The Skinny October 2012

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Issue 85 October 2012

Music Duff McKagan Withered Hand Hidden Orchestra Alice Cooper ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead Efterklang Grizzly Bear Gallows PAWS Books Bloody Scotland Valve Fashion London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013

Film Africa in Motion Document 10 Play Poland Scotland Loves Animation Art Sonica Somewhereto_ Theatre Arches' 21st Comedy Alexei Sayle Clubs Lil' Louis

Music | Film | clubs | Theatre | TECH | Art | Books | Comedy | fashion | TRAVEL | Food | Deviance | listings

Co n t e n t s

IN CONCERT

FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER

GLASGOW

THE

www.proclaimers.co.uk

PROCLAIMERS

CONCERT HALL

NOVEMBER 2012 PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS BLUEFLINT

Wed 14 Thu 15 Sat 17 Mon 19 Tue 20 Thu 22 Fri 23

0141 353 8000 www.ticketmaster.co.uk A REGULAR MUSIC / TRIPLE G PRESENTATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL

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RUFUS

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GLASGOW O2 Academy GLASGOW O2 Academy ABERDEEN AECC INVERNESS Eden Ct Theatre PERTH Concert Hall EDINBURGH Playhouse EDINBURGH Playhouse

DECEMBER 2012 PLUS SPECIAL GUEST Wed 19 KILMARNOCK Grand Hall Thurs 20 DUNDEE Caird Hall Fri 21 DUNFERMLINE Alhambra

0844 477 2000 T 0844SO477 2000 LD OU 0844 477 9000 T SOLD 01463 234OU234 T 01738 621OU031 SOLD T 0844SO871 3014 LD OU T 0844SO871 3014 LD OU

01563 554 900 01382 434 940 01383 740 384

Tickets available in person from local outlets

NEW ALBUM OUT OF THE GAME IN STORES NOW

THURS 13 DEC

FRI 14 DEC

0131 228 1155

0844 477 2000

p15 From Up On poppy hill at Scotland Loves animation

p17 Grizzly Bear

Sun 11th Nov EDINBURGH Queen’s Hall

USHER HALL O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH GLASGOW

karine polwart

New Album ‘Traces’ Out Now The Guardian ★★★★ Scotsman ★★★★★ Songlines ★★★★★ The List ★★★★ Scotland on Sunday ★★★★

10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

THUR 29 NOV O2 ABC

GLASGOW Nice ‘N’ Sleazy TUES 23 OCTOBER

PERFORMING ‘FIRE’ IN ITS ENTIRETY

GLASGOW

REGULAR MUSIC AND SERIOUS PRESENT

p20 PAWS

Christy Moore WITH DECLAN Thu 8th Nov

SUN 25TH NOV EDINBURGH USHER HALL

photo: Eoin Carey

Tues 11th Dec Edinburgh Liquid Room

Thurs 29 Nov INNERLEITHEN Memorial Hall Fri 30 Nov EDINBURGH Queen’s Hall

p34 Bluebeard at Sonica 2012

October 2012

SINNOTT Sun 11th Nov

EDINBURGH STIRLING 0131 228 1155

WWW.USHERHALL.CO.UK

SALSA CELTICA

Festival Theatre 0131 529 6000

Albert Halls 01786 473 544

Fri 9th Nov

Mon 12th Nov

GLASGOW

GLASGOW

Barrowland 0844 844 0444

Concert Hall 0141 353 8000

SAT 24TH NOV

EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL 0131 668 2019

O2 ABC GLASGOW

UT SOLD OFebruary Thursday 21st February / Friday 22nd

www.oceancolourscene.com

Fri 9th • 01698 452 299

HAMILTON Townhouse Sat 10th • 0131 529 6000

Issue 85, October 2012 © Radge Media Ltd.

Editorial

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Rosamund West Dave Kerr Keir Hind Bernard O’Leary David McGinty Ana Hine Keir Roper-Caldbeck Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Anna Docherty Anna Docherty Gareth K. Vile Alex Cole Paul Mitchell

EDINBURGH Festival Theatre ON ON TOUR TOUR

NOV 2012

SUNDAY 16TH JUNE 2013 0131 529 6000

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE

THE RETURN OF THE SPECTACULAR SPINNING SONGBOOK

plus special guests

Sun 11th • 01463 234 234

Production

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Production Manager Designer Sub Editor

INVERNESS Eden Ct Theatre

ABERDEEN Music Hall

Wed 14th • 01786 473 544

STIRLING Albert Hall

Thur 15th • 0141 353 8000

GLASGOW Concert Hall Fri 16th • 01738 621 031

PERTH Concert Hall

www.ticketmaster.co.uk www.regularmusic.com 0844 844 0444 or in person from Ticket Scotland: Argyle Street Glasgow, Rose St Edinburgh & Ripping Records and all usual outlets

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THE SKINNY

October 2012

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contents 6

FRONT

Chat: An Alice Cooper special – the great man provides a guide to Halloween, while Duff McKagan Hero Worships the original Rock God; Crystal Baws moves up the front to predict horror(scopes); Stop the Presses; Shot of the Month, Skinny on Tour.

37

Travel: Our Travel editor went on a press junket to Australia and all we got was this lousy article.

39 40

Showcase: Photographer Igor Termenon displays a series of images dealing with the concept of home.

Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan explains why she pushed her voice to the fore on The Haunted Man.

42

Fashion: London Fashion Week trend report: what you'll be wearing in the longdistant spring.

12

With a new frontman at the helm, Gallows discuss their blackened second chapter.

44

14

A flurry of film festivals arrive in Scotland – here are our picks of Document 10, Scotland Loves Animation, Play Poland, Africa in Motion and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

Food and Drink: Looking forward to the Scottish chili wars, plus Food News, a guide to Mexican booze, and the food sculptural insanity of Phagomania.

10

Heads Up: A magical guide to keep you entertained each and every day of October.

FEATURES

47

19

Austin veterans ...And You Will Know Us

By The Trail of Dead explode all over again.

20

Scuzz-rock trio PAWS drink one Cokefloat too many, lethargy ensues.

21

As The Arches turns 21, we take a look at what has given them their reputation as visionary theatre produces.

56

Film: Reviews including Frankenweenie, Liberal Arts and Ruby Sparks, plus October Film Events.

22

Copenhagen outfit Efterklang come out of exile, bringing their ambitious Piramida to The Usher Hall

57

DVD: This month's releases include Moonrise Kingdom, The Devil Rides Out and Some Guy Who Kills People.

25

With the backdrop of Sub Club's History of House exhibit, Chicago's Lil' Louis offers us his own interpretation.

58

Art: Rembrandt at the Hunterian, Being a World Leader & From the Edge at DCA, and a closer look at Edinburgh Printmakers.

26

Launched last year to showcase creative writing by Strathclyde uni students, Valve have kept going post-graduation and return with issue 2.

59

Books: Reviews include The Heart Broke In, The Children's Hospital and Battleborn.

28

A closer look at the inaugural Bloody Scotland literary festival, where the cream of Scottish and international crime fiction writers descended on Stirling for a weekend of discussion...

59

Tech: A look at the iPhone 5 plus a review of Borderlands 2.

60

Theatre: Venue of the Month is The Lyceum, plus previews of Glasgay!'s Harold and Maude and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival's theatrical wing.

31 32 34 36

Comedy legend Alexei Sayle is back on the live circuit. He talks stand-up beginnings, Tory governments and how Stewart Lee inspired him to return.

Founding Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan speaks on spinning plates and the band's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

From the team that brought you Cryptic Nights, Sonica arrives in Glasgow with a programme of sonic artworks blending the local and the international.

Somewhereto_ have matched seven young curators with seven young artists for an exhibition opening in Edinburgh before touring to Manchester and Liverpool.

61 62

Clubs: Dates to put in your calendar with Hot Chip's Al Doyle at The Berkeley Suite, industrial techno stalwart Casual Violence takes to Studio 24 and Optimo Espookio's return to the Subby.

FRIDAY 19TH OCTOBER

GLASGOW O2 ABC SUNDAY 21ST OCTOBER

The Enemy + States of Emotion

THE NEW ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON 15TH OCTOBER. WWW.BATFORLASHES.COM

Glasgow O2 Academy

+ MATTHEW KOMA

Friday 12th October

THE MIDSUMMER STATION UK TOUR

Dunfermline Alhambra Theatre

GLASGOW THE GARAGE

Saturday 13th October

SUNDAY 28th OCTOBER

Dundee Fat Sams Live Sunday 14th October

NEW SINGLE FEAT. CARLY RAE JEPSON AVAILABLE NOW NEW ALBUM AVAILABLE NOW

www.owlcitymusic.com

Featuring Rod Jones

www.theenemy.com

Music: New releases from Moon Duo, Flying Lotus, WHY?, Converge and We Are the Physics, plus a word with Edinburgh's peerlessly inventive Hidden Orchestra.

17

54

wewerepromisedjetpacks.com

EDINBURGH Queens Hall Thu 11th October

REVIEW

Brooklyn champs Grizzly Bear rip it up and start again.

+ SYLVER TONGUE

EDINBURGH HMV PICTURE HOUSE

LIFESTYLE

Deviance: Pole-dancing for feminists, and some debatable opinion on the presence on gay men in the spotlight.

8

DF CONCERTS & EVENTS PRESENTS… DF CONCERTS & EVENTS PRESENTS…

+ HONEY BLOOD + A PLASTIC ROSE GLASGOW CLASSIC GLASGOW KING TUT’S THU 4th OCT GRAND

WITH

SOULFLY.COM

FRIDAY 5TH OCTOBER

Katzenjammer + BEN CAPLAN

GLASGOW ORAN MOR SUNDAY 28TH OCTOBER

ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS:THE TOUR

PLUS GUESTS

Glasgow Oran Mor Thu 11th October

THE DÉBUT ALBUM - OUT NOW SPECTOR.CO.UK

FAT H E R S O N + MIDNIGHT LION + SO MANY ANIMAL CALLS + RUSSIAN NINJAS

GLASGOW THE GARAGE FRIDAY 12TH OCTOBER

EDINBURGH LIQUID ROOMS

GAZ COOMBES

FRI 19TH OCTOBER

GLASGOW QMU

+ CAVE PAINTING

SAT 20TH OCTOBER

GLASGOW KING TUT’S THU 18th OCT

ALBUM ‘TROUBLE’ OUT NOW www.totallyenormousextinctdinosaurs.com

LIANNE L A H AVA S

O2 ABC GLASGOW

SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER + WE ARE THE IN CROWD + YOUR DEMISE + MARMOZETS

WWW.WEAREYOUNGGUNS.COM THE ALBUM BONES IN STORES NOW VIA PIAS RECORDINGS. FACEBOOK.COM/YOUNGGUNSUK TWITTER.COM/ YOUNGGUNSUKPIASRECORDINGS.COM

GLASGOW O2 ABC

FRIDAY 5TH OCTOBER

EDINBURGH THE QUEEN’S HALL

SATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER w w w. l i a n n e l a h a v a s . c o m ‘IS YOUR LOVE BIG ENOUGH’ THE DEBUT ALBUM OUT NOW

Albums of the Year

Comedy: One man's meeting with the Mormon God.

BACK

Competitions: Win tickets to Play Poland, Document 10 and Queen tribute par excellence, Mercury.

63

Listings: What's happening where and when thro-ughout the month for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

71

The Outback: Creepy Ghost Stories – Mystic Mark shares a Halloween story told to him by Shelly from Aberdeen.

GLASGOW KING TUTS Wednesday 17th October 2012 EDINBURGH ELECTRIC CIRCUS Friday 19th October 2012

PLUS

THEME PARK

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW

SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER BLOCPARTY.COM

PLEASE NOTE: CHANGE OF VENUE DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND - ORIGINAL TICKETS STILL VALID

+ JHEREK BISCHOFF + THE SIMPLE PLEASURE

GLASGOW QMU Thu 25th Oct NEW ALBUM “THEATRE IS EVIL” OUT NOW

(of Starsailor) + THE BIG FIGURE

GLASGOW KING TUTS Tuesday 23rd October

TAME IMPALA O2 ABC GLASGOW Saturday 3rd November

For tickets call: 08444 999 990 or online: www.gigsinscotland.com www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Follow gigsinscotland on twitter @gigscot October 2012

THE SKINNY

5

CHAT

Editorial

October’s cover star is Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, who returns this month with a new album, live shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow and a new-found joy in life. Third album The Haunted Man reveals a new pared down musical approach and visual aesthetic – we talk to her about its genesis and why it’s harder to convey positivity than wrist-slitting creative angst.

Music has its usual impressive array of exclusive chats with acts both international and local.

Glasgow’s PAWS are currently in the ascendancy – they sat down with our writer for a coke float to discuss new album eh... Cokefloat! and provide an insight into their career plans. Hardcore crew Gallows talk about their uncompromising new album and fresh global outlook while Efterklang’s Rasmus Stolberg introduces their new album and orchestral live show, all inspired by a frozen ghost town in the Arctic circle. We also had some words with Grizzly Bear, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Edinburgh’s Hidden Orchestra and Duff McKagan, who even provides us with a Hero Worship piece on why Alice Cooper is a living legend. The great man himself, Mr Cooper also took the time to wax lyrical on the joys of Halloween ahead of his 31 October Edinburgh show, Alice Copper’s Halloween Night Of Fear.

The Film events calendar is chock-full this month, with festivals popping up across the country each offering its own uniquely themed programme. Document 10 is the country’s only dedicated human rights documentary film festival, now in its tenth year; Scotland Loves Animation presents a celebration of can’t-be-seen-elsewhere anime; while Africa in Motion promises a journey

to the creative beating heart of a modern African continent. We’re also looking at Play Poland, a mobile festival exploring the cinematic culture of the aforementioned nation, and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, which aims to challenge preconceived ideas about mental illness through events in film, theatre, visual arts and music.

In Art, Sonica arrives in Glasgow with a new festival of sonic and visual art bringing spectacular works from near and far to a new audience. We take a closer look at what treats are in store, including a steampunk film-installation experience (using penny farthings), a piano strummed by tiny birds, cellists in sandglasses and a contemporary multimedia staging of Bartok’s Bluebeard.

Elsewhere, we cast an eye over new exhibition Platform 7, which brings together seven young curators with seven young artists to explore the human body. In a strictly artistic sense, obvs.

Fashion has been running around London Fashion Week like a madman to bring you a report on what trends you are sure to be embracing come next spring, if it ever arrives. Comedy spoke to Alexei Sayle about his return to the stand up circuit, and also hosts a piece by Andrew Learmonth on why the Mormon god wants him to destroy Mitt Romney. And, in even more sinister news, the inside back cover of the magazine hosts a special Halloween story provided by our very own resident astrologer Mystic Mark and his writing partner Dr Darren Icke. It’s sure to send shivers down your spine. His regular Crystal Baws horrorscopes have been moved to the front of the magazine, for one month only. [Rosamund West]

SHOT OF THE MONTH happy particles at music language festival 3 september by neil jarvie

The Skinny’s Annual Food & Drink Survey (we’ve done it once before, that makes it annual) is live now. To have your say on what constitutes Scotland’s best pint, burrito or chicken fried rice, head to bit.ly/theskinnyfood

eva dolgrya

Africa in Motion returns from 25 Oct - 2 Nov, with a programme that promises to bring the creative beating heart of modern Africa directly to Scottish audiences. A diverse series of films will screen in Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and Glasgow’s GFT, this year grouped into five separate strands: Modern African Identities, African Popular Arts, African Science Fiction, Arab Spring and African Film for Children. There’s also a Short Film Competition and an academic symposium – full details can be found at www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/

Glasgow Girls is an all-new Scottish musical, adapted for stage from David Greig’s book by the director of the Olivier award-winning Roadkill.

The play, set in Glasgow, featuring a seven strong all-female lead cast, is based on the true story of the fallout of an asylum campaign and its impact on a multi-cultural Scotland still in transition. The play features all original music by Panther Panther, MC Soom T, and Bissett herself. 31 Oct to 17 Nov at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Tickets: www. citz.co.uk/ or 0141 4290022 THAT Festival, a long weekend of performance, film, interactive exhibits, gigs and interventions for young people and students, takes place at the Macrobert Theatre, Stirling, 6-8 Oct. Highlights include Ecstasis, a Mark Cousins music-film-artparty featuring artists and performers from all around the UK. Tickets for all events and multievent Festival Passes are on sale now via 01786 466666 or online at www.macrobert.org/thatfest Sign up to Movember at www.movember.com/ uk/register! Yes, it’s that time of year when men start to resemble 70s porn stars, all in the name of charity. Raise money for men’s health awareness (prostate and testicular cancer) and grow a sweet ‘tache. It’s win-win.

The Royal Scottish Academy are developing their partnership with Culture Label this month, and creating their very first online exhibition.

Featuring Chloe Gough, a 2009 Dundee graduate who has previously exhibited in the RSA’s New Contemporaries exhibition, the show will present new figurative painting work, and is online at rsa. culturelabel.com now.

SKINNY ON TOUR Is it too much to ask for a little privacy?! Our Kyla can’t even sneak off for a quick read without being papped! Do you know where she is?

Enter your guess www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and you might win a bottle of wine courtesy of our expert friends at VINO WINES. Closing date: Wed 31 Oct

6

THE SKINNY

October 2012

Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ terms and www.drinkaware.co.uk for the facts.

Going somewhere nice? Why not take a copy of The Skinny and perhaps you can be in next month’s Skinny on Tour. Submit your entries to: competitions@theskinny.co.uk

CHAT

HeroHalloween Worship: Alice Cooper Crystal Baws Night of Fear

Before a descends on Auld Reekie, Duff McKagan explains why Alice Cooper’s influence on rock’n’roll cannot be overstated My first real encounter with Alice Cooper was listening to the album Killer. Back in the day, I was in an early band in Seattle that preceded Green River and Mother Love Bone called 10 Minute Warning; we were one of the first bands at that time to really slow shit down. So it’s about 1982; Black Flag had done My War, some bands were starting to get heavier, and people were beginning to break away from hardcore.

I was previously drumming for The Fartz, which was a hardcore band; when our singer quit I switched to rhythm guitar and we brought Greg Gilmore, who would go on to play with Mother Love Bone, in on drums. That’s when 10 Minute Warning came about. Our bass player came in with Killer one day and said ‘this is the record, man!’ We listened to that album incessantly – I think, in a way it defined that band, helped us slow things down, and might have played a larger part in the whole Seattle sound than most people realise.

Later on, in 1987, Guns opened for Alice Cooper and Megadeth when we were trying to work our

way up. It was our first experience of that kind of tour, and it’s with Alice fucking Cooper, right – he’s the guy! By that time he’d been sober for a little while – we were all staying at the same hotel and he would get up at 5:30am to go play golf on gig days. Often that’s when we were just getting back to the hotel.

We saw this guy with get up and go and we were all just trying to hide how fucked up we were, because it was Alice Cooper and it was kind of embarrassing for us. He was a real gentleman to us then; he’s always been a gentleman to me. As an outside observer who visits the UK so much, I see how he’s built up this Halloween tour he does over there. To be able to be a part of that is pretty cool for me. Sometimes he gets the cred for bringing that greater sense of theatrics to rock’n’roll, but whatever happens he just continues to be Alice Cooper, and he doesn’t give a shit!

Duff McKagan’s Loaded play Alice Cooper’s Halloween Night of Fear III at The Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 31 Oct

ARIES Your intestinal parasite has gotten rather large lately, and this month things cross a very special barrier when you finally become the parasite trapped inside its body.

With your face pressed up against the side of its translucent digestive tract, you gurgle for help as it slides itself to the vets to have you removed.

a

b

TAURUS Look inside your heart, it’s full of blood urgh.

GEMINI Despite your staunch atheism and general lack of superstition that first wank after the death of a relative is always an uneasy one.

c

CANCER Like the crab, you’re at your best when you come smothered in creamy mayonnaise, accompanied by diced celery, chopped bell pepper, salt, pepper, lemon juice and served over mixed greens with a slice of avocado.

d

www.alicecooper.com

LEO Lonely and wanting a friend you build one in your basement lab. Sadly, its superintelligent synthetic brain has no interest in chatting with you about your day at work. Instead it prefers to bathe in its tank of liquid coolant while it silently computes the infinite decimal places of pi.

Eventually you become superfluous to its needs and it uses the metal arms you gave it to casually unbuild you.

e

Welcome to My Nightmare Alice Cooper casts his predictions for costume choices (Iron man, anybody?) and muses on the season’s escalating appeal

Every Halloween – that’s gonna be the big night for Alice Cooper, wherever we’re gonna be.

We’re Halloween every night, of course, but that particular night we’re in Edinburgh this year. That’s sort of like having Santa Claus at Christmas; having Alice Cooper on Halloween.

Edinburgh’s perfect for the occasion; you guys are famous for your witches. It’s only appropriate to have Halloween there. You don’t even have to dress up as a witch; you just find a real one. I’ve always thought that Scotland is innately theatrical to start with; it seems that Halloween should just be something that comes naturally to the Scottish.

Halloween in America is a whole different thing; it’s the second biggest holiday of the year next to Christmas. It’s about how much candy you can get; it’s all about the candy. It really isn’t a big deal what costume you have on; when you’re ten years old, if you don’t get two shopping bags full of candy, then you’re not even trying. It’s a very greedy holiday; you grab as much candy as you can and only give up one bag to your parents, because they’re going to dole it out slowly, and you hide the other bag so you have access to it at any time.

Halloween is the one night of the year that you get to be somebody that you’re not. You try to pick somebody that you either admire or somebody that you’d like to make fun of, or somebody that’s the opposite of you. I’d imagine there’s going to be a lot of Lady Gagas this year – there’s always one or two characters that everybody decides they’re going to be, like Iron Man. I imagine there’ll be a lot of zombies this year. They’re having a Zombie Walk over here in Phoenix soon; 10,000 zombies. I think everybody likes the idea of dressing like the undead and walking around half-rotting away, for some reason it’s an in thing. Last year it was vampires. They make such amazing costumes now, using the kind of make up you’d usually see in horror and sci-fi. Some of the masks are unbelievable. As a kid, I was always Zorro. For some reason, every single year, I felt like I was Zorro; I needed to be Zorro, which you can still see

with Mystic Mark

VIRGO This month you come up with a new twist to an old cocktail while reminiscing about your holiday in Ayia Napa. You call it ‘Anal Sex on the Beach.’ The finishing touch is the dark chocolate powder and strawberry sauce you generously drizzle around the rim of the glass.

f

LIBRA Looking at the ingredients for the pack of 200 Fish Fingers that will make up your entire diet this October, you’re strangely reassured to find they are made from ‘90% mashed dog.’

g

SCORPIO Life is like an empty box of chocolates.

You always know exactly what you’re going to get.

h

SAGITTARIUS Watching birds flit among the trees as you stand solemnly at the graveside during this month’s funeral, you try and figure out the punchline to a joke about blue tits. Dead hookers in a winter alleyway? Something about them enjoying your garden? Freezing cold dead nipples?

There’s a joke in there somewhere.

i

CAPRICORN While thrashing around in the depths of your porn collection you contemplate the fact that every video broadcast ever made is rippling away from Earth into outer space.

Eventually, an alien civilisation might intercept our pornography and try to piece together the reproductive system of humanity. From the looks of it, something about sticking it in the arse for a bit and then jizzing in the eyes.

j

in my show. I still have a Zorro complex.

It’s too much fun of a holiday to ignore. In the States, if Halloween falls on a Friday, and you go to a very straight insurance company say, everybody in the office – young and old – is dressed up for Halloween. Everybody does it. It used to be for the kids, now the adults are doing it. It’s one of those nights where all the channels put on their favourite horror movies. The Sci-Fi Channel plays 24 hours of horror films for a week.

There’s something about classic rock and its association with Halloween: you get Ozzy Osborne, Alice Cooper – we’re like the new monsters. We’ve been around for 45 years and have always been associated with being like rock’n’roll villains. Then there’s Rob Zombie, Kiss – but Alice seems to be the oldest vampire. I’m the senior ghoul. We’re bringing a brand new show to you; we don’t even

start rehearsing for another week. There’s going to be one section called Raise the Dead where we’re going to salute some of our dead friends.

Here’s the funny thing – every night’s Halloween for us. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of June or if it’s in December, when you come and see Alice Cooper it’s gonna be a Halloween party. To us, it’s just another night, but we expect the audience to be totally dressed – we want the audience to be in full costume. The fun part for us is looking out into the audience and seeing who came as what. We’re doing a show in London but that’s not gonna be on Halloween. On Halloween night we’re going to be in Edinburgh, and the witches will be flyin’.

Alice Cooper’s Halloween Night of Fear III takes place at The Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 31 Oct www.alicecooper.com

AQUARIUS You reassure your fellow conspiracy theorists it’s just a coincidence that crazy people also believe this stuff.

k

PISCES After millions of pounds and years of research into its tensile strength, heat resistant properties and engineering applications you begin to wonder if meat is really as viable a technology as you’ve been assuming.

l

facebook.com/themysticmark twitter.com/mysticmark

October 2012

THE SKINNY

7

HEADS UP

TUE 2 oct

October arrives with a flurry of film festivals ranging from Document's human rights programme to Scotland Loves Animation’s celebration of all things anime

wed 3 oct

Take One Action's thought-provoking programme of films continues with the UK premiere of Kim Nguyen's War Witch, combining stunning imagery and an impressive cast of young actors in its uncompromising tale of child soldiers. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, 5.45pm, £7.50 (£6). Also showing at Edinburgh's Filmhouse the following evening.

See takeoneaction.org.uk for more

Play Poland, the touring film festival dedicated to bringing Polish filmmaking to independent cinemas across Britain, kicks of its Glasgow programme of feature films and special screenings with a shorts showcase from Katowice Film School, alongside a Polish film poster exhibition. Sikorski Polish Club, Glasgow, 3 Oct-12 Dec. See playpoland.org. uk for more

COMPILED BY: ANNA DOCHERTY

mon 8 oct

tue 9 oct

NYC trio We Are Augustines do their rather fine line in anthemic indie-rock, with frontman and chief lyricist Billy McCarthy imbuing real intensity to their debut album's heartbreaking subject matter (namely the death of his brother) via measured and majestic vocals – man's in possession of a healthy larynx.

The Arches, Glasgow, 7pm, £10

Taking us on a more unique theatrical journey than most, Adrian Howells explores our complex relationship with water in Lifeguard, a piece part devised from conversations with the local community, using Govanhill Baths' training pool (yes, a swimming pool!) as its setting. Audience attire: bathing suits and towels.

Govanhill Baths, Glasgow, 5-27 Oct (not Sunday), 7.30pm, £12 (£9)

Nightwalk returns to the runway for its autumn/ winter club-meets-catwalk outing, with a handpicked selection of local designers showcasing their warm'n'wooly (maybe) collections – including new pieces from Swedish-born, Glasgow-based designer Jennie Lööf, and tight stuff from Betsabelle Latex – all set to an electronic DJ soundtrack. The Arches, Glasgow, 8pm, £10

photo: dawn smith

photo: Emily Wylde

sun 7 oct

sat 13 oct

sun 14 oct

mon 15 oct

The gorefest that is All Night Horror Madness returns with a quintet of grisly offerings screening right through the night, which kicks off in suitably vampirific style with Fright Night, followed by I Drink Your Blood, Tenebrae, Phantasm, and good ol' Hellraiser. That enough pre-Halloween blood, guts and gore for you, aye? Cameo, Edinburgh, 11pm, £17.50 (£15.50)

A hit at Edinburgh's Fringe 2011, wiry-headed comic Andy Zaltzman brings his gentle stroll of a show – appropriately titled Armchair Revolutionary – back to the capital, using comic metaphor and brilliantly terrible wordplay to popular effect, as is his way. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £10. Also playing Glasgow's The Stand the following evening

Brooklyn-based quintet the Dirty Projectors continue with their exploration of rock’s more challenging catacombs, shown to typically fine effect on their latest LP, Swing Lo Magellan, pulled together from twelve months of constant writing and recording in a secluded house in the woods in Delaware County. Support on the night comes from fellow NYC-ers, Callers. The Arches, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

phantasm

sun 21 oct

fri 19 oct

sat 20 oct

Scotland's only dedicated human rights film festival, Document Festival, returns in celebration of its tenth year, with a special programme of documentaries from around the world, with additional treats including a competition for the best documentary, the honouring of an outstanding director with a lifetime achievement award, and a retrospective screening of the best films of Document's past. CCA, Glasgow, 19-28 Oct. See documentfilmfestival.org

Punchline (aka the new comedy night of the rather ace variety, so say we) returns for its second outing, again in the grand surrounds of the Usher Hall. Headering proceedings this time around will be Nick Helm, aka he of the ballsy delivery and official funniest joke of the 2011 Fringe. Stellar support comes from Josh Widdicombe, and Roisin Conaty. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 8pm, £12 (£10)

thur 25 oct

fri 26 oct

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival again team up with the Fruit Tree Foundation for an evening of solo sets and unique collaborations from a stellar line-up of Scottish musos, which'll include Fatherson, Withered Hand, Sparrow and the Workshop, and The Birthday Suit, amongst others. HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, £5

The Dovecot comes to life for an exhibition from the artistic director of Nuno textiles, Reiko Sudo, and her team, shown in a specially-created environment within the gallery.

For it, they'll explore the ways their designs respond to the human form, reflecting the importance of cloth for protecting, adorning, and creating social well-being – all with sustainability at the heart.

Thought-provoking stuff.

Dovecot, Edinburgh, until 24 Nov, Free

fatherson

8

THE SKINNY

October 2012

photo: emily wilde

Nick Helm

Ron and Russell Mael (aka Sparks) take to HMV Picture House to play a unique set for which they'll deconstruct and reinterpret songs from their own extensive catalogue, using only voice and keyboards to bring 'em to life. We're envisaging all kinds of dismantled musical magic. HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, 7pm, £20

FRI 5 OCT

THUR 4 OCT

The creative folks behind Cryptic Nights present a selection of screenings from ONEDOTZERO’S pioneering audio-visual touring festival, the highlight of which might just be the late-night selection, Nightfall 11, an adult-rated dose of some of the more extreme, leftfield and downright scary entries into the onedotzero festival programme. CCA, Glasgow, 8pm, £5

Iconic British dancer MICHAEL CLARK and his touring company make their return to Tramway with a double bill of new work, combining the classical ballet of his training with a more complex sensibility, and a speciallycomposed soundtrack from Relaxed Muscle.

Tramway, Glasgow 4-6 Sep, £20 (£15)

SAT 6 OCT The Scottish National Portrait Gallery present a unique series of photos by Scottish commercial photographer FRED BREMNER. Entitled Lucknow to Lahore, the collection spans his travels in the Indian subcontinent from 1882 to 1922, exquisitely detailing the people and places of Imperial India through his eyes. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, daily, until 7 Apr, Free

FRED BREMNER, HIS HIGHNESS THE KHAN OF KALAT AND SONS C1888 - 1893

WED 10 OCT

THUR 11 OCT

The 48-HOUR FILM PROJECT takes to the streets of Glasgow for the second time this month (5-7 Oct), with the GFT screening the fruits of their labour over two evenings (9 & 10 Oct, 5.50pm) where you can meet the filmmakers and vote for your favourite – with the winning filmmaker being shipped to Filmapalooza in glitzy LA, no less. GFT, Glasgow, 5.50pm, £tbc

Earth guitarist and principal member DYLAN CARLSON plays solo ahead of his first major project outside of Earth, for which he'll be combining field recordings from various megalithic sites of human/fairy encounters in the UK with a series of guest vocals. One word: magical.

Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 7pm, £8. Also playing Glasgow Art School the following evening

FRI 12 OCT

Now in its third year, SCOTLAND LOVES ANIMATION return with their mighty celebration of all things anime across Glasgow (12-14 Oct) and Edinburgh (19-21 Oct), with the programme including the European premiere of the Anime Mirai Project, a scheme showcasing some of the best young animators coming out of Japan.

See lovesanimation.com

K-ON!

WED 17 OCT

THUR 18 OCT

Still quite rightly riding high on their Scottish Album of the Year 2012-nominated debut, Under Sleeping Waves, ambient Glasgow space-rockers THE HAPPY PARTICLES do their twinkly, emotive thing – all dreamy slowcore-influenced melodies, resplendent with slowly-shifting chords, glockenspiel, and strings, Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 7pm, £6

Fast'n'loose guitar popsters JOHNNY FOREIGNER play a set mostly taken from their newest album, Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything, which cleverly parcels their sound into smaller portions ripe for a live setting – and this'll be the band's first outing in the capital since said album's release. Magic. Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7

The Counting House play home to the very first edition of TRANSYLVANIAN NIGHTS, a vampire-themed, comedy improv show built ad-hoc from an imaginary Gothic novel title suggested by the audience, with performers kitted out in full period garb. Vampire-themed improv, you say? Obviously a winner. Counting House, Edinburgh, 8pm, £donation

Direct from Broadway, Edinburgh's Playhouse play host to the musical based on GREEN DAY's multi-platinum, American Idiot telling the story of three lifelong friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia, with Tom Hank's feature film version to follow (yes, really). Edinburgh Playhoue, 22-27 Oct, various times, From £17.50. Also at Glasgow's SECC 29 Oct-3 Nov

WED 24 OCT

TUE 23 OCT

In support of their latest LP, Piramida – for which they visitied the former Russian Settlement in the Arctic collecting sounds and inspiration – EFTERKLANG collaborate with the 35-piece Northern Sinfonia orchestra as part of a series of orchestral sets into which they'll incorporate over 1000 sound samples taken from said expedition. One word: epic.

Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £18.50

The SOMEWHERE_TO folks (a movement to liberate underused, disused, and empty spaces in the UK) present an exhibition of seven young artists curated by a team of seven young curators, all reacting to the showbiz aspect of the art world and exploring the body as the site of identity and action. Join 'em for the preview on Friday 19 Oct, 6pm9pm, Whitespace, 20-25 Oct, Free

YUAN ZHANG

Edinburgh blogger The Tidal Wave of Indifference hosts what will be the last in his chilled series of gig nights (for now anyway), going out with a healdine set from Edinburgh folky-pop types THE LAST BATTLE, alongside Plastic Animals, Fuzzystar, and the Early Morning Satellites. And there's a cat on the poster, so that's us officially going. Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7

THE LAST BATTLE

SUN 28 OCT HADDOWFEST has us acting the blue-arsed fly for a second year, playing host to a hefty dose of bands and musicans over seven central 'burgh venues. Headlined by MEURSAULT, THE CRIBS, THREE BLIND WOLVES, KASSIDY, and HADOUKEN, we'll mostly be trying fathom how to catch UNITED FRUIT and MIAOUX MIAOUX play different venues at the same time... Gah! See listings for details.

MEURSAULT

PHOTO: MARTIN SENYSZAK

SAT 27 OCT

MON 29 OCT Baltimore lush-pop girl/ boy duo BEACH HOUSE return to UK shores to give their latest album, Bloom an airing – a relibaly dreamy mix of floaty melodies, gently plucked guitars and angelic 'ooh-aah' vocals from Victoria Legrand. Support comes from the ghostly vocals and spectral sonics of the mysterious chap who goes by the name of HOLY OTHER. The Arches, Glasgow, 7pm, £16 BEACH HOUSE

OCTOBER 2012

THE SKINNY

9

PHOTO: RYAN MCGOVERNE

MON 22 OCT

PHOTO: BLAIR MCNEIL

PHOTO: NICK MILLIGAN

TUE 16 OCT

F E A T U RE S

10 THE SKINNY

October 2012

F E A T U RE S On her last album, the gloriously extravagant and layered two-disc concept album Two Suns, Natasha Khan, alias Bat for Lashes created an alter-ego by the name of Pearl – a colourfully-dressed and made-up glamour girl whose persona she adopted while living in Brooklyn. Two Suns dramatised the end of a transatlantic relationship, and was influenced by the bands Khan encountered in New York, including Yeasayer, whose Ira Wolf-Tuton assisted with the production duties and electronic textures on the sprawling recording.

Three years on, and Khan is ready to return with The Haunted Man, and much has changed in both her visual aesthetic and her musical approach.

Where the cover of Two Suns was an allegorical collage of mythical, magical and archetypal imagery, the cover of The Haunted Man is a stark, black-and-white shot by celebrated photographer Ryan McGinley. Naked, and sans make up, Khan stares unflinchingly at the camera, a man draped over her shoulders. It’s a powerful, arresting image, conveying strength, femininity, power and vulnerability, and it gives several clues towards defining the sound of the album. Stripped-back arrangements underpin Khan’s devastating vocal acrobatics, with her voice this time almost completely free of effects, delay and reverb. This is Bat for Lashes in the raw, in more ways than one – and yet many songs on the album are also celebratory, full of beauty and joy; a contrast to the more reflective, melancholy songs that echo

the themes of her first two albums.

In person, Khan is open and upbeat, more than happy to discuss the genesis of the album and the risks she has taken in departing from familiar lyrical and musical territory. “The second album sounded very lush and layered; quite textural and dense,” she explains. “I’d been really interested in effects and delays. So when I started the demos at home in my studio for the new album, just instantly, my instinct was to put the vocal up really loud, without much reverb. I was writing these bold beats with very heavy basslines. There wasn’t much music – it was just those elements. And almost instantly I recognised that this was the kind of template I wanted to work towards – a much more direct, stripped back approach.”

Her voice, free of effects, is revealed as a powerful instrument. “There was a lot of emotion,” says Khan of the studio process. “I was exploring my voice.” Once she had the core of the songs, she began “...colouring in the gaps with choice, beautiful performances and extras, or lovely things that could just come in and kind of... colour it in slightly.” The Haunted Man was produced by Khan, with assistance from David Korsten (who worked on her first two) and Dan Carey, also featuring contributions from Portishead’s Adrian Utley, sometime PJ Harvey conspirator Rob Ellis, and Lana Del Rey collaborator Justin Parker. “From a construction point of view, this whole album was very difficult at times, but also very enjoyable,” she

affirms. “I feel like over three albums I’ve learnt so much, about mixing, the production side. I feel very competent now, and I really enjoy the studio process, even though it’s quite gruelling and long.”

Was this the dreaded ‘difficult third album’ then?

What were the challenges involved? “I think the biggest challenge initially was that I was tired from touring the second album for so long,” confesses Khan. “I wasn’t feeling grounded – I was feeling kind of lost really, creatively. The first challenge was just to let myself be at home in England, and do very normal things – I bought a kitten, and I did some gardening, bought loads of cookbooks, stayed at home in my flat and made myself healthy meals; I just kind of rebuilt myself as a person, I think, from someone who had grown tired and a bit disenchanted with music.”

Khan even considered giving up her music career altogether, but thankfully, she pushed through the hard times. “It was just a very long process,” she says. “It took a lot of soul-searching. There were very high expectations, and a lot of criticism, from myself. It was like getting blood out of a stone sometimes. The longer you go on, the better you want it to be, so your expectations rise and rise and rise, and you almost can’t fulfil your expectations and do what you want to do. It just gets harder and harder.”

Brooklyn was a huge influence on Two Suns – was there a particular place that was important to the themes and genesis of The Haunted Man?

“I think Brighton was definitely central,” Khan explains. “Maybe not Brighton specifically, but the seaside, and the Sussex Downs, the surrounding countryside. That linked in to Hertfordshire, which was the countryside where I grew up. I’d been watching films about the coast of Ireland, and I read Ring of Bright Water, which is set in the Highlands. So it was the connection to the whole British Isles, really, the connection to history. I was immersing myself in our whole culture.”

Would it be fair to call The Haunted Man her ‘pastoral’ album? She laughs before conceding to the suggestion. “I suppose so – there are songs like Lilies, which is about lilies up on the hill, and Winter Fields, and Deep Sea Diver, and The Haunted Man, obviously, which talks about coming over a hill... there are lots of references to landscape. I was reading a lot of Romantic literature; the Romantic poets. They were obsessed with nature – the force of nature as a metaphor for human experience. I suppose that always plays a big part, but I suppose this album is more pastoral...

I don’t know, what do you think?” Khan’s musical laugh rings out again.

Given that the recording techniques and album art are so stripped back, will the new stage show reflect this aesthetic choice too? “It might be in a kind of modernist style,” hints Khan. “I’m very into dancers like Merce Cunningham and Pina Bausch – they were these avant-garde ballet dancers who had really interesting costumes. I think I might

Bat for Lashes’ third album sees Natasha Khan laying bare her voice, her soul and her body – she tells us how The Haunted Man expresses her new-found joy in life Interview: Bram E. Gieben

bring some of that in, so it won’t be completely stripped back.”

The collaboration with Justin Parker on Laura feels like a big departure – this was intentional, Khan explains. “I chose to work with Justin, because I’d heard his track Video Games [recorded by Lana Del Rey] quite early on when it came out, and I was really taken by it. I felt like I wanted someone to push me, and to teach me more about traditional structural songwriting, with middle eights and chord progressions and things like that. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but once I’d made that decision we wrote the song very quickly. It was actually a really enjoyable process. So I’m glad that I’ve learned some new skills, and that I’ve made a departure, but it still sounds like me. It was very collaborative – I was involved in writing all of the music, and I even ended up arranging the horn and string parts myself, which I really enjoyed. So I’ve really taken it to my heart, and I feel like Justin is such a good person to bounce ideas off, because he’s very generous, and he doesn’t have a big ego. He wasn’t trying to impose anything – it was more like, what do we want to achieve together.”

What it was like working with Ryan McGinley?

“He was extremely charming and lovely,” says Khan. “He’s very softly-spoken, a really lovely soul.” Khan wanted to recreate his shot Girl With A Wolf, but rather than having an animal draped around her shoulders, Khan wanted to use a naked man. “I met up with him, and he was totally up for it, he thought it was a fantastic idea,” says Khan. “It was very relaxing on the day,” she says,

despite the fact she “had to stand in front of the camera for five hours, which was physically quite challenging. He made it very comfortable. I felt like we were making a beautiful piece of art; it didn’t feel like a fashion shoot or anything like that, it just felt like we were all involved in making a beautiful image which was hopefully going to be iconic, and raw, and make a real statement. I feel like a lot of the 1970s albums, the covers of John & Yoko or Patti Smith, those were the records I admired as a teenager. I felt like we were kind of doing something similar. I hope we were. But it just felt really nice – it was great. I was really happy with it.”

Was the cover intended in any way as a feminist statement? Would Khan call herself a feminist?

“It’s really weird that you would ask that, because just last night I was lying in bed thinking about feminism, and I had this really amazing idea but now I can’t bloody remember what it was!” She laughs again. “I definitely wouldn’t class myself as a classical feminist. I think my work speaks about femininity, rather than feminism. For me, as a woman, it’s not about being a feminist – it’s about exploring all the aspects of femininity.

“The front cover of The Haunted Man depicts a lot of those aspects – the man could be a lover, someone I’m rescuing, so that’s a nurturing feminine force; or it could be a lover I am trying to forget, and get off my back – that’s quite powerful, and strong, and angry. It’s also quite vulnerable. It could be very maternal, it could be sexual, it could be sensual. And I think that the album, over the three years that I made it, because I was at home just being me, I felt like there was a really rich array

“It’s

cool and rock n’ roll to stay in the dark and slit your wrists... it’s a lot harder and a lot more life-affirming to express joy and elation” natasha Khan of emotions, and things which I was thinking about as a woman – childbirth, motherhood, sexual relationships, my relationships with my family, my relationship with nature. I also think that categorizing a man or a woman in a particular way can be quite dangerous. Each to their own – I think life is about having a love affair with yourself, finding out about you and who you are; all of the aspects of your personality, whether they are dark or light.

That’s the job of men and women. I think applying things like feminism or politics to a human being is a bit black and white, for me.”

That laughter again – quick and bright and earthy, without a hint of nervousness or self consciousness. Is Khan a happier person these days? “Yes, I think I’m much, much happier,” she

says. “I think I’ve done a lot of growing up and a lot of maturing on a personal level. Generally I am quite a happy person – I laugh a lot. I muck around quite a lot. I think sometimes people are quite surprised, because the territory I explore creatively is often quite dark, and is shining a light on some quite subterranean things. I think I enjoy that as an artist. In the past, that’s been a place where I can uncover lots of secrets and ideas, so the darkness has been quite appealing. But actually if I think about it, this album is much more true to who I am, which is definitely quite a smiley, happy, silly person!”

On Lilies, Khan sings the line ‘Thank God I’m alive’ – it’s an emotional performance, and in many ways that moment embodies what Khan was trying to achieve on the album as a whole. “That’s a very emotional sentiment for people to hear and for me to sing,” says Khan, “because of course it’s very cool and rock n’ roll to stay in the dark and slit your wrists over things. I think it’s a lot harder and a lot more life-affirming to express joy and elation.

I think it’s quite shocking sometimes for people to hear those things in art, because it’s so easy to go the other way and be dark and brooding. So I’m quite proud of that song, and the sentiment in that song, because it is about the joy of feeling alive, but also the difficulty and the vulnerability of being alive. It’s very raw. But what else is there? If you can’t feel those moments, then what’s the point?”

The Haunted Man is released via Parlophone on 15 Oct Bat for Lashes play the Picture House, Edinburgh on 19 Oct, and O2 ABC, Glasgow on 21 Oct www.batforlashes.com

October 2012

THE SKINNY 11

F E A T U RE S

Out of the Grey, Into the Black

music

Following the release of their ferociously uncompromising self-titled album last month, Gallows’ Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard and Wade MacNeil talk us through the band’s new global outlook, the birth of Venn Records, and the future of Gallows 2.0

Photo: Gavin Martin

Interview: Ross Watson

It’s been over two years since Watford hardcore crew Gallows dropped Grey Britain, a viciously nihilistic, sonically ambitious document which saw original vocalist/lyricist Frank Carter voice his disgust at the social, political and economic state of the UK in the midst of a recession. By this point in their career, Carter’s presence had become a large part of the band’s appeal; his perspicuous snarl had an unmistakeable flare both on and off record, and to witness him dominate the stage during one of Gallows’ now infamous live shows was a sight to behold. It wasn’t long, though, before rumours began to emerge of creative differences between Carter and the rest of the group in moving forward, and, sure enough, he announced his separation from the band last year. To think that their best work was still ahead of them...

Of all the people to fill Carter’s boots, Canadian born Wade MacNeil (formerly of Alexisonfire and Black Lungs) doesn’t seem like the most obvious replacement, at least on paper; Grey Britain was a claustrophobic statement from a very Britishsounding band. Many fans expressed their alienation and distaste – how could someone from the other side of the world possibly tap into the band’s headspace? Founder Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard – who started the band in 2005 with Carter – downplays the emphasis placed on MacNeil’s background: “Wade and I always joke that we’re brothers from different countries. We grew up listening to the same bands, skating, going to the same kind of shows, watching the same films. Everything’s global now: music’s global because of the internet.

If a band’s making something and putting it out, they’re broadcasting it from the other side of the world – you’re hearing about it in London. There’s no barriers.”

Nearly a year before the release of Gallows, the band returned with Death Is Birth, the first set of songs with MacNeil onboard. The EP was a brief yet savage seven minute assault on the senses packed with riotous hardcore and relentless power violence; MacNeil’s throaty, gravelly vocal approach seemed to open up new gateways to aggression for the band. Barnard explains their approach to writing and recording during this period:

12 THE SKINNY

October 2012

“Death Is Birth was definitely a case of ‘we need to get something out there.’ We were finding our feet again with that EP.” MacNeil takes that notion a little further: “We were at a time where it was harder to ignore what everybody was saying about the band and its future. We really felt like our backs were up against the wall, so we just recorded that EP, and it was just like ‘fuck everybody, fuck everything; let’s just put this record out that sounds absolutely vicious’.”

The critics were happy, and some faith was restored among their fanbase – but there was a feeling that they’d need to knock it out of the park with another full-length in order to fully silence the sceptics. Now, with Gallows on the table, it looks like phase two of the band’s career is truly underway. “There’s a lot more confidence in our playing.” Barnard reassures. “There’s more identity in terms of what Gallows is about with this record.

We’ve toured [with MacNeil] – we’ve done a bunch of festivals. We might have slipped in the public eye a bit from when Frank was in the band, but it’s time for us to come back and come back hard.”

With Frank gone, Gallows have definitely altered their sound to a degree, but they still stand by their core beliefs: “At the end of the day,” Barnard affirms “we just want to play music we like. It doesn’t matter who we’re doing it with; a Gallows record is still a Gallows record. Musically, the new album sounds like what we’ve always been doing.

It’s got all the aggressive riffs; we just wanted to take it in a slightly different direction, and Wade was there to help us out.”

MacNeil talks particularly about the raw, live feel of the new LP: “We wanted to make it heavy, but we wanted to make it heavy in a more direct way, so we used very little gain on the guitars. It all comes from the way the songs are played – that down-picking and the pacing of everything. It’s a vicious sounding record because of the way the boys played it, not because of overdubs. I think in that respect it doesn’t sound like a lot of records – I think it’s got its own sound. That’s something we were trying to do.” It’s true: Gallows is the band’s punchiest record: at 32 minutes in length, it’s hard-hitting, more focused musically, and has a

“It’s

time for us to come back and come back hard” lags greater sense of momentum than anything they’ve done before.

The political fire in Gallows still burns, too – but it’s more far-reaching than previous. MacNeil says of Last June, the record’s first single: “It’s primarily about June 27th in Toronto and the things that were going on there. The city transformed into this police state for a couple of weeks. It wasn’t just the random acts of police violence – there were a lot of black bloc anarchists that were there fucking stuff up for the sake of fucking stuff up. Nothing’s so black and white. It was just about trying to deal with life against that backdrop for those few weeks and watching the city fall to pieces. I think a lot of people can relate to that; I mean, it seems like everyone’s had riots outside their front doors the last couple of years at some point.”

MacNeil’s lyrical influence may have given Gallows more of a world view, but the other members’ experiences also speak volumes. “I don’t think I’d write something that didn’t have my own outlook on things,” he offers. “At the same time, it makes sense for everybody. All of us have been touring the world for the last few years – some of us even longer – so it was a pretty good way to express what was going on out there. It’s also a pretty interesting dichotomy to Grey Britain to take that next step and look at things from a different type of perspective.” Barnard agrees: “Yeah, it has this kind of international vibe; I’m really looking forward to see how it goes down in other countries. I felt with the old incarnation of Gallows it was quite hard to get into if you weren’t from England. This might be a bit more instant, perhaps.”

This new phase seems to have sparked an even deeper desire on the band’s part to carve out an image for themselves. Take the cover art for both Death Is Birth and the new LP – both have a stylistic

uniformity which is distinctly separate from the old Gallows. When asked how these dark, grimy images came about, Lags lets it slip: “Wade and I are really into a lot of weird neo-folk stuff from the 80s and 90s. We listen to Death In June, but we try not to talk about it in interviews because people tend to get the wrong idea sometimes, but that’s exactly the kind of vibe – that constant kind of imagery and slight bleakness and complete lack of glamour, basically. It was a conscious decision to try and create something with our own aesthetic.”

