debut airing for a few new tunes on the night.

Arcade Fire

HOT TICKET

weird TICKET

Idlewild

Fear Factory

various, Dec

QMU, 16 Dec

Hold on to your hats: this month sees Idlewild celebrating the 10th anniversary of 100 Broken Windows (voted #1 Scottish album of the decade by you lot in these very pages) by playing the album in its entirety at four venues across the country. It goes without saying that these one-off gigs will be something very special indeed. The dates are: Edinburgh Liquid Room on 15 Dec, Aberdeen Lemon Tree on 29 Dec, Dundee Fat Sams on 30 Dec and Glasgow Òran Mór on 31 Dec. [Mark Shukla]

7pm, £16

Pop had John and Paul; folk had Simon and Garfunkel; and industrial metal had Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares. Rightly or wrongly, if you were a Kerrang!-reading adolescent in the mid-nineties (and who wasn’t?) then Fear Factory were undoubtedly a pretty big deal. Of course, the band’s techno-dystopian visions seem silly now – but who could have guessed that Willow Smith and Justin Bieber would be the reality?

Given the band’s position as prophets of doom, peddling redundant warnings of an already-dated future, this remanufactured model (Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera have been rendered obselete) promises a unique and bizarre trip down memory lane. [Mark Shukla]

www.idlewild.co.uk

7pm, £19.25

Idlewild's 100 windows; special edition is available now

www.fearfactory.com

It’s December. The nights have not so much been drawing in as they have been choking us of all life, the weather’s miserable and worse yet – it’s nearly fucking Christmas! Still, those of you finding it hard to bite the bullet of festive joy and goodwill, have no fear, as there are just about enough opportunities left this year for you to vent your frustrations and better yet, batter somebody in an acceptable forum. ‘Tis the season.

Edinburgh’s ‘Blastonbury’ extreme metal all-dayer is a perfect example. Taking place at Bannerman’s on the 5th, it features some of the finest purveyors of brutality and filth from across the UK and the Netherlands, sporting such brilliantly disgusting monikers as Prostitute Disfigurement, Cancerous Womb, Cerebral Bore, and rather hilariously, Joe Pesci. An excuse to headbang till you pass out, if ever there was one.

The 13th Note delivers an opening pair of shows to satisfy all lovers of confusing and eccentric noise, with Super Adventure Club and Paws lined up for 2 Dec and a spectacularly packedout bill of inventive, searing punk rock featuring Action Beat, Mr Peppermint, Ultimate Thrush, Stomachs and Divorce is ready and waiting to give you a hernia the following night.

With the best part of a week to recover from that, we’re spoilt for choice on 8 Dec. Do you: watch hardcore heroes Hatebreed stomp the shit out of the Garage or pogo like an idiot in the company of crusty punks Subhumans, Gin Goblins and Oi Polloi (Ivory Blacks)? We’ll probably be down the road, picking our jaws up off the floor at the resurrection of Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Barrowlands), if we can find a bloody ticket.

Elsewhere, that two-headed devil from the north Bronto Skylift take to the treacherous winter roads as part of a Scottish tour to pummel us all with their killer new single Gameboy – starting at Madhatters, Inverness (9 Dec) and ending at Dundee Doghouse on the 17 Dec, taking in everywhere from Aviemore to Stornoway in-between.

Back in Glasgow, the trend of the heavyweight package tour continues with ‘Metalcore’ stalwarts, Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizion and Atreyu all set to coax the youngsters in from the cold, (SECC, 9 Nov) whilst Disturbed and Papa Roach ride a wave of nu-metal nostalgia along with Halestorm (also SECC) on 11 Dec. Virginian miscreants, Municipal Waste set their phasers to THRASH at Ivory Blacks on 15 Dec whilst southern collective Drum Eyes – featuring members of Japanese noise warriors, The Boredoms and gabber/chiptune maestro DJ Scotch Egg – hit The Captains Rest with Ultimate Thrush that same night (and Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh on 14 Dec).

Surely a no-brainer – godfather of bludgeoning riffs, Page Hamilton, takes to the Cathouse (17 Dec) under the legendary Helmet banner with Fighting With Wire and Desalvo as ample support.

On 16 Dec, however, arguably the year’s final difficult decision presents itself. Pitting UK doom legends Orange Goblin and their 15th Anniversary Tour (Ivory Blacks) against a reassembled Fear Factory and High On Fire (The Garage) is bad enough, but going up against the portly dark prince that is Meat Loaf (SECC)? Forget it.[Ryan Drever]

December 2010

THE SKINNY 45

Les Savy Fav Òran Mór, 14 Nov

rrrrr Hats off to Wichita for finding supports capable of cordoning off their own patch of memory tonight. They might not share the headliner’s carnivalesque spirit, but Cloud Nothings knock out their art-punk power-pop with comparable energy. Their powerful rhythm section negotiates shifting time signatures without losing grip of Dylan Baldi’s canny melodies: think teenage Superchunk, and get excited.

Sky Larkin don’t offer the same surprises, but only because anyone with a taste for loud guitars and big choruses should be familiar with these premiere practitioners by now already.

Katie Harkin is warm and funny between songs, punchy during them, and with Still Windmills as a parting shot, they’re developing quite the golden arsenal.

One song in and Les Savy Fav’s mercurial frontman is living

Deftones O2 Academy, 12 Nov

rrrr While the past two years have seen an abundance of drama for Deftones, they’ve also seen the release of their strongest work since 2000’s futuristic metal epic White Pony. Opening their first Scottish gig in three years with new material might seem a risky gambit, but the reception to Rocket Skates is warming; newcomer Sergio Vega in particular shows considerable presence for his relatively green status.

What follows is a set consisting largely of songs from Diamond Eyes and from their first three albums, including an impressively executed rendition of Passenger where frontman

up to his reputation, swinging from lighting rigs and trying to grab his own tongue mid-lyric.

Tim Harrington bounds on stage in a poncho, spitting and undressing and offering a trade – one manner of performance forfeited for another. Eccentricity replaces actually singing all the songs, but it’s a swap all are happy to accept.

The rest of the band are steadfast and tight, ensuring Harrington’s antics don’t throw things irrevocably off course as he bathes in beer and threatens a garrotting each time his mic lead wraps around the crowd.

It’s visceral and exhausting without ever detracting from the exuberance of sing-alongs like Let’s Get Out of Here and howlalongs like What Would Wolves Do. When we hit the curfew, Harrington remains amongst us, dishing out hugs and thanking people individually for coming – a civil sign-off to a rambunctious riot. [Chris Buckle] www.lessavyfav.com

Chino Moreno injects sufficient range in Maynard’s absence.

The transformation of Moreno from record to stage is always something to behold, both in terms of the development of his vocal approach over the years and his boundless energy, never remaining in any one spot for more than a split-second.

But the night’s emotional highlight will have to remain a toss-up between a glorious performance of Minerva dedicated to Chi Cheng or the final torrent of energy released in closer 7 Words. By the end of the show, it’s a mystery as to whether the wet floor has been caused by beer, sweat or tears: it’s probably all three. [David Bowes] www.deftones.com

46 THE SKINNY December 2010

Randolph’s Leap

O2 Academy, 3 Nov

Captain’s Rest, 18 Nov

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As one half of the biggest selling hip-hop group of all time, by rights OutKast’s Antwan ‘Big Boi’ Patton should have sold out the Academy before his street team broke a sweat. How the seasons change – with a reported 160 of a possible 2,500 tickets sold, a bar beneath the balcony becomes a makeshift venue for what transpires to be a rare chance to catch ‘Daddy Fat Sax’ at close quarters.

Wearing a wide smile from the get-go, the Atlanta MC visibly thrives on pairing it back to basics, doling out more wordsper-minute than he’ll allow himself on record. Leaving no stone unturned, we’re given a tight and energised hour-long mix-tape of classics that span OutKast’s discography (from Playas Ball to Ghetto Musick via the dizzy heights of B.O.B and Ms Jackson) and the bulk of a new solo album – Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty – spoiled with playful and inventive glimmers of hope for an ailing genre (Shutterbugg, Fo Yo Sorrows, Shine Blockas).

“I like it like this,” Big Boi insists before he leaves us, “up close and personal.” Looks like those who slept both missed and made a memorable night for everybody else. [Dave Kerr]

To paraphrase one of their own songs, Randolph’s Leap very nearly had to cut crisps out of debut EP Battleships and Kettle Chips after a scary email from Kettle Foods arrived the morning of its launch. “Who knew ‘Kettle Chips’ was a trademark?” asks singer Adam Ross incredulously.

“I thought it was a type – like crinkle cut…” But rest easy: masses of complimentary crisps are apparently now winging their way Glasgow-wards. If only all potential copyright infringements were resolved so amicably.

It’s fortunate the suits saw sense, as any bully-boy bigshottery against so enjoyable a bunch might have forced a minor, localised boycott. They charmingly twist folk-pop into odd knots, and though there’s faint danger the light-hearted results could be considered throwaway, trying to discard such witty ear-worms would be pure contrariness (as Kettle Foods no doubt recognised).

Let’s just hope Hasbro don’t call dibs on the rest of the title.

[Chris Buckle]

Ash The Liquid Room, 11 Nov

rrr Ash’s Tim Wheeler points out that it’s been six years since their last Edinburgh gig, and it’s been almost double that since The Skinny last saw them. Yet all that instantly dissolves as the quartet (Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack is on hand for some extra axe work) launch into Girl From Mars. Judicious placing of their big singles allows the boys some experimentation though, and we’re forewarned about a ten-minute, instrumental b-side

Supporting The Concretes at The Arches on 4 Dec and playing Olive Grove Christmas Party, 13th Note on 22 Dec www.myspace.com/randolphsleap

bigboi.com

Fence Halloween Stereo, 31 Oct

The Coral O2 ABC, 19 Nov

rrrr First up tonight is Neville Skelly, cousin to James and Ian of The Coral, presenting his brand of gentle, country-inflected acoustic rock to an appreciative audience. Skelly shares The Coral’s reverence for 60s songcraft – although where they take their cues from the English folk-psychedelia tradition, he recalls the melancholy Americana of early Love.

Bolton’s Cherry Ghost have garnered critical acclaim recently, and their lush guitar rock goes down well. The embellishment of their songs with piano, synth and trumpet gives them plenty of dynamism: the crescendos recall Echo and the Bunnymen’s more epic moments, although they do occasionally veer into a more bloated anthemic rock.

There is no danger of The Coral succumbing to such pitfalls: their take on dreamy

jangle-pop has always had an alluring emotional ambiguity to it.

Their fans are a mixed bunch, a hotchpotch of mildly lairy indierock lads and more subduedlooking student types. This testifies to their broad appeal, combining a wistful, magical lyrical universe with carefullycrafted classic rock influences.

Recent material dominates: following guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones’ departure in 2008, the band are evidently keen to move on. Things are fairly restrained until they pull out the anthems towards the end – Dreaming of You and Pass It On – when some of the crowd get pretty boisterous. The Coral deserve better, for their unswerving dedication to the cultivation of a distinctive sound over the years, than to receive a comparatively muted reaction to their new songs; but then, they’ve never really been in it for the adulation anyway. [Sam Wiseman] The Coral play The Waverley Stage at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay www.myspace.com/thecoral

rrrr Glittery globes and cardboard cacti transform Stereo and its half-finished lane-neighbour The Old Hairdresser into appropriately galactic settings for a Space-Cowboy Halloween; Buzz Lightyear and Marvin the Martian mingle off-stage, while Fence alumni thrill onstage. James Yorkston hasn’t played live for a while due to experiencing “the year from hell”, but he successfully converts an atmosphere of glum reverence into an airy pleasure, best encapsulated by a closing improvisation that has him sheepishly scrabbling for rhymes to the delight of the crowd.

Said punters have translated the costume theme in some unexpected ways, with Space-Prawn and Santa With Oven Gloves particularly perplexing. Glittertrews aside, Lord Cut-Glass and band have interpreted the brief more traditionally. Their saloon band garb suits their sound: a solid mid-afternoon set that aids the knees-up atmosphere no end.

Across the alley, the midrenovation Old Hairdresser hosts Randolph’s Leap, who sing about crisps and squeamishness and infect all in the vicinity with their twee wit and silliness.

Upstairs, James Acaster reacts to fake doughnuts and wears the wrong day-of-the-week socks for

photo: Brian Vass

Big Boi

photo: STewart Fullerton

photo: heidi kuisma

LIVE REVIEWS

from their recent A-Z Series of singles.

Yet it’s warming to see them stretch like this, meaning the pay-off of Oh Yeah and Kung Fu is an added bonus rather than a punitive reward. In fact, much of the new material outshines some of the obligatory numbers, particularly Summer Snow, such is Ash’s knack for immediacy.

The pile of 1977 t-shirts on the merch stand may remain largely untouched tonight, but the crowd certainly leave with a little piece of Ash in their hearts.

[Darren Carle] www.ash-official.com

our amusement, but the sound of The Pictish Trail starting up beneath us is difficult to resist.

When we make it back through the courtyard, a solo Johnny Lynch is proving a stand-up hit in his own right, guiding us through synth presets and airing thirty-second compositions like the uncharacteristic noise-nugget Sweating Battery Acid.

Johnny pops up again during King Creosote’s second set of the day (his first lost out to humus flat-breads in the early afternoon battle for attentions), helping turn a high-energy Happy into today’s highlight. Kenny leads his band of udder-bearing man-cows and cone-headed wizard-creeps through a sterling set that could contentedly top the night if weren’t barely nine.

For a Halloween bash, there have been few spooks and scares – until we venture back into a deserted and dilapidated Old Hairdresser to find the Fence film playing to an eerily empty room. Back downstairs, John B McKenna reliably delivers further top tunes, though by now there’s a craving for something from outside the guitar-toting mould. Silver Columns sate the hankering with a brash set of beat-heavy electropop, with Lynch once again at the heart of today’s unqualified success-story. As he pushes the crowd through towards the final furlong, Fence adds another superb day to its events roster in style.[Chris Buckle]

RECORDS

THE DIRTY DOZEN

Having released music by everyone from Arcade Fire to The Notwist since founding influential Berlin indie label CITY SLANG in 1990, it's safe to say CHRISTOF ELLINGHAUS has an ear for a tune. With no holds barred and his own 'marks out of a hundred' rating system, our guest host calls it as he sees it

The Loves – December Boy/Bubblegum (Fortuna POP! 6 Dec) God, they’ve really done this for ten years?

And now they are calling it quits next year?

Possibly because they’ve come to realise that in those ten years they were not able to add one tiny bit of their own to the previously existing Sixties canon. Could have told them. 45/100 Dirty Projectors – As I Went Out One Morning (Domino 6 Dec) In which our hero Dave Longstreth does Dylan and his mistresses save the whole thing from going South once more. Ignore this, and do seek out DM Stith’s mind-blowing reinterpretation of Gates Of Eden on some dodgy Dylan tribute from a few months ago. Stunning stuff. 95/100 for DM, 60/100 for DPs School of Seven Bells – I L U (Full Time Hobby, 6 Dec) They used to be good, no? The info sheet to this mentions that “guitarist Benjamin has somehow found time to be Victoria Beckham’s music supervisor for her New York shows,” – I wonder what she was showing? Her stretch marks? Maybe a new line of underwear for the bulimic? 75/100 Lupen Crook – Dorothy Deserves (Beast Reality, 6 Dec) The press release keeps going on about the video for this song. But it doesn’t even load properly on YouTube, which might explain that only 695 people have tried to watch it. The band sounds like a more Kinks-y Mumford & Sons. Do I have to rate all of these? Like a 52 out of 100?

Patrick Wolf – Time of my Life (Hideout, 6 Dec) The lyrical video for this is clever and has 93,000 more views than the previous one. This guy has been a bit of a genius for a while, no?

He’s been around longer than Mumford & Sons... might even outlast them. I’d give this a glorious 67/100 Matthew Dear – You Put a Smell On Me (Ghostly International) This is annoyingly good and possibly the only thing here that has absolutely no resemblance to Mumford & Sons. Has he always sounded this dark, or is the Health influence shining through?

Tu Fawning – I Know You Now (City Slang, 13 Dec) No Mumford here. Pure dark genius. How else can I say it? We are putting this out. Of course it is AMAZING...

EP REVIEWS LARKIN POE SUMMER EP 13 DEC , EDVINS

rrr The second instalment in a seasonal series from Larkin Poe, the Summer EP arrives a fortnight before Christmas – thus the lush Americana and harmonious voices of the Lovell sisters will mostly be enjoyed whilst enduring pishin’ rain and hurling gales. Praying For The Bell is a smooth country opener, displaying lyrical maturity beyond their years – the sisters are 19 and 20 – and showcasing musicianship with a thick full sound and gorgeous pedal steel. The musical ear-tickling continues with the bluegrass pop of Sea Song; such close harmonies can always sound great, but when sung by siblings every little nuance is identical. If you’ve a thirst for modern country, Larkin Poe might just be your new favourite Dixie Chicks. [Alan Souter]

Pulled Apart By Horses – Yeah Buddy (Transgressive, Out now) Thumbs up for mimicking The Who; thumbs down for messing around with Muse to gain greater popularity. I’m sure that made as much sense as Black Mountain when they opened for Coldplay, no? People, think about who you open for! 78/100 Belleruche – Fuzz Face (Tru Thoughts, 6 Dec) Isn’t this the same beat that Beck used for that first hit of his, what was it again, Loser? Musical innovators they ain’t, but it’s not as painful as some other things here… let’s say a solid 61/100 The Porch Song Anthology – Christmas is Cold (Temperate Man, Out now) Why am I reviewing this? Are they paying you? Is she someone’s girlfriend? Is it the token Christmas record? Waste of my time… 24/100 Randan Discotheque – Heather the Weather/ The Duke & His Orderly (The Bonjour Branch, 6 Dec) This is really hard to listen to; some sort of Mumford & Sons sing-along over an acoustic wobbly Streets blurb. I think it’s fair to say that this lame attempt at trying to appear interesting results in complete failure and I must award the ultimate punishment: ignorance, or 25/100

SINGLE OF THE MONTH Phosphorescent – I Don’t Care If There’s Cursing (Dead Oceans, 6 Dec) Gorgeous – I love this kind of stuff. Wondering if the rest of the album is as much for old farts like me. Glorious. Beware, kids: it’s Americana… yuck. But it’s single of the month!

89/100

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF CITY SLANG, THE LABEL ARE OFFERING TWO SKINNY READERS THE CHANCE TO WIN A HEFTY SWAG BAG FULL OF SHIRTS, BUTTONS, POSTCARDS AND SINGLES FROM ACROSS ITS HISTORY. VISIT WWW. THESKINNY.CO.UK/COMPETITIONS FOR ENTRY DETAILS WWW.CITYSLANG.COM

FRANK TURNER ROCK & ROLL EP 6 DEC, XTRA MILE

rrrr Evolving from bitter, acoustic punk – from tracks Thatcher Fucked the Kids and Once We Were Anarchists to the mellowness of the former Million Dead frontman’s more recent work – Rock & Roll picks up where last year’s Poetry of the Deed album left off; rockabilly charm combined with a more driven, if less aggressive palette.

On first listen Rock & Roll Romance lags as Turner’s down-tempo songs often do, while The Next Round appears a retread of Love, Ire and Song without the furious sentiment, until you hit 3.34 mins and realise the man’s still got it. While the constant dedications to his own faceless friends may grate, repeated plays prove Rock & Roll another slow burner. [Ali Ryland]

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION

THE FOUNDLING WHEEL

13 DEC, DOMINO

OUT NOW, SELF-RELEASE

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BYE BYE EP

Was it the collaboration with Van Dyke Parks that made Lightspeed Champion (aka Devonté Hynes) churn out something so unreasonably overblown? Sure, a bit of pretension is expected of anyone voted onto NME’s ‘cool’ list, but when There’s Nothing Underwater’s Hawaiian chic is unjustly mangled by a bad orchestra to become Underwater There is Nothing, we close our eyes and wish for the silly days of Hynes singing to pink puppets in Galaxy of the Lost. While Beach Boys cover Til I Die could be worse, Bye Bye Icarus (which sounds like it just sauntered out of a French restaurant) should come with a disclaimer to reassure that no accordions were harmed in the making of this EP. [Ali Ryland]

May Day sees The Foundling Wheel (AKA Edinburgh-based Ted Koterwas) moving on from an abrasive 2008 debut with perhaps his most immediate offering to date. Produced by Miaoux Miaoux’s Julian Corrie, a fractured cymbal rush is layered over scraping noise and a New Wave-inspired melody which, when coupled with trembling, emotive vocals filled with sorrow and hope, provides a curious synth-punk oddity.

Second A-side 10:24 is more driven by comparison; an understated voice and synth hurtles towards a bombastic percussive finale. It’s fun, it’s carefree, yet it’s oddly anticlimactic – attempting to sustain an overabundance of 80s adoration but never quite managing to live up to its own pomp.

Far from a lukewarm release, but it plays like a prototype for something more. [David Bowes]

WWW.LIGHTSPEEDCHAMPION.COM/

WWW.THEFOUNDLINGWHEEL.COM

PLAYING O2 ABC ON 2 DEC WWW.LARKINPOE.COM

WWW.FRANK-TURNER.COM

MAY DAY/10:24

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 47

ALBUM REVIEWS

RECORDS

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: VARIOUS ARTISTS

ELECTROPAPKNIT VOLUME 1 9 DEC, ELECTROPAPKNIT

rrrr In the first of what will hopefully be a lengthy run, Glasgow-based DIY promoters Electropapknit deliver a stock-take of the Scottish underground, a perfect complement to Predestination Records’ similar ventures. Several participants need little introduction, having been praised at length in these pages before: Eagleowl proffer the stirring title track from this year’s superb Into the Fold EP; Jesus H Foxx are represented by J & J’s delicate album taster, while Deathpodal pluck the gnarly Every Superstition Shall Be Removed from their Exu Wow EP (the label’s debut foray into the record-releasing racket) to up the rock quotient.

But the secondhand nature of these tracks shouldn’t put you off, not least because the download won’t cost you a penny: this is an exciting collection that will almost certainly add at least one new name to your radar. In this writer’s case, that honour goes to Noma’s peculiar chopped-organ soundscape, Detail’s ghostly prog wig-out, and the abrasive barrage of noise churned forth by Public Spaces. The latter ply their squall at the launch party later this month, where those so inclined can drop some change on a limited-edition physical copy of this vibrant, if necessarily fractional, guide to Scotland's musical fringe. [Chris Buckle] LAUNCH PARTY AT THE WINCHESTER CLUB, GLASGOW, FEATURING GALOSHINS, BATTERY FACE, PUBLIC SPACES AND MIN DIESEL ON 9 DEC WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ELECTROPAPKNIT

IDLEWILD

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

OUT NOW, EMI

OUT NOW, COLUMBIA

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100 BROKEN WINDOWS: SPECIAL EDITION

THE PROMISE

KANYE WEST

MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY 29 NOV, DEF JAM

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The release of second full-length album 100 Broken Windows caught Idlewild at the sweet spot of its career; in the scuzzy pop of Little Discourage, Roseability or Idea Track there was still the classic “a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs” sound, yet in softer moments like the excellent non-singles Let Me Sleep Next To The Mirror or The Bronze Medal there were all the melodic clues that would lead to the record’s chart-bothering successor The Remote Part.

This tenth anniversary reissue packages the album up with a bonus disc of extra material, a handful recorded by Shellac bassist and engineer Bob Weston. Ten years on, 100 Broken Windows is still a powerful record, but the extra material is an historic curio – save a spirited cover of Sandy Denny’s It’ll Take A Long Time, or those breezier, REM-like moments (see There’s Glory In Your Story and Broken Windows). The remainder either sees the band fine-tuning for the album proper or messing about with uncommercial sounds in the studio – as it would turn out, putting their ‘noisenik’ past to rest. [PJ Meiklem]

As Sick Boy observed to Renton one myth-making afternoon in an Edinburgh park: “Well, at one time, you’ve got it, and then you lose it,” and by God did the Boss have it back in the mid to late 70s. These 21 tracks, recorded between the ‘75 smash Born to Run and its more introspective follow up, Darkness on the Edge of Town in ‘78, leave you immediately scratching your head that they’ve not seen the light of day before now.

There’s the Atlantic City-esque sadness of Come On (Let’s Go Tonight), the jaunty rock n’ roll of Talk To Me, and even a bit of light-hearted relief in the amusing Ain’t Good Enough For You. Nothing light on the original version of Because the Night – later made famous by Patti Smith – only the pure-hearted strength of a juddering rock classic. All the big-hearted Boss staples, the blue-collar-throated tales, the tinkling keys, the highway hammering drums are present and correct, and the quality is humbling throughout. This is the Boss, myth-making, even when he’s not trying to. [PJ Meiklem]

“Have you lost your mind?” asks Yeezy on Hell Of A Life. “Tell me when you think we’ve crossed the line...” And so Twitter’s most dangerously self-aware pundit maintains ‘bravery in his own bravado’ on the committee-written My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, aping the hook from Black Sabbath’s Ironman as he pushes the boundaries of tolerable auto-tune usage one more time.

But here he balances pastiche and drama with such glorious levity that to stick a fork in any part of his rich palette (the opening track’s over-egging of a chipmunk chorus and all) would be a cruelty of Dickensian proportions. Kanye’s made no secret of his admiration for The RZA’s work, but never has his influence – from the soul flavoured minimalism to latter-day status as an all-encompassing ‘hip-hop hippy’ – been so apparent. Sit back, give in, and accept that for all its pomp and excess, the thrill of the ride is a greater distraction.

[Dave Kerr]

PLAYING THE LIQUID ROOM, EDINBURGH ON 15 DEC; THE LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN ON 29 DEC; FAT SAMS, DUNDEE ON 30 DEC AND ÒRAN MÓR, GLASGOW ON HOGMANAY

WWW.BRUCESPRINGSTEEN.NET

WWW.KANYEWEST.COM

THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT

VARIOUS ARTISTS

SOPHIE’S PIGEONS

OUT NOW, FOREST

6 DEC, RED DEER CLUB

13 DEC, ARMELLODIE

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ST. THOMAS

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FOREST RECORDS PRESENTS...

NAMES AND PICTURES

The Scottish Enlightenment echo winter well, with skeletal guitar lines as brittle and bare as tree branches and a settled pace as quietly insidious as snow fall. They won’t change the world like Hume and the gang, but they’ll soundtrack many a crisp walk, ensuring every footstep quivers with drama. Bad Seeds menace and Low-like minimalism join post-rock crescendos, but just when you start to worry the tone’s too oppressive to be enjoyable, a lighter side emerges.

Particularly effective are Taxidermy of Love’s clàrsach flourishes and the faint Yule-ness of The Soft Place, which prove important leavens in an otherwise po-faced mix (though any Christmassy atmosphere in the latter is probably accidental, dealing as it does with the decidedly unfestive topic of transplant surgery). Such careful balancing culminates in a majestic finale reminiscent of Hope of the States at their most haunting – chilly, yet warming in its emotional openness. [Chris Buckle]

Whether you’re a patron of the place or not, the news that Edinburgh’s Forest Cafe might be on the ropes is surely cause for concern. The hippy vibe might not fit all tastes, but as an independent open-doors venue in a city whose music scene is already reeling from the loss of the Roxy, its survival is undoubtedly worth supporting. This lengthy compilation leaps from bright and catchy chip-tune, pseudo-Dashboard Confessional cack, bigband pastiche and wet folk wibbling, suggesting the record’s vast discrepancies in tone, genre and quality – but then you’d expect nothing less from the Forest. It’s undoubtedly patchy, but there’s no need to pick on the weak links here: in the thumbs up camp are Enfant Bastard’s 8-bit bleeps, Robin Grey’s lovely string-backed balladry and Danseizure’s light, fresh electro. If you couldn’t care less about the Forest’s future, buy a copy anyway. If you do care, buy two. [Chris Buckle]

A curse on you, Urban Dictionary. we could have happily lived our lives believing the only definition of ‘trunkle’ was ‘tree monster foe of Mario’. Instead, we have to contend with a second definition featuring the words ‘rectal prolapse’ (whilst wishing this wasn’t researched on a work computer). Hopefully Sophie Nelson and her Pigeons have their own meaning in mind on their debut’s opening track Monkeys Trunkle, which – potential inappropriate-internet-usage-sackings aside – constitutes a charming introduction to Nelson’s cheery pop sound.

Names and Pictures gives extra legs to the ongoing vogue for slightly eccentric female pop-stars (Marina and her Diamonds, Florence and her Machine), with Elevating and Impatient proving delightfully moreish.