This passionate obsession with the look and feel of records is also coming to fruition in the form of the band’s very own label: Venn Records. Barnard briefs out their mission statement with the label: “It’s something for us to really be involved with; something that’s completely and totally Gallows; something the band really endorses. Any bands we hear which we like and really want to encourage people to listen to, we really want to try and work with.” MacNeil reveals some early plans: “We’re gonna do a bunch of 7”s this year – the first one’s by this UK band called The Marmozets and that’ll be out October 21st, so it’s exciting. We’ll probably do another Gallows 7” at some point. We’ve been talking to some other bands that I can’t mention at this point, but you know, hopefully we’ll release some split 7”s, and just keep releasing the music that we love.”

All this isn’t to say that Gallows are completely turning their back on the past – the band are currently embarking on a UK tour, with their sights set on a potentially “crazy night” in Glasgow, but it’s not exclusively in support of the new record.

MacNeil defends the old material as well as the new: “I can’t imagine a Gallows show that doesn’t end with Orchestra of Wolves. Of course, we’re gonna be playing the songs that people want to hear; we feel like we’ve injected a lot of new life into them. I love playing those songs. Every time we play it turns into a prison riot. Tut’s is a great venue, and I’m sure it’s gonna be one of the shows of the year for us.”

Gallows’ self-titled new album is out now on Venn Records Playing King Tut’s, Glasgow on 8 Oct www.gallows.co.uk

October 2012

THE SKINNY 13

F E A T U RE S

film

A Year of Independence

Document celebrates a decade of politically minded, socially driven film curation with a programme titled A Year of Independence. Homelessness, people trafficking and revolution are just some of the themes in this tenth edition Words: Chris Buckle

justice for sale

To change the world, you have to change perceptions. It’s a rationale that’s driven politicallyminded film festival Document for close to a decade, inspiring its organisers to seek out and screen hundreds of documentaries from across the globe, shedding light on an extensive array of human rights issues. This year’s selection is as varied and internationally-focused as ever, demonstrating that, ten years in, their commitment to awareness-raising remains strong.

The ten films selected for the main competition demonstrate this continued breadth of interest.

Amongst those looking to impress an international jury of programmers, filmmakers, journalists and academics are Love in the Graves, a study of homelessness in a Czech graveyard; Another Night on Earth, in which Egypt’s revolutionary protests are discussed in taxis by passengers and drivers; and Desert Riders, which exposes the practice of trafficking young boys to the United Arab Emirates where they’re forced to work as jockeys in the popular sport of camel racing, risking serious injury on the racetrack and enduring deplorable living conditions off of it.

Elsewhere are films spotlighting selflessness, like Justice for Sale, in which a Congolese lawyer confronts the flaws in her country’s judicial system. Other competition choices present a more conflicted ethical morass, such as the Sundance-supported The Redemption of General Butt Naked. During Liberia’s long, bloody civil war, Joshua Blahyi slaughtered men, women and children indiscriminately, claiming responsibility for thousands of deaths and leaving a trail of grieving families and mutilated victims in his wake… and then he found God. Directors Daniele Anastasion and Eric Strauss follow Blahyi as he preaches the gospel and repents his unspeakable sins, testing audiences’ capacity for forgiveness in the process.

In addition to the main competition, Document 10 will honour Cambodian director Rithy Panh

with a lifetime achievement award, on behalf of the worldwide Human Rights Film Network. The award recognises a remarkable career spent analysing the terrible consequences of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime, in films such as S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, in which prisoners and captors from the notorious Tuol Sleng prison are brought face to face with one another; or his more recent study of the prison’s ruthless director, Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell. On a similarly retrospective note, this year’s festival will feature handpicked highlights from previous Documents – which, considering how infrequently screened some of these films are, is likely to be much appreciated by those not present first time around. But the overall focus remains on bringing new works to Glasgow cinema screens, including opening gala choice Special Flight (an insight into a Swiss detention centre, in which illegal immigrants are held pending deportation) and The Collaborator and His Family, one of a number of films in this year’s programme to focus its attentions on Israel and Palestine. The family in question are Palestinians from Hebron in the West Bank, forced to seek asylum in Tel Aviv when it is discovered that the father has been acting as an informant for the Israeli security services for over twenty years. Also taking inspiration from the region and seeking to challenge expectations is Ameer Got His Gun, about an Israeli Arab who volunteers for military service, raising a raft of questions about civic identity and social duty.

With debates, workshops and other events planned around the films, Document’s decennial edition mixes protest with reflection; echoes of the past with hopes for the future; headline stories with plights that languish far from the public gaze.

It’s a festival in which watching the films is only part of the process; it’s the discussions that follow that matter most.

Another Night On Earth, CCA, 19-28 Oct www.documentfilmfestival.org/doc10

Redr aw Your Movie Map

Africa in Motion, the UK’s finest celebration of African cinema, is back for a seventh consecutive year with another bursting programme. Here’s a taster of what you can expect, from Arab Spring docs to ass kicking femmes fatales words: Jamie Dunn restless city

“It’s time to redraw the map of movie history that we have in our heads; it’s factually inaccurate, and racist by omission.” So says Mark Cousins in the opening voiceover to his landmark documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey. He’s not wrong. Cast your eyes across the programme of your local multiplex or art-house theatre for the names of the directors: the majority are Anglo Saxon, with a few more exotic names from Europe or Asia peppered between. Africa in Motion (25 Oct – 2 Nov, Filmhouse and GFT), the UK’s largest celebration of African cinema, the area of the world most ignored by film distributors, is helping restore the balance.

AiM, now in its 7th year, kicks off 25 Oct with Uhlanga (The Mark), a poetic tale following three teenagers in rural South Africa dealing with abuses caused by outdated prejudices still lingering in Zulu culture. Ndaba ka Ngwane’s utterly singular direction mirrors this clash of modernity with archaic rituals by using jarring shifts in tone and style to bracing effect. The soundtrack too seems like a battle between new and old Africa, with traditional

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music giving way to blistering hip-hop.

Modern Africa is the official theme of this year’s festival but, given the abundance of sci-fi on offer, future Africa would also be apt. The most bonkers looking of these future visions is Kichwateli (TVHead), part of Africa Science Fiction (26, Oct), a programme of sci-fi shorts. Set in the slums of Nairobi, it follows a time-travelling youngster from a post-apocalyptic Africa, who dreams of himself as a robot with a TV for a head. I’ve not seen Kichwateli, but it sounds like a funky mashup of La jetée, Tetsuo and Videodrome, which makes it unmissable. I have, however, seen Hasaki Ya Suda (Swords), from the same programme, and I can confirm it’s a blast. Three samurai warriors with telekinetic powers and killer moves that make the five point palm exploding heart technique look like a Chinese burn do battle for the right to a parched expanse of land in an unnamed country. Behind all the fun swordplay there’s a sobering message about the futility of violence. The jewel in this mini-programme is The Last Angel of History, John Akomfrah’s searing video essay from 1995, a

mesmerizing weave of Pan-African culture blended with the ideas found in funkmaster George Clinton’s 1975 sci-fi concept album Mothership Connection.

Musicals are another genre rarely associated with African cinema, but AiM have tracked one down in the form of eye-popping comedy The Square (27 Oct), from Algeria. As I watched the film’s ebullient protagonists, a dozen young men and women of varying singing abilities, take on an evil capitalist planning to build a shopping centre on the eponymous hangout I was reminded of the ramshackle stylings of the Muppets – this is backed up by an irrepressible humanist vibe and a cast that’s not shy about breaking the fourth wall.

Girl power seems to be an unofficial theme in the programme – and it’s a welcome one. In MAMMi (31 Oct), a devoted single mum struggles to raise her only child, who grows up to be a celebrated footballer and national hero; Les Saignantes (26 Oct), a sci-fi/action/horror from Cameroon, features two ass-kicking femmes fatales who take on the country’s corrupt male

elite using sex appeal and kung-fu; while Quartier Mozart (28 Oct) is an effervescent sex comedy about a spiky young girl who’s transformed into a handsome young man by a local sorceress so she can find out how her community’s male hierarchy really behaves.

There are also three art exhibitions, a series of Arab Spring Documentaries, and a programme of African Films for Children. The curtain comes down on AiM on 2 Nov with the remarkable closer Restless City. Using a woozy style of elliptical fades and staccato rhythms, director Andrew Dosunmu envelops us in the world of Djbirl (Sy Alassane), a young Senegalese musician trying to scratch a living in New York City.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, so get ferreting in the entrails of AiM’s wide reaching programme to continue redrawing your movie map.

The dates above refer to screenings at Filmhouse, in Edinburgh. This year additional screenings take place at Glasgow Film Theatre. See AiM website for more details africa-in-motion.org.uk

F EAT U RES

Looking Back to the Future

To mark the start of Play Poland, the largest mobile film event in Britain, we speak to Bartosz Konopka, director of Fear of Falling and Rabbit à la Berlin, two of the key titles in this year’s event Interview: Alan Bett

´ KieSlowski the master, Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland – the names of Poland’s great filmmakers echo through the decades, acting as both soaring inspiration and crushing burden to the contemporary generation. So much so that the 2012 Play Poland Film Festival (running across the UK, including Edinburgh from 18 Sep-5 Dec) pays tribute with Andrzej Wajda: Let’s Shoot!, a chronicle of the great man’s struggle on the set of his epic Katyn. But times have changed since the heyday of these ‘Polish Film School’ members. The country has opened, it has bloomed. Quite simply the world has moved on.

“This tradition of Polish cinema... of taking big issues and speaking in the name of the nation, it doesn’t interest us anymore because we are more concerned with our own families. We start as a young generation to look at ourselves and start to realise what moment of history, what state of being we are now.” So says Bartosz Konopka, whose new feature Fear of Falling (25 Oct, Filmhouse) is key in the Play Poland programme.

A new freedom has pushed more insular issues to the fore, not insular as a nation but as individuals,

80 million

the intricate, personal concerns of the everyday rather than the broad brush political canvas. This growing distance between generational concerns is the symbolism inherent within his highly personal film of a son dealing with his father’s failing mental health.

Art mirrors Konopka’s life in this case, the subject painfully close to home. “He was my father so he was an important figure for me, he was a kind of idol in childhood. Then I observed how he was falling apart. How he resigned from life and how the life resigned from him.” The film is highly affecting and although individual to both Konopka and Poland’s wider social issues is, in many ways, universal. The excruciating role reversal of father and son is cruelly realised. The older man crumbles in the face of modern living, his eccentricities unwelcome in a society where time is money. “It’s a kind of anarchy that we cannot afford because we are so much in this race of rats [sic]... there’s no time, no space for this type of romantic adventure.”

Play Poland is also showing Konopka’s earlier documentary Rabbit à la Berlin (in a free screening

Animation Looks East

Scotland Loves Anime returns for a third year with its best line-up yet.

With Pixar churning out princess stories and sequels, we need to look east to Japan for innovative animation more than ever words: Josh Slater-Williams

k–on

with Q&A at Filmhouse, 24 Oct). Here is the true story of colonies of rabbits who lived happily within the killing zone of the Berlin wall. A surreal rabbit’s eye view of a horrifically absurd reality which existed within our contemporary world. “For the east Berliners, they were a kind of symbol of freedom because the rabbits were free to dig under the wall to the west whenever they wanted to. When the wall fell down it was like a disaster for them because they couldn’t adjust to the new environment.

They were living behind a wall in a very secure zone.

They didn’t have the tools and behaviours for the new world.” This metaphorical tale shows these herds of animals living with heads down, unaware and unwilling to comprehend their reality.

These are but two features in a well curated festival of film, animation and related events (many are free!). 80 Million (18 Oct, Filmhouse) and The Winner (1 Nov, Filmhouse) are two more works to look out for in what for many will be a festival of discovery. There are respectful nods to those greats of the past but also strong new voices. As Konopka tells me: “It’s nice that we have this tradition and we can learn from this older generation,

but on the other hand you have to free yourself from this influence and you have to look for your own language.”

Following a very successful run in 2011, animation festival Scotland Loves Anime returns to Glasgow and Edinburgh in October for a third year, with even more international and UK premieres than before. Though the festival’s film selection is centred around Japanese animation and culture specifically, its charity organisers Scotland Loves Animation seek to promote animation of all origins as art. As such, the festival plays host to interview sessions with people involved with films in the line-up, as well as an education day for students of animation at Edinburgh College of Art (19 Oct), with input from industry professionals.

Coming from Studio Ghibli, From Up on Poppy Hill (17 Oct, Edinburgh Filmhouse) is perhaps the festival’s most high-profile title. Directed by Gorō Miyazaki, son of Hayao, it’s a low-key comingof-age tale set in 1960s Japan. Elsewhere in the line-up is a director whose work has received favourable comparisons to Ghibli’s best. Mamoru Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was a breakthrough anime hit a few years back, and his latest film, Wolf Children (21 Oct, Filmhouse), is a tender, deeply moving gem that has received raves internationally. College student Hana falls in love with a man, later discovering he is also a wolf-man.

Circumstances lead to her having to bring up their two children alone, unaware of how to raise human kids prone to turning into wolves. Spanning over a decade, Hosoda takes a potentially dubious, fantastical premise and paints a beautiful portrait of parent-child relations, adolescence, and finding one’s own way in the world.

Game of Thrones fans may be intrigued by the two Berserk films, Egg of the High King (13 Oct, GFT; 19 Oct, Filmhouse) and The Battle for Doldrey (20 Oct, Filmhouse), both similarly based on an ultra-violent fantasy epic; guests from those films’ production will be in attendance for Q&A. Also violent, and screening as a late

nighter, is Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (12 Oct, GFT), in which Japan is invaded by mutated sea life. The gory Blood-C: The Last Dark (14 Oct, GFT; 20 Oct, Filmhouse) is also recommended for older viewers only, especially for established fans of cult favourite Blood: The Last Vampire.

Anime Mirai Project (14 Oct, GFT; 21 Oct, Filmhouse) is a collective effort that showcases short works by fresh young talent. A unique slice of CG animation can be found in Afterschool Midnighters (13 Oct, GFT; 19 Oct, Filmhouse), while a further programme of anime shorts of all kinds will also be screened (16 Oct, Filmhouse).

Sci-fi novel adaptation Nerawareta Gakuen (20 Oct, Filmhouse), from the studio behind Cowboy Bebop, will additionally receive its international premiere at the festival, while superhero TV series prequel Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning (14 Oct, GFT) is presented on the same weekend as its Japanese release. Another TV spin-off K-On! The Movie (13 Oct, GFT) also screens, though its tale of a schoolgirl rock group running amok in London requires no prior knowledge of the multi-million dollar franchise. Director Naoko Yamada will be in attendance.

Outside of animation, SLA has the UK premiere of Ace Attorney (12 Oct, GFT; 15 Oct, Filmhouse), a wild adaptation of the Phoenix Wright videogames from director Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Audition). Also showing in Glasgow the weekend before is influential 90s effort Ninja Scroll (7 Oct, GFT; 21 Oct, Filmhouse), screening from a new digital restoration. Having kick-started the initial anime boom in the UK, alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell, that film is perhaps an ideal introduction to the heavier stylings of some of SLA’s hugely promising line-up.

Play Poland runs in Edinburgh 7 Oct-5 Dec. Events also take place in Glasgow 3 Oct-12 Dec. See website for more details www.playpoland.org.uk

Win Tickets for Play Poland Film Festival Screenings! Win one of 3 pairs of tickets to any event at the Play Poland Film Festival. Head to www. theskinny.co.uk/competitions and answer this question: Which celebrated film by Feliks Falk is screening at the festival?

A. There Was Jazz B. Joanna C. The Winner Hint to be found at www.playpoland.org.uk Competition closes Fri 19 Oct, full Ts & Cs www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

Scotland Loves Anime runs 12-14 Oct in Glasgow and 19-21 Oct in Edinburgh. See website for more details www.lovesanimation.com

October 2012

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FEATURES

film

WALK IN MY SHOES

THE SCOTTISH MENTAL HEALTH ARTS & FILM FESTIVAL asks audiences to experience the world through different eyes. No art form is better for this task than cinema.

We speak to EDDIE HARRISON, the festival’s film programmer, to learn more INTERVIEW: DANNY SCOTT

ANTI-CLOCK

WITH EVENTS ranging from a community opera to a bi-polar circus, the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival (SMHAFF) promises an exploration of the mind like no other arts festival can.

For its sixth year the largest social justice festival in the world has taken its inspiration from the teachings of Atticus Finch in choosing the theme ‘Walk in My Shoes.’ Experiencing new worlds through another’s eyes is what film does best.

In an enticing film strand Walter Salles’ highly anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road will tour Scotland with Screen Machine during October and November in a road trip to remote parts of the country. The film is a notable inclusion considering Kerouac’s own battles with depression and alcoholism. When we speak, however, SMHAFF film programmer Eddie Harrison is keen to emphasise the thought behind each celluloid choice. “When you say you’re choosing films that deal with mental health people immediately

suggest movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” he tells me. “But that’s a film about mental illness. Ours is a festival about mental health and all films deal with that in the way they show people coping with their problems.”

The critically acclaimed yet rarely seen AntiClock (8 Oct, GFT) is one such film. Screening in Glasgow with co-director Jack Bond in attendance, the film explores many mental health issues with its on and off screen narrative as Harrison explains: “Anti-Clock is a strange, difficult yet terrific film. Jack Bond stuck it in a vault when his co-director Jane Arden killed herself a couple of years after it was made. It was ahead of its time in its use of surveillance footage to create a sense of paranoia, and has only recently been reissued by the BFI. It’s one of those great films that doesn’t show goodies and baddies but just people making difficult decisions.”

Bond will stay on at the festival to screen Dalí in

New York (8 Oct, Filmhouse), sharing his experiences of succeeding where Walt Disney failed and completing a film with Salivor Dalí. Notable guest curators pepper the programme, choosing some unusual works including Malcolm Middleton’s selection of experimental Dutch film The Sea That Thinks (9 Oct, GLT), previously unseen in the UK. Harrison hopes some of SMHAFF’s screenings with a twist will inspire audiences to take leave of their mental and physical norms. “I’m looking forward to doing a 300-mile round trip to Elgin to our Hugo (14 Oct, The Moray Playhouse) screening. The automatons in the film were actually made up there by The House of Automata and people will get a chance to see these mechanical wonders in action after the film.”

The mechanics of video-games are also on show in discussion panel Walkthrough (15 Oct, Cineworld – Renfrew St.). It’s a bold choice. Game sales have long outperformed the box office

and in marketing terms it’s becoming harder to distinguish the two, as Harrison outlines: “It’s easy to be snobbish but, for me, games are an art form.

I’ve played some games and enjoyed the same level of experience as I do watching a good film.

I think more and more filmmakers will be cutting their teeth in the industry in the future. Games have an effect on the player so we need to understand and talk about them so I’m inviting some game creators to show their work on the big screen.”

This whole-hearted engagement with art in all its forms is what makes this festival such a unique proposition. Kerouac wrote in On The Road, “This can’t go on all the time…all this franticness and jumping around. We’ve got to go someplace, find something.” Approaching film, and games, in an honest accessible way, SMHAFF should help audiences achieve just that.

THE SCOTTISH MENTAL HEALTH ARTS & FILM FESTIVAL 2012 TAKES PLACE IN VENUES ACROSS SCOTLAND

www.africa-in-motion.org.uk

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● Over 20 UK Premieres ● Guest Filmmakers ● Short Film Competition ● Features & Documentaries ● Academic Symposium ● Children's Films ● Workshops & Masterclasses

MODERN AFRICA 25 OCTOBER - 2 NOVEMBER 2012

www.glasgowfilm.org Box Office: 0141 332 6535

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www.filmhousecinema.com Box Office: 0131 228 2688

music

RIP IT UP

DANIEL ROSSEN explains why scrapping an album’s worth of material turned out to be a fine idea for GRIZZLY BEAR INTERVIEW: DAVE KERR

what we were making. We were all writing on our own and would bring it to the band, which was tough. It wasn’t just this instant thing where there was momentum and we all knew how to interact with each other’s music. We basically recorded ten or twelve things down in Texas and scrapped the majority of it. Well, we did keep Sleeping Ute and Yet Again, which we did there – so it’s not like we lost everything. We did those, then scrapped the rest and tried to write things from the ground up.

That was how we did the majority of this record in the end – just getting together and trying to find the most common space between all of us where we

“When you have four people with strong opinions and very different tastes, finding that middle ground is tough” DANIEL ROSSEN could all enjoy it and have a sense of authorship.”

Unimpressed by this lack of controversy, The Skinny asks whether “hanging out in the desert” turned into a few peyote-laced weekends of staggering around the cacti with a half-naked shaman. Rossen shatters our hopes: “Not quite, but we could spread that myth around…” he laughs. “That’s probably a better story!” To dismiss another porkie perpetuated by the press – that Shields is Rossen and Droste’s first attempt to write collaboratively, as though the two were warring factions in the past, he suggests such talk is a Chinese whisper. “ That’s one of these things that people just keep saying and it’s not even remotely true! It’s the most we’ve ever written together, for sure, the most collaborative we’ve ever been, where we’ve sat in a room and thrown ideas at each other. That, we’ve never really done before – to me, it can feel a little silly to make music that way. In the past, Ed and I had songs on the previous records that we would pass back and forth – have notes for each other, trade lyrics, it’s not that different but not quite the same as it being spontaneous in the same room. That’s the key difference, there’s more of that on this record than ever before.”

Is this to say that the band could finally have a more fluent musical conversation than previously, as they wrote? “Yeah, it’s at the point now where there’s a song happening – you’re not really making it. It’s like ‘oh, this seems to be developing.’ It’s a little bit exasperating sometimes. There’s a song called What’s Wrong that has this strange jazz ending to it; for the longest time that was just two or three minutes of drums rolling at the end of the song. It’s like ‘we know there’s something that’s supposed to go here, I kind of know what it is, but I don’t know what it is! We’re just gonna leave it like this ’til we figure it out. There were these big open questions for a really long time while we were making this record, that’s something I’ve never experienced before. It was kind of scary at points but also exciting in the sense that ‘I don’t even know what this thing is; I just know it’s going to get done.’ We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make things as good as they can be, and we all want to feel proud and happy about it. When you have four people with strong opinions and very different tastes, finding that middle ground is tough. But when we find it it’s really interesting – that’s the goal.”

PHOTO: BABARA ANASTACIO

IF THERE was one Brooklyn-based band from the class of ’09 that looked poised to maintain a winning streak, I sincerely hope you put a fiver on Grizzly Bear. Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors both impressed the critics with Merriweather Post Pavilion and Bitte Orca respectively that year, but it was this quieter, unassuming quartet who had the air of a group with so much more in the post.

Seemingly by stealth, they infiltrated the US Billboard top 10 and assured a place in our hearts with their third LP; even if we never did work out how to pronounce the title. Veck-catty-mest? “I don’t think anybody quite knows how to say that,” band vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Rossen interjects, mere hours before the band make their UK live return at End of the Road festival. “I don’t know – it’s a Native American word! We just call it Veck!”

Both on home soil and abroad, Grizzly Bear were fortunate to drum up the kind of televised exposure that’s more typically reserved for mainstream performers, rolling the dice by debuting Veckatimest’s lead single via David Letterman’s non-more-huge national television show. “It felt like we jumped right in,” says Rossen of stepping inside the rollercoaster. “We went all the way.

It’s always surreal; when you’re experiencing that you’re trying to have a good time, and there’s fun happening, but there’s also just an undercurrent of stress the whole time.”

Ensuring that the band’s name became lodged in the wider public consciousness, Two Weeks was one of the few unlikely radio hits of the year that you simply couldn’t begrudge one more play. Of course, with pop hits comes great expectation, so it’s a surprise to find their recently released follow up Shields – by now another qualified success with a higher UK and US chart ranking still – sees the band succeeding on their own terms with a jazzier slow-burner, finding the mean between its predecessor’s relative brevity and the unfurling majesty of 2006’s Yellow House.

Assured and confident though the new record is, in conversation Rossen projects the idea of a band just getting back on the bike – one you sense could either play the long game or disappear completely, such is his own noted personal uncertainty toward a long-term career in the music industry. Since the release of Yellow House, which was ostensibly the band’s first ‘group’ effort, Rossen entered a relentless touring and recording cycle with both Grizzly Bear and his Department of Eagles project that lasted some five years. Having since largely retired that side-project, Rossen withdrew from music for six months, eventually surfacing to release a solo EP this spring. In his absence, co-singer Ed Droste and in-house producer Chris Taylor embarked on a series of writing sessions last year.

When Rossen returned, the band found itself at odds both personally and musically, though they unanimously insist that what came out of the studio was a more cooperative way of working together, which Shields benefits from by an incalculable measure. Rossen reflects on the initial sessions for the album and re-connecting with the band with equal parts satisfaction and frustration.

“It was a slow process and we took some time.

We went down to this little town – actually it’s more of an arts community – called Marfa in West Texas. We thought we’d go somewhere different, somewhere sunny and foreign to us and see what we’d do there.

“In the past we’d often just get together somewhere, start working, and the record would just go and go and go until it was done. This time around, when we got together it wasn’t as immediate as it’s been in the past – we had to hang out with each other for a while and get a sense of

Although Rossen cites Talk Talk and in particular the solo ventures of reclusive frontman Mark Hollis as “a recent obsession” – both in terms of their approach to recording and Hollis’s ego-free philosophy towards his own career – he’s hesitant to comment on Grizzly Bear’s broader common influences. “They’re a band where you didn’t get a sense that they were trying to make a rock record, they were just trying to make music,” he admires.

“You get the sense that as [Hollis] got older and they got on in their career he started paying more attention to what he was doing and making these very meditative sound pieces. Then he kind of just walked away [from the industry] one day, which I find inspiring too…” he lingers on the thought for a second. “Not that I want to walk away!”

In the space of one song in particular – Speak in Rounds – there’s a tasteful echo of ethereal songwriting generations past, ranging through Van Dyke Parks and John Martyn to Jeff Buckley. As a band by now renowned for plying their own furrow, do they ever knowingly tip a hat to the greats?

“We very rarely consciously try to make something sound like someone else,” he starts. “But all kinds of things filter their way in; we talk about all kinds

of musicians. The sense of space and openness in Mark Hollis’s music is something I like to talk about, but I don’t know exactly how that worked its way into the record and became an idea. Then again, Speak in Rounds was one of these songs where me and Ed sat down on the couch and he gave some really vague direction that didn’t quite add up, like ‘play some chords that sound kind of like Fleetwood Mac but not.’ I just started playing chords and he started singing. It felt kinda funny, almost like a joke at first, but then it became something that he was really excited about and we just took it and ran.

There’s a lot of stuff like that on this record.”

So with the fruits of their Texan think-tank largely on the bonfire, where did the band ultimately find the headspace to complete Shields? “In truth we ended up going back to the same place we always work,” Rossen confesses, in reference to the eponymous Yellow House in Cape Cod, owned

by Droste’s grandmother. “We started out in the desert, it was tough and we got a lot out of it, for sure. But ultimately where we found our stride was the same place we always go!”

PLAYING BARROWLANDS, GLASGOW ON 20 OCT WWW.GRIZZLY-BEAR.NET

OCTOBER 2012

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music

F EAT U RE S

The Lost and Damned

As they set about releasing their blistering eighth album Lost Songs, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s multi-instrumentalist Jason Reece talks Texan prog, German punk and Scottish niceties Interview: Darren Carle A little good will can go a long way, something fans of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are well aware of. Having weathered some adventurous, yet ultimately disappointing albums on the heels of their seminal 2002 opus Source Tags & Codes, the outlook for the once mighty Texan rock veterans was looking decidedly iffy during the tail-end of the last decade.

Yet fans held out hope and with hindsight the albums in question, 2005’s Worlds Apart and its follow up So Divided, polarised rather than galvanised any particular opinion. When Trail of Dead make a great album, we put out the bunting. If a somewhat disappointing record emerges instead, we count its charms, cough politely and await the next chapter. Eighth album Lost Songs is about to land later this month; prepare to celebrate.

Following quickly on the heels of last years’ Tao of the Dead, it continues the unlikely winning streak kick-started by 2009’s Century of Self, the band’s first album after leaving Interscope Records amid a very public spat. For many, it was something of a return to form and whilst its follow-up had a reach that perhaps exceeded its grasp, it was nonetheless a grand, and at times exhilarating listen.

In contrast, the latest finds Trail of Dead cutting their wares to the quick. If Tao was a prog extravaganza, then Lost Songs is the eviscerating spectre of punk rock, obliterating ostentation and theatricality with a raw, vigorous intensity. “It just naturally went in that direction,” begins founding member Jason Reece, speaking to The Skinny from London. “The last record was definitely more kraut and prog-rock. This time the songs just came out three-minutes long instead of seventeen! I guess we just wanted to get to the point.”

In an odd turn up for the books, Lost Songs was actually recorded in Hanover, Germany, a

country that’s certainly no stranger to the strains of progressive guitar music. “We thought that some of the songs were going to be ‘super-krauty’,” laughs Reece. “But we went the polar opposite.

It’s comical because we made our kraut-rock album in Texas and then went to Germany to make our punk record.”

The reasons for the move to Hanover were born from a stated need to escape hometown life, yet it also doubled as a focal point for the album’s political undertones. “We wanted to get out of Austin and the distractions of living there,” says Reece. “[It helped] to be out of our comfort zone and in a place where we didn’t necessarily belong.”

Of those distractions, Reece is unequivocal. “A lot of people [in Austin] are pretty apathetic and play in their little indie bands, staying out all night, doing cocaine and partying. It’s a very selfish kind of scene.” It’s a sentiment that rings true on a macro scale as Lost Songs’ press release, written by frontman Conrad Keely himself, makes clear; “The music was inspired by the apathy to real world events that has plagued the independent music scene now for over a decade.”

Reece is happy to take up the baton of his bandmate’s typically curt statement. “The writing was inspired by some of the bands we were into as kids,” he elaborates. “Back in the nineties, bands would actually have some sort of politics to their music, whether it was Public Enemy or someone more socio-political like Fugazi. I know it’s not cool in this world of irony to try to say something, or to have convictions, but some of my favourite bands, like The Clash, were moved by what was around them. They didn’t turn a blind eye. Speaking about Reagan’s policies or the issues in El Salvador, you know, I wouldn’t have known anything about that if it wasn’t for them.”

“I know it’s not cool in this world of irony to try to say something, or to have convictions, but some of my favourite bands were moved by what was around them” jason reece And so lead single Up To Infinity focuses its fury on the current Syrian civil war, and is dedicated to the plight of Russian dissidents Pussy Riot. Yet while Trail of Dead have never been seen as apolitical, Lost Songs is unlikely to turn off those who believe politics and music don’t make comfortable bedfellows. Their lyrics invariably come with a keen poetic sense, letting Lost Songs be enjoyed as a straight-up rock album, should you wish.

“Our music is always open to interpretation,” agrees Reece. “But no one’s going to listen to our new record and think it’s like Sandinista! We’re just trying to point things out, things in our world that we feel are unjust, things we need to hold a light up to. Sometimes you need someone to speak about stuff that isn’t in your comfort zone.”

It is perhaps this attitude which has helped Trail of Dead endure the highs and lows of almost two decades together in one form or other. The relative safety of a major label in Interscope brought huge

praise but also crushing blows, yet Reece, Keely and co. did nothing if not challenge themselves musically throughout. “The whole idea of this new record is that we’re not trying to re-tread anything,” claims Reece. “Every record for us is embedded with the idea of moving forward.”

More fool anyone for assuming that Lost Songs could be a collection of rarities and out-takes.

Trail of Dead are far too pioneering to be raiding the vaults or cashing in on the nostalgia circuit currently engulfing veteran rock acts, right? “As it happens, we’re doing a show in Japan where we’re playing Madonna in its entirety,” laughs Reece. “But it’s a special show. We’re definitely not trying to hop on that train.” Actually, that sounds fucking amazing The Skinny must confess, with some embarrassment.

Scottish gig-goers, meanwhile, can look forward to the trimmed-down quartet arriving in Edinburgh this month, providing Reece with the perfect opportunity to brush up on our local lingo. “We’re a bunch of clatty mingers,” he informs us, with no small amount of enunciated effort. “No, wait!

We’re bawbags! We always have a Scottish crew that work with us when we’re in Europe, so we’re familiar with all the different slang terms.” On a sincere related note, Reece admits to feeling somewhat at home on our soil. “The first time we ever made it across the pond was to play in Scotland,” he recalls. “We were playing with Mogwai in Glasgow and then Edinburgh. It felt like there was a real bond with Scotland at the time, you know?”

It goes both ways sir, and we’re happy to have you back over. You’ll have had your tea though, right?

Trail of Dead play The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 13 Oct Lost Songs is released via Richter Scale/ Superball Music on 22 Oct www.trailofdead.com

October 2012

THE SKINNY 19

music

F E A T U RE S

The Sweet Taste of Thr ash

Glasgow-based trio PAWS have brought a heartening buzz to national radio with their sweet brand of raw and poppy garage rock. They tell us about their debut album while knocking back a few sugary treats Interview: Chris McCall

The three members of PAWS are looking queasy. Phillip Taylor, Josh Swinney and Matt Scott are sitting in a leatherette booth in Edinburgh’s City Café, disdainfully looking at the melted remains of three Coke floats. It’s not the first round of the intensely sugar-heavy drinks that the band has guzzled today. Ten minutes previously, they were laughing and grinning widely as they enthusiastically took part in a photo shoot with their refreshment of choice acting as the main prop; now, they look as if they’d rather tackle a treble shot of turps than face another glass of fizzy juice and ice-cream.

It’s doubtful that these home-grown garage rockers had this scene in mind when they christened their eagerly-awaited debut LP Cokefloat!

The album isn’t even named after the drink per se, instead being a tribute to a comic strip of the same title, drawn by their friend Jessica Penfold, who designed the album’s artwork.

The trio start to regain their enthusiasm once The Skinny buys a round of drinks of the alcoholic variety, which begs the obvious question: do they prefer pints to floats? “Maybe if I was cosying up on the couch with someone lovely, a Coke float would be more appropriate,” muses drummer Swinney. “But I bet you could make an awesome Coke float cocktail. Or a pint float...”

Taylor, whose distinctive voice and guitar playing plays a huge part in defining the band, explains their flirtation with melting soft drinks. “Our friend Babak was putting on a gig to promote this comic he had put together. Kele from Bloc Party had written a short story, and Jessica, the girl that did the Cokefloat thing, had a couple of pages.

I remember going down and flipping through the comic, and Cokefloat was the back page. The frame we chose for the cover is the last frame of the entire thing. It reminded me of the front of that Big Black album, Songs About Fucking. It’s got a similar quality to it, that comic book style.”

Sugar high or not, PAWS are a band whose fizz is unlikely to go flat any time soon. This year they’ve attracted a large amount of attention from mainstream, London-centric media typically unaccustomed to looking this far north in search of new music that’s

20 THE SKINNY

October 2012

actually any good. Even the somewhat unlikely figure of Kate Nash recently declared herself a fan whilst reviewing the band’s latest single, Sore Tummy, on Radio 1. “I’ll give it an ‘aight. It’s really slackah,” laughs Taylor, adopting a faultless mockney accent.

Since forming in 2009, the band have quickly drawn acclaim on the local circuit via their adopted home of Glasgow with their energetic live shows and obvious knack for writing blistering three minute songs that stick long in the memory. In interview with The Skinny last year, Swinney jokingly referred to their music as being ‘Haribo thrash’ after being greatly amused to read that ‘kinderwhore’ – coined after Courtney Love’s fashion sense in the early 90s – was being touted in some quarters as a hip new musical movement. “I thought I’d start a genre of my own,” he chuckles.

Conceived as a joke, the tag nevertheless stuck.

“It’s just fun to make up crap, to see if people believe it,” Taylor interjects. “People saying, ‘Yeah, Haribo thrash, it’s like totally great.’ I like inventing band names as well.” Swinney nonchalantly throws in a suggestion. “Boozewolves...”

“Yeah, Boozewolves, they’re my favourite band,” nods Taylor. “And Caged Virgins.”

“But ‘Haribo thrash’ almost works,” Scott chimes in. “It’s almost a weird nostalgia thing, which is why I guess Cokefloat! works as well.”

It certainly does; last year PAWS secured themselves a deal with FatCat Records, the illustrious home of a strong Scottish contingent which includes The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks and formerly Frightened Rabbit. But for the band, it was the label’s punk alumni, like No Age and Welcome, which inspired them most about working with the Brighton label. A chance meeting with label founder Alex Knight following a gig at the annual goNorth industry showcase motivated the band to unleash their favoured method of promotional activity – sending countless emails.

“We met him in a pub in Inverness, and we were properly fucking steaming, just talking to him for ages,” says Taylor, smiling at the hazy memory.

“He described us as being like an ‘unfinished Male Bonding.’ Later, we thought: ‘Fuck it, we’ll just email him. But then me and Josh went through

photo: eoin carey

a phase of being in our flat pissed and emailing record labels, asking if they wanted to release our album.” And what kind of responses were they getting? “Like, none. And then FatCat said ‘yeah, okay.’ We just brazenly email people. They’re a really supportive label, though, they’ve allowed us to do exactly what we wanted to do, and they’ve given us the tools to achieve that.”

The primary advantage that FatCat gave the

“We’ve

never had any major ambitions other than to be able to play music and continue to enjoy it” phillip taylor band was access to a floating recording studio on the River Thames. There, they spent ten days in January with former Test Icicle Rory Attwell recording what would become their debut. The end result is a hugely enjoyable rush of buzz saw riffs and energised vocals, all anchored by a robust and combative rhythm section.

But this is strictly not nu-grunge or throwaway punk. This is a record that charms when its subtle humour reveals itself, while many other songs are genuinely affecting. In the outstanding opening track, Catherine 1956, Taylor sings in plain terms about experiencing the loss of his mother to cancer last year, a devastating tale that concludes with her telling her son: “Do something with your life and get out of this town.”

Taylor admits that he was prepared to be asked about the song and its subject, and doesn’t mind discussing it candidly. “If I’m willing to put this out there on a record then I expect to be asked about it,” he says confidently, with a hint of sadness. “It doesn’t upset me. If anything it makes me happy, as I get to share my experience with that particular subject matter. If even one person got something from it, I’d feel

happy about that. It’s not like we started the band and I wanted to write loads of emotional material.

“We had the band and then this shit thing happened, and the band was all I had, so it was the natural way to deal with it. My mum was ill but she kept telling me to focus on the band. It was like a real positive force for her. She was saying: ‘I don’t want you sitting about on your arse in the Highlands doing nothing, when you could be playing gigs with your friends.’”

Others might have hesitated in baring their emotions in such a public fashion, but for Taylor it’s what sets him apart as a songwriter. He insists he never wavers when it comes to tackling an issue in his lyrics, no matter how painful. “Once I have the idea in my head, then it happens. I don’t sit around and think about subjects. If I’m happy or pissed off about something, any sort of emotion about anything, I’ll end up writing something down.”

“Like hunger?” asks Swinney, grinning. Taylor flashes a smile. “Yeah, I need to write a song about being hungry.” Scott chips in “Or ambition? That’s a song that could be used in a Rocky-style montage.”

“That’s our second record. Hunger and Ambition,” Taylor affirms. “We’ve never had any major ambitions other than to be able to play music and continue to enjoy it. The first time we went to London was to do a session for BBC 6. The BBC in Scotland hadn’t even replied to the loads of emails I had sent them. Not many bands at our stage would even have done that. I remember when we got back; we felt that we could do anything.

“It’s all about having fun,” he offers in conclusion. “Josh always says that the idea of a really hard working band, who have been touring for years, should be our aspiration. We want to be as self-reliant as we can be.” By the time you read this, PAWS will already have completed a European tour supporting Japandroids, and will be gearing up for their own UK headline tour. Not bad for a bunch of “slackahs.”

Cokefloat! is released via FatCat on 8 Oct - hear it first on www.theskinny.co.uk/music.

The Album launch takes place at CCA, Glasgow on 4 Oct (with support from North American War) www.facebook.com/wehavepaws

theatre

21 years in the arches

Jackie Wylie, artistic director of The Arches, looks back over the illustrious history of the multi-discipline arts space, and tells us what’s in store for the birthday celebrations Interview: Gareth K Vile

From its beginnings, when it was rescued from a disappointing entry in Glasgow’s 1990 City of Culture programme by a determined Andy Arnold, through its status as an iconic venue in the late rave era, to its contemporary manifestation as a respected multi-arts space, The Arches has manifested much of Glasgow’s vibrancy, as comfortable hosting up-for-it clubbers as challenging, experimental performance.

This twenty first year has demonstrated the range of The Arches’ theatrical concerns. Alien War has returned to the basement, Arches Live! has just concluded its annual celebration of emerging and established artists, and the upcoming autumn season is promising wild dance from David Hughes, eerie drama from Alan Bissett, and a theatrical remix from Ben Harrison and Louise Quinn, alongside gigs that prove The Arches’ confidence as a major musical venue.

“This whole year has been epic,” remembers artistic director Jackie Wylie. “In March, we had the Vital Sparks commission of Whatever Gets You Through the Night. Then we had the success at the Fringe with Bullet Catch. Now Gary McNair and Kieran Hurley are going touring. We’ve got Adrian Howells with Lifeguard with the NTS, and we are co-producing with Catherine Wheels at the end of the year. It’s just been the most packed year.”

It’s telling that three of the shows in The Traverse’s Fringe season came from writer-performers who are associated with The Arches: Rob Drummond (Bullet Catch), Kieran Hurley (Beats) and Gary McNair (Born to Run) have all won either the Platform 18 award or its earlier incarnation for new work from The Arches. And, as Wylie points out, the nature of The Arches’ programming encourages such ongoing support.”You can look at the journeys that some of the artists in Arches Live! have gone on. Beats came through Arches Live, and then it went to the Fringe and now it is going to go touring next year. Bullet Catch, Nic Green – all those artists have gone through Arches Live!”

The Arches has been instrumental in developing talent. The tour of the Highlands and Islands that Hurley and McNair are currently following takes two works (Hitch and Crunch) that first appeared at the Arches and presents them to a national audience. Hurley’s Fringe entry, winner of the Critic Awards for Theatre Scotland, Beats, is a team up with The Arches’ own DJ, Mr Johnny Whoop.

Rob Drummond, alongside director David Overend, has also been making theatre with The Arches throughout his career: his Wrestling was another Vital Sparks commission. It’s unlikely that any other venue could have accommodated the need for two stages – one a standard theatrical space, the other a massive wrestling ring for Drummond to throw down with the heroes of the square circle.

Bullet Catch was originally developed for the intimate space offered in the Studio Theatre. Wylie's enthusiasm for Drummond’s success is perhaps a clue as to why The Arches continues to cultivate new talent: as artistic director, Wylie is consistently engaged with the artists who perform in her theatre. Reflecting on Arches Live! she notes: “Its life blood is that we keep rooting out artists who are not usually associated with The Arches. The audience understand it is an opportunity to try something new.”

Since taking up her post four years ago, Wylie has subtly evolved an identity for the venue that both builds on Andy Arnold’s legacy and aligns with the international traditions of Performance Art. Until 2010, The Arches was the home for The National Review of Live Art and while that weekend

of anarchic creativity, along with its parent festival New Territories, has sadly disappeared, the spring Behaviour festival gives Glasgow a much needed shot of global experimental theatre.

“We are trying to differentiate work,” Wylie explains. “Behaviour is very much about artists who are ready to view themselves at an international level, AL! is about artists at the beginning of a journey with their work. Over the years, the differentiation has become clearer.”

But before Behaviour’s return in 2013, there are plenty of other shows that measure up to that international stature. David Hughes Dance – who were the controversy of Fringe 2011 thanks to their Al Seed-led take on Sawney Bean – arrive in November with The Chinaski Sessions, a mash up of dance, alcohol-soaked poetry and Belgian Math Rock. October begins with Biding Time (Remix), a musical take on the way that artists can be chewed up by the industry courtesy of Grid Iron’s Ben Harrison and A Band Called Quinn. And Scotland’s young champion of the word, Alan Bissett, rolls in with his sinister peek at life in a laboratory. Wylie is pleased that Bissett has chosen The Arches. “He is another ascending star: there’s an acknowledgement of his politics and he is actually putting his

“This

whole year has been epic” jackie wylie head above the parapet and being quite radical in what he expresses in his writing.”

If the upcoming programme reflects something of The Arches’ identity, as a space that does not flinch from bringing experimental work to Glasgow, and that balances between the local and the international artist, the actual birthday celebrations are a powerful statement of intent. A visit from Akhe, the Russian theatre architects, will provide a focal point for the party.

“We were thinking about what theatre company might ignite all of the audiences and Akhe are like wizard geniuses,” Wylie says. “They are doing a special happening. And Mischief la Bas are coming back.” It was Mischief’s founders, Angie Dwight and Ian Smith who added an edge of avant-garde performance to early clubbing events at The Arches, before founding the company who have been “warping the underlay of the carpet of society” for the past decade. Elements of Whatever Gets You Through the Night, Swimmer One and Cora Bissett’s massively ambitious fusion of music and theatre, will also be revived.

Looking back over the past year, and towards the dim and distant past, when Arnold first got the keys to what was simply a disused space belonging to British Rail, Wylie can see a pattern emerging. “I look at Buzzcut and the SWG3, who are working in similar ways, and I feel like The Arches has been here a long time, and that we are experts in certain areas, and the twenty-first birthday has given us the opportunity to reflect.

“The journey has been from a subcultural, hidden venue in the city centre to a confident, mature organisation which is leading in the development of a particular, risk-taking art. If you look at the breadth of what has happened in this one year, you can really see all the variety of that coming to fruition.”

G L A S G O W

12th

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2012 facebook.com/loves.animation

See website for full details of events www.thearches.co.uk

October 2012

THE SKINNY 21

F E A TURES

Pyr amid Songs

music

From a frozen ghost town in the Arctic to the stage of Sydney Opera House, Efterklang’s Rasmus Stolberg maps out their fourth album’s journey Interview: Chris Buckle

Five hundred miles from the North Pole, in the upper reaches of the Svalbard archipelago, lies a ghost town. For almost seventy years, miners lived and worked in the Pyramiden settlement, hauling coal for Mother Russia; now, Pyramiden is abandoned, home only to polar bears, gulls and the occasional off-beat tour expedition. Its human population upped sticks years ago, but their detritus has yet to decay, seemingly locked in time by the frozen climate. But while low temperatures have slowed the rate at which tundra reclaims the land, they haven’t halted its encroachment entirely, with window frames now nests for seabirds and grass protruding through wooden slats and concrete. In a forgotten auditorium, the world’s northernmost grand piano warps and gathers dust.

“Even before Magic Chairs came out we were already talking about how we would like to make the next album,” says bassist Rasmus Stolberg, speaking from Heathrow’s departure lounge.

“We had this idea of connecting it to some kind of location. For example, we talked a lot about recording everything in a forest – drums, vocals, but also samples of the forest itself. So we were throwing around ideas, and suddenly we get this email full of photos of this place up in the Arctic and we were just mesmerised. The guy emailing us was suggesting it as somewhere to make a music video, but we were already thinking this is way too good for just a music video.”

Piramida gradually took shape. “If I was sitting next to you I could tell you a lot about every sound in every song,” says Rasmus, evidently still enthused by the results of their alchemy. “When I listen to the album now, and start to process certain sounds, I just get this inner image of the three of us discovering or recording the origin of that specific sound. It’s a lovely feeling – a feeling of connection, I guess, to the music we’ve made.”

Elements of this song-writing method were first seen in Vincent Moon’s 2010 film An Island. On that occasion, the destination was literally closer to home, with the band performing amidst nature on Als, the island on which Mads, Caspar and Rasmus were raised. “An Island was a big inspiration for us,” Rasmus confirms. “There’s a scene where we go sort of sound-hunting and gradually a beat arrives – it’s more of an abstract experimental kind of thing, but it inspired us to use that same technique for an album.”

A trailer for Piramida, posted online in June, showed the band engaged in a similar act of

was more an inspiration and a beginning than it is actually about that space,” says Rasmus early in our conversation; when we later ask if he considers Efterklang’s other albums products of their environment, he gently rebuffs the suggestion. “I don’t really feel that” he says. “I think the music is all part of our brains and our imagination, and the location just inspires [that]. It informs the music, but we just use it to fuel the feelings and dreams of music we already have inside.”

Stage two took place at the band’s studio in Berlin, where they went about transforming their myriad, abstract field recordings, first into “small sketches”, then into full songs. “When we came back we thought ‘let’s not have a deadline, let’s get really deep into experimenting with all this stuff and let an album come out of it slowly,” Rasmus recalls. “But then a month into this process, Sydney Opera House contacted us…” An open invitation to perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in one of the most iconic venues on the planet would surely turn anyone’s head, but for

an album, we’d have to call up the old band members and play the old songs and suddenly you go right back into old habits. And that’s not good for changing your game; to move forward, you need to have an empty slate. So saying yes to the opera house was totally stupid.”

Their unlimited window for experimentation was suddenly shrunk to a matter of months, though the deadline only seemed to stoke their creativity: an enforced period of “really, really intense song-writing” furnishing 18 complete songs, ten of which appear on Piramida, with the rest earmarked for release later down the line. “I’m glad it worked out, but it was totally stupid to say yes. We’ve never worked so hard in our lives.”

As if to illustrate just how hectic their schedule has become, a distracted Rasmus suddenly notices that his flight is about to start boarding. It’s mid-September and Efterklang are on their way to Ireland, to start rehearsals for the first post-Sydney Piramida shows. This October, the tour visits the UK, with Andre de Ridder conducting the Northern

sound-hunting, with footfalls and birdsong gradually matched to the harmonic swells of Dreams Today. We ask whether there’s any more footage from Spitsbergen to come. “You mean like a sequel to An Island?” Rasmus hesitantly replies.

There’s an intake of breath. “You’re close… I’m not going to say anything else. But you’re on to something!” Whatever the band’s plans are on that front, they don’t involve returning to Svalbard.

Where An Island was a genial, warm affair, with family, friends and others from the community taking part, Spitsbergen was both isolated and isolating. “When I left that place I didn’t feel like ever coming back,” says Rasmus. “It’s not a place made for humans. It’s a beautiful spot, but being up there, it sort of felt like this place is not really for man, and it sort of made me sad. It’s in spots like that, where nature is so dramatic and we as humans have to try so hard to make a living, it just becomes so clear that we’re like this parasite, using up the world’s energy and… well anyway, that’s the sort of thoughts I had while being up there.”

Not that Piramida is a concept album per se. “It

Efterklang, the offer had additional significance.

“The architect [Jørn Utzon] is Danish, and we consider it, well, I think it might be one of the proudest moments in Danish history, or at least in modern history. We’re so proud of the Sydney Opera House in Denmark, so to get that offer was just mind-blowing.”

Balancing the two projects – writing and recording Piramida while also planning for a symphony show on the opposite side of the world – wasn’t easy. “Initially we thought ‘oh my gosh, no, we can’t do this’ because we’d just decided not to have a deadline, and we cannot play shows at the same time as making albums. It doesn’t work that way for us.”

The issue comes from the band’s varying live set up, in which the core members are supported by a flexible cast of additional musicians. “We’d told everyone in our live band, ‘this is it for now, we’re dissolving the whole thing, making a new album, and when we come out the other side we’ll decide then what kind of live band we want to have.’ To go about and play shows in the middle of making

Sinfonia at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. En route to his plane, Rasmus discusses the Piramida concerts further. “They’re an extension of what we did in Sydney. We were extremely happy with how it turned out, and extremely relieved as well because it was so hard to finish it in time. When you do a show like that it’s a lot of work to orchestrate it – there’s visuals, there’s a whole orchestra who need notes to play, you need to collaborate with the conductor… there’re so many things, so playing that only once, well that just sucks!” he laughs.

“But we’re so lucky now that we can do it 14 or 15 times this fall – that’s quite fortunate and unusual I guess, for a band in our position.” Don’t you ever wish it was logistically simpler? “Oh yeah, absolutely, I think that a lot,” Rasmus replies from the aircraft’s loading tunnel, moments away from yet another journey in support of the band’s vision. “And then once I go off-stage after a performance I’m so happy that I want to do it immediately again. So it’s a big pain in the ass, but it’s also a big payoff.”

“When

I left Pyramida I didn’t feel like ever going back. It’s not a place made for humans” rasmus stolberg The email came in summer 2010; the following year, Efterklang journeyed north, imaginations sparked. Beyond the initial email, how much research did the band do beforehand? “We decided to read up on it, but there’s not much written about it actually. We also got some general books about how to travel somewhere like Spitsbergen [Svalbard’s largest island] because… well, it’s not like going to Paris,” Rasmus laughs. “We had to go into this shop in Copenhagen with a totally long list of equipment – new shoes, new jackets, that kind of stuff. We’re not really wildlife-types so that was interesting for us too. But musically, the whole idea was to come totally unprepared: the first day of the album is the day that we set foot in that ghost town. We wanted all three of us to have the same beginning and reference points, because sometimes when you start making an album, each member can have a different starting point, or just a different idea of what kind of album we’ll be making. We were curious to see what would happen if we all started in the same place, on the same day, by going on this expedition and adventure together. And that worked out really amazing for us.”

The trio – Rasmus, Caspar Clausen and Mads Brauer; drummer Thomas Husmar left shortly before – spent nine days exploring the deserted town, making over 1000 field recordings. “When we came back it was all about those sounds. Well, first it was about sounds, and then it was about testing what the recordings could be turned into.”

Rusted metal containers, empty vodka bottles and other forsaken relics (including the aforementioned grand piano) were processed into a glorious array of unfamiliar and elemental instrumentation, and

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October 2012

Playing The Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 24 Oct www.efterklang.net

usherhall.co.uk | 0131 228 1155 @theusherhall

UsherHall

OCTOBER 2012

THE SKINNY 23

24 THE SKINNY

October 2012

clubs

The House That Louis Built

Being at the vanguard of house music from its inception was much less pleasure than pain, says DJ, producer, writer and now filmmaker Lil’ Louis as he launches the world’s first house music exhibition Interview: Ray Philp

Self-indulgence is a tough cheque to cash in most circumstances, and in pages such as these, is afforded the sort of welcome reserved for the South East Asian leg of a Gary Glitter comeback tour. Where Louis Burns is concerned, though, it’s a quality that electronic music has good reason to be eternally grateful for.

Lil’ Louis, as the DJ, producer, writer and filmmaker is better known, began DJing at the ridiculously precocious age of twelve as a result of what the Chicago house legend calls “fated accident.”

“My mother was giving a lot of parties back in the day, and she gave these events for the community. She would put together these things so she could drive people together and teach them how to be more harmonious. This particular event was a very risky event. It was involving opposite street gangs, so the reason she did this was because it was very violent in our area and she figured that if she could bring them together to have them sit and talk to each other, or at least co-exist, she could figure out a way to allay all of the madness.

“I was serving punch at the time, and the DJ, in the middle of the set, had an epileptic seizure.

They had to escort him out and take him to the hospital. And what that left was about 200 angry gangsters threatening to shoot up the place. Literally pulling out guns. So my mother said: ‘Louis, go play a song.’ And I’m like: ‘What!? I don’t know what to do.’ “’Go play something, figure it out!’”

Lil Louis became a fast learner by necessity - he got out of that particular jam by playing, appropriately enough, Kool & the Gang’s Jungle Boogie - but the next few years were to prove no less challenging than the baptism of fire he overcame in 1974. Chicago nightclubs in the mid-to-late 70s were as far removed from the ecstasy haze of the 90s as one could imagine; “hostility” is a word Lil’ Louis repeats throughout in reference to his hometown, narrowing his eyes underneath a light brown leather trilby as he recalls an era he has

little reason to be particularly fond of. “There was a lot of bias back then, it was very segregated…

Chicago still is the most segregated place in the world, in my opinion.

“There was a lot of hostility born because of that. What we were trying to do was figure out a way to allay that. And it was a very difficult task in the 70s because there was no celebrity DJ when I started. You were considered a jukebox, and I’ve always kind of had the personality that if you want me, you want me. You don’t want what you think of me, you want me.

“In other words, I’m not gonna just play the way you want me to play, I’m gonna play what I like to play because you hired me. What that resulted in was glasses and bottles being thrown at me. I got fired from every club that I played for the first five years.”

Speaking ahead of a self-curated museum exhibit dedicated to house music as part of the Sub Club’s 25th anniversary celebrations, there are few DJs more qualified to tell an authoritative history of a genre and culture that remains so fundamentally misunderstood in popular discourse. A raft of documentaries have sought to proclaim their version of events as the definitive account, but Louis insists that his forthcoming film, The House That Chicago Built, will tell the ‘real’ story.

“There’s a lot of misinformation. I stayed quiet because some of the people that were presenting their versions of the history of house were either colleagues of mine – friends that I either helped or supported during the years – and also people that I felt were trying to get it right.

“So because they were trying to get it right, I didn’t want to bash it, but I intentionally declined to be in any one of them, because realising what it was from the beginning, I didn’t want to partake in something that was misinformed and wasn’t true.

“The biggest thing is, they weren’t there. None of them. I’m not being mean, but I’m just telling the truth. If you look at every single documentary – every single one – that has been done, not one of those guys was there in 1974. None of them.

Photo: Jassy Earl

“There

was no celebrity DJ when I started; you were considered a jukebox” lil louis Most of them are telling the story from the 80s.

There’s a lot of stuff that happens from ‘74 to ‘82, ‘83 that built up to what we know as house music.

And I mean, there are so many unsung heroes, like so many people that I know – because again I was there – that have never been mentioned, just never got any kind of due.”

While the suspicion lingers that the film is not the wholly altruistic exercise Lil Louis would wish to portray – Lil’ Louis, after all, is not a name heralded as often in such histories as that of Larry Levan or Frankie Knuckles – it is at least borne of a genuine desire to pursue filmmaking with the same craftsmanship as he did DJing and producing, and was the main reason that his production output ground to a halt in 2004, having also announced his semi-retirement from DJing at the time.

“Taking something like that on is not a part-time gig. Anything you do well or you are deemed great at, there’s a lot of time that needs to go into that.

I didn’t know anything about film. Nothing. I just knew that whenever I created music, I approached it from a visual perspective, and a lot of people say, you know, with Club Lonely, with French Kiss, they could feel this visual thing, but what it was, was this frustrated director in there trying to get you to see the colours, trying to get you to the video, the visual end of it.

“But because I could only provide the audio, I couldn’t show you the colours. As a director, I can show you the actual colour, the composition of it.

I can give you a depth of field that I couldn’t give you from a musical perspective.”

These days, bottles and glasses seldom present themselves as occupational hazards (though try telling that to anyone billed at the Slam Tent), but what Lil’ Louis – alongside a select band of DJs who begat house, disco and everything that came after – has done over the last near-four decades amounts to far more than the preservation of one’s shardless coupon. Indeed, that house music has even survived so long as to merit its own exhibition, Lil’ Louis says, is nothing short of remarkable.

“Firstly, I’m very proud of what it took to get it there, because the other thing that this film is gonna show is that this wasn’t a simple journey, and it certainly wasn’t a pleasant journey. There was a lot of pain affiliated with it. Dynamic pain, y’understand, like necessary things. In fact, I was telling the owner of Sub Club (Mike Grieve), what I loved about Scotland, what I loved about this culture – it mirrors my culture. You guys are always fighting through shit, you’re always fighting through something, and that’s why I have this connection with Sub Club, because we’re fighting together.

“I think what I’m most proud of is the result of that fight. Now, eight, nine, ten generations removed, these DJs don’t even realise how easy they have it. They don’t realise how much we had to struggle to get them in a position where they could do what we did now. I’m proud of that,” he says, reclining gently into his chair and tilting his eyes above the rim of his hat. “I’m proud of that.”

The House that Chicago Built is due for release later in the year www.thehousethatchicagobuilt.com

October 2012

THE SKINNY 25

F E A T U RE S

Re-Releasing The Valve

books

Literary journal Valve launched its debut issue in June 2011, as part of a Strathclyde University course project. It could have ended there, but the enthusiasm of the team for the project has meant that the second issue will arrive in October this year Interview: Keir Hind

The launch event for Valve Issue 2 proper will be on 11 October, in The Berkeley Suite, in Charing Cross, Glasgow. But Valve have already staged a pre-launch showcase of some of the writing talent involved in this new issue back in June, which I attended to get some idea of how things have changed. Naturally, the staff isn’t identical.

Editor Catherine Baird explains “We had about 25 people on the first one and we had everybody giving 100% time and effort, and it was really popular.

The second time around people are away doing different things, quite a few are away in South Korea working, and all over the place. So there was a bunch of us that went in to talk to the new class in Strathclyde Uni about their journal, and then we met and were talking about that.” The new class wanted to make their own journal though. “We’d thought at the time we’d leave Valve for the new class to carry on if they wanted,” Catherine says, “but they decided to go and do their own thing, so then we thought, right, we’ll do something with Valve, then.” The numbers have decreased though.

“To be honest,” Catherine says “it’s been really about a maximum of five of us that have pulled this all together in about six months since we decided to go for it.”

Catherine directs me towards the two wellorganised main content editors, Gabriella Bennett for Fiction, and Katrina Patrick for Poetry. “The fiction submissions came in to my email address,” Gabriella says “and I sorted them into my Valve Yes, Valve No, Valve Maybe piles in my email, and

26 THE SKINNY

October 2012

after the deadline passed I went through all of them. I double checked my Maybes, made sure they definitely weren’t Yeses, made sure the Nos were all Nos – essentially decided on all the fiction we took on to Valve 2.” Similarly, Katrina says her role was “collating all the emails that come in, all the submissions, just sorting them out, and it’s basically myself, Catherine and Gabriella with a few loyal helpers, who helped organise this launch night as well.” Gabriella says the most difficult part was “Determining how experimental to go, because we want to be an experimental journal, but it’s difficult to balance that against giving people what they want.”

So what should we expect? Gabriella Bennett mentions “Scott Morris’s The New Animal” as a favourite, “a really beautiful prose poem, and there aren’t nearly enough prose poems these days.”

Catherine Baird singles out a piece by Sophie Mackintosh, called “Darling, which is a very short piece, and it’s just got a really ethereal quality to it and the imagery in it is gorgeous.” Katrina Patrick, taking a different tack, gets bogged down in discussing favourites that didn’t quite make it. “We had this wonderful poem about grapes which almost made the final cut, and it caused quite an argument because most of us loved it but we weren’t entirely sure what it meant. It was about the similarity between grapes and other grapes and so on until the final line was ‘All will be crushed!’ We thought that was absolutely hilarious but we weren’t entirely sure how the author

“As someone who’s just starting out as a writer, it’s great that there are magazines actively looking for new writers” roddy shippin meant it.” Valve’s web editor Chris Beattie chimes in “I just want to say that I was a very vocal proponent of the grape poem, but unfortunately it wasn’t put in.” I have to ask if he wrote the thing, but he just says: “I wish I had.”

Chris contributed to Valve as a writer last year, and is another who’s glad to be continuing. “I just hope that it goes as well as the last edition did, which was fantastically well. We had a lot of people interested in it, and I think this year is a continuation, but also a breaking free from the fact that last year this was a university project, but this year we’ve all graduated and we still want to keep it going.” It’s promising that he says “my long-term hopes for it… are that the year after this we’ll have a third edition, a fourth edition, and so on, so we’ll

have something sustainable that continues.”

One of this year’s contributors is Alan Gillespie, who read his highly entertaining piece at the taster event. Gillespie has a slightly different angle on Valve. “I actually had a slight rivalry with them last year – if they even noticed – because they were the creative writing magazine of the University of Strathclyde, and I was the editor of From Glasgow To Saturn, the creative writing magazine of the University of Glasgow. I don’t want to hold a grudge, but they were only open to submissions last year to the twenty people in that class, so if you were in the class, you were going to get published.”

Obviously, that’s changed this year. “I was running a magazine,” Gillespie continues “which was open to any student, graduate, or staff member of the University of Glasgow, so I felt we were much less exclusive.” There is a humorous tone to this. “They did a wonderful job,” he admits “and now they’ve made it open submissions I sent them a piece and they accepted it – so I love them, they’re brilliant.”

The submissions process has opened up though, which should lead Valve’s second issue to be stronger than its first. Though it’s not just for the Valve-ites, they have been allowed to submit work. “I have an experimental poem, but just the one thing,” says Gabriella Bennett. Another of last year’s contributors, Lynsey Cameron, has one piece in this year. “It’s supposed to be about how weird hotels are,” she says. “You go in and you don’t really know who’s been there before you, and then it just turned in to this ridiculous

website and submitted some stuff.” His quirky and amusing poems were a highlight of the event.

He found out he was in the magazine at work. “I was in the middle of the call centre and got a text saying ‘you’re in,’” he says. “I did a fist pump in the middle of the office and got a few strange looks for it.” But Shippin is happy to explain why it was so important to him, and why it’s so important generally as well. “I think it’s a really good thing that it’s happened… it’s a good chance to get published, and this sort of thing is really important.

These people have obviously come out of University and thought ‘we think there’s a space for this literary journal,’ and have just done it themselves.

As someone who’s just starting out as a writer, it’s great that there are magazines actively looking for new writers. I like the whole feel of it.”

The event was something of a success then, entertaining, yes, but also persuasive that this kind of endeavour has a future. Lynsey Calderwood underlined this for me when she said: “I didn’t think this many people would turn up for a writing event, it just doesn’t really happen. So to waste that would be ridiculous.” It certainly would.

VALVE 2 WILL BE PROPERLY LAUNCHED ON FRIDAY 19 OCT, AT THE BERKELEY SUITE IN CHARING CROSS, GLASGOW, FROM 8PM TILL LATE. THE EVENT IS FREE, AND COPIES OF THE MAGAZINE SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO BUY ON THE NIGHT WWW.VALVEJOURNAL.CO.UK LYNSEY CAMERON

Be careful what you wish for.

It may just come true…

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OCTOBER 2012

THE SKINNY 27

PHOTO: JON COX

thing where a guy doesn’t sleep and goes crazy.”

But it’s by no means exclusive, Gabriella tells me.

“We struggled to decide whether to put our own stuff in, because we wouldn’t want to just have a magazine that’s perceived as a platform for our own work.” It’s not though, and the readers at the taster event proved this.

Elaine Reid is connected to Strathclyde, but not this particular course. “I was at Strathclyde a couple of years ago,” she says, “and I graduated in 2009 from the journalism and creative writing programme, so I sort of keep in touch with some of the tutors and the current students.” When she heard about the second edition. “I put something forward and it was accepted.” Others took different roads to the magazine. Elizabeth Reeder, the author of the acclaimed Ramshackle, and the upcoming Fremont, tells me: “Gabriella invited me to submit something. So I had essays that I already had going, and that was nice because they were between the two books.” Her decision to contribute was a simple one: “You invest in people that you think, well, they approached me, they were professional, it seems like a good thing to do.”

Roddy Shippin is one of the new writers accepted by Valve, and his journey to publication is different again. “I think I originally found out about it on Twitter,” he says. “I think another literary magazine I follow had re-tweeted something saying ‘new Scottish writing, submit here,’ and I thought ‘that sounds perfect.’ So I went on the

F E A T U RE S

Crime Pays

books

Last month at the inaugural Bloody Scotland literary festival, the cream of Scottish and international crime fiction writers descended on Stirling for a weekend of debates, signings and discussions. The Skinny was there to investigate... words: Bram E. Gieben

28 THE SKINNY

October 2012

different – the reader knows something is going to happen, but does not necessarily know what that something will be. Both Marney and Guthrie are supremely confident storytellers, so the chance to learn from them and ask them questions about process was a unique and valuable opportunity for the budding authors in attendance.

Day one finished with a panel of agents and publishers – including Guthrie, wearing his agent hat – which contained essential advice about how to approach the literary world after constructing your magnum opus. The most surprising aspect of this discussion was Guthrie’s passionate advocacy of self-publishing and digital publishing. Guthrie works for one of Scotland’s premier literary agencies, Jenny Brown Associates, so he is entrenched in traditional publishing. But he is also the founder of Blasted Heath, Scotland’s first digital-only imprint. It was encouraging to hear examples from him of writers who have gone their own way, self-published and made a success of it – proving that there is more than one way into the creative industries.

“We live in sinister times” denise mina The second and third days of the festival were all about author panels, and Bloody Scotland certainly wasn’t short of literary talent, or burning issues for the talent to discuss. In a much-touted debate, Ian Rankin and Peter James took on the issue of The Man Booker Prize, asking whether it was time for a crime fiction writer to be recognised by the Booker jury. Stuart Kelly, literary editor of the Scotland on Sunday, and Willy Maley, founder of Glasgow University’s Creative Writing program, defended the Booker, arguing that several winning novels have included a murder, and could therefore be classified as crime fiction. Rankin made the point that if a crime novel was nominated, it would be “elevated” above the status of crime fiction, to the status of literature, making a convincing point for the elitism inherent in definitions of what is and is not literary. Despite Kelly’s acerbic speech in defence of the Booker, and Peter James’ eloquent attack on it, the debate felt somewhat toothless, with the opposing sides agreeing to disagree in the final analysis.

A fascinating session on forensic science provided one of the most engaging discussions

and public station is morally worse than even the most grisly of premeditated murders. It’s the Leveson enquiry, and the ethics of corporate monsters like James Murdoch, which leads Mina to believe that “we live in sinister times.”

Elsewhere, author, journalist and musician Doug Johnstone (Smokeheads, Hit and Run) joined lawyer-slash-author Gary Moffat (Daisychain), and journalist-slash-author Craig Robertson (Cold Grave, Snapshot) on a panel dubbing them the ‘Bad Boys’ of Scottish crime fiction. Reading from their latest novels, each writer chose a passage that allowed the audience to identify with a killer, rather than a detective; this led on to a robust debate about “sympathetic” protagonists, the literary limits of the police procedural, and the three authors’ track records of fictionalised animal cruelty. “I cut a dog in half with a Samurai sword,” offered Moffat. “I eviscerated a dog,” countered Johnstone, “although technically he was the hero.” Well, that’s why they call them bad boys, after all.

There were dozens more high-profile authors in attendance, from old hands such as Val McDermid, whose most recent novel is a kidnapping thriller with a wickedly modern premise, and Karin Fossum, the Norwegian ‘Queen of Crime,’ to relative newcomers like Caro Ramsay and Frank Muir. With special events such as a live reading of winning entries to the Glengoyne Short Story Competition, the announcement of the Bloody Scotland Crime Novel of the Year, which went to Charles Cumming for A Foreign Country, and a pop-up cinema in a secret location showing classic Sherlock Holmes movies, this was a hugely rewarding, thrillingly diverse weekend of literary entertainment.

There were scandals – the recent controversy over crime writer RJ Ellory’s use of ‘sock puppets’ (fake online personas, created specifically to deliver glowing reviews of his own fiction, and negative reviews of his peers); a seemingly universal dislike among the panellists for Martin Amis; and of course the current literary bete noir, Fifty Shades of Grey. There were gala dinners, with high-profile writers as toastmasters. Finally, there were ample opportunities and lushly-appointed venues for meeting and greeting one’s favourite authors, or for attempting to impress the legions of agents, publishers and journalists who attended the festival. For fans of crime fiction and aspiring writers, Bloody Scotland is an extremely welcome addition to the Scottish festival calendar.

Read our author interviews from Bloody Scotland, featuring Doug Johnstone, Allan Guthrie, Laura Marney and Ann Cleaves online at www.theskinny.co.uk/books www.bloodyscotland.com

charles cumming

Photo: iain mclean

“Crime writing in Scotland really does punch above its weight,” said Ian Rankin in his opening remarks at Scotland’s first ever literary festival dedicated to crime fiction, Bloody Scotland, which took place in Stirling in September. He was referring, in part, to sales – writers like Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Christopher Brookmyre (all in attendance) and Rankin himself reside in the higher echelons of the earnings spectrum for crime writers, and are translated widely, not to mention regularly troubling the best-seller lists in the rest of the English-speaking world. But Rankin wasn’t just talking about sales.

Arguably, modern crime fiction’s first and most beloved author is Scottish – 2012 marks the 125th anniversary of the publication of A Study In Scarlet, the first novel by Scottish author Arthur Conan-Doyle – although Sherlock Holmes’ adventures are based in London. It is also exactly 35 years since William McIlvanney kick-started the genre of ‘tartan noir’ with his gritty, socially realistic take on crime fiction, Laidlaw, due to be re-published soon by Canongate Press. 25 years have passed since the publication of the first of Rankin’s enormously popular Rebus novels. These days Scotland’s crime fiction tradition is firmly established; thronged with talented, successful writers experimenting with a whole host of techniques, styles and themes – and most of them were in attendance at Bloody Scotland.

The festival was designed first and foremost to appeal to fans of crime fiction, with every talk followed by an intimate Q&A and a book signing with the authors, and attendance at some of the events more than filling Stirling’s 300-capacity Albert Halls. Convincing efforts were made to engage with up-and-coming writers and ambitious beginners, with the first day of the festival given over to workshops run in Stirling University’s prestigious Creative Writing department.

The morning session was guided by best-selling author Laura Marney (Nobody Loves a Ginger Baby, No Wonder I Take A Drink), with a focus on character development. Breaking down the essence of what makes a good protagonist, and giving participants the chance to try out her techniques with their own creations, Marney’s workshop was an intriguing, practical demystification of the process of creating a fictional character. The afternoon session was led by author and literary agent Allan Guthrie (Slammer, Two Way Split, Bad Men), and focused on plot – specifically the difference between suspense and tension. Suspense is the anticipation of the inevitable – the reader knows what is coming, but not when. Tension is

of the festival, as a professor of forensic science and a detective inspector analysed the realism of scenes from novels by Stuart MacBride and Christopher Brookmyre. Given that Brookmyre’s hilarious chosen scene (from his debut novel Quite Ugly One Morning) involved the murderer apparently having taken the mother of all dumps on the victim’s mantelpiece, the analysis given by Professor Dave Barclay was light-hearted, if based on hard scientific fact. DI Donna Bryans’ crime scene analysis was undoubtedly more harrowing, featuring graphic images of a murdered woman’s injuries, but for the aspiring writers in the room, the detailed account of forensic procedures and crime scene analysis was utterly transfixing.

The highlight of the second day was a Q&A and reading from William McIlvanney. A writer whose stated ambition was to produce a “genealogy of the working class” of Scotland, he showed deftly and convincingly why crime fiction is the ideal place for closely-observed social realism, painting a vivid portrait of working-class Glasgow in the 1970s in the extracts from his three novels, all featuring Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw.

One extract described the discovery of a body in a Victorian townhouse converted into shabby, single-occupancy bedsits. As a contrast, McIlvanney read a scene almost exactly matching the fictional murder, from his memoirs. As a recentlydivorced, unemployed writer, McIlvanney had lived in a place like the one in his novel, and had indeed discovered a dead body, wires extending from the electrical outlet and wrapped around his wrist.

McIlvanney’s terse, Chandleresque prose and ear for the rich vernacular of working-class Glasgow were an inspiration to a generation of Scottish crime writers, so it is no surprise that when McIlvanney announced the possibility of a new Laidlaw novel, the room erupted into rapturous applause and cheers.

In another debate, Denise Mina (author of the Garnethill trilogy, and winner of this year’s prestigious Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, for The End of the Wasp Season) and Peter James debated an old and always controversial topic – whether or not ‘evil’ exists. Citing examples from his own research, James described some particularly brutal serial murders, while Mina expertly dissected societal notions of good and evil with reference to politicians, the mentally ill, and even other crime writers. The extract from her new novel, Gods and Beasts, featured a tantalising glimpse of Mina’s fictional take on a certain Scottish political figure’s orgy-filled, amoral existence – arguably winning the debate with her thesis that wilful abuse of power

FANCY A NIGHT OF PASSION? TCHAIKOVSKY’S PATHETIQUE SYMPHONY

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A co-production with Richard Jordan Productions Limited and Pachamama Productions in association with Merrigong Theatre Company, Australia.

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An age guide of 14+ is suggested for this production. Please note that booking fees may apply on tickets, check with the box office when booking. The National Theatre of Scotland reserves the right to alter casts, performances, seating or ticket arrangements and latecomers may not be admitted.

National Theatre of Scotland, a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland (SC234270) is a registered Scottish charity (SCO33377). Photography Simon Murphy. nationaltheatrescotland.com @NTSonline #GlasgowGirls

OCTOBER 2012

THE SKINNY 29

13.10.12–25.11.12

Adaptation

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30 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

comedy

“What I did before — he wasn’t me”

Having reinvented comedy in the 80s, Alexei Sayle is making a return to standup. And not a moment too soon...

Interview: Bernard O’Leary illustration: Kate Copeland

Alexei Sayle used to be the most vital comedian in Britain, back when the UK had a nasty Conservative government that treated everyone like scum.

So is this why he’s finally returning to standup, in order to do battle with the Tories once more?

“Yes, that’s it,” he chuckles. “I’m doing this for everyone.

“Actually, it sort of surprised me, given how opportunistic comics are, that there seems to be very little political comedy. So either comics are missing a trick or else nobody wants to fucking hear about it.”

For his upcoming tour – which stops off at The Stand in Edinburgh and Glasgow – Sayle promises to be more political than he was in the past. Which is a difficult concept to grasp, given that Sayle spent most of the 80s as an angry, shouty fat man in the two-tone suit, a vicious anti-Thatcherite, a proud Communist and the burning heart of the alternative comedy explosion that emerged from that time. How could Alexei Sayle possibly be more political this time around?

“I hadn’t started analysing this until I started thinking about doing it again, but what I did before – he wasn’t me. He was a comic persona. We used to give him a name and stuff, he was called Coco.

He was a demented, fat, old mod. He was fairly angry, very violent... it wasn’t planned but that’s just how he evolved.

“Obviously it was me, these were my feelings and my thoughts, but they were expressed in a very extreme way. I don’t do that anymore. What I do now is me. I talk about things that happened to me, things I’ve done and I put a comic spin on it but they are real. With Coco it wasn’t real.”

Coco was a terrifying creation in his own way, a skinhead bovver-boy that seemed a pretty decent portrayal of how the 80s establishment viewed the working classes. Talking about him brings to mind another recent piece of political nostalgia, with the release of the Hillsborough files. Anfield-born Sayle sounds genuinely sad when he talks about

the recent revelations.

“That was shocking. I’d always thought there was a conspiracy but the extent of it and the utter incompetence of the council, the ambulances and the police. It’s depressing.

“And you forget how the world was. The coppers were kind of trapped in a mindset themselves.

A wicked, incompetent mindset that was the spirit of the 80s. Football supporters were considered hooligans and there was a lot of violence because they were treated so contemptuously. You forget that utter contempt that the authorities had.”

“I try and resist saying ‘it were all great in my day, kids today don’t know they’re born.’ But kids today don’t know they’re born” Alexei Sayle This was the world in which Coco/Alexei found themselves, and which they reacted to with a new form of comedy. Sayle was the regular MC in the early days of The Comedy Store, back when comedy mainly consisted of mother-in-law jokes told in working men’s clubs. The story goes that he saw an ad saying ‘Comedians Wanted’ and walked straight in.

“My wife saw it, really. I had been doing sort-of comedy for a couple of years before then with a partner, but we didn’t realise that’s that what it was. We were just going around in circles. I had started thinking ‘if only somebody would create a

venue where I could do this.’ So when Linda saw that ad I knew it was my opportunity. I grabbed it.”

What was it like there?

“It was wild, you know? The original Comedy Store was in a strip club in Soho and Soho then was pretty demi-monde. You could only get in via a lift and the lift could only carry four people at a time, so people would come in little groups. It was £4 to get in and the pubs closed at 11, so it was mainly just a place to come and have a drink.

“It had been a club since the 1930s and people like Dylan Thomas had drank there. There were these tables and gilt chairs, and champagne and these beautiful railings designed by Mondrian, I think. It was the kind of club you’d see in something like The Saint or Man In A Suitcase. The audiences were wild, wild. I remember one night Andy De La Tour was doing a bit about Northern Ireland. It wasn’t even that bad but it was such a sensitive topic people were just screaming at him ‘Get off!’ I just stood there and thought, ‘Nah, I’m leaving him on.’”

From punk music to alternative comedy, that seemed to be a time when people reacted to austerity by getting together and making art. Without wanting to romanticise the period too much, it does raise the question of what’s happening now, why people aren’t reacting to life in 2012.

Sayle sighs. “Shit’s different now. I try and resist being nostalgic and curmudgeonly and saying ‘it were all great in my day, kids today don’t know they’re born.’ But kids today don’t know they’re born.

“There’s a lot more of everything about now. I’d say in a sense that’s problematic. When you’ve got a single strong voice pounding out a message, it’s easy to focus on. But when there’s this multiplicity of voices... I don’t think it’s a conspiracy but it suits the powers that be. I mean, it can be a good thing and I hear that Twitter played a large part in the uprisings in Syria and Egypt, but it seems to me here that the cacophony of voices don’t lead to

any kind of clarity.”

So you’re not joining Twitter then?

“I probably should, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get around to it.”

That’s okay. Stewart Lee hates Twitter.

“Well, Stewart is our leader. If he hates it, then I hate it too.”

Stewart Lee has played a part in getting him to return to standup. Sayle has been busy in the last few years, writing books and doing spoken word shows, but after performing at a show curated by Lee last year at the Royal Festival Hall Sayle admits that he “got a taste for it again.”

“Also, it was just seeing how Stewart worked. I suppose my attitude before had been like full-on show business, you know, big tours, big venues, big promotions and there’s a kind of different model that Stewart has where you play smaller places and you don’t do it with a huge amount of publicity. You do it for its own sake rather than, you know... making shitloads of money.”

We finish by talking about what he makes of the current crop of comedians. He admits he’s not really on top of what’s happening on the scene at the moment, but names a few people that have impressed him. “I like Stewart and Josh Howie who’s my mate, and people like Josie Long. There’s Louis CK, who is the bomb. He’s the first comic I’ve seen in a long time that’s made me think ‘I’d like to do some of that.’”

It’s good to hear that there’s still passion for comedy left in Sayle. And it’s exciting to think that he’ll be back on the road again, and a whole new generation of comedy fans will find themselves pondering that thirty-year old question: who is that fat bastard?

Alexei Sayle, The Stand Glasgow, Mon 29 Oct; The Stand Edinburgh, Tue 30 Oct Tickets £13, doors 7.30pm www.thestand.co.uk/news/newsitem/142/AlexeiSayle-Comes-to-The-Stand-this-Autumn/

October 2012

THE SKINNY 31

F E A T U RE S

music

Guest Selector

Duff spills on his favourite punk albums from childhood and beyond

photo: fab fernandez

1. The Germs – (GI) (1979) Now this is an important record; it’s the first American hardcore punk record with some production. It was mind-blowing at the time, like, wow – there’s fuckin’ real guitar blaring out of the right side and you could hear everything, especially Don Bolles on drums. Darby Crash’s lyrics were this different thing where you couldn’t hear one word he said but he made you read the lyrics. It was like really dark poetry that you couldn’t figure out – we were too young too figure all that shit out. As a record, when you first hear it, you can’t understand it at all. Then on the fourth listen it becomes one of the best you’ve ever heard.

Anything Goes

Founding Guns N’ Roses’ bassist Duff McKagan talks Loaded, legacies, and living in the here and now interview: Dave Kerr The Skinny last spoke to you around five years ago when life was very different – your old band Velvet Revolver was still an ongoing concern, but the future for it was starting to look a bit rocky…

Life’s funny, man. I actually haven’t given interviews in a while, which is kinda nice. I’m a writer too, so I get it. Giving interviews is all part of the cycle, but it was nice to step out of it. The last time we spoke, Scott [Weiland, former Velvet Revolver frontman] had just gone into rehab. I’ve learned, so that when people say ‘what are you going to be doing later this year?’ I just say ‘Hell if I know, I’ve no fuckin’ idea!’

These days you’re a regular columnist for ESPN and Seattle Weekly, playing with Loaded of course, and I hear you’re part of a new hard blues project [called Walking Papers] with a couple of guys from Mad Season [Barrett Martin, formerly of Screaming Trees, and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready]. Then there’s the autobiography you recently released, which you’re doing a spoken word gig for in London this October. Plenty of irons in the fire, then!

Yeah, I know it appears that way. I do like to keep busy, but I certainly don’t have too much going on. I guess having all that ‘product’ out there gives the appearance that a guy’s really fuckin’ busy.

I’ve been writing my column for four years, so that’s not exactly new. And the book is something that I finished two years ago. Walking Papers is really a fun thing; I didn’t have a tonne to do with the inception of it, I just got to play on the record and a few gigs. Then of course there’s my band Loaded – which I have this serious passion for and love. I especially love coming to the UK and playing, because we have somehow managed to land a tidy, Loaded-specific audience over there.

We’ve just finished this movie, which we’ve been promising for so long. That’s going to be coming out in eleven instalments. Finishing that big mad project has been a thing...

32 THE SKINNY

October 2012

Is there anything you get out of playing with Loaded that you perhaps didn’t with Guns N’ Roses or Velvet Revolver?

I don’t think it’s an either/or sort of thing, it’s what is now. I’m a classic band guy. I like to find my part in a band. You’re never just the bass player or the rhythm guitar player, you’re bass player and you play a part in the social aspect of the band that makes it work too. That extra role was a key thing in Guns. The band’s got to function on a lot of levels; musically first, business wise and you’ve got to get along. With Loaded, of course, I serve this other part – I’m a rhythm guitar player, I can’t sing lead and play bass very well. I have to think too much! I don’t like to think when I’m playing; you shouldn’t have to think in rock music. Geddy Lee does it well – plays bass and sings, but that’s different because Rush is thinking man’s rock – at least a little bit. I do the interviews, I sing and play rhythm guitar. I’ve served a different purpose in all three bands. The main thing is I’m creating music; I’ve found that creating music constantly is something that I have to do, that somehow I’ll never be able to stop doing. I think that when you stop creating something, dangerous things – for a guy like me – start to creep in.

“I don’t have the luxury to say ‘fuck this’ and go hide” duff mckagan Tell us about your dabbling with spoken word – how did that come about?

I’m a poet, you know! [laughs] No. I’m not a poet. I released that book last year and some of the book stores wanted me to do a reading. I’ve been to book readings, I am a book nerd – I read a lot and go to see authors as often as I can. Most book readings are not that enthralling. So suddenly I was cast into

that other side. Instead of a book reading I had a band behind me – a pedal steel player, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, bass, and a guy playing a little cocktail drum kit. I read from the book with music that coincided with those passages – music from my past. We had video going on behind us without sound and it turned out to be a really cool, inventive evening. I did that again the night before Guns were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, at the House of Blues in Cleveland. That’s what this thing’s going to be in London. Being a book enthusiast, I think I know what a book person would wanna see – more than spoken word or me just talking and giving a Q&A.This is more like a rock show.

Axl Rose infamously pulled out of the band’s induction into the Hall of Fame in the eleventh hour. Knowing how the press and fans would mount expectation on the event, was there any reluctance to participate on your part?

I keep things positive – I’m a father and a leader in my family and everything starts there. I have two daughters and I guess I don’t have the luxury to say ‘fuck this’ and go hide. Sometimes you want to, that’s human nature. As a columnist, a lot of people write me – especially at the Seattle Weekly – about whatever topic. That was a big one for a while.

These people felt the way I did when The Stooges were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Like – that’s my band! So I got it. I’m a fan of music, and it suddenly dawned on me that it wasn’t about me, or the band or the circus or any of that. It was about those fans who had been there all that time, had come to shows, bought records and showed up.

This was about them. So I looked at that as a very positive thing and the least I could do was fuckin’ go show up for them. Just show up. That was it. This isn’t a commentary on anybody else; it’s just the way I personally chose to roll with this thing.

Duff McKagan’s Loaded play Alice Cooper’s Halloween Night of Fear III at The Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 31 Oct. For more on Duff’s involvement in Walking Papers and his advice for young bands, read the full interview on www.theskinny.co.uk/music www.duff-loaded.com

2. Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power (1973) This is a record that has really been a soundtrack for life. One of my older brothers had this so I got to hear it really early on when I was about 9. It melded in with the other records I started to hear later on around 79 when I was 15. I had a basis for punk rock, and this was it – Raw Power.

3. The Damned – Damned, Damned, Damned (1977) We had a punk rock guitar hero in Brian James and they just had great songs. They wrote these concise little 2 and a half minute songs. They were like The Who to us – Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian. That was a real band. It was heartbreaking when that first incarnation stopped. But they made a couple of great records, that’s for sure.

4. Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1980) Holy fuck, Killing Joke still gives me chills. It can get dicey when you’re using synthesized sounds in music, they might not hold up through time, but this record is still so brutal and beautiful. If there’s too many light spaces in your life, the first Killing Joke record will fill ‘em up. I saw them last year and they were so good. Everyone sings every song at their gigs. Everyone you see there – even though you don’t know them – is suddenly your mate. They still have that power.

5. Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come (1998) This isn’t an early record, but it’s one that colours in the spaces just like Killing Joke. I got to see Refused recently – they’re a band I never thought I’d see live. That’s the kind of gig you go to by yourself. In the late 90s, my wife was having our kids while I was going to college at Seattle University. If you remember, those days were not great for rock music, maybe besides bands like The Hellacopters, Zeke, and Queens of the Stone Age – who were making a record at the time. I was thinking ‘well, maybe fuckin’ rock is done!’ Then, in ’99, [Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén’s other band] The International Noise Conspiracy were coming through town. I said ‘who’s that?’, then a friend pointed me at Refused and said ‘listen to this.’ If you listen to the first Velvet Revolver record, all we were listening to was The Shape of Punk to Come. We have this song called Illegal Eye and that riff at the beginning came about after cranking Refused in rehearsal.

Duff McKagan’s Loaded play Alice Cooper’s Halloween Night of Fear III at The Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 31 Oct. www.duff-loaded.com

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You will be missing out if you don’t go and see it” Emily Peckham, Cloud Dance

OCTOBER 2012

THE SKINNY 33

FEATURES

ADVENTURES IN SOUND

art

From the team behind Cryptic Nights, SONICA offers a programme dedicated to presenting sonic art for the visually minded in venues across the city of Glasgow

approach, a passion for the emergent, and a desire to both foster the development of new work and shine a light on existing international art that hasn’t had the attention it deserves in Scotland.

Working with co-curators Graham McKenzie and Patrick Dickie, they have developed a festival (for want of a better term – Boyd is keen to avoid calling it that, on which more later) which should offer a series of unmissable events; rare opportunities to be introduced to the cream of international sonic, kinetic and visual arts. Crucially, they all have contrasting opinions. “We all have completely different tastes. It’s interesting when it’s three people – it’s not just one person saying ‘I want I want I want;’ it really is discussing the work.”

Sonica brings together highlights from across the globe. It opens with a public engagement programme, launching on 18 October with Piano Migrations, a kinetic artwork by Kathy Hinde that will be residing in the Scottish Music Centre for a month. Using an old piano, the artist has created a work which deals with nature through electronic means, with video of little birds landing projected onto the instrument, triggering a series of small machines to twitch and throb the piano’s strings.

The work will also be projected in the window to entice passers-by into the space.

Lithuanian composer Juste Janulyte presents the Scottish premiere of her work Sandglasses (8 & 9 Nov, Tramway), an entrancing three dimensional performance work featuring four cellists playing in transparent columns, with lights mimicking grains of sand flitting across the tubes, visuals building in intensity along with the rising power of the music.

Collective 33 1/3 bring their production of Bartók’s opera Bluebeard (14-18 Nov, Tramway).

Artists Douwe Dijkstra, Jules van Hulst and Coen

TALES OF MAGICAL REALISM PART 2

34 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

SANDGLASSES

PHOTO: KOTRYNA ULA KILIULYTE

CRYPTIC HAVE long entertained Glasgow in the CCA with their series of Nights, evening events with an open submission policy that present work focussing on the innovative, the emerging, and the multimedia. Now they’ve created a new format, inspired by the sheer number of submissions they were receiving for Cryptic performances that fell under the banner of sonic art.

It can be a contentious subject, sonic art – what separates it from music? And is an acceptance of it as an entity a generational one? Just a few years ago, ‘sonic art’ still seemed to reside in the realms of the ludicrously conceptual. Now it seems to be a perfectly reasonable part of the cultural landscape. It’s not simply music, no – its site specific nature makes it largely dependent on performance, an experiential art form. As Sonica’s Creative Director, Cathie Boyd puts it, “You have to be there to experience it. It’s what it does to you physically as well as acoustically.”

She continues, “I think there’s a huge growing element within the visual arts scene to use sound – if you look at Susan Phillpsz who won the Turner, or Luke Fowler who’s now shortlisted. Sound has always been a huge part of his work. I think there’s always been that crossover between sound and visual art and I guess what we’re doing within Sonica is a lot of the music we’re presenting, whether you call it music or sonic art, it’s all about how it’s presented visually. It’s not just about the listening. I also think that a younger generation are more interested in sonic art. It’s more specific to them than if you just say ‘music.’”

Boyd’s vision for Sonica is inspiring. A producer, director and curator with a wealth of experience ranging from the traditional high artform of opera to the bleeding edge of conceptual performance, she describes a programme with an inclusive

Huisman have ripped apart the traditions of opera to create a contemporary vision using state of the art technology. Says Boyd, “Opera has become quite a staid artform, which for me is a real shame because opera is multimedia – it was the first multimedia work. It’s visual art, choreography and music – beautiful... This is opera for the next generation. This is opera for young people who play a lot of games, who’re used to amazing virtual reality and fantastic visuals.”

Glasgow-based artist Sven Werner is showing Tales of Magical Realism Part 2 (14-18 Nov, Tramway), a follow up to Part 1 which debuted at Cryptic Nights. A filmmaker by training, Werner has been increasingly working in multimedia installation, creating immersive works that seek to replicate physically the world of a film he and a partner have scripted, Oculista, which currently languishes in development. He says of the Sonica event, “The aim is to create very immersive experiences. I try to take people into these worlds of magical realism.

[Tales of Magical Realism] is creating a new experience of being inside, of experiencing the film from the inside out.

“The piece starts in a Kafka-inspired waiting room in which things are happening, performances and live music. You find yourself in this timeless space. Then at certain intervals, every 6 minutes, numbers are being called, and people are individually led through into another space where another experience is waiting, this installation. I don’t want to give too much away, but basically [the audience will be] entering this filmic story by peeping into these scenes and becoming part of this scene as you peep into the story.” The aesthetic has been described as steampunk, with a Victoriana sensibility reflected in the inclusion of penny farthings in the installation space, generating part of the work

“There’s always been that crossover between sound and visual art” CATHIE BOYD for audience members. The sound piece for the work is provided by collaborator Graeme Miller.

The technical rules of Sonica have been thoughtfully assembled – no event will last longer than an hour, meaning the out of town visitors will have the chance to fit in a few shows in a single day.

It also makes the experience much less daunting for those with little or no experience of the world of sonic art – an hour isn’t very long to promise to pay attention. Ticketing is based on an early bird system, where advance bookings enjoy healthy discounts. This project wants to encourage attendance rather than draw massive profits.

Don’t call it a festival, though. Boyd doesn’t want to limit Sonica by giving it that title. “We want Sonica to be much more fluid. It can be a festival, but we can also have other events. It’s a platform to enable us to really present the best sonic art, and that can be at different times throughout the year. Sonica can build to a festival size, or it can just be a one-off performance that we want to put the Sonica label on.” Look out for future events popping up in Glasgow, the rest of Scotland and across the globe.

SONICA, 8-18 NOV, VENUES ACROSS GLASGOW. THERE ARE MANY MORE SHOWS ON OFFER - DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAMME AT THE SONICA WEBSITE WWW.SONIC-A.CO.UK/2012

PHOTO: PHILIPEE STIRNWEISS

INTERVIEW: ROSAMUND WEST

OctOber ber – December 2012

OptimO : the GD DiscO banD : nina Kraviz cassy : ricarDO villalObOs bashmOre Os : JuliO bashm hOrse meat DiscO : a sKillz : sbtrK sbtrKt : esa JuniOr : telfOrD : heiDi eiDi : slam : beta & Kappa GeOrGe fitzGeralD : harri & DOmenic : spittal tracK : Kölsch (live) : sensu raymOnD vOse : a-tracK h : animal farm : benJi b manO le tOuGh pencer : JacKmaster : miDlanD GOODhanD & spencer en ufO : pearsOn sOunD : panGaea martelO : ben lawan : JuniOr G : the revenGe : ali OOft blawan mith : DerricK carter : eats everythinG craiG smith Graeme parK : auntie f flO : ben KlOcK : bicep

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art

FEATURES

PLATFORM 7: GETTING A LEG UP

An exhibition facilitated by SOMEWHERETO_ asks whether artists can get down off their soapboxes and work collaboratively as one voice INTERVIEW: JAC MANTLE

HOW MANY artists can you get on a soapbox?

Platform 7, opening later this month, will showcase the work of seven young artists. But it’s the curators who are in ample supply here – the head count runs to one per artist. The show, with this pretty much unheard-of ratio, is the result of a nationwide call by Somewhereto_ for artists and curators aged 16-25 years to collaborate on an exhibition. No prior experience of exhibiting or curating was necessary – the participants received mentoring.

Inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Somewhereto_ is a one-stop shop for young people seeking a place or space for just about any cultural or sporting activity. Just give them your spec and they’ll match you to an available venue.

In association with The Skinny, Platform 7 will show at Edinburgh’s Whitespace before touring to Manchester and Liverpool. The show reacts to the showbiz aspect of the art world and explores the body as a site of identity and action.

In a canny move, the group has opted for a self-reflexive approach, shining a torch on the nature of their selfsame endeavour. The show will play with the idea of championing an artist, placing them under a spotlight and providing them with a soapbox to transmit from. Seeing the body as a site of identity and action, the artists pledge to question what constitutes ‘the body’ and what that term can mean – can fourteen individuals really

work together as one?

For some of the group – in line with the aims of the project – it will be their first time exhibiting or curating. Yasemin Hacioglu knew little about curating when she signed up to the project, but thought the experience would inform her Art History studies.

“It’s interesting to see how the practicalities of drawing an audience and the substance of the works is not an attempt to find great new things and stick them together for an audience to gape at – which is what my art history so far leaves an impression of – but rather, that it is collaborative.”

For curator Gordon Douglas, the learning curve was in working remotely as a team – although the outcome was far from soapbox curating.

“Having us all living in different areas nationwide has been very difficult, forcing us to use social networking sites to establish links and to create discussions online rather than in real life. That being said, it’s been highly rewarding getting to talk to such a focused group of people, most of whom are interested in the same things as I am and equally ambitious,” says Douglas.

Exhibiting her work for the first time, graphic designer Martina Martin will use the opportunity to investigate the relationship between artist, artwork and viewer. She will present colourful, geometric paintings created using digital programs to generate simple codes and algorithms.

MARTINA MARTIN

Yuan Zhang has explored literally what the body can be, creating a hypothetical jaunt through time and space to human organs, opening “the wormhole in our hearts.” Glossy black Jesmonite hands with fingers splayed reach out disturbingly, betraying a tiny hole in the centre of the palm. Zhang is also considering the potential of an audience to bring her work into the realms of performance and workshops.

“All the artists we chose look at the body as a

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36 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

platform of identity and action, and by challenging the idea of what a young artist’s voice/body means in today’s culture, we are asking whether seven curators and seven artists can come together and exist as one voice, one vision,” says curator Rachael Paterson-Smith.

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travel

Lifestyle

The Perks of Being a Tr avel Editor: Austr alia Our Travel Editor gets to swan off to the other side of the world. Once he’s renewed his passport after a four year-lull, that is. “It’s a ‘press’ trip, not a ‘free’ trip,” he protests. Hmmm... here’s the ‘press’ part! words: Paul Mitchell

photos: marcus sherifi

“It’s

not supposed to be possible to develop an affinity with a country’s character in that space of time, but the organisers were determined to give it their best shot” executed with near-military precision and taking in a huge variety of activities thousands of miles apart.

Within two hours of landing, we were kitted out in wetsuits, ready for a surfing lesson on Manly Beach. I had been dubious about this one.

“Should I sign you up for surfing?” enquired Margo, a couple of weeks before we departed.

“Absolutely. Does it matter that I can’t really swim? I’m not afraid of water, just shit at being in it?” “Nah, the water’s shallow, you’ll be right.” One serious riptide later and I really did struggle, though the relief of finally hitting the sand afterwards was almost worth it in terms of euphoria after the previous (probably only 45 seconds worth, but seemed a lot longer) episode of pandemonium. Margo’s later reaction, with classic Aussie candour: “Not as shallow as I thought it would be. Sorry.” Snorkelling just above the Great Barrier Reef was possibly a predictable highlight (not scared, incompetent, remember?) – but the world’s largest organic construction really does live up to the hype in terms of majesty. However, it was the boat ride out there that really stuck in the

Dear Paul, On behalf of Tourism Australia, the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) and Qantas Airways, I would like to invite you on a ‘Coastal Discovery’ trip to Australia to explore the incredible adventures on offer for backpackers, gap year students and working holiday makers. We would love for you to join us on the trip, starting in the famous harbour city of Sydney in New South Wales, across to the sheer cliffs and canyons of the Blue Mountains, up to the spectacular Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and ending in the ancient rainforests of the Daintree.