Best of all is It’s Gonna Bite, a smartly constructed, retro-styled wouldbe chart-hit that identifies Nelson as a performer to keep an eye on – if only to make sure her band don’t shit on your car. [Chris Buckle]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THESCOTTISHENLIGHTENMENT

WWW.FORESTRECORDS.ORG

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SOPHIENELSON

SEAFIELDROAD

THERE ARE NO MAPS FOR THIS PART OF THE CITY 29 NOV, BIPHONIC RECORDS

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JULIA STONE

LYRICS BORN

29 NOV, FLOCK MUSIC

13 DEC, BLACK BOX/DECON

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THE MEMORY MACHINE

AS U WERE

Swimmer One’s appeal largely lies in their imaginative genre combinations and ever-varying aesthetic, with this year’s Dead Orchestras an impressive case in point. Seafieldroad – the solo project of the Edinburgh band’s frontman Andrew Eaton – therefore initially disappoints due to its relative straightforwardness. The full-spectrum experiments of Swimmer One seem drained to monochrome, and this reduced ambition prevents There Are No Maps for This Part of the City from generating the same levels of excitement as his principal band. But once you adjust to its narrowed palette, it provides multiple pleasures: for instance, Brian Wilson Karaoke makes for a gently amusing opener, while The Truth’s delicate arpeggios are combined with building strings (arranged by Pete Harvey of Meursault) to form a striking whole. Overall, there’s less to love than on Eaton’s other release of 2010, but there’s majesty enough to keep Eaton strides ahead of the curve. [Chris Buckle]

Successful brother-sister bands are rare – apart from The Knife and sibship supergroup The Magic Numbers, it seems the creepiness of singing about love with your bro or sis is too offputting. With our kid Angus, Julia Stone is one of the biggest selling artists in Australia; here she’s split ties to go it alone.

Her slip of a debut album places her in the sylph-like indie folk canon of Laura Marling or Joanna Newsom, but her languid, hesitant, vaguely Scandinavian delivery is more gentle still, almost childish, which transforms the spooky Winter on the Weekend into something genuinely upsetting when she sings: ‘Daddy, why don’t you protect me, someone’s going to hurt me and there’s nothing I can do’.

Things get welcomingly animated on the jaunty Catastrophe – ignore the name – but The Memory Machine is mainly a brooding, sporadically enchanting affair, lingering over broken hearts, lost memories and self-reflection to profound effect. [Euan Ferguson]

As co-founder of indie hip-hop collective Quannum Projects with DJ Shadow and Gift of Gab, Bay Area’s Lyrics Born (Tom Shimura) has earned a reputation as possibly the funkiest rappin’ crooner there is. For his fifth album the Japanese-American sticks strictly to his guns, delivering a danceable set imbued with his breathy flow and inimitable, larger-than-life persona. For anyone already acquainted, there’s no great charting of new territory.

But there are highlights; opener Kontrol Phreak finding Lyrics Born asserting his independence in typical style, proclaiming: “I don’t need no introduction, ‘cos these folks already know me, when my people ask me questions, you don’t need to answer for me”. I’ve Lost Myself includes the unlikely self-comparison to a cockatoo as Shimura laments the pitfalls of success, while Gab pops up to discuss pillpoppin’ and Pushed Aside/Pulled Apart rings in an overdue reunion with Latyrx partner Lateef. More of that, please. [Martin Skivington]

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SEAFIELDROAD

WWW.ANGUSANDJULIASTONE.COM

WWW.LYRICSBORN.COM/

48 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

CONSOLE

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

COLD IN BERLIN

6 DEC, DISKO B

OUT NOW, MUSIC CLUB DELUXE

29 NOV, 2076

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HERSELF

UPSIDE DOWN: THE BEST OF...

GIVE ME WALLS

Somewhere on India’s Goa beach there is a man playing the first tune on this record, nodding his dreadlocked head, and feeling at one with the world; for the rest of us there is only the dull drone of ambient dance music and the grotty mental picture of a group of drunk, gap-year students pissing into the ocean. An electronic offshoot from German indie band The Notwist, Console’s Herself is a record lacking in both ideas and, sadly, soul.

Left to their own devices, synthesisers, keyboards and computers do not make instinctively engaging music, and Martin Gretschmann struggles to inject this work with any real verve, adrenalin or imagination. On the occasions a vocal is layered over the top the tunes become more boring still; attempted Goldfrapp-style stomper A Homeless Ghost is as irritating a piece of Europop as anything the Cheeky Girls have ever ground out. Not one for the Christmas list, unless it’s a secret Santa for that girl in accounts you’ve never liked. [PJ Meiklem]

The whopping 44 track beast that is Upside Down: The Best of the Jesus & Mary Chain prompts that age-old question – can you have too much of a good thing? In short, scuzzy adrenalin-soaked blasts JAMC truly are one of the great British bands of the last twenty five years; they transported the down-at-heel characters of counter-culture America to a darker and more shadowy place, and made them sing, and sing in a way that still makes your heart feel bruised and bursting today.

But, unsurprisingly for a band once famous for twenty minute sets and amphetamine-fuelled violence, the sheer weight of numbers included on this retrospective disc detracts from the overall impact. The evolution between 1984’s debut single Upside Down and All Things Must Pass (the only new material released since reforming in 2007) may be clear, but it’s not so marked as to drag you through a 44-songjourney to chart it. That would require concentration and focus, and with a band like JAMC, was that ever the point? [PJ Meiklem]

This London-based four piece specialise in a kind of pummelling, apocalyptic goth-garage, and sound like they’d be a lot of fun live. Their debut never lets up – it’s a relentless procession of bellowing female vocals over jagged guitar lines, underpinned with meaty bass riffs and rambunctious drumming. Influences are clear: the vocals bear up well next to Siouxsie Sioux or PJ Harvey, while the guitars and rhythm section come across like a more aggressive take on Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ razor-edged garage.

The songs are well-crafted enough, the build-ups and crescendos recalling Be Your Own Pet’s thrilling, frenetic exuberance. Occasionally they may want for BYOP’s youthful humour, and the lyrical content isn’t strong enough to maintain the atmosphere of tension and aggression they aim for (Inertia, for example, is cringey sub-grunge angst: “he loves the hurt, she needs the pain”). But if you can live with that, there’s cathartic energy in abundance here. [Sam Wiseman]

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEREALCONSOLE

WWW.JESUSANDMARYCHAIN.ORG

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/COLDINBERLIN

ROSE KEMP

THE SAVINGS AND LOAN

SIMIAN MOBILE DSICO

29 NOV, 12 YEAR STRETCH

6 DEC, SONG, BY TOAD

29 NOV, WICHITA

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TODAY I NEED LIGHT

GOLDEN SHROUD

It’s fair to say Rose Kemp is carving a distinctive niche for herself. The daughter of Steeleye Span members Rick Kemp and Maddy Prior, her vocal style betrays a reverence for the English folk-rock tradition; but on Golden Shroud, that approach is married with some seriously sludgy doom metal. Comprising just three epic compositions, the album is a confident and distinctive contribution to the post-metal world, drawing unexpected parallels between English folk mysticism and black metal imagery.

At times, the music shudders to an almost Sunn O)))-like stasis, with Kemp’s mesmerising vocals drifting high above the soupy distortion; at others, there is a more Neurosis-like dynamic at work, complex but slow-burning. What is perhaps most impressive are the song structures, which progress with ominous deliberation from delicate, sparse vocal harmonies to crescendos of bruising noise. In Kemp’s hands, doomfolk makes a lot more sense than you might expect. [Sam Wiseman] SUPPORTING WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM AT CLASSIC GRAND, GLASGOW ON 30 NOV WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ROSEKEMP

The Savings and Loan aren’t looking for an It’s-aWonderful-Life, community-spirit bail-out on their debut – just a stiff drink. As a guest turn from Glaswegian poet Tom Leonard monologues a lengthy booze order, the sombre Catholic Boys in the Rain unfurls like Nick Cave circa The Boatman’s Call – quiet, dangerous and likely to sink deep into your brain.

Singer Martin Donnelly’s lyrics aren’t always as sharp as might be expected of a published poet (“Where the ATM’s churn out the deficit, and where every breath on Hope Street promises death” is a line for the times, but not for the ages), but his rich baritone gives everything he utters an evocative glaze. The likes of Pale Water recall the glum majesty of The National – a band routinely tagged with the epithet ‘slow-burn’ both in relation to career path and aesthetic. The Savings and Loan’s flame may burn even slower, but it glows bright nonetheless. [Chris Buckle] PLAYING SONG, BY TOAD CHRISTMAS PARTY AT QUEEN CHARLOTTE ROOMS, EDINBURGH ON 16 DEC WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THESAVINGSANDLOAN

DELICACIES

As ideas for concept records go, this is one of the more curious: tour the world throwing out 12” records, gritty beats and muscular bass-lines, and while you’re at it pick up a couple of twisted cooking recipes. For many good reasons, clubbing and fine dining have rarely been comfortable bed fellows – but that hasn’t held back SMD. Like the techno equivalent of The Hairy Bikers, the pair has named each track on Delicacies after a weird international dish, consumed – the duo would have us believe – at some point on their hedonistic tramp across the globe. It’s a relief to discover the music doesn’t leave a bad taste in the mouth, taking a harder, more techno-focused direction than previous SMD outings.

Opener Aspic (a kind of meat jelly, fact-fans) sounds like a cyborg transported back to the 1920s and forced to do the ‘flapper’ dance. Skin Cracker and Hakarl are as abrasive as the names imply, with things not lightening up until penultimate track Ortlolan (a French songbird which is eaten whole), and its psychedelic groove that conjures up echoes of the Chemical Brothers’ Exit Planet Dust. Now where’s that cooking pot? [PJ Meiklem] WWW.SIMIANMOBILEDISCO.CO.UK

MARMADUKE DANDO

VARIOUS ARTISTS

THE GREENHORNES

6 DEC, OUTSIDER

6 DEC, CHOCOLATE INDUSTRIES

OUT NOW, THIRD MAN

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HEATHCLIFFIAN SURLY

Marmaduke Dando has been described as an author channelling the ‘horrors and beauties of the modern world’, but hyperbole aside, his music sounds something like a cross between Antony Hegarty’s weeping recitals and Baby Dee’s warped balladry.

His debut album, Heathcliffian Surly, is a drink-soaked, literary and almost Victorian collection of morose pop, led by his own piano playing and supported by a five-piece band.

Dando assumes theatrical roles exquisitely throughout, from dejected drunk (Dead To The World) to embracing romantic (All Of Me), while giving a lesson in early 20th Century song in the process.

Although it’s easy to find his voice overbearing – a notion magnified by a song like Life Can’t Get Any Better – the skill and subtle wit of songs such as Give Me Detumescence still indicates an artist who’s well aware of his own idiosyncrasies, and capable of using them to his advantage. A curious introduction. [Martin Skivington]

I’M HERE SOUNDTRACK

Spike Jonze’s latest short film I’m Here has brought with it this collection of old and new indie-cool material to soundtrack his urban robotic love story. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner is key to the new stuff, penning the film’s central and recurring lullaby motif There Are Many of Us as well as an abridged re-working of The Past Is a Grotesque Animal by Of Montreal.

There are well-known cuts from the Animal Collective, Girls and Gui Boratto which work well in the context, whereas A/B Machines, by recent hype-mongers Sleigh Bells, is pretty woeful outside of its 10 second in-film appearance and quite jarring with the languid feel of what surrounds it. Still, I’m Here is a largely deft collection that, like the film itself, is short and to the point. It’s also limited to 5000 copies worldwide, so best be on the ball on release day. Robotic head costumes optional. [Darren Carle]

Comprised partly of The Raconteurs’ rhythm section, The Greenhornes have been producing unashamedly feel good rock n’ roll since 1996. To say they wear their influences on their sleeve would be an understatement; the spirit of 60s rockers ranging from The Kinks to The Rolling Stones hovering over **** is almost oppressive. Almost, but not quite. The quality of the songwriting here, combined with their undeniably heartfelt, infectious enthusiasm, sets them above other soundalikes.

If you’re a fan of pulsating, driving garage rock, or exuberant guitar solos that Keith Richards would be proud to have belted out, you’ll find plenty to like here. The Greenhornes are equally adept at evoking a carefree, starry-eyed youthfulness, and crafting the sort of melancholy, reverb-soaked ballad that The Zombies excel at. If, on the other hand, you think rock should do more than reverently recreate past glories, the whole exercise might feel like a labour. [Sam Wiseman]

WATCH THE FILM AT WWW.IMHEREMOVIE.COM

PLAYING NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, GLASGOW ON 23 NOV WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEGREENHORNES

HTTP://WWW.MARMADUKEDANDO.COM/

KYLIE MINOISE

SID VICIOUS OCCULT SCHOOL OF MOTORING 6 DEC, KOVOROX SOUND

rrr Where would the world be without acts like Kylie Minoise endeavouring to take the most innocuous of sounds and turn them into sonic weaponry? Undoubtedly in a brighter, happier place but then, there’s no fun in that. His latest assault utilises jazz, ambient and healthy doses of punk before contorting them and adding a sizeable dose of pulsing noise to form an unsettling work, an album that exudes paranoia at every turn.

The focus is undoubtedly album closer Princess Diana 13th Pillar Ritual Sacrifice to Reptilian Hecate!, a pulsating, slithering construct, alternately claustrophobic and abrasive, which coils itself around the throat and ears over the course of 30 minutes before finally dilating and dissipating, taking with it a little piece of sanity. Taken as a whole, the album is an exhausting listen but therein lies its charm, a challenging listen that taxes the psyche as well the senses. [David Bowes] WWW.KOVOROXSOUND.COM

****

TOP FIVE ALBUMS ?

1 2 3 4 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS

ELECTROPAPKNIT VOLUME 1

KANYE WEST

MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT

ST. THOMAS

ROSE KEMP

GOLDEN SHROUD

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

THE PROMISE

DAVID E. SUGAR MEMORY STORE OUT NOW, SUNDAY BEST

rrr There was a buzz around this young producer’s first few releases – as early conduits of the 8-bit sound, singles Oi New York, This is London and To Yourself squelched and rattled with infectious DIY enthusiasm. His debut album takes a different approach though, and while it probably represents a maturing songwriter, it’s a whole lot less fun.

Sugar’s escaped from the bedroom and is instead chasing down the white indie-disco strut of Calvin Harris and Tom Vek, the precocious exuberance of Frankmusik and the inner-city wideboy pop of Jamie T or Just Jack without doing anything he could really call his own. There’s even a blatant ‘bettaaah’ that brings up unfortunate memories of Kate Nash’s ‘fittaaah’. One of the survivors from his early years is Although You May Laugh, and it remains the album’s best track, but apart from the Cure-ish Flea Market, there isn’t enough excitement or inspiration to make Memory Story really pop. [Euan Ferguson] WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DAVIDESUGAR

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 49

MUSIC

TWEE WILL ROCK YOU

ANNA MILES, singer and multi-instrumentalist in Glasgow three-piece MAPLE LEAVES, tells how she found counsel in the Godfather of bad jumpers

PHOTO: MARISA PRIVITERA MURDOCH

INTERVIEW: LAUREN MAYBERRY

50 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

TWEE: A word which packs an incredible punch in certain musical circles. Whether that punch is one to the pus of the purveyor or to the ears of the listener depends on the quality of the tunes being peddled (girl with ukulele and owl-patterned woolly jumper: I’m looking at you).

Thankfully, Glasgow’s Maple Leaves remain as yet unbattered.

“To the uninitiated, I would probably describe our music as melodic, literate, indie-pop,” vocalist Anna Miles says. “I know a lot of people in bands who are bothered about the twee-pop label, but it doesn’t bother me hugely. We all love great storytellers and melody makers like Magnetic Fields, Joni Mitchell, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens and Jens Lekman.”

The three-piece, made up of Miles (a Geordie who moved to Glasgow a few years ago) and Julian Corrie (a Surrey lad better known to some of us as Miaoux Miaoux) concurrently on vocals, piano and guitar and Graeme Thomson on drums, released their first EP, Golden Ether, on Glasgow’s Bubblegum Records last month.

Produced by the steady hands of Jamie Savage at Chem 19, the former T Break band were more than pleased with the outcome.

“We experimented with various extra instruments on the record, from Wurlitzers to accordions,” says Anna. “There’s always something cool lying about you can try, and they’re always open to suggestions about how to add an extra layer you’d never have thought of before.”

The halls of Chem 19 are not the only piece of Scottish music history now associated with Maple Leaves – Godfather of Twee, Stuart Murdoch, had also offered his stamp of approval within a year of the trio’s formation.

“Stuart first contacted me to be a part of God Help The Girl after coming across our demo for our first song,” Miles explains. “He asked me to come and audition for one of the tracks, as he

really loved our demo. I love Belle and Sebastian and Stuart has been kind enough to give me some feedback on our songs, which has been really helpful. He is always very positive and supportive.”

So supportive that the video for Golden Ether’s title track was made by Murdoch’s documentary filmmaker wife, Marisa Privitera and was similarly wholesome.

“It was quite odd walking down the road singing to myself and throwing paper planes. We’re really happy with the video though and have had some nice comments, especially about Julian’s Saturday telly style jumper. He has quite a range of them.”

Okay, so they do wear snazzy jumpers, but with songs this warming we’ll let them off. To find out more about Maple Leaves and their potentially woolly range of merchandise, check out their upcoming shows, of which Miles promises there will be many.

“We’re going to get writing and recording for what we hope will become our first album as well,” beams Anna of their plans for 2011. “We have enough material for one now so it’s just working out plans for getting into the studio.

Exciting times!”

PLAYING GLASGOW POPFEST AT STEREO, GLASGOW ON 5 DEC THE GOLDEN ETHER EP IS OUT NOW ON BUBBLEGUM RECORDS WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MAPLELEAVESMUSIC

hem? If so we’ll take the lithe and y of Isabella Rosellini, couple it with istrionics of Elton John, and marry uture-race breeding of the Olsens and s-a-sacrificial-cow ambition of James this sexual, ambitious future-race “wrapped in plastic, à la Joan Rivers.” ounds elaborate and messy, it fits ities; if their answers sound articulate reflects their crafty, cultured smarts. ds are too readily vilified for not nailnd,” they argue. “It seems to us that tte can produce the most interesting lts.” Their particular palette reaps ur-way musical input that doesn’t aturally in the same direction. be fair to say that we began this at o the approach has been to try and

the crow’s nest, is all guitar-cradling wearing, while Sam will go down ghing to the last at his cockpit of tively explain Glasgow (via Fife) hael plays at drums and dressing gine room, and Pablo stands at indy rhetoric and last night’s om for a celebrity endorsement on hat ‘Got Milk’ campaign has done sales over the years – want to he-Drink lovers as spokespersons for

ckle ryanmcgoverne.co.uk

MILK SUPPORT FOUND AT THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS, EDINBURGH ON 7 AUG AS PART OF THE EDGE FESTIVAL

challenge each other, taking our disparate inspirations and finding ways to harmonise them. We enjoy sifting through the noise.” When the sifting is finished, nuggets of Lizard King stargazing, smooth 80s grooves, moody atmospherics, deadpan humour and prog-squiggles remain. The unorthodox blend slips through genres like cow lactose through fingers. “We converge in strange places,” they acknowledge.

Milk confound classification in part through tactical shyness. Their low-profile moniker and lower-profile web presence constitute a genuine attempt to avoid the pigeonholing that rubberstamps acts straight from the womb. Milk are leaving their options open and keeping followers guessing.

“We’re still in the formative stages of playing this music together, so anything that allows the freedom to go off on creative tangents is a must,” they explain. “The name gave us the blank slate. If you treat a band’s name as a statement of intent, then ours remains open to interpretation.” Refreshingly, in an age where choosing a MySpace background sits uncomfortably high on new-starts’ ‘to do’ lists, they’re uninterested in cultivating a potentially-straitjacketing online persona. “We want the opportunity to surprise others and ourselves.”

Live, they don’t let such opportunities pass them by. But what about recordings? Any releases on the horizon? “In this regard,” they assert, “we reserve the right to remain mysterious.” Seems Milk will be whetting appetites a little longer yet.[Chris Buckle]

Great source of calcium, won Sean Penn an r, hang on, something’s off. Google has failed s, you’ll have to introduce yourselves…

t Milk?

DECEMBER 2010

WE NO LONGER CHARGE BOOKING FEES

THE SKINNY 51

AUGUST 2010

THE SKINNY 51

See www.edinburghpeoplesfestival.org for further details and tickets

• Drama from SpartaKi Theatre Company

• Why the finest comics in Edinburgh end up in Gorgie

• Aid for Afghanistan - a concert

• 3rd Annual Hamish Henderson memorial lecture

• Photographic exhibition 'The Bad and the Beautiful'

• Investigating Rebus's Edinburgh

• Tour Edinburgh's dramatic radical past

ST. THOMAS IS RELEASED VIA ARMELLODIE RECORDS ON 13 DEC CATCH THEM IN SESSION WITH THE SCHOOL OF COMMON SENSE CHOIR ON VIC GALLOWAY’S BBC RADIO SCOTLAND SHOW ON 20 DEC

FILMHOUSE 88 LOTHIAN ROAD EDINBURGH Box Office 0131 228 2688 BOOK ONLINE at www.filmhousecinema.com

August 7th-14th • Film premiere of 'Morticia' by Nabil Shaban

WWW.THESCOTTISHENLIGHTENMENT.COM

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Highlights from this year’s hugely successful two-week festival, which took place in March at BFI Southbank. The season includes LLGFF Closing Night Gala Children of God, a fascinating and politically bold study of sexuality in the Bahamas; lesbian comedy And Then Came Lola; erotically charged crime thriller The Fish Child; acclaimed Argentinian drama Plan B; and two programmes of shorts, one for the girls and one for the boys!

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival On Tour 10 Aug to 2 Sep

A key work from an era that’s now considered the last Golden Age of American cinema, Bob Rafelson’s superlative character study established Jack Nicholson as the foremost actor of his generation. One of the few honest American films about social class, family and alienation. Don’t miss this wonderfully restored classic.

Five Easy Pieces 13 Aug to 19 Aug

www.theelectriccircus.biz www.theelectriccircus.biz

Directed by Juan José Campanella and showcasing two of Argentina’s biggest stars, this is a riveting thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant romance. Receiving rave reviews and awards, it was also the surprise winner of this year’s Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film, beating off stiff competition from The White Ribbon and A Prophet.

MUSIC

The Secret in Their Eyes 13 Aug to 9 Sep

WORDS: PAUL NEESON PHOTOGRAPHY: TAKESHI SUGA

recommends this month...

Their debut album might be one of the darkest elements of our dense winter, but THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT offset it all with some lighthearted Cheryl Cole-hating

HOME OF THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

films worth talking about

Clockwise from top left: Pablo; Callum; Michael; Sam

MUSIC

DARK DAYS

“WE ARE really clever,” nods The Scottish Enlightenment’s bassist Angus Moyes when asked whether the band agree with their highbrow-indie tag. It seems a fair question, given the gravitas of the quartet’s long-awaited debut LP, St. Thomas; an album which grapples with grand ideas and dissects them all with an astute lyricism.

Angus’s statement is made with his tongue firmly wedged in cheek, as his brother and frontman David adds, frankly: “There’s never been any effort to write songs about intellectual concepts.

It’s about writing about things that hurt. That’s why we’re so downbeat and depressing.”

Alongside David and Angus sit Michael Alexander and David Morrison, who together have crafted one of the finest Scottish albums to emerge this year. Musically, St. Thomas is brooding, melancholic and heartbreaking – but it’s truly set aside from the pack by its weighty, thematic approach.

When we move from its perceived intellectualism to the dark tones of the album, David is quick to respond. “That’s my fault, really, I can’t write positive songs. When I’m happy, I’ll head out to the garden and weed it,” he says. “When things are hard, or I’m upset, I’ll go upstairs and reach for the guitar.” It’s a cathartic process it seems, which has seen David through some personal struggles. “I’ve not been particularly happy for the last few years,” he adds with a disarming openness, “having intermittently struggled with depression.”

Whilst music seems to have provided an invaluable outlet, one also wonders whether religion plays a similar role. From the celestial titling and religious referencing throughout St. Thomas, to its spacious cathedral-like acoustics, The Scottish Enlightenment are shrouded in religious imagery. It’s a subject which elicits some nervous laughter, with David finally confirming: “Yes, we are religious people.” Born to a Baptist father, he points out that he and his brother have been reticent to openly advertise their faith. “It’s a very difficult thing for me to talk about, because people can have such prejudices. That’s made me very cautious.” Is the album therefore conceptualised by religion? “The album is essentially about doubt,” David offers. “That’s been a large part of my life for the last few years. Doubt overtook me a bit. In the end, the album is about a loss of faith.”

It’s a theme which permeates their work, although doubt seems understandable for a band who received an early MySpace message which flatly stated ‘Sorry, I don’t like your band.’

So how do they cope with criticism, whether from the music media or belligerent bedroom blogging legions? “We have different degrees of sensitivity,” says Angus, “there’s us, and then…” he trails off, pointing to David and prompting a chorus of affectionate laughter “...it doesn’t bother me, but sometimes I feel defensive of my brother.”

Although it seems that the media are the least of Angus’s worries; there’s criticism to front from closer quarters. “It was the album launch last night, and I asked my wife if she was going,” he smirks. “She said ‘no, I’ve got the cold.’” And did she? “No, [she admitted] ‘I just don’t like your music.’”

As the band’s constituent members head home for Banchory, Dunfermline and Edinburgh, I ask what the night holds in store. Will David bury his head in a dense volume of Scottish history? Not even close. “I love The X-Factor and a glass of wine” he offers, “[although] Cheryl Cole brings out the worst in me.” And with that simple statement, The Scottish Enlightenment’s grandeur melts away. It seems they’re normal enough folk after all.

Spring Season 2011 Box Office 0131 650 4673

www.eusalive.co.uk

Russell Kane In his new show, the triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and co host of ITV2’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here NOW! explores self, family and the consequences of his dad buying his own council house. Sociological silliness and high energy contortions guaranteed.

Pleasance Theatre Saturday 29 January @ 8pm £10/£6 students

Alan Bates - Comedy Hypnotist International Comedy Hypnotist Alan Bates presents a slick, fast moving presentation. The stars of the stage may find themselves winning the Lottery, meeting celebrities, starring in the cast of River Dance or even conducting an orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. Not to be missed!

Pleasance Theatre Thursday 3 February @ 8pm £5/£3 students

INCLUDES THE #1 SINGLES

GOOD TIMES & GREEN LIGHT PLUS THE NEW SMASH TAKE CONTROL

Roll Deep

FEAT. ALESHA DIXON 50999 9 09344 2 1

With near on a decade of experience under their Louis Vuitton belts, ROLL DEEP continue to test levels of expectation having scored two No.1 singles in 2010 with their post-grime, electro-rap formula.

The Venue at Potterrow Thursday 13 February @ 7.30pm £10/£6 students WINNER STAYS ON

Stay up to date with live music gigs, comedy and entertainment with www.eusalive.co.uk all year round, over 3 fantastic city centre venues: The Pleasance, Teviot & Potterrow.

Edinburgh University Students’ Association is a charitable body,registered in Scotland, with registration number SC015800.

CLUBS

DecEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Christmas can be a period of difficult decisions, trying to choose presents for distant relatives and discerning friends, with few ideas or options on offer. Thankfully, there are no such problems when it comes to clubs this month – there’s practically a night for every window on your advent calendar, and one that ought to please everyone on your Christmas shopping list. Maybe even your Granny.

The Arches is going to be just a little hectic at the start of December. You can’t really ask for much more seasonal generosity than Tiga (5 Dec), A-Trak, Cassius & Busy P (10 Dec), Jaymo & Andy George and Jack Beats (11 Dec) all over the space of seven days. If that week doesn’t leave you recovering until the new year, then Death Disco follows up on 18 Dec with Zombie Nation headlining alongside Scotland’s own electro export Burns.

I AM aims to continue to redefine student clubbing each Tuesday night at the Sub Club, balancing its commitment to young Glaswegian talent (such as Mia Dora and PEACE), with the club’s first major guest. Appearing alongside this month’s Glasgow talent (which includes the debut of exciting producer AC) will be London’s The Rogue Element on 28 Dec. His diverse breakbeat sound should sit well in the club, which blends everything from minimal techno to dancehall reggae into the one popular package.

Speaking of mid-week Glasgow clubbing, Killer Kitsch are busy in December. Not only have they got Drop the Lime and Wafa visiting the Buff Club

on 7 Dec, but they’re also having a long, sweaty threesome with Muck and Dirty Noise at Stereo on 3 Dec. Indulging themselves at this time of year, they’ve joined forces to bring back a favourite from recent months, Italian funk artists Reset, with support from Ado. For this collaboration they’ve even scored a 4am license, only adding to the occasion.