Yours, Margo As far as unsolicited emails go, this was more unexpected than most. The invitation came courtesy of Tourism Australia, keen to publicise and address issues which have evolved since the economies of Europe and the USA in particular have hit the skids in the years since 2007. Australia, according to various business confidence studies conducted since, has been the least affected country of the global economic crisis. In theory, this makes it an ideal destination for young workers and backpackers from these isles to escape the current doldrums – and lots do; about 7,000 working visas are issued to Brits every year – but the number of UK citizens leaving permanently every year has also been increasing. In addition, the reversal of fortunes of the respective countries means that casual holidaying, or setting up for a few months, has become a hell of a lot more expensive. So, in short, they want the Brits back, and were prepared to fly me there to help them do it!

I’m not sure why I’d never actually been to Australia before. Without exaggeration, almost

memory. On a seriously choppy day, as everyone on board tried to outlast each other in terms of succumbing to overwhelming nausea (a fun, if decidedly masochistic game to play) the efficiency of the staff was such that no person was without a fresh sick bag at any one time. It really crystallised my friend’s point about respect for all professions – because here, it was seriously due.

There was also some abseiling from 50-metre high ledges in the spectacular Blue Mountains (not actually a mountain range, fact fans – sandstone plateaux, since you asked) to serve as a not-sosubtle, yet quite exhilarating reminder that New Zealand is not the only Antipodean destination for adventure holidays, and a ride in the spectacular feat of engineering that is the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway which showed that they can construct more than permanent barbies. There were more sedate moments – walking tours around Sydney and Various YHA premises; our other highly personable chaperone, Ted, proving my ‘other sister’ wrong by showing us some ‘great little places;’ receiving confirmation after confirmation that Australia deserves its esteemed culinary reputation – which all added up to a wonderfully engrossing and spectacularly enjoyable time for me – so I’m really glad I went, even if it’s difficult to transpose this particular experience to Australian life in general. But you knew that already? So now, as well a big thank you to everyone who put the trip together, there’s only one thing left to say. Please go to Australia, tell them The Skinny sent ya!

For more information on Australian working holidays, see www.australia.com/workingholiday www.facebook.com/AustralianWorkingHoliday Qantas flies daily to Sydney from London Heathrow.

Return economy fares start from £899 Please check latest fare deals available at Qantas.com Accommodation kindly provided by YHA, www.yha.com.au

everyone in my circle of family and friends has lived there for a while and brief surveys have generally given the experience a thumbs up, to varying degrees. One sister: “I’d move back to Sydney today if I wouldn’t be so far from my friends;” other sister: “All the bars are ‘trendy’ with shit music and ‘surfers’ who have way too many awful tattoos.

You never hear anyone say, ‘I know this great little place.’ There are no ‘great little places’ in Sydney.

The rest of the country is fantastic though.”

Others bemoaned the apparent homogeneity of the culture, the comparative shallowness of the barbecue and beer (although if we had that option all the time would we really turn our noses up at it?) while another made the observation that it was a more egalitarian and less class-anxious society than here (wouldn’t be hard), where respect for individuals, whether they worked in the service industry or anywhere, was much more forthcoming.

Australia, it seems, has no ‘plebs.’

Perhaps such a wealth of ‘secondary’ experience meant that there was no innate burning desire to experience first-hand what I knew from anecdote (and Sons and Daughters) would be an amazing country to experience – I was happy to have experienced it vicariously, until this opportunity came knocking. The trip, which included three other journalists from the UK, had been truncated for organisational reasons to just six days, and of course, it’s not supposed to be possible to develop an affinity with a country’s character in that space of time. But the organisers were determined to give it their best shot; easing us in luxuriously by granting access to the Qantas executive lounge (pleasant surroundings, but with free food and beer to really add to the ambience). In many senses, that pre-flight chill-out was as relaxing as it was going to get, as we spent the next few days ploughing through an elaborately constructed itinerary,

October 2012

THE SKINNY 37

wellery Je n n io sh Fa ry ra po em nt Co d an e Vintag Arts n Crafts n Retro Tearoom Upcycling Workshop Old Skool Games 40s 90s Sounds

Untitled-1 1

28/08/2012 14:25

Edinburgh

Art Fair Fine, Modern & Contemporary Art Friday 16th - Sunday 18th November The Edinburgh Corn Exchange, New Market Road, EH14 1RJ Doors open at 11am each day - Admission £6 / Concessions £4.

For further information call 01875 819 595 or visit

www.artedinburgh.com 38 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

Deviance

deviance

I’m Sick of Gay Sex

Why are depictions of gay men in the media always focused on their sex lives?

Words: Matthew Bobbu

Pole Dancing For Feminists Pole-dancing - it’s not all about sex.

Words: Miriam Prosser Illustration: Lauren Crow When I was a teenager I thought pole dance was the most beautiful kind of art. It was exotic in the original sense of the word: foreign, outlandish and magical, but the only way to learn how to do it was for money in sleazy clubs. Mainstream culture was looking good for feminists at the time. Girls were being boys in the make-up-free, Doc-Martin wearing aesthetic of the indie scene; boys were being girls through the androgynous pouty bisexuality of Placebo. Grunge unified men and women alike in a love of baggy clothing and coal-chamber logos. On TV we had funky, powerful Buffy kicking vampire ass and Sex and the City made Ann Summers a household name by talking openly about women and sex.

How things have changed. The Versace dress that caused such a stir on Liz Hurley in 1994 would scarcely turn heads these days, what with Christina Aguilera causing a scandal in her underwear on X Factor in 2010 and Rihanna’s videos getting ever more pornographic. In addition to all this, learning pole dance, burlesque or strip tease is a de riguer hen night activity, and can be learnt down the gym.

Recently I became a pole dance instructor and also applied for a position with Edinburgh Women’s Aid. Fearing, in a pre-interview panic, that my other job would count against me, I thought about the increasing sexualisation of our culture and how I can defend my love of pole in the light of it. How can I argue for one passionate belief (pole dance is wonderful) without compromising the other (strident feminism)?

Pole dance as I know it is not for money, it’s for fun. It’s the love of movement, of your body, of your sexuality, and the sheer excitement of going round and round (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should try it). Yes, it can be sexy, but your sexuality is part of you and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I wouldn’t teach anyone under 18 to pole dance, but a legal adult should be free

“Feminism

is about freedom and equality, for anyone, regardless of the shape of their genitals” to express themselves however they like (as long as they’re not expressing themselves by punching someone in the face). You can use pole dance to express anger, fear, vulnerability, and playfulness, just as you can use any dance form to express your complex and multi-faceted glory. The narrow vision of sexuality conjured to mind by the words ‘pole dance’ doesn’t have to be the reality; I’ve seen a 30-something banker with a beard rock it on the pole. It doesn’t need to have a sexual edge at all – at competition level pole dance is vertical

acrobatics; amazing feats of physical strength and skill. Why should that be less impressive just because it’s usually women doing it in their underwear?

I hoped when I started pole dancing that it would have a positive impact on the people who try it. That they would feel more confident, get to enjoy their bodies. Because I am not small or athletic, I hoped being taught by me might help them realise that you can revel in your body whatever size you are… a message I struggle with in my daily life, but always feel when I dance. What I didn’t expect was that I would have women approach me and tell me that pole classes gave them a space to feel safe in expressing their sexuality.

To use the words of one woman: “Because of a past experience I feel that to express my sexuality openly, even with my husband, is not safe. Doing this class in a safe environment gave me a chance to experience a side of myself I am usually unable to express.”

Feminism is about freedom and equality, for anyone, regardless of the shape of their genitals.

Pole dancing can increase a person’s freedom to be their full self without fear of danger. It can help them express their whole wild, angry, sweet, psychedelic, brilliant selves. It can help them learn to feel and enjoy their bodies, it can help them to play. If what you do causes no one harm and sends people out into the world dancing, confident, and joyful, I don’t see how feminism can object. Whole, confident women – whole, confident people – is what feminism is all about.

I’m really quite fed up with this obsession with gay sex.

Whenever homosexual individuals are featured in the media, be it in fact or fiction, the focus always seems to be on their sexuality above all else. I’m not just talking about the focus being on their orientation rather than their personality, either – though that’s perhaps a rant for another day. Homosexuality seems to always be portrayed under a red light.

Gay men, if their sexuality is mentioned at all, are always under the spotlight because of their sex lives. When they appear in TV shows or films it seems like they are always dirty-minded stereotypes. When lesbians appear in the media they are invariably fetishised by men because of their sexuality, or chastised as ‘dykes.’ Is there no other way we can see people who are not heterosexual than as conduits for their sexuality?

The only exceptions appear to be those who purposefully keep their sex lives away from the public eye – people like Derren Brown or Stephen Fry, who not only kept their sexual orientation on the quiet during their rise to fame, but also continue to maintain a low profile sex life – one assumes through no small effort.

What I would love to see is someone in the middle; someone who is openly non-heterosexual, does not go to lengths to keep their partners away from the media, but who is not turned into a walking stereotype.

Is there simply no room for homosexual romance in the media? We never have the pleasure of seeing pictures of two men walking down the beach, hand in hand, with headlines about how perfect a couple they make. There is no ‘Brangelina’ for the LGBTQ community. And that is a huge shame.

You see, when I think of my boyfriend, I don’t immediately think of his cock. Sure, it’s up there in my list of favourite things about him, but it’s not the reason I’m with him. I’m with him because of his magnificent wit; his unfaltering cheerfulness; his tremendous capacity for love; the terribly geeky tastes we hold in common; and umpteen other different things that make him a wonderful person to be with.

When I remember the good times, sure, the brilliant sex comes up at some point. But it comes a long way after the evening when we cuddled under a blanket gazing at the stars. That day we spent firing air-propelled rockets across a field is much more precious to me that any sexual adventure.

Running around an enormous off license, gleefully pointing out humorous beer names, is infinitely more valuable to my happiness than anything we’ve done in bed. As for drinking whiskey together beside a glowing fireplace with friends all around us, talking nonsense and laughing the small hours away; well you can guess how much that means to me.

So the next time I see an article about an openly homosexual person in the media, I would like it to be something perhaps a little less focused on their sex life, and more about their life. Is that too much to ask?

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Showcase

igor termenon "The series I Used To Live Here documents the places I lived in between 2009 and 2011. During those three years I lived in five cities/towns in two different countries (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Liverpool in the UK, Ponferrada and Gijón in Spain).

"While I was living in those places the word 'home' lost, somehow, its significance to me. I really didn’t know where I was going to end up next and the photos were an excuse to collect all the memories and try to find a place I could actually call home."

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October 2012

Igor Termenon is a Spanish photographer currently living in Edinburgh. He works full time in digital marketing but always takes photographs whenever he has some free time.

Most of his work is fashion – published editorials include magazines and websites such as Vice and Nylon. He's also the editor of a contemporary photography zine called Girls on Film. www.girlsonfilmzine.co.uk www.igortermenon.com

SHOWCASE

October 2012

THE SKINNY 41

fashion

LIFESTYLE COBALT The catwalk may have been awash with sorbets and nudes, but not exclusively. One colour which accented (and sometimes anchored) key looks was cobalt blue, an electric, rich colour normally associated with A/W seasons. There were several ways to wear the trend; from oversized cocoon jackets at Thomas Tait, to silm cut suits at Antonio Berrardi. The key way to wear it this summer, though, was undoubtedly in embellished dress and trouser form (we’ve been lusting over THOSE Fyodor Golan trousers ever since we first saw them come down the runway!).

ALL IN ONES Jumpsuits and dungarees! Oh my! This admittedly difficult to wear trend featured in collections by House of Holland – bright, short and festival style dungarees, or full length in silk, orange sorbet at Moschino Cheap and Chic. Jumpsuits cropped up at KTZ, Maria Grachvogel and Jean Pierre Braganza. If you must wear this trend, keep your silhouettes loose and relaxed and if you try dungarees (please) wear a simple blouse underneath (otherwise you’ll look like a reject from Dexy’s Midnight Runners).

huishan zhang

maria gr achvogel

London Fashion Week: Spring / Summer 2013

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SHEER PANELS Sheer, gauzy organza panels cropped up in many of the London collections. Topshop Unique showed lean, relaxed minimal dresses in a colour palette of cream and midnight blue, with sheer panels at the neck, midriff and below the knee. Australian designer Dion Lee paired organza with stiff cotton giving a sporty feel to his collection while, in contrast, Temperley London’s elegant, feminine show included the use of sheer stripes across full skirts.

Christopher Kane continued this feminine feel with floral motifs embroidered over sheer skirts and prom length dresses.

OUTERWEAR/SPORTS The return to translucent and light fabrics this season impacted hugely on outerwear.

Silhouettes in general became sleeker, coats lighter, and sporty jackets/parkas almost weightless. Maria Grachvogel, Unconditional and Daks all had archetypal examples of this new kind of outerwear. Holly Fulton even went one step further, using open and unbuttoned shirts as jackets. Even more robust coats and jackets (such as those shown at Marques’ Almeida, Margaret Howell and Christopher Raeburn) were made of lighter, less restricting fabrics, which allowed for movement and flow.

adam andr ascik

maria gr achvogel

LI F EST Y LE SPACE AGE With metallics, iridescents and plastic spotted on many a model on the LFW catwalks, it appears that this coming Spring/Summer we’ll be blasting off into space! Usually the domain of the Autumn/Winter season and the Christmas party, shining and glittering pieces were re-worked in different ways to make them feel fresh and ultra modern. Burberry’s finale featured trenches in Quality Street wrapper shades (yum), while Scottish-born designer Jonathan Saunders paired metallic leather pencil skirts with plain nude and black mesh tops, with a sexy, pared down result. Other designers produced collections that were more ‘out there’ and extremely otherworldly. Craig Lawrence created pieces in his trademark spider-web fine knits. This time however, garments were in tones of silver and pewter, layered, overlapped and with fibre optic spikes and fringes giving a very alien feel.

MONOCHROME In past seasons, monochrome bases have acted as a landing point from which to showcase a key colour, accessory or silhouette. This time around, however, the simple black-and-white combo stood out as a look in its own right. Christian Blanken, Topshop, and Jean Pierre Braganza showcased some of the most stylishly executed monochrome looks. To contrast, Louise Gray’s chopped-up, textured monochrome looks took the trend to the next level, and made the look accessible to those wanting a little more from their monochrome. And a special mention goes to Adam Andrascik, whose minimal black and white look was indicative of just how simple it can be to make a statement in two ostensibly plain colours.

cr aig lawrence

topshop unique

It’s that time again! We get a glimpse into the future of fashion and find out what we’ll be wearing in Spring/Summer 2013... words: Alexandra Fiddes & Emma Segal

fydor golan DECORATIVE MOTIFS A subtle trend that appeared across many of the shoes at LFW, with designers using traditional patterns as inspiration for their decorative details. These ranged from Wiliam Morris-style complex, swirling floral embellishments at KTZ, which were brought right up to date in laser cut lace and leather bomber jackets, dresses and jumpsuits; to blue and white ‘willow pattern’ motifs on yellow or the aforementioned cobalt, at Fyodor Golan that were blown up and distorted by the use of mosaic techniques.

holly fulton SORBET SHADES Maria Grachvogel, Holly Fulton, Erdem, Christopher Kane amongst others, produced collections in teeth tingling, powdery colours; blush pink, lemon yellow, pale apple green and turquiose, all very reminiscent of Love Hearts sweeties. Grachvogel interspersed these colours into her mainly white and grey collection of loose trousers, backless dresses and floaty jumpsuits, whereas Edinbugh-born Holly Fulton chose to use sugary hues across her collection of signature geometric and architectural prints, this time alongside oversized floral motifs and more surface pattern than in her previous work. The resulting offering was captivating and incredibly beautiful.

ktz GHETTO The award for most fun micro-trend this season has to go to GHETTO! Nasir Mazhar adorned grime MCs with slogans and velour tracksuits. KTZ produced trainer wedges, caps and ‘bling’ jewellery (the latter could also be found at Mark Fast). Sister by Sibling showed an embellished netted body that wouldn’t look out of place in a rap video, and House of Holland and Ashish’s slogan tees screamed RUN DMC. If you’re too scared to fully commit to the look, take a leaf out of the books of Meadham Kirchoff, Holly Fulton or Louise Gray, who focused on embellishment and supersized accessories (hats, bowler bags and jewellery) to ‘funk up’ a look.

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LIFESTYLE: FOOD & DRINK

food & drink

phagomania

With lewis macdonald

Chil Out: The Chili Cook-off They say charity begins at home, but we believe that charity begins while trailing around a string of bars and restaurants in a sombrero. Yes, it’s time for a charity chili cook-off! words: Peter Simpson illustration: Nick Cocozza

Charity is a beautiful thing, bringing us all together to help those less fortunate. Yet strangely, charity events also tend to involve some form of conflict or competition, because everyone knows there’s nothing quite like offering assistance with one hand while shoving a rival’s head down the (hopefully metaphorical) toilet with the other.

The Lupe Pintos Charity Chili cook-off provides the charity/ competition mix, but us civilians are spectators to, and judges of, the carnage. Here’s the mechanic: get your ticket, cut between the various competitors tasting their chilis, then hand in your scorecard at the end. No fun-running, no pan-handling, and a guilt-free opportunity to wear a false moustache. All the sombrero-wearing, chili-tasting joy without any of the cooking, and you get to act as a scornful judge. AND it counts as a good deed. It’s a win-win-win-win.

The cook-off is coming to Glasgow and Edinburgh on consecutive weekends this month in aid of Cash for Kids. In keeping with the Mexican theme, we thought we would grab the organisers and some of the participants and get them to give their best wrestling-style hype speeches. After all, while this is all in aid of a good cause, someone’s got to win, so let battle commence.

LUPE PINTOS “The first charity cook-off took place in Glasgow last year. Frustrated by the public’s ‘off the beaten track’ attitude to neighbourhood business we decided to draw attention to neighbourhood

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restaurants, bars and cafes as well as our own shop by hosting the Great Western Chili cook-off.

“Basically we challenged ten venues surrounding our shop to come up with the best version of CHILI CON CARNE. [Ed: their caps folks, not ours] All the bars donated the chili, 500 tickets were sold, ticket holders ate and judged chili, purchased beer from the bars and had a great day out. Everyone got some well deserved publicity, and Cash For Kids received a fantastic donation.

In short it worked on all levels.”

GOLF TAVERN, EDINBURGH “We’re taking part in the chili cook-off primarily to help raise money for a great cause – Cash For Kids, and also because we all enjoy a bit of friendly rivalry!

“It should be a really fun event to bring a bit of Latin spirit to Bruntsfield, and we will be having a real Mexican Fiesta! And we are definitely going to win because our new executive chef is well known as the chili king of Aberdeen, so will be coming south to wipe the floor with these Edinburgh gringos!”

STRAVAIGIN, GLASGOW “Stravaigin has been interested in matching authentic food from around the world with local produce for over 20 years. The cook-off is a great opportunity for not just Stravaigin, but the other restaurants in the West End, to showcase their interpretation of a Mexican classic!

“It was wonderful to see last year that the interpretations were worlds apart, but pulled the whole community together for a day of foodie fun, while raising money for a local charity. We can’t wait to see what the competition has in stall for us this year!”

THE LANSDOWNE BAR, GLASGOW “The biggest and the best venue to hit for the chili cook off, we will be going all out in this year’s competition... frozen margheritas, piñatas, tequila & of course the best chili on Great Western Road!

So join us for the best party around & discover why this wee area is the new coolest & friendliest area in the west of Glasgow!”

THE LEFT BANK, GLASGOW “The Left Bank didn’t need to be convinced when Lupe Pintos came round offering a place in their annual culinary showdown. We love being involved in our community and who doesn’t enjoy a bit of healthy competition?

“It’s a great opportunity to wear sombreros and moustaches, get our cooking pistols out, and show off our gastronomic guns. A friendly chili crawl bursting with bandits drinking tequila at the bar and enjoying the best this pueblo has to offer.

“It’s going to be ‘La Gran Batalla! del Fuego del Diablo!’ Be prepared West Enders.

Edinburgh cook-off 20 Oct, Glasgow cook-off 27 Oct; Tickets £10 from Lupe Pintos (24 Leven St Edinburgh, 313 Great Western Rd Glasgow) www.chilicookoff.co.uk

The second food art photographer to grace the column is Romania-based Dan Cretu. He calls it ‘Eco Art’, although it’s uncertain how ecological scalping all that fruit and veg is. But he sure is good at it. In looking for an inspiring photography subject, he turned to his fridge and now can’t look at the vegetable aisle the same way again. “I spend minutes in front of the fruit and vegetable tables, trying to imagine my next work.”

Inspired by everyday objects and, clearly, a healthy appetite he is driven by the craft of these mystifying creations. “The challenge is to transform a common object that we don’t notice anymore, into something unusual, alive, and appealing. I use nature’s creations to make objects that are normally artificial or inorganic.” Dan’s a little bit fruity but I like his style.

Images Courtesy of Dan Cretu www.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Cretu

Rural Nations presents

we have won the land

A play about land ownership and communities

Tues 2nd & Wed 3rd October at Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh at 7.30pm.

Tckets £10.00 & £8.00 from www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com or 0131-556-9579 Thurs 4th and Fri 5th October at The Lesser Hall, Woodside Hall, Glenfarg St, Maryhill G20 7QF at 7.30pm.

Tickets £10.00 & £8.00 from www.wegottickets.com or 01851-700475

Food News with Peter Simpson We begin this month with not one but two art shows vaguely themed around the concept of food. Handmade is artist Clementine Sandison’s contribution to the Hidden Garden’s Culture Kitchen relay, an epic road trip around Scotland which substituted Kerouacian beatnikkery and heavy drug use with portraits which celebrate regional food. Handmade dovetails nicely with Soil, a light installation / photo project from Daniele Sambo based around urban farming.

Turns out that line about waiting ages for anything for two of it to come along at once is completely true. Handmade & Soil, Briggait, 141 Bridgegate Glasgow, until 5 Oct. From high culture to the basest of the base. Yes, it’s Tesco! We know, but put down your pitchforks, for they come bearing the dual gifts of value and humility with the annual Tesco Wine Fair. Set in the palatial confines of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, the fair offers the perfect chance to test your wine nosing and pretentiously appreciative noises without having to worry about only liking bottles which cost small fortunes. EICC, Morrison St Edinburgh, 20-21 Oct, tickets from £7.

Tequila! Everyone knows that shouting the Mexican spirit’s name and thumping the table is the only true way to enjoy it, so the Good Spirits Co.’s Tequila and Mezcal tasting evening could get interesting. Aim to be the first person to ever tell

the difference between shots of tequila, gaze at the worms in the mezcal bottles, and prepare for freshers’ week flashbacks involving promotional sombreros. 23 Bath St, 5 Oct, £15.

We’ve reached the point in the round-up where you, dear reader, could reasonably accuse us of making some of this stuff up. Well you’re in for a treat this month, as Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens will play host to an Apple Weekend. Marvel at the ‘apple displays!’ Dare to enter the rough-andtumble world of apple identification! Overexert yourself as you learn how to make apple juice!

Genuinely, this is an event that is happening for real. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row, 20-21 Oct. And to finish, something worthwhile. An Edinburgh pub with its own bespoke beer on tap, to be exact. The Hanging Bat will be open at some point in October, with an impressive range of local and international beers from independent brewers alongside its own in-house brew. It also features a cracking Lothian Road location, in the latest stage of Tollcross’s mass exchange of mad old jakeys for art students and men with fancy beards. We say ‘at some point,’ as last we heard the guys behind the Bat were having some issues with the wiring.

That’s food news for you, where even the useful information has bizarre caveats.

Sat 6th October, Luss Village Hall, Luss, Loch Lomond at 7.30pm.

Tickets £10.00 & £8.00 from www. wegottickets.com or 01851-700475.

Around the World in 20 Drinks: Mexico

Our investigation into the drinks of the world continues, as we point overindulged fingers at spiky blue plants. It’s the plants’ fault, honest words: Peter Simpson

If you’ve ever come home from a night on the tiles with a vicious headache and a taste of saltcovered pennies in your mouth, you will be familiar with the work of the agave plant. The spiky beast gets its pollen from bats (!), and is responsible for many of Mexico’s craziest beverages.

First of all, there’s tequila. Of course, tequila.

Salt, lemon, slam. Simplicity in itself, but with over 120 different producers knocking up their versions across Mexico there’s a fair amount of variation to be found. At the madder end of the spectrum are the flavoured tequilas from Voodoo Tiki (lime, kiwi, or prickly pear, if you feel like a quick Baloo the bear impression) which come in painted bottles labelled with one of 100 ‘magic’ words.

Just when things couldn’t get odder, let’s introduce mezcal. Tequila’s rebellious old brother, mezcal is unpredictable, smells of smoke and leaves worms lying around its bottle. The traditional way to drink your mezcal is with a plate of fried worms, chilli, salt, and lime. Alternatively, you could just

stick a burning newspaper in your mouth and be done with it.

To counteract the heat and smokiness, why not try a pulque? After all, it looks like milk, and has the same kind of consistency. Oh, what’s this? “A sour, yeasty taste.” Yummy. Pulque was once the big drink for Mexican workers, until the Europeans brought the dual gifts of beer and horrible slander against pulque producers. Not to fear though, as young Mexican hipsters are bringing the traditional drink back, thus earning their ‘saving my community from gentrification I am partly responsible for’ badges.

If none of this agave-based insanity appeals, then may we suggest a nice glass of tepache.

Fermented pineapple, cinnamon, and a splash of beer. Light, refreshing, and favoured by Mexican prison inmates. Crikey. If the odd one out of this month’s line-up is the one the convicts are drinking, this agave stuff must have more power than we thought.

featuring djs from

with two pound drinks aplenty October 2012

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music

p RE V I E W : L iv e M u s i c

LIVE MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS

The Metal Column

As the nights draw in, the freaks come out to play Words: Johnny Langlands

Photo: Euan Robertson

errors

Never to be confused with the French metal progenitors (nor the teenaged Belgian Eurovision contenders) of the same name, Toronto duo Trust have enjoyed a steady ascent since releasing their dreamy debut on Kevin Drew’s Arts & Crafts label earlier in the year. Lead single Shoom sounds like Jan Hammer feat. Dr Evil on downers, but we can get down with that. The zeitgeist might be awash with so-called ‘witch house’ in the wake of Crystal Castles, but nobody’s packing euphoric hooks like this pair. Sneaky Pete’s takes the glory of hosting their first Edinburgh gig (3 Oct).

Keeping it Canuck, Nova Scotian stargazers Wintersleep hit Nice ‘N’ Sleazy (4 Oct) in support of their recently released fifth LP Hello Hum. Featuring the nuanced production chops of veterans Tony Doogan (Mogwai, The Delgados) and Dave Fridmann (eh… Mogwai, The Delgados), it’s an adventurous record of sweeping arrangements, dynamic rhythms and affectingly honest rock’n’roll that will make your life better.

When recently asked in an interview whether he’d considered retiring in these advancing days, Velvet Underground founder and experimental rock OG John Cale quite rightly laughed at the prospect. Now 70-years-young, this month Cale reaffirms his visionary status with the beautifully weird Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood – his first full studio album in some seven years. Edinburgh’s HMV Picture House plays host to the Welsh icon on its week of release (5 Oct).

A talented young Anglo-American busker with a penchant for top hats, snakes, leather breeks, Les

Paul guitars and dangling fags from the side of his mouth – goes by the name Saul ‘Slash’ Hudson – has finally caught a lucky break and landed a gig at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange this October (7 Oct). With any justice there’ll be some keen-eared A&R svengali in the crowd who can bring this guy to the wider attention of the British public. Until then, you can catch him playing Wonderwall with his dug Axl outside the Barras every other Sunday.

Overseen by Mute founder Daniel Miller himself, this year’s WIXIW was another convincing stylistic transition for the mercurial Liars – walking quickly away from the barbed, obnoxious punk of 2010’s cathartic guitar-fest Sisterworld to a mellower palette with a layered electronic inflection. It’s a courageous u-turn by the LA trio, with results that easily put them in league with Suicide and Radiohead’s glitchier ambient experiments, but never in their shadow. See how they pull it off live at Glasgow’s SWG3 (11 Oct).

You saw his mug on the cover last month; now Cincinnati’s indie rap maverick WHY? returns to Glasgow with another characteristically playful and pitch black LP called Mumps, etc. Anyone who caught them at Stereo back in 2009 knows why Yoni Wolf’s full band experience delivers in a way that few others can match. SWG3 (12 Oct).

Shorn of the proggy excess that has often defined their varied output over the last ten years (for the record, we won’t hear a bad word against The Century of Self), the imminent Lost Songs heralds a direct return to furious basics and the sense ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of

Dead might finally have reclaimed their mojo, now eight records deep into a career where the highs came very early on. See them soar once again at The Liquid Room, Edinburgh (13 Oct).

In some parallel dimension, Errors are probably saving the planet through the power of celestial music, like Alba’s answer to Wyld Stallyns. Luckily for us (less so for the future of humanity) they’re hidden away at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus (13 Oct), no doubt previewing a few synth odysseys from their forthcoming New Relics mini-album. Station!

Coinciding with the Scottish Mental Health and Arts and Film Festival, The Fruit Tree Foundation’s Music Like A Vitamin makes its return to HMV Picture House (25 Oct) after a year’s absence, with sets from Auld Reekie’s adopted alt.folk hero Withered Hand, Sparrow and the Workhop, Fatherson and The Birthday Suit, as well as guest performances from the cast of Fruit Tree’s home-grown indie star-studded First Edition and ongoing New Branch mentor programme. Tickets are a fiver, meaning anyone with even a passing interest in the local scene would be a colossal bawheid to overlook this.

A tireless activist and fearsome battle MC, Harlem’s Immortal Technique has come to be regarded as a spiritual son of Chuck D and KRS One in the new millennium, preaching sharp polemics on the taboos of class, race and inner-city living.

ABC 2, Glasgow (30 Oct) is the place to see him throw down on this rare UK tour. Support comes from the dynamic duo of beatbox king Bigg Taj and wingman MC Spee 69.

As we dive headlong into the month of Samhain, Between the Buried and Me return to Glasgow prior to the release of tech-death assault The Parallax II: Future Sequence, but why settle for just the record when you can witness the band’s ridiculously complex playing unfold live? They’re set to destroy The Garage with fellow prog-metallers Periphery and The Safety Fire (3 Oct).

Soulfly are sounding heavier than ever these days. If that’s your bag, make sure you’re in attendance when Max Cavalera and co bring the brutality to the Classic Grand (5 Oct) with fellow groove-metallers Incite (Cavalera’s stepson’s band, don’tcha know?) and off-kilter punks Lody Kong.

Frank Carter may not be with them anymore, but make no mistake; Gallows are fiercer and more awesome than ever. Don’t believe us? Take yor ass to King Tut’s (9 Oct) where they’ll be tearing shit up with demented hardcore bros Feed the Rhino and Brotherhood of the Lake.

Young Guns are bringing their stadium-ready rock to the O2 ABC (14 Oct) with pop-punkers We Are In The Crowd. It’s gonna be sugary, sure, but surely you’d rather have these guys in the charts than this Chris Brown tit? If you enjoy your mainstream metal a little heavier, Trivium will be encouraging circle pits aplenty in the same house the with their metalcore compadres As I Lay Dying (O2 ABC, 16 Oct).

If you’re up for a quality night of old school hardcore punk, do not – I repeat – do not miss Detroit legends Negative Approach at Ivory Blacks (17 Oct). In case you need more convincing, may I point out that modern thrashcore brats Punch and SSS are on the bill, alongside local fellas Heavy Hands.

Thrash fans, get this into yer noggins: Evile are showcasing their technically proficient take on the genre with power metal buddies Wolf at the O2 ABC (18 Oct), but if you require your bands to play their instruments at superhuman levels, don’t miss Animals as Leaders at the Cathouse (25 Oct). If your face isn’t completely melted by the end of that, you might want to also catch ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley’s band Wolfsbane the next night at the same venue (26 Oct). That’ll finish you.

Those kids in Rolo Tomassi are fair growing up, eh? With their third album on the way you’ll likely get a taste of the Sheffield spazzcore wizards’ new material at King Tut’s (28 Oct). Belgian hardcore outfit Oathbreaker (they’re on Deathwish, a mark of quality) and fellow Brits Goodtime Boys support.

We’ll advise you to spend Halloween the right way when the big night finally arrives by witnessing the God of rock’n’roll theatre at work when Alice Cooper touches down at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall (31 Oct) for a Night of Fear with Duff McKagan’s Loaded and Ugly Kid Joe in for support. Bring yer scariest costume.

[Ross Watson]

Do Not Miss: Eastern Promise, Platform, Now in its third year, Platform’s annual mini-fest returns to offer a little musical enlightenment to all ages. Night one puts Gerry Love’s Lightships in the room with Chemikal’s dark folk troubadour Adrian Crowley, celebrated jazz pianist Matthew Bourne, minimal guitarist Land Observations and the fledgling Body Parts (a collaborative project featuring Sparrow and the Workshop’s Jill O’Sullivan and Strike the Colours / Eva / The Reindeer Section’s Jenny Reeve, at last given a name).

Like a lesson in post-punk from both sides of the border, the following evening hosts recently resurfaced (and highly influential) London brigade The Monochrome Set, who’ll be in fine company

alongside former Fire Engines frontman Davy Henderson’s poppier endeavour, The Sexual Objects. In an inspired billing from further leftfield, genre defying mavericks Richard Youngs and Alexander Tucker will respectively demonstrate why they’ve come to be regarded as masters of creating atmosphere and forging windows into other worlds with experimental song, while Mancunian freeform disciples Plank! (surely a homage to the great German producer in name) bring the krautrock vibe. You can call this a bargain.

7pm, £10/£6 per night, £15/£9 full weekend, £5/£3 under 16s per night. A bus departing Mono at 6.30pm and returning after the last band (around 11pm) is available for £4.

body parts

www.platform-online.co.uk

October 2012

THE SKINNY 47

photo: ingrid mur

Easterhouse, 5-6 October

RE V I E W : L iv e M u s i c

Torche / The Cosmic Dead O2 ABC2, 15 September

rrrrr

rrrrr

www.definitivejux.net

www.grandaddymusic.com

rrrrr With Stereo’s basement superheated to a temperature somewhere beyond that of a tropical rainforest, the night kicks off with a set from UK rapper Spee 69 and Glaswegian beatbox legend Bigg Taj. Having just dropped a collaboration with Stones Throw rapper Guilty Simpson, the former delivers a set of traditionalist hip-hop hooks while Bigg Taj demonstrates why he is one of the UK’s most respected beatboxers, with a technically audacious showcase that takes in everything from soul and house to dubstep.

El-P collaborator and former Def Jux artist Despot follows up with a smart, infectious, fuck-you performance of cult hits like Crap Artists and Look Alive, and a smattering of new tracks. There are promises from the supremely confident, diminutive ginger rapper to finally release his debut album, and his zany between-song banter is enriched by a fantastic put-down of an ignorant heckler.

El-P himself takes the stage as the temperature rises from ‘tropical’ to ‘Dante’s Inferno,’ along with his touring band, consisting of Chin Chin’s keyboardist Wilder Zoby and multi-instrumentalist

O2 ABC, 30 August

Little Shalimar, plus hype man Shannon (from fellow former Def Jux signings Activator). They launch into an excoriating, punishing rendition of Request Denied and The Full Retard. Despot rejoins the fray for an aggressive Tougher Colder Killer; elsewhere El-P gets dark and paranoid on True Story and The Jig is Up. Throughout, El-P is on intense, supremely confident form. The odd legacy track aside, tonight is all about attacking third album Cancer4Cure in its entirety, and rightly so: it’s a high for the Brooklyn producer and MC in a career full of incendiary moments.

After an intoxicating, sing-along rendition of For My Upstairs Neighbour and a sincere dedication of album closer $4/Nothing But You+Me to lost friends and family, the night finishes with Zoby and Shalimar trading licks over the bassline of Can I Kick It?, swiftly followed by El-P wheeling out Vital Nerve and Deep Space 9mm, to the crowd’s delight.

Drenched in sweat, we leave reeling and high, the darkness and paranoia of Cancer4Cure transmuted into pure euphoria. [Bram E. Gieben]

Stereo, 18 September

www.torchemusic.com

Grandaddy

Six years ago, Grandaddy were collapsed and futureless. By the time final album Just Like the Fambly Cat appeared, the members had already parted company, leaving the record un-toured. But as My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and dozens of others have proven in recent years, nothing’s final in rock n roll; a split is but a stepping stone on the road to reunion. Grandaddy didn’t shut down; they hibernated, and now they’ve been rebooted in a future that appreciates them all the more for their absence.

From logo typeface (squiggly) to attire (Jason Lytle’s trademark cap), the band seem unchanged by the hiatus, launching into a muscular El Caminos in the West with nary a cobweb in sight. It introduces an all-but-faultless set, dominated by Sumday and The Sophtware Slump but interspersed with fan-pleasing B-sides and debut album cuts (tellingly, …Fambly Cat is ignored).

Lytle’s T-shirt reads ‘over the hill’ but the sounds filling the room say otherwise, from the fuzzy beauty of Jed’s Other Poem to a playful Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake, with the majestic He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot raising goosebumps at the close. To quote from the John Sebastian ditty that ushered them onstage at the start of the night: welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

[Chris Buckle]

El-P / Despot / Bigg Taj & Spee 69

of treats. On record they’re a lot of fun; live, they take it to another level. Axe-wielders Steve Brookes and recent recruit Andrew Elstner are tight players, shooting rainbows at the fervent front row in the set’s poppier moments, namely the epic trilogy of Grenades / Healer / Across the Shields. The tail-end of the show takes a darker turn and sees the band airing their crushingly heavy side; stoner hymn Fable of the Brown Recluse is gloriously realised.

Heads are still banging away – just a lot slower this time. Tonight, the Floridians prove they can balance growing rock ‘n roll stardom with their sludge titan status of old.

[Ross Watson]

photo: neil jarvie

photo: neil jarvie

Our very own psych-kraut wizards The Cosmic Dead open with a free-form improvisational set.

They’re only three members strong tonight, but the combination of spaced-out riffs, sparse drums and low-end synth throbs works a treat, so much so that it’s only minutes until the gathered noticeably begin to fall into a collective trance. These boys really have a feel for texture and mood – it doesn’t take long for them to work up their own gravitational pull. They could go on all night and there wouldn’t be many complaints, but before long it’s time for the crowd to come back down for a sugar fix.

Torche take a little longer to warm up, but they get the heart rate racing with an energised performance of Kicking from Harmonicraft, their latest bag

Frightened Rabbit Victoria Hall, Selkirk, 25 September

photo: kenny mccoll

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Beirut / Daughter O2 ABC, 11 September

Built around Elena Tonra’s candid songwriting – a litany of break-ups and breakdowns in a doleful key – Daughter’s fragile sound could easily lose potency in a room this size. But the trio take to the scaled-up surroundings with understated confidence, leaving many-a lump in the throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are one song away from Beirut!” announces Igor Haefeli towards the end of a relatively lengthy set. “Ah like yous guys better!” comes a cry from the floor – an enthusiastic assessment that also proves rather prescient.

For where Daughter exceed expectations tonight, Beirut only match them, turning in a solid, crowdpleasing set that’s a little diminished by a lack of energy onstage. Jetlag’s to blame: “You might be seeing a show I’ll never remember later, which is kinda cool” Zach Condon explains towards the end,

48 THE SKINNY

October 2012

dead on his feet but too consummate a professional to short change his fans.

The incredible musicianship from Condon and band is what keeps the show satisfying despite its lulls: even if he had passed out fully, chances are muscle memory would have got him through, such is his honed expertise. High points come from across the discography: the horns of Postcards from Italy garner a passionate, wordless sing-along; a solo uke The Penalty ushers hush; while East Harlem is among the cuts suggesting last year’s The Rip Tide didn’t gather a fraction of the attention it deserved. Tonight won’t go down as the band’s finest ninety minutes, but even on half-cylinders, they’re frequently superb.

[Chris Buckle] www.beirutband.com

photo: richard ferguson

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Small town music communities can be precious and fanatical about their local bands. Yet when the band in question is Frightened Rabbit and tonight’s show in their hometown of Selkirk marks a first, you can legitimately expect a bit of a celebratory atmosphere.

With Ma and Pa Hutchison perched centre front on the balcony of the Victoria Hall, a packed congregation of onlookers below and some tankedup youths giving it laldy down the front, there’s evidently the full range of FRabbit fans expectantly awaiting this long-mooted event.

Ninety minutes later, it’d be hard to imagine anyone of any persuasion feeling short-changed by what is witnessed. The already simmering mood is skilfully and methodically brought to boiling point via a near-perfect set list which, while taking a couple of detours and omitting the odd perennial live favourite, is concurrently on the nose in gauging and reigniting audience expectations.

A muscular take on Square 9 and ostensible finale The Loneliness and the Scream are highlights if the feverish and exuberant crowd are to be judged by whilst, yup, Keep Yourself Warm finally full-stops an exemplary lesson in good homecoming etiquette.

Whilst the occasion may have heightened expectations, Frightened Rabbit still manage to hit one home in every respect.

[Darren Carle] www.frightenedrabbit.com

records

RE V I E W : S i n g l e s

The Dirty Dozen

ep reviews

Recovering at his Edinburgh home from a nasty chest infection, Dan ‘Withered Hand’ Willson dutifully bunkers down to the healing sounds of October’s single releases interview: Darren Carle

photo: kat gollock

Satellite Dub

Velikovsky Said EP Self-released, Out Now

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Richard Hawley – Seek It (Parlophone, 1 Oct) Dan: I’m quite curious to hear this. The vocals are really warm and intimate but it’s a bit Radio 2 at the moment. I think my Mum would like this. [Sarcastically] I think he’s telling us something about love. I was pretty curious to hear this because his name’s always bandied about. I didn’t know what to expect. I think it’s OK but I think I’ve had enough.

Can I turn it off?

The Skinny: Sure. Marks out of ten?

Dan: Um, five. I’m pretty indifferent to it.

El-P – Stay Down (Fat Possum, 1 Oct) Dan: My knowledge of hip-hop is really out of date. The only thing that I have an issue with is that quite often the messages encoded [in hip-hop] is just someone screaming an advert for themselves at you for three minutes. I like the rhyming here, though. I think it’s more interesting than normal. If it was on in [quality Edinburgh watering hole] the Star Bar and I happened to wander in by mistake, I would probably think it sounded pretty good. I’ll give it a six.

The Temper Trap – Miracle (Infectious, 29 Oct) Dan: I’ve seen their name around. I would never listen to this kind of music, though. It sounds like it was made for a car advert. It’s pretty I guess but I’m just trying to work out what they’re talking about. It sounds like a lot of stuff that I grew up with on the radio, all that crap eighties music.

Yeah, I’ll give that a four I think. They sound really hackneyed.

Miaoux Miaoux – Autopilot (Chemikal Underground, 8 Oct) Dan: The only time I hear this kind of thing is through friends who are into it. This would be really good to hear in a club. I think he’s been quite brave with the production. It still sounds fierce and gritty and the electronics sound like they should.

Saying that, I don’t think it’s much of a song. I’m a bit of a song person but this would be good to dance to if you were drinking a lot of water. I’ll give it a six. I’m imagining that I still go to nightclubs...

The Joy Formidable – Cholla (Atlantic, 15 Oct) Dan: I don’t know anything about these guys.

[Three seconds into the song]. Oh wow! Well this sounds good. That’s a good riff, no messing about. I used to listen to a lot of heavy guitar music and this song certainly knows how to use a riff properly. I like the way they’ve married heavy guitar with something quite fragile in the vocals. If you’d jumped out of an aeroplane this would be a good soundtrack. Exhilarating. I’ll give that a seven.

Gallows – Outsider Art (Venn Records, 1 Oct) Dan: This is a tried and tested guitar riff. It’s guitar music but it’s not very good. I think these guys are still chasing something that’s stale, like the ghost of 1977. [Later] Now it’s getting a bit scarier.

I used to listen to some death metal and this is heading in that direction. If my kids were listening to this though, I’d be pissed off. That’s all I have to say about it. I’ll give it a six.

Liars – Brats (Mute, 15 Oct) Dan: Again, this is probably really good to dance to. It’s got a good beat you can bug out to but it just sounds like a lot of re-fried ideas to me. It says here they’re ‘one of the most consistently inventive bands on the planet.’ It’s all quotes from the hipster parade, though, which makes sense as I’d imagine that this is music for people who’ve never heard good music before [careful now! – Ed]. I’ll give it a five.

Human Don’t Be Angry – Dreamer (Chemikal Underground, 29 Oct) Dan: I like Malcolm Middleton, that’s a disclaimer, but I’m not familiar with his new thing. It really is the eighties again and quite knowingly too. I think he’s fed up with writing songs, which is fair enough. I might listen to this in bed if I was resting and recovering from a chest infection. I think it’s brave of him to start making this kind of music all of a sudden but I miss the words. I think he’s a great lyricist so I’ll only give this a six, much as it pains me.

Everything Everything – Cough Cough (RCA Victor, 14 Oct) Dan: Oh man! This is really... this might... I think this is awful! Oh my God! It sounds like a zany cauldron where you throw all the horrible bits of music from the past in and it comes out like this. I really hate all those arpeggios. It just comes flying out of the speakers at you. I really don’t like this.

I’m just trying to imagine who would make this music but it’s hard to. It’s like a technicolour burp.

That’s a three.

With a title that references a Russian psychiatrist and writer about comparative mythology, whose theories posited that the Earth had experienced several cataclysmic collisions with the other planets of the solar system, Satellite Dub’s return to the electronic fold (after 2011’s acclaimed 2-tracker London Has More Lights) is an intelligent, melodic slice of intelligent dance music which has a suitably cosmic feel to it.

Plans of Smoke and Mirrors has a percussive, breakbeat-laced appeal, while the fuzzed-out electro of Duchenne Smile sounds like it was beamed in direct from the spaceways. Red Morning Trouble is a belting 8-minute techno squelcher, while closer Threads is a soaring chorus of ambient synth washes. A welcome return to the fray from a promising producer. [Bram E Gieben] satellitedub.bandcamp.com/album/velikovsky-said-ep

Yeasayer – Reagan’s Skeleton (Secretly Canadian, 22 Oct) Dan: Interesting title. There’s quite a lot of music here that’s not from a dissimilar place, like the Liars single. Again it sounds like turning on the radio in the eighties as a kid. I think this is dreadful. I’ll give it a three. I say ‘nay-sayer’!

The Jim Jones Revue – It’s Gotta Be About Me (Play It Again Sam, 1 Oct) Dan: [Eyeing the record sleeve] They look like dirty rock ‘n’ rollers. [Puts the CD on] It sounds like a joke. It’s amazing to me that anyone would still listen to this kind of thing. There’s been a lot of great rock ‘n’ roll music made over the years that’s just sitting there waiting for people to listen to it.

You don’t need to make this anymore. I’ll give it a three as well.

SINGLE OF THE MONTH: Beth Jeans Houghton – Dodecahedron (Mute, 8 Oct) Dan: I’ve slept in her lounge before so I better be nice if I want to crash there again. Oh, I’ve heard this before. It’s very pretty. The one thing about Beth, though, is that she always gets her chest out in her videos. I don’t think that she needs to because her music’s pretty good. So when you’re watching it you’re always wondering when it’s going to happen and then you get near the end and you think ‘wow, it hasn’t happened.’ And then it happens. I think that she’s got a really singular sound. And her voice is from another time. It rewards repeat listens, which is maybe a bit unfair on the other songs as it’s probably the fifth time I’ve heard this. I’ll give it a seven.

Withered Hand plays Mono, Glasgow on 22 Nov

Cuddly Shark Body Mass Index Armellodie, 8 Oct

rrrrr As the name implies, Cuddly Shark are as adorable as they are frenzied and ruthless. The Elgin trio follow up their smashing self-titled debut with this stopgap release, and it’s a brief yet varied escapade; the only common denominator of their sound is guitarist / vocalist Colin Reid’s nasally, Americanised yelp.

The rhythm section, however, is constantly changing – in a little over ten minutes the band nails several styles: urgent powerpop nuggets (Body Mass Index, Losing The Room), anthemic indie rock (Skewiff) and heart-on-sleeve balladry (The Man You Want). This bodes very well for their sophomore album, due early next year. In the meantime, there’s six infectious little earworms to be found here.

Granted, it’s all over in a flash, but Body Mass Index cries out for repeat visits. [Ross Watson] Playing Bloc, Glasgow on 27 Sep www.facebook.com/cuddlyshark

October 2012

THE SKINNY 49

REVIEW: ALBUMS

records

ALBUM OF THE MONTH MOON DUO CIRCLES

SOUTERRAIN TRANSMISSIONS, 1 OCT

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Moon Duo’s debut Mazes invited its listeners to get lost in a sonic labyrinth of stargazing krautrock jams. The title of successor Circles evokes a simpler form of immersion, a single line without beginning or end, emblematic of the way the San Franciscan couple’s songs repeat and revolve around minimal components.

These propulsive compositions often sound like they could go on forever, but Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada are disciplined explorers, testing their horizons but keeping their feet on terra firma and instinctively knowing when to wind down each workout.

There’s a structural certainty to Circles: without exception, the pace and tone established in a track’s opening seconds is carried through to

its final moments, a clarity that prevents their psych-adventures from growing overly outré or indulgent. Locomotive rhythms and chugging guitars form an incessant base, while other textures eddy in and out to supply spark, from Johnson’s shamanic vocals and distorted soloing to Yamada’s intoxicating organ playing.

Sometimes, the results are light-footed, like the sprightly title track, and sometimes unapologetically droning, like the closing Rolling Out. As the latter fades from speakers, the urge to close the circle by re-hitting play and taking in another spin is firmly felt. [Chris Buckle] PLAYING CAPTAIN’S REST, GLASGOW ON 12 NOV WWW.MOONDUO.ORG

THAVIUS BECK

TWO FINGERS

DAPHNI

PLUG RESEARCH, 29 OCT

BIG DADA, 1 OCT

JIAOLONG RECORDS, 8 OCT

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UGLY

STUNT RHYTHMS

rrrrr An instrumental album from rapper and superproducer Thavius Beck has about fifty times as many ideas crammed into it as most hip-hop records, even without his mythic, hallucinatory, Hermetic philosophy-influenced rhymes. A certified Ableton trainer, he has worked on music for Trent Reznor (on Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust album) and Zack De la Rocha, and given Ableton tutorials to the likes of Photek.

This mastery of Ableton informs the complexity of the tracks on ...Ugly, from the pulsing, space-age breakbeats and found computerspeech of opener Eye of the Beholder to the doubletime hi-hats and strings of Break Til Broken. Atmos is dripping with extra-width digital bass funk, while the imposing swagger of Feel Me / Fear Me has the feel of pitch-dark, Gothic crunk. There is such a mercurial sensibility to Beck’s productions that it’s a miracle they don’t collapse under the weight of his ideas. A breathtaking, ambitious album. [Bram E. Gieben] WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/THAVIUSBECK

rrrrr Over a sixteen-year career, Brazil’s Amon Tobin has demonstrated an unerring creative instinct which, combined with his painstaking attention to detail, has earned him enduring respect among his peers. (He even managed, somehow, to pull off a triumphant live show at this year’s ill-fated Bloc festival).

Stunt Rhythms revives Tobin’s hip-hop alias Two Fingers, and sees his restless adventurism take another new turn: muscular, razor-sharp electro riffs are dragged towards the heavier depths of contemporary bass music, particularly on tracks like Fools Rhythm and Sweden.

Elsewhere, this bruising quality is juxtaposed with a fleet-footed, dubby spaciousness (Magoo, Elmer Rhythm), which ensures that Stunt Rhythms maintains a sense of development and variety. In solely aesthetic terms, in fact, it’s tempting to characterise the record as a kind of electro-infused dubstep. What ultimately makes that description inadequate is the metallic, glossy texturing, which creates a kind of mutant, futuristic spawn of hip-hop. [Sam Wiseman] WWW.AMONTOBIN.COM

JIAOLONG

rrrrr Dan Snaith’s Daphni project functions, for him, as a kind of antithesis to his more well-known Caribou alter ego; as he explains, the creative process behind these pieces is intuitive, “rough and spontaneous,” capturing some of the “manic energy” that drives the clubbing scene. Jiaolong consequently sounds, at times, like a sketchpad for the more intricately realised Caribou work: the familiar, bass-driven chord washes and layered, organic percussion remain, but there is little sense of development as the LP progresses.

That deliberate disengagement from the constraints of a meticulous, album-oriented approach, however, enables Snaith to bring out a hedonistic immediacy rarely evident in Caribou. There’s a thrillingly intense, acid-tinged futurism about tracks like Ye Ye, for example, which emerges precisely because of their single-minded, dancefloordriven mentality. Coupled with Snaith’s intuitive ear for melody and rhythmic complexity, this sense of spontaneity ensures that Jiaolong is a more rewarding listen than its process of composition might imply. [Sam Wiseman] WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/CARIBOUBAND/SETS/DAPHNI-JIAOLONG

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD

GAV PRENTICE

FLYING LOTUS

INSTINCTIVE RACCOON, 15 OCT

WARP, 1 OCT

RICHTER SCALE/SUPERBALL MUSIC, 22 OCT

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THE INVISIBLE HAND

LOST SONGS

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UNTIL THE QUIET COMES

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PLAYING THE LIQUID ROOM, EDINBURGH ON 13 OCT

You can appreciate why Over the Wall’s Gav Prentice felt the need to release these songs under his own name, as opposed to incorporating them into the music made with OtW partner Ben Hillman: not only is his solo debut’s stripped-back style a world away from Treacherous’s playful alt-pop, but throughout, The Invisible Band sounds acutely, sometimes painfully personal.

The arrangements are predominantly lo-fi and bare, placing emphasis squarely on vocals that are by turns vitriolic (the spitting verses and howled refrain of Burning Down) and miserable (the self-pitying I Know That). At times, this focus is unflattering, with the aforementioned I Know That becoming one long whine (possibly deliberate, considering its lyrical content, though intent doesn’t make it any less arduous to listen to). But elsewhere, his heartfelt passion is palpable and affecting, with Square Mile’s knotted sadness and the sneering How Are You Sleeping? stirring emotions, albeit in very different directions. [Chris Buckle]

If Cosmogramma was the sound of Flying Lotus coming of age, making a statement of intent that would define the approach and philosophy not just of his Brainfeeder label, but of the Los Angeles beat scene as a whole, then Until The Quiet Comes is its more muted, effortlessly cool twin. Rather than another sprawling, psychedelic journey, Quiet... is a collection of songs and sketches. The vocal cuts throughout are superb, with FlyLo’s beats never overshadowing the song or the performance, while remaining as complex and multi-layered as always.

Thom Yorke’s vocal on Electric Candyman sounds like R&B trapped through the looking glass. DMT Song, featuring Thundercat, recalls 1950s advertising jingles and 60s surf-pop projected through hallucinogenic filters, while Erykah Badu is submerged under aquatic reverb and splashy jazz cymbals on See Thru to U. Not as spectacular as its predecessor, but perhaps more accessible, and deeply satisfying.

[Bram E Gieben]

WWW.TRAILOFDEAD.COM

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GAVPRENTICE

WWW.FLYING-LOTUS.COM

Coming with an overtly political manifesto, Trail of Dead’s eighth studio album Lost Songs fittingly stands as their most direct statement in some time, perhaps ever. There’s little in the way of grandiose song movements or recurrent themes that have lent weighty textures to the Texan veterans’ output over the past decade.

Instead, Lost Songs is largely a straight-up, blistering ride of towering riffage, pummelling percussion and some thrilling ‘lose yourself’ vocals.

From Open Doors, through lead single Up To Infinity and onwards, it’s an album that seems hell-bent on keeping its foot down. Perhaps the only misgiving is the finale, Time and Again, which goes out on something of a whimper where a record of this magnitude certainly deserves much more of a bang. Yet hearing Trail of Dead on this form should appeal to die hards whilst those perhaps put off by their grander latter-day flourishes may also find plenty to return to the fold for. [Darren Carle]

HIDDEN ORCHESTRA

BETH ORTON

WHY?

TRU THOUGHTS, 1 OCT

ANTI-, 1 OCT

CITY SLANG/ANTICON, 8 OCT

ARCHIPELAGO

SUGARING SEASON

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MUMPS, ETC.

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Hidden Orchestra’s sophomore album sees the Edinburgh outfit once more trading in lushly-orchestrated, cinematic compositions with strings, flute, horn and brass filling out the complex polyrhythms of their two drummers. Birdsong echoes through sublime opener Overture, building towards the exquisite, elegiac sweep of the string-led Flight. Reminder is all taut, hushed menace, evoking spy movie soundtracks. Throughout, the playing is technically precise, almost immaculate.

Band leader Joe Acheson’s sense of space, depth and place inform each track, lending an epic, atmospheric feel to the album as a whole.

It is impossible not to imagine Archipelago as a narrative, moving through moments of blissed-out calm and bittersweet reflection into tense, edgy moments of darkness. It’s an assured, intricately constructed piece of work, more akin to a symphony than an album. Its refined instrumentation and delicate melodic framework mean it works well as background music, yet on close listen it is a richly-rewarding and layered experience. [Bram E Gieben]

Thank God Beth Orton has that voice. Now more than ever, it’s the most pronounced separation between her and the less cool plethora of Radio 2-favoured female “folkies” and, despite life having clearly changed her over the past six years, it’s still the central feature on Sugaring Season, working with both lyrics and music to transport her into the role of wise older sister.

The Norwich-born chanteuse is clearly looking through a different lens to the hopeful 20-something we heard all those years ago on Central Reservation, or the confused friend looking for tea and sympathy on 2006’s Comfort of Strangers. Solace now lies in birds, trees, changing seasons, endless skies and, ultimately, herself – the tripping momentum of her previous work has been soothed into folky whimsy, complete with Dylan-esque flutters of whining harmonica, whirling keys and gorgeous melodies, finger-picked liquid guitar, aching strings and the resonant sound of solitude. Bliss. [Rosie Davies] PLAYING ÒRAN MÓR, GLASGOW ON 13 DEC

Alopecia and Eskimo Snow saw WHY? distance themselves from the hip-hop template that defined their earlier albums as Yoni Wolf’s neurotic drawl played second fiddle to his nasally croon. And while the results were often excellent, it’s exhilarating to hear the band return to their roots on Mumps, etc. The record is brilliantly produced and sequenced; instrumentation is rich and ornate (heavenly harps and ethereal bells abound) and the pace of proceedings, with a rapped number often followed by a sung one, helps it gel fantastically.

It’s telling that despite the aesthetic overhaul, Wolf’s self-probing wordplay steals the show once more. “I don’t wear rubbers and I don’t wear sunscreen / I wanna heat my hide, not hide under something,” goes one of the lines of the year, from Strawberries. Of the litany of highlights, the penultimate duo of Bitter Thoughts and Paper Hearts stand out, but Mumps, etc is an album to be enjoyed as a whole, again and again. [Finbarr Bermingham]

WWW.HIDDENORCHESTRA.COM

WWW.BETH-ORTON.NET

PLAYING SWG3, GLASGOW ON 12 OCT WHYWITHAQUESTIONMARK.COM

50 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

RE V I E W : A L B U M S

Converge

Rozi Plain

Rangda

Epitaph, 29 Oct

Fence , 22 Oct

Drag City, 1 Oct

All We Love We Leave Behind

Formerly Extinct

Joined Somtimes Unjoined

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With so much made of “tricky” second and third albums, not many platitudes exist to explain the challenge faced by those bands with the gumption to last to their 8th full-lengther. If Converge are anything to go by, however, apparently it gets easy after number three. Since nailing their formula on 2001’s ground-breaking Jane Doe, there has scarcely been a more prolific heavy band in history.

All We Love We Leave Behind continues the trend with 14 undiluted fistfuls of progressive hardcore fury (there are no external collaborators on board this time around). The quartet are as feral yet meticulous as ever before, really finding their stride on numbers like the compelling Trespasses and the playfully retro Vicious Muse, not to mention Sadness Comes Home with its flamboyant finger tapping and nods to Mastodon.

Quite how they continue to wring such invention from a genre so vulnerable to musical regurgitation is rather startling. [Austin Tasseltine]

Where Rozi Plain’s debut Inside Over Here was pieced together from various home recordings, the creation of Joined Sometimes Unjoined involved a full band and studio; a significant development for a performer often defined by her DIY inclinations, but one worn lightly. The opening tracks – the dainty Cold Tap and the dancing rhythms of Humans – are graceful and beguiling, with echoes of pals, Fence-mates and sometime backing band Francois & the Atlas Mountains in the former’s steel drums and the latter’s faintly afrobeat undercurrent.

But it’s on side two that Plain really impresses, with an exuberant re-record of See My Boat going off like a party-popper; Take It’s muttered protests and mantric guitar swirling together hypnotically; and the warm brass of Catch Up (from where the album gets its name) beautifully underpinning its otherwise fluttering cadence. As a whole, Joined Sometimes Unjoined’s charms are subtle but impactful: good, sometimes very good. [Chris Buckle]

The second LP from this absurdly talented US psych-rock supergroup – comprising two of the most thrilling guitarists around, in Sir Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny, and the astounding avant-rock drummer Chris Corsano – continues the approach of their 2010 debut False Flag. As on that record, the central problem confronting the trio is a predictable one: how to unite three dominant and distinctive musical personalities within a coherent whole, without creating an indulgent, overworked mess?

Again, the solution is to rein in each member’s instinct for improvisation. Much of the time –see Idol’s Eye, Majnun – Bishop and Chasny consecutively trade blistering riffs, rather than attempting to entwine them.

At such points, Corsano’s role is to provide a cohesive underpinning, and his drumming can consequently feel uncharacteristically restrained. It’s on pieces like Plugged Nickel, when his frenetic, restless rhythms come to the fore, that Formerly Extinct gels most impressively. [Sam Wiseman]

www.convergecult.com

www.roziplain.co.uk

www.sirrichardbishop.net/rangda.htm

Bat for Lashes

Tenebrous Liar

Menomena

Parlophone, 15 Oct

TV Records, 15 Oct

Barsuk, 8 Oct

The Haunted Man

rrrrr The biggest difference between The Haunted Man and 2009’s Two Suns is in the presentation – gone are the intricate, ornate, quasi-mystical visual trappings of that album’s cover, along with Natasha Khan’s glamourpuss alter-ego Pearl, and much of the spectral, reverb-drenched vocal effects used on Two Suns and its predecessor Fur and Gold.

Instead, Khan presents herself and her voice with a raw, strippeddown aesthetic, bringing her melancholic, ghostly piano ballads into the realm of the torch song. When it works, as on the dramatic opener Lillies, with its refrain of ‘Thank God I’m alive,’ the effect is life-affirming and dramatic – lending Khan’s delivery the power-ballad dynamics of Kate Bush or Tori Amos. The occasional misfire aside – the insipid, predictable Laura; the occasional track which feels like filler – this is a well-written, superbly-composed collection of modern pop music, and a natural evolution of Khan’s palette. [Bram E. Gieben]

End of the Road

Moms

rrrrr

rrrrr Menomena’s fifth album follows the departure of co-founder Brent Knopf from the Portland outfit; commendable, then, that remaining members Justin Harris and Danny Seim have succeeded in retaining the familiar cut-and-paste charm found on past releases so effectively. Plumage is distinct from the get-go, containing all the vital ingredients of minimalist synths and bass, accompanied by solitary guitar stabs and twinkly piano notes.

The devastating tone of 2010’s Mines is driven into even darker realms (especially lyrically; Pique’s mantra is “I’m a failure / cursed with male genitalia”), and there’s more of a sinister, disquieting streak that runs throughout the record. They might rock a lot harder too, but this is not to say that the duo have opted for an uncompromising approach: Moms also heralds some of their most infectious material to date. A hopeful new chapter for one of modern indie rock’s more absorbing propositions. [Ross Watson]

Playing HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on 15 Oct and O2 ABC, Glasgow on 21 Oct

Since NME photographer Steve Gullick formed Tenebrous Liar in 2006, they’ve racked up an improbable seven LPs of roughly-hewn, heart-on-sleeve grungy rock.

As that output rate suggests, Gullick has always prioritised immediacy over detail. End of the Road shifts between grinding stoner numbers (Erase the Days), in which heavily overdriven bass almost obliterates the other elements, and tortured, smoky ballads (see the title track); but despite its dynamic variations, there’s a simplicity about Gullick’s songwriting that soon feels familiar.

While the directness of these songs does make them disarmingly passionate, it also serves to expose their somewhat formulaic feel, and the lack of nuance in Tenebrous Liar’s palette. It’s clear on the more ambitious tracks, like the nine-minute Queens of the Stone Age-esque Sleep, that End of the Road does aspire to something more complex than raw, punkish authenticity; yet it never really succeeds in rising above its influences. [Sam Wiseman]

www.batforlashes.com

www.tenebrousliar.com

www.menomena.com

Playing Nice N’ Sleazy, Glasgow on 23 Nov

Homeboy Sandman

We Are the Physics

PAWS

Stones Throw, 8 Oct

DIY Records, 22 Oct

FatCat, 8 Oct

First of a Living Breed

rrrrr

Your Friend, The Atom

Cokefloat!

rrrrr

rrrrr

Homeboy Sandman’s liquid flow and intelligent lyrics make him a perfect fit for Stones Throw, and tracks like the soul-inflected Whatchu Want From Me? and the wonky digital four-four of opener Rain have an infectious, immediate appeal which is sustained through headphone-based close listening and dancefloor rug-cutting. He namechecks Black Thought of The Roots as a favourite MC; his tightly-constructed, complex flow certainly owes a debt to the Philadelphia rapper, as well as the woozy, psychedelic wordplay of Aesop Rock.

Illuminati addresses deep political and philosophical themes over an understated electronic beat, For The Kids has a light-hearted, surreal, almost De La-esque message of positivity. Eclipsed briefly lets the side down with a half-cocked narrative addressed to an inferior rapper, but the propulsive, relentless pressure of The Ancient is the album’s highlight, and confirms Homeboy Sandman as a fresh and original voice in modern hip-hop. [Bram E Gieben]

There’s always been a touch of crazy to Scotland’s most lauded musicians. Orange Juice were awash with art school exhibitionism; mid-career Primal Scream were as hedonistic as they came; while a brutal psychosis continues to run through the vein of The Twilight Sad’s recorded endeavours. With the release of album number two, Your Friend, The Atom, Glasgow quartet We Are The Physics fit right in with this vaunted cluster of off-piste homegrown rockers.

Scorched to the core with riotous gutter punk thrashing, this is a deranged, hi-octane half hour of full-throttle numbers, like the barbaric shout-a-long Napoleon Loves Josephine and equally infectious Goran Ivanisevic. One part pop to two parts rabid guitars, album high All My Friends Are Jpegs is as perfect a shard of ear-stabbing agit punk as you’ll hear this year. Certainly, they sound like Devo lost their mind at times, but therein lies the charm. [Billy Hamilton] Playing Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on 7 Dec

Recorded on a boat moored on the Thames, it’s easy to imagine that this much-anticipated debut album from garage pop rockers PAWS could have sunk under the weight of expectation that has built up ahead of its launch. The Glasgow-based trio are known for playing reliably frantic gigs, so producer Rory Attwell earns brownie points for succeeding in capturing their raw energy on record. The former Test Icicle has injected PAWS with some serious fizz, but still found space for the bittersweet howl of Phillip Taylor to take centre stage.

Fans of the band will already be familiar with the painful subject matter of the superb opening song Catherine 1956, which Taylor explores with devastating honesty. Such hard-edged melancholy runs throughout the record, most obviously on new single Sore Tummy, yet Cokefloat! remains an uplifting experience, buzzing with inventive riffs and powered by a no-nonsense rhythm section. An impressive debut that delivers much more than the sugar high its title might suggest. [Chris McCall]

www.stonesthrow.com

www.wearethephysics.com

Album launch takes place at CCA, Glasgow on 4 Oct

Murs X Fashawn

Two Gallants

Duck Down, 1 Oct

ATO, 8 Oct

This Generation

rrrrr Murs is a Los Angeles hip-hop legend, deep in the scene since 1993, with notable releases and collaborations including Felt (a duo he formed with Slug of Atmosphere), and his collaboration with 9th Wonder, Fornever. Fashawn meanwhile is a rising star from Fresno, who has toured with the likes of Talib Kweli and Wiz Khalifa. Their collaboration on This Generation is firmly entrenched in classic silver age hip-hop values, with sampled jazz and funk riffs underpinning tales of cars, girls and making money.

The odd cheese-fest aside (La Reina Del Barrio, the title track) this is an album of straight-up bangers – Slash Gordan and Heartbreaks and Handcuffs stand out – and although the formula will be familiar to anyone with a passing familiarity with 90s hip-hop, that’s got to be better than the David Guetta-alike pop-chart-courting of most modern commercial rap. [Bram E Gieben] www.facebook.com/duckdownmusic

The Bloom and the Blight

rrrrr The numerical value held within their name has been a thread throughout Two Gallants’ work. For there has always been a duality about the work of the San Franciscan outfit (a two-piece, of course), and on The Bloom and the Blight, it continues. Their fourth album is a combination of crunching, Zeppelinworthy riffs and dusty, finger picked Americana, with hard-bitten lyrics, heavy on bygones and mystique.

And while they lack the punch and durability of Canadian behemoths Black Mountain, theirs is the template they mirror most closely.

There are moments of lucid beauty (Broken Eyes and closing track Sunday Souvenir stand out) and in opener Halcyon Days and the excellent Winter’s Youth, a couple of balls-to-the-wall rollickers. For the most part, though, Two Gallants’ work has become safe, unsurprising and possessive of only short-term gains, the sum being an album that pleases sporadically but inspires little further reflection.

[Finbarr Bermingham]

The Top five 1

2

moon duo

circles

why?

mumps, etc

3

unitl the quiet comes

4

...and you will know us bYthe trail of dead

5

flying lotus

lost songs

paws

cokefloat

www.twogallants.com

October 2012

THE SKINNY 51

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music

NEW BLOOD

In Plain Sight

Joe Acheson talks to The Skinny about Hidden Orchestra’s beautiful new album Archipelago, and the highlights of the Scottish urban music scene today Interview: Bram E. Gieben

Photo: Kat Gollock

Hidden Orchestra are an intriguing prospect – see them live, and you are confronted with drummers Tim Lane and Jamie Graham front of stage, trading heavy hip-hop grooves and delicate (but complex) jazz polyrhythms. But rather than being an improvisation-led jam band, they’re more like an actual orchestra – depending on how many guests they have with them that night, you could be hearing a carefully considered blend of traditional instrumentation, featuring horn, woodwind and strings, or if the band are stripped back to their core, the intense, beautiful violin and piano playing of core member Poppy Ackroyd, and band leader and composer Joe Acheson on bass, samples and electronics. Their first album, Night Walks, offered a brooding, cinematic, twilight experience – on new album Archipelago, their scope has broadened, with sounds that embrace the outdoors, the countryside, nature in all its glory.

Speaking from his studio in Edinburgh, Acheson is candid about the amount of control he still retains over the writing process. “The first album, from the time I started writing new material for it to the release, was about eight years. This one’s been about six years, so I guess you could say there’s quite a lot of planning.” There is a feeling of a narrative at play on Archipelago, even without the use of vocals – this is achieved by careful progression and development of musical themes, Acheson explains. “I did think more, on this album, about the overall structure of it, hence the first track is an Overture, with samples and snippets of other tracks throughout the record. I was really pleased with the way the first album eventually came into this one overall shape, even though it was written over such a long time.”

The sounds of birdsong and the ocean recur throughout the album – is this the reason for the title? “Yes, definitely, that’s all a part of that. The artwork for the front cover was from a boat trip that I took with Poppy and her father, who did the etching for the front cover. We went to a small group of islands out beyond the Outer Hebrides, and also, from out there I have recordings of birds and waves, which we used within the album.”

So Acheson used field recordings he had made himself, as opposed to pre-made samples? “All of the places where I’ve gone, particularly on tour, I’ve been recording some of the nice sounds,” he says. “Last year I recorded a nice call to prayer in Istanbul, some traffic in Cairo, some nice birdsong in France. I try and feed all these things into Hidden Orchestra.”

“It's

up to the listener whether they want to stand at the front and dance, or sway at the back with their eyes closed” Joe Acheson The first album featured a lot of very wellrespected jazz musicians, and they return on Archipelago. “There’s a lot more of Phil Cardwell,” says Acheson. “He’s a trumpeter from Glasgow.

There’s a whole track on the new album which is all about his amazing playing. There are a couple of tracks which showcase Mary McMaster, another total legend from the folk scene, playing the clarsach – a traditional wire-strung harp – and also her electro-harp, which is amazing – the bass strings... lots of things you can do with effects and stuff. We have been playing live gigs with both of those two for the past couple of years, and they both feature a lot more on this album.”

Bands who use traditional instruments and make non-vocal music are sometimes described as or thought of as background music – how

does Acheson address the challenge of drawing listeners in and holding their attention? “It’s actually a very deliberate part of what I’m doing,” he says. “As soon as you see a band on stage, as soon as there is a singer, they immediately suck out all of that focus. The other musicians on stage instantly become a backing band for this star.

Which is all well and good – often there’s a really good reason why, like maybe the front person has all the charisma, maybe they’ve written all the songs. I really wanted to do something where the focus was on the music, and not having a singer, therefore putting the attention back on the band.

In terms of trying to draw people into the CD, it comes down to the structure, the progression, the development.”

Part of this approach comes from Acheson’s influences: “I’m really interested in the use of loops, and heavily influenced by hip-hop – people like DJ Premier, who just used two-bar loops,” he explains. “Loads of that nineties hip-hop; I could listen to it for hours, without it changing at all! But that is something that’s challenging for people to listen to, so I’ve always been interested in trying to use those ideas, and making these really repetitive instrumental dance forms, but acoustically. Bringing into it the added levels of expression that you can get by using acoustic instruments.”

Acheson intends his music to work both ways: “It often gets bracketed as downbeat, chill-out music. And it is. You can put it on and just relax, have it as background, have some mates round or whatever. But nearly all of the tracks have that half-time and double-time feel. Often it’s the instrumental parts which have that downtempo feel, and the beats aren’t just doubletime – often there’s a slow hip-hop groove as well as a fast, skittery, double-time jazz solo – more of a drum and bass feel. It’s up to the listener – both at home and at gigs – whether they want to stand at the front and dance in front of the stage, or whether they want to stand swaying at the back with their eyes closed.”

Acheson was involved in the music scene in Edinburgh for a long time – what are the advantages and disadvantages, as a musician, of coming from that city? “For me personally, it’s been really helpful to be here in Edinburgh developing this music over the last twelve years, away from the influence of the ‘melting pot’ down in London and other cities,” he says. There are characters in the Edinburgh scene who put on eclectic nights, like Chris Knight [aka Astroboy, promoter of Departure Lounge], who has supported Acheson’s work from the beginning. “We do a lot of work with Chris,” Acheson confirms. “We’ve also had great support from people like Vic Galloway at Radio 1, but at the same time the jazz and folk people from Radio Scotland were giving us support too.”

Acheson works as a sound designer for radio, and expresses an interest in doing soundtrack work for film in the future. As influenced by Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti as he is by Stravinsky and Ravel, his first love remains hip-hop and urban music. Although he admits to feeling slightly disconnected from the Scottish scene these days, he is still passionate about the diversity of the land’s urban music: “Profisee is the obvious example – his album From All Angles was great,” Acheson enthuses. “It’s the diversity which really shines through. It would be easy to assume that something like Scottish hip-hop would be very small, niche and specific as a genre.

But within that, there’s a massive array of people doing different things, coming out of their isolated backgrounds and finding their own voice. If you’re the only rapper from a tiny village in the Highlands, you’re going to have your own style.”

As a producer and sound designer who has built a touring orchestra from a core of four musicians, and found space to feature contemporary jazz and folk greats alongside cutting-edge beats, Acheson remains a vital part of that scene, and one of its most gifted composers.

Archipelago is released via Tru Thoughts on 1 Oct www.hiddenorchestra.com

October 2012

THE SKINNY 53

CLUBBING HIGHLIGHTS Illustration: Francesco poroli

Success’-themed party on 12 Oct. It’s fancy dress as usual – wear your shoulder pads and bring your giant phone (£5 / £3 in fancy dress). More birthdays: notorious hard techno noiseniks JakN celebrate their 9th at The Annexe on 12 Oct (£4 before midnight, £6 after).

Fans of the more commercial end of techno, electro and house are in for a treat this month: Musika welcomes Seth Troxler on 6 Oct, a rescheduled date (The Liquid Rooms, £15). Pumping electro fiends Boys Noize visit the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh on 8 Oct (£8) and Glasgow’s O2 ABC on 9 Oct (£12.50). We’ve heard that B-More disco-rap sensation Spank Rock will be

Boys Noize

The air is getting colder, the nights are drawing in, and winter is on its way. Not that you’d notice, as Scotland’s poor excuse for a summer has barely registered, the weather a tumult of rain, claustrophobic sub-tropical heat and thunderstorms. Still, now that so-called summer is over, what better excuse is there to hide yourself away in a dark, dingy nightclub, and get off your mash to the finest of electronic beats?

There’s certainly a lot on offer in October.

First up, a shout-out to a long-running Edinburgh mid-week classic, Split. Now situated at the Bongo Club, and featuring a rotating cast of residents spinning drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep, electro and techno, it’s the capital’s original and best midweek free session. Get thee down on 3 Oct (or indeed any Wednesday that takes your fancy).

Moving back across the M8 to Glasgow, there’s dark, witch-y electronica on offer at Nice N’ Sleazy’s on 3 Oct, with a headline set from Pe† Ceme†ery, the mastermind behind innovative boutique netlabel Aural Sects, with support from a cast of local drone, noise and electronic acts (£3). Friday 5 Oct sees Fortified take on Electric Eliminators at La Cheetah, although the resulting soundclash may be not quite what you were expecting from two of the west coast’s finest

54 THE SKINNY

October 2012

purveyors of bass music. They’re cooking up a night of ‘80s boogie and funk’ to make your toes curl (£5). On 6 Oct, you can catch one of Manchester’s most innovative electronic producers, Floating Points, playing a live set at Melting Pot (The Admiral, £10). You can also catch ‘Scandinavian conflict R&B’ maestro Ben Butler & Mousepad, supported by Cry Parrot’s Hope Fielding, on 6 Oct at Stereo, for the recession-busting price of a mere quid.

Edinburgh’s techno scene is undergoing a renaissance period at the moment, and two of the scene leaders in intelligent four-to-the-floor antics are putting on particularly special nights this month. On 4 Oct there’s the Hobson’s choice between the 6th birthday party of Substance, who welcome guests Jackmaster (Numbers) and Blawan (£10 advance tickets, more on the door), and Unseen, run by the same mob who used to bring you the classic Edinburgh techno night Dogma.

They welcome Manchester’s Casual Violence for a set of brutal, dark techno (£8 before midnight, £10 after).

A little later in the month, Henry’s Cellar Bar welcomes back kings of the underground, ETC (Edinburgh Tekno Cartel), who’ve booked guest Filthy Rich to head up their ‘80s Excess and

supporting the duo in Glasgow, which makes this one pretty much unmissable. There’s an afterparty at Killer Kitsch straight after the gig, with Boys Noize labelmate Shadow Dancer in attendance (Buff Club, £5).

Back in Edinburgh, mashup-wranglers 2manydjs return to the Liquid Room on 12 Oct (£5) – so if you reckon you can handle dancing round a handbag to Dolly Parton one minute and then slamdancing to electro the next, take a gander. Later in the month, Glasgow’s best-loved enormo-club Pressure welcomes a stellar lineup, with Vitalic and Dave Clarke bringing the electro-techno goodness (The Arches, 26 Oct, £18 advance tickets). If that’s a bit out of your price range, head down to The Brunswick Hotel to catch Spatial (Infrasonics), who trades in intricate, bass-heavy dance music, with support from Black Lantern’s Asthmatic Astronaut (£6 adv / £7 on the door).

Wrong Island is pretty much the best fun you can have on two legs in Glasgow. Legendary

Jackmaster

Seth Troxler

scenesters and residents Teamy and Dirty Larry welcome LCD Soundsystem’s Al Doyle for a wee shot on the decks on 12 Oct (The Berkeley Suite, £5 before midnight, £7 after). On 19 Oct, there are two choices – either check out the talent-packed lineup at Flash Mob Glasgow, who welcome Mia Dora and Sam Vitamins (to name but two) on 19 Oct (Chambre 69, £3 before midnight, £5 after).

Alternatively, go and get some dub all over your step with Flux Pavillion (O2 ABC, £12.50). In fact, Flux Pavillion’s an early show, so if you’re that keen, do both.

Back in Edinburgh, Wasabi Disco invite Brooklyn’s neo-rave champion Octa Octa, of the über-hip

DJ Yoda

Photo: Derek M Chapman

Ben Butler & Mousepad

100% Silk label to headline their bash on 20 Oct (Sneaky Pete’s, £3 / members free). Cut-and-paste innovator DJ Yoda plays Sic on 26 Oct (The Liquid Rooms, £5), while regular knees-up Animal Hospital, who put a lot more effort into their nights than just decks and a dancefloor, are back at Studio 24 on the same night (price TBC).

That pretty much does it for October’s clubbing highlights, which is kind of disappointing given that we haven’t mentioned anything to do with Halloween. It’s a fair bet that some club promoter somewhere is doing some kind of spooky themed night on 31 Oct, but you’ll have to fend for yourselves on that score. Our final recommendation is that you catch electronic dream-pop duo Beach House at The Arches in Glasgow on 29 Oct – mainly so you can get another chance to catch the slo-mo, emotional, bass-led sonic sculptures of support act Holy Other (£16). That should fill your need for spectral electronic beats.

Holy Other

Photo: Neil Jarvie

Words: omar j kudos

Photo: Nick Milligan

clubs

PRE V I E W S

RE V I E W : P RE V I E W S

Sub Club, 28 Oct

One of the annual highlights of the Scottish clubbing calendar is Optimo’s Halloween bash, Espookio. The Optimo regulars are famed for their outlandish dress sense and lack of inhibitions at the best of times, so with the prospect of a competitive fancy-dress contest, the Optimo Halloween Cup, they really pour on the creativity.

Previous years’ crowds have included zombies, ninjas, robots and characters from films and cartoons – each year sees the Optimo crew trying to go one better than the last, and as always, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes will be on hand to soundtrack the madness with the genre-busting, eclectic selection which has made Optimo a world-famous name in clubbing. Espookio is sure to be busy, so get down early to make sure you can join in the fun. With a distinct lack of decent Halloween-themed clubs this year, and the tendency of many fancy-dress parties to err towards the cheesy and embarrassing, Espookio is a well-loved, debauched alternative – no tricks, all treats. [Omar J Kudos] 11pm – 3am, £TBC www.optimo.co.uk

Al Doyle (Hot Chip / LCD Soundsystem) Wrong Island, The Berkeley Suite, 5 Oct

O2 ABC Love Music Column

Multi-instrumentalist, DJ and circulating member of Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem and New Build, Al Doyle’s reputation as a man who knows his classic electronic music goes without saying. As an afterparty for the Hot Chip show in Glasgow, he joins the residents of one of Glasgow’s best-loved regular clubbing sessions, Wrong Island.

Firmly ensconced in the basement of Nice N’ Sleazy’s, Wrong Island’s ‘anything goes’ approach to mixing always makes for a deliriously fun-filled excursion, with residents and legendary Glasgow faces Teamy and Dirty Larry spinning anything and everything from electro to dubstep, house to disco, acid to techno. For this one-off special, they’ve relocated to the Berkeley Suite, which means more room to dance and a bigger soundsystem. With a cheap-as-chips door tax and the friendliest, least pretentious crowd in the west, this is one club night you’ll probably want to bookmark for the rest of the year as well. [Omar J Kudos] Studio 24, 5 Oct, 10pm – 3am, £8 before midnight / £12 / £10 after

DJ MikeQ

Casual Violence

Killer Kitsch, Buff Club, 16 oct

Unseen, Studio 24, 5 Oct

The re-emergence of musical sub-genres usually requires a willing ambassador at the helm, taking the sound beyond its original parameters and geographical boundaries. When it comes to the advancement of ballroom / vogue house, which first surfaced in the US in the 90s, DJ MikeQ ably fills that role. In recent years, the New Jersey based DJ / producer has gained acclaim from the likes of the UK’s Night Slugs collective for both his own music and his skill on the turntables.

Ballroom has a pulsating groove reminiscent of UK Funky and there are also echoes of the provocative vocal barbs found in ghetto house. Yet the genre has its own distinctive flavour; it’s a sound, or perhaps more accurately a movement, accompanied and often inspired by a dance phenomenon.

‘Voguing’, a particularly flamboyant form of battle dance, has been a mainstay of the underground gay club scene across the East Coast of the US since at least the 1970s. Whether or not the patrons of Buff Club and Sneaky Pete’s will be able to rival the exuberant moves of American queens remains to be seen. MikeQ will nonetheless oblige in providing a suitable backdrop with the kind of set tailor-made for dancefloor high jinks. [Ronan Martin]

If you looked up the word ‘uncompromising’ in the Dictionary of Techno, you might well expect to see a picture of Manchester’s Casual Violence on display. Melding brutal, pounding industrial rhythms with brooding, crepuscular slabs of washed-out drone and noise, his take on techno is dark and atmospheric, conjuring images of ruined dystopian cities and twisted post-apocalyptic battlefields.

He joins Unseen residents Patrick Walker (Forward Strategy Group) and Neil Templar (Dogma) for a night of innovative, boundary-pushing electronic music, with the focus firmly on keeping the dancefloor heaving into the wee small hours. Both Templar and Walker are known for their intense, upfront take on techno – so it’s worth getting down early to catch the residents doing their thing. Along with a few select clubs, Unseen are leading the charge in the revitalisation of Edinburgh’s techno scene, reclaiming Studio 24 as the ancestral home of underground electronic music in the capital. This should be another unmissable night from the crew.

[Omar J Kudos] Studio 24, 5 Oct, 10pm – 3am, £8 before midnight / £12 / £10 after

Killer Kitsch, Tue 16 Oct, Buff Club, Glasgow, £5 (£3) Witness, Wed 17 Oct, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh

Tiger & Woods and Tensnake

Floating Points

Naive, Chambre69, 23 Oct

Melting Pot, The Admiral, 6 Oct

Recent years have seen the release of countless disco re-edits. Many of these are merely extended loops, edited in a simple manner, often lacking imagination or originality. True, this doesn’t always matter. The quality of the original tracks often means that the music lends itself well to simple repetition. House producers have long realised that many of the hits of yesteryear need little work to ignite modern dancefloors. Both Tiger & Woods and Tensnake are a little different.

While boasting a back catalogue full of sampleheavy delights such as Gin Nation and Come Down, Tiger & Woods’ music stands out due to the attention to detail the duo exhibit. Rather than lazily throwing in extended sections of disco classics between tried and tested house rhythms, Tiger & Woods allow their edits time to build up steam.

The precision with which they use tiny fragments of vocal and sound to tease the listener before their tracks burst into life is particularly pleasing.

Similarly, Tensnake’s productions, though generally less dependent on samples, also feel like they have been put together by someone devoted to his craft.

His talents as a selector have also been apparent in fine mixes for both Resident Advisor and FACT magazine. In bringing these two acts together, Naive has ensured a night of shimmering, disco-tinted house of the highest order. [Ronan Martin]

For the last 11 years and counting, Melting Pot have been purveyors of the finest house and disco, and come Saturday 6 October they welcome none other than Sam Shepherd, AKA Floating Points, to The Admiral. With the Melting Pot resident pairing of Andrew Pirie and Simon Cordiner citing their audiophiliiac appreciation for high end audio as an integral cog in the party process, Floating Points will have a near pristine canvas on which to create his musical masterpiece.

Sam’s all encompassing musical taste will see him meld together a broad spectrum of jazz, garage, techno and of course house. As well as Andrew and Simon, support on the night comes in the form of GHOST, also known to their mums as Colin Cook and Colin Walker. GHOST is the combined experience and works of the afore-mentioned pair of Colins, which will bear fruit in the form of their own club night of the same name launching in Glasgow in November. Melting Pot, and GHOST, embody all that is great and good about the Scottish dance scene, where the emphasis is firmly on the music and the party rather than on being seen.

An intimate audience with Floating Points, akin to his Plastic People residency in London, should not be missed. [Stu Todd]

django django

photo: Gemma burke

Optimo Espookio

Fans of art school chanteuse Natasha Khan, better known as Bat For Lashes, will be in for a treat this month. Third album The Haunted Man is set for release on the 15th with Khan swooping into the O2 ABC six days later on the 21st. If the, ahem, stripped down artwork of the album and the understated yet beguiling lead single Laura are anything to go by, Khan’s latest effort is poised to be her most intimate yet. Bolstered by an eclectic and flamboyant back catalogue, this will surely prove an awe-inspiring and memorable show.

Conversely, there’s no news of any new material from synth-pop stalwarts Heaven 17 (02 ABC, 24 Oct) but after a successful 30th anniversary tour of debut album Penthouse and Pavement last year, it’s something of a moot point. You know what you’re going for; a night of unbridled nostalgia soundtracked, undoubtedly, by the ever funky Fascist Groove Thang, the brooding, bubbling Let Me Go and, of course, a little unshakeable dancefloor anthem by the name of Temptation. As the song itself says: ‘You can take it or leave it, but you better believe it.’

The meteoric rise of one-time Edinburgh quartet Django Django (02 ABC, 25 Oct) has been as unexpected as it is warranted. With their eponymous debut all but guaranteed to show face in album polls come the end of the year (a fresh Mercury nomination included), this sort-of homecoming places the psychedelic art-school boys at that sweet-spot between the first flush of critical acclaim and ever-growing commercial appeal. At a time when breakthrough local acts are looking thin on the ground, the Djangos are restoring the cosmic balance.

By comparison, The Walkmen (02 ABC, 28 Oct) have been around the block few times. Yet this year’s Heaven, their seventh no less, showcased a new facet to the New York quintet once tar-brushed

by The Strokes. These days The Walkmen sound a world away from their coarse early years, buoyed by fatherhood and various reality checks into a mature, grand and enveloping outfit. It’s a fortunate, stately position that few bands can even dream of attaining, at least while they’re still pulling in the plaudits.

Miss this chance to soak it up at your peril.

[Darren Carle] www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk facebook.com/o2abcglasgow

11pm, Sat 6 Oct, £10

11pm, Sat 23 Oct, £7 earlybird

October 2012

THE SKINNY 55

RE V I E W

film

october EVENTS

frankenweenie

Frankenweenie

Ruby Sparks

Director: Tim Burton Starring: Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Atticus Shaffer, Frank Welker, Christopher Lee Released: 17 Oct Certificate: PG

Director: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton Starring: Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, Chris Messina, Deborah Ann Woll Released: 12 Oct Certificate: 15

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With Frankenweenie, Tim Burton returns to an old tale (his 1984 short), to animation, and to form. A delicious mixture of 3D and black and white, this zombie dog story will delight both Burton die-hards and youngsters who think Jack Skellington is a goth clothing label. Set in a quaint yet eerie Scissorhandslike suburban America, the story revolves around Victor, a sensitive kid whose spare time is best spent making home movies with his dog, Sparky. When an omen written in kitty-poo, a Science Fair project, and a car and Sparky collide, Victor brings the yapper back to life as a Frankenstein-esque canine. When others get whiff of Sparky’s reanimation, they ignore Stephen King’s warnings and head straight for the pet cemetery. Burton’s trademark darkness flirts with horror, providing thrills and scares from its adorably creepy cast. You’ll find no Johnny or Helena here, but Christopher Lee, Martin Short, and Atticus Shaffer add colour to this crisp monochrome caper. [Nicola Balkind]

Not another indie movie, Ruby Sparks is the second feature from Little Miss Sunshine directing duo Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton. Penned by actress Zoe Kazan, who stars alongside her real-life boyfriend Paul Dano, it’s a tale of a young writer struggling with his much-anticipated second novel (a lovely confluence of theme with its directors) who writes his eponymous imaginary girlfriend into existence thanks to some Woody Allen-esque magic realism.

Ruby Sparks is one of the smartest films of the year: beginning with unavoidable stereotypes and the glow of new love, it digs deep into the struggles that couples face when learning their lover’s true character. It’s a fresh take on the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope that doesn’t get trapped under the weight of its own ideas, and its fresh, upbeat direction keeps pace with the story’s spiralling emotions. Sweet and unsickly romance coupled with great performances and an erupting climax makes Ruby Sparks an unexpected but genuine hit.

[Nicola Balkind]

Frankinweenie is released 17 Oct by Disney

Ruby Sparks is released 12 Oct by 20th Century Fox

Room 237

Liberal Arts

Director: Rodney Ascher Starring: Bill Blakemore, Buffy Visick, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns Released: 26 Oct Certificate: 15

Director: Josh Radnor Starring: Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, Zac Efron Released: 5 Oct Certificate: 12A

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It’s obvious that The Shining is much more than a mere horror film, but what exactly is it? Rodney Ascher’s highly entertaining Room 237 invites a group of Shining devotees to share their theories after examining Stanley Kubrick’s film in astounding detail, and the results are alternately persuasive and ridiculous.

Is the film a metaphor for the genocide of Native Americans? Is it a veiled admission by Kubrick that he helped fake the moon landing? Is it something to do with minotaurs? Ascher smartly uses a variety of footage from Kubrick’s films and other sources to illustrate these ideas, and edits it all together in a witty, playful fashion. Despite the utter conviction with which each contributor presents their evidence, none seem likely to be taken as a definitive explanation for Kubrick’s eerily ambiguous masterpiece, but Room 237 does highlight aspects of the movie that you’ve never noticed before, and it guarantees that you’ll be more attentive than ever the next time you watch The Shining. [Philip Concannon]

Writer/director Josh Radnor’s sophomore feature sees him also play Jesse, a detached but well-meaning 30-something university admissions officer recently dumped by his long-term partner. When he’s invited to his alma mater to attend his old professor (Jenkins)’s retirement do, he’s immediately bewitched by student Zibby (Olsen). Perturbed, Jesse returns home to wrestle the philosophical implications of their mutual attraction – is she mature or is he stunted?

Radnor takes witty swipes at a pretentious cultural elite so intent on reading about the meaning of life they neglect discovering it for themselves, and he and Olsen craft rounded protagonists, striking a balance between infuriating and sweet. The aimlessness of postgraduates slipping into early-middle-age is also a cute topic to address, although it could have been afforded greater subtlety: too often characters are left to clumsily outline key themes to each other, which grates against the otherwise smart and funny script. A perfectly engaging, thoughtful piece perhaps in need of a different voice behind the camera. [Chris Fyvie] Liberal Arts is released 5 Oct by Revolver

Pusher

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Director: Luis Prieto Starring: Richard Coyle, Bronson Webb, Zlatko Buric Released: 12 Oct Certificate: 18

Director: Benh Zeitlin Starring: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Pamela Harper, Lowell Landes Released: 19 Oct Certificate: 12A

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Luis Prieto’s sanitised update of Nic Refn’s 1996 debut apes virtually everything in the original, but unfortunately forgot all the verve and urgency. Savvy but small-fry drug-peddler Frank (Coyle), inexplicably paired with potty-mouthed sub-Inbetweeners brat Tony (Webb), gets himself in bother after the collapse of a much, MUCH too good to be true deal. 50k in the hole to initially benevolent (aren’t they all?) kingpin Milo (Buric), Frank has a couple of days to raise the funds or lots of bad stuff will happen. Cue boredom.

Admirable for never painting the protagonists as anything short of odious, the nihilistic tone, sporadically atmospheric club scenes and thumping Orbital score are about all Pusher has going for it. Repetitive, silly and puerile, Prieto’s film is also wholly lacking any visual flair or originality; the reliance on cynical, time-worn genre clichés compounding the crippling ennui. To be fair, any film delighting in a comedy Paul Kaye cameo was always going to struggle.

[Chris Fyvie]

Beasts of the Southern Wild is a film that has been drawing acclaim ever since it made its debut at Sundance, and it’s easy to see why. This tale of a child and her drunken father surviving in post-Katrina Louisiana is directed with restless energy and brimming with imaginative touches, and in the central role of Hushpuppy it features a disarming turn from Quvenzhané Wallis (who was six when it was shot). But for all its moments of vivid beauty, Benh Zeitlin’s wayward film never coheres into anything substantial. The narrative is littered with missteps, notably a stop at a disaster relief centre that feels horribly rushed, and the incidents of magic realism that he tries to insert into the picture are an awkward fit. Most crucially, the scenes that should feel serendipitous and overflowing with emotion just don’t ring true, which is a shame. There’s so much natural wonderment in this location, and in Wallis’ fierce performance, that Zeitlin shouldn’t have felt the need to force it. [Philip Concannon]

Pusher is released 12 Oct by Vertigo films

welcometothebathtub.com

56 THE SKINNY

October 2012

Released 19 Oct by StudioCanal

Glasgay! returns again to the GFT, with nine specially selected films screening between 15 Oct-3 Nov. The festival, an annual celebration of queer culture, boasts an impressive collection of both new and old movies, including Call Me Kuchu (23 Oct), an award-winning documentary about Uganda’s first openly gay man, David Kato, trying to repeal the country’s strict homosexuality laws.

Also screening is the classically camp, outrageously over the top Mommie Dearest, a failed ‘serious’ biopic about actress Joan Crawford’s nightmarish parenting skills (20 Oct). Just remember: no wire hangers!

The Cameo in Edinburgh is hosting another marathon of horror movies from All Night Horror Madness! on 13 Oct, starting at 11pm and running into the wee hours of the morning.

Whether you’re a fan of 80s vampires, Italian gore, or Grindhouse trash, there’s something here for you, with five films – Fright Night, I Drink Your Blood, Tenebrae, Phantasm, and Hellraiser – showing alongside vintage horror trailers. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, there’s also a free raffle.

mommie dearest

Club Noir’s Film Nights continue with Mel Brooks’ Oscar-winning comedy The Producers screening at the Grosvenor in Glasgow on 7 Oct alongside a classic Laurel and Hardy short, County Hospital. The event also boasts a special burlesque performance, featuring Club Noir’s fabulous compère, Daddy Single, and the beautiful Katie Crossbones. The following week, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is playing at the Perth Playhouse (14 Oct), with another performance by the Club’s finest stars. Dig out your best clothes and watch the movies in style.

Between 15-21 Oct Scotland Loves Anime is back at the Filmhouse and GFT. The festival has eleven of the finest anime films, as well as Takeshi Miike’s latest, a live action video game adaptation, Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney (GFT, 12 Oct; Filmhouse, 15 Oct) – more family-friendly than his previous ultra-gory, ultra-disturbing movies.

The festival’s biggest coup comes in the form of Nerawareta Gakuen, a school-based adventure, which receives its world premiere in Edinburgh on 20 Oct. See the Scotland Loves Animation’s website for more details.

Led Zeppelin fans should head to the Belmont in Aberdeen on 17 Oct for Celebration Day, a one-off screening of the band’s 2007 concert at London’s O2 Arena, a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Featuring all the hits from Whole Lotta Love to Stairway to Heaven, and filmed in high definition with surround sound, this is a rare chance to get a front row seat at this classic gig. [Becky Bartlett]

ace attorney

RE V I E W : D V D

Moonrise Kingdom

The Landlord

Director: Wes Anderson Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton Released: Out Now Certificate: 12

Director: Hal Ashby Starring: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands Released: out now Certificate: 12

rrrrr Like Wes Anderson’s previous films, Moonrise Kingdom is located in a place that is at one remove from reality, where he can create a jewel-like world with a manic attention to detail. Here, that place is a small New England island in 1965 where the local community becomes embroiled in a manhunt for two 12 year olds who have run away to escape their difficult home lives.

The film continues Anderson’s mix of blank comedy, artifice, archness and high drama that so beguiles some viewers, and so infuriates others, but there is an undeniable emotional resonance to Sam and Suzy’s yearning for adventure and romance, while Bruce Willis’s soulful performance as a melancholy sheriff provides the story with a moral centre. And the film is studded with sequences – even single shots – whose intricacy and clockwork perfection make you gasp with pleasure. This is a DVD which will bear – and demand – repeated viewings. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

Some Guy Who Kills People Director: Jack Perez Starring: Kevin Corrigan, Lucy Davis, Karen Black Released: 8 Oct Certificate: 15

rrrrr Everyone wants revenge on the assholes from high school, especially Kevin Boyd (Kevin Corrigan).

When he’s released after 11 years in the mental institution they put him in, the bad guys start to die.

But is it really him, or is something else going on?

Producer John Landis’s low budget horror/comedy has fun teasing us while the victims pile up. But as slick as the effects are, the murders aren’t really the point.