Along the M8 there’s just as much on offer in December, especially for those of the dubstep persuasion. Innuendub are treating Edinburgh to two major pin-up artists with Joker and A1 Bassline in Cab Vol on 10 Dec. Joker’s brand of grime influenced dubstep has established the young man at the forefront of the genre and his recent Sub Club performance proved that his talents aren’t limited to production – he performs behind the decks as well.

The techno heavyweights are also in Edinburgh over Christmas. Musika bring the Dutchman with the Detroit connection, Joris Voorn to the Liquid Rooms on 18 Dec. Voorn headlines a packed lineup, with the ever eccentric progressive and tech house of Danny Howells supporting alongside Edwin Ooosterwal, Derek Martin and Jamie McKenzie. On Boxing Day, Scotland’s techno royalty are out in force in the capital. Slam and Silicone Soul, the kings of the Scottish scene, take to the Cab Vol, to demonstrate their mighty Soma sound.

[Calum Sweeney] For an in-depth guide to your Hogmanay clubbing options, turn to p12

zombie nation

December 2010

THE SKINNY 53

CLUBS

PREVIEWS Ambivalent

The Arches Presents: Tiga

Bigfoot’s, 3 Dec

the arches, 5 Dec

Now is the winter of our discothèque and on 3 Dec Bigfoot’s welcome both the winter season and Ambivalent to the Art School. Gone are the summer parties at The Courtyard, instead the three bar is cranked up full pelt and fifteen tog duvets will be dished out at the door for the last Glasgow Bigfoot’s of the year.

Having released records on M_nus, Esperanza, Leftroom, Clink and Klickhaus, New York based Ambivalent is something of a household name in flats where techno gets played absurdly loudly until an ASBO falls silently onto the doormat.

Abstract, inventive, at times intimidating and always pounding, Ambivalent’s productions, from 2006’s Roomies EP to Down, released earlier this year, have proved him to be a consistently quixotic, refreshing and inventive party starter.

[Chris Duncan] 11pm-3am, £10/£8. Pre-party at Offshore from 2pm-11pm

axis with Drop the Lime Sneaky Pete’s, 8 Dec

Edinburgh clubnight Axis brings New York producer Drop the Lime to the intimate confines of Sneaky Pete’s for its first December edition.

Luca Venezia, otherwise known as Drop the Lime, has had quite a year in 2010, releasing his hit Sex Sax on his own Trouble & Bass recordings to mainstream acclaim as well as being invited to mix Fabriclive:53, part of the influential Fabric mix cd series. An artist who describes his sound as “NEW YORK CITY BREATHING”, the city that never sleeps permeates the mentality of his productions and DJ sets, influenced by everything from traditional 4/4 house and electro to rock’n’roll and rockabilly.

Having remixed the likes of Little Boots and Robyn as well as Moby and Rex the Dog, Venezia has now become a noted name far beyond the breakcore scene from which he originated. Axis have been putting on parties all over Edinburgh’s best venues for the last two years and have now settled into a comfortable weekly residency at the 100 capacity location, bringing their own brand of fidget, bassline and electro with them. This event will be a unique opportunity to catch Drop the Lime in a small venue as part of his extensive Hot as Hell tour.

[Kat Young] 11pm - 2am £5 with support from residents Frequent Flyers, Anarkid and Kai Davidson Tickets available online from www.sneakypetes.co.uk

Tiga may have started his career promoting raves in the hollows of Montreal’s underground club scene in the early 90s, but he’s come a long way since then.

Founder of the esteemed label Turbo Recordings, Tiga is without a doubt one of the most important contributors to the current electro/techno scene.

His remixes of Corey Hart’s 80s anthem Sunglasses at Night (2001) and Nelly’s (yes, the guy with the bandaid) Hot in Herre (2003) might lead you to believe he’s all gimmick and no heart. Tiga, however, keeps true to his own style with these mixes – infusing them with “sexual tension and edgy, narcotic control.” And to be quite honest, his version of Hot in Herre puts Mr. Bandaid-Face to shame.

Tiga will be pounding beats and spinning his way into the hearts of every club kid in Glasgow at the Arches on 5 Dec with supporting act Hey Today (Turbo)! Make sure to YouTube his version of Sunglasses at Night before the show – the video features an over-exposed and vibrant Amanda Lepore. It's a creepy little piece of pop-art that is sure to put you in the right mood to dance the night away. [Kat Young]

Scottish audiences are always hungry for electronic goodness, but there’s one thing they just can’t get enough of at the moment: dubstep.

After storming the Sub Club with Numbers, Joker is back over our side of the border and set to serve up his brand of grime influenced dubstep to hundreds of open mouthed Edinburgh clubgoers.

Headlining at the Cab Vol for Innuendub on 10 Dec, Joker has established himself at the forefront of the dubstep genre, with his own soulful, grime interpretations of the sound. Past releases such as Tron and Gullybrook Lane have created a genuine sense of anticipation surrounding Joker’s productions, with many eagerly awaiting his soon to be released debut album. Supporting on the night will be A1 Bassline, who (as the name suggests) skips the mid-range and will undoubtedly be throwing out some massive bass.

It’s clearly one of the strongest line-ups, with some of the greatest potential in the capital for some time, which has to be what you expect when Innuendub brings together forces from all of the city’s dubstep merchants: Electrickal, Volume, Axis, BedBug and Echodub. If the results of such camaraderie are a crammed Cab Vol and impressive performances then maybe it’s a formula for others to follow. [Calum Sweeney]

NaÏve with A-Trak, Cassius & Busy P

Return To Mono: Dave Clarke

11pm-3am £7 advance tickets from www.thearches.co.uk

Words: wilbur kane

Cabaret Voltaire, 10 Dec

10pm - 3am, £10

Christmas comes early at the Arches for Glasgow’s electro clubbing community as NaÏve puts on its third party with the help of some of the hottest names in the scene today. Three artists that barely need any introduction in this city, A-Trak, Cassius and Busy P will be gracing the decks alongside resident PEACE for what promises to be an evening of ‘Gallic Electro, Franco Funk and Disco Foolery’.

A-Trak is no stranger to Glasgow having played well-received shows at the Sub Club, and anyone heading along to The Arches should expect to hear the signature eclectic fusion of his hip hop turntablist roots with heavy electro basslines.

A-Trak is an artist who has blurred the line between underground and mainstream, having had commercial success as one half of Duck Sauce and working with the likes of Kanye West.

French duo Cassius also join the Naïve bill, their new track I love you so has reintroduced them to a new audience having had great success at the end of the 90s. Topping off the huge lineup is Ed Banger label boss Busy P, a name synonymous with the French electro house movement and one time manager of Daft Punk.[Kat Young]

The Arches Burns into a Zombie Nation just in time for the holidays

Innuendub presents: Joker & A1 Bassline

www.dropthelime.com/

the arches, 10 Dec

XXXmas Mayhem

Sub Club, 10 Dec

Two of UK techno’s biggest names meet in the mixer on Fri, 10 Dec as Slam and Dave Clarke share Glasgow’s most notorious noise producing booth at Sub Club.

Dave Clarke’s mainstay status in the global club scene is a testament to the Brighton born DJ’s consistent dedication and desire to keep techno a genuine art form. Working effortlessly to promote all that he finds good in electronic music, Clarke is a true ambassador to the tunes with impeccable credentials.

With a tendency towards the sinister, his sets are often peppered with his own idiosyncratic take on the darker side of dance music. Undoubtedly a man of many musical stylings, Clarke has sailed effortlessly across sub-genres in his twenty-odd year career, going port to port from filthy ghetto electro to the bass heavy post punk influences which can be found interwoven throughout his sinister tech/house driven sets. Always compelling, creative and unpredictable, Dave Clarke’s sets are from the heart, so stand next to the speakers.

Slam, as ever, need no introduction but with Stuart and Orde cueing it up before the baron, this one’s a dead cert.[Calum Sutherland]

11pm-4am, £12 advance, £14 on door

burns

Glaswegian electro house DJ Burns is receiving rave notices both here and Stateside following a triumphant tour there with Deadmau5 last year. Combining sound hardware from the seventies and eighties with modern music software and samples, experimentation and serious fun are the name of the game. He’s Calvin Harris’s tour DJ of choice and has remixed everyone from the Black-Eyed Peas to Wolfmother. Hot stuff indeed.

Speaking of Scots with friends in high places, Unicorn Kid has been rubbing shoulders with the eternally cool Pet Shop Boys, remixing their track Did You See Me Coming and supporting them on recent live dates. He’s also responsible for a delightful take on Gorillaz track Superfast Jellyfish and comes here ahead of a rumoured full-length album release in 2011.

That German DJ and producer Splank! is a card, isn’t he? What with those silly wigs and freaky remixes of music from Commodore 64 video games and a colourful reimagining of the notion of idm. His techno/electro project Zombie

Nation’s first release was the awesome Kernkraft 4000 which troubled the top of the charts in the UK and Europe and was followed by the incendiary album Zombielicious in 2009. As for idm?

Well, take a selection of sounds contributed by fans and throw them all together in a mix called Minds of Many. It’s ‘Internet Democratic Music’ dontcha know? If the set is anything like the one he played here last year we’re all in for an extra special early Christmas present.

Advance notice is being served of the appearance in 2011 of Pnau (pronounced ‘pah-now’).

The Australian duo (Pete Mayes and Nick Littlemore) have earned the respect of their peers and a loyal fanbase by consistently producing simple yet intelligent hooks and full sounds joined with awesome imagery. We can’t wait.

Death Disco XXXmas party, Sat 18 Dec, 11pm-3am, £14 www.thearches.co.uk/DeathDiscoDec2010.htm

The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow 0141 565 1000 www.deathdisco.info

December 2010

THE SKINNY 55

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e

REVIEWS December Events

FILM

For those who embrace a “bah, humbug” sensibility in December, the GFT in Glasgow is offering two anti-Christmas films: Gremlins on 3 December and Bad Santa on 17 December. Whether you’d rather see what happens when some cute but strange new pets are allowed near water or fed after midnight, or watch Billy Bob Thornton’s drunk, abusive, utterly cheerless department store Santa, these films are definitely the antidote for those allergic to goodwill.

OF GODS AND MEN

Of Gods and Men

Easier with Practice

Director: Xavier Beauvois

Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez

Starring: Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach Released: 3 Dec Certificate: 15

Starring: Brian Geraghty, Kel O’Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Eugene Byrd Released: 3 Dec Certificate: 15

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A group of monks find the limits of their faith being put to the test in Of Gods and Men, Xavier Beauvois’ perceptive and subtly powerful new film. The film is set in Algeria, where growing unrest and violence forces a Cistercian brotherhood to reconsider both their position in the community and their vows. Lambert Wilson gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as Brother Christian, the staunch and unyielding leader, while Olivier Rabourdin is very touching as a man wracked with self-doubt, and Beauvois observes his characters with compassion as they make their agonising choice. The director imposes a stately pace on his film and relishes the quiet stillness of the monastery, spending plenty of time simply watching his characters as they work or eat together. Of Gods and Men can be a little heavy-handed in its storytelling at times, but the confident direction and strong performances ensure it is an absorbing experience, and the beautiful final shot ends the film on a haunting note. [Philip Concannon]

Davy Mitchell (Geraghty) is an aspiring writer embarking, with sleazy brother Sean (O’Neill) in tow, on a self-financed “book tour” to promote his Xeroxed collection of short stories. Even more endearingly pathetic than Davy’s writing career is his love life: a series of awkward phone sex sessions with Nicole, a coquettish stranger who first calls him randomly while he’s flogging his literary wares across New Mexico. First time director Alvarez has a great eye for crummy Americana, setting the unorthodox couple’s verbal trysts against the prosaic backdrops of grubby roadside diners and garishly decorated motels.

Shot and performed in a style that loosely fits the unfairly derided mumblecore aesthetic, the film is low-key and subtle – like all good mumblecore movies, it’s not the line delivery that’s hazy, it’s the characters’ emotions. What might sound like the set-up for a particularly bawdy Judd Apatow comedy is actually a deceptively sweet tale of twenty-first century alienation. Geraghty’s performance is quite wonderful. [Jamie Dunn]

Catfish

Monsters

Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Director: Gareth Edwards

Starring: Nev Schulman, Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Released: 17 Dec Certificate: 12A

Starring: Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy Released: 3 Dec Certificate: 15

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Catfish is a film about a man who strikes up an online friendship with a seemingly ordinary family, and that’s about all you need to know. The element of surprise is a vital weapon in this film’s arsenal, as the likable Nev Schulman – his every move captured by his brother Ariel and co-director Henry Joost – gradually discovers the strange truth behind the Pierce family’s façade. Catfish is a documentary constructed with the tautness of a thriller, and the filmmakers sustain the sense of tension and mystery with great skill, doling out revelations at expertly timed intervals. In fact, the film’s twisting and outrageous narrative occasionally raises suspicions; are we truly watching a documentary, or is this simply an artfully composed fiction? Catfish will leave you with plenty of nagging questions, but whatever the truth behind the story, this is an extraordinary, provocative film and one that grips like a vice right up to the troubling and moving finale. [Philip Concannon]

Gareth Edwards’ low-budget post-apocalyptic thriller, Monsters, hits UK cinemas after nine long months on the road at festivals from South By Southwest to Edinburgh. A brooding, even-paced road movie with a love story at its core, it takes place six years after a NASA space probe carrying extraterrestrial lifeforms back to Earth broke up on re-entry, scattering its alien cargo across Central America, where the creatures have now made their home.

We follow Andrew (Scoot McNairy) and Samantha (Whitney Able), a photographer and the daughter of his editor, as they attempt to make their way through the infected zone back to America when all other routes to their homeland are cut off. Shot in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala by a crew of four, the authentically dilapidated locations together with Edwards’ computer generated effects, which include the tentacled CGI creatures that seem to glow and pulsate with energy, give the film an atmosphere of serene gloaming. Unique, adventurous and hard-to-define, Monsters is guerilla filmmaking at its best. [Nicola Balkind]

www.iamrogue.com/catfish

www.monstersfilm.com

The French Kissers/Les beaux gosses

Outcast

Director: Riad Sattouf

Director: Colm McCarthy

Starring: Vincent Lacoste, Anthony Sonigo, Noémie Lvovsky, Alice Trémolière Released: TBC Certificate: TBC

Starring: Kate Dickie, James Nesbitt Released: 10 Dec Certificate: TBC

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A coming of age comedy along the lines of Superbad or a salacious Gregory’s Girl, The French Kissers is a hysterical tale of two geeky teens desperate to live out their fantasies. The only problem for Hervé (Vincent Lacoste) and sidekick Camel (Anthony Sonigo) is that the closest they’ve come to a sexual relationship is an obsession with the lingerie section of the La Redoute catalogue. All this changes, though, when Hervé inadvertently attracts the attention of Aurore (Alice Tremolieres) and first love starts to blossom quicker than the big white zit on his top lip. Momentary lapses into sweetness add to the charm of the characters and an enjoyable French pop soundtrack provides the perfect accompaniment to this ribald romp.

Throw in a predictable dose of premature ejaculation along with an almost implausibly embarrassing mother, and this adolescent tale had one Skinny reviewer squirming at the accuracy of its account. [Matt Stanger]

Initially, Outcast seems promising, dragging the viewer into an atmospheric, contrasting world of grey, high rise council blandness and blood-fuelled pagan rituals. As Mary, a woman trying to keep her son safe from James Nesbitt’s grizzled, ruthless bounty hunter Cathal, Kate Dickie, in particular, is a powerful onscreen presence. However, the strength of the performances is not enough to compensate for the fact that the story is a garbled mess, littered with holes and finishing with a twist so transparent it might be intentional. Alongside the potentially interesting, but largely unexplored, supernatural elements is some gratuitous nudity and gore, while the monster stalking the estate, vaguely ominous when hidden from view, is laughable when shown clearly. It would appear there is a good film hidden here somewhere, but writer/director Colm McCarthy’s vision seems to have been lost in the midst of entrails, muddled mythology and incomplete plot points. [Becky Bartlett]

56 THE SKINNY December 2010

Bad Santa

At the DCA in Dundee there’s a chance to celebrate the life and works of acclaimed German choreographer Pina Bausch as part of the DANCE: FILM 2010 tour. On 4 Dec, a documentary of her life is screened as part of a double bill, proceeded by a filmed version of her 1975 adaptation of the 1913 French ballet, Le Sacre du Printemps. The iconic 1980s film Flashdance, about a welder who dances at a club at night, is on the same day. Also screening is a selection of short dance films on 5 Dec. For heavy metal fans, head straight to the Belmont in Aberdeen on 7 Dec for a special screening of Lemmy. A documentary about the legendary lead singer of Motörhead, directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski trace the life of Lemmy Kilmister with the help of the people he influenced, including Alice Cooper, Dave Grohl and Slash. He is, without a doubt, rock and roll royalty, and the film promises to be both entertaining and enlightening.

If German punk takes your fancy, try the CCA in

OstPUNK! Too Much Future

Glasgow on 15 Dec for a Goethe Institute screening of OstPUNK! Too Much Future. Showing as part of a film festival celebrating the lives of people living within the former GDR, OstPUNK! follows six men and women involved in the punk scene in East Germany during the final ten years of the divide. The directors, Carsten Fiebeler and Michael Boehlke, were themselves part of the East German subculture of the time, and their film provides valuable insight into life during this strict regime.

Finally, for one day only the First UK Disability Film Festival is at the GFT to coincide with the International Day of Disabled People on 3 Dec. The three films screened are free (get your tickets from the GFT box office on the day) and subtitled, and include a BBC production, Raspberry Ripple, starring John Gordon Sinclair in the lead role as a man who escapes the confines of his wheelchair through his gangster-movie-inspired fantasies.

[Becky Bartlett]

First UK Disability Film Festival

FLIM

DVD REVIEWS LITTLE BIG SOLDIER

ERASING DAVID

SPLICE

DIRECTOR: SHENG DING

DIRECTOR: DAVID BOND

DIRECTOR: VINCENZO NATALI

STARRING: JACKIE CHAN, WANG LEEHOM RELEASED: OUT NOW CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: DAVID BOND RELEASED: 6 DEC CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: ADRIEN BRODY, SARAH POLLEY RELEASED: OUT NOW CERTIFICATE: 15

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You know where you are with Jackie Chan. He’s the lovable king of action comedy who can turn any situation into a whirlwind of martial arts slapstick. You might then be surprised by this personal project: a historical tale set in the Warring States period of ancient China.

Chan plays a reluctant footsoldier who captures an enemy general and decides to use him as a ticket to an honourable discharge and a life of peace. It’s a story of how the personal ambitions of the few can engulf and even destroy the lives of ordinary people around them.

The hyperactive fight-scenes and good natured comedy are there for fans, but there’s something more to it this time and Chan, writing and producing, weaves in moments of real poignancy amid the beautiful location filming. It’s longer than it ought to be and the plot meanders but this labour of love shows, even at 56, he can still do something unexpected. [Scotty McKellar]

Legitimate concerns about privacy and misuse of personal information have no place in director David Bond’s bonkers documentary, which firmly sides itself with tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorists. Bond films his attempt to live ‘off the grid’ for 30 days while a squad of private detectives try to track him down starting with just his name. There’s the sporadic titbit of useful information for people in the real world, but it’s quickly buried by Bond’s gargantuan sense of self-importance and need for drama.

Contrived ‘near misses’ grate and the UK’s significant data protection legislation is ignored because it’s less interesting than implying that we’re just a step away from secret police and death camps. Indeed, Bond seems to imagine himself as a Bournesque hero fleeing dastardly agencies at the height of the Cold War. Is someone finding out the time of your next GP appointment really the same as rape? Bond seems to think so. Desperate scaremongering at its worst. [Scotty McKellar]

Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are two genetic scientists in the employ of a medical research company. They create strange creatures that look like a cross between a flaccid penis and a giant turd, from which medicinal genes can be harvested.

Thwarted in her ambitions to use human genes by her boss, Elsa decides to continue her research in secret and creates a new creature which initially resembles a plucked chicken with a guinea pig’s head, before it metamorphoses into something like a little girl, whom she names Dren. Splice tells this story of Promethean over-reaching with an effective blend of sombre tone and gross special effects. But as Dren continues to grow and Elsa and Clive take on the role of surrogate parents, the story becomes predictably – and ickily – Oedipal in its trajectory. This allows for some decent satire on modern parenting, but ultimately the characters lose our sympathy and the shock finale comes as little surprise. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

PLAYTIME, MONSIEUR HULOT’S HOLIDAY

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

LEAVING

DIRECTOR: JACQUES TATI

DIRECTOR: EDGAR WRIGHT

DIRECTOR: CATHERINE CORSINI

STARRING: JACQUES TATI RELEASED: OUT NOW CERTIFICATE: U

STARRING: MICHAEL CERA, MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD, KIERAN CULKIN, ELLEN WONG RELEASED: DEC 27 CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, SERGI LÓPEZ, YVAN ATTAL RELEASED: OUT NOW CERTIFICATE: 15

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Jacques Tati’s character Monsieur Hulot was France’s answer to Charlot (their fond nickname for Charlie Chaplin) in the 1950s.

If you’ve seen The Illusionist you’ve been introduced to Monsieur Hulot in animated form. The incongruously tall raincoat-clad clown with a hunched gait is the uncle-like protagonist of Tati’s seminal films Playtime and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de M. Hulot). Both films have been re-released by the BFI on DVD and Blu-Ray with immersive extras.

Monsieur Hulot’s fantastical modernist world is filled with machines, overturned social conventions and futuristic portholes. His bumbling charm causes inadvertent and hilarious chaos wherever he steps in a precise pantomime that achieves boffo levels for the first time since James Agee lamented its death in his essay Comedy’s Greatest Era. The new release of Playtime is complemented with extras including a rare audio interview with Tati, a short biographical film, and both DVDs include alternative ‘international’ soundtracks revised by Tati himself. [Nicola Balkind]

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is unemployed and single. To allay his dumpee depression, he dates high-schooler Knives Chau (a sprightly and entertaining Ellen Wong). Though his Sex Bob-omb bandmates disapprove and roommate Wallace (Kieron Culkin) is indifferent, Scott is quickly distracted by the girl of his dreams: the candy-haired Ramona Flowers.

The cool new kid in town, Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is aloof but receptive. It’s game on as Pilgrim battles the league of 7 evil exes.

With sustained frenetic energy and the artistic touch of director Edgar Wright, it’s quick, colourful, and delightfully entertaining. Deftly whipping from panel-to-panel with a practiced gaze, all the trappings of a graphic novel adaptation are in place. While the acting is overstylised at points, it packs a punch with excellent performances and dynamite comic timing.

One of the most entertaining films of the year, it’s a great excuse to relive the excitement of 8-bit games in film form. [Nicola Balkind]

WWW.BFI.ORG.UK/

WWW.SCOTTPILGRIMTHEMOVIE.COM

rrr Unfulfilled playing the part of a bourgeois housewife to her husband Samuel (Yvan Attal) and two children, Suzanne Vidal (Kristin Scott Thomas) decides to return to her old job as a physiotherapist. She enlists the help of penniless Spanish labourer Ivan (Serge Lopez) to clear out a derelict building where her new office will be. Somewhat predictably she is seduced by Ivan’s passionate nature in contrast to her spouse’s clinical arrogance, and she swiftly abandons her family to tragic consequences. Although no longer Samuel’s financial prisoner she now finds herself a slave to her own incapacity for rational thought, underlined when she pleads to Ivan, “Throw me out or I can’t go.” Scott Thomas plays Suzanne with an involving and haunted desperation, preventing her from being just another Lady Chatterley falling for a bit of rough, but the film is hampered by touches of overt melodrama, so that in the end she has our sympathy, but not our full empathy. [Juliet Buchan]

GLASGOW

17-27 FEbRUARy 2011

MARGARET TAIT AWARD

GET THE CHEAPEST TICKETS!

EARLYBIRD PASSES ON SALE NOW Earlybird 5 Film Pass £25* Earlybird 10 Film Pass £45* Earlybird 20 Film Pass £80* WWW.GLASGOWFILMFESTIVAL.ORG.UK

GLASGOW BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM AWARD

*some events excluded from offer

Glasgow Film Festival is an operating name of Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT). GFT is registered as a charity (No SC005932) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 57

REVIEW

ART

PREVIEW

Nicolas Party, Still life with an apple core, 2009, oil on canvas

Nicolas Party and Catherine Payton @ Collective Collective Gallery 11 Dec - 8 Feb

New Work Scotland’s winter outing looks to be an eccentric one. Nicolas Party, painter and graduate of The Glasgow School of Art’s MFA programme, is set to do some wall drawings of tea pots.

Catherine Payton, recent graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, is to write a script about her great uncle who is said to be reincarnated in the body of a Mancunian man living in Holland.

Party’s drawings are playful and, dare I suggest, ironic. That’s to say they knowingly parody the now unfashionable art form, still life, to amusing effect. Using charcoal he draws pots and sausages, paying particular attention to their conical form. Around the drawings he decorates the walls in fluorescent patterns that enhance the installation while openly distracting from the drawings.

“I want to disturb the attention of the viewer,” he

explains, “challenge the eye.”

Payton has written a script about her great uncle Charlie, a WW2 aeroplane navigator who was shot down in battle at the age of 21. A man has since claimed that he is the reincarnation of Charlie and Payton seems quite amused by the whole scenario, despite what this implies, that the man believes he shares the intimate memories of her great uncle. As well as the script Payton looks to show a video and a sound work.

So far this year’s NWS programme has been a varied and lighthearted affair, which seems to be a fairly accurate reflection of what’s going on in the Scottish art scene: basically loads of artists interested in the peripheries of society and culture, including outmoded art forms and deluded, superstitious characters. This proves that artists are, in the main, weirdos that like weird stuff. Do you? [Andrew Cattanach] 11 Dec - 8 Feb www.collectivegallery.net

Laura Yuile @ The Duchy The Duchy 6 - 27 Nov

rrrr As with many independent galleries in Glasgow, The Duchy is an old shop front in the east end. A five minute walk from George Square, the gallery and its adjacent artists’ studios are a modest attempt at making a mature and established space for young, emerging artists. Perhaps a little too image conscious, the gallery, nonetheless, consistently produces interesting shows, making all the right decisions when pairing artists for group exhibitions.

How to win when you love to lose, a solo show

by Laura Yuile, is no exception to the directors’ canny judgement. Using objects mainly associated with fashion and retail, such as coat hangers and clothes rails, Yuile makes installations that imply a performative element. Everything has been meddled with, manipulated and yet retains its pristine newness. Despite the absence of a performer the

T FIRS AY SD THUR

58 THE SKINNY December 2010

exhibits leave you feeling a voyeur nonetheless.

As well as referencing the absent body, the picture frame is central to Yuile’s installation. A graduate of Painting and Printmaking from Glasgow School of Art, she repeatedly uses objects that frame the surrounding space. Clothes rails outline an area where other objects are placed. Coat hangers, likewise, demarcate a space.

The work plays on the voyeuristic nature of art: the looking, peering and scrutiny of the art viewer.

A space is always outlined, whether by the gallery itself or the frames it incorporates.

The fashion and retail industry, too, is perhaps an elaborate framing device. With it we frame our bodies and our personalities, padding out the deficient void that is ourselves. And in this sense Yuile’s work is a stark reminder of our scant existence, that we are tragically incomplete, desperately plugging the gaps in our vacuous personalities with junk we pick up on the high street. [Andrew Cattanach] The Duchy 6 - 27 Nov www.theduchygallery.co.uk/

READING

REVIEWS SUNSET PARK

101 WHISKIES TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE

BY PAUL AUSTER

BY IAN BUXTON

r

rrrr

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1963-64 & 65-66

DELETE THIS AT YOUR PERIL

BY CHARLES M SCHULZ

rrrrr

rrrrr

Rather like a drop or two of water in a dram of single malt, Ian Buxton’s lively guide opens the subject of whisky up and lets it breathe.

Designed to appeal as much to the casual drinker as the aficionado, Buxton’s tour through 101 fabulous whiskies is entertaining, enlightening and most of all accessible. Opinionated and irreverent, he excludes ludicrously rare one-off bottlings and focuses instead on the colourful and various world of whiskies that won’t break the bank.

Selecting less well-known Scotches alongside the super-brands gives a full and fascinating picture of whisky-production today: from grain whisky, which Buxton calls “the mad aunt in the attic no one talks about” to Glenglassaugh new make: “The Spirit Drink That Dare Not Speak Its Name” and of course some excellent single malts too. And that’s just Scotland. Buxton cuts through the insular “if it’s not Scotch it’s not cricket” attitude that pervades Scottish whisky circles, and selects whiskies from India, Canada, the USA, Sweden, and even England. A near perfect Christmas present for the dram-happy relative in your life, [101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die] is enjoyable and educational in equal measure – and speaking of measures, make mine a double. [Colin Herd]

It’s 60 years since the first publication of the Peanuts cartoons by Charles M Schulz, and the adventures of lonesome Charlie Brown, his peers and the family dog Snoopy retain much of their charm in these latest additions to this definitive ‘Complete’ collection, with the daily and Sunday strips from 1963-64/196566. Derived presumably from the original artwork, these editions confirm the unparalleled quality of Schulz‘s draughtsmanship which, by this time, was unmatched in its confident simplicity. There’s more than the art, though; time and again, Schulz also proves himself a consummate jokes man, master of not just the simple daily four (occasionally three) panel cartoon, but also in the longer humorous narratives that would have originally run across a week’s worth of cartoons. Of course, adults are never seen in the Peanuts cartoons and, by and large, nor do so-called grown-up concerns, with the possible exception of the occasional baseball references that now require a quick Google to confirm. Considering that these strips were originally published during increasingly turbulent times in the US – including the assassination of JFK – there is a remarkably timeless quality to this particularly American – and yet universal – world. [Paul F Cockburn]

OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY FABER. COVER PRICE £16.99

OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY HACHETTE. COVER PRICE £12.99

OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY CANONGATE. COVER PRICE £15 EACH

DIGITAL

Miles Heller is a one-man gloomfest. He’s haunted by the death of his stepbrother, estranged from his family and facing blackmail for conducting an under-age relationship. The 28 year-old flees Florida for a Brooklyn squat. There he joins a bunch of flatmates, each with their own personal raincloud: Bing is sexually confused, Ellen sex-starved, Alice in a dying relationship. Depression, suicide, infidelity, abortion and chlamydia all feature in a book that takes the 2008 economic crisis as its backdrop.

Punctuated by rare moments of tenderness, Heller’s sorry story continues as he makes the transition from emptying repossessed properties to living in one. The sadness permeating his life, and those around him, should touch the reader. But because the story is narrated in a cool, detached voice, it’s hard to feel sorry, to feel anything, for the book’s damaged characters. All of which might have been defensible were it not for the dismal conclusion.

Sunset Park doesn’t so much draw to a close as screech to a standstill. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle and a gaping hole where the end should be. In a book groaning with glumness, the last page is the grimmest part of all. [James Carson]

BY NEIL FORSYTH

Delete This At Your Peril is a compilation of emails exchanged between fraudsters and a character Forsyth has created (or could he be real?) called Bob Servant. Bob is a 62-year-old former window cleaner and magnate of ‘The Cheeseburger Wars’ in Broughty Ferry, Dundee.

This is one of the funniest books ever compiled.

Bob turns the tables on a whole host of internet fraudsters out to con any poor soul who falls for their deceptive pleas for help. There are eleven separate stories, and every one is hilarious.

Chapter nine, ‘Bobby and Benjamin are New Friends’, where Bob suddenly pretends he is a woman looking for love in response to a scammer, claiming to be from Sierra Leone, is the work of a comedy genius. What started with an email from Benjamin, offering Bob a percentage of his recently deceased father’s millions, quickly turns into a love story that ends with poor Benjamin getting the fright of his life. Danny Wallace had a snippet of emailing back an African scammer for recipes in his Yes Man book. While it was funny, it is nothing compared to Forsyth’s similar tale in chapter four. If you need cheering up, this book is the answer. [John G. Fagan] OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY BIRLINN. COVER PRICE £6.99

GADGET GIFT GUIDE 2010 WORDS: ALEX COLE

Ah, the holidays, a magical time of sharing and family togetherness, full of... to hell with it, you want shiny new toys, and so do I. 2010 was a good year for kit, and whether you’re buying for a tech lover or making your own wishlist, there’s plenty of gadgets to go around.

ViewSonic 3DV5 (£150): 3D in your pocket.

Sure, it’s a bit of cheese and it’s not like you’ll be filming the Avatar sequel all by yourself, but with 3D TVs more common and an awesome scene to shoot, this little toy is way more fun than it should be. Do the crazy thing where you reach towards the camera, works every time.

HTC Desire HD (Free on 2-year contract): It’s always a toughie deciding the best phone on the market at any given time, but right now, as good as the iPhone 4 is, the Desire is king of the hill. A huge screen, speedy processor and an evergrowing catalogue of apps make this configurable phone all kinds of drool-worthy.

Annoy-o-tron (£9.99): You’re not an evil person, of course, but that dick in your class really needs some poetic justice. Enter the Annoy-o-tron, a tiny little chip that beeps and chirps at random intervals, never the same tone or frequency. An evil person could use one of these to drive someone crazy before the battery runs out. Not that you’re evil.

Lens Thermos (£19.95): Sure, it ain’t the telephoto lens you really want, but just imagine their looks when you pour your coffee from a 70-300mm

AIPTEK T15 PICO PROJECTOR

lens. It looks the part perfectly, and will make any photog jealous.

Aiptek T15 Pico Projector (£99): A tiny phone screen is fine when it's YouTube for one, but when you want to share a totally legal movie or slide show, one of these will make your day. It can’t outdo a TV in sunlight, but for a travelling or camping roadshow, this can plug right into your laptop or phone and put an image anywhere.

8-bit Watch (£43): Geeks and nostalgia go together like Link and the grappling hook (don’t ask). This is the perfect watch for those whose relationship with games goes back a few years.

Looks way sexier than any of those nonsense Omega watches on the high street. Just ask anyone.

8-BIT WATCH

VIEWSONIC 3DV5

In the spirit of a gadget Christmas, Royal Mile Recording Experiences is offering one lucky Skinny reader their Star experience: two hours in their recording studio where the winner will get to choose two backing tracks of their choice to sing to, complete with a photo session of the event. To enter, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions, and answer this simple question: On which famous street would you find the recording studio? a) The Royal Mile b) Coronation St c) Baker St

HTC DESIRE HD

LENS THERMOS

COMPETITION TIME!

Royal Mile Recording Experiences The studio is geared up for any kind of recording situation, so if it's just for a bit of fun or a serious attempt at making a recording, a range of gift vouchers are available on the website, making this the ideal gift for singers of all ages.

So if you've been wondering what to get that talented friend or relative for a birthday or Christmas present, call 0131 556 4882, or visit the website to find out all the details at www. royalmilerecordingexperiences.com.

ANNOY-O-TRON

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 59

TrAmway

Tramway has often been a prophet without honour in its home city. Tucked away on Glasgow’s Southside, it is internationally renowned as both a gallery and theatre, yet its location has prevented it from attaining the same local presence as The Arches or The Tron. Yet after a relatively quiet performance year, as the venue built up both its visual art programme and status as a local community hub, December sees Tramway remind Glasgow that it is the home of large scale contemporary performance.

The Story of How We Came to Be Here is a production by Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan linking the visual arts with performance: the duo are best known in Tramway for their monolithic exhibition HK, which dominated the gallery space in the early twenty-first century. This move into performance is a natural extension of their style, which has always been influenced by theatre.

Taking the form of a long monologue – shades of Forced Entertainment’s controlled anarchy – it puts the artists directly in front of the audience and unfolds a shaggy dog tale that is part stand up comedy, part absurdist drama.

“The relationships and differences between the performing and visual arts is always something that’s interested us,” they note. “Tramway, as a venue which shows work across both disciplines, seems to be trying to think through this and our performance follows on from events such as This Time With Feeling – a symposium with contributors from both performing and visual arts.”

Within the show, Tatham and O’Sullivan retain their visual art aesthetic – there are echoes of the late modernists in their approach to bricolage, alongside clearly theatrical influences.

“When we make an artwork we often use approaches or forms that could be described as found,” they continue. “These approaches may be categorised as amateur, folk, or vernacular art – and drawing on such forms has long been

a recurring strategy within both the visual arts and theatre. Vaudeville is one such mode of theatre that has been frequently and constantly referenced and returned to – and it’s this process that interests us, as much as the characteristics of vaudeville itself.”

If Tatham and O’Sullivan have a history with Tramway, this month’s other event – Fresh Faced – stars Junction 25, a Tramway supported youth company who wowed the recent IETM by proving that young performers can grapple with radical theatre making. Jess Thorpe, part of the Glas(s)

company who evolved J25 explains that this is more than just a side project.

“The style of working has clear similarities with the work of Glas(s) Performance, but it is important to recognise the distinction – Junction 25 is our collaboration with young people. It means what we do together – all of our ideas pooled – is collective. It means young people trying out new ideas and working together to explore the world in which they experience. They need to and can speak for themselves.”

Gender Divide, their latest work, attacks the

Theatre Royal, Glasgow 29 OCT

rrrr

PREVIEW The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain

the vivacity of Figaro’s score while wringing nonetoo-subtle laughs out of this story of wife-swapping in 18th century Spain. The two male leads, Thomas Oliemans (Figaro) and Roderick Williams (his randy boss, Count Almaviva) are macho supremos, commanding attention whenever they appear on stage, while the females shine too, particularly Ulrike Mayer who essays the role of lady-killing page Cherubino in a deft cross-dressing turn.

That the production is directed by a singer Sir Thomas Allen puts the singing at the forefront and the relish the performers have for the libretto really comes across. A sparkling night’s entertainment.

[David McNally]

Traverse 5 – 24 Dec (Times Vary)

Running until 4 dec. For venues and times see www.scottishopera.org.uk

Photo: Mark Hamilton

Opera can seem impenetrable to the layman, peopled by characters who speak in epigrams and get embroiled in Terry and June style situations – and in terms of pure plot they don’t come much more contrived or bedroom farcical than Mozart’s Figaro.

Scottish Opera are working hard to undermine this perception: from an opera for babies through to small scale versions of classics turning up in unexpected locations like Tchai Ovna teahouse, the company are on a mission to demystify this highest of high arts.

Their unfussy, full-blooded production brings out

60 THE SKINNY December 2010

Fresh Faced @ Tramway Fri 17 Dec 6pm, free www.tramway.org/performance/

Joanne Tatham and Tom O'Sullivan

REVIEW The Marriage of Figaro

polarisation of gender roles – a relevant and heady topic that emphasises the company’s willingness to take on serious issues from a fresh perspective.

Alongside contributions from Y Dance and the NTS’ youth project, Fresh Faced is a mini-festival of Scotland’s young art teams: and Tramway, now a mixture of community cafe, avant-garde art gallery and legendary performance space, is the ideal venue. [Gareth K Vile]

There are rumours emerging from the south that The Traverse’s Christmas show, The Three Musketers and the Princess of Spain, is not a typical family treat. While reviews have been mixed – in some cases vitriolic, others positive – director Dominic Hill seems to have escaped from the sentimentality and romance of most seasonal plays, and settled on something darker and more bawdy.

It is unsurprising that The Traverse bucks the trend of Christmas tinsel: in the past year, Hill has directed The Goat, a tale of bestiality, and booked Tim Crouch’s shocking The Author – a play which found a new way to undermine and frighten the audience.

Teaming up with author Chris Hannan was never likely to trouble audiences pondering whether Jim Davidson or The Crankies were the better bet for an annual trip to the theatre. Hannan’s previous works include Shining Souls and Elizabeth Gordon Quinn, which were remarkable for the monstrosity and glamour of their central, female characters. Hannan is no hack ready to knock off asides to adults.

Aside from choreography from Fleur Darkin, who recently brought her immersive and disorientating Disgo to Trav 1, The Three Musketeers finds the heroic trio past their best, stuck in the Parisian underworld and surrounded by scatological humour and embarking on an adventure that has been described as too frightening for children. In the context of yuletide cheer, this is alarming, but heartening.

Perhaps the rescue of Christmas theatre from commercial sentimentality begins here. [Margaret Kirk] www.traverse.co.uk

Photo: Robert Day

PERFORM

Venue of the Month:

COMEDY

IN PROFILE: STU WHO?

Circuit stalwart STU WHO? tells us what he loves about comedy in the festive season INTERVIEW: JEN LAVERY YOU’D BE forgiven for not expecting much festive cheer from a man who doesn’t celebrate Christmas because he’s ‘a grown-up who doesn’t have imaginary friends’.

However, whilst he won’t be decking the halls of his own house, Stu Who? relishes performing for that much-maligned group, the mere name of which can send shudders down the spines of the most seasoned comics: The Christmas Party Night Out. “I used to moan about it like everybody else, but over the years, if I really look back on it, most of them have actually behaved better than the rest of the audience.” he tells us.

“The bad, drunken nights are the exception, but they’re such an exception they’re memorable and everybody talks about them.”

These exceptions include the time a Police Chief Inspector ended up being arrested by his own men, and a show where the vast majority of the audience seemed more interested in nipping to the toilet. “I thought, either there’s a urinary infection hitting this town or there’s cheap cocaine. When we checked with the bouncers we realised our suspicions were correct...” Let’s hope the audience at The Beehive this December have other ideas about what makes a white Christmas.

But whilst Christmas ain’t really his thing, there is one part of the Festive season Stu Who? would never miss – his Hogmanay performance at Jongleurs Glasgow. “I love gigging at the New Year and then partying with the crowd. The atmosphere is brilliant and the crowd are great.”

This year sees him gigging alongside Tom Stade who he describes as ‘mental’. “Someone said recently they were doing a gig with Tom and asked what he’s like. I said ‘Take bail money.’”

Not that anything is likely to faze Stu Who?, the self-described “voice of wisdom from a lunatic.”

Talking about his comic style, he tells us: “I’m not political, more into social comment. But with a ridiculous streak of knob-joke sensibility.” With over twenty years experience on the circuit (he was one of the original stars of STV’s Funny Farm) there’s not much he hasn’t done. Taken Apocalypse Now star Robert Duvall for a pint in a Parkhead boozer? Check. Cycled through

1 Grange Loan, Edinburgh, EH9 2NP 30 Broughton St, Edinburgh, EH1 3SB 32-34 Comiston Rd, Edinburgh, EH10 5QE

China? Check. Turned down a part in Phoenix Nights? Check.

“I never regret anything. I’d like to be filthy, stinking rich, but I think if I’d carried on doing TV stuff I’d have ended up divorced, a recovering coke addict in The Priory, talking shite like the rest of them. And no longer doing comedy.”

wines spirits beers

www.vinowines.co.uk www.twitter.com/vinowines www.facebook.com/vino.wines TO BE USED FOR THE SKINNY ONLY

Can you defeat

SEE STU IN COMEDY CHRISTMAS SPECIALS AT LAUGHING HORSE COMEDY & FIT O’THE GIGGLES, THE BEEHIVE, EDINBURGH, 17 & 18 DEC

Snow Queen?

the wicked Join us for a fun-filled

JONGLEURS GLASGOW, 31 DEC, 6:30PM

Christmas adventure!

WIN TICKETS!!!

We have 10 pairs of half-price tickets for readers of The Skinny for the fabulous US comic (and star of Sabrina the Teenage Witch!) Caroline Rhea on Saturday 26 March 2011 at The King’s, Glasgow.

Hurry, it’s first come, first served! All you have to do to claim a pair of half-price tickets is call 0844 395 4005 or visit www.ticketsoup.com and quote ‘DECEMBERSKINNY’.

CRACKER JOKES – COMEDY GIFT GUIDE Comedy DVDs are perfect for the true fan, and otherwise quite a good cop out gift for when you’re not sure what to buy. Here’s a selection for your perusal, all for under £20. Which is marketing speak for £19.99. Probably less if you know how to work the internet

Simon Amstell: Do Nothing Good news for anyone who wanted to beat up Simon Amstell for being smug and sarcastic on Buzzcocks: in this show, he does the job for you. Do Nothing is an hour long existential crisis in which Amstell explores his loneliness and inability to enjoy life.

Jim Jefferies: Alcoholocaust There’s a fine line in comedy between pushing the boundaries and just being a bit of an arse; between Bill Hicks and Bernard Manning. In Alcoholocaust, Jefferies weaves drunkenly along that line, and collapses in a heap on the right side.

Just about.

Bill Hicks: The Essential Collection This four disc set (two CDs and two DVDs) charts his early years and his development as a standup; from his beginnings in Texas in 1981, through to his politically eviscerating, beautifully scathing material up to the year before his death.

Also out in time for Christmas: Richard Herring: Hitler Moustache Frankie Boyle Live 2: If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV and Strangle You I Would Gary: Tank Commander Limmy’s Show Kevin Bridges: The Story So Far... Live In Glasgow FULL REVIEWS AVAILABLE ONLINE

By Stuart Paterson From the original by Hans Christian Andersen

2–31 December 2010 BOX OFFICE: 0131 248 4848 GROUPS 10+: 0131 248 4949 www.lyceum.org.uk/snowqueen *Four stalls seats, subject to availability (at least one U18 in group)

Childr en’s HALF tickets P Family RICE! tic just £6 kets 0*

Company No. SC062065 Scottish Charity Registered No. SC010509

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 61

COMPS

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE HOGMANAY STREET PARTY

WIN 12 PAIRS OF TICKETS TO THE STAND'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

PHOTO: EDINBURGH'S HOGMANAY, CHRIS WATT

Because rare are those who enjoy the hunt for Christmas presents, we've teamed up with The Stand Comedy Club to offer our readers a well-deserved break from the overcrowded shops.

On 13 and 14 Dec The Stand is having Christmas nights out in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we've got 3 pairs of tickets for each night, and in each club!

Forget Slade and tacky paper hats - get yourself down to Scotland's best comedy clubs to keep festive spirits high. In Glasgow, laughs will be provided by Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss and Susan Morrison, while in Edinburgh there'll be Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood and Joe Heenan (and let's not forget The Stand's special festive menu).

Do the words “New Year’s” suddenly open up that anxiety spiral of having to choose between your friend’s dull party or your brightly lit local’s – all the while claiming loud and clear that youhadthetimeofyourlifethisyear and anyone who didn't do the same is a fool?

We don’t blame you, and that’s why we’ve got it covered by giving away 10 pairs of tickets to the world famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party!

This year the Party will be featuring four music stages with live performances from Biffy Clyro, The Coral, Kitty the Lion, superstar DJs Booka Shade and of course the Midnight Fireworks and general partying on Princes St. Word of advice: don't forget

to layer up.

More exciting than your secret back-up plan of falling asleep on the sofa, eh..?

Q: WHICH BAND WON THE HOG THE STAGE COMPETITION?

Q: WHICH FAMOUS GLASGOW COMEDIAN DID THEIR FIRST OPEN SPOT AT THE STAND IN 2007 WHILE THEY WERE STILL TOO YOUNG TO GET SERVED AT THE BAR? Deadline: Wednesday 8 December

Closing date: Monday 13 Dec To enter, visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions Terms and Conditions: The Street Party is not recommended for under 16s

To enter, visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions Terms and Conditions: Entrants must be aged 18 or over

CANONGATE BOOK BONANZA WIN THE TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE YEAR AND SCARS TICKETS

2010 has been an exciting year for The Skinny: we’ve had a redesign, interviewed a whole host of famous names, from Massive Attack to Caribou as well as (most pertinently in the context of this competition) David Shrigley and Alasdair Gray, we've launched a travel section, partnered with many exciting festivals and events... To celebrate all that, and so much more, we’ve teamed up with the Edinburgh-based publishing house Canongate to offer one Skinny reader a signed (signed!) copy of each book from Canongate’s top Christmas titles for the year (all hardbacks): • Philip Pullman, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (limited edition) • Alasdair Gray, A Life in Pictures • David Shrigley, The Essential David Shrigley • Karl Pilkington, An Idiot Abroad • Yann Martel, Beatrice & Virgil • Simon Tofield, Simon’s Cat: Beyond the Fence

62 THE SKINNY DECEMBER 2010

It’s seriously going to be taking every bit of willpower we have not to snatch those the minute they arrive at the Skinny offices.

Q: WHICH MEMBER OF THE SKINNY INTERVIEWED DAVID SHRIGLEY THIS SUMMER (AND SECRETLY DESCRIBED IT AS 'THE BEST DAY' OF THEIR LIFE)?

Deadline: Friday 31 December To enter, visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions Terms: www.theskinny.co.uk/terms WE WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT ALL OF THESE BOOKS WOULD MAKE FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO AND BUY THEM. PARTICULARLY THE SHRIGLEY ONE. AND THE GRAY ONE.

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE: If you rolled up to Cockburn Street recently and noticed that your favourite independent record shop has disappeared – fear not! Our pals at Avalanche Records have merely moved to No. 5 Grassmarket for what looks to be an exciting new chapter. Besides collaborating on projects with their neighbours at Red Dog Music, they aim to work closely with the area’s wealth of local vintage clothing shops and venues to create a hub for music and arts.

Having installed an in-store coffee shop recently, they’ve contracted local singer and professional cake maker Emily Scott to provide the baking.

2011 yields a lot of promise for the shop, with forthcoming events over the next few months including an exhibition curated by Edinburgh College of Art in January, a film-screening by Tim Barrow in March and are aiming to host a focussed platform for Edinburgh's burgeoning "short-run" comics scene.

To celebrate, Avalanche have teamed up with

Ye Skinny to offer one lucky reader all ten of our albums of the year and a pair of tickets to see Auld Reekie’s own post-punk progenitors Scars perform their first gig in over 25 years alongside TV21, Malcolm Ross and special guests at the HMV Picture House on 29 December.

Q: TO WIN, SIMPLY TELL US THE NAME OF SCARS’ SEMINAL DEBUT (AND ONLY ALBUM!) A) REMEMBER! REMEMBER! B) AUTHOR ! AUTHOR! C) QUANGO! QUANGO! Deadline: Mondat 20 December To enter, visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions For full Ts& Cs: www.theskinny.co.uk/terms

Glasgow music Tue 30 Nov

Fri 03 Dec

Sun 05 Dec

Rural Alberta Advantage

Athlete (Alice Gold, Stoney)

Electric Six

Acoustic indie rock.

Acoustic folk rocker.

Thoughtful indie pop.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

Detroit jokers tour new album.

Glasgow Popfest (The hardy Boys, Maple Leaves Peter Parker, The Social Services)

Paul Smith

Stereo, 15:00–22:30, £8

Sonic Boom Six, The Crave, The Hostiles

John Cooper Clarke

Wolves In The Throne Room, Rose Kemp

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £12

Black metal and rock.

Acoustic Session

Oran Mor, 19:30–00:00, Free

Open mic hosted by Ross Clark.

Magic Carpet Cabaret Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Ssinger/songwriters and bands.

Shooting Stansfield (Birdhead)

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £10

Hardcore punk rock troupe.

Glasgow Popfest (Maple Leaves, The Just Joans, Peter Parker, The Cavalcade, The Social Services)

Frightened Rabbit

Three-day independent music festival.

Scottish-brogued indie rockers.

Summerlin, Kiss Corona

Gabrielle Aplin

Pop/punk cheeky chappies. In ABC 2.

Lyrical pop.

Anti-Nowhere League

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:30, £9

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £13

Brel, 19:30–22:30, £5

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £tbc

Beautiful acoustic vocals.

Tuesday Music Club

Tanera Heights, Natalie Pryce, Room 16

EP launch.

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–12:00, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6

Open mic night.

Experimental and alternative indie.

The Glasgow Slow Club

Glasgow Popfest (The Felt Tips, The Understudies, Asleep, Johnny Rebb)

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Relaxed night with guest musicians.

Wed 01 Dec The Young Gods (Nanobots) Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £12

Raw soul and R’n’B.

Black Dice, Growing

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £12.50

Experimental rock and guitar drone.

Rustie (Tanlines, Becoming Real) The Arches, 19:00–22:30, £10

Digital wonk.

Charly Coombes & The New Breed (The Selective Service) Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6

Contemporary rock and roll.

Live Jazz

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Jazz classics and modern standards.

Enemble Think, Splinter Cell CCA, 20:00–23:00, £6

Minimal post rock and experimental.

Joe Brooks

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £8

Rocky pop.

Small Black (Pictureplane) Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Dreamy acoustic pop.

Feevents Presents: The Shortlist Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £5

Indie, rock and pop.

Openmiking

Halt Bar, 20:30–23:00, Free

Turn up and do your thing.

Muso (Toy Tin Soldier, Stuntman Mike, Lewis Morrison) Buff Club, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Live indie pop and DJs.

Thu 02 Dec Frank Turner (Ed Harcourt) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £14

Folk rock, plus stellar support.

Mini festival of pop.

SWG3, 19:30–03:00, £20 pass

Three-day independent music festival.

Primary 1

SWG3, 15:00–23:30, £20 pass

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Courteeners (Miles Kane, I Am Kloot) Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £tbc

Indie niceness.

Steve Forbert (Chris & Robin Adams) The Ferry, 19:00–00:00, £16.50

American singer/songwriter.

80s Rewind: Christmas Tour SECC, 19:15–22:30, £37.50

Live singalong special.

Synth-pop.

New Town Tryptic, Liam Corrins, Steve Lee, Coogs

The Heartbreaks

Alternative showcase.

Rockabilly pop.

Jesse Malin & the Saint Mark’s Social, Million Years

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Dirty Boogie

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £3

Garage, rockabilly and psych pre-club.

Action Beat, Mr Peppermint, Stomachs, Divorce, Ultimate Thrush 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Punk, psych and metal.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £3

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

Folk rock and experimental.

Vukovi, The Clock, The Barnett Formula Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £3

Alternative rock.

Lavotchkin, Hush

Koshka

Dark rock.

Gypsy jazz trio

Bloc+, 23:00–02:00, Free

Sat 04 Dec Glasgow Popfest (The Electric Pop Group, Zipper, Betty and the Werewolves, The Lovely Eggs)

Cafe Cossachok, 21:00–23:00, £6

Thee Faction 13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Socialist R’n’B. Apparently.

Bloc+Jam

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £7

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7

Punky hip-hop and alternative rock.

Tuesday Music Club

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–12:00, Free

Open mic night.

Sunshine Social

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Experimental types.

The Glasgow Slow Club (The Last Battle) Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Lissie (The Pierces)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Indie folk darling.

Thee Beatles

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Beatles tribute.

Echo & the Bunnymen (Kelly Stoltz)

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:30, £25

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

The Levee Breakers (Small Town Heroes) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Detours, Verse Metrics, Sing-Kill-Worth Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £5

Indie rock showcase. Upstairs.

The Dirty Hugos, Behind the Eclipse, The Replay, Crafy Bison Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £7

Indie, punk and rock showcase.

The Concretes (ChadValley, Randolph’s Leap) The Arches, 19:00–22:30, £8

Indie-pop singalongs.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Scottish rockers. In ABC 2.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club O2 Academy, 19:00–22:30, £18.50

Psychedelic indie.

Frightened Rabbit Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £13

Scottish-brogued indie rockers.

Villagers Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £10

Mercury prize nominated Irish act.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £7

Experimental pop and indie rock.

dBass

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £7

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £10

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

Men & Machines (Manuel Gottsching)

Bloc+Jam

Acoustic jam. Good with toast.

Live indie pop and DJs.

Buff Club, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Communicator Online

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Mon 13 Dec

The Arches, 19:00–22:30, £14

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £20

Rock tour.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Retrofrets, The Fatalists, Filthy Little Secret Gambetta, 20:00–22:30, £2

Trio of live bands.

Stevie and the Moon, The Barents Sea, Gillian Christie King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Pogues

JLS

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £tbc

Talent show popsters.

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Folk/blues fingerstyle guitarist.

The Sunshine Underground (Cashier No 9)

Alternative rock and pop.

Blochestra Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Acoustic set of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven songs.

Funked-up bass loops.

Country folk and pop.

Boy & Bear

Mark Olson, Andy Tucker and The Scattered Family

Tue 07 Dec

Drums, guitars and bass. With baws.

The Rifles

Alternative country.

Gun (Anvaris)

Hiroshima Blackout

Acoustic set.

You Say Party

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £8

Scottish rockers. In ABC 2.

Alternative rock and punk.

Experimental pop troupe.

Moment Of My Explosion, Wrongnote, Tiny Little Soldiers

Lostrites, Low Sonic Drift

Bring an instrument and join in.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Mona

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £3

Orange Goblin (Solace, Firebird)

Monthly unsigned showcase.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:30, £12

Halt Bar Hijack

Meat Loaf

Underground band takeover.

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £48

Classic rock.

The Collectors

One Way Out, Red Show

Retro garage five-piece.

Heavy rock riffs.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £3.50

Ned Zeppelin

Bands of 2010 showcase.

Call Me Ishmael, The Humour

Acoustic Open Mic

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £tbc

Led Zeppelin tribute.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–00:00, Free

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Powerpop/rock at its finest.