An uncertain Ken gradually re-engages with his stolen life; meeting a cute daughter he never knew and dealing with his exhausted, bitter mother (a delicious Karen Black). Meanwhile, the bumbling town Sheriff (Barry Bostwick) threatens to steal the show from them as he slowly closes in on the murderer. It’s too light on the body count to really call itself a slasher, but it has a heart and some fine performances that help make this a quirky little gem that’s a cut above the rest. [Scotty McKellar]

rrrrr In his directorial debut, the great Hal Ashby tackled race relations head on with this fable of gentrification and radical chic. Elgar (Beau Bridges) is a spoilt, callow New Yorker who decides to assert his independence from his dysfunctional patrician family by buying an inner-city tenement which he plans renovate and convert into a single luxury home. But first he must evict his tenants, all of whom are black.

The film’s sometimes crude characterisations and almost hysterical racial politics reflect the turmoil of the time it was made (1970) and can make for uncomfortable viewing, but as Elgar’s life becomes entwined with that of his tenants, Ashby’s signature blend of comedy and drama becomes more balanced. Much of the pleasure of the film, however, lies in the way his camera drinks in the profusion of period detail, from the cluttered poverty of the tenement flats to the clashing wallpapers and rococo style of the 1970s moneyed elite.

[Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

The Fairy Director: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy Starring: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy Released: 8 Oct Certificate: PG

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La Fée is the third feature from a three-way filmmaking partnership, in which each member shares three roles: writer, director, and performer. It’s about an unorthodox fairy named Fiona (Fiona Gordon), who offers three wishes to a hotel night watchman named Dom (a deadpan Dominique Abel); two are granted immediately, while the third is delayed by a series of comic set-pieces.

Like Fiona, the film’s success ratio is about two thirds, with the magic of the opening acts drifting marginally into tedium by the end, but for a while at least, it’s enchantingly silly. The trio (rounded out

by Bruno Romy as a myopic Magoo-like café owner) concoct a giddy string of sight gags, child-like dance routines and ever-escalating farce, spinning a fluffy yarn with echoes of Keaton’s silent cinema and Tati’s almost-silent cinema. But it’s too lax and patchy for greatness – and is played too broad for some tastes – leaving it, appropriately enough, a three star experience. [Chris Buckle]

The Arrival of Wang

The Devil Rides Out

Director: The Manetti Bros Starring: Francesca Cuttica, Ennio Fantastichini Released: 8 Oct Certificate: 15

Director: Terence Fisher Starring: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi Released: 22 Oct Certificate: 15

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Not, as one might initially guess, a top-shelf title heralding the debut of a new adult entertainment star, The Arrival of Wang is a low budget sci-fi thriller from the Italian brothers who brought us Zora the Vampire. Translator Gaia (Francesca Cuttica) is employed on an urgent assignment by a secret government agency; she must act as a translator during the interrogation of a mysterious, Chinese-speaking stranger, who is hidden in darkness. When she demands that the lights are turned up, a shock awaits her.

Registering European unease at the rise of China in classic B-movie fashion, The Arrival of Wang also reveals with its surprisingly decent special effects the way that affordable digital technology means that low-budget and high-concept can now meet. What suffers, however, is the middle ground: characterisation is perfunctory, the supposedly topsecret facility resembles a woefully understaffed local council office, and the direction stretches what was a decent conceit for a short film past breaking point. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

‘A moving and darkly witty family saga’ – Zoë Strachan

As an 11 year old boy I used to tape late night Hammer horror films on VHS and watch them in awe before school. Fast forward to present day and viewed through very different eyes the sublime becomes the ridiculous. This uber-camp Dennis Wheatley adaptation chronicles Christopher Lee’s attempts to save a young friend from a Satanic cult.

I am loath to criticise any words by Richard Matheson (author of I Am Legend) but the wooden acting is largely the fault of his terrible scribing here. Perfunctory lines fall clumsily from marble-filled mouths and reactions border on the preposterous. The aftermath of a confrontation with a chubby, vacantly smiling demon provokes the conclusion that “That wasn’t very pleasant.”

Lee and villain Charles Gray are formidable screen presences who raise this pot-boiler above where it deserves to be. This was one of Lee’s favourites roles but this film sits towards the bottom of the Hammer canon. [Alan Bett]

kohl publishing launch event

Kohl Publishing

Kohl Publishing is the latest newcomer to the book publishing scene in Scotland. Based in Glasgow, the company was founded in 2011 by Lesley-Ann Dickson and Leila Cruickshank, two young female entrepreneurs with backgrounds in trade and academic publishing.

“We publish fiction in paperback and eBook format and use our website as a hub where discussion and debate about our books can take place. With a distinct focus on women’s writing and reading, we publish original, intelligent fiction and have taken a rather anti-chick-lit stance on commissioning. This month Kohl published its debut title, Fremont by Elizabeth Reeder.

“We were struck by the fact that the publishing industry – unlike the film, music and games industries – had a real lack of innovation when it came to delivering content and engaging with readers.

We knew that the behaviours and expectations of readers had changed dramatically. They want more than just to be fed stories; they want to have their opinions heard, to co-create, and to discuss books not only with each other but with content producers and authors. So we decided to launch a publishing house that responded positively to these expectations. We encourage readers to collaborate with us – for instance, the final cover for Fremont was chosen by online voters. We also provide additional content (vlogs, animations, blogs) to provoke discussion about books.

“We applied for Starter for 6 because we wanted to be surrounded by other entrepreneurs. We’d read about previous candidates and knew that it would be a really inspiring environment. There was also the opportunity for some free entrepreneurial coaching – that comes as part of the training. And of course we also applied because there was an opportunity to pitch for investment.

“The training programme helped us to understand our product and brand inside out and to identify our readership. There was also lots of pitching practice and peer assessment so it really helped us prepare for the investment pitch. We were fortunate enough to secure investment and have since gone on to successfully pitch for further monies elsewhere. We are now very confident when pitching for investment, which I very much credit to the Starter for 6 training programme.

“We are so lucky to have a programme like Starter for 6 in Scotland. It’s a fantastic opportunity to get some investment for your business, but also a chance to tap into an important business network and receive high quality training for no fee. Since Starter for 6 Kohl Publishing has signed an author, held a launch at Edinburgh International Book Festival, published a paperback and eBook and secured a PSYBT Innovation Fund... I can wholeheartedly say that we would not be where we are today without Starter for 6.”

Fremont by Elizabeth Reeder.

The debut title from Kohl Publishing.

AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW £2 off when you buy from www.kohlpublishing.com Discount code: skinnyoct12 Paperback only

Amazon, Waterstones, Blackwell’s

www.kohlpublishing.com ‘Starter for 6 is Scotland’s premier start-up and investment programme for creative industry entrepreneurs.’ Applications for the next round of Starter for 6 open on Tuesday 16 October 2012. www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk/starterfor6

October 2012

THE SKINNY 57

DASNDEM, IMAGINE BEING A WORLD LEADER 2012, INSTALLATION SHOT

REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, ENTOMBMENT SKTECH C.1635–1654 © HUNTERIAN, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW 2012

REMBRANDT AND THE PASSION

DASHNDEM & NIKOLAJ BENDIXSKYUM LARSEN

HUNTERIAN MUSEUM

DCA

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The name ‘Rembrandt’ conjures up the kind of obvious and indisputable sense of quality that’s often deliberately missing from contemporary art – art critics agree that he was great but so do most postmen. The curious thing is that Rembrandt actually helped to push art towards the state it’s in today because within Rembrandt lies the seed of the modernism that flowered centuries later and bore fruit so delicious that we’ve been stuck in a cycle of regurgitation ever since.

Rembrandt and the Passion at the Huntarian Art Gallery focuses in on one particular work called the Entombment Sketch; but it’s not your typical masterpiece. The painting is small and the brushwork is quick, even for Rembrandt. So instead of a highly finished picture that looks too perfect to be real we have the grimy first impression, still warm from the artist’s brush.

The image was originally thought to be a preparatory ‘sketch’ but this new exhibition puts forward the case that the painting was intended as a finished work. An array of scientific methods with impressively long names all suggest that Rembrandt worked on the painting repeatedly. He wasn’t using it to make something else; the ‘sketch’ was an end in itself.

The conclusion is that Rembrandt chose to leave works ‘unfinished’ as a subtle device, one that wouldn’t be fully appreciated until Picasso.

Unfinished art draws attention away from the subject and towards the artist’s skill and capacity for invention. Thanks to artists like Rembrandt we’ve slowly gained the freedom to paint any way we like.

The sad thing is that we’ve forgotten how to paint as well as Rembrandt. [Peter Drew] 15 SEP-2 DEC, £5 (£3)

DashnDem’s Imagine Being a World Leader adorns Gallery 1 of the DCA with all the artifice of the political Summit; a red carpet, the backdrop of a stately home and rows of chairs facing a podium flanked by Summit flags. But on closer inspection the space is more like an interactive classroom; booklets and posters explain how to act like a politician through hand gestures and speech patterns. Local schoolchildren are the vehicle through which these traits are exposed, allowing the viewer to rethink methods of political power and sway.

Staged to coincide with the upcoming American Presidential election, this is a fun and thought provoking display.

In Gallery 2 Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen’s From the Edge showcases a series of the Dane’s films exploring family relationships and habitual environments. In Rendezvous, opposing screens project migrant Indian workers in Dubai with images of

their family at home in India. This creates an emotional atmosphere, highlighting the difficulties of separation and longing for one another. Tales from the Periphery is told from the perspective of young people growing up in deprived areas in Europe, expressing their hopes and providing a more uplifting alternative to the usual media analysis of the areas they come from. The last of these films, No Place Like Home, explores the countryside around Dubai, emphasising the contrast between the developing city and its surrounding desert.

In partnership with the Discovery Film Festival, both these exhibitions focus on the outlook of young people, and provide an alternative outlook to the usual coverage of politics and the periphery.

[Katie Rice] 8 SEP-18 NOV, FREE

ADVERTISING FEATURE: OWN ART

EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS WORDS: ANDREW CATTANACH

EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS is a quiet, welcoming wee place to visit, despite its proximity to the hustle and bustle of the capital’s centre. You would never guess that you were in spitting distance from the Omni Centre and a frustratingly challenging group of converging main roads as you enter the gallery’s shop front from the near-silent street.

Inside the ground-floor shop you’re unlikely to assume that you’ve entered one of Edinburgh’s foremost institutions, responsible for some of the most exciting art commissions in Scotland today, including Reflective Histories at Traquair House in the Borders that saw seven leading contemporary artists respond to the ancient property. An impressive undertaking in itself, and yet only one of the many projects the gallery’s played a hand in.

The shop has a variety of prints for sale by artists both established and emerging, and unlike the more considered gallery space upstairs, is a place where you can leaf through what’s on offer. As well as traditional prints, framed and unframed, there are a selection of other items, such as cards and notebooks for those looking for a unique purchase that won’t break the bank.

Artists represented include the author and polymath Alasdair Gray, the great Scottish photography trickster Calum Colvin, ironic poster-maker Chad McCail, the serenely grotesque Jessica Harrison and social commentator Ruth Ewan. Again, the context will unlikely give you a true sense of the importance

of what’s on offer as you flick through one gem after another – a refreshing alternative to the stuffier end of the commercial gallery spectrum.

Upstairs are two modest gallery spaces given over to regular contemporary exhibitions by leading Scottish and international artists. And despite their size, the galleries have played host to some big names, including works by Damien Hirst, the Chapman Brothers and Andy Warhol.

This autumn, working alongside the artists’ book commissioner Book Works, Edinburgh Printmakers shows a selection of new works by an impressive group of Book Work collaborators, Jeremy Deller, Jonathan Monk, Liam Gillick and Susan Hiller. Each artist was invited to make a new work on A4 paper in response to Book Work’s archive, which includes 25 years of projects. Contributions are typically varied and include found objects, fictionalised letters, and imaginary proposals for artworks unlikely ever to be made.

Looking through a window in the gallery you start to understand why the shop and exhibition spaces are quite so wee. Below lies an impressive printmaking workshop, offering traditional and modern printing facilities, including etching, lithography, screen printing and digital printmaking. A busy, professional studio, it is home to a healthy community of working artists.

If you’re bored of browsing and fancy getting your hands dirty, Edinburgh Printmakers offers a wide

JESSICA HARRISON, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

selection of courses, including introductory classes, weekend and evening courses as well as taster workshops. These run all year round and are perfect if you want to learn new skills, or supplement your already impressive art education.

Particularly exciting is the zine workshop run by the weird and wonderful Malcy Duff. As well as offering an introduction to the history of zines, and other forms of self published works, participants are

encouraged to get stuck in, drawing inspiration from their own, probably strange, interests.

Like some kind of Medieval bazaar, Edinburgh Printmakers has everything you might need under one roof (although you might still need to visit Tesco if you’re looking for sausages). Great exhibitions and a fun shop, it is also the ideal place to learn new art making skills. And you never know, you might end up exhibiting there too some day.

Galleries across Scotland are members of the Own Art scheme. By offering interest-free loans of £100-£2,000 through Own Art, buying an original piece of quality contemporary art or craft couldn’t be easier. For more information about Own Art and a list of participating galleries see the Own Art website: www.ownart.org.uk

Offer subject to age and status. Terms and conditions apply. You will need a UK bank account that can handle direct debits, proof of identity and address, and you will also need to be over 18. Own Art is operated by ArtCo Trading Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arts Council. Registered address: Arts Council England, North East, Central Square, Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3PJ

Look for the pink logo. (representative 0% APR)

249 West George Street Glasgow G2 4QE

58 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

PHOTO: RUTH CLARK

art

REVIEW

books

RE V I E W

Battleborn

The Children’s Hospital

The Stone Thrower

By James Meek

By Clare Vaye Watkins

By Chris Adrian

By Adam Marek

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Ritchie Shepherd is a middle-aged television producer, threatened by catastrophic gossip: an ill-thought-out affair threatens to destroy everything he claims to hold dear. James Meek’s latest novel, The Heart Broke In, steps back from this moment to develop an engrossing account of the coming crisis. Meek’s canvas quickly expands to include a multitude of characters as Ritchie’s unthinking behaviour sparks a wide-ranging series of events.

The novel’s central relationship is between Ritchie and his sister Bec; as he spirals into self-obsessed torment she begins to accrue success in almost every part of her life, whilst remaining unfulfilled.

Meek presents a nuanced exploration of the drives and desires of all his characters, delving behind masks of apparent philanthropy and generosity to excavate an all too-easily recognisable drive for selfgain. It is an honest portrayal of the contradictions of Britain’s twenty-first century white middle-class, although the homogeneity of most of the characters may leave some readers a little dissatisfied.

However, the lyricism and wry wit with which Meek writes means this is a fine novel, and an excellent representation of how we live now. [Daniel Davies]

Nevada is a curious place, a barometer of presidential elections – the state has an almost faultless record in voting for the winner. And while the gambling instinct is prominent in most of the characters Claire Vaye Watkins uses in her first collection of short stories, the main character is definitely the state itself – permissive and rich. A cult headquarters, brothel and a goldmine are just some of the uses that Vaye Watkins finds for its outposts.

Using the first of these, she fictionalises her father’s involvement in the Charles Manson ‘family.’

This is a powerful opening tale that explores some of the issues brought out more fully in later stories.

How you live with your history is a theme that comes up again and again; from leaving your friend in the desert to the double standards you accept in relationships that become the norm. The Nevada state motto is: ‘Battleborn,’ which comes from the state coming into being through the civil war.

There is a lot of growing up going on but conversely there’s not much hope in these short stories. Not always a comfortable read but worth the effort.

[Sue Lawrenson]

Out now. Published by Canongate. Cover price £17.99

Out now. Published by Granta. Cover price £12.99

Chris Adrian’s second novel, The Children’s Hospital, has been published for the first time in the UK some years after its debut in the States. This is presumably due to the success of last year’s The Great Night, which brought his strange, original visions of the world to a larger audience. This should not however lead one to think less of the earlier work. It is an ambitious and accessible allegory that charts the progress of the titular children’s hospital, afloat upon a second biblical deluge which has consumed the world entirely.

Pulling on strands of paediatrics, theology and philosophy directly from the author’s employment and education, Adrian weaves them together through the central character of Jemma Claflin.

A medical student at the hospital, it is through the prism of her and her peers’ experience we take in the microcosm of the hospital and their very direct interactions with the angels that have brought them into their situation. It is very difficult to summarise a work as sprawling as this; that draws from so many sources and attempts such diverse societal commentary. It is testament to Adrian’s skill then the book is simultaneously so compelling and buoyant.

[Ryan Rushton]

Adam Marek’s second collection of short stories, The Stone Thrower, revolves around the profound and sometimes unexplainable relationship between parents and their children. The Stone Thrower includes thirteen of Marek’s short stories which have appeared in other short story anthologies and as excerpts in non-fiction novels. Easy enough to follow, but unusual in plot, Marek’s stories are often shrouded by emotional complexities, ending on a note of longing or mystery, and each driving home a melancholy which is only reinforced by the next in the collection.

This is not to say Marek’s work is depressing, but strong and poignant; intricate and detailed in such a way the reader can visualise the bond between the parents and children on every page. One highlight from the book is Dead Fish, cleverly revealed to the reader from an almost spiritual viewpoint and which tells the story of one boy’s race across the city after stealing a dead fish – albeit a pricey one. But don’t be fooled by what seems like a mere mischievous and adolescent act, Dead Fish is a story filled with sorrow, which, of course, is of the compelling, poignant sort, rather than depressing kind.

[Amy Balloch]

Out now. Published by Granta. Cover price £16.99

Out now. Published by Comma Press. Cover price £7.99

tech

The Heart Broke In

You Can’t Get There From Here

Apple’s new flagship toy has some great innards, but in a world where apps are everything, it doesn’t quite deliver everything it could words: Alex Cole

bite-sized tech nuggets with ALEX COLE

THE FEED

It’s that time of year again, folks – new iPhones are at last dropping from heaven and into our cash-strapped little hands. Hurray for everyone (unless you happen to have just bought an iPhone 4S, are locked into a contract, dislike Apple on principle, or just don’t have the insane amounts of money smartphones cost).

The shiny new model is longer to fit 16:9 content and another row of icons, is a good measure lighter, to the point where it almost feels like a toy, and has a generally improved set of gubbins inside, including the camera, screen, processor and charger. In fact, this phone is so much about these minor improvements that it’s telling about what the smartphone market has become – a game of little details and style, rather than bombastic new gamechanging features. The launch was preceded by a whole host of rumours which got the specs pretty much dead-on, and thus the legendary secrecy of Apple’s releases is just a memory now.

But it’s what Apple took away that really tells the story of this phone – gone is the integrated YouTube app (with a Google version having to come in to replace it), gone is the old familiar charging cable

(and in its place an expensive, Apple-only model), gone is the brilliant Google Maps app (and in its place, Apple’s own new version, which in just a week of release has clocked up more ridiculous entries, directions, satellite photos that look like melting landscapes, and users frustrated by the missing local transit directions than was thought possible, to the point where even the London Underground staff were taking jibes at it on launch day), and gone is any impression that Apple is trying to play nice with anyone else. This phone is a strategic move, plain and simple, and a middle finger at Google, Samsung, and everyone else.

None of which is to say it’s a bad phone – it’s clearly top of the range and beats the competition in several key areas (the camera really is fantastic) – but rather that this aggressive move into a universe without Google apps baked in (but with Twitter and Facebook in its place, curiously) exposes more holes in Apple’s offering than it should. This is a phone that should be saying ‘look at us, we can do it all by ourselves,’ and instead comes out like an expensive new footballer immediately claiming injury.

Borderlands 2 rrrrr

In a crowded field of shooters where little differences can make all the difference, there are generally two camps on the original Borderlands: the first say that the kick-ass artistic style and general snarkiness of the game set it apart and made it a lasting contender, and the second claim all that was a nice gimmick, but that the thin storyline and sometimes dodgy combat far outweighed that.

Happily, both camps should be pleased by the latest installment of the series, which offers an even better visual appeal, a huge array of weapons and combat options, and, thankfully, a much-improved script and storyline to follow while you’re shooting psychos.

For the uninitiated, Borderlands 2 carries with it a great comic-book sense of visual style that never tries to be realistic when it can just be fun and vibrant. You’re one of four characters with different skill sets, from crowd control to assassination to, get this, gunzerking, but really, if you never look past the huge array of randomly generated guns, you could still be a happy bunny.

Multiplayer is a nice way to go but more often than not makes enemies more frustrating to kill rather than enjoyable to take on. Combat does get repetitive after a while, but helpfully the over-thetop writing and tongue-in-cheek nature of every quest makes this easier to bear.

Overall this is a game about fun, and on that score it delivers. If you never ask more of it than a great way to kill time and psychotic enemies, you’ll never be disappointed. [Alex Cole]

Facebook claiming they don’t stalk anyone after stalking everyone • Iran censoring Google and other sites, clearly not interested in iPlayer catchup either • World of Warcraft rolls out new Pandas in expansion, eliciting as much elation as Edinburgh’s pandas do on a daily basis • Apple demanding more cash from Samsung because of reasons. No, seriously, I have no idea what they want now • Researchers try to map happiest place in London, probably best they avoid the City

October 2012

THE SKINNY 59

theatre

P RE V I E W

My Sister

Theatre at The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2012

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2012 features theatre throughout its programme, but what makes the line up special is that Community and Youth Theatre is sitting right next to more established work. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Fife get the pick of the theatre, with performances tackling a wide range of subjects.

Piece of Mind is a dance performance that looks at bipolar disorder through verbatim interpretations of interviews conducted with 15 to 25 year olds. This comedic work is being performed in Glasgow, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.

Glasgow also offers another comedic piece with Abstinent Minds on 3 October at The Portal, with physical theatre from My Sister by Scandal Theatre featuring on the same evening at The Old Hairdressers.

Not to be left out The Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh is hosting a Gaelic/English

Lyceum: Venue of the Month

Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude & I Heart Alice Heart I Glasgay!

Inter-generational love stories are rare enough, but tales about young men falling for older, and especially elderly, women are so unusual that Harold and Maude makes you question whether you’ve ever even come across a similar story before.

He’s nineteen, she’s seventy-nine, they fall in love.

This information alone is enough to recommend it.

The themes of the 1970s cult film by Hal Ashby are retained in this new stage production by Colin Higgins, and directed by Kenny Miller for this year’s Glasgay! Harold is a compulsive suicide faker, desperately trying to get his mother’s attention and ward off the potential suitors she arranges for him by creating increasingly elaborate suicide stunts.

He meets Maude at a funeral and they become involved, despite the superficial differences of their extreme age gap.

I Heart Alice Heart I is another play showing at this year’s Glasgay! which focuses on love and relationships as experienced by the older generation. Directed by Amy Conroy it tells the story of two women ‘of a certain age’ who fall in love.

Steven Thompson, the producer of the festival, explains that this was an intentional decision saying, “It’s often where we have the most work to do in transforming opinions in a generation whose values and views are often out of step with the younger more liberated generation.”

60 THE SKINNY

October 2012

He explains that both productions question the values of our society and show the shortcomings of more traditional, conservative points of view, adding, “Glasgay! has always championed broader representation, it’s always been political and it remains socially relevant.”

Shows like Cougar Town and Accidently on Purpose explore relationships between slightly older women and slightly younger men, celebrating cross-generation relationships where the woman is the elder partner. Unfortunately such shows are tailored as if the viewer is supposed to gasp, “But she’s so OLD!” at the sight of a woman in her mid-thirties.

Harold and Maude, however, holds up a woman who is properly ‘old’ and tells you that some young men really do find women like her sexy. In a similar vein I Heart Alice Heart I will surely open audiences up to a whole new understanding of the romantic possibilities of the older generation. These new productions will leave you walking away from the theatre with a whole new appreciation of geriatric sexuality. [Ana Hine] Harold and Maude @ Tron Theatre, 30 Oct-3 Nov, 7.45pm; £15 (£12) I Heart Alive Heart I @ The Arches, 31 Oct- 2 Nov, 7.30pm; £11 (£8) www.glasgay.co.uk

Nestled in Tollcross’s Grindlay Street, in the shadow of the Usher Hall, Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre treads a middle ground amongst Edinburgh’s theatres. It manages to bring experimental, new and consistently fascinating theatre to the table while at the same time providing a combination of space and scale to every show that it presents. The theatre’s season, running from September through to May, always provides just the right mix to make an impact on the Edinburgh scene and brings a bucket-load of Scottish talent to the forefront: just looking at the upcoming shows is enough to prove that.

From September through to December, the Lyceum is putting on a major revival of Scots play The Guid Sisters – based on the Quebecois Les Belles Souers – with the National Theatre of Scotland, a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the now legendary Lyceum Christmas Show. At the same time as providing diversity, the company also possesses the advantage of exclusively performing plays, whether these be comic, tragic or anything in between; this gives a focus and drive towards theatre that is unparalleled in Edinburgh, with no other space taking on plays exclusively.

Mark Thomson, Artistic Director of The Lyceum, made his enthusiasm clear at the announcement of the 2012/13 season. “We have three world premières, four co-productions, three great classics: an extraordinary seventy-two actors will walk on our stage with more than twenty other artistic creatives bringing their distinctive work to our stage. I am immensely proud that the Lyceum is able to play such a pivotal role in Scottish theatre.”

Thomson affirms the importance of theatre as a political and social activity. “They are all big society plays presented at a time when tough economics challenge us to consider what the

physical theatre performance We Have Won The Land. Strange Theatre tackle the relationship between carer and the person being cared for with a work in progress play entitled Strange Theatre Presents Couldn’t Care Less.

The Lanarkshire area delivers the most performances within the festival. East Kilbride Arts Centre hosts AJ Productions Presents Silent Snowdrops, a contemporary tale looking at ‘humour, sentiment and sensitivity.’ Motherwell Theatre at The Civic Centre gives us a local take on Des Dillon’s Singin’ I’m No a Billy He’s A Tim. Overall eclectic and engaging theatre can be found throughout the programme, with theatre workshops and events complementing performances from a variety of different local companies.

[Steven Fraser] See website for full details. Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, 1-24 Oct www.mhfestival.com

most precious values of our society are,” he says.

“Theatre and its great writers have a lot to say in this debate. Who wouldn’t want a society whose values were defined and led by William Shakespeare, J B Priestley, Shelagh Delaney, Michel Tremblay, Donna Franceschild, David Haig and Johnny McKnight? And I’d much rather hear them talk about it too. Much more entertaining!”

However, it’s not just the company or the shows that make visits to the Lyceum special, but the building itself. The Victorian auditorium is beautiful to look at: trimmed with lush red and gold and topped off with a grand chandelier; but that is not the most impressive thing about the venue.

The space above the stage is frankly colossal and the stage itself is massive but somehow, when sitting in the stalls, it manages to foster the kind of intimacy that you would normally find in a studio.

This is all twinned with marbled floors, red carpets and a magnificent bar on the outside to make a truly stunning package – there are few better places to spend a night in Edinburgh, let alone one at the theatre. This is all made even more pleasant by the staff, who always seem to have smiles plastered on their faces even when the bar is heaving.

The Lyceum is a wonderful theatre, particularly right now at the beginning of its main season. It’s not over the top yet it’s never boring; it’s not too big, it’s not too small: it’s just right. [Thom Louis] The Guid Sisters, 20 Sep-13 Oct, Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, King’s Theatre ,Glasgow week commencing 22 Oct A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 19 Oct-17 Nov Cinderella by Johnny McKnight, 29 Nov-29 Dec A Taste of Honey, 18 Jan-9 Feb 2013 Time and The Conways, 15 Feb-9 Mar Then transferring to Dundee Rep Taking Over The Asylum, 15 Feb-9 Mar Citizens, Glasgow, 13 Mar-6 Apr Lyceum, Edinburgh www.lyceum.org.uk

Me, the Mormon God and Taggart words: Andrew Learmonth

illustration: marco bevilacqua

I was filming an episode of Taggart when it happened. I was nothing special, just an extra in the background of a particularly difficult contretemps between Fraser and Reid when suddenly, distracted by a bead of sweat on Blythe Duff’s immaculate face, I was kicked in the face by an unbroken Andalusian pony drafted in to play Police Horse Four.

It should never have been allowed on set. To this day I honestly don’t know what the producer was thinking. Thankfully the bloody thing was shot soon after.

I, however, found myself in hospital. Technically for 14 minutes I was dead. It was there that I met Mitt Romney’s God. The Mormon one. He was nice. It was a little awkward and uncomfortable.

I’m generally not the best at small talk.

I had to explain that I didn’t really believe in all that Christian stuff and that actually I was cool with the whole bum willy thing and if people into the bum willy thing and the fanny fanny thing wanted to go away and be married that should be okay. God was furious.

“Andrew,” he thundered. “Up here we call that the cunt. Use the word fanny only if you’re a child or talking about the Aunt in the Famous Five but not for anything else.”

“Why am I here?” I had already guessed why but I was trying just to make small talk.

“I have something very important for you to do.”

“Me, Mormon God? What?” He had already commented on how lovely and cold my dead hands were. I was pretty sure he was going to get me to do something sexual.

“You need to make sure that Mitt Romney never gets elected.”

“But he’s one of yours, Mormon God. Surely it’s good for you if he gets elected? You know, bigamy and baptising dead atheists will become de rigeur in America.”

“I hate the French.”

“But still... why not Romney?”

“He’s weird.”

“I mean in the nicest possible way... aren’t all Mormons a bit weird?”

“No. I think most of them are in on the joke but he actually believes this shit.”

I whistled through my teeth. “Wow.” That’s when God sent me back and my spirit entered my body and I opened my eyes to see I was in a hospital bed that was surrounded by my friends, family and the entire cast of Taggart.

“They cancelled it!” Colin McCredie screamed in my face. “They’ve fucking cancelled it Andrew!”

And then through the crowd I could see the face of DCI Michael Jardine who hadn’t been in the programme since Death Trap which aired in 2002; and that’s when I realise that Mormon God was making me have a vision. If only I could work out what it means.

I awake to find myself in hospital but there’s no one there. “Nurse?” I shout, “Nurse, what year is it?”

“Mr Learmonth! You’ve been in a coma for eight years. It’s 2012 and the Americans are having an election.”

“What? Who are the candidates?”

“Barack Hussein Obama and Mitt Romney” I scream and stand up out of the bed ripping off the heart monitor. “He must be stopped. We can’t let him become leader of the free world.”

“Why?” screams the nurse back.

“Because he’s weird!”

“But aren’t all Mormons a little bit weird?”

“But he actually believes all that shit!”

“Wow,” the nurse whistles through her teeth.

“How will you stop him?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that I have to. I must not fail.”

Can Andrew stop Romney? Will Taggart get recommissioned? For the rest of the story, see Andrew at Greater Shawlands Republic, The Bungo, Nithsdale Road, Glasgow, Sunday 7 Oct, 8pm, with Bruce Morton, David Kay, Eleanor Morton, Tales of Jake and Stuart Thomson. £6

That Festival 2012

comedy

P RE V I E W

may contain...

THEATRE, FILMS, GIGS, READINGS, PARTICIPATION, INTERVENTIONS, IPADS, NOISES AND A GREAT BIG PARTY.

FRI 5 - MON 8 OCTOBER

www.macrobert.org/facebook www.macrobert.org/twitter

#thatfestival

MACROBERT, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING

01786 466666 | MACROBERT.ORG October 2012

THE SKINNY 61

comps

COMPETITIONS

WIN FESTIVAL PASSES TO DOCUMENT 10

WIN TICKETS TO MERCURY – THE FINEST QUEEN TRIBUTE AROUND

THIS YEAR Glasgow’s most loved documentary film festival celebrates its tenth anniversary, marking the occasion with a programme of the highest calibre. From 19-28 October, the festival will once again be taking over the CCA. Alongside its engaging roster the festival will host directors and human rights activists from all over the world and screen a retrospective of the best films shown at the festival throughout the years.

HAVING RECEIVED the blessing of Freddie Mercury’s own Mama, Mercury can certainly lay claim to accurately recreating the distinctive Queen experience. The band are bringing their flamboyant front man, superbly crafted harmonies, and intricate guitar work to Edinburgh’s HMV Picture House on Saturday 13 October and we’ve got our hands on two pairs of tickets for the show to give away.

To ensure you don’t miss a moment of it we have two full festival passes to give away.

To enter visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions, or scan the QR code with your smartphone, and answer the following question:

To be in with a chance of winning, head to www. theskinny.co.uk/competitions and answer the following question: Q. What is the subtitle of this year's Document 10 festival?

A. 2012: A Year of Independence B. 2012: A Year of Indifference C. 2012: A Year of Insignificance Competition closes Tue 16 Oct Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ about/terms www.documentfilmfestival.org

62 THE SKINNY

OCTOBER 2012

Q. Which of the following is NOT a real Queen album title?

A. A Day at the Races B. A Night at the Opera C. A Night on the Tiles Competition closes Thu11 Oct Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ about/terms www.mercuryqueentribute.co.uk

G lasgow music Tue 02 Oct

Soulfly

The Smoke Fairies

The Phoenix metallers continue to channel unbridled rage through a cacophony of thrash guitars, grooves, tribal polyrhythms and Max Cavalera’s thunderous roar.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £9

Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies sing the blues.

AxeWound

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

British/Canadian supergroup formed in 2012 as a side project for Bullet for My Valentine lead vocalist Matt Tuck.

Felix Champion (Clockwork Social) Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Cupar-based unsigned alternative rock trio.

Wed 03 Oct Latecomers

Avant Garde, 20:15–23:00, Free

Acoustic pop loveliness from the Glasgow-based outfit.

Kyla La Grange

The Art School Union, 20:00–22:30, £7 adv.

New singer/songwriter of the moment in possession of a heartstopper of a pop vocal.

Newton Faulkner

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

London-based singer/songwriter known for his guitar playing which involves rhythmically tapping and hitting his guitar’s body.

Classic Grand, 19:30–22:00, £15

The second in a series of three label showcases as part of the mighty Paisley Underground, with this edition curated by Fence Records – who bring with them The Pictish Trail and Adam Ross (of Randolph’s Leap), plus support from KiDD.

Shonen Knife

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12

Jason and The Scorchers Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £15

Country rock’n’rollers par excellence.

Thu 04 Oct Y&T

Classic Grand, 18:30–22:00, £16

Rock ‘n’ roll long-timers, continuing to melt faces some 30 years on.

Field Music

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £10

The brothers Brewlis tour their Mercury-nominated album, chock with carefully orchestrated and imaginatively structured songs.

Oxjammin’ (Holy Pistol Club, The Hollows, Calm As The Colour, Dirty/Clean)

Queen Margaret Union, 19:30–00:00, £6 (£4)

One-off fundraising gig as part of Oxjam 2012, showcasing a selection of up-and-coming Glasgow acts.

The Birthday Suit (Honeyblood, A Plastic Rose) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones plays with his new band, The Birthday Suit, an ever-changing collective of musicians.

Wintersleep

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £8 adv.

Nova Scotians in possession of suitably infectious soundscapes, built on dense, rhythmic post-rock structures.

Paws

CCA 21:00 – 23:30, £5 The Glasgow noisemakers of the tropical thrash variety launch their debut album, Cokefloat!, with stellar support from North American War.

Fri 05 Oct Sixth Avenue Traffic (The Dead Certs) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

Glasgow quartet currently filling their days experimenting with rock, punk, funk and soul.

Lianne La Havas

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

Folk and soul singer/songwriter who also found herself part of the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll.

Kathryn Williams (Christopher Price) King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £16

The Liverpudlian contemporary folk songstress serves up the flawless vocals and beautiful songsmithery, as per. Rescheduled date.

Hugh Cornwell

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £18

The Stranglers’ man performs two albums in full, taking in his new LP, Totem and Taboo, and The Stranglers classic 1977 second album, No More Heroes.

Two Wounded Birds (Strawberry Ocean Sea, Tijuanna Bibles)

The Art School Union, 20:00–22:30, £8 adv.

Reverb-drenched indie trio churning out the dark pop soundscapes.

Kat Men

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Stray Cat drumming legend Slim Jim Phantom and UK rockabilly guitarist Darrel Higham combine forces.

Threads of Ska: Esperanza, Capone and the Bullets, Joe Viterbo

Tue 09 Oct

Stereo, 19:00–23:00, £5 adv.

Sat 06 Oct

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £3

The Glad Cafe, 19:30–23:00, £7

Fun

Aussie rock ensemble led by ballsy young songstress Jenna McDougall and her inimitable soaring contralto.

A night of experimental electronic sounds, including The DDN’s selfproclaimed ‘anti-music’ (aka a glorious racket of a thing).

Mon 08 Oct

All-female Japanese kawaii-punk noisemakers now an impressive 18 albums in, all incessantly cheery melodies and cutesy lyrical conceits.

Live ska showcase led by Glasgow’s nine-piece ska juggernaut, Esperanza.

Elizabeth Veldon, Pet Cemetary, Texture, The DDN, Asitob

The Merrylees (Molly Jones, Lee Southall)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £10

The more compact, less messy and more focused satellite of legendary experimental unit, Smegma.

Tonight Alive (Lostalone, Blitz Kids) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

London quartet whose rock sound takes in reggae, dub, ska, pop and roots as it goes.

Modern folk popsters who started as a trio and have since gradually bolstered their number to double that.

Paisley Arts Centre, 20:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

The Long Notes

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12

Combining top musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England in a mini celebration of the islands’ rich musical heritage.

Bags of Rock

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

The former Red Hot Chilli Pipers frontman tours with his band, deftly mixing bagpipes with modern rock’n’roll.

The Littlest Album Launch (The Plimptons, Sweeney Straddles The Sun, Colin’s Godson, The Paraffins, Craig Pulsar)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

NYC rock trio made up of Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff.

Nina Nesbitt

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £9

Half-Swedish, half-Scottish singer/ songwriter in possession of a fine technical agility and emotive style.

Boys Noize

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Berlin-based DJ and producer Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noize) takes to Scottish shores for a trademark set of inspired electronica.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan SECC, 18:30–22:00, From £25

Classical singing maestro primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis.

Echo Lake

The Art School Union, 20:00–22:30, £6 adv.

The Griffin, 20:30–22:30, £3

Americana night featuring the songs of Willie Nelson, with sets from The Hellfire Club, Jim McAter and special guests.

Neu! Reekie! @ The Poetry Club The Poetry Club, 19:00–22:00, £7

The favourited night of avant-garde poetry, music and film makes its second Glasgow appearance, taking to the rather cool surrounds of the Jim Lambie built poetry club with Tam Dean Burn, Liz Lochhead and Remember Remember in tow.

Sun 07 Oct Funeral Suits

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6 adv.

Dublin quartet bonding over a shared love of distorted guitars, blistering harmonious pop, art rock and electronica.

Ren Harvieu

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12

Manc songstress in possession of an impressive set of vocal chords.

Root2TheFruit

Kinning Park Complex, 13:00–17:00, £2

A celebration of music and culture.

Treacherous Orchestra Stereo, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£12)

Vibrant Glasgow folk collective mixing traditional rootsy Scottish tunes with contemporary influences, all bagpipes and whistles and loveliness.

We Are Augustines

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £10

NYC trio who do a rather fine line in anthemic indie-rock, due in no small part to frontman Billy McCarthy’s measured and majestic vocals.

Ultravox

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £32.50

The pioneering electronic popsters tour on the back of their new album, which sees all the original 80s lineup reunited.

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £9

The much-lauded young Scottish folkstress plays songs mostly from her debut album.

The Enemy

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The Coventry-formed indie-rockers take to the road armed with their newest LP, Streets in the Sky.

Dylan Carlson

The Art School Union, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Earth guitarist and principal member plays a solo set ahead of his first major solo project, combining field recordings from various megalithic and other sites of human/ fairy encounters across the UK. One word: magical.

Vince Kidd

The Voice UK hipster with a scarily high vocal range.

Twisted Wheel (The Beautiful Lies, Strange October) King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £8

Indie-styled Manc trio led by Jonny Brown on vocals and guitar.

Hot Chip (Disclosure)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

The London electronic specialists play their sold-out Glasgow date following the release of their new album, In Our Heads.

Kontroband

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Blues rock-inspired Glasgow quartet.

Sat 13 Oct Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £14

Benjamin Francis Leftwich Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12

Gentle, acoustic pop ditties from the Yorkshire singer/songwriter.

John Cooper Clarke

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Satirical and biting political verse, delivered in Cooper Clarke’s rapidfire performance style. Punk poetry at its finest.

Happy-go-lucky Glasgow quintet, fueled on their relentless pop sensibility and incessant, thrashy beats.

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £9

Manc rock quintet led by Sam Forrest on vocals and guitar, renowned for their energetic and somewhat anarchic live shows.

Billy Kelly Songwriting Awards: Semi-Final Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, Free

Semi-final heat for the Billy Kelly Songwriting Awards, with seven acts playing for a chance to win a cool £5000.

Thu 11 Oct

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Jack Beats

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £15

The Jack Beats DJ duo bring their new live show Glasgow-way.

Liars (The Haxan Cloak) SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Angus Andrew et al bring their new album, WIXIW, to a live setting, carefully and somewhat unsettlingly constructed around nebulous themes of doubt, fear and introspection.

The Dave Okumo-fronted, Mercury Prize-nominated London trio play tracks from their second album, Rispah.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Reassuringly textbook indie-pop from NYC, of late brighter, bolder and evidencing sharpened songwriting skills.

Bastille

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

Dan Smith led indie ensemble who may or may not have their faces painted as skulls.

Bloc Party

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £23.50

The Kele Okereke-fronted ensemble embark on their return to the live stage after a two year hiatus.

Mon 15 Oct O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Fossil Collective (Luke SitalSingh, Jonny Jack, Cherry Grove) King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

Bright young multi-instrumentalist duo from Leeds.

Dirty Projectors (Callers) The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £15

The Brooklyn-based quintet continue with their exploration of rocks more challenging catacombs, to pretty bloody pleasing effect.

I Like Trains

The Art School Union, 20:00–22:30, £9

Melodic Leeds quintet using haunting instrumentation, flowing guitars and world weary vocals to portray a tender depiction of hope within despair.

Tue 16 Oct David Paul Jones

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £10

The contemporary composer performs tracks old and new, in a series of emotional and evocative soundscapes.

The Jim Jones Revue

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £11

More superhcarged rock’n’roll from the Jim Jones led London quintet.

Michachu and The Shapes (Jonnie Common)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £7.50 adv.

Trivium (As I Lay Dying, Caliban, Upon A Burning Body)

Classic Grand, 18:30–22:00, £4

Bigkids (Dee, Mena)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

London-based duo made up of Ben Hudson and Rosie Bones, chock with DIY beats, saxophones and samples.

Ian Hunter

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

English singer/songwriter best known as the lead singer of Mott the Hoople.

The Rollin’ Clones: 50th Anniversary Tour O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Stag Firm Collapse (The Modests, The Crafted)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £7 adv.

The young Suffolk singer/songwriter does his acoustic indie-folk thing.

The happy-go-lucky London fivesome churn out the pop tunes, finally in possession of their debut LP. The Smalltown America Records’ signees do their bright and magical post-hardcore thing.

The 80s and 90s-straddling English rockers play the hits.

Lewis Mokler (Jamie and Shoony, Holly Drummond, Callum Beattie, Adam Moss)

The Rolling Stones tribute act, celebrating the band’s 50th year.

More Than Conquerors

The Invisible

Classically trained singer/songwriter, composer and producer Mica Levi (aka Micachu) tours with her experimental trio, bolstered by Raisa Khan on keyboards and Marc Pell on drums.

Spector

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £10

Rhode Island noisemakers born from the ashes of Arab on Radar.

Jaret and Erik return to Glasgow for after their strip-backed set earlier in the year, this time with the full band in tow.

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £14

Gareth Croll (Robin Adams)

Nine Black Alps (Castrovalva, Majestic Dandelion)

Manc ensemble composing their sound of old school ska and dancehall, with a twist of indie, reggae and electro-pop.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

The Cincinnati-bred gents (aka Yoni Wolf, Josiah Wolf and Doug McDiarmid) tour on the back of their long-awaited new EP, Sod in the Seed.

The Serious Men

Up-and-coming west coast singer/ songwriter celebrating the release of his LP, bolstered on the night by a selection of special guest musicians.

Doomsday Student (Divorce, The Downs)

Why? (Young Fathers)

Wed 10 Oct Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Kid British (Kase, Vagabond Poets, Waiting For Go)

Bowling For Soup

London rappers with a fresh take on the genre, fusing hip-hop and dance in one eclectic whole.

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £13

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Hellfire Club, Jim McAter

Rachel Sermanni

Gallows (Feed The Rhino, Brotherhood Of The Lake)

93MillionMilesFromTheSun (Helicon, His Name Is Codeine) Doncaster ensemble combining layered, textured guitars over an array of effects and choral vocals.

The country-tinged Edinburgh trio bring the retro vibes, chock with hallucinogenic riffs and a load of reverb.

Foreign Beggars

The fourth of the now legendary Littlest Albums (featuring 12 bands playing one minute songs) is launched, with a free copy of the vinyl album for attendees.

13th Note, 20:00–23:30, £5

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6

London quintet offering a deeply melodic take on psychedelic dream-pop.

Instead of flickering out after the departure of intimidating frontman Frank Carter, the Watford-based hardcore punks rock on with the help of Black Lungs founder Wade MacNeil.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6

The Garage, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Kilmarnock trio do their alternative rock-meets-powerpop thing, you do the moshing.

Tenses (Cru Servers)

Paisley Underground: Fence Records

Fatherson

The Skints (The Drop, Eat Dr. Ape)

New Town Triptych (Grand Central, Mark Copeland) Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

LISTINGS

Fri 12 Oct

The Garage, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Glasgow rock-meets-rap ensemble launch their much awaited debut EP.

Sun 14 Oct Young Guns (We Are The In Crowd, Your Demise, Marmozets) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

London-based rock five-piece headered by the mighty Gustav Wood.

Williwaw Vs Zemlya

The Old Hairdressers, 20:00–23:00, Free

Amp’d uke noisemakers Williwaw pit their particular blend of bittersweet squalling in sonic counterpoint to Aleksandr Dovzhenko’s 1930 film, Zemlya.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6 adv.

Level 42 (Dan Clews)

The One Ensemble

Evile (Wolf)

Daniel Padden’s (Volcano the Bear) free-folk ensemble debut new material at Mono, fresh from an appearance at Sound Festival.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

The flowing-locked Huddersfield thrash metal outfit bring the noise to Glasgow.

Fri 19 Oct

Delphic

Little Comets (General Fiasco) King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £9

Kitchen sink-styled indie-rock quartet led by the somewhat dynamic Robert Coles.

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Mancunian indie-electro ensemble all bracing guitars and euphoric choruses, if that’s your thing.

Metz (Great Cop)

The Art School Union, 20:00–22:30, £6

O2 ABC, 18:30–22:00, £10

The Toronto-based grunge trio bring the energy and volume as only they know how.

Scissor Sisters

Charlotte Church (Houdini Dax)

Guns 2 Roses

Guns N’ Roses tribute act.

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £28.50

The Jake Shears and Ana Matronic led NYC-ers play a duo of consecutive dates in the not-so-intimate surrounds of Glasgow Barrowland.

The Wicked Whispers (Red Sands, Lavinia Blackwell)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £15

The classically-trained Welsh songstress returns to the spotlight under her latter-day pop guise.

Bo Ningen

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £7 adv.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

Four Japanese Londoners adept at head-bending psyche-rock that manages to fit elements of krautrock, metal, hardcore and funk into its mix.

Tim Burgess

Tue 23 Oct

Liverpudlian quintet led by local singer/songwriter Mike Murphy, influenced by the folk and psychedelia movements of the late 60s.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £15

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

The New Jersey quartet take their fourth album to a live setting – a reliably anthemic mix of pop-rock melodies retooled for a punkinformed audience.

Kamblu (The Little Illusions, The Travels) Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £6

Recently reformed Cunbernauld indie-rockers back and touring with a new line-up.

Sat 20 Oct Flux Pavilion

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Dubstep producer and DJ Joshua Steele (aka Flux Pavilion) plays as part of his UK headline tour.

This Feeling

Maggie May’s, 19:00–22:00, £6

The favourited London rock’n’roll night takes a trip to Scotland, with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

Grizzly Bear

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £19.50

The Brooklyn-based quartet break out the pulsing, shimmering oceans of sound, touring on the back of their latest LP, Shields.

8th Time Luckie, The Ocean’s Eyes (My Forever) Classic Grand, 18:30–22:00, £5

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £7

London-based indie-pop quartet touring on the back of their new EP, Needles & Pins – the title single of which you can currently download via their Soundcloud.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £10

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

James Walsh

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £12.50

The Starsailor frontman plays it solo.

Public Service Broadcasting Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £7

The last in the series of label showcases as part of the mighty Paisley Underground, with this edition curated by Chemikal Underground – who bring with them Malcolm Middleton (as Human Don’t Be Angry), with support from new signee Miaoux Miaoux.

Amanda Palmer

Queen Margaret Union, 19:00–22:00, £14

The DIY songstress tours her new album, Theatre Is Evil – an ambitious first release with her new band The Grand Theft Orchestra, sure to go off great guns in a live setting.

Little Eye

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £10

Recently-formed Glaswegian powerpop quartet led by singer and founder Allan Sieczkowski

Fri 26 Oct

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £tbc

The Devonshire stadium-fillers tour on the back of their new album, The 2nd Law.

Labrinth

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £15

The London-based producer and singer/songwriter responsible for chart hit Earthquake returns following his sold out debut tour earlier in the year.

Dope Body (Battery Face)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6 adv.

The Baltimore noise-rockers bring the primal hardcore thrash vibes.

Pokey La Farge and The South City Three Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Country blues and early jazz restyled for the 21st century, thanks to the suited-and-booted St Louis musician and his live band.

Nately’s Whore’s Kid Sister (Young Liar, Analogue of the Sun) Stereo, 20:00–23:00, £6

Newcastle-based quintet comprising of members of Grandfather Birds and Flowers of Evil, making dark, sludgey and downright noisy pop.

Heaven 17

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

The Sheffield synth-pop duo stage a special The Luxury Gap album tour, their second LP and biggest commercial success.

Thu 25 Oct Delightful art school jangle with an electronic edge, fruitily looping and catchily hooking as they go.

Kirk Brandon (The Red Eyes, Cal Murray) Pivo Pivo, 19:00–22:00, £9.50

Intimate set from the Spear of Destiny frontman.

Joshua James

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £7

Neo folk-styled American singer/ songwriter in the vein of Conor Oberst.

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £14.50

The Glasgow alternative rock fourpiece do their Brit rock-inspired thing.

Dead Swans (Departures, Grader, Cavalcades, Leagues)

Bat For Lashes

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Twin Atlantic

Wed 24 Oct Muse

Kawabata Makoto and his band of sonic outlaws, mixing traditional melody with hyper-aggressive playing techniques and plenty improvisation.