We were promised jetpacks

How Garbo Died

Indie rock from Edinburgh

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Sun 19 Dec

Blochestra

Bring an instrument and join in.

The Blessings, Frogpocket, Not Squares, Tokamak, Enfant Bastard

Hijacked Redords 7th Birthday Party (The Black Hand Gang, The Statler Project, Jeye T and Heartbeats)

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Tue 14 Dec

Stereo, 18:00–03:00, £10

Pearl & The Puppets

Ten Tracks new website launch.

Alternative pop four-piece.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

The Doors Alive Doors tribute.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Glitter Band, Captain Sensible

Haunting lyrical songsmithery.

San Fran and the Siscos

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £14

Sun 12 Dec

New music showcase.

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Pop and punk.

The Neat

The Ramonas (The Theory, Port Cullas)

Experimental new wave.

Female Ramones tribute. In ABC 2.

The Magnificent 7

The Saw Doctors

Bands of 2010 showcase.

Irish folk rock.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £21.50

Tuesday Music Club

James

Open mic night.

Indie rock.

Fri 10 Dec

Chris Trapper (Colin Train)

Damnable Contraption, Deadotter

Soul-Fi

For Those About To Rock (Livewire AC/DC, Limehouse Lizzy)

Alternative acoustic.

Celtic thrash and electro.

The Humour (Call me Ishmael)

Chris Brokaw, Geoff Farina, Skeleton Bob

Hard dance pop.

Tribute night.

Power rock.

The Dead Man’s Waltz

Room 94 (The Corleones)

Teenage Fanclub

This Familiar Smile, Lions, Constellations

Experimental folk and rock.

Members of Injuns.

Powerpop with dodgy mops. In ABC 2.

Throne O’Diablo

Corrupted

Pop, rock and experimental indie.

Metallic rock thrash-out.

Chilled punk.

13th Note, 20:00–23:30, £5

Experimental pop and rock.

The Celestians, Annie Stevenson, The Fold, Ghosts of Progress Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £5

The Parting, A Fight You Can’t Win, The Massacre Cave, Devour

Indie, rock and dirty blues.

Grungy alternative rock.

Underground band takeover.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £4

Femi Kuti & The Positive Force The Arches, 20:30–22:30, £17.50

Energetic afro-beats.

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Halt Bar Hijack

Halt Bar, 20:00–00:00, Free

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Bloc+, 23:00–02:00, Free

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

Alternative rock, pop and punk.

Angus & Julia Stone Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £10

Brother and sister duo from Australia

Faithless SECC, 19:30–22:30, £29.50

Brel, 19:30–22:30, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Progressive thrash.

Danny Vaughn American singer/songwriter. In ABC 2.

Blackfriars Basement, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

The Lambrettas

QMU, 19:00–22:00, £10

Fri 17 Dec

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

Super Adventure Club, Paws, Hagana, Roller

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Electronica punk.

Hardcore noisemakers.

Ambient experimental.

Flying Duck, 18:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Indian Red Lopez

Mini music festival.

McChuills, 20:30–23:00, Free

Experimental noisemakers.

Live music festive fun.

The Slow Club: Mini Fest Two (Cheer, Arcs, Smackvan, Small Scale Collisions, Okoo, Trenchfoot)

Halt Bar, 20:00–00:00, Free

Punky powerpop.

The Lonely Boy

Bloc+, 23:00–02:00, Free

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £5

Come On Gang

Picante Live! Christmas Party (Paws, Blood of te Bull, Organs of Love, North American War, Male Pattern Band, Schnapps)

David Lowery, Johnny Hickman

What’s The Noise (Betatone Distraction, Black Avenue)

The Magnificent 7 (The Wellgreen, The Ballad of Alex K)

Underground band takeover.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Scunner, The Plimptons

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Flying Duck, 22:00–03:00, £5

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £9

Blues rock and experimental.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Leeds-based indie rockers.

Halt Bar Hijack

CD launch with hand-screenprinted CD-Rs, plus cake and balloons.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–22:30, £1

Acoustic rock. In ABC 2.

Cathouse, 19:00–00:00, Free

Kings of Delmar, Billy Liar, The Murderburgers, Buzzbomb

The Winchester, 20:00–23:00, £4

Live music party, plus free CD!

Open mic with a karaoke twist.

Fundraiser for Yorkhill Children’s Fund.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–00:00, Free

St Etienne

Indie, punk and rock showcase.

Hard rockin’ five-piece.

Metallic rock.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £7

Green Door Studio 3rd Birthday (Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock-Pickers, Black Jash, Casual Sex)

The Imagineers (Strawberry Ocean Sea, The Clyde)

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Halt Bar, 20:00–00:00, Free

Somethin’ Else, Rex Mundi, KOMODO

Open Mic

Bullet For My Valentine

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £5

Classic Grand, 20:00–22:30, £8

Festive smut.

30th anniversary tour.

Karnivool

Civic Civic

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £22.50

Cherry Loco’s Twisted Xmas

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £15

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

The Santa Cause (The Boy Who Trapped the Sun)

Ayrshire rock. In ABC 2.

Laibach

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Experimental types.

Alternative electronica.

Microphone free-for-all.

Cathouse, 19:00–00:00, Free

Thu 16 Dec

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £34.50

Classic rock.

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:30, £30

Fairytale of New York is a given.

Acoustic rock and indie blues.

Kirsty’s Metal Hands, Rose Glass, Hot Jupiter

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

Thea Gilmore

Muso (Tragic O’Hara, Colour Cells, Colin Hunter)

Paul Weller

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £2

Status Quo

Classic songwriter and guitarist.

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:30, £12

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £23.50

Muso (Suspire, The Cinammons, Mariah Doherty, The Stagger Rats)

Metallic rock and death.

The Complete Stone Roses (Kings of Lyon) Tribute night.

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:30, £9

Celtic rock.

Steve Conte (Mepldramas, Eddie and the T-Bolts, Tragic City Thieves)

German composer rare guest slot.

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

101% Pantera

New music podcast party.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £15

Fundraiser for Epilespy Bereaved.

Blackberryjack (Waiting To Go, Eat Meat, Reykjavik)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Runrig

Missing Swimmers

The Dirt (The Ballachulish Hellhounds) Dave Dominey

Beatles tribute.

Authentic and original punk.

Detour

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Microphone free-for-all.

The Levee Strollers, Pro Life, Mandrake Shepherd

Them Beatles

Eye For An Eye, Colours To Shame, Nemycst, Semper Fi, Iron Wolf

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Little Fire, Matt Johnston, David Burns

Acoustic Open Mic

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £35

Halt Bar, 20:30–23:00, Free

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Open Mic

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Celtic rock.

Kenny McColl, Scott Charles

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £25

Thu 09 Dec

Openmiking

Sat 18 Dec The Silencers

Pantera tribute.

Ska night.

Taste Of Chaos

Buff Club, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Showcase night.

Bloc+, 23:00–02:00, Free

Rock, indie and acoustic pop.

Metallic punk, reggae and ska.

The Jam tribute.

Live indie pop and DJs.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £tbc

United Fruit, otherpeople, Hey Enemy

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Turn up and do your thing.

Indie-folk, rock and pop.

Creation Studios Present (Herculean)

Teenage Fanclub vs Belle & Sebastian.

Cafe Cossachok, 21:00–23:00, £6

Openmiking

Halt Bar, 20:30–23:00, Free

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Pop, punk and psych.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Turn up and do your thing.

Acoustic acts; local and far-flung.

Johnny Foreigner, Otherpeople, Stagecoach

Drum Eyes, Ultimate Thrush, Prayer Rug

Acoustic Tribute Night

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Iron Maiden tribute. In ABC 2.

Live music and DJs. Alternative rocker.

Punk as F**K (Constant Fear, Puddock Stew, Razorblade Smile)

Scissor Sisters

Indie rock from Portland.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Obscure folk and pop.

Progressive experimental.

Compilation Release Party: Electropapknit Vol 1

The Vale, 19:00–00:00, £tbc

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £5

Maiden Scotland

Punk rock.

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £16

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Experimental acoustic.

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £4

Jazz classics and modern standards.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £9

Alternative folk singer and piper.

Popular jazz.

From The Jam

Led Zeppelin tribute. In ABC 2.

The Sunshine Underground (Cashier No 9)

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Marcus Ford, Chris Clark

Psych-folk.

Gun (Anvaris)

Live Jazz

Butterfly Strategy

Electro-pop.

Psych-pop and melodic alternative.

Experimental and indie blues.

Pop and rock youngsters.

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £30

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Carly Connor

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £5

Glasgow Ska Train

Hawkwind (The Jokers)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £9

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £30-£75

Random Hand, The Skints, Dirty Revolution, Sinister Flynn

Led Zeppelin tribute.

Folky rock musings.

Mon 06 Dec

Iain Morrison

God Speed You! Black Emperor

United Noise: An Industrial Christmas (Surgyn, Condition Zero, The .invalid)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £10

Ty Segall

Letz Zep

The Hidden Masters, Skeleton Bob

Frankie Rose & The Outs, North American War, Midnight Harlot

Elliot Minor

Menomena (Tamaryn, Mitchell Museum, Fur Hood)

Dulcet-toned folk.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Soulful folk.

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Space rockers.

Soulful rock.

Viking Moses, Withered Hand, Underground River, The Japanese War Effort

Butterfly Strategy Acoustic acts; local and far-flung.

R’n’B cheesey pop.

Grand Ole Opry, 19:30–22:30, £5

Leeds-based indie rockers.

Three-day independent music festival.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Crowded House tribute.

Brigada Mercy

Exhibition launch with music from jazz hip-hop collective.

SWG3, 14:00–03:00, £20 pass

Peter Andre

Ginger crooner.

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Acoustic jam. Good with toast.

Crowded Hoose (Badger Bob and the Moon Dogs)

Live music fundraiser for the Aquired Brain Injury Unit.

Rock four-piece.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–23:00, £6

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £40

Sat 11 Dec

Brel, 19:30–22:30, £4

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Simply Red

Rio Callahan

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun

Album launch.

Folk chaps.

Electroacoustic and indie.

Folk/blues fingerstyle guitarist.

The Arches, 19:30–23:00, £7

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £18

Alternative rockers.

Airbourne

Christmas single launch.

The Vatersay Boys

Experimental lyricists.

Michael Simons

The Porch Song Anthology

Punk-rock poet.

Wed 08 Dec

Open mic with a karaoke twist.

Vibrant rock.

The Arches, 19:00–22:30, £15

Scott Kelley, Sephen Brodsky

Alternative indie rock-out.

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £10

Relaxed night with guests.

VsVs, The Draymin, Crash Club

The Peter Stott Band

Eoghan Colgan

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–12:00, Free

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £31

The Admiral, 17:00–22:00, £8

Live music in a party atmosphere.

Belle & Sebastian Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £25

Indie-pop three-night takeover.

Shakira SECC, 19:30–22:30, £40-£45

Latin pop wailer.

Mitchell Museum (The Seventeenth Century, The Old Bear) Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–03:00, £5

Glaswegian pop rockers.

St Deluxe, Acrylic Iqon, Male Pattern Band King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Indie, pop and alternative.

The Magnificent 7 Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Bands of 2010 showcase.

Brel, 19:30–22:30, Free

Funky soul classics.

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:00, £5

Georgie Gajjic Cafe Cossachok, 21:00–23:00, £6

Seasonal continental melodies.

The Kitsch, The Leptones

Wed 15 Dec

Indie, punk and rock showcase.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Municipal Waste (Saviours, Ramming Speed)

The Rising, The Blackjack Blues Band

Bloc+Jam

Alternative indie pop.

Thrashy punk rock.

Soulful rock.

Acoustic jam. Good with toast.

Rotersand, Strafanz

Arcade Fire

Yummy Fur, Nico’s Bike

Wing and a Prayer

Butterfly Strategy

Industrial electro.

Ambient Canadian six-piece.

Indie pop and punk.

Blues-influenced singer/songwriters.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £15

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:30, £10

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

SECC, 19:30–22:30, £27.50

Ivory Blacks, 19:00–22:30, £12

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £8

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Rock and indie.

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Acoustic acts; local and far-flung.

December 2010

THE SKINNY 63

Glasgow MUSIC

EDINBURGH music

Mon 27 Dec

Tue 30 Nov

Fri 03 Dec

Aberfeldy

XSM, Bruce & Jamie Watson

Jenny & Johnny

The Mine Presents (A Fight You Can’t Win, Hagana, Deat Trap City)

Mon 20 Dec

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Scottish twee folk. Lovely, too.

Belle & Sebastian

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £10

Punk rock and electronica.

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £25

Open Mic

Indie-pop three-night takeover.

Cathouse, 19:00–00:00, Free

Open Mic

Open mic with a karaoke twist.

Cathouse, 19:00–00:00, Free

Open mic with a karaoke twist.

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Folk/blues fingerstyle guitarist.

The Magnificent 7

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Bands of 2010 showcase.

Acoustic Open Mic

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £14

Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice team-up.

The Wedding Present (Ringo Deathstar)

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £4

Three up-and-coming bands showcase.

The Liquid Room, 19:30–22:00, £15

The Remnant Kings, 8 Track Stereo

Folk/blues fingerstyle guitarist.

Leith Folk Club (Fiona J Mackenzie)

Indie rock showcase.

Lost Soul Band

St Andrews night extravaganza.

Michael Simons Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Folk rock.

The Magniificent 7 Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Alternative indie.

The Village, 19:30–22:45, £6

Great Jazz Jam The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £2 (£1)

Open-stage jam session.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Three Long Words (Smallprint, The Industry, The Koves) Studio 24, 19:00–22:00, £6

Single launch.

Complete Stone Roses

Stuart Brown Quartet

Sun 12 Dec

SCO: Christmas In Paris

The Banshee Labyrinth, 20:00–23:00, Free

Eclectic original compositions.

Harps of Gold

Orchestral performance.

Punk and rock.

John Lanagan

Festive carols and readings.

The Bootleg Beatles

Limbo

Folk and world music night.

Emma’s Imagination

Beatles tribute.

Live music night.

Thu 09 Dec

Imaginative songwriting.

The Threats, Facehandle, Roughmute

Voodoo Rooms, 20:30–01:00, £tbc

Banjo Lounge Quartet

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Acoustic quartet.

Shatterhand, The Incendiary Bats, Sad Society

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £5 (£4)

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Martyn Mackenzie, Danny Hill

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

The Stu Goodall Band (The Rising Souls, Tom McConnell)

Brass band and choir pair-up.

Late ‘n’ Live (Rene, DJ Astroboy)

Countryesque pop. Yee-haw.

Punk and progressive new wave.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Doctor Ruby’s In Leith

Studio 24 Floor Show (Dead Swans, Mother of Mercy, Brutality Will Prevail)

Wardie Burns & UV Beats, Werd, Nitty Grittz

Sun 05 Dec

Dirty rock bill.

Hair of the Dog Sundays: Open Session

Barn By The River (Al Shields & The Wilted Roses, Dixie Beaver)

Punk, rock and hardcore.

Blochestra

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Bring an instrument and join in.

Tue 21 Dec Belle & Sebastian

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £25

Indie-pop three-night takeover.

Adopted As Holograph, National Bedtime, Andrea Marini Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Ambient folk and alternative.

Gus Stirrat

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £3

Monthly jazz session.

Singer/songwriters and their bands.

Aynsley Lister

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Melodic and lyrical R’n’B.

Letz Zep

Alternative indie pop.

Lost In Audio

The Liquid Room, 19:30–22:00, £12

Extreme metal all-dayer.

Sigma, Superjunkie, Pilljaw, Deminishion

Led Zeppelin tribute.

Chris Brokaw, Geoff Farina

Rock vs metal square-off.

RSNO: Postcards From The Americas

Folk rock.

Acoustic Night

Kat Healy

With Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy.

The Magniificent 7 Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Bands of 2010 showcase.

Tuesday Music Club

Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh pop trio.

Supermarionation, Otaku, Lee Patterson Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £4

Powerpop and punk rock.

Head 2 Head

Open mic night.

Femi Kuti & The Positive Force

Driving modern jazz.

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £17.50

Wed 29 Dec

Roots afro-beat.

Live Jazz

Lightguides (Dupec, Aviation For Kids)

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £5

Inspiral Carpets front man.

This Is Not A Toga Party (Fitzroy Soul, Savage Sound System, Black Sea Sailors, Mike Allan)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £14

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £tbc

Acoustic Americana.

Tuesday Music Club

Tom Hingley (The Huskies, Tragic O’Hara)

Open mic night.

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, £tbc

Maggie’s Chamber, 19:00–23:00, £3 (£2)

Live music student night.

Inspiral Carpets front man.

Windlestray, The Last Battle, We See Lights, Craig-John Davidson

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Openmiking

The Lot, 19:30–22:30, £4

Wed 22 Dec

Turn up and do your thing.

The Glasgow Slow Club Relaxed night with guests.

All The Queen’s Bovine, Why Am I Building A Tank?, Roose, Lugosi, Mauser Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £4

Electro, punk and indie.

Joe Strummer Tribute

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

Live tribute night.

The Magnificent 7

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Halt Bar, 20:30–23:00, Free

Muso Buff Club, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Live indie pop and DJs.

The Beat Hotel

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

Acoustic folk types.

Tango In The Attic

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Indie pop for dancing feet.

Muso

Buff Club, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Rocky types.

Fri 31 Dec Idlewild Oran Mor, 18:00–21:30, £16

100 Broken Windows in full.

Big Country O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Live indie pop and DJs.

30th anniversary tour.

Thu 23 Dec

Sleazy’s New Year Party Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Lou Hickey

Hogmanay Sleazy-style.

Alternative pop.

Ashton Lane Street Party (Washington Irving, Robbie Rolex)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Pivo Xmas Party

Pivo Pivo, 20:00–23:45, Free

Musical fun.

Kensington Arms, Secta Rouge

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Alternative rock and indie.

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Folk and world music night.

Thu 02 Dec Yahweh (Emily Scott, Union Canal) Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £5

Experimental Glasgow band.

Edinburgh Spotlight on Music (The OK Social Club, The Nature Boys, Underclass, Cancel The Astronauts, Maydays) The Caves, 19:00–03:00, £6

New music showcase night.

SCO: Collard plays Ravel Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £9

The Store, 19:00–22:00, £5

New music showcase night.

Citrus Club, 19:00–22:00, £10

Jaego The Store, 19:00–22:00, £5

Christmas carols.

New Fiction

Artur Pizarro

The Faculty of Advocates Choir

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Queen’s Hall, 19:45–22:30, From £11

Piano performance.

Matthew Dear (Brothers Grimm)

Pop rock.

Tiny Creatures, At the Sword Fight

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £10

Corn Exchange, 19:00–22:30, £16.50

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

The Sunday Night Sinners The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Motown funk and soul.

Mon 06 Dec The Vaccines, Aaron Wright and the Aprils, The Last of Barretts Privateers Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6

Trio of new bands.

Madhat McGore, Fly Boy Generelz

Iyaz (Everyday at Ten)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7

Hip-hop and rap.

People, Places, Maps Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7 (£6)

Folky rock.

People, Places, Maps, The Stalls Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Folk and blues-style rock.

Randan Discoteque (PET) Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £2

Single launch.

Svengali, Blow The Store, 19:00–22:00, £5

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £22.50

RSNO: Naked Classics

Feel-good indie pop.

Traditional folksters call it a day.

Tue 14 Dec

Alternative country and folk poet collective.

Dogsflesh, The Negatives,

Pigeons In Motion, Sunday Night Scene

Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:30, £15 (£12)

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Drum Eyes (Birdhead)

Andy Tucker and the Scattered Family, Paul Gilbody, The Stormy Seas, Kat Healy

Late ‘n’ Live (Aki’s Hendrix Tribute)

Experimental featuring DJ Scotch Egg.

Country pop.

Human League

Late ‘n’ Live (Punk & The Apostles, DJ Aki)

Re-incarnation of Aberfeldy.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Jimi Hendrix tribute.

Sat 11 Dec Inspired, Green Man Running, Hundredthousands Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Powerpunk and experimental.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £6

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £25

Electronic new wave.

Leith Folk Club (Bruce Molsky)

Sat 18 Dec

Tuesday Heatrbreak

Post rock.

Tue 07 Dec

The Stagger Rats, The Imagineers, The Asps

The Neat

Christmas with Amici Winds

Alternative rock, pop and indie.

Powerpop rockers.

Emerging artists series.

Johnny Foreigner, Tom Williams & The Boat, StageCoach

Idlewild

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £10

Raucous triple bill.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun

Ronnie Spector’s Best Christmas Ever

Lothian Hospitals Carol Concert

Folk roots.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £6

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Indie and pop.

Wed 15 Dec

Hold The Suspect, The Filthy Shenanigans, These Fading Polaroids, Donnie Willow, Hunting With Melvin

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £5

The Liquid Room, 19:30–22:00, £16

Scottish rockers.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £10

Highlands lad goes alt. country.

Christmas-styled classic rock.

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £15

Leith Folk Club (Keiran Halpin)

SCO: Vienna Centuries

Scottish Ensemble Candlelit Concert

Tango In The Attic

A man, a voice and a guitar.

The Village, 19:30–22:45, £8

Mozart piano concerto.

Intimate string concert.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £5

Paul Gladwell

The Kevock Choir, Edinburgh Concert Band

Devils Disco

EP launch.

Traditional and modern carols.

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £5

Indie rock destined for the dancefloor.

Tuesday Heatrbreak

Zebras (The Mannequins, The Hussys, After Me, The Flood)

Dr Ruby*s Christmas Ka-Pow!

Electronica hip-hop.

Playful Glenrothes group.

The Justified Sinners Xmas Party (Ray Kenny) Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:30, £4

Corn Exchange, 19:00–22:30, £16.50

Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Live funkout.

Wed 08 Dec

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £9

Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–03:00, £5

New music podcast party.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Thu 16 Dec

Christmas singalong.

Punk rock.

Up-and-coming indie showcase.

The Spiders Web, 20:00–01:00, £5

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

We Luv Musik

The Xcerts (Eras)

The Subhumans, Gin Goblins, Oi Polloi (Spat)

Monthly live music night.

Distorted pop three-piece.

Hogmanay

Hard, sleazy 80s-inspired rock.

Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:30, £15

Blend of rock, folk and country.

Classic British punk.

Beats with DJs Fuz ‘n’ Lee.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £tbc

Acoustic Night

Get Loose Promotions

Kiltreiser, Katy Bar The Door, Wildtype, 19 Folds

Late ‘n’ Live (Diwan, DJ Nem)

New Year party with special guests.

Acoustic acts; local and far-flung.

64 THE SKINNY December 2010

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

With Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy.

Steve Forbert

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Up-and-coming indie showcase.

Bannerman’s, 19:30–23:00, £9

Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–23:30, £4

Heavy rock.

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £22.50

Gospel-influenced motown.

Carols By Candlelight

Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–01:00, £tbc

The Tenemants

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Folk and world music night.

Festive singalong.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £4 (£3)

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £5

Alternative pop from Cork.

Red 2 Red (DJ Miggy) Reggae and ska.

Driving modern jazz.

fRed (Bwani Junction)

Cheery alternative acoustic.

Dollar Academy Annual Christmas Concert

Black Magic, Steel Rose, Diamond Rush

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Rock and roll.

John Lanagan

Choral and orchestral Christmas tunes.

Detour Hogmanay

The Voolas

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

EP launch.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, £8.50

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Ambient experimental.

Martin Stephenson and The Daintees

Get Loose Promotions

Origin Scotland

Sun 26 Dec

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Soundtracks To Daydreams, Sing-Kill-Worth, The Psycho Hearts

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:30, £5 (£3 fancy dress)

Molly Wagner

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £3

Queen’s Hall, 19:45–22:30, From £12

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £4

Local bands play a Christmas-themed night. With mince pies.

Honalula acoustic and fancy dress.

Catchy pop with too many guitars.

Rock and pop.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £8

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£4)

Live funkout.

Annual charity concert.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk-out.

Collar Up, Night Noise Team, The Recovery Club

Jazz, rock and funky blues.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £3

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

The Village, 19:30–22:45, £10

Traditional guitar, fiddle and banjo.

Glamour & The Baybes

Johnny Flynn

Henry’s Cellar, 20:00–03:00, £tbc

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Peter Powderkeg Project

Penguins Kill Polar Bears (Shutter)

Usher Hall, 14:30–15:30, £2

Tom Hingley (White Heath) The voice of Inspiral Carpets.

Indie, punk and rock.

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Old-school punk with bite.

Corn Exchange, 19:00–22:30, £28

Rap and R’n’B.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Miyagi, Glendale Family

Heavy noise rock.

New bands showcase.

Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:30, Free (but ticketed)

Christmas choral concert.

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £19.50

Head 2 Head

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Front man of The Push Stars.

Asia

New music showcase night.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £5 (£4)

Bloc+, 21:00–04:00, Free

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £12

Fri 10 Dec Alternative types.

Unsigned band’s first gig.

RSNO: Christmas Concert

Emelle, Rolled up 20’s, Catherine Thomson, Steve Heron

Maggie May’s, 21:00–03:00, £10

Butterfly Strategy

Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–01:00, £8

Live showcase night.

The best in indie and rock.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Chris Trapper

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

Piano-led popsters.

Doctor Ruby’s In Leith

Tech-house and filthy electro.

Classic Grand, 21:00–03:00, £12

Country rock.

The Marvels

Sat 04 Dec

Unpeeled (Hopwood & Black, Adam Beattie and the Consultants, Lewis Gibson and the Midas Touch, Black Cat)

Hells Bells

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Rock and pop.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

You Me at Six (The Blackout, Set Your Goals, Cantebury)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7

Viking Moses

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Groovy funk and soul.

Mr Peppermint, Lords Of Bastard, The Retrofrets

Indie folk and rock.

Rocky pop and punk pop.

Jazz, rock and funky blues.

Live sets, DJs, a whole pip band and fireworks.

Elevate Filth Final (Sonny Wharton, Nelski, Timmy & Tommy)

Mon 13 Dec

McCalmans’ Final Concert

Classic rock.

Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–23:30, £4

The Humour, Call Me Ishmael, March Her To Norway

Classic compositions.

Orchestral performance.

The Mode, The Jigawotts

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

You Me at Six (The Blackout, Set Your Goals, Cantebury)

Late ‘n’ Live (Raymond Harris Fusion Experience, DJ Aki)

Herbaliser

Life narratives from the artist/ writer.

Motown funk and soul.

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

The Lost Telegrams

Studio 24, 19:00–22:00, £7

Local hardcore.

US techno producer with full band.

Acoustic folk.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £19.50

The Pleasance, 19:30–22:30, £13

Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £8

Horns, brass and bad ass beats.

The Sunday Night Sinners

Bluesy rock.

AfroCubism

Dar Williams (Dean Owens)

Orkestra Del Sol

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Live showcase night.

Glamour & The Baybes

New music showcase night.

Cuban and African music reinvented.

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Acoustic folk rock.

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Classic rock covers.

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £4 (£3)

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, £10

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

Stiff Little Fingers guitarist.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

CRANACHAN

Fri 17 Dec Scrap Brain, Brain Storm

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Ana Trash & The Sociopaths (Legends of Awesome)

Swedish jazz/electronica six-piece.

Bannerman’s, 16:00–23:00, £11

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £4 (£3)

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Jed Milroy

Brel, 19:30–01:00, Free

Bloc+, 21:00–00:00, Free

Experimental hardcore.

Slow Motion Replay, Blow, Aperture

Henry Cluney (Cash From Chaos)

Brendan Campbell & The Stravaigers, Will Hanson, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £4 (£3)

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £10

John Lanagan

Folk rock and acoustic indie.

Randolph’s Leap, Esperi, RM Hubbert

Klabbes Band

Raw punk and weird alternative.

Openmiking

Halt Bar, 20:30–23:00, Free

Cornersessions presents night.

Thu 30 Dec

Series of 7 dates showcasing the best bands of 2010 Turn up and do your thing.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £10

Jazz performance.

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–12:00, Free

Kevin Montgomery and the Roadtrippers

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–12:00, Free

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–22:30, £4 (£3)

Live showcase from Gavin Duvet.

Blastonbury

Melodic rockers.

Showcase night.

Live music and jam session.

Acoustic surfer rock.

Jazz classics and modern standards.

Creation Studios Present

Queen’s Hall, 19:00–22:30, £17.50

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

The Caves, 19:00–22:00, £11

My Latest Novel

Tom Hingley

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7

Xavier Rudd (Ben Howard)

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

With Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy.

Grunge rock and experimental.

Lorraine McCauley and The Borderlands

Red Dog Music, 13:00–16:00, Free

Acoustic Night

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, Free

Tue 28 Dec

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £3

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Fuzzed-out alternative rock.