Brighton singer/songwriter Natasha Khan takes her third LP, The Haunted Man, on the road proper, upping the mystic ante as per.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £4

The Killers

Django Django

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £12.50

Spielgeltent @ The Spree, 19:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

Experimental duo who sample old public information films and archive material and set them to new music, making for a pretty special live set.

Sun 21 Oct

The Supergrass frontman goes in alone, playing tracks from his first solo offering, Here Come The Bombs.

Paisley Underground: Chemikal Underground

Birmingham-born blues guitarist moving from soulful ballads to funky shuffles.

Thu 18 Oct

Gaz Coombes (Cave Painting)

Halloween-themed live music night, taking in acoustic, rock, punk, indie and more besides.

Toustle-haired acoustic singer/ songwriter blessed with an acute sense of melody.

Acid Mothers Temple

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £28.50

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:15, £4 (£3 in costume)

The Gaslight Anthem

Local singer/songwriter who turned his hand to music after a careerending football injury, in case you were wondering.

The Jake Shears and Ana Matronic led NYC-ers play a duo of consecutive dates in the not-so-intimate surrounds of Glasgow Barrowland.

Banned! (Trongate Rum Riots, The Sinking Feeling, Hooks N Crooks)

Ben Montague

Sean Kennedy

Scissor Sisters

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5 adv.

Blues-meets-folk-meets-rock quintet moving from the delicate to the, well, let’s just say they’ve got two drummers.

The Charlatan’s man takes his solo album on the road proper.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £14.50

Mono, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

Brother And Bones (This Silent Forest, Huevo and The Giabt)

Joanne Shaw Taylor (Tristan Taylor)

Wed 17 Oct

South African rockers who have achieved multi-platinum status in their own country.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

Pop legend who needs little introduction to any child of the 80s.

Led Zeppelin tribute act.

Life In Film (The Banter Thiefs, The Difference)

The Parlotones

Rick Astley

Mon 22 Oct

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £312.50

Co-headline tour from Surrey pop-punk trio 8th Time Luckie and fellow pop-punk ensemble (this time a quintet), The Ocean’s Eyes.

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £15

Mono, 20:00–22:00, £tbc

Whole Lotta Led

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

New musical project from Mike Skinner of The Streets and Rob Harvey of The Music.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5 adv.

Netherlands ensemble of the eclectic indie variety, combining interesting experimentalism with a good ol’ pop sensibility.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £26

Florida’s finest bring the mayhem following their face-melting main stage appearance at Download.

The D.O.T.

The Bent Moustache

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

Howler (The Cast of Cheers, Gross Magic) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

60s American rock and pop-inspired brainchild of Jordan Gatesmith.

John Grant

The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £15

The American singer/songwriter and onetime frontman of 90s act The Czars does his solo thing.

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £42.50

Brandon Flowers et al do their anthemic rock thing; you may or may not care.

Classic Grand, 18:30–22:00, £8

Hardcore punk Brighton ensemble led by the strained voicebox of Nick Worthington.

Everything Everything (Fiction) King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £12.50

Manchester residing indie quartet touring in advance of their new album, due out at the beginning of next year.

Michael Nesmith

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £27.50

The former Monkee’s man takes to the road for a rare solo tour.

Sat 27 Oct Dog Is Dead

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

Nottingham-based quintet led by Robert Milton, doing a rather fine line in uplifting pop harmonies.

Twin Atlantic

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £14.50

The Glasgow alternative rock fourpiece do their Brit rock-inspired thing.

No Fxd Abode

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

More up-beat indie-punk from the chirpy Glasgow lads.

Jay Brannan

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £11

The NYC singer/songwriter does his lo-fi indie folk thing, which he self describes as like ‘the little mermaid on crack’.

Alasdair Roberts and Mairi Morrison

Tron Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£10)

Inimitable folk musician and songwriter Alasdair Roberts joins forces with Mairi Morrison to showcase songs from their joint album of lost Gaelic songs, Urstan.

TeenCanteen (Stevie Jackson)

The Poetry Club, 19:30–22:00, £8

The new all-girl pop kids on the block (formed from the ashes of Futuristic Retro Champions) play a special set, joined live on stage by Duglas T. Stewart, Eugene Kelly and Roy Moller.

Tickets limited to 100.

Cry Parrot Vs Green Door Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 15:00–23:00, Free

Cry Parrot and Green Door lock horns for a musical all-dayer, with free entry for all. Line up still to be revealed, but it’s sure to be a good ‘un.

October 2012

THE SKINNY 63

LISTINGS

E D I N B U R G H music

Scouting for Girls O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

The English pop trio play showcase their third album, The Light Between Us.

John Jack

Flat 0/1, 20:00–23:00, £6

Young Glasgow singer/songwriter who’s been honing his acoustic indiepop sound since the tender age of 14.

Aye Tunes Vs Peenko: Blogtoberfest The Flying Duck, 19:30–23:00, £6

Local bloggers Aye Tunes and Peenko join forces to bring you the finest Scottish live music on the last Saturday of each month, getting started with a suitably stellar indie-pop-tastic line up for their maiden gig.

Sun 28 Oct

Fri 12 Oct

The Sound Project

Deacon Blue

Bi-monthly music night, this time featuring The Seven Deadly Sins and Warren McIntrye and the Starry Skies.

The Scottish popsters celebrate their 25th anniversary.

Thank You So Nice (Morris Major, Mad Nurse, Little Love)

Duncan Chisholm

South London rock’n’roll quartet.

The Highland fiddle player launches his new album, Affric, the concluding part of his Strathglass Trilogy.

Catfish Keith

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

The Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, £16 (£14)

Rolo Tomassi (Oathbreaker, Goodtime Boys) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £10

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5 adv.

Unsigned alternative folk quintet, all soaring harmonies and cheeky banter.

Tue 09 Oct The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £12

British punk singer/songwriter (aka Tim Smith), formerly of The Adverts.

After some 50 years of musicmaking (most notably as a cofounder of the Velvet Underground), Welsh singer/songwriter John Cale showcases tracks from his new LP, Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood.

Peter Oundjian marks his very first concert as RSNO’s new music director with an all-Russian programme of orchestral delights.

Scottish Widow’s Battle of the Bands

HMV Picture House, 22:00–03:00, £8

Berlin-based DJ and producer Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noize) takes to Scottish shores for a trademark set of inspired electronica.

Balam Acab (Kirsty Keatch) Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Late night set of suitably haunting and unearthly electronica from the Tri Angle associated wunderkind.

Wed 10 Oct Benjamin Francis Leftwich The Pleasance, 19:30–23:00, £12

Gentle, acoustic pop ditties from the Yorkshire singer/songwriter.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £5

The experimental Edinburgh indiepoppers treat y’all to a special party night, at which they’ll be launching their new album.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

The vintage-styled NYC and Philadelphia-straddling indierockers play tracks from their new album, Heaven.

Mon 29 Oct

The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £6

Ex-Alamos members in a new alternative guise, taking to the road as part of their all-Scottish tour.

Fred Hersch

The Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:00, £16.50

Innovative jazz pianist who’s marked out a highly individual path for himself.

RSNO: Oundjian conducts Brahms

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £11.50

Peter Oundjian and the full RSNO unleash the emotion, taking in Brahms’ Symphony No1, amongst others.

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £16

Dingus Khan (Shambles Miller, David Laing) London-based rock’n’rollers upping the ante (read: noise levels) with a trio of drummers.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £9

Mercury-nominated Cambridge quartet – whose name is literally the computer shortcut for a geometrical symbol – sporting intricate fusions of plucky jazz, sombre guitar and dubby rhythms.

EDINBURGH music Y&T (The Jokers)

Rock ‘n’ roll long-timers, continuing to melt faces some 30 years on.

Sneaky Pete’s, 21:00–00:00, £6.50

A selection of bands play in aid of Simpsons Special Care Babies, hosted by comedian Gordon Brunton. In Teviot Debating Hall.

Black Cube Collective: Launch Night (Martyn McKenzie, Jonny Downie, Esperi) Old St Paul’s Church Hall, 19:00–23:00, £5

The new Edinburgh-based artist collective display works from both UK and international artists, alongside live sets from a selection of Scottish music-makers. Entry includes a free ‘Black Cube’ cocktail concoction.

Music night hosted by Adam Holmes and The Embers, featuring new and established folk/roots music artists from throughout the world.

Happy Particles (Magic Eye)

The fast’n’loose guitar popsters play a set mostly taken from their newest album, Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything.

Thu 18 Oct Jefferson Starship

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–22:00, £18

Jefferson Airplane founder Paul Kantner and David Freiberg get set to perform their 2,000th concert since they first soared in 1974.

Thu 11 Oct Edinburgh Unlimited (Jamie and Shoony, Dave Keir, Cera Impala, The Urban Folk Crowd) Meadow Bar, 20:00–23:00, £3

Regular live acoustic session with a four-strong line-up of performers.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Pins, The Shondes, Honeyblood, Seafield Foxes

Little Comets (General Fiasco)

Sneaky’s throw up a double bill of all-girl indie.

Kitchen sink-styled indie-rock quartet led by the somewhat dynamic Robert Coles.

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Lewis Mokler (Holly Drummod, Callum Beattie)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £2 adv.

The young Suffolk singer/songwriter does his acoustic indie-folk thing.

Reverand and The Makers

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

More indie-pop soundscapes from Sheffield chaps, taking to the road in support of their newest album.

Sat 13 Oct

Two Wounded Birds (The Maginot Birds)

Your New Favourite Band (Trapped Mice, Another Blurry Photo)

Reverb-drenched indie trio churning out the dark pop soundscapes.

Tune into Autism: The Holy Ghosts, The OK Social Club, Randolph’s Leap

A selection of alternative up-andcomers fight it out to be your ‘new favourite band’.

Electric blues-styled ensemble from Aberdeen.

Bobok (The Foo Birds)

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £4

Original music taking in elements of Balkan, Russian, ska and punk, sung across four languages.

Sun 07 Oct Slash

Corn Exchange, 19:00–22:00, £332.50

SCO: Cosi Fan Tutte

Saul Hudson and co rip through the classic rock standards.

Robin Ticciato conducts an orchestral performance of Mozart’s heart-wrenching tale of young love betrayed.

St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £10

The distinguished Russian orchestra take to the UK to mark 70 years since their Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:00–23:00, £5

A selection of Scottish music-makers join forces to raise funds for Scottish Autism.

SCO: The Romantic Age

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £10

Orchestral celebration of the 19th century, a golden era whose music brings the age of Romanticism alive.

Dylan Carlson

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Earth guitarist and principal member plays a solo set ahead of his first major solo project, combining field recordings from various megalithic and other sites of human/ fairy encounters across the UK. One word: magical.

Twisted Wheel (Modern Faces)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £8 adv.

Indie-styled Manc trio led by Jonny Brown on vocals and guitar.

Kimmy Yeah (Black International, Mad Nurse) Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–23:30, £5

Quirky Sheffield ensemble who refer to their hard’n’fast sound as ‘raprock battlepunk’. That’ll do for us.

The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £5

Errors (Dam Mantle)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £10 adv.

Glasgow’s own understated electronic funk outfit give their newest album a proper Edinburgh airing, with stellar support from Glasgow-based producer Dam Mantle’s genredefying electronic workouts.

Mercury

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:00, £13

Freddy Mercury tribute act.

Lee Southhall (Red Sands, The Merrylees)

The Cabaret Voltaire, 18:30–22:00, £5

The Coral’s superlative rhythm/lead player goes solo.

Limbo (The Little Kicks, Night Noise Team, Body Parts) The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £6 adv. (£7 door)

Beloved gig-in-a-club night always featuring a reliably good live line-up, this time headered by the chirpy pop hooks of Aberdeen’s The Little Kicks.

And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £12

The alternative rock veterans play a varied mix of post-hardcore and art-rock.

Opera.

Expect the unexpected.

64 THE SKINNY

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £25

The Tony Award-winning star performs her first Scottish date, backed by a 25-piece orchestra live on stage.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7 adv.

More rolling drums, big guitars and massive effing finales from the WWPJ’s gang, playing their biggest hometown show to date.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £8

Adam Holmes and The Embers Present... ( Hannah Read, Rory Butler, Maria Nash.)

Idina Menzel

English singer/songwriter John Lees tours with his band of rockers, the Barclay James Harvest.

The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–22:00, £13

Folk and soul singer/songwriter who also found herself part of the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll.

Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band (Main Street Blues)

Coldwave electro pop hits from Trust, aka the alter ego of Toronto artist Robert Alfons.

Tue 16 Oct

HMV Picture House, 19:30–22:00, £22

Lianne La Havas

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5.50

Wed 03 Oct

The Caves, 19:00–23:00, £11 adv.

More supercharged rock’n’roll from the Jim Jones led London quintet.

Wed 17 Oct

Led Zeppelin tribute act.

The Leith-based Edinburgh trio launch their latest EP.

Trust

Jim Jones Revue

Johnny Foreigner (Playlounge)

The Oates Field (The Occasional Flickers, Fuzzystar)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £16 adv.

Mon 15 Oct

Sat 06 Oct

The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Tue 02 Oct

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6 adv.

John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest

Teviot, 18:30–01:00, £10

Alt-J

Ahab

A night for fans of The Twilight Sad to hear an exclusive playback of their new album, featuring exclusive remixes by the likes of Liars, The Horrors and Com Cruise.

Rockin’ for Tots (Both Barrels, Ruff Cut, Stillife, Roadway, Schtick of Rock)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

Sneaky Pete’s, 21:00–00:00, £5 adv.

Ambient Glasgow space-rockers slowly shifting between chords, still riding high on the back of their Scottish Album of the Year 2012-nominated debut, Under Sleeping Waves.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Lush-pop girl/boy duo from Baltimore, all floaty melodies, gently plucked guitars and angelic ‘ooh-aah’ vocals from yer wumman Victoria Legrand.

Py

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6 adv.

Led Astray

Beach House (Holy Other)

Sun 14 Oct

Fat Goth

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £4 adv.

The Walkmen

Classic rock showcase night.

Country, folk and grunge-straddling London ensemble.

Showcase night playing host to a handpicked selection of rock and punk female-fronted bands.

The Twilight Sad: The Remixes Album Playback Party

BBC Scotland Award-winning indiefolk singer/songwriter.

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £4

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Rock Chick Night (The Shondes, Seafield Foxes)

All day indie-styled live band battle, with all proceeds going to Save The Children.

Royal Concert Hall, 18:30–22:00, £29.50

ONZLO, tORino, Justified Sinners

Late night set from the Londonbased, multi-tasking vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and instrumentalist

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £6

Benny Tetteh-Lartey (Joan Armatrading)

Usher Hall, 19:00–22:00, From £10

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6.50 adv.

Boys Noize

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £11.50

Emerald Armada (Brand New Start)

Palma Violets

Blues singer/songwriter and master of the slide guitar.

Citrus Club, 19:30–22:00, £9

RSNO: Oundjian conducts Shostakovich

The electronica-tinged spazzcore kids bring the chaos to a live setting near you. Amen.

Usher Hall, 19:00–22:00, £29.50

TV Smith

HMV Picture House, 18:00–22:00, £20

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £9

All-female Norwegian quartet whose musical style is a fusion of pop/rock and country-folk.

Thu 04 Oct

Mon 08 Oct

John Cale

Katzenjammer

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £8

Fri 05 Oct

October 2012

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £9 adv.

Trace Bundy (Jonny Downie, Nic Tate and the Sharks) The Caves, 19:00–23:00, £8 adv.

Instrumental acoustic guitar player with some rather fine legato and finger tapping skills.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin Usher Hall, 19:00–22:00, From £20

The female singer/songwriters (and longtime friends) perform as an intimate duo, spanning both their work and a few favourite classics.

Efterklang

New musical project from Mike Skinner of The Streets and Rob Harvey of The Music.

Efterklang embark on an exciting new collaboration with the 35-piece Northern Sinfonia orchestra, incorporating over 1000 sound samples taken from Piramida, a former Russian Settlement in the Arctic, into their set.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £15 adv.

Cymbollox

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Rock’n’roll and heavy metal covers from the rather wonderfully-named Cymbollox... We’re easily amused.

10cc

Festival Theatre Edinburgh, 19:30–21:30, From £25.50

The 70s hit-makers celebrate some 40 years in the business with a set of greatest hits.

Sat 20 Oct Peja

The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £20

Polish rapper, songwriter and producer, best known as the frontman of Slums Attack.

Whole Lotta Led

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:00, £13

Led Zeppelin tribute act.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Musical Magicians The Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £10

Orchestral take on Debussy’s Five Preludes. Pre-concert talk with Lyell Cresswell and Baldur Bronnimann (6.30pm).

Fieldhead (ANAKANAK, The Apples of Energy)

The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Ambient electronic musician (aka P Elam) delighting in tape hiss, geography, bleak landscapes and decaying analogue loops. Ticket price includes a 2-track download EP.

The Ordeal (Knock Out Kaine) The Voodoo Rooms, 19:00–23:00, £10

German-based heavy metal veterans with a vigorous mix of modern and classic elements combined with heavy riffs and intense melodies.

Albaroma (The Trongate Rum Riots) Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £3

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £12

This Feeling

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, Free

The favourited London rock’n’roll night takes a trip to Scotland, with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

Bat For Lashes

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Brighton singer/songwriter Natasha Khan takes her third LP, The Haunted Man, on the road proper, upping the mystic ante as per.

RBS Museum Lates: Behind the Masque (Miaoux Miaoux, ANAKANAK)

National Museum of Scotland, 19:00–22:30, £10 (£8)

The National Museum of Scotland host another late night happening, this time in celebration of their Catherine the Great exhibition – with live music from Miaoux Miaoux and ANAKANAK, plus pop-up bars, a silent disco, film screenings and more. Wear a mask.

The Bongo Club, 19:30–22:00, £5 (£3)

Writers’ Bloc regulars Gavin Inglis and Andrew C Ferguson team up with rising star Dickson Telfer for a unique spoken word show, lush with mashed-up pre-recorded music and live instrumentation. Part of Oxjam 2012.

Dingus Khan

The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £6

London-based rock’n’rollers upping the ante (read: noise levels) with a trio of drummers.

Charlotte Church (Houdini Dax)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £13 adv.

The classically-trained Welsh songstress returns to the spotlight under her latter-day pop guise.

Andy and the Prostitutes (Plastic Babies, The Cracklin Void, The Universal Thee) Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

London-based merrymakers incorporating funny, socially relevant lyrics into their folk/punk explosion of banjo, bass, fiddle and drums.

Fri 26 Oct The Soul Foundation

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, Free

Quality soul covers, playing close reference to the originals. They will play Stevie Wonder.

Neu! Reekie!

Summerhall, 19:00–22:00, £7 (£6)

The favourited night of avant-garde poetry, music and film makes takes over its new home of Summerhall with a top secret line-up to be drip leaked in advance.

Dog Is Dead

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £8.50 adv.

Public Service Broadcasting (James Brown is Annie)

Nottingham-based quintet led by Robert Milton, doing a rather fine line in uplifting pop harmonies.

Experimental duo who sample old public information films and archive material and set them to new music, making for a pretty special live set.

Pussy Whipped (Ste McCabe, Candy Panic Attack)

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £8

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £3

The Ex Senators

Pro-queer, pro-female band night for Edinburgh, with Ste McCabe launching her new album on the evening.

Chicago alternative rockers delivering their punch via unapologetic social commentary, wit and wisecracks.

The Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, £17.50 (£12.50)

The Cabaret Voltaire, 18:30–22:00, £7 adv. (£9 door)

Islaja, Tomutonttu (Anakanak)

The Banshee Labyrinth, 19:30–22:00, £6

Finnish free-folk and improvisations from a duo of musical wonders, plus support from Anneke Kampman (of Conquering Animal Sound) under her new solo guise.

SNJO: In The Spirit of the Duke The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra pay tribute to Edward Kennedy Ellington.

RSNO: Sibelius

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £11.50

Guest conductor Thomas Sondergard embarks on a Sibelius’ journey, also taking part in a pre-concert talk (6.45pm).

Sun 21 Oct Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Ben Lovett (of Mumford & Sons) brings his touring night Edinburghway, featuring acts from around the UK. The Coatbridge brothers (aka Greg and Pat Kane) play a full live band show on the back of their 16th album, Hot Wire.

Oxford-based dance DJ bouncing relentlessly between laptop, keyboards, drum machine, samples and live vocals. Also in possession of a sparkly dinosaur head-dress, oh yes.

Scored Stories

HMV Picture House, 18:30–22:00, £5

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival again team up with the Fruit Tree Foundation for an evening of solo sets and unique collaborations from a stellar line-up of Scottish musos.

Communion (Emerald Armada, Brand New Start, The Last of Barrett’s Privateers)

Occasional experimental music club, this month featuribng Indian music from Shiva Moon featuring sitar, tabla and voice.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, £18.50

Music Like A Vitamin (Fatherson, Withered Hand, Sparrow and the Workshop, The Birthday Suit)

Tantric (aye, we said tantric) fusion of Balkan and traditional folk from the Edinburgh-based quintet.

Hue and Cry

Fri 19 Oct

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £12

Delightful art school jangle with an electronic edge, fruitily looping and catchily hooking as they go.

The D.O.T.

Click Clack Club (Shiva Moon) The Third Door, 20:00–22:30, £4

Wed 24 Oct Django Django

The Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, £22.50

Sparks

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:00, £20

Ron and Russell Mael (aka Sparks) play a unique set for which they’ll deconstruct and reinterpret songs from their own extensive catalogue, using only voice and keyboards.

James Mackenzie (Kevin Pearce)

Mon 22 Oct

Acoustic singer/songwriter session.

Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£4)

Peace (Holy Esque, Honeyblood)

Thu 25 Oct

Alternative indie up-and-comers who describe their sound as ‘music to fuck you in the heart’. Nice.

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £10

Skinner

Joshua James

Evolving colective of Glasgow musicians based around the music of Grahame Skinner from Hipsway.

Longstanding German orchestra founded way back in 1870.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6 adv.

Neo folk-styled American singer/ songwriter in the vein of Conor Oberst.

Tue 23 Oct Scottish Ensemble: Illuminations The Queen’s Hall, 19:00–22:00, £15 (£5)

The Scottish Ensemble delve into Benjamin Britten’s musical passions.

O Children

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Genre-hopping London ensemble teetering on the edge of goth, rock and pop since 2009.

Sleeping Dogs (Supermodel) The Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £4

Christchurch band of rock’n’roll misfits led by founder Thomas Reid on vocals, piano and acoustic guitar.

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:15–23:00, £10

Oxjam Fundraiser (Matt Norris and The Moon, Cancel The Astronauts, Lady North) Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Oxjam fundraiser headlined by Edinburgh-based modern folk collective Matt Norris and The Moon, resplendent with trumpets, fiddles, accordions and four-part harmonies.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Rhenish The Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £10

A dose of romanticism, delivered with conductor Joseph Swensen’s signature passion and sweep.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

Sat 27 Oct Bainbridge Music Showcase (The Trax, The Omega Corridor, The Silver Birches) The Third Door, 19:00–22:00, £5

Monthly showcase selection of new bands who’ve been using Bainbridge Studios facilities this month.

The Tallest Man On Earth

HMV Picture House, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Moniker of Swedish folk musician Kristian Matsson, doing his thing on vocals, guitar, banjo and piano.

Laurel Halo

Sneaky Pete’s, 21:00–00:00, £7 adv.

Brooklyn-based experimental electronic artist on vocals and piano, all serene and lovely like.

The Vibe (Caravan Club)

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh six-piece featuring shared boy/girl harmonies between lead singers Liam Mabon and Lisa Russell.

Get £10 tix if you’re under 26. Any seat. Any performance.

Sun 28 Oct Mitch Laddie

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:15–23:00, £7

Young singer/songwriter marrying his volcanic rock guitar sound with a distinct pop sensibility.

Haddowfest (The Jacarandas, Steve Heron, Tams Railways, Ded Rabbit, The Rahs, Mass Consensus, The New Times, Two Stripe, T Bird & The Blonde Spirit, The Matinee, The One-Twos, Aftershow Special Guests)

Whistlebinkies, 13:30–03:00, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest (Gold Lions, The Stagger Rats, AMWWF, Meursault) The Caves, 14:30–19:00, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest (Indian Red Lopez, Miaoux Miaoux, Big Black Delta, Discopolis, Hadouken)

The Bongo Club, 14:30–20:00, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest (Tom Vevers, Katie Sutherland, Katie Sutherland, Kerrie Lynch, Jack Rowberry, Greg Pearson, Six Stories High, Michael Cassidy, Aaron Wright, SOS, Mickey 9s, TBA)

Maggie’s Chamber, 14:30–23:30, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest (Blank Canvas Queen, Jane Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Razz, Tango In The Attic, The OK Social Club, Kassidy)

The Liquid Room, 15:30–21:30, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest (The Nature Boys, Mazes, The 10:04’s, The Cribs, Haddow Fest Aftershow Party)

HMV Picture House, 18:45–23:00, £22.50 (all access)

Haddowfest gets us playing musical dot-to-dot across various Edinburgh venues, with a line-up featuring headliners Three Blind Wolves, Meursault, The Cribs, Kassidy and Hadouken.

Haddowfest: Official After-Party

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, Free with ticket stub

Official after-bash for the musical all-dayer.

LISTINGS

edinb u rgh C L U B S Tue 02 Oct Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

I Love Hip-Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £1

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Hector’s House

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 03 Oct Split

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Weekly residence for the longrunning Edinburgh D’n’B night.

This Is Music (Bremner)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs, joined by Brooklyn producer Bremner for a one-off set fusing classic R’n’B and current bass into the mix.

Musika (Seth Troxler)

Tech-house wizard Seth Troxler takes to the ‘burgh for his rescheduled date.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Mambo

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £5

Old school hip-hop, R’n’B, reggae, dancehall, afro beats and plenty more eclecticness besides.

Unseen (Casual Violence) Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, £8 (£10 after 12)

Stripped-down techno with a back-to-basics warehouse style, with Manchester’s Casual Violence providing the dark, deep and visceral noisescapes.

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics.

Tease Age

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house.

Mish Mash

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Brand new night making its way up from Newcastle, with Gentleman Jonny playing the best in electro and dance.

Thu 04 Oct

The We Own clothing crew bring a concentrated version of their famed party blowouts to Sneaky Pete’s with new dance hero George Fitzgerald in tow.

New Friday night party for Liquid Room featuring big guests in EDM music.

Sat 06 Oct

Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

Sic

Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

We Own (George Fitzgerald)

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk.

The Go-Go

Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 student after 11)

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £15

Sun 07 Oct Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Bad Habit

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

The people behind Xplicit and Electrikal join forces for Cab Vol’s newest weekly bass explosion.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs. The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Betamax

Monthly offering of new wave, disco, post-punk and a bit o’ synthtastic 80s with your hosts Chris and Big Gus.

Cosmic

Studio 24, 21:00–03:00, £3 (£6 after 11)

Monthly club bringing the spirit of the psychedelic trance dance ritual to the floor.

Hot Mess: 2nd Birthday

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Simonotron hosts the gay disco party like no other, playing disco, house and acid on vinyl only in celebration of the club’s second year.

2manydjs

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Notorious mash-up party starters, using their agile cut-and-paste mixing to chop up classic party and dance hits.

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Dr No’s

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and reggae.

Oh No!

Stacks

Friday night student party with the emphasis on Skittlebombs...

Don’t ask.

Bawlin’ R’n’B, soul, swing and motown from the Stacks residents, plus free mix CDs on the door.

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£3)

XY

Speaker Bite Me

Anthology of house, electro and D’n’B for your aural delectation.

New night from the Evol DJs valuing all kinds of indie-pop, as long as it’s got bite.

Hypstonite (Capitals, Dead Boy Robotics, Sun Dogs, Honeyblood)

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

Thunder Disco Club

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits.

Bordello

Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 student after 11)

Sleazy-styled classic rock, all night long.

Messenger

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7

Sweet reggae rockin’ from the original sound system, plus MC Ras Ista Lion on special guest duty.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Party soundtrack of funk, soul, disco and house from Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard.

Propaganda

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Balkanarama

Studio 24, 21:00–03:00, £tbc

All singing, all dancing Balkan orgy, with belly dancing, live visuals and free plum brandy for all. As in, we’re sold

Ad Hoc

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

I Love Hip Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £1

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Hector’s House

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Boys Noize

HMV Picture House, 22:00–03:00, £8

Berlin-based DJ and producer Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noize) takes to Scottish shores for a trademark set of inspired electronica.

Wed 10 Oct Split

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Weekly residence for the longrunning Edinburgh D’n’B night.

Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics.

Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house.

Mish Mash

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Brand new night making its way up from Newcastle, with Gentleman Jonny playing the best in electro and dance.

Beep Beep, Yeah!

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s.

Think Twice (Phil Asher)

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Think Twice resident Craig Smith is joined for the evening by British DJ, producer, and record label owner Phil Asher (aka Restless Soul).

The Sound of C (Netsky, Delta Heavy) The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £16

The Sound of C welcome Netsky and Delta Heavy for a big ol’ D’n’B blow-out.

Sun 14 Oct Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

The Sunday Club

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

American Prom-styled fun night celebrating all that is great about pop, new and old.

Mixed Up

Friday night student party with the emphasis on Skittlebombs...

Don’t ask.

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Nu Fire

XY

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

ETC10: 80s Excess and Success (Filthy Rich)

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

Witness

Sat 20 Oct

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house.

Tease Age

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Mish Mash

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Brand new night making its way up from Newcastle, with Gentleman Jonny playing the best in electro and dance.

Thu 18 Oct Dapper Dans

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Disco, house and party classics from Picassio and D-Fault, with Decks FX and OSX.

Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

I AM Edinburgh

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

Lafayette

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Hip-hop and R’n’B-styled night inspired by the culture, fashion and night life of the Lower East Side of New York.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk.

Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard.

The Green Door

Studio 24, 22:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 student after 11)

Surf, blues and rockabilly from the 50s and early 60s, plus free cake!

Nuff said.

Propaganda

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Big ‘N’ Bashy

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 after 12)

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle, coupling as the Edinburgh Outlook launch party.

Studio 24 Rawks

Fri 19 Oct

Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, £5/4 (free b4 23:00)

Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Rock, metal and alternative playlists.

Four Corners

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and reggae.

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts Simon Hodge, Johnny Cashback, Astroboy and Wee-G.

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Dr No’s

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Gasoline Dance Machine: 1st Birthday (Mickey)

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Classic Italo and straight-up boogie allied with contemporary house and disco, celebrating their first birthday with guest DJ Mickey joining regular host Cheap Picasso.

The people behind Xplicit and Electrikal join forces for Cab Vol’s newest weekly bass explosion.

Tue 16 Oct

Sat 13 Oct

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

New Friday night party for Liquid Room featuring big guests in EDM music.

Bad Habit

JakN: 9th Birthday (Sceptical C) JakN returns to the Annexe to celebrate nine years of all things techno, calling upon the talents of one of Holland’s underground stars: Sceptical C.

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics.

Sic

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

RiPPED

The Annexe, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£6 after 12)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3 in fancy dress)

Edinburgh Tekno Cartel bring the sleazy bass and techno beats, this month with an 80s (aka shoulder pads and giant mobile phones) theme.

Bangers & Mash

Anthology of house, electro and D’n’B for your aural delectation.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics.

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Weekly residence for the longrunning Edinburgh D’n’B night.

XY

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Mon 15 Oct

Oh No!

Anthology of house, electro and D’n’B for your aural delectation.

Wed 17 Oct Split

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Cream Soda

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Planet Earth

For their birthday celebrations Substance present a very special headlining double bill, with Numbers lynchpin Jackmaster going backto-back with percussive masetro Blawan

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Mumbo Jumbo

Studio 24, 11:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 student after 11)

Misfits

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £10 adv.

This Is Music

The regular Edinburgh breaks and bassline Manga crew takeover.

Tue 09 Oct

Fri 05 Oct

Substance: 6th Birthday (Jackmaster, Blawan)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Brand new gig-in-a-club night with live sets from Capitals, Dead Boy Robotics, Sun Dogs and Honeyblood.

In the Debating Hall.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Bass Syndicate

Heavy jungle and bass-styled beats from the inimitable Xplicit crew.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Hip-hop and R’n’B-styled night inspired by the culture, fashion and night life of the Lower East Side of New York.

Teviot, 20:30–03:00, £tbc

Planet Earth

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk.

New student Monday nighter playing a chirpy mix of pop and dancefloor classics.

Lafayette

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Xplicit

RiPPED

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

French Canadian producer Jacques Greene joins the i AM boys for a special set.

The Egg

Mighty mix of indie, alternative rock, punk, grunge, new wave and more besides.

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

American Prom-styled fun night celebrating all that is great about pop, new and old.

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Mon 08 Oct Nu Fire

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

i AM Edinburgh (Jacques Greene)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Soul Jam Hot

Cream Soda

Hip-hop and R’n’B-styled night inspired by the culture, fashion and night life of the Lower East Side of New York.

Misfits

Propaganda

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Disco, house and party classics from Picassio and D-Fault, with Decks FX and OSX.

I AM Edinburgh

Lafayette

Fri 12 Oct

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Long-running retro night with veteran DJs Tall Paul and Big Gus. HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Danco and Kami play some hench beats. Nuff said.

The Sunday Club

Dapper Dans

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Thu 11 Oct Spare

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

New student Monday nighter playing a chirpy mix of pop and dancefloor classics.

Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

I Love Hip Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Hector’s House

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

The Magic Flute • Werther • The Flying Dutchman • The Pirates of Penzance

This Is Music

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs.

Unpop

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£3)

Indie-pop dance party for the twee of heart, this month with guest DJ Pat Nevin taking a turn on the decks.

Cream Soda

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 / £3 before 12 / students

American Prom-styled fun night celebrating all that is great about pop, new and old.

Oh No!

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Friday night student party with the emphasis on Skittlebombs... Don’t ask.

Pop Rocks

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 / £3 before midnight & students all night

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

Wasabi Disco (Octo Octa)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker welcomes Brooklyn neo-rave star Octo Octa of 100% Silk into his lair for the evening.

Perversity

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

From the creators of Lovely comes a new night of reassuringly cheesy tunes.

scottishopera.org.uk October 2012

THE SKINNY 65

LISTINGS

Sun 21 Oct

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Coalition

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Confusion is Sex

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

The Sunday Club

Glam techno and electro night with the usual themed party shenanigans.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Animal Hospital

Studio 24, 22:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 11.30)

Mon 22 Oct Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics.

Nu Fire

The Animal Hospital troops continue to medicate Edinburgh with their unique blend of techno, house and minimal.

Cream Soda

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Bad Habit

American Prom-styled fun night celebrating all that is great about pop, new and old.

Oh No!

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

The people behind Xplicit and Electrikal join forces for Cab Vol’s newest weekly bass explosion.

Friday night student party with the emphasis on Skittlebombs... Don’t ask.

RiPPED

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

New student Monday nighter playing a chirpy mix of pop and dancefloor classics.

Tue 23 Oct

Black Science

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Soul Jam Hot

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

I Love Hip Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

The Annexe, 22:30–03:00, £10

The Jackhammer crew provide our dose of all things techno, bolstered by the return of European techno legend The Advent (aka Cisco Ferreira).

Wed 24 Oct Weekly residence for the longrunning Edinburgh D’n’B night.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house.

Alphabetical playlists of the mostly funky variety, with this month’s letter being ‘f’ and your live band being The Mike Kearney Ka-Tet.

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–04:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Playdate

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–04:00, £3 (members free)

Skinner

The Voodoo Rooms, 19:15–23:00, £10

Evolving colective of Glasgow musicians based around the music of Grahame Skinner from Hipsway.

I AM Edinburgh

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Soulsville

Hip-hop and R’n’B-styled night inspired by the culture, fashion and night life of the Lower East Side of New York.

No Globe (A Tribe Called Red)

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

66 THE SKINNY

Electric Circus, 22:30–04:00, £5 ££6 after 12)

HMV Picture House, 23:00–04:00, £4

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Misfits

Magic Nostalgic

Propaganda

Lafayette

Fri 26 Oct

House specialists Stewart and Steven play, er, some special house.

A hodgepodge of quality tracks chosen by JP’s spinning wheel. Expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, and a lot of one-hit wonders.

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

World beats from the eponymous Edinburgh University-based party collective, joined by Ottowa ensemble A Tribe Called Red on Native American pow-wow bass duties.

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk.

The Hive, 21:00–04:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Frisky

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 adv.

The Egg

Bubblegum

Ride girls Checkie and Lauren play hip-hop and dance, all night long.

Karnival’s Halloween Party (Funk D’Void)

The Bongo Club, 23:00–04:00, £5

Swinging soul spanning a whole century with DJs Tsatsu and Red-6, plus live dancers a-go-go.

Madchester

The Liquid Room, 22:30–04:00, £6

Indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Papi Falso

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–04:00, £3

Sci-fi pop, outsider folk, soulful R’n’B, machine funk and a whole lot more.

Pocket Aces

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£5)

Dance-inducing party with an anything goes attitude and rotating rota of guest DJs.

October 2012

G lasgow C L U B S Take It Sleazy

Jamming Fridays

An unabashed mix of 80s pop, electro and nu-disco. They will play Phil Collins.

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

Traffic Jam

Rumours

Reggae, dub, dancehall and hip-hop midweeker from DJ Greenman and friends.

Monthly residency with the full Rumours contingent spinning nonstop bass through the Bass Alliance soundsystem.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Thu 04 Oct Misbehavin’

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Monthly mish-mash of electro, dance and dirty pop with DJ Drucifer.

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Blitz

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £3

Queercentric night with its focus firmly on 90s-inspired new romantic and danceable pop hits.

Taking Back Thursdays

Liquid Sky

Weekend welcoming mix of rock and metal, with guest DJs mixing up the Jager Bar.

Formed from the ashes of Pandemic, Chad Palestine plays everything from vintage rock’n’roll to soul, leftfield pop to the best in alternative indie.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Third Door, 23:00–04:00, £6 (£10 after 12)

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Monthly dose of industrial, EBM and electronic. We hear it’s very danceable.

Jellybaby

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Euan Neilson handpicks a selection of classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Shore

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £20

Streetrave celebrate a massive 23-years with a host of special guests across two arches, amongst ‘em Argentinian house DJ and producer Hernan Cattaneo (aka he of the coiffed, flowing locks).

Ben Butler and Mousepad Cryotec

New student Monday nighter playing a chirpy mix of pop and dancefloor classics.

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Streetrave: 23rd Birthday (Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman)

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£7 after 11)

The Afterparty

Wild Combination

The Melting Pot crew welcome Manc electronic wizard Floating Points (aka Sam Sheppard) to their lair.

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics.

RiPPED

Tue 02 Oct

The Admiral, 23:00–03:00, £10

The Shed Saturdays

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

glasgow clubs

Melting Pot (Floating Points)

Reggae, dancehall, D’n’B and soca served big and loud, with a plethora of reggae artists in tow.

Mon 29 Oct

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Brand new night from Wild Combination man David Barbarossa, specializing in leftfield disco, post-punk and far-out pop.

African & Caribbean Centre, 20:00–02:00, £10 (£6)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

The people behind Xplicit and Electrikal join forces for Cab Vol’s newest weekly bass explosion.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Bass Warrior Reggae (Jah Garvey, Norris B)

The Sunday Club

Bad Habit

Strange Paradise

Party-themed night of live bands, burlesque, go-go dancing and cake in honour of Monster A-Go-Go’s 1st birthday.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Mod, soul, ska and groovy freakbeat 45s, with DJs Jamo, Paul Molloy and Gareth McCallum.

Blackfriars Basement, 20:00–03:00, £5

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Nu Fire

Freakbeats

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Monster A-Go-Go: 1st Birthday

Coalition

Sesame Street

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–04:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Vegas celebrate 15 mighty years on the scene, with special guests Dutty Moonshine, Bart & Baker and The Kitsch Kats. Plus Vegas showgirls a-go-go, natch.

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

Ride

The Voodoo Rooms, 20:30–01:00, £9

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Brand new night making its way up from Newcastle, with Gentleman Jonny playing the best in electro and dance.

Thu 25 Oct

VEGAS!: 15th Birthday Party

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Mish Mash

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

A spooky-themed edition of Gasoline Dance Machine with residents Cheap Picasso and Eyemen The Zoo bringing in Halloween early.

Mixmaster extraordinaire, producer and a bit of a genius in our eyes, DJ Yoda takes over the Sic reins for the evening.

Sat 27 Oct

Witness

The Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£5)

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics.

Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Bangers & Mash

Gasoline Death Machine

Mixed Up

Dub, reggae and dancehall clubbing spectacular.

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The regular alternative rock night takes a foray into all things heavy and metal.

Sic (DJ Yoda)

Robigans Reggae

Split

Studio 24, 22:30–04:00, Free (£5/£4 student after 11)

Sun 28 Oct

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5

Hector’s House

Studio 24 Rawks Goes Metal

LuckyMe (The Blessings, Eclair Fifi))

Jackhammer (The Advent)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Ska, 2-Tone and early reggae from the Lucky 7 regulars.

House, disco, funk, soul and hip hop, where dancing becomes a science.

Globetrotting music, art and all-round party crew, with a ‘dead special’ guest to be revealed on then night. Bloody teases.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Studio 24, 22:30–04:00, £2 (£5/£4 student after 11)

Karnival host their annual fancy dress Halloween party featuring Soma Records’ Funk D’Void playing alongside the residents.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

Antics

Lucky 7

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra.

Come and Get It

Stereo, 23:00–03:00, £1

Shaka

Bloc+, 22:30–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

Energetic sports-styled clubber’s special fusing live elements of DJing, percussion and visuals. Pre-club film screening at 9pm.

Late set from the electro-dance behemoth, with Cry Parrot’s Fielding Hope on decks.

Back to the Future: Thunderdome Radio Party O2 Academy, 20:00–03:00, £25

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Thunderdome Radio Crew edition of the clubber’s party, playing the usual ear-splitting selection of hard dance, with live guests a go-go.

Propaganda (The Subways)

Let’s Go Back Way Back: Tribute to Acid Riley (Kenny Basswarrior, Paul McNair, Bosco & Rob Mason)

The Shed Fridays

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hippity-hop in the Red Room.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with this edition boasting a special live set from The Subways.

Fortified Vs Electronic Eliminators: Work For Love (Royalty, Bamboo Palace) La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Boys Noize

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra.

Berlin-based DJ and producer Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noize) takes to Scottish shores for a trademark set of inspired electronica.

DJ Paddy plays the newest in indie, rock, disco and pop. You do the dancing.

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Tremors

Eclectic mix of underground house, techno, disco, garage and UK bass from Feedback Junkie and friends.

The Arches, 20:00–23:30, £10

Sat 06 Oct

Sunday Roaster

Eclectic mix of underground house, techno, disco, garage and UK bass from Feedback Junkie and friends.

Nu Skool

Rave-themed edition of the chart and indie favourite, glowsticks at the ready.

Killer Kitsch celebrate Boys Noize’s gig earlier in the evening with label act Shadow Dancer heading down for a guest slot.

Old Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Duncan Harvey and pals play a mighty mix of swing, R’n’B, soul, rockabilly, ska and vintage pop.

Damnation

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

i AM (Jacques Greene)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

Wed 10 Oct

Propaganda

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Garage Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Craig McGee’s staple eclectic mashup midweeker.

Weirdo Wednesday

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Rock’n’roll party with live bands playing on the floor.

Traffic Jam

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Reggae, dub, dancehall and hip-hop midweeker from DJ Greenman and friends.

The Rock Shop

Mon 08 Oct

Subversion

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

Burn

Alternative pop from the 80s and 90s, with a bit of industrial dance and classic rock thrown in for good measure.

Voodoo Voodoo

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Old Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

Damnation

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Duncan Harvey and pals play a mighty mix of swing, R’n’B, soul, rockabilly, ska and vintage pop.

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

i AM (Brackles)

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa welcome Rinse FM stalwart Brackles to join ‘em on deck duties.

Wed 03 Oct Octopussy

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Garage Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Craig McGee’s staple eclectic mashup midweeker.

Cathouse Fridays

Rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics across four rooms.

Compact Disco

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

Sabbath celebration of quality house, disco and electronica.

Voodoo

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 member)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats.

Love Music

Space Invader

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, with DJ Muppet holing up in The Attic.

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Tue 09 Oct

Thu 11 Oct Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Taking Back Thursdays Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Weekend welcoming mix of rock and metal, with guest DJs mixing up the Jager Bar.

Jellybaby

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Wild Combination

Jack Beats

I Heart Garage Saturdays

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

The Jack Beats DJ duo bring their new live show Glasgow-way.

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Common People

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Celebration of the 90s, with hits aplenty and a pre-club bingo session.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Cathouse Saturdays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free

Cathouse Fridays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Fri 05 Oct

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sun 07 Oct

Killer Kitsch: Bonus Traxx 2 Grand Piano The Killer Kitsch residents spend an entire night showcasing the piano’s place in dance music. Amen to that.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Octopussy

Brand new night of the finest in deep, disco, tech and electro house for your Tuesday dancing pleasure.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Kino Fist

Genre-spanning mix of 60s psych, leftfield pop and Krautrock with resident Charlotte (of Muscles of Joy).

Rock, metal and punk requests all night long.

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

French Canadian producer Jacques Greene joins the i AM boys for a special set.

Disney-themed edition of the chart and indie favourite, with the added delights of a bouncy castle and a live Twitter feed where you can log tune requests (#Garagelive).

Panda

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

Renegade

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Fri 12 Oct

Voodoo Voodoo

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Killer Kitsch (Shadow Dancer)

Absolution

DJ Garry plays the biggest and best anthems, all night long.

Boom Thursdays: Rave or Die

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Tremors

Nick Peacock spins a selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Empty (No Sleep)

The No Sleep crew spin some choice house and techno.

Boom Thursdays: Disney Party

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Nightwalk host another celebration of fashion, electronic beats and dancing ‘til you drop, with a selection of local designers showcasing their Autumn/Winter 2012 picks, backed by an electro soundtrack.

Garry and Andrew Kilgour incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Come and Get It

Nightwalk AW2012

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Totally Visual

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Fortified Audio and Electric Eliminators join forces for an evening of 80s boogie and funk.

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Shore

Brand new night of the finest in deep, disco, tech and electro house for your Tuesday dancing pleasure.

Celebration of musical collaborator Mark ‘Acid’ Riley, who sadly passed away in May.

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Paddy plays the newest in indie, rock, disco and pop. You do the dancing.

Panda

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Totally Visual

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Garry plays the biggest and best anthems, all night long.

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £15

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics across four rooms.

Jamming Fridays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

AN21 & Max Vangeli

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £15

Collaborative outing for DJ and producer Antoine Josefsson (aka AN21) and regular collaborator Max Vangeli.

Hot Chip: After-Party (Joe Goddard)

Chambre 69, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3 with ticket stub)

The Afterparty

Chambre 69 host the official Hot Chip after-bash, with none other than Joe Goddard manning the turntables.

Euan Neilson handpicks a selection of classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Return To Mono (Cassy)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£10)

Monthly night from Soma Records, with electronic specialist Cassy making her live return to the club.

LISTINGS

The Shed Fridays

Subculture (Harri & Domenic)

Voodoo Voodoo

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hippity-hop in the Red Room.

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

Duncan Harvey and pals play a mighty mix of swing, R’n’B, soul, rockabilly, ska and vintage pop.

Antlered Man, We Are Knuckle Dragger, Romans

Empty (Al Kent)

i AM (Hot City, Mista Men)

Alternative showcase headered by London heavy rock quartet Antlered Man.

Revival

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Stereo, 19:00–22:30, £6 adv.

TAPS AFF

Stereo, 23:00–03:00, £6

Live burlesque club night with dancing lovelies and a magician to boot.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Thunderous beats, this time from Million Dollar Disco’s Al Kent.

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Brand new Saturday night party for The Arches.

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa welcome a double dose of Unknown to the Unknown’s power players – Hot City and Mista Men – to join ‘em on deck duties.

Wed 17 Oct Octopussy

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Garage Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Craig McGee’s staple eclectic mashup midweeker.

Not Moving

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

South African house, grime, jungle, R’n’B and hauntology. A tropical mix, ayes.

Traffic Jam

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Reggae, dub, dancehall and hip-hop midweeker from DJ Greenman and friends.

Thu 18 Oct Taking Back Thursdays Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Weekend welcoming mix of rock and metal, with guest DJs mixing up the Jager Bar.

Wrong Island (Al Doyle)

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7 after 12)

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry welcome LCD Soundsystem’s Al Doyle to their lair for the evening.

Tribute: 1st Birthday (Scan 7, Buzz Goree) La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

After a sterling first year, Tribute blow out that one candle with a special Underground Resistence night featuring Scan 7 playing live, alongside DJ Buzz Goree.

Matthew Craig

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Eclectic mix of electronic dance from Matthew Craig and a selection of chums.

Sat 13 Oct Nu Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Nick Peacock spins a selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

Voodoo

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 member)

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

The Shed Saturdays

Jellybaby

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics.

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£7 after 11)

Saturdays in Stereo (Yola Fatoush) Stereo, 23:00–03:00, £1

De-constructed and re-constructed rhythm, bass and song from London duo Yola Fatoush, with Kilmarnock’s own hairy disco legend David Barbarossa on deck duty.

The Highlander Ibiza Reunion (Matt Finlay, Michael Paterson, Kaveh Porter, Joe Docherty) O2 Academy, 19:00–03:00, £11

Fourth annual reunion party, bringing Ibiza’s atmosphere to O2 Academy with four island residents in tow.

Sun 14 Oct Sunday Roaster

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Garry and Andrew Kilgour incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

Renegade

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk requests all night long.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats.

Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, with DJ Muppet holing up in The Attic.

Tue 16 Oct Wild Combination

House-party styled night with residents Gav Dunbar and Sci-Fi Steve. Plus free toast for all.

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Wrong Island

Totally Visual

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure.

DJ Garry plays the biggest and best anthems, all night long.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

I Heart Garage Saturdays The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

Raw Culture (Shane Lineham) La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

The house producer and Basic Grooves label boss takes to the decks.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Panda

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Brand new night of the finest in deep, disco, tech and electro house for your Tuesday dancing pleasure.

Killer Kitsch (MikeQ)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Much-lauded New York DJ MikeQ stops by Killer Kitsch as part of only five UK dates.

Flash Mob Glasgow

Chambre 69, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Eclectic night this time manned by High Sheen’s Mia Dora, Ben Martin, Sam Vitamins and Thrust Club, blending of house, techno, disco and more into one mighty mix.

Jamming Fridays (Bez)

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with the Happy Mondays’ Bez popping by to bring some mayhem to proceedings.

The Shed Fridays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hippity-hop in the Red Room.

Basement Jams (Madteo)

Shore

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra.

Come and Get It

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Paddy plays the newest in indie, rock, disco and pop. You do the dancing.