Rodent Emporioum (Man & Superman, Sleepy Vole, Chairman Cow)

Fight and Fires, Our Time Down Here, First Step To Failure

Hip-hop showcase.

Giant Monster Attack, Paper Beats Rock (Hosemox)

Monthly blues night.

Stone Roses tribute.

Coda Music, 18:00–19:00, Free

Usher Hall, 20:00–22:30, £23.50

Stormy Sunday Blues

R’n’B, acid jazz and funk.

EP launch with mulled wine and mince pies.

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:30, £10 (£8)

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £9

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £4

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:30, £15

Tchai-Ovna, 20:00–22:00, £2

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £tbc

Two-piece beastly rock outfit.

Henry’s Cellar, 22:30–03:00, £4

Wed 01 Dec

Magic Carpet Cabaret

Bronto Skylift (Lady North) Newtongrange Silver Band

Bands of 2010 showcase.

13th Note, 21:00–23:30, £tbc

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £10

Live acoustic night.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–00:00, Free

Microphone free-for-all.

Queen’s Hall, 14:30–16:30, £12 (£8)

Electric Mud

Nobles Bar, 21:00–23:30, Free

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Dancefloor rhythms and African percussion.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:30, £6

Song, By Toad: Christmas Party (Jesus H. Foxx, Inspector Tapehead, Meursault, Yusuf Azak, Rob St. John, Savings the Loan) Queen Charlotte Rooms, 19:00–23:00, £7

Local bloggers Xmas bash.

Voodoo Rooms, 19:15–01:00, £12

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:30, From £8

Black Metal Ritual 3 (Desaster) Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £8

Extreme black metal overload.

Lord Rochester (DJ Mouse) The Spiders Web, 20:30–22:30, £8.00

Fiddletastic trio.

Late ‘n’ Live (Gecko, DJ Nem) The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Funk, reggae and acid-jazz.

GLASGOW CLUBS SUN 19 DEC

FRI 24 DEC

HAIR OF THE DOG SUNDAYS (THE BANANA SESSIONS)

WANDELUNG

RED DOG MUSIC, 15:00–17:00, FREE

OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, 10:00–17:00, FREE

ACOUSTIC LADYLAND

Paintings and poetry by Karl Sylvester, alongside new piano works from

by Vroni Holzmann.

Gypsy folk pop with Christmas stylings.

bar / live music / club / private karaoke rooms

Live bands and DJs until late.

Something wicked this way Comes 8pm: A night of indulgent cabaret and live lounge performances in the most salubrious of surroundings.

THE SMITHS INDEED

SUN 26 DEC

DOORS

QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:30, £15

LOUISE DODDS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7

Farewell tour show.

TRAPPED IN KANSAS SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:30, £TBC

Blazing alternative rock.

The Smiths tribute.

LATE ‘N’ LIVE THE JAZZ BAR, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

11pm:

hOGMAnAY - tICkEtS On SAlE nOw

TUE 30 NOV

BALLBREAKER/VICE

Rock, metal and indie. Resident DJs.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Aternative rock, metal and punk.

THE ROCK SHOP

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electro clash, 80s, and disco.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Rock, metal and alternative.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT SINNERS

THE CATHODE RAY

Get in and about it each Tuesday at the garage, freeentryforCalidonianUnistudents.

Motown funk and soul.

VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–01:00, £4

DOCTOR RUBY’S IN LEITH NOBLES BAR, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Live showcase night.

THE BANANA SESSIONS (WILLIAM DOUGLAS, KIRSTY ALMEIDA & THE TROUBADOURS) BONGO CLUB, 21:00–01:00, £10

MON 27 DEC GLAMOUR & THE BAYBES THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Jazz, rock and funky blues.

TUE 28 DEC

Festive bananza extravaganza.

THE LOST SOUL BAND

THE SUNDAY NIGHT SINNERS

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:30–22:00, £12

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Motown funk and soul.

Celtic rock.

ALGERNON DOLL

TUESDAY HEATRBREAK

BANNERMAN’S, 20:00–23:00, £4

Acoustic night.

GLAMOUR & THE BAYBES THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Jazz, rock and funky blues.

TUE 21 DEC WANDELUNG OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, 10:00–17:00, FREE

Paintings and poetry by Karl Sylvester, alongside new piano works from

by Vroni Holzmann.

ABERFELDY THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £10

Loveable folk pop.

COPY HAHO, MY TINY ROBOTS, FRENCH WIVES THE STORE, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£7 AFTER 8)

TUESDAY HEATRBREAK THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Live funkout.

WED 22 DEC WANDELUNG OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, 10:00–17:00, FREE

Paintings and poetry by Karl Sylvester, alongside new piano works from

by Vroni Holzmann.

KENSINGTON ARMS (SECTA ROUGE) HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:30–23:30, £5

Post-hardcore from the Netherlands.

PHIL CUNNINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:30, £21.50

Festive music favourites.

JOHN LANAGAN NOBLES BAR, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Folk and world music night.

THU 23 DEC WANDELUNG OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, 10:00–17:00, FREE

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 19:00–22:30, £20

Glam pop.

BAD MANNERS, MAX SPLODGE, BIG FAT PANDA HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 19:00–22:30, £16

Reggae and ska.

BOHEMOND, LAVELLION, SLEEPING MARTYR BANNERMAN’S, 20:00–23:00, £4

Gritty hard rock and metal.

BARBARIANS, HOCKYFRILLA, WOUNDED KNEE, NOW WASH YOUR HANDS, KING RIB HENRY’S CELLAR, 20:00–03:00, £5

Experimental and post-punk/ electro DJ’s.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT

ChriS BrokAw & Geoff fArinA

FRI 31 DEC

weDneSDAY 8th

Catchy indie rock.

HOGMANAY HOOT New Year party with a ceilidh, pipers and a traditional supper.

BANNERMAN’S, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Singalong party starter. With bells on.

NOBLES BAR, 21:00–23:30, £15

Live music party night.

CONCERT IN THE GARDENS: BIFFY CLYRO (THE CHARLATANS, BILLY BRAGG, KITTY THE LION) PRINCES STREET GARDENS, 21:00–01:00, FROM £35

Hogmanay concert in the gardens.

ACOUSTIC NIGHT

HENRY’S CELLAR, 23:00–05:00, £10 (£8 ADV.)

Party with live bands and DJs.

ShuTTer, 16+

SunDAY 19Th

SUNDAY @ BOOKCLUB

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 17:00–20:00, FREE

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Rockabilly social club.

PROPAGANDA

FLAT 0/1, 21:00–02:00, FREE

House, disco and electro.

BUTTON UP

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Sleazy R’n’B, jump jive and exotica.

RIOT RADIO

THE ARCHES, 21:00–03:00, £12.50

Indie audio visual night.

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

TIGA

Sleazy beats.

CATHOUSE SUNDAYS

HALT BAR, 20:00–00:00, FREE

Deep house and slo-mo techno.

SATISFACTION

BYBLOS, 22:30–03:00, £3

R’n’B and dirty chart.

CLOAK & DAGGER

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Electro, house and hip-hop.

CO-OP

Optimo-curated weekly party.

I.DJ

SHEDKANDI

TAKE IT SLEAZY

SYMBIOSIS (DATA, NEBULUS, ALCANE)

SHED, 23:00–03:00, £2

Punter iPod playlists.

THE ADMIRAL, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

House and R’n’B.

RUBBERMENSCH

80s pop, synth and techno.

D’n’B special.

SIN CITY

MUCK (RESET!, ADO)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Indie night.

STEREO, 23:00–04:00, £7

Soul, disco and house.

RUMBLE THURSDAYS

SUCK MY DECK

HALT BAR, 20:00–00:00, FREE

DAMAGED GOODS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Bouncy castle fun night.

Hip-hop to dirty house.

SCREAM AIM FIRE (DJ MUPPET)

SATISFACTION

Punk rock, reggae and disco.

MON 06 DEC

Bullet For My Valentine after party.

SAT 04 DEC

ALIBI MONDAYS

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

VOODOO

Andy R plays the hits.

FEEL MY BICEP

Rock, metal and indie. Under 18s.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

THU 02 DEC THURSDAYS

Deep house and slo-mo techno.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Electro, techno and house.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 11.30)

CATHOUSE, 16:00–21:00, £6 (£3 MEMBERS)

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SATURDAY @ BOOKCLUB

I.DJ

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

80s sleaze, house and disco.

BUTTERFLY SATURDAYS

MISBEHAVIN’ (DOLLY DAYDREAM, DRUCIFER)

Live music from the residents.

Electro, dance and dirty pop.

Glam and eclectic party night.

RUBBERMENSCH

YOYO SATURDAY

Indie night.

Pop classics and hip-hop.

RUMBLE THURSDAYS

ABSOLUTION

Bouncy castle fun night.

Pop, punk, metal and rock.

SHAKE IT UP

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

Indie, rock and pop.

Rock, punk and metal.

SKINT/VENGEANCE

I HEART THE GARAGE MORE THAN YER MAW

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Requests and hip-hip bar.

HUNG UP! (CUBIC ZIRCONIA, HUDSON MOHAWKE) SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

BURN

Disco, funk and electro.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Underground dance weekly.

FEEL MY BICEP

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

80s sleaze, house and disco.

SHED, 23:00–03:00, £2

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, FREE WITH TICKET STUB

SHAKE IT UP

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie, rock and pop.

SKINT/VENGEANCE

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Emo, punk and metal. Resident DJs.

BUTTERFLY & PIG, 21:00–03:00, FREE

CLUB NOIR CHRISTMAS PARTY O2 ACADEMY, 21:00–03:00, £15.50

SHED, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Massive student fun night.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

SABADO

THURSDAYS

Dance, R’n’B and chart.

Funk and R’n’B.

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

SHED, 23:00–03:00, £2

Punter iPod playlists.

BYBLOS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£8 AFTER 11)

CODE (TOMMY FOUR SEVEN, NICK M)

SOUL GLO

INKED

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Funk and R’n’B.

CLUB 69, 23:00–03:00, £10

Rock, emo and punk with DJ Muppet.

CHEAP ‘N’ NASTY

DANCE ANTHEMS (DAVE PEARCE, TALL PAUL)

TUE 07 DEC

Emo, punk and hardcore.

I AM

The big boys of danceable beats.

TEENAGE LUST

Disco, indie and funk.

Weekly student night with Beta & Kappa.

Mutant disco.

WREKD!

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Underground electro, chart and dubstep.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

ThurSDAY 16th free enTrY ACouSTiC SinGer SonGwriTer niGhT with Mike niSBeT, rAChel MorriSon

ONLY FOOLS AND HOUSE

THU 09 DEC THURSDAYS

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

SATurDAY 11th

SUN 05 DEC

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

Funk, soul and disco.

Funk and soul.

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Emo, punk and hardcore.

HOGMANAY OPEN MIC SPECTACULAR

OLD SKOOL

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £4 (£3)

Techno and disco.

Synth funk and urban jams.

SOUL GLO

CORN EXCHANGE, 19:00–23:30, £40

Cross-genre danceathon.

SUPERFLY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

& GueSTS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

WEDNESDAYS

Emo, punk and metal. Resident DJs.

HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:00–22:30, £5

Chart, indie and hip-hop.

IN ABOUT IT!

House night with live guests.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

SunDAY 5th

SHOOTING STANSFIELD

HOGMANAY PARTY

With Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy.

liVe MuSiC

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 11.30)

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Synth funk and urban jams.

DJ Haze plays all sorts of rock.

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

NOBLES BAR, 21:00–23:30, FREE

With Hailey Beavis and Jed Milroy.

Garage and punk.

NOBLES BAR, 21:00–23:30, FREE

SCOtlAnD’S InDEPEnDEnt SOunDClASh

MOBILE DISCO FRIDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

STOKED

Underground dance weekly.

11pm-3am 18th DEC: ERRORS XMAS PARtY

PANDEMIC

Rock, indie and metal.

SUBCULTURE LIVE (OCTAVE ONE, ESA MERVIN GRANGER)

CO-OP

3rd SAT MonThlY

Special guest birthday bash.

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£8)

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Haze plays all sorts of rock.

Indie rock and roll.

BYBLOS, 22:30–03:00, £3

10:30pm-3am

BIGFOOT’S 2ND BIRTHDAY (AMBIVALENT)

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 (£3) AFTER 12)

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

R’n’B and dirty chart.

2nd SATurDAY MonThlY

Reels, jigs and toe-tapping.

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

HENRY’S CELLAR, 20:00–23:30, £TBC

BurleSQue / ArT perforMAnCe / reTro SounDS

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £9

NOBLES HOGMANAY PARTY (EARL GRAY & THE LOOSE LEAVES)

GIN GOBLINS, THE FNORDS, NORMAN SILVER AND THE GOLD

ChriSTMAS SpeCiAl

SCOTTISH FIDDLE ORCHESTRA HOGMANAY CELEBRATION

Live music, DJs and one BIG party.

Festive music favourites.

4th DeCeMBer

THU 30 DEC

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:30, £21.50

5pm-3am

SCARS (TV 21, MALCOLM ROSS)

THE JAZZ BAR, 20:00–05:00, £18 (£16)

PHIL CUNNINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK

NUKE THE MOON

ChriSTMAS BAnDAoke 10Th & 17Th

WED 29 DEC

VANTAGE POINT

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £14.50

eVerY friDAY

Live funkout.

JAZZ BAR HOGMANAY PARTY (THE BANANA SESSIOS, PAUL MILLS)

Candles, tunes and 18th Century garb.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and classics with Andy R.

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Paintings and poetry by Karl Sylvester, alongside new piano works from

by Vroni Holzmann.

Metal thrash.

GAGA WEDNESDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Funk, disco and house.

The MORGAN’S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

Ten Tracks Christmas party showcase.

BUTTERFLY & PIG, 21:00–12:00, FREE

Hip-hop, mod, funk and ska.

Funk, disco and house.

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £14.50

War time hits.

VINYL NIGHT

CluBS

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA

MON 20 DEC

WED 01 DEC

13th – 15th/20th – 23RD bAR OPEn fROM 6PM wIth DJS tO bOOk A PARtY/ PRIvAtE kARAOkE CAll 0131 226 4224

STOKED

CLASSIC FRIDAYS

Classic rock covers.

Alternative indie and punk.

NUKE THE MOON

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£8)

KILLER KITSCH

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

SUBCULTURE (HARRI & DOMENIC VS MELTING POT)

Eclectic house and techno.

Jazz singers night.

BANNERMAN’S, 20:00–23:00, FREE

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Harri & Domenic go head-to-head with Melting Pot.

Y’UPTAE

CRANACHAN

SPIRIT

I AM

REVOLT

7pm-5am £8/10

THE JAZZ BAR, 20:00–22:30, £4 (£3)

DISCOVER

FRI 03 DEC BUTTERFLY FRIDAYS

Underground techno.

THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £10

HUNTLEY & PALMERS IS 3 (MATTHEW DEAR) STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £10

Special guest edition.

BUTTERFLY & PIG, 19:00–03:00, FREE

LOVE MUSIC

FRIDAY @ BOOKCLUB

Saturday night disco.

Resident band and DJs.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £7

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

NU SKOOL

CRASH

Funky disco and soul.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

KILLER KITSCH (DROP THE LIME, WAFA)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electro clash, 80s, and disco.

REVOLT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Rock, metal and alternative.

THURSDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £2

FRI 10 DEC NAIVE PRESENTS A-TRAK, CASSIUS + BUSY P THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £12

Electronic music with an international feel..

BUTTERFLY FRIDAYS

ACouSTiC lADYlAnD

Classic and underground disco.

SHED, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

ORDERLY DISORDER

fArewell Tour

SUPERNOVA (VALENTINO KANZYANI, HELL BOYS)

Eclectic tech and dirty beats.

WED 08 DEC

Classic and underground disco.

POWER TOOLS

VINYL NIGHT

CRASH

www.theelectriccircus.biz

Underground techno.

Italo, disco and house.

Hip-hop, mod, funk and ska.

Pop, dance and hip-hop.

SLABS OF THE TABERNACLE (MICK WILLIS)

GAGA WEDNESDAYS

AUDIO KANDI

Chart and classics with Andy R.

Vocal house and mash-ups.

Pop, dance and hip-hop.

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £12

36-39 Market Street. 0131 226 4224 tickets: ticketweb.co.uk 08444 77 1000 Ripping Records, tickets Scotland.

Facebook/twitter: electriccircusedinburgh

AUDIO KANDI

BYBLOS, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Vocal house and mash-ups.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

LA CHEETAH, 23:00–03:00, £7

Guest DJ special.

Y’UPTAE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Student fun night.

BUTTERFLY & PIG, 21:00–12:00, FREE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

BUTTERFLY & PIG, 19:00–03:00, FREE

Resident band and DJs.

FRIDAY @ BOOKCLUB

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

SHED, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

BYBLOS, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 65

Glasgow CLUBS DISCOVER

SPIRIT

Ballbreaker/Vice

Button Up

Satisfaction

Old Skool

Rock, metal and indie. Resident DJs.

Sleazy R’n’B, jump jive and exotica.

R’n’B and dirty chart.

Funk, soul and disco.

Classic Fridays

Alibi (WONK)

Co-Op

Only Fools and House

Aternative rock, metal and punk.

Party night.

Lock Up Your Daughters

Cathouse Sundays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Flat 0/1, 21:00–02:00, Free

Stereo, 22:00–03:00, £7

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, £3

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Propaganda

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Hung Up!

Optimo-curated weekly party.

Riot Radio

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Punter iPod playlists.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Shedkandi

The Cave

House and R’n’B.

Garage punk, sleaze and rock.

Soul, disco and house.

Upside Down

Suck My Deck

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, Free (£3-£5 after 11)

Funk, soul and disco.

The MORGAN’S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

Only Fools and House Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

House, disco and electro.

Propaganda

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie audio visual night.

Return To Mono (Dave Clarke)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Slam welcome Dave Clarke into the basement.

Riot Radio

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie rock and roll.

Kino Fist

Nice‘n’Sleazy,23:30–03:00,Free(£3after11.30)

60s psych, new wave and sleaze.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 11.30)

Good tunes for bad people.

Sat 18 Dec Voodoo Xmas Beach Party

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £6 (£3 members)

Rock, metal and indie. Under 18s.

Saturday @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

Butterfly Saturdays

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–03:00, Free

Live music from the residents.

Yoyo Saturday

Shed, 22:00–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Sat 11 Dec

Pop classics and hip-hop.

Voodoo

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Rock, metal and indie. Under 18s.

Shedkandi

Rubbermensch

Pop, punk, metal and rock.

Saturday @ Bookclub

House and R’n’B.

Indie night.

Cathouse Saturdays

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

Sin City

Rumble Thursdays

Butterfly Saturdays

Soul, disco and house.

Bouncy castle fun night.

Live music from the residents.

Suck My Deck

Shake It Up

I Heart the Garage more than yer Maw

Yoyo Saturday

Hip-hop to dirty house.

Indie, rock and pop.

Massive student fun night.

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–03:00, Free

Shed, 22:00–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Pop classics and hip-hop.

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Pop, punk, metal and rock.

Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, punk and metal.

I Heart the Garage more than yer Maw

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mon 13 Dec Alibi Mondays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays the hits.

Burn

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Disco, funk and electro.

Inked

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Massive student fun night.

Rock, emo and punk with DJ Muppet.

Sabado

Tue 14 Dec

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, Free (£8 after 11)

Dance, R’n’B and chart.

BALKANARAMA (Tuna Trio, Asmir Sabich) Stereo, 23:00–03:00, £8

Balkan beats and live visuals.

Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £7

Saturday night disco.

I Am

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Weekly student night with Beta & Kappa.

Killer Kitsch

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electro clash, 80s, and disco.

Revolt

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Emo, punk and metal. Resident DJs.

Dance, R’n’B and chart.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Subculture (Tensnake, Harri & Domenic)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£8)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and classics with Andy R.

Nuke The Moon

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Coma Cat creator joins the residents.

Funk, disco and house.

The Rock Shop

Stoked

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Rock, indie and metal.

Wrong Island (Teamy, Dirty Larry)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 11.30)

Electronic and classics.

Sun 12 Dec

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Haze plays all sorts of rock.

Wednesdays

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Synth funk and urban jams.

Emo, punk and metal. Resident DJs.

Soul Glo

Festive takeover.

Der Supermax Love Machine (Billy Woods)

Brunswick Hotel, 22:00–02:00, £5

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Funk and R’n’B.

Thursdays

Common People Xmas Party

Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, Free (£3-£5 after 11)

90s hits. In the kitchen bar.

Crash

Shed, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Pop, dance and hip-hop.

Audio Kandi

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Vocal house and mash-ups.

Ballbreaker/Vice

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, metal and indie. Resident DJs.

Classic Fridays

Skint/Vengeance

Fri 24 Dec

Hung Up! (JD Twitch, JG Wilkes)

Emo, punk and metal. Resident DJs.

Twitch and Wilkes revive their Optimo party for Boxing Day.

Funk and R’n’B.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Butterfly Fridays

Butterfly & Pig, 19:00–03:00, Free

Classic and underground disco.

Sin City

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Crash

Soul, disco and house.

Y’Uptae

Pop, dance and hip-hop.

Student fun night.

Audio Kandi

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Wed 22 Dec

Vocal house and mash-ups.

Mon 27 Dec

Classic Fridays

Inside Out: White Party

Aternative rock, metal and punk.

Banging house, techno and trance.

Feliz Navidad (Am-y, Billy)

Alibi Mondays

Games, prizes and live lucha libre wrestling.

Animal Farm (A Guy Called Gerald)

Live music, 90s bingo and Common People taking over the kitchen bar.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart, indie and hip-hop.

Manchester acid-house purveyor guests.

Soundhaus Hogmanay Ho’down (Dave Kearney, Andy Hell, Carlo Carozzi)

Revolt

Rock, metal and alternative.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Vinyl Night

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Hip-hop, mod, funk and ska.

Gaga Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Shed, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Suck My Deck

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Hip-hop to dirty house.

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Arches, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Mobile Disco Fridays

Andy R plays the hits.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

O2 Academy, 20:00–03:00, £24

Massive party night.

Club Noir Hogmanay

Classic Grand, 21:00–03:00, £20

Glam burlesque clubbing special.

Pin Up Hogmanay Ball (Over The Wall)

Flying Duck, 21:00–04:00, £10

Soundhaus, 21:00–04:00, £tbc

Techno and live visuals.

Funk, soul and disco.

Propaganda

Inked

New Year’s Eve Lane Party

Indie audio visual night.

Rock, emo and punk with DJ Muppet.

Residents, bands, live countdown and a piper.

Funky disco and soul.

Tue 28 Dec

Subculture (RadioSlave, Harry & Domenic)

Power Tools

I Am

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £7

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Italo, disco and house.

Singles Night Xmas Party

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, Free (£3-£5 after 11)

7-inch singles all night.

Subculture (Terrence Parker, Harri & Domenic) Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£8)

Dubbed-out electro.

The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Rock, indie and metal.

Tronicsole (Rozzo, HiRO, Steven Coyle)

The Admiral, 23:00–04:00, £10

Deep house grooves.

Bottle Rocket

Indie-pop, punk and twee.

Sun 19 Dec Sunday @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 17:00–20:00, Free

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Synth funk and urban jams.

Thu 23 Dec

Ivory Blacks, 19:30–23:00, £10

Flat 0/1, 21:00–02:00, Free

Killer Kitsch

Arches New Year (Pendulum, Kissy Sell Out)

Electro clash, 80s, and disco.

Big name DJs bash.

Weekly student night with Beta & Kappa.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Revolt

Melting Pot Hogmanay Party! (DJ Cosmo, Cottam)

Y’Uptae

Eclectic guests.

Student fun night.

Slabs of the Tabernacle Vs Stay Plastic (David Vunk, Photonz)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Spectrum

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Wed 29 Dec

Cathouse Hogmanay (Billy, 32, Martin Bate)

Vinyl Night

Stoked

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, Free (£8 after 11)

Halt Bar, 20:00–00:00, Free

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, £3

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

I Heart the Garage more than yer Maw

Deep house and slo-mo techno.

Sabado

Dance, R’n’B and chart.

La Cheetah, 22:00–04:00, £20

Double-sized New Year bash over two floors.

Chart and classics with Andy R.

Massive student fun night.

The Admiral, 22:00–04:00, £20

Electro, techno and rock.

Sat 25 Dec

Thursdays

The Arches, 22:00–04:00, £22.50

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Rock, metal and alternative.

Gaga Wednesdays

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Sub Club, 22:00–03:00, £20 (£15)

NYE, Sub Club style. Free bus back to the southside and west end.

Hip-hop, mod, funk and ska.

Wednesdays

Buff Club, 21:30–04:00, £10

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 11.30)

Sleazy R’n’B, jump jive and exotica.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Fri 31 Dec Back To The Future News Years Eve (SONAR, Chain Reaction, Bass Generator)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

R’n’B and dirty chart.

The beatmaker from The XX guests.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Disco, funk and electro.

Glasgow School of Art, 23:00–03:00, £8

Satisfaction

Deep house and slo-mo techno.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Emo, punk and hardcore.

Button Up

Rockabilly social club.

Soul Glo

House and R’n’B.

Burlesque Christmas fun.

Thursdays

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electro clash, 80s, and disco.

Chart, indie and hip-hop.

Numbers (Jamie XX)

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie, rock and pop.

Thursdays

Thu 16 Dec

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Shake It Up

Shedkandi

Scarlett Fever Christmas Hullaburloo

Aternative rock, metal and punk.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Haze plays all sorts of rock.

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Indie night.

Requests and hip-hip bar.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £2

Nu Skool

O2 Academy, 20:00–03:00, £24

Rubbermensch

Electronic workout.

Stoked

Burlesque and bawdy fun.

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Punter iPod playlists.

Cathouse Sundays

Saturday night disco.

Ivory Blacks, 19:30–23:00, £10

I.DJ

The Pump Club

Funk, disco and house.

Scarlett Fever Christmas Hullaburloo

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

80s sleaze, house and disco.

Rock and indie Boxing Day special.

Love Music

Resident band and DJs.

Feel My Bicep

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Celebrating five years of fun.

Butterfly & Pig, 19:00–03:00, Free

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

90s nu-metal.

Bouncy castle fun night.

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Fri 17 Dec

Butterfly Fridays

Counterfiet

Rumble Thursdays

Deadmau5 (Zane Lowe, Magnetic Man, Calvin Harris) Boundary-pushing electronica.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Underground dance weekly.

A Riot in the Rock Shop

Burn

Braehead Arena, 18:00–00:00, £22.50

Co-Op

Rock’n’roll discotheque.

Old Skool

Deep dancefloor and funk.

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, £3

R’n’B and dirty chart.

Emo, punk and hardcore.

Friday @ Bookclub

Mobile Disco Fridays

66 THE SKINNY December 2010

The Arches, 21:30–04:00, £20

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Killer Kitsch

Electro and dubstep.

Halt Bar, 20:00–00:00, Free

Skint/Vengeance

Resident band and DJs.

Rockabilly social club.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £tbc

Indie, rock and pop.

Tue 21 Dec

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Jakebeats

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Colours Winter Party (Sander Van Doorn, Mauro Picotto, Umek, Fergie)

Nuke The Moon

Sunday @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 17:00–20:00, Free

Rock, emo and punk with DJ Muppet.

Shake It Up

Festive fun with extra special guests.

Indie, electro and pop.

Classic and underground disco.

Italo, disco and house.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Bouncy castle fun night.

Sleazy R’n’B, jump jive and exotica.

Last Mungo’s Hi Fi

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £2

Vinyl Night

Gaga Wednesdays

Inked

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Flat 0/1, 21:00–02:00, Free

La Cheetah, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Best in Show

Friday @ Bookclub

Hip-hop, mod, funk and ska.

Disco, funk and electro.

Button Up

Rumble Thursdays

Jelly Roll Soul (Fred P, DJ Dribbler)

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Wed 15 Dec

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Indie night.

Emo, punk and hardcore.

Special guest DJs.

Power Tools

Burn

Live music from 6pm.

Let Your Elf Go! (Sensu, Jackmaster, Pro Vinylist Karim, The Groundskeeper, Pumpio)

Drum machines and synthpop.

Butterfly & Pig, 21:00–12:00, Free

Andy R plays the hits.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Chart and classics with Andy R.

Funky disco and soul.

Funky fix.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Maggie May’s, 18:00–22:30, Free

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £14

Danse Macabre

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Mon 20 Dec Alibi Mondays

Boxing Day Special

Rubbermensch

Alternative party.

Nu Skool

Pass The Peas (Mosa Funk Club, Andy Taylor, WeeG)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Hip-hop to dirty house.

Rockabilly social club.

Punter iPod playlists.

Thursdays

Deadmau5 Official Aftershow (Calvin Harris, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Zane Lowe)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £2

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Hillhead Bookclub, 17:00–20:00, Free

Funk and R’n’B.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Student fun night.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Byblos, 22:30–03:00, Free (£8 after 11)

Sin City

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Death Disco (Zombie nation, Burns, Unicorn Kid, Hush Puppy)

Soul Glo

Special club tour.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Sabado

Rock, metal and alternative.

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £12

Rock, punk and metal.

Skint/Vengeance

Moda & Mixmag Tour 2010 (Jack Beats, Surkin, Jaymo, Andy George, Union)

Y’Uptae

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

The MORGAN’S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie rock and roll.

Old Skool

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Indie audio visual night.

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

I.DJ

Feel My Bicep I.DJ

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Roots, reggae and dancehall.

Requests and hip-hip bar.

80s sleaze, house and disco.

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £6 (£3 members)

Satisfaction

House, disco and electro.

Hung Up! (Jimmy Edgar) Optimo-curated weekly party.

Thu 30 Dec

Sunday @ Bookclub

Underground dance weekly.

Requests and hip-hip bar.

Chart, indie and hip-hop.

Sun 26 Dec

80s sleaze, house and disco.

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Cathouse Sundays

Mobile Disco Fridays

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Feel My Bicep

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Straight-friendly gay night.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Argonaut Sounds Reggae Soundsystem

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Haze plays all sorts of rock.

Wednesdays

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Synth funk and urban jams.

Dirty Noise

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £5

Underground beats and visuals.

Cathouse, 22:30–04:00, £6

Rock party with prizes.

New Years Eve Party!

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

The Tatties live ceilidh and Garage DJs.

Sun 02 Jan Hung Up!

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Optimo-curated weekly party

Inside out

the arches, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Girls vs. boys alternative hogmanay.

EDINBURGH CLUBS DISCOVER

SPIRIT

TUE 30 NOV

SOULSVILLE

WED 08 DEC

CIRCUS ARCADE

All sorts of soul.

BANGERS & MASH

Pop quiz and musical bingo.

THIS IS MUSIC

Chart and cheese.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 20:00–01:00, FREE

ANTICS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Rock, metal and punk.

WORLDS AID DAY FUNDRAISER GHQ, 23:00–02:00, FREE

Fundraiser night with raffle and remembrance room.

SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

SPLIT

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

Indie and electro.

TOKYOBLU: THE CD GRAB (JOHN AND IAIN, DAVID MCGEORGE, NIALL, DENIS MCKERVEY)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Up-to-date mixes and classics.

EVERYBODY

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:45–03:00, £5

Pop, rock and disco.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SAT 04 DEC

TUESDAY HEARTBREAK

WIRED FOR SOUND (ALLAN DUNBAR, STEVEN WANLESS)

D’n’B, breaks and techno. Rotating DJs.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11)

INDIGO

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Dubstep end of year party.

JUNGLEDUB

THIS IS MUSIC

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Dub, dubstep and jungle.

SLAP BANG

MOVEMBER TASH BASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11)

Tash growing competition.

INDIGO

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative.

AXIS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Electro, fidget and bassline house.

JUNGLEDUB

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Dub, dubstep and jungle.

SLAP BANG

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Indie, rock and soul.

VA VA VOOM CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Witty burlesque club night.

BEAT CONTROL

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£5 AFTER 12)

Retro from 1970 to 1999.

Dancefloor fillers, old and new.

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 18:00–01:00, FREE

MIXED UP

From hip-hop to dubstep.

Festive retro mash-up.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:45–03:00, £5

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

FRISKY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Chart, dance and electro.

ILL BEHAVIOUR

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£3 AFTER 12)

D’n’B, dubstep and bassline.

ANIMAL HOSPITAL

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4

EVERYBODY

TRADE UNION

Pop, rock and disco.

Anything goes policy.

TUE 14 DEC

SAT 11 DEC

CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL

BUBBLEGUM

XPLICIT (DILLINJA, LOADSTAR, XAMPLE, LOMAX)

ANTICS

HIS & HERS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

D’n’B evolution.

Rock, indie and pop.

SOUL JAM HOT

LADIES ON ROTATION (ISLA BLIGE, SIMMONE BLACK, NICKI LOWDOWN, JO MYLES, BLONDE FLASH)

TEASE AGE

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

All-female DJ line-up. In Speakeasy.

Indie, rock and soul.

D’n’B, breaks and electro. Rotating DJs.

Chart, dance and retro.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

BOUNCE

Indie and alternative.

OCTOPUSSY

BEEP BEEP, YEAH! (BE-BOPA-TALLAH, KATE AND THE GANG, JUMPIN’ JACK)

Chart, indie and electro.

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BASS SYNDICATE

SPLIT

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

WED 15 DEC

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

FRISKY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Chart, dance and electro.

ILL BEHAVIOUR

THE EGG

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11.30)

Indie institution.

THE GO-GO

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Retro with Tall Paul and Big Gus.

ULTRAGROOVE (GARETH SOMERVILLE)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£3 AFTER 12)

House and disco.

OCTOPUSSY

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

D’n’B, dubstep and bassline.

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

VOLUME! (DFRNT)

Chart, indie and electro.

Echodub guest DJ.

SICK NOTE (RESET!)

SUN 05 DEC

Italian producer/DJ guests.

ROCK SHOW

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

WE GOT SOUL

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Funk and soul beats.

DAPPER DANS

The MORGAN’S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

Radio station party night.

Alternative clubbing.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Rock, punk and alternative.

JELLY BABY

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

SICK NOTE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Underground indie and electro.

WE GOT SOUL

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–05:00, FREE

Sunday fun night.

Crushed-up disco and soul.

COALITION

Funk and soul beats.

FRI 03 DEC

Dubstep, breaks and D’n’B.

LOST WEEKEND (IVORY)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 17:00–00:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 10.30)

Live music, DJs and bandaoke.

SOUL EXPLOSION (THE SOUL FOUNDATION)

VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–01:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

KILLER KITSCH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Dancefloor fillers, old and new.

BANGERS & MASH

EVERYBODY

Chart and cheese.

Pop, rock and disco.

NU FIRE

TUE 07 DEC

Indie, pop and electro.

CIRCUS ARCADE

PLANET EARTH

Pop quiz and musical bingo.

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Disco, Italo and electro.

Live hip-hop and electronica, plus DJs.

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£8 AFTER 12)

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Indie, rock and soul.

Blues and funk five-piece.

WIRE XMAS PARTY (ERRORS)

THU 16 DEC

Art punk and cult indepedia.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

CARLY CONNOR, MIKE NISBET, FINDLAY NAPIER, RACHEL MORRISON, DOUGLAS RENNICK

MUSIKA CHRISTMAS PARTY (JORIS VOORN, DANNY HOWELLS, EDWIN OOSTERWAL)

Acoustic singer/songwriter showcase.

Special Christmas edition.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

FRISKY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

WEE RED BAR, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£3)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £7

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative, rock and metal.

New D’n’B night.

SICK NOTE SATURDAY

OCTOPUSSY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

Underground indie and electro.

Chart, indie and electro.

THE EGG

EVOL

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11.30)

SICK NOTE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–05:00, £16

BEAT CONTROL

DARE (JON PLEASED WIMMIN) CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £5

New electronic dance. In Speakeasy.

FAKIN-IT

HENRY’S CELLAR, 23:00–05:00, £TBC

Old school D’n’B and breaks, plus DJs.

Gay and bi-girl night. In Speakeasy.

FRI 17 DEC

SUN 12 DEC

LOST WEEKEND (HP)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–05:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

VELVET (TRENDY WENDY, JEREMY)

ROCK SHOW

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

SPLIT

BALKANARAMA (TUNA TRIO, ASMIR SABICH)

JELLY BABY

D’n’B, breaks and electro. Rotating DJs.

Balkan beats.

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£7)

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11.30)

Indie institution.

House and disco.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5/£4)

ADVENTURES IN SOUND

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5

Alternative, rock and metal.

Funk and soul beats.

PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Underground indie and electro.

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Grime, reggae and dubstep celebration.

ULTRAGROOVE (GARETH SOMMERVILLE)

Indie institution.

Indie, pop and electro.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Indie and alternative.

WE GOT SOUL

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Rock, punk and alternative.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE KA-TET

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

50s/60s rock with free cake!

THE EGG

Pure house.

Indie and alternative.

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

Free mid-week party. Resident DJs.

GREEN DOOR

HOMEGROWN

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

HOT MESS (SIMONONTRO)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Bad boy guests.

Rock, indie and pop.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SLAP BANG

REDEEMER

ANTICS

SOUL JAM HOT

Dub, dubstep and jungle.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

Chart, dance and retro.

Funk, soul, electro and mash-up.

HENRY’S CELLAR, 20:00–03:00, £TBC

ADVENTURES IN SOUND Indie and alternative.

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BUBBLEGUM

REDEEMER

Retro from 1970 to 1999.

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

JUNGLEDUB

ILL BEHAVIOUR (TODDLA T, MC SEROCEE)

Retro from 1970 to 1999.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Electro, fidget and bassline house.

VOODOO ROOMS, 22:00–01:00, £9

Festive edition with showgirls a go-go.

MUMBO JUMBO (JD TWITCH)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 17:00–00:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 10.30)

Chart, electro and alternative.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fundraiser party night.

TRADE UNION

Anything goes policy.

AXIS

Detroit soul, blues and 60s classics.

MISFITS EVOL

VEGAS! (THE CHRISTMAS PARTY)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

LOST WEEKEND (BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS)

From hip-hop to dubstep.

Chart, electro and alternative.

SAT 18 DEC

Indie, pop and alternative.

BIG ‘N’ BASHY: 3RD BIRTHDAY

Old school D’n’B and breaks, plus DJs.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

INDIGO

EMBASSY GALLERY: CHARITY NIGHT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:45–03:00, £5

LAND OF 1000 DANCES

MISFITS

HENRY’S CELLAR, 20:00–03:00, £TBC

Indie and electro.

FRI 10 DEC

SINCE DAY ONE

FAKIN-IT

KIDOLOGY

THIS IS MUSIC

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£5 AFTER 12)

MIXED UP

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Indie and alternative.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £8 (£4)

Party night.

Chart, dance and electro.

Live music, DJs and bandaoke.

All things motown and soul.

HMV PICTURE HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£5 AFTER 12)

SOULOCO 1ST BIRTHDAY (JOZIF, SOULOCO, FUSE)

THE STORE, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£6)

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

MON 06 DEC THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

BEAT CONTROL

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £TBC

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 18:00–01:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 11)

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–05:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL

Breaks and bassline.

REDEEMER

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–01:00, £TBC

THE STORE, 23:00–03:00, £3

Local band members turn DJ for the night.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 18:00–01:00, FREE

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £1

THIS IS CHRISTMAS: STARS IN THEIR EYES AFTER PARTY (MEURSAULT, EAGLEOWL, JESUS H. FOXX, WITHERED HAND)

All-night DJ action.

Alternative indie.

Hip-hop, dubstep and world.

THE STORE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Minimal and techno.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

THE KA-TET

FORTH ONE CHRISTMAS PARTY

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Vintage garage, soul and junk-shop.

Retro policy. In Speakeasy.

THU 02 DEC

COSMIC

THE KA-TET

Free mid-week party. Resident DJs.

Free mid-week party. Resident DJs. Blues and funk five-piece.

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Gay-only night.

MODERN LOVERS CHRISTMAS OFFICE PARTY

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

All-night DJ action.

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

BEARS NIGHT

Psych-trance and progressive house.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £3

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Indie and alternative.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Indie and electro.

ADVENTURES IN SOUND

NU FIRE

WED 01 DEC

TEASE AGE

KILLER KITSCH

All-night DJ action.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3 (MEMBERS FREE)

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

VINTAGE VIOLENCE (HRH)

THU 09 DEC

Chart, dance and retro.

Dubstep, breaks and D’n’B.

PLANET EARTH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BUBBLEGUM

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:00–01:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

MON 13 DEC

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £10

Electro, fidget and bassline house.

COALITION

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

GHQ, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

INNUENDUB (JOKER, A1 BASSLINE)

Funky mixes.

Cult retro.

FURBURGER

AXIS

Blues and funk five-piece.

HUSH

Deep funk, jazz and soul.

Lesbian night.

THE VILLAGE, 21:00–01:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative.

Live funkout.

THE JAZZ BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

FOUR CORNERS

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Sunday fun night.

BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 17:00–00:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 10.30)

Live music, DJs and bandaoke.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £8 (£5)

WASABI DISCO

Cosmic house, punk and disco.

SUN 19 DEC

MISFITS

ROCK SHOW

Chart, electro and alternative.

Rock, punk and alternative.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 11)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

EVOL

JELLY BABY

Indie, pop and electro.

Sunday fun night.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

DECEMBER 2010

THE SKINNY 67

EDINBURGH CLUBS DISCOVER

SPIRIT

Coalition

Sick Note

Dubstep, breaks and D’n’B.

Underground indie and electro.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Killer Kitsch

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

Dancefloor fillers, old and new.

Mon 20 Dec Christmas Carnival

Electric Circus, 18:00–01:00, Free

All-night DJ action.

Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

Nu Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

From hip-hop to dubstep.

Trade Union

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes policy.

Tue 21 Dec

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s 50s Greaseball Chirstmas Party (BLK MGK)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–05:00, Free

Festive fun with guest DJ.

Thu 30 Dec

Indie and alternative.

Riffs, dubby bass and beats.

Ill Behaviour

Tiny Little Robots, Seams, The Bang

The Xcerts

Mon 27 Dec

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£3 after 12)

Nu Fire

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 12)

Pop punk with computer bleeps.

Thu 16 Dec

Misfits

Adventures In Sound

China Shop Bull

Fri 03 Dec

Octopussy

Indie, pop and electro.

Amy Can Flyy

Chart, dance and electro.

Hip-hop, chart and R’n’B.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Sun 12 Dec

House and techno special.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Fri 24 Dec

Evol

Thu 02 Dec Frisky

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, £12

D’n’B, dubstep and bassline.

Chart, electro and alternative.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

From hip-hop to dubstep.

Trade Union

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes policy.

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Fri 31 Dec

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Sat 04 Dec Free afternoon blues.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–05:00, Free

Hio-hop and dance.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

Rock, indie and pop.

Alternative, indie and rock.

Ride

Underground indie and electro.

Antics

Dexter’s Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5

Souped Up Fords

Sick Note

Tue 28 Dec

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £5

Chart, indie and electro.

The Two Ring Circus

Electric Circus, 19:00–05:00, £10 (£8)

Dexter’s Bar, 13:00–15:00, Free

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £7.50

Folk soundcapes.

Audio Pawn: NYE 2010 (Graeme McLean, Davey Dutton)

Open Mic

House music, past and present.

Guest host Billy Mitchell from The Twist.

The Motherfunk Vs SheBang Hogmanay Party

Fri 10 Dec

Double-header hogmanay bash.

Professor Green

The MORGAN’S SPICED words and associated logos are trademarks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2010

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Rock, indie and pop.

Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

Split

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

D’n’B, breaks and electro. Rotating DJs.

Wed 22 Dec Christmas Carnival

Electric Circus, 18:00–01:00, Free

All-night DJ action.

City Café, 20:00–03:00, Free

Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–03:00, £5

Thu 09 Dec Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, Free

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Alternative New Year bash.

Pop three-piece.

Carnival of global sounds.

The Sunshine Underground (Cashier No 9)

The Caves, 22:00–05:00, £25

Sat 25 Dec

Soul Jam Hot

Electro, fidget and bassline house.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Bubblegum

Funk, soul and hip-hop.

JungleDub

Chart, dance and retro.

Split

Dub, dubstep and jungle.

Taste Xmas Special

The Ka-Tet

House and techno festivites.

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Blues and funk five-piece.

Slap Bang

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

Free mid-week party. Resident DJs.

Thu 23 Dec

The Liquid Room, 22:30–05:00, £10

Beat Control

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£5 after 12)

Indie and alternative.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, £tbc

D’n’B, breaks and electro. Rotating DJs.

Wed 29 Dec Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Chart and cheese.

Sun 26 Dec

Indigo

Sun 19 Dec

Official Edinburgh Hogmanay After Party (Booka Shade, Tim Green, Gary Black)

HMV Picture House, 22:00–05:00, £28.50

Musika-hosted party, with special guests and an underground electronic slant.

Sat 11 Dec Dexter’s Bar, 13:00–15:00, Free

Free afternoon blues.

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £13

Leeds-based indie rock.

Paul Lamb and the Kingsnakes (Gerry Jablonski) Soul Club, 21:00–02:30, £12

Late and loud live blues.

The life story of Patsy Cline.

Festive open mic session.

07:00PM, 13 Dec, £12.50

Complete Stone Roses Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:30, £12

Stone Roses tribute.

Thu 30 Dec Idlewild

Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:30, £16

Scottish indie rockers.

Fri 31 Dec Bad Manners (Root System) Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £20

Substance NYE (Surgeon, Neil Landstrumm)

Hogmanay live music special.

The Store, 22:00–05:00, £20

Annual rioutous bash with special guests.

TooManyDJs

Cabaret Voltaire, 22:00–05:00, £15 (£12)

Various times, 04 Dec—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 25th, 1st, From £11.50

01:00PM, 30 Nov—18 Dec, £10

Open Mic Xmas Special

Tue 28 Dec

The Jolly Boys Mento band from Jamaica.

Paisley Arts Centre Aladdin Various times, 30 Nov—01 Jan, not 5th, 12th, 19th, 25th, From £8–£11-£19

Kiddies favorite.

QMU La Ronde 07:30PM, 04 Dec—06 Dec, £8 (£6)

Modern, re-located, adaptaion of Schnitzler’s attack on a pretentious Viennese society, in ten mini scenes.

RSAMD Pinocchio Various times, 07 Dec—11 Dec, £12.50 (£8.50)

The creative RSAMD panto crew give Pinocchio a re-telling.

SECC

DUNDEE CLUBS

Various times, 09 Dec—31 Dec, not 24th, 25th, From £13

A Play, A Pie and A Pint

07:00PM, 02 Dec—19 Dec, not 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, £18

AC/DC tribute.

Festival Theatre The Secret Garden

Jack and the Beanstalk

Thu 23 Dec

Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:30, £11

Love, tragedy, music and death.

Oran Mor

Fairytale panto. Matinee performances also available.

A Bottle of Wine & Patsy Cline

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, Free

07:30PM, 02 Dec—04 Dec, £5 (£4.50)

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic children’s novel comes to wondrous life.

Country crooning.

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, Free

Bedlam Theatre The Phantom Of The Panto

Various times, 03 Dec—02 Jan, not 7th, 13th, 20th, 1st, From £12.75

Weekly run of new plays. Plus a pie.

And a pint.

Mon 27 Dec

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £7

07:30PM, 15 Dec—18 Dec, £10

Fash Stewart

AB/CD

Indie, pop and alternative.

Axis

Inspiral Carpets man.

Johnny Foreigner (StageCoach, In Enso)

Indigo

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, Free

Bad boy rapper.

Heavy Mama

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Chart and cheese.

Tom Hingley

50s fun and showgirls a-go-go.

Departure Lounge Hogmanay Carnival (Rumba Caliente Afro-Latin Orchestra, Horndog Brass Band, Boom Monk Ben)

Bangers & Mash

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £tbc

Vegas! Grand Hogmanay Ball Hive Hogmanay

Beauty meets beast. Love ensues.

King’s Theatre

Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

Ocean Terminal, 21:00–03:00, £30

Various times, 30 Nov—31 Dec, not 5th, 12th, 19th, 25th, 26th, from £6

Snow White

Dexter’s Bar, 20:00–23:00, £9

Music fundraiser.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun

E D INBURGH

The Doors Alive

Brit pop.

Wed 08 Dec

Citizens Theatre Beauty and The Beast

Satirical glance at all the things we love to hate about Christmas.

Dexter’s Bar, 13:00–15:00, Free

07:30PM, 05 Dec—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 25th, 27th, 1st, From £9

Annual panto from the Tron, and slightly more unusual than most.

Found objects and live music curiosities.

Lazy Poker

Free afternoon blues.

Tron Theatre Flo White

08:00PM, 02 Dec, £5

Wicked Christmas

Craig McNight Charity Night

Dexter’s Bar, 20:00–23:00, £9

CCA Cryptic Nights

Sat 18 Dec

The Doors tribute.

All-night DJ action.

Antics

Reading Rooms, 20:00–22:30, £6

Soul-fuelled indie rock.

Sun 05 Dec

Unique performances, indulgent cabaret and power ballads.

Electric Circus, 18:00–01:00, Free

Doghouse, 20:00–00:45, £5

Dodgy

Christmas Carnival

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 11)

GL A SGOW

Karnival’s Boxing Day Soma Records Party (Slam, Silicone Soul)

Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 11)

T H E AT R E

DUNDEE MUSIC

Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds 08:00PM, 03 Dec, £42.50-£60

King’s Theatre

Annual pantomime fun with Grant Stott. Matinee performances also available.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall Merry Kitschmas 05:00PM, 12 Dec, £12

Miss Fitz-Poste’s Modern Mixers presents dance and cabaret acts, plus a vintage hair salon.

Playhouse How Now Mrs Brown Cow 07:30PM, 30 Nov—04 Dec, From £16

Agnes Brown antics.

Thriller Live Various times, 06 Dec—11 Dec, From £14.50

Celebrating the career of Michael Jackson.

Hairspray 07:30PM, 14 Dec—02 Jan, not 24th, 25th, 31st, 1st, From £18.50

Big hair and Michael Ball. Matinee performances also available.

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Snow Queen 07:00PM, Multiple dates, From £17 (£8.50)

Stuart Paterson re-work of the wicked ice maiden tale. Matinee perfomances also available.

Tackno

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative.

Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–01:00, £tbc

Three room takeover with 25 DJs, from ten local nights.

Cheese and kitsch.

Axis

The Go-Go

Rock Show

Electro, fidget and bassline house.

Studio 24, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Thu 02 Dec

Sat 11 Dec

Diversity

Retro with Tall Paul and Big Gus.

Rock, punk and alternative.

JungleDub

Bongo Hogmanay

The Holly and Ivy League

Britain’s Got Talent winners.

Madchester Boxing Day Special

Fever (One Man Band, Charles Randolph Rivers)

Scottish Storytelling Centre

Dub, dubstep and jungle.

50s and 60s rockabilly.

The Arches

A Christmas Carol

Manc classics.

The Ka-Tet

Asylum

Pinocchio

D’n’B, dubstep and bassline.

Coalition

Blues and funk five-piece.

Rock, metal and punk.

01:30PM, 01 Dec—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 25th, 27th, 1st, £8 (£4)

Octopussy

Dubstep, breaks and D’n’B.

Christmas Carnival

Electric Circus, 18:00–01:00, Free

All-night DJ action.

Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro.

Ill Behaviour

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£3 after 12)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

The Liquid Room, 22:30–05:00, £10

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Chart, indie and electro.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Jazz Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Slap Bang

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–05:00, Free

Free mid-week party. Resident DJs.

Bongo Club, 23:00–05:00, £10

Headspin, Mumbo Jumbo, Soulsville and We Got Soul join forces.

This Is Music’s Sneaky All-Stars

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–05:00, £3 (members free)

The best of Sneaky Pete’s, rounded up by the Sick Note DJs.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £3.50 (£5 after 11.30)

Rock and roll dance party.

Fri 03 Dec HEADWAY

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £3.50 (£7 after 11)

Underground house and techno.

Renegades

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Electro, trip-hop and funk.

Sat 04 Dec

Musical re-imagining of the famous tale.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £7 (£5)

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Fri 17 Dec

07:30PM, 14 Dec, £21.50-£29.50

Whimsical version of the big-nosed liar, written by Alan Bissett.

Felt

Theatre Royal

Indie, retro pop and rock.

Scottish Opera: The Marriage of Figaro

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 18 Dec Asylum

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Various times, 30 Nov—04 Dec, not 3rd, from £15.50

Mozart at his theatrical best.

Rock, metal and punk.

Scottish Ballet: Cinderella

Art Bar, 18:00–21:00, Free

Fri 24 Dec

A balletic break from panto.

CTRL*ALT*DEFEAT (Hey Today!, Clouds, Ado)

Beartrap

Fever

Rock and roll dance party.

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £10

Art rock, indie and punk.

Asylum

Mon 27 Dec

Electronic electro.

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Rock, metal and punk.

Fri 10 Dec Transmission

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Indie, pop and hardcore.

07:30PM, 14 Dec—31 Dec, not 19th, 20th, 26th, 27th, from £11.50

Tramway Ignite Celebration 07:30PM, 30 Nov, £11

Going back To Our Roots: Xmas Cracker (Graeme Park, Dean Nelson, Danny Walsh)

Male dance performances from YDance, Smallpetitklein, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre and Dynion.

Proper house.

The Story of How We Came to Be Here...

Reading Rooms, 21:30–02:30, £15

07:00PM, 11 Dec, £5

Exploring the conflictual relationships between art, language and meaning.

Gender Divide 07:30PM, 16 Dec—17 Dec, £6.50

Boys Vs Girls

68 THE SKINNY December 2010

Various times, 10 Dec—11 Dec, £10 (£8)

Play, pie, pint and panto. Perfect.

Traverse The Three Musketeers and The Princess of Spain Various times, 04 Dec—24 Dec, not 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th, From £8

The sword-fighting D’Artagnan in Princess-saving mode.

Usher Hall The Mikado 07:30PM, 29 Dec, From £14.50

Opera favourite in intimate venue

D UN D EE Doghouse Club Wonka Burlesque Christmas Show 08:00PM, 03 Dec, £8

1930s-inspired burlesque show.

Dundee Rep Sleeping Beauty Various times, Multiple dates, £14.50 (£10)

Festive fairytale sparkle.

COMEDY GLASGOW Tue 30 Nov Red Raw (Andy Sir)

Thu 09 Dec

Sat 18 Dec

Comedy Central Live (Janey Godley, Daliso Chaponda, Keith Farnan, Raymond Mearns)

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Dougie Dunlop, Owen O’Neill, Sinck)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2 (£1)

Live showase night.

Live showase night.

Wed 01 Dec

The Thursday Show (Ryan Stout, Mary Bourke, Garry Dobson and Mikey Adams)

The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood)

Talent showcase hosted by Chris Henry.

Isy Suttie: Love Lost in the British Retail Industry The Stand, 19:30–20:30, £8 (£7)

Multi-character musical love story.

The Boy With Tape On His Face The Stand, 21:30–22:30, £8 (£7)

Silent physical comedy.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4)

Live stand-up. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Live Comedy Maggie May’s, 21:00–23:00, £10

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

Thu 02 Dec

Fri 10 Dec

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Joe Heenan, Tanyalee Davis and Brian Higgins)

Comedy Central Live (Janey Godley, Daliso Chaponda, Keith Farnan, Raymond Mearns)

Live showase night.

Live showase night.

Bratchy and the Wee Man’s Comedy Pub Quiz

The Friday Show (Ryan Stout, Mary Bourke, Garry Dobson and Mikey Adams)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, £15

The Arches, 20:00–22:00, Free

Comedy capers and quizzy-ness.

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £34.95

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5)

The Thursday Show (Kevin Gildea, Gus Tawse, Kai Humphries, John Gavin)

Prime stand-up. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Live stand-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Comedy Central Live (Janey Godley, Daliso Chaponda, Keith Farnan, Raymond Mearns)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4)

Live Comedy

Maggie May’s, 21:00–23:00, £10

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

Fri 03 Dec Ha Ha Comedy’s Scottish Comedian of the Year: Grand Final O2 Academy, 19:00–22:30, £16

The winner is crowned. Presented by Tam Cowan.

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Joe Heenan, Tanyalee Davis and Brian Higgins)

Sat 11 Dec Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £34.95

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Live Comedy

Maggie May’s, 21:00–23:00, £10

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

Sun 19 Dec Micheal Redmond’s Sunday Service (Gary Little, Teddy, John Gavin)

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

Short sets of new comic talent.

Christmas Covers Gong Show

Tue 07 Dec

Comedians mimicing other comedians.

Rock & Roll Circus (Jason Rouse, Chris Cross, Bob Slayer)

Mon 13 Dec

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Hogmanay Hootfest!

(Tom Stade, Gary Little and Hailey Boyle)

The Stand, 21:00–23:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Raymond Mearns.

Thu 30 Dec Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Hogmanay Hootfest! (Tom Stade, Gary Little and Hailey Boyle)

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Tue 21 Dec Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Fri 31 Dec The Stand, 21:00–23:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Raymond Mearns.

EDINBURGH Tue 30 Nov The Boy With Tape On His Face The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7)

Live showase night.

Sun 12 Dec

Wed 01 Dec

The Friday Show (Kevin Gildea, Gus Tawse, Kai Humphries, John Gavin)

Micheal Redmond’s Sunday Service (Ryan Stout, Mikey Adams, Eddie O’Dwyer)

Beginner’s showcase.

Broken Windows Policy

Wed 22 Dec

Skits and character comedy.

Prime stand-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Resident Irish funnyman and pals.

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

Thu 02 Dec

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Live showase night.

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

All-Scottish comics. Hosted by Susan Calman.

Tue 14 Dec

Live stand-up. Hosted by Billy Kirkwood.

The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood)

Thu 23 Dec Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

Fri 03 Dec

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

The Saturday Show (Kevin Gildea, Gus Tawse, Kai Humphries, John Gavin) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £13

Weekend comedy. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Sun 05 Dec Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 15:00–17:00, £4

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Wed 15 Dec Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Dougie Dunlop, Owen O’Neill, Sinck) Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Comedy for young ‘uns (i.e. no sweary words)

Live showase night.

Micheal Redmond’s Sunday Service (Carl Hutchinson, Gerry McDade, Woody)

The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood)

Resident Irish funnyman and pals.

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Mon 06 Dec

Thu 16 Dec

Frankie Boyle

SECC, 20:00–22:30, £28.50

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Dougie Dunlop, Owen O’Neill, Sinck)

Dance Monkey Boy, Dance!

(Raymond Mearns, John Ross, Allen Chalmers)

Live showcase night.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£1)

Close-to-the-bone ramblings.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4

Comedy orechestrated by the audience.

Tue 07 Dec

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Red Raw

Live Comedy

Beginner’s showcase.

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2 (£1)

Wed 08 Dec Comedy Central Live (Janey Godley, Daliso Chaponda, Keith Farnan, Raymond Mearns) Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Live showase night.

Wicked Wenches (Mary Bourke, A.L Kennedy, Isma Almas, Lucy Oldham)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3)

All-female stand-up. Hosted by Susan Calman.

Maggie May’s, 21:00–23:00, £10

Fri 17 Dec

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £19.95

The Thursday Show (Jake O’Kane, Micheal Fabbri, Carl Hutchinson, Bob Graham) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4)

Comedy Central Live (Brendan Riley, Marc Theobald, Mark Nelson, David Hadingham) Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

The Thursday Show

Live showase night.

Live stand-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Fit ‘O The Giggles

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4)

Live Comedy

Maggie May’s, 21:00–23:00, £10

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

Fri 24 Dec Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Beehive Inn, 21:00–23:00, £5

Culmination of a two-day comedy workshop.

The Friday Show (Jake O’Kane, Micheal Fabbri, Carl Hutchinson, Bob Graham) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5)

Prime stand-up. Hosted by Billy Kirkwood.

The Improverts

Edinburgh’s improv comedy troupe.

Sun 26 Dec

Comedy Central Live (Brendan Riley, Marc Theobald, Mark Nelson, David Hadingham)

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

The Saturday Show (Jake O’Kane, Micheal Fabbri, Carl Hutchinson, Bob Graham)

Beehive Inn, 21:00–23:00, £5

The Friday Show (Mick Ferry, Mark Nelson, Isma Almas, Gus Lymburn)

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Absolute Beginners

Sat 18 Dec

Short sets of new comic talent.

Comedy Central Live (Dave Williams, Johnny Candon, Dave Johns, David Hadingham)

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £2 (£1)

Comedy Christmas Special (Jojo Sutherland, Teddy, Chris Conway)

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £7 (£25 with dinner)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

Live showase night.

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

It’s Xmas Funtime

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss)

Bongo Club, 19:30–22:00, £5

Festive edition of the comedy quizcum-gameshow.

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Comedy Christmas Special (Stu Who?, Vladimir McTavish, Gus Lymburn)

The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

Tue 14 Dec Comedy Christmas Special (Keir McAllistair, The Wee Man, Chris Conway)

Comedy Christmas Special (Vladimir McTavish, Rob Kane, Tommy McKaye) Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £7 (£25 with dinner)

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss) The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Thu 16 Dec Comedy Central Live (Dave Williams, Johnny Candon, Dave Johns, David Hadingham) Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

The Stand, 21:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Thu 30 Dec

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Wed 15 Dec

Wed 29 Dec Hogmanay Hootfest! (Jo Caulfield, Stephen Carlin, Vladimir McTavish)

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss) The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

The Stand, 21:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss)

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

Tue 28 Dec Hogmanay Hootfest! (Jo Caulfield, Stephen Carlin, Vladimir McTavish)

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £10 (£30 with dinner)

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £7 (£25 with dinner)

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

The Stand, 21:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

Sun 19 Dec Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 13:30–16:00, Free

Improvised stand-up. Hot food available.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In (Andy Sir, Jim Park, Davey See and Eddie O’Dwyer) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£1)

The Stand, 13:30–16:00, Free

Improvised stand-up. Hot food available.

Hogmanay Double Scotch (Susan Morrison, Vladimir McTavish) The Stand, 17:00–19:30, £7 (£5)

An idiots guide to whisky.

Hogmanay Hootfest! (Jo Caulfield, Stephen Carlin, Vladimir McTavish) The Stand, 21:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

Fri 31 Dec

Laid-back comedy billing. Hosted by Rebecca Donohue.

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

Mon 20 Dec

Improvised stand-up. Hot food available.

Comedy Central Live (Martin Mor, Dave Williams, Sinck, Tom Stade)

Hogmanay Double Scotch (Susan Morrison, Vladimir McTavish)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Live showase night.

Red Raw (Rebecca Donohue, Hailey Boyle) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2 (£1)

The Stand, 13:30–16:00, Free

The Stand, 17:00–19:30, £7 (£5)

An idiots guide to whisky.

Guid Crack: Hogmanay Waverley Bar, 19:30–22:00, Donation

Live showase night.

Beginner’s showcase.

New year laughs, hosted by Jack Martin.

Comedy Christmas Special (Vladimir McTavish, Kier McAllistair, Gus Lymburn)

Absolute Beginners Short sets of new comic talent.

Hogmanay Hootfest! (Jo Caulfield, Stephen Carlin, Vladimir McTavish)

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

Wed 22 Dec

Top line-up. Hosted by Bruce Devlin.

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss)

Best of Scottish Comedy (Gary Little, Mark Nelson, Daniel Webster)

Festive special. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

All-Scottishcomics.HostedbyJoeHeenan.

Culmination of a two-day comedy workshop.

Fri 17 Dec

Thu 23 Dec

The Saturday Show (Mick Ferry, Mark Nelson, Isma Almas, Gus Lymburn)

Comedy Central Live (Dave Williams, Johnny Candon, Dave Johns, David Hadingham)

The Thursday Show (Gary Little, Mark Nelson, Daniel Webster)

Live showase night.

Live stand-up. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5)

Prime stand-up. Hosted by Susan Calman.

Sat 11 Dec Comedy Central Live (Rob Collins, Johnny Candon, Marc Theobald, Sandy Nelson) Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £34.95

Live showase night.

Fit ‘O The Giggles Beehive Inn, 21:00–23:00, £5

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £13

Weekendcomedy.HostedbySusanCalman.

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £7 (£25 with dinner)

The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £2 (£1)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4)

The Stand, 21:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

DUNDEE Sat 04 Dec Just Laugh Comedy Club (Raymond Mearns, Scott Agnew, Phil Differ) Fat Sam’s, 20:00–23:00, £9

Live comedy hosted by Bruce Fummey.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £13

Top line-up. Hosted by Raymond Mearns.

Live showase night.

Tue 28 Dec

Improvised stand-up. Hot food available.

The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood)

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

The Sunday Night Laugh-In (Micahel Fabbri, Phil Differ, Martin McAllister, Nick Davies)

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Laid-back comedy billing. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Festive special. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

Fit ‘O The Giggles

The Stand, 21:30–23:30, £10 (£9)

Hogmanay Hootfest! (Jo Caulfield, Stephen Carlin, Vladimir McTavish)

Weekendcomedy.HostedbyBillyKirkwood.

Sun 05 Dec

Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

The Banshee Labyrinth, 20:30–23:00, £3

The Stand Christmas Special (Ryan Stout, Hailey Boyle, Daniel Sloss)

Beehive Inn, 21:00–23:00, £5

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9)

We Happy Few Presents (Adam Mitchell, Ben Verth, Mickey Anderson, Hitch Hanrahan)

Trio of comedy. Hosted by Keara Murphy.

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £2 (£1)

Fit ‘O The Giggles

The Stand, 21:00–23:30, £12 (£10)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

Live showase night.

Short sets of new comic talent.

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

Hogmanay Hootfest! (Tom Stade, Gary Little and Hailey Boyle)

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Dougie Dunlop, Owen O’Neill, Sinck)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £29.95

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £5

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £10 (£30 with dinner)

Live showase night.

Culmination of a two-day comedy workshop.

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Fri 10 Dec Comedy Central Live (Rob Collins, Johnny Candon, Marc Theobald, Sandy Nelson)

South London geezer.

Absolute Beginners

Sat 04 Dec

Mon 27 Dec Oran Mor, 20:00–22:30, £15

Live stand-up. Hosted by Susan Calman.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£8)

Mon 27 Dec

Comedy Christmas Special (Stu Who?, Vladimir McTavish, Gus Lymburn)

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–00:30, £4.50 (£4)

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4)

Live showase night.

Best of Scottish Comedy (Sandy Nelson, Gus Tawse, Gerry McDade)

Maggie May’s, 19:30–23:00, £10

The Thursday Show (Mick Ferry, Mark Nelson, Isma Almas, Gus Lymburn)

Culmination of a two-day comedy workshop.

Mon 13 Dec The Stand Christmas Special (Jo Caulfield, Mark Nelson, Billy Kirkwood)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Live showase night.

Sketch and stand-up.

Sat 04 Dec

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Thu 09 Dec

Comedy Central Live (Brendan Riley, Marc Theobald, Mark Nelson, David Hadingham)

Comedy Central Live (JoJo Smith, Joe Heenan, Tanyalee Davis and Brian Higgins)

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50)

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2 (£1)

Live Comedy

Melting Pot

Comedy Central Live (Rob Collins, Johnny Candon, Marc Theobald, Sandy Nelson)

The Stand, 21:00–23:30, £12 (£10)

Red Raw

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £34.95

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3)

Top line-up. Hosted by Raymond Mearns.

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £24.95

Physical comedy fun.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£1)

Wicked Wenches (Mary Bourke, A.L Kennedy, Isma Almas, Lucy Oldham)

Audience-rated comedy sketches.

Weekend comedy. Hosted by Susan Morrison.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5)

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, £10

Alternative, no rules, comedy cabaret.

Hogmanay Hootfest!

(Tom Stade, Gary Little and Hailey Boyle)

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Highlight, 19:00–23:00, From £20

Beehive Inn, 20:30–23:00, £2 (£1)

Wed 08 Dec

Live showase night.

Lee Nelson’s Get Well Tour

Absolute Beginners

Stand-up set, together with a performance of A Drunk Women Looks at the Thistle.

Comedy Central Live (Janey Godley, Mat Reed, Ron Vaudry, Raymond Mearns)

The Stand, 13:30–16:00, Free

Improvised stand-up. Hot food available.

Wed 29 Dec

Mon 20 Dec

Improvised showdown. Hosted by Billy Kirkwood.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £13

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2 (£1)

Beginner’s showcase.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£1)

Resident Irish funnyman and pals.

Live Comedy

The Saturday Show (Ryan Stout, Mary Bourke, Garry Dobson and Mikey Adams)

Sun 12 Dec Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

All-female stand-up. Hosted by Susan Calman.

Live showase night.

Maggie May’s, 19:30–23:00, £10

The Stand, 21:00–23:30, £12 (£10)

Top line-up. Hosted by Raymond Mearns.

Mon 06 Dec Red Raw (Scott Agnew, Stuart Black)

Stand Up Drunk with Karen Dunbar

Improv Wars

Mixed bag of live acts, hosted by Scott Agnew. Free entry to after club.

Hogmanay Hootfest!

(Tom Stade, Gary Little and Hailey Boyle)

The Stand, 13:30–16:00, Free

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£1)

December 2010

THE SKINNY 69

ART GLASGOW

Glasgow Print Studio

CCA

Academicans

Revealing The Invisible: The Art of Stansfield and Hookas 11:00AM, 30 Nov—23 Dec, not 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, Free

Seminal visual arts duo.

Double-hander with Street Level Photoworks.

Love Is An Ocular Sickness 12:00PM, 03 Dec—14 Dec, not 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, Free

Caroline Walker’s paintings and Lydia Corry’s installations explore femininity in image making.

Cafe Cossachok Cossachok Christmas Show Various times, 02 Dec—31 Dec, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th, Free

Prints of St Petersburg, from etchings to lithographs.

Flying Duck

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th, Free

Four-hander between Eileen Cooper, David Mach, Neil MacPherson and Michael Visocchi.

School of Art The Glasgow Girls

Various times, 30 Nov—20 Dec, not 5th, 12th, 19th, Free

Major exhibition of paintings, decorative and applied art by the ‘Glasgow Girls’.

Sculpture Studio Christine Borland

09:00AM, 30 Nov—01 Jan, not 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, Free

New work inspired by a John Godsir sculpture, taken from a cast of a medically-anatomised corpse.

Hillhead Library The Artistic Gift

10:00AM, 30 Nov—22 Dec, Free

Mix of painting, illustration and photography from ten local artists.

All The Young Nudes

Kelvingrove

08:00PM, Multiple dates, £4

The River Runs Through It

Drawing class with a backdrop of DJ beats and a bar to the side.

Gallery of Modern Art Hertie Querty Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, Free

Playful works from artists including David Shrigley, Roderick Buchanan and Beagles & Ramsay.

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, Free

Recoat Gallery

Tramway

Collective Gallery

Ingleby Gallery

RSA

Bonus Aisle

Artur Zmijewski: Democracies

Nicolas Party, Catherine Payton

A Little Bit Of Magic Realised

10 Dialogues: Richard Demarco Addressing the percieved imbalance of Scottish art and the place of Scotland in a European context.

12:00PM, 30 Nov—22 Dec, not 6th, 13th, 20th, Free

11:00AM, 11 Dec—21 Dec, not 13th, 20th, Free

Part of the New Work Scotland series, supporting new creatives.

A look at the careers of two cameraless photographers, Susan Derges and Gary Fabian Miller.

SWG3

Subodh Gupta: Take Off Your Shoes And Wash Your Hands

Laura White Christmas Window 2010

Stina Wirfelt

12:00PM, 30 Nov—12 Dec, not 6th, Free

Inverleith House

Schop

Whilst Collective’s closed for Christmas, the windows are lit-up with Laura White’s specially-commissioned display.

Marc Camille Chaimowicz

Skewed

National Gallery Complex

Art exhibition-cum-sale, where all pieces are under £100.

12:00PM, 04 Dec—18 Dec, not 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, Free

Sorcha Dallas

Axolotl Gallery

Dovecot Studios

Axolotl Christmas Show

Micheal Llyod: Twelve Vessels

Alex Pollard: Collaborations 11:00AM, 30 Nov—18 Dec, not 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, Free

Abstract visual symbols from the GSA graduate.

Street Level Photoworks Revealing The Invisible: The Art of Stansfield and Hookas Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th, Free

Seminal visual arts duo. Doublehander exhibition with the CCA.

The Common Guild

Kibble Palace

12:00PM, 01 Dec—18 Deac, not 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, Free

Live screening of video-paintings by Bill Millett.

Mary Mary

Natural forms as still life, focusing on growth, transformation and demise.

The Modern Institute

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, Free

Interference With Twigs

Simon Starling: Project for a Masquerade (Hiroshima)

Contemporary photography, video and installation from artists’ based outside the UK.

Quadruple hander between Audrey Capel Doray, Lotte Gertz, Hanna Sandin and Nicolas Party.

Conceptual work from the 2005 Turner Prize-winner.

Unsettled Objects

12:00PM, Multiple dates, Free

70 THE SKINNY December 2010

Indian artist who explores his cultural identity through his art.

09:00AM, 22 Dec—02 Jan, Free

EDINBURGH

Tacita Dean

03:00PM, 05 Dec, Free

Examining the moral and ethical landscape facing us.

Swedish video and photographic artist.

Selling exhibition, raising funds for the Riverside Museum Appeal.

Beyond The Fence

10:00AM, 30 Nov—01 Jan, not 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, Free

12:00PM, 30 Nov—12 Dec, not 6th, Free

Various times, 30 Nov—17 Dec, not 5th, 12th, Free

Various times, 30 Nov—24 Dec, Free

Figurative artist Sarah Muirhead, alongside large-scale painter Roland Corbin. Plus a ‘christmas gifts’ small works exhibition.

10:30AM, 30 Nov—11 Dec, not 5th, 6th, Free

Silversmith work chased with designs drawn from the natural world.

Bourne Fine Art

College of Art

Katharine Aarrestad

The Secret Confession

Various times, 02 Dec—01 Jan, not 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, Free

10:00AM, 30 Nov—08 Dec, Free

Reverse painting on glass.

Exhibition of work by alumni of Edinburgh College of Art.

City Art Centre

Printmakers

Ian Hamilton Finlay

Myths and Legends: From The Ancient To The Modern

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, £tbc

Exhibition of two recently-acquired stone sculptures, alongside prints and a group of photographs of Little Sparta.

Spirit Of Air: Inscriptions by Lizzie Farey Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, Free

A new body of expressive willow works.

12:00PM, 30 Nov—23 Dec, not 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, Free

Through a variety of printmaking techniques, artists’ interpret various myths and legends.

Embassy Gallery

10:30AM, Multiple dates, Free

Interconnected installations of new and historical work.

Mirrors: Prison Portraits Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, not 24th, 25th, Free

Portraits by inmates from five Scottish prisons, in collaboration with artists Kevin Reid and Fraser Gray, and photographers Craig MacLean and Fin Macrae.

William McTaggart (1835-1910) 10:00AM, 30 Nov—19 Dec, Free

Oil paintings and watercolours by celebrated Scottish artist.

National Gallery of Modern Art Another World 10:00AM, 30 Nov—02 Jan, £7 (£5)

Comprehensive exhibition of Surrealist art.

Turner in January 2011 Annual January showing of Turner’s watercolours, brought out just one month a year.

Coburg House

Childish Things

Coburg House: Open Studios

Works from seven different artists, looking at what curator David Hopkins terms the ‘dark poetics’ of childhood.

11:00AM, 04 Dec—05 Dec, Free

Annual Christmas open studios event.

Fruitmarket Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, Free

Sierra Metro Bobby Niven 12:00PM, 04 Dec—12 Dec, not 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Free

Radical artist experiments with observational documnetaries.

St Margaret’s House Art’s Complex Return To Source 10:00AM, 30 Nov—12 Dec, Free

A return to the essential practice of painting, from exhibitors Rachael Bibby, Anneli Holmstrom and Jessica Kirkpatrick.

Dance Emotion In Motion 10:00AM, 30 Nov—05 Dec, Free

Artists Vivienne Edgar and Michelle Williams seek to illustrate the arousal of emotions experienced in dance.

Talbot Rice Gallery

Six different artists look at how the internet has influenced cultural production.

Asking questions about art and the Highlands, both historical and contemporary.

Unique furniture exhibition, including the architects’ drawings models and photographs.

Alasdair Gray: Gray Stuff

Hello World

12:00PM, 02 Dec—05 Dec, Free

09:00AM, 30 Nov—21 Dec, not 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, Free

National Gallery

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, £tbc

Window To The West: The Rediscovery of Highland Art

Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, £tbc

Various times, 01 Jan—02 Jan, Free

Out of the Blue yam-yam’s Scotland 10:00AM, 01 Dec—09 Dec, not 5th, Free

Photography exhibition set into five mini themes.

10:00AM, 30 Nov—11 Dec, not 5th, 6th, Free

Solo exhibition of the writer/ illustrator’s designs for books and posters from 1952-2010.

The Jazz Bar Dr Sketchy 03:00PM, 05 Dec, £7 (£6)

Glam burlesque drawing class. GO!

Tollcross Community Centre Strangescapes Various times, 30 Nov—04 Dec, Free

Abstract and ambient images from Ray Scoble.

DUNDEE Cooper Gallery First Unaffected Unaffected Formal Effects Last Various times, 30 Nov—04 Dec, Free

London duo Charlotte Cullinan and Jeanine Richards utilise and reinvent conventional art forms.

DCA Jonathan Horowitz: Minimalist Works From The Holocaust Museum Various times, 30 Nov—02 Jan, not 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th, Free

New work in response to Horowitz visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington.

Duncan of Jordanstone Prints Of Darkness Various times, 30 Nov—11 Dec, not 5th, Free

Original work recalling the golden age of record cover art. In the Matthew Gallery space.

Textile Design Work In Progress 09:30AM, 13 Dec—17 Dec, Free

Work in progress concepts, in print, knit, weave and mixed media. In the Bradshaw Gallery space.

Generator Projects Be The Hammer Or The Anvil 12:00PM, 02 Dec—05 Dec, Free

Four-hander exhibition, with text by Catriona Fay McCara.

STARTER FOR ELEVEN:

JohnATHAN Rice

CRYSTAL BAWS WITH MYSTIC MARK

Jenny and Johnny's Johnathan Rice is genuinely excited about this month's Starter For Eleven, with a theme of memorable duos in music. The reason? His bandmate/girlfriend Jenny Lewis has never eaten haggis Quizmaster: Paul Mitchell Q1. Who performed with Serge Gainsbourg on the 1969 track Je t’aime... moi non plus?

Was it Jane Birkin?

A. Jane Birkin (1 point) Q2. Name the members of Womack and Womack?

Um... Bobby, and I don’t know the other member actually...

A. It was actually Bobby’s brother Cecil and his wife Linda (0 points) Q3. Who was Nancy Sinatra’s long-time collaborator, singing... [an eager Johnny interrupts before the end of the question] Lee Hazlewood A. Lee Hazlewood (1 point) Q4. Name the Pet Shop Boys (1 point for each)?

Neil Tennant and....crap....who’s the second guy? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Brandon Flowers. Because he loves them. Jenny knows him, she can vouch for it.

A. Em, OK, we’ll get on to Brandon right now. Or I could just tell you it’s Chris Lowe (1 point) Q5. Which duo/couple won a Grammy for their version of John Fogerty’s Proud Mary in 1970?

Ike and Tina Turner A. Ike and Tina Turner (1 point) Q6. One of the most successful US duos of all time are Hall and Oates. Can you give me their first names (point for each)?

Daryl Hall....and is it....it’s not Paul is it?

A. Daryl Hall and John Oates (1 point) Q7. Name two of White Stripes member Jack White’s side projects (point for each)?

Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

A. The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather (2 points) Q8. According to the song by a famous duo (Simon and Garfunkel), how many ways are there to leave your lover?

There are 50 ways to leave your lover.

A. 50 (1 point) Q9. Before joining Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks and Lyndsey Buckingham released an album together. What was the album called?

Buckingham Nicks A. Buckingham Nicks (1 point) Q10. Name the Eurythmics (point for each)?

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

A. Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (2 points) Q11. Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot sang Bonnie and Clyde in 1968, but what were the surnames of the real Bonnie and Clyde, well known outlaws in Depression era USA (point for each)?

Ah, I don’t know the answer to that, that’s annoying.

A. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (0 points) With a mightily impressive tally of 11 points, Johnathan Rice sets a lofty target in the race to become the Starter For Eleven Champion, and that Haggis Supper prize.

Pumped-up Johnny: Am I the all-time champion? Wow, who did I crush?

The Skinny: Well, current leader, yeah. Displacing Mudhoney Johnny (adopting finest WWE growl): Mudhoney? Put them back into the Mud where they belong. Grrr.

Jenny and Johnny play Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on 30 Nov

ARIES 21 MAR – 20 APR Yeah, it’s Christmas, but a miracle? Meant to be? Are you serious? What, you think God flies over all the war and famine in the world to come and bless the union of two slobbering simpletons who can’t keep their junk in their Adidas joggers 5 minutes? Get real!

a

JOHNNY, NOT JENNY Scottish-American folk troubador Johnathan Lewis has teamed up with his girlfriend (Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis). They're called Jenny and Johnny (very cute) and this, in Johnny's words, is their story On why Jenny hasn’t taken up our gracious offer for a chat...

As fun as it is to sit and talk, we’d like to see Europe as well so we’re splitting stuff up. If you don’t divvy it up you’ll just be sitting in a dark room somewhere talking all day long.

On constantly being asked about their romantic relationship...

We don’t really mind. We’ve been playing together since 2005 so we’re used to it now. It becomes your life and doesn’t feel like work.

On whether the band name puts the relationship firmly in the spotlight...

I don’t know if it even implies that. The way we think of it, well, the way Jenny thinks of it at least, is that any girl can be a Jenny and any guy can be a Johnny, like mannequins. Or X and Y. We had lots of different ideas of what to call the band and we googled them but they were all taken. We could have called it Boyfriend and Girlfriend.

On the album title I’m Having Fun Now...

It’s based on a bumper sticker on the back of a car. I bought a station wagon at an estate sale, things that happen when somebody dies. So we looked in a neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. A lot of elderly people live there and a lot of them have been in the film business and different aspects of Hollywood. So when they die, often there’s all these interesting things for sale

in their houses. I bought it for 900 dollars.

We just really liked that phrase.

On their lyrical themes of love, politics and economics...

There’s politics and all different things in the lyrics, but if you get the newspaper in the morning there are going to be all different things to have a conversation about. We’re just writing about life as we see it, I guess. I know there are global issues that are very complicated but as rock musicians we have the luxury of saying what we want, regardless of whether it’s well-informed or not.

On the future of Jenny and Johnny (the band)...

We’ve not given it much thought because the album’s only been out for such a short time. The only rule in this band is that there are no rules at all.

We’ve been writing together for years, it’s just that these particular songs were the most inherently collaborative that we’d ever done. They’re very vocally and lyrically involved with one another so we felt that it warranted the making of a new band. But I may, in the coming months or years write songs that are clearly my own and have to be delivered by me, and vice versa for Jenny. But it’s exciting for me to sing with Jenny, it makes me feel good.

[Paul Mitchell]

I’m Having Fun Now is out now on Warner www.jennyandjohnnymusic.com/

TAURUS 21 APR – 21 MAY Can I nail love to you?

I will march on a road of balls and bones to get you as mine!

My desire for you is orchestral.

You’re the nicest total bastard I’ve ever met.

b

GEMINI 22 MAY – 21 JUN As Mars begins its yearly constipated orbit, the collective memetic digestive tract is so full of shit the arsehole and mouth pipe have connected in an unprecedented psychic ouroboros. So, bon appetit! Shove the whole of that snivelling, tooth-filled face up your arse and scream until your soul bursts.

c

CANCER 22 JUN – 23 JUL Don’t lie to yourself, you never even had marbles to begin with. Just sit tight and wait for the white van with the square wheels to turn up.

d

LEO 24 JUL – 23 AUG My eyes don’t have the stomachs to keep looking at you.

You look like you reek of boiling excrement. You’re a shit, rubberfaced sports monster. Your mouth pollutes my ears. You’re a real thoroughbred, pedigree moron!

e

VIRGO 24 AUG – 23 SEP Over the holidays you’ll know you’ve been drinking too much when every shit you have is like someone vomiting through

f

a mask. May you find this horoscope utterly absorbent.

LIBRA 24 SEP – 23 OCT You’re a phoenix from the flames, but one that’s soaked in Lynx Africa and bursts into flames in the air immediately post-take-off.

g

SCORPIO 24 OCT – 22 NOV That syphilis-ridden whore Venus is playing her dirty tricks with you again, waving her cosmic cervix around like it’s the best thing since maths.

Remember, an erection does not equal consent.

h

i

SAGITTARIUS 23 NOV – 21 DEC

I drew a picture of the inside of your brain whilst you were asleep.

That jacuzzi is your subconscious.

Around your toned self-image sits your ego 36-24-36, your id 32-21-33, and your superego 33-23-34. Check out the jugs on your id. Phwoahh!

j

CAPRICORN 22 DEC – 20 JAN

Enough guilt has come out of your guilt hole this month. Have a lie down.

AQUARIUS 21 JAN – 19 FEB What do you want me to say? You live in Cumbernauld for Christ’s sake! Take your life back and ask for a refund. You’d get a longer run-out in Liberia.

k

PISCES 20 FEB – 20 MAR Your ex can escape from you physically but mentally you have power still as you possess the covert force of masturbation over them. Close your eyes and remember: you can always yank them back whenever you choose with your keen hand.

l

December 2010

THE SKINNY 71