Tremors

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Eclectic mix of underground house, techno, disco, garage and UK bass from Feedback Junkie and friends.

Boom Thursdays: Circus Night The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Circus-themed edition of the chart and indie favourite, with the added delights of a bouncy castle and a live Twitter feed where you can log tune requests (#Garagelive).

Singles Night

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night deciated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable.

Flux Pavilion

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Dubstep producer and DJ Joshua Steele (aka Flux Pavilion) plays as part of his UK headline tour.

Symbiosis

Audio, 22:00–03:00, Free

Innovative D’n’B beats in a relaxed, bass-rich environment complete with live visuals from Altronix.

Subculture (Harri & Domenic) Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

Empty (Kev Stevens) Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Thunderous beats, this time from Hillhead Bookclub’s disco don Kev Stevens.

Symbiosis (Indra, Sultan) Audio, 22:00–03:00, Free

Innovative D’n’B beats in a relaxed, bass-rich environment with guest DJs Indra and Sultan playing alongside the residents.

The Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£7 after 11)

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics.

i AM

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual mix of electronica and bass, in what will be their only solo Glasgow date of the month.

Totally Visual: Balloon Party

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DJ Garry plays the biggest and best anthems, all night long. Plus a whole load o’ balloons.

Wed 24 Oct Octopussy

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Garage Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Craig McGee’s staple eclectic mashup midweeker.

So Weit So Good

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

One-off free entry event to see off the summer, featuring Ean, Smiddy and Kenny White on decks.

Traffic Jam

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Reggae, dub, dancehall and hip-hop midweeker from DJ Greenman and friends.

Pressure (Vitalic, Dave Clarke, Karotte)

Thunder Disco Club

Mighty deep house and techno monthly, coming together for an epic celebration of electronic sound with resident DJs Slam and guests Vitalic, Dave Clarke and Karotte.

Supermax

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £18 adv.

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics across four rooms.

Jamming Fridays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

Crimes of the Future (Scott Fraser, Timothy J. Fairplay) The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £5

Scott Fraser and Timothy J. Fairplay host a new Thursday music club playing a decidedly left-field selection of Krautrock, electronic, dub and everything inbetween.

ReFrame (Spatial)

Brunswick Hotel, 22:00–03:00, £7

Having just about recovered from their first birthday bash last month, ReFrame welcome London producer Spatial to their wee basement for a trademark eclectic set.

Thu 25 Oct

The Shed Fridays

Sun 21 Oct

Counterfeit

Sensu is 8

Sunday Roaster

Sensu celebrate eight years of party-throwing in their regular Sub Club home.

Garry and Andrew Kilgour incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes, with yer man DJ Muppet.

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hippity-hop in the Red Room.

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £8

House producer Matteo Ruzzon (aka Madteo) solidifies his reputation as a serious talent to watch.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Sat 20 Oct Nick Peacock spins a selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Old Skool

Burn

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5

Eclectic (read: chaotic) night of variety acts, live music and danceable beats from DJ Paul Puppet.

Euan Neilson handpicks a selection of classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Sabbath celebration of quality house, disco and electronica.

Mon 15 Oct

Spangled Cabaret

Nu Skool

Fri 19 Oct

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Roots reggae, dancehall and ruba-dub sound system, with Londonbased selecta Fenomeno Show special guest for the evening.

The Afterparty

Compact Disco

Back Tae Mine

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Argonaut Sounds Reggae Soundsystem (Fenomeno Show)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Black Tent

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Indie, electro and anything inbetween with Pauly (My Latest Novel), and Simin and Steev (Errors).

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Cathouse Saturdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Renegade

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk requests all night long.

Compact Disco

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Sabbath celebration of quality house, disco and electronica.

Mon 22 Oct Burn

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Taking Back Thursdays Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Weekend welcoming mix of rock and metal, with guest DJs mixing up the Jager Bar.

Jellybaby

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Boom Thursdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and indie classics, plus a live Twitter feed where you can log tune requests (#Garagelive).

The Afterparty

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Euan Neilson handpicks a selection of classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Space Invader

Contagion

The Rock Shop

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, with DJ Muppet holing up in The Attic.

Alternative metal and punk playlists with DJ Scapegoat on the last Thursday of the month.

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

Voodoo

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 member)

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Tue 23 Oct Wild Combination

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3

Houndin’ The Streets

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5

Resident DJs Jer Reid, Martin Law and guests play music from, and some music inspired by, 1970s and early 80s NYC.

Shore

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Come and Get It

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Paddy plays the newest in indie, rock, disco and pop. You do the dancing.

Damnation

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

Tremors

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Propaganda

Eclectic mix of underground house, techno, disco, garage and UK bass from Feedback Junkie and friends.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

BTTF Vs GBX Anthems: Halloween Party O2 Academy, 20:00–03:00, £20

Back to the Future and GBX Anthems join forces for an old-school styled Halloween bash.

Sub Club 25: Julio Bashmore Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £12 adv.

For the next installment of Sub Club’s 25th year celebrations they welcome one of the biggest and best new names in UK house music scene (erm, that’d be Julio Bashmore) to headline their Halloween bash.

Mirrors

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Eclectic mix of electronic from the Mirrors crew and friends.

Sat 27 Oct Nu Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–04:00, £6

Nick Peacock spins a selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–04:00, £6

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–04:00, £6 (£5)

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 22:00–04:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

Voodoo

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 member)

Fri 26 Oct

Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–04:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Hot Club

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Bottle Rocket

Tearin’ it up with 60s psych-outs and modern sleaze, provided by Rafla and Andy (of The Phantom Band).

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Indie dancing club, playing anything and everything danceable.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Love Music

Dirty Basement

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Eclectic mix of electronic dance from the Dirty Basement duo.

Rip This Joint

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics across four rooms.

Future Days

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, Free

Minimal wave, world rhythms and liquid funk with Ian Crawford and John Petrie.

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Panda

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Brand new night of the finest in deep, disco, tech and electro house for your Tuesday dancing pleasure.

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Killer Kitsch Vs The Shimmy

I Heart Garage Saturdays

Killer Kitsch join forces with near neighbours The Shimmy to welcome Scottish/American deep house trio Wildkats for a live set.

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Voodoo Voodoo

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Duncan Harvey and pals play a mighty mix of swing, R’n’B, soul, rockabilly, ska and vintage pop.

Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–04:00, Free

Damnation

Club Noir: Halloween

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

Glasgow’s burlesque star teasers in a special Halloween edition of their raunchy cabaret club.

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Propaganda

O2 Academy, 21:00–04:00, £15.50

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Back Tae Mine

Cathouse Fridays

House-party styled night with residents Gav Dunbar and Sci-Fi Steve. Plus free toast for all.

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Guild of Calamitous Intent (L.I.E.S, Svengalisghost) La Cheetah Club, 23:00–04:00, £10

The Guild welcome back Mr Ron Morelli (aka L.I.E.S.), dropping heavy hitter after heavy hitter.

Empty (Rebecca Vasmant, James Johnston) Flat 0/1, 23:00–04:00, Free

House-heavy mix from Ministry of Sounds Rebecca Vasmant and No Matter What’s James Johnston.

Inside Out: XL Halloween Spooktacular (Judge Jules, Richard Durand, Marcel Woods) The Arches, 23:00–04:00, £tbc

Hard dance and trance-styled Halloween blow-out, featuring heavyweight dance producer and DJ Judge Jules, amongst others.

Classic Grand: Halloween 2012 Classic Grand, 22:30–05:00, £tbc

Classic Grand’s legendary Halloween bash, with free goodie bags and a cash prize for the best costume.

The Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–04:00, Free (£7 after 11)

A rotating selection of Glasgow’s finest DJs dig oot tunes from their personal collections, with a pop-up vinyl stall open from 3pm-8pm.

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Old Skool

Badseed

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

For part three of the Motor City Electronics series the master of cut up ghettotech and lightning quick turntable skills himself (aka DJ Godfather) graces the decks.

Rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Subculture (Harri & Domenic)

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics.

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £5

A taste of the decadent sound systems of NYC’s disco era with yer main man Billy Woods.

Motor City Electronics: Part 3 (DJ Godfather)

Cathouse Fridays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–04:00, Free

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits.

The Saturday Sessions Vespbar, 15:00–00:00, Free

Sun 28 Oct Slide It In

Cathouse, 23:00–01:00, £4 (£2)

Nicola Walker plays cult rock hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Trash & Burn

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £4

Monthly glam trash and sleaze tease party.

Sunday Roaster

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Garry and Andrew Kilgour incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

Renegade

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk requests all night long.

Sunday Sale

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Occasional weekend extender with Euan Neilson spinning all your favourite hits.

Compact Disco

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Sabbath celebration of quality house, disco and electronica.

Mon 29 Oct Burn

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats.

Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, with DJ Muppet holing up in The Attic.

Modulate (Surgyn)

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £10

Industrial-meets-goth rock set from Geoff Lee (aka Modulate) in honour of Halloween’s impending doom.

The Flying Duck, 21:00–04:00, £5

I Heart Garage Saturdays The Garage, 22:30–04:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

October 2012

THE SKINNY 67

LISTINGS

COMEDY

glasgow

Tue 09 Oct

Thu 18 Oct

Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

The Midnight Beast

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

The Thursday Show (Tanyalee Davis, Andy Sir, Pat Burtscher)

The comedy upstarts return after two sold-out tours.

Wed 10 Oct

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Tue 02 Oct O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Red Raw

Charlie Murphy

Fri 19 Oct

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

The Hollywood acting, writing and producing talent does his stand-up thing.

The Friday Show (Tanyalee Davis, Andy Sir, Pat Burtscher)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Wed 03 Oct

The Fun Junkies

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

Kevin Bridges

Diverse offerings from the comedy spectrum, featuring stand-up, variety acts, sketches, musical comedy and, yes, magicians!

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

Wicked Wenches

Thu 11 Oct

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

Thu 04 Oct The Thursday Show (Pierre Hollins, Susan Murray) Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

WEST Brewery Comedy Club (Pat Rolink)

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

The Thursday Show (Seymour Mace, Stu & Garry, Stuart Mitchell)

Sun 21 Oct

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 12 Oct

West Brewery, Bar and Restaurant, 20:30–22:30, £6

Fri 05 Oct

A selection of comedians perform in the pitch black, utilising entirely new skills to cope with what is literally a blank canvas.

The Friday Show (Pierre Hollins, Susan Murray) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 13 Oct

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

Sun 14 Oct

The Saturday Show (Pierre Hollins, Susan Murray)

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

Sun 07 Oct

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Kevin Bridges

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

Glasgow Kid’s Comedy Club

Mon 15 Oct

Jokes suitable for little ears (i.e. no sweary words), for children aged 8-12 years-old.

Dara O Briain

The Stand, 15:00–16:00, £4

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £21

The favourited Irish funnyman hits the road with his new tour, Craic Dealer.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

The Greater Shawlands Republic (David Kay, Eleanor Morton) The Bungo, 20:00–22:00, £6

Bruce Morton and Andrew Learmonth invite Eleanor Morton and David Kay into their lair for the seventh edition of GSR.

Mon 08 Oct

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10

Gentle stroll of a show, in which Zaltzman uses comic metaphor and brilliantly terrible wordplay to popular effect.

Tue 16 Oct Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

John Bishop

Wed 17 Oct

The marketing director turned comedian takes to the road with his new tour.

Epilepsy Scotland Benefit (Raymond Mearns, Jojo Sutherland, John Gavin, Andy Sir, Matt Winning)

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

Improv Wars

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Improvised comedy games and sketches, with an anything-goes attitude.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10

Comedy fundraiser for Epilepsy Scotland, hosted by Billy Kirkwood.

The It’s Funtime jokers present a free, fun, table tennis evening, with dancing discs from DJ Ding Dong (ahem).

The Friday Show (Dave Fulton, Neil McFarlane, Fergus Craig)

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

Tue 02 Oct Wicked Wenches (Susan Murray, Vikki Stone)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

All-female stand-up, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers.

Wed 03 Oct Broken Windows Policy The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Fast-paced and anarchic skits and character comedy, just how we like it.

Fri 05 Oct

Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Comedy Central

The Pleasance, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£4)

Comedy Central present the best from the comedy world in their monthly showcase. In the Cabaret Bar.

The Friday Show (Mick Ferry, Vikki Stone, Jonathan Mayor) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

The Saturday Show (Mick Ferry, Vikki Stone, Jonathan Mayor) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Mark Steel’s In Town

Traverse Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £15 (£5)

Ever-changing live show from the writer and stand-up comic, for which he’ll write new material based on interesting aspects of every town and city he visits.

Five Quid Funnies

Sun 07 Oct

October 2012

Fit O’ The Giggles

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Sun 14 Oct The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-to-work blues.

Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10

Gentle stroll of a show, in which Zaltzman uses comic metaphor and brilliantly terrible wordplay to popular effect.

Mon 15 Oct Fit O’ The Giggles

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Keara Murphy hosts a selection of acts taking in sketches, stand-up, mime, musical comedy, poetry, magic, and, well, pretty much anything else they fancy.

Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 16 Oct Jo Caulfied’s Comedy Collective The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

The Thursday Show (Paul Tonkinson, Dana Alexander)

Scott Capurro: Islamahomophobia The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10

The San Franciscoan comic does his deliberately provocative thing, taking in gay marriage, his third mid-life crisis and the Koran.

Mon 29 Oct Improv Wars: Halloween Special The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Halloween edition of the improvised comedy games and sketch show, with an anything-goes attitude and added gore.

Alexei Sayle

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £13

The English comic returns to the live circuit with his first stand-up tour in 16 years, at which he’ll be testdriving a selection of new material.

Wed 24 Oct Pappy’s Last Show Ever

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

Brand new show of sketches, songs and silliness from the favourited sketch troupe, which may or may not mark the end.

Thu 25 Oct The Thursday Show (Rob Deering, David Whitney)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 26 Oct The Friday Show (Rob Deering, David Whitney) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

The master of camp goes in search of love, a vacancy for which all audience members will be considered.

Mon 08 Oct

Sun 28 Oct

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5

A selection of comedic academics do a stint of stand-up for your entertainment and enlightenment. Laughs and learning in one neat package: tick.

Brand new vampire-styled improv comedy show, which will obviously be a-mazing.

Counting House, 20:00–21:00, £donation

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Tue 23 Oct Bright Club

Julian Clary: Position Vacant, Apply Within

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

The Friday Show (Michael Fabbri, Mandy Muden, Joseph Wilson)

Sat 27 Oct

Red Raw

Transylvanian Nights

Fri 26 Oct

The Saturday Show (Michael Fabbri, Mandy Muden, Joseph Wilson)

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Keara Murphy hosts a selection of acts taking in sketches, stand-up, mime, musical comedy, poetry, magic, and, well, pretty much anything else they fancy.

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Mon 22 Oct

A bright collective of comedians experiment with the medium of stand-up, under the watchful eye of Jo Caulfield.

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

The Saturday Show (Dave Fulton, Neil McFarlane, Fergus Craig)

Maggie May’s, 20:00–22:00, £5

Charlie Ross presents a selection of live comedy for, yes, a fiver.

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-to-work blues.

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4)

The Bongo Club, 19:30–23:00, Free

Sat 13 Oct

Long-standing improv comedy troupe fae Edinburgh, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-to-work blues.

Fit O’ The Giggles

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Keara Murphy hosts a selection of acts taking in sketches, stand-up, mime, musical comedy, poetry, magic, and, well, pretty much anything else they fancy.

Thu 18 Oct

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 19 Oct

Red Raw

The Improverts

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Long-standing improv comedy troupe fae Edinburgh, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Tue 09 Oct

The Friday Show (Paul Tonkinson, Dana Alexander)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Midweek Comedy Cabaret The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Madcap comedy cabaret session (yes, it’s also midweek) with a four-strong selection of acts taking to the stage.

Wed 10 Oct The Melting Pot

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

Comedy sketches picked by the audience and performed by a troupe of actors and musicians.

Thu 11 Oct The Thursday Show (Dave Fulton, Neil McFarlane, Fergus Craig) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

68 THE SKINNY

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4)

The Improverts

Sat 06 Oct

The Thursday Show (Michael Fabbri, Mandy Muden, Joseph Wilson)

Kevin Bridges

EDINBURGH

Long-standing improv comedy troupe fae Edinburgh, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

The Inbetweeners’ funnyman returns with his new stand-up show.

Tue 23 Oct

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Rock and Roll Ping Pong

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Thu 25 Oct

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Kevin Bridges

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

Sun 21 Oct

The Improverts

Brand new show of sketches, songs and silliness from the favourited sketch troupe, which may or may not mark the end.

Kevin Bridges

The Saturday Show (Seymour Mace, Stu & Garry, Stuart Mitchell, Andy Clark)

Sat 06 Oct

Comedy fundraiser in aid of Gay Men’s Health, with competitions, prizes and audience participation. Dress code: hairy. Part of Glasgay! Festival.

Pappy’s Last Show Ever

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £9 (£6)

The Glaswegian funnyman plays a series of hometown gigs in the notso-intimate surrounds of SECC.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Grosvenor Cinema, 23:00–00:00, £10

Bearly Funny? (Jonathan Mayor, Susie McCabe, Andrew Doyle)

Mon 22 Oct

The Friday Show (Seymour Mace, Stu & Garry, Stuart Mitchell, Andy Clark)

Comedy in the Dark (Stephen Carlin, Davey Connor, James Acaster)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Kevin Bridges

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

Jamie Dalgleish hosts a night of live stand-up, headlined by Pat Rolink.

Sat 20 Oct

Kevin Bridges

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The Saturday Show (Tanyalee Davis, Andy Sir, Pat Burtscher)

SECC, 20:00–22:00, £30

All-female stand-up, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Fri 12 Oct

Theatre Royal, 20:00–22:00, £21

Greg Davies: The Back of My Mum’s Head

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 20 Oct The Saturday Show (Paul Tonkinson, Dana Alexander) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 27 Oct The Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:00, £20

The Saturday Show (Rob Deering, David Whitney) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Sun 28 Oct Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-to-work blues.

Mon 29 Oct Fit O’ The Giggles

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Keara Murphy hosts a selection of acts taking in sketches, stand-up, mime, musical comedy, poetry, magic, and, well, pretty much anything else they fancy.

Jack Dee

Edinburgh Playhouse, 20:00–22:00, £22

Punchline (Nick Helm, Josh Widdicombe, Roisin Conaty)

The famously dour-faced comic returns to the live circuit after a sixyear absence. We’ll do the smiling.

Punchline (aka the comedy night of the rather ace variety, so say we) returns for its second outing, with the mighty Nick Helm headering proceedings in his inimitable ballsy style, alongside stellar support from Josh Widdicombe and Roisin Conaty.

Red Raw

Usher Hall, 20:00–22:00, £16.50 (£10)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

THEATRE glasgow Citizens Theatre Medea

27 Sep – 13 Oct, not 30 Sep, 1 Oct, 7 Oct, 8 Oct, times vary, From £12

Singin’ in the Rain

American Idiot

The Queen’s Hall

Favourited Glasgow amateur theatre group GLOC perform the classic musical in what is its Diamond Anniversary year.

Musical based on Green Day’s multiplatinum album of the same name, telling the story of three lifelong friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia, with Tom Hank’s feature film version to follow (yes, really).

Sevilla al Aire

Tue 02 Oct

Much lauded flamenco dancer Oscar de los Reyes and his company dance and play the history of his native Seville.

Marina and the Diamonds

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

My Shrinking Life

In an illuminating autobiographical new work, Alison Peebles examines the physical and emotional journey that she has been on since her diagnosis with MS.

16–20 Oct, times vary, From £14

Mugenkyo Drummers

28 Oct, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £22

22–27 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Modern adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy exploring the private fury bubbling under public behaviour.

Legendary taiko drumming group, built on thunderous drum rhythms layered with percussive soundscapes and precise choreography.

Eastwood Park Theatre

The Portal

Alston

The Abstinent Minds

Richard Alston Dance Company present both classic and new work, including the Julien Macdonald jewelencrusted costumes of Shimmer.

Box Of Frogs

11 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £13 (£11/£9)

Poignant and funny exploration of passion and disappointment using circus as a metaphor for emotional instability. Part of Scottish Mental Health & Arts Film Festival.

Govanhill Baths Lifeguard

5–27 Oct, not 7, 14, 21, times vary, £12 (£9)

The Arches artist in residence, Adrian Howells, explores our complex relationship with water in a unique theatrical piece set in the intimate setting of Govanhill Baths’ training pool, with the audience resplendent in swimsuits.

Oran Mor A Play, A Pie And A Pint

various dates between 20 Sep and 31 Oct, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, From £8

Afternoon session showcasing new work from a selection of talented playwrights. Plus a pie and a pint, naturally. See oran-mor.co.uk for schedule details.

Platform Hitch/Crunch

13 Oct, 7:00pm – 9:30pm, £8 (£4.50)

Two exciting young Scottish theatre performers – Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair – hit the road with a performance double bill.

SECC American Idiot

29 Oct – 3 Nov, times vary, From £17.50

Musical based on Green Day’s multiplatinum album of the same name, telling the story of three lifelong friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia, with Tom Hank’s feature film version to follow (yes, really).

The Arches Biding Time (Remix)

6 Oct, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £9 (£7)

Re-interpretation of Pippa Bailey’s global theatre experiment devised as a work-in-progress by Glasgow art pop act A Band Called Quinn, combining film, a live band soundtrack and silent disco technology.

The Occupation of Heather Rose 7–9 Oct, 7:45pm – 9:15pm, £6 (£3)

New work from playwright and ex-community health worker Wendy Lill, with our protagonist, Heather, sucked into a world of emotional and cultural isolation in Canada. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

Inside Outside In Our Stride: Therapeutic Theatre 25–26 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, Free

Performers and artists from Project Ability explore the internal and external landscapes of wellness, illness and recovery, sharing stories both real and imagined. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

The Glue Factory

3 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, Free

New black comedy looking at addiction, relationships and mental well-being. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival 2012.

Theatre Royal Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season 2012

4–13 Oct, not 7, 8, 9, 10, times vary, prices vary

Inspired triple bill tracing a line through dance, featuring Martin Lawrance’s Run For It, William Forsythe’s Workwithinwork and Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos.

Scottish Opera: The Magic Flute

various dates between 17 Oct and 27 Oct, times vary, From £9

Sir Thomas Allen and Simon Higlett take on the fantastical charms of Mozart’s beloved opera, set in a visual world inspired by steampunk Victoriana. No ‘magic flute’ jokes, please.

Tramway Michael Clark Company: New Work 2012 4–6 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £20 (£15)

Iconic dancer Michael Clark and his touring company make their return to Tramway with a double bill of new work, combining the classical ballet of his training with a more complex sensibility, and a specially-composed soundtrack from Relaxed Muscle.

Lisbeth Gruwez Voetvolk and Mark Vernon

12–13 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £10 (£7)

Double bill of music by Mark Vernon followed by a unique performance piece by Lisbeth Gruwez.

Marc Brew Company: Fusion Fragments, Nocturne, Remember When

26–27 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £14 (£10)

Trademark tender, precise dance work from Marc Brew and company, capturing the beauty of shared moments via three pieces that form a series of physical conversations and encounters reflecting what it is to be human.

Tron Theatre Ulysses

12–27 Oct, not 14, 15, 21, 22, 7:45pm – 10:00pm, From £7

Bright re-imagining of Joyce’s Modernist masterpiece for the stage, adapted by celebrated author and Dublin chronicler Dermot Bolger.

various venues Sex and God

various dates between 5 Oct and 20 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Magnetic North present their bold new work in which four monologues on faith, lust and family are woven together to tell the stories of four different women each from a different period of the twentieth century.

EDINBURGH

This Side Of Paradise

Brunton Theatre

Site-specific performance installation from experimental dancetheatre company Dudendance, fusing mutant characters, dark humour and cartoon grotesquery.

The Matchmaker

11–14 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £9 (£7)

The King’s Theatre The Guid Sisters

various dates between 21 Sep and 27 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Scots version of Québécois writer Michel Tremblay’s play Les BellesSoeurs, which last premiered at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre back in 1989.

I Dreamed a Dream

21 Sep – 13 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, 7 Oct, times vary, prices vary

New musical charting the story of Susan Boyle, from her humble beginnings in the small Scottish town of Blackburn to present day.

DUNDEE music

3 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £11.50 (£9.50)

New adaptation of JB Keane’s unabashed Irish classic, featuring a cast of eccentrics from a jovial former jockey to a sex-starved spinster with a penchant for toffees.

Edinburgh Playhouse Phantom of the Opera

20 Sep – 20 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, 7 Oct, 14 Oct, times vary, From £19.50

Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s favourited musical, with new design, staging and choreography.

23 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, From £16.50

Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season 2012

4–13 Oct, not 7, 8, 9, 10, times vary, prices vary

Inspired triple bill tracing a line through dance, featuring Martin Lawrance’s Run For It, William Forsythe’s Workwithinwork and Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos.

Edinburgh’s Got Talent

26 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, From £10

The Edinburgh Evening News’ annual search for a ‘star’; a term we use lightly. Hosted by Arlene Stewart.

King’s Theatre Good Grief

13 Oct, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £17 (£15)

Traverse Theatre 2–3 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £15.50 (£11.50/£6 unemployed)

The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam

various dates between 20 Sep and 20 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Johnny McKnight’s heart-breaking, life-affirming comedy about life, love and, well, being a total loser.

The Authorised Kate Bane

12–26 Oct, not 14, 15, 21, 22, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, prices vary

Ella Hickson’s painfully comic new work, where the excavation of a family history leads to questions of whether there is an authorised version of the past – or just the one we can live with.

various venues

1–6 Oct, times vary, From £14

Sex and God

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

Magnetic North present their bold new work in which four monologues on faith, lust and family are woven together to tell the stories of four different women each from a different period of the twentieth century.

Chaos ensues as three siblings come together at the wake of their estranged father’s funeral, where years of suppressed tensions bubble to the surface with explosive consequences.

15–20 Oct, times vary, From £11.50

Re-telling of the Little Voice tale, where a shy, sweet-voiced young girl’s talent remains a secret until she is overheard by local talent scout.

The Mousetrap

various dates between 19 Sep and 3 Nov, times vary, prices vary

Agatha Christie’s play famous for being the longest-running show of any kind in the history of British theatre, this year celebrating its 60th year.

The Cone Gatherers

various dates between 25 Sep and 27 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Haunting tale of good versus evil bringing Robin Jenkins’s novel to life.

Haunting Julia

9–13 Oct, times vary, From £14

First ever UK tour of the criticallyacclaimed London production of Alan Ayckbourn’s haunting study of grief, obsession and the supernatural.

Royal Lyceum Theatre A Midsummer Night’s Dream

various dates between 24 Oct and 14 Nov, 2:30pm – 5:00pm, From £14.50

Matthew Lenton’s bold and inventive new production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy tale of unrequited and unwanted love.

The Guid Sisters

various dates between 21 Sep and 27 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Scots version of Québécois writer Michel Tremblay’s play Les BellesSoeurs, which last premiered at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre back in 1989.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 19 Oct – 17 Nov, 7:45pm – 10:00pm, From £14.50

Matthew Lenton’s bold and inventive new production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy tale of unrequited and unwanted love.

Scottish Storytelling Centre Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story 5–6 Oct, times vary, £6 (£4)

Modern re-telling of the Greek myth, featuring a TV-styled interview with Theseus, heroic monster killer and king of ancient Athens. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

We Have Won The Land

2–3 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £10 (£8)

Bilingual English/Gaelic physical theatre performance highlighting the significance of community land ownership in Scotland today. Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

various dates between 5 Oct and 20 Oct, times vary, prices vary

DUNDEE Dundee Rep Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut 28–29 Oct, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £15

A lovingly disrespectful comedy homage to one of cinema’s best loved movies.

The Static

12–13 Oct, times vary, From £13

Coming-of age story about desire, guilt and mind over matter from the award-winning ThickSkin.

The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam

various dates between 20 Sep and 20 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Johnny McKnight’s heart-breaking, life-affirming comedy about life, love and, well, being a total loser.

The Cone Gatherers

various dates between 25 Sep and 27 Oct, times vary, prices vary

Haunting tale of good versus evil bringing Robin Jenkins’s novel to life.

Spirit of the Dance 2012 3–7 Oct, times vary, From £14

Hit dance show combining Irish dance with the sensual Latino rhythms of flamenco, salsa and more.

It Needs Horses

11 Oct, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £16

Ben Duke’s blackly comic and highly physical dance theatre piece performed by an international cast from some of Europe’s best dance and physical theatre companies.

Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:00, £18.50

Marina Lambrini Diamandis (yes, really) plays under her stage name, knocking out the new-wave pop hits.

Wed 03 Oct LUVDUMP (The Obscenities) The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £5

Suffolk quintet smashing together a mix of fast melodic punk, ska-core, reggae and dub with political and socially conscious lyrics.

Fri 05 Oct Vladimir (Blindfolds, The Shithawks, Untrust)

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£3)

Noisy indie-rock ensemble from Dundee, headered by Ross Murray.

DUNDEE CLUBS Status No

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Status Quo tribute act.

Sun 14 Oct More Than Conquerors (IdriveHome)

The Doghouse, 19:00–23:00, £6 (£3)

The Smalltown America Records’ signees do their bright and magical post-hardcore thing.

The Enemy

Fat Sam’s, 19:30–22:00, £17.50

The Coventry-formed indie-rockers take to the road armed with their newest LP, Streets in the Sky.

Thu 18 Oct Miniature Dinosaurs

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £6 (£3)

The Mess Arounds

Indie-pop foursome hailing from the fiery musical furnace of Stirling.

Dundee-based, female-fronted combo who focus on fusing classic soul, R’n’B and motown with more contemporary sounds.

Esperi (Juffrage, Cara Mitchell)

Duke’s Corner, 21:00–23:00, £tbc

Molton Magazine Metal Battle #3

Beat Generator Live!, 19:00–22:00, £7

The third round of the Scottish national metal battle of the bands.

Sat 06 Oct Dressed To Kill

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £12

Kiss tribute act.

Dias Quartet

Duke’s Corner, 21:00–23:00, £tbc

Funky take on samba, bossa nova, salsa and the new sounds of Brasilica.

Tue 09 Oct Twisted Wheel (Havoc, No Egos) Non-Zero’s, 19:30–22:00, £8

Indie-styled Manc trio led by Jonny Brown on vocals and guitar.

Wed 10 Oct Fatherson

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £8 adv. (£10 door)

The Kilmarnock trio do their alternative rock-meets-powerpop thing, you do the moshing.

Fri 12 Oct The King Rockers (Kung Fu Academy, Fluorescent Kids) The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £6

Glam rock covers band, suitably bootstomping and cheesy in their approach.

Hue and Cry

Fat Sam’s, 19:00–22:00, £20

The Coatbridge brothers (aka Greg and Pat Kane) play a full live band show on the back of their 16th album, Hot Wire.

Lockdown

Beat Generator Live!, 23:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 12)

Metal, rock and alternative playlists all night long.

Sat 13 Oct Fat Goth (Tacobonds) Non-Zero’s, 19:30–22:00, £5

Ex-Alamos members in a new alternative guise, taking to the road as part of their all-Scottish tour.

Fri 19 Oct The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £6 (£3)

Scottish multi-instrumentalist Chris Lee-Mar and pals do their alternative folk-meets-electronica thing.

Punktoberfest Weekender (Diddums, The Mystery Girls, Rabid Dogs, The Savage Rejects, Buzzbomb)

Beat Generator Live!, 19:00–22:00, £4 adv.

The mini festival returns for a second year, marrying punk and the month of October under the self-explanatory title Punktoberfest.

Sat 20 Oct Punktoberfest Weekender (Drongos For Europe, Billyclub, Roughneck Riot, Overspill, The Eddies, The Cundeez, The Guttersnipes, Drug Couple, Hard Case, Splinter, Crimedesk, Nine Bullets)

Beat Generator Live!, 13:00–22:00, £10 adv.

The mini festival returns for a second year, marrying punk and the month of October under the self-explanatory title Punktoberfest.

Wed 03 Oct

Wed 17 Oct

Friendzy

Friendzy

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and jelly shots.

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and jelly shots.

Fat Sam’s, 22:30–03:00, £3.50

Thu 04 Oct

Thu 18 Oct Suga

Brand new electronic night for Dundee.

Early weekend party-starter playing the best in R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £3.50 (£5 after 12.30)

Suga

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–03:00, £3.50

Fri 05 Oct

More heavyweight selections from Mungo’s Soundsystem, joined live by young Essex dub chap, Charlie P.

Spektrum (Nick Warren)

Mojo

Mojo

Party-styled Friday nighter. Beware the six quid fishbowls.

Gorilla In Your Car

Warped: 1st Birthday

Hardcore, emo, punk and scenester selections. Also perhaps the best-named club night in Dundee’s existence.

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £tbc

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings, as Warped celebrate their first birthday in suitably noisy style.

Level Up Vs Disuko

Soul Club, 21:30–02:30, £5 (£7 after 12)

Head-to-head session from Disuko and Level Up players, taking in ghetto, techno, fidget, electro, house and more.

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Sat 20 Oct Locarno

Reading Rooms, 22:00–02:30, £5 (£7 after 12)

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars.

Fat Sam’s Saturday Nights Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £8

Sat 06 Oct Autodisco (Jazzy B)

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £12 adv.

Regular hosts Dave Autodisco and Dicky Trisco welcome the man behind the Soul II Soul soundsystem, Jazzy B, to the decks.

Fat Sam’s Saturday Nights Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £8

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms.

Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative.

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and jelly shots.

Lockdown

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £3.50

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £3.50

Party-styled Friday nighter. Beware the six quid fishbowls.

Pre-Halloween party night with live bands, burlesque dancing, variety acts and a prize for the best dressed.

The fourth round of the Scottish national metal battle of the bands.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £5 (£8 after 11)

Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:30, £12 adv.

Showcase night for electronic DJs and producers from across the globe.

Wed 10 Oct

Beat Generator Live!, 19:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Fri 19 Oct Mungo’s Hi-Fi (Charlie P)

Friendzy

Molton Magazine Metal Battle #4

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–03:00, £3.50

Early weekend party-starter playing the best in R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Fri 26 Oct Non-Zero’s, 19:30–22:00, £7

Fat Sam’s, 22:30–03:00, £3.50

Crayon

The Monster Mash

Fat Sam’s, 22:30–03:00, £3.50

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms.

Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative.

Wed 24 Oct Friendzy

Fat Sam’s, 22:30–03:00, £3.50

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and jelly shots.

Thu 25 Oct Suga

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–03:00, £3.50

Early weekend party-starter playing the best in R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Fri 26 Oct

Thu 11 Oct

Optimo

Suga

JD Twitch and JG Wilkes take to the decks for a night of pure Optimo goodness.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–03:00, £3.50

Early weekend party-starter playing the best in R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Mojo

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £3.50

Fri 12 Oct

Party-styled Friday nighter. Beware the six quid fishbowls.

Metal, rock and alternative playlists all night long.

Bleep

Lockdown

Sat 27 Oct

Ear-bleeding electronic beats ‘n’ bleeps with Blanc Expression, Dave Stewart and Teddy Hannan.

Metal, rock and alternative playlists all night long.

Beat Generator Live!, 23:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 12)

Maiden Scotland

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Iron Maiden tribute act.

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £5 (£7 after 11.30)

Mojo

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £3.50

Party-styled Friday nighter. Beware the six quid fishbowls.

New Noise

Spector (Swim Deep)

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Alternative mixtape night taking in rock, punk, screamo, electro and hippity-hop.

The Doghouse, 20:00–23:00, £10 adv. (£12 door)

The happy-go-lucky London fivesome churn out the pop tunes, finally in possession of their debut LP.

Lockdown

Beat Generator Live!, 23:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 12)

Metal, rock and alternative playlists all night long.

DUNDEE comed y

Beat Generator Live!, 23:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 12)

Sat 27 Oct Electrode (Jeremy Olander) Reading Rooms, 22:30–03:30, £10

Helping celebrate half a decade of Electrode, Swedish electronic specialist Jeremy Olander joins regulars Kev Taylor and Billy Morris.

Fat Sam’s Saturday Nights Fat Sam’s, 21:00–04:00, £8

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms.

Asylum

Kage, 23:00–03:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative.

Sat 13 Oct Spektrum Vs Headway: Part 1 Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Fri 05 Oct

Sun 21 Oct

Mark Steel’s In Town

Hardeep Singh Kohli

Ever-changing live show from the writer and stand-up comic, for which he’ll write new material based on interesting aspects of every town and city he visits.

Broadcaster, writer and Celebrity Masterchef finalist Hardeep Singh Kohli continues his mission to find the best Indian takeaway in the UK, ordering a takeaway live on stage, selected from audience suggestions.

The Gardyne Theatre, 19:30–22:00, £12 (£10)

LISTINGS

Dundee Rep, 19:30–21:30, £17

The two Reading Rooms’ favourites go head-to-head in the first in a series of collaborative nights.

Fat Sam’s Saturday Nights Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £8

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms.

Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative.

October 2012

THE SKINNY 69

LISTINGS

A rt

GLASGOW

20–21 Oct, 10:00am – 4:00pm, Free

Young folk from the Govanhill Roma community showcase the fruits of their photography project, for which they worked with a professional artist and photographer to capture images of their lives. Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

Boxwood The Magnificent Seven

19 Sep – 31 Oct, times vary, Free

New educational and creative visual art project, which finds Boxwood commissioning a group of young art school graduates to create a new work based on the Glasgow Coat of Arms emblem and motto.

Hillhead Bookclub Harris Tweed Fashion Show

CCA

4 Oct, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, Free

21 Revolutions: Two Decades of Changing Minds at Glasgow Women’s Library 21 Sep – 13 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, 7 Oct, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

To mark their 21st birthday, Glasgow Women’s Library have commissioned 21 women artists to make limited edition fine art prints inspired by their library, archive and museum artifact collections.

Olivia Plender: Rise Early, Be Industrious various dates between 13 Oct and 15 Dec, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Series of room-sized installations which include sculpture, banners, posters, board games, architectural models and video, focusing on Berlinbased artist Olivia Plender’s research into how attitudes towards mass education have evolved.

Aimee Campbell: Tender Brink 27 Oct – 10 Nov, not 28 Oct, 4 Nov, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

New work from the Glasgow bornand-based artist, specifically created for the CCA’s Intermedia space, exploring the more intuitive aspects of animation and drawing.

Time Out: Exhibition of Artworks

4–24 Oct, 1:00pm – 3:00pm, Free

Showcase exhibition of bespoke artwork produced by the Time Out arts group, a year-round programme of workshops aimed at maintaining positive mental health through creative and social interaction. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

Gallery of Modern Art Tales of the City

19 Sep – 28 Oct, times vary, Free

Long-running exhibition exploring the way that different artists respond to man-made urban spaces, featuring work by the likes of Martin Boyce, Scott Myles, Toby Paterson and David Shrigley.

Tales of the City (Gallery 3) 19 Sep – 20 Jan, times vary, Free

As part of the gallery-spanning Tales of the City exhibition, Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art display a selection of broad range of portraiture in Gallery 3, taking in work by Eve Arnold, Frank Auerbach and Beagles & Ramsay.

Tales of the City (Gallery 2) 19 Sep – 23 Jun, times vary, Free

As part of the gallery-spanning Tales of the City exhibition, Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art display a selection of mixed media objects in Gallery 2, encompassing work from Alex Frost, David Hockney, Scott Myles, David Sherry and Simon Starling.

Mary Mary Alistair Frost

various dates between 19 Sep and 20 Oct, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

The London-based artist takes over Mary Mary with a selection of solo work in his favoured lyrical, motiflike painting style.

People’s Palace Scotland Can Make It!

various dates between 19 Sep and 13 Jan, times vary, Free

Unique collaboration between Creative Scotland and Panel, presenting a series of souvenirs – designed and manufactured entirely in Scotland – to be ready for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the prototypes of which will make up the body of the exhibition.

Platform ARTSpace

The ARTSpace artists delve into different characters to explore aspects of themselves and those around them, in a unique exhibition taking place at Platform. Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

Project Ability Connect

various dates between 20 Oct and 24 Nov, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Retrospective exhibition marking the 16-year history of Project Ability’s Connect programme, with past artists producing an image that represents what Connect meant to them. Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

RGI Kelly Gallery Gavin Scott Weir: Glasgow Town 2–13 Oct, not 7, 8, times vary, Free

New series of urban landscapes recording the highly complex perspectives created by the architecture of Glasgow’s city centre.

Mhairi Malcolm: The Day Above

16 Oct – 3 Nov, not 21 Oct, 22 Oct, 28 Oct, 29 Oct, times vary, Free

The Gray’s School of Art graduate displays a selection of work inspired by journeys, featuring remnants of the landscape gathered and abstracted from materials she has come across.

Roger Billcliffe Gallery Fresh

Glasgow Print Studio

19 Sep – 2 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, times vary, Free

Contemporary jewellery and silver work from a selection of jewellers each with something new to express.

Remnant: Toby Paterson

various dates between 19 Sep and 28 Oct, times vary, Free

The Glasgow-based artist showcases a collection of new works, likely taking in his preoccupation with urban landscapes and architectural structure.

SWG3 The Quid

various dates between 19 Sep and 20 Oct, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

Solo show from British artist Owen Piper, whose paintings will be contextualised in an ambitious mix of sculptures and installations for the first time.

Good Press Flicking Glass Snails 2–9 Oct, times vary, Free

Selection of new drawings by Glasgow-based artist Rob Churm.

Baldvin Ringsted

various dates between 19 Sep and 20 Oct, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

The Family Show II: Good Press Gallery Fundraiser Good Press gallery fundraiser featuring work by a large selection of artists, with all works on sale costing just £30.

70 THE SKINNY

Harris Tweed fashion showcase, with designs from Margaret Howell, Joyce Paton, Judy Clark, Jaggy Nettle, Netty Sopata and Topman.

1–22 Oct, times vary, Free

Gallery 966

11 Oct – 11 Nov, times vary, Free

Govanhill Baths Roma Youth Photography Project

New series of solo works from Baldvin Ringsted again drawing on his experience as a musician, moving between sculptural installations, sound pieces and works on paper.

October 2012

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre Gothic Kinetic

various dates between 19 Sep and 30 Nov, times vary, Free

The acclaimed touring set – created by theatre sculptor-cum-mechanic Eduard Bersudsky – comes to Glasgow, after entertaining audiences of over 200,000 people across Europe.

Street Level Photoworks Ajamu: Future Histories

27 Sep – 28 Oct, not 1 Oct, 8 Oct, 15 Oct, 22 Oct, times vary, Free

Photographic series developed during Ajamu’s residency at Street Level Photoworks, consisting of portraits of African, Caribbean and people of Black Scottish descent living and working in Scotland. Showing as part of Black History Month.

The Art of Furniture Art 5–21 Oct, times vary, Free

Scottish Furniture Maker’s annual exhibition, with bespoke showing work for sale and examples of possibilities for commission.

Laura Spring

25 Oct – 3 Dec, times vary, Free

The GSA Graphic Design graduate displays a new series of pieces, currently focusing on the relationship between print and its function through the design and production of a range of bespoke luggage and clothing.

Victoria Evans, Graham Lister and Stephanie Spindler present their solo exhibitions together as part of the Briggait Project Space 2012-2013 programme, each showcasing their distinct practice alongside a chance to peek within their working studio space.

The Common Guild Ugo Rondinone: Primitive

various dates between 19 Sep and 17 Nov, times vary, Free

Solo exhibition by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone – his first ever presentation of work in Scotland – featuring a group of recent bird sculptures reconfigured specifically for the domestic space.

The Duchy Aereated Bread Company

various dates between 26 Oct and 17 Nov, times vary, Free

Annual pairing of a recent art graduate with an established artist – in this case Andrew Black and Tony Swain – exploring links between the processes of making and presenting bodies of work.

The Glue Factory Holography Unit

19 Sep – 6 Oct, not 23 Sep, 24 Sep, 30 Sep, 1 Oct, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Illuminating look back at the life and work of the Royal College of Art’s Fine Art Holography department, including some 40 holographic works by 20 artists.

The Lighthouse Churches in the Modern World

19 Sep – 12 Oct, times vary, Free

Unique exhibition exploring Catholic church architecture in the 20th century using aspects of a Mackintosh School of Architecture project, alongside an insight, curated by NVA, into the past and future of St Peter’s seminary.

Shaping Places

19 Sep – 7 Oct, times vary, Free

Urban design showcase taking in a selection of the late Steve Tiesdell’s extensive image library.

Bird Yarns

5–28 Oct, times vary, Free

The Lighthouse is taken over by a flock of handmade creatures of the flying variety, for which knitters from Mull have worked with local wool to create a flock of ‘lost’ arctic terns.

Glasgow Restored

3–28 Oct, times vary, Free

Photographic showcase celebrating the many historic buildings that Glasgow Building Preservation Trust has been involved with saving, spanning some 30 Years of restoration activity in the city.

Collective Gallery Phased, year-long research project considering the effect that change can have on form and content, with all the participating artists taking a multi-stranded approach to their practice.

The Royal Glasgow Institute of The Fine Arts: 151st Open Annual Exhibition

26 Oct – 16 Nov, weekdays only, times vary, Free

Multi-disciplinary exhibition of new work by five up-and-coming Leith and Edinburgh-based artists and jewellers – Emma Macleod, Fiona Hermse, Jessica Crisp, Nicola Turnbull and Sarah Connolly – each responding to the theme of ‘resonance’.

A range of Charles Rennie Mackintosh enthusiasts each offer their perspective on why his designs continue to generate such huge interest, via Pecha Kucha’s unique image-led discussion of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds.

24 Oct, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, £7.50 (£4)

Selection of Arpita Shah’s most recent work, consisting of a collection of portraits of women with Asian, African and Arab heritage living in Scotland. Showing as part of Black History Month.

The Briggait

5–17 Oct, times vary, Free

Pecha Kucha 11: The Mackintosh Effect

The Mitchell Library

III: Studio to Showcase

Resonate

Adaptation

Arpita Shah: Nymphaeceae

27 Sep – 28 Oct, not 1 Oct, 8 Oct, 15 Oct, 22 Oct, times vary, Free

Coburg House Art Studios

19 Sep – 6 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, times vary, £2 (£1)

Annual exhibition of over 300 contemporary artworks, all of which are all available to purchase.

The Modern Institute Andrew Kerr

19 Sep – 20 Oct, not 23 Sep, 30 Sep, 7 Oct, 14 Oct, times vary, Free

The Glasgow-born, GSA-graduating artist takes over the gallery space with a new collection of solo work.

Cathy Wilkes

27 Oct – 24 Nov, not 28 Oct, 4 Nov, 11 Nov, 18 Nov, times vary, Free

The Irish artist displays a selection of her trademark installations, whose signature elements are set amongst, and outfitted with, accoutrements of an abject, quotidian nature.

The Whisky Bond The Clipperton Project

various dates between 20 Sep and 20 Oct, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Glasgow Sculpture Studios collaborate with The Clipperton Project to transform The Whisky Bond into an international collaborative laboratory, housing a series of zones that host different components of activities.

Tramway Dexter Sinister: Identity

various dates between 19 Sep and 28 Oct, times vary, Free

Interesting exhibition charting the emergence and proliferation of graphic identity since the turn of the twentieth century, developed over a two-year period by Dexter Sinister (aka designers, publishers and writers Stuart Bailey and David Reinfurt.

Trongate 103 Lennox Castle Stories 23–27 Oct, times vary, Free

Interactive exhibition of objects, images and stories as told by people who were resident in Lennon Castle Hospital before its closure in 2003.

Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

EDINBURGH City Art Centre Leslie Hunter

19 Sep – 14 Oct, times vary, £5 (£3.50)

Major exhibition of over 50 works of varying sizes by Leslie Hunter, one of a group of four artists known collectively as The Scottish Colourists.

various dates between 13 Oct and 25 Nov, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Dovecot Weaving The Century: Tapestry from Dovecot Studios 1912-2012

19 Sep – 7 Oct, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free

Major tapestry exhibition presented across all three of the public gallery spaces, bringing together the work of myriad artists including David Hockney, Elizabeth Blackadder and Cecil Beaton.

Reiko Sudo

26 Oct – 24 Nov, not 28 Oct, 4 Nov, 11 Nov, 18 Nov, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free

Exhibition from the artistic director of Nuno textiles, Reiko Sudo, and her team, exploring the ways in which their designs respond to the human form, reflecting the importance of cloth for protecting, adorning and creating social well-being.

Edinburgh Printmakers Again, A Time Machine

19 Sep – 3 Oct, not 23 Sep, 24 Sep, 30 Sep, 1 Oct, 10:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Book Works present the archival project Make the Living Look Dead, alongside Laure Prouvost’s film The Wanderer (The Storage) and a selection of artist books, posters and limited editions.

Fruitmarket Gallery Dieter Roth: Diaries

19 Sep – 14 Oct, times vary, Free

Gem of an exhibition showing Dieter Roth’s diaries to the public for the first time – an amassed record of appointments, addresses, lists and deadlines, but also ideas, drawings, photographs and poems.

Ingleby Gallery Ian Hamilton Finlay

various dates between 19 Sep and 27 Oct, 10:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Exhibition of sculpture and audio visual installation by the late Ian Hamilton Finlay, drawing on the artist’s work in many mediums and across several decades.

Inverleith House Philip Guston

19 Sep – 7 Oct, not 24 Sep, 1 Oct, 10:00am – 5:30pm, Free

First exhibition of late paintings by the great American artist to be staged in Europe, featuring major works from 1969 to 1978.

National Library of Scotland Going to the Pictures: Scotland at the Cinema 19 Sep – 28 Oct, times vary, Free

Summer exhibition exploring Scottish cinema-going over the past 120 years through the art of original film posters, cinema advertising, film magazines and original footage.

Catherine the Great: An Enlightened Empress

19 Sep – 21 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £9 (£7.50/£6 child)

Unique exhibition of the collections of one of Russia’s most successful rulers, taking in more than 300 objects and artworks by European and Russian artists of the 18th century.

North Edinburgh Arts Centre The Journey Within

2 Oct – 2 Nov, not 7 Oct, 14 Oct, 21 Oct, 28 Oct, 10:00am – 4:00pm, Free

Showcase of artwork produced

by Living Well North Edinburgh members. Part of Scottish Mental Health Art & Film Festival.

Old St Paul’s Church Hall Black Cube Collective: Launch Night 6 Oct, 7:00pm – 11:00pm, £5

The new Edinburgh-based artist collective display works from both UK and international artists, alongside live sets from a selection of Scottish music-makers. Entry includes a free ‘Black Cube’ cocktail concoction.

Open Eye Gallery Mark l’Anson

1–16 Oct, not 7, 14, times vary, Free

Selection of new works from the Gray’s School of Art graduate.

David Martin

1–16 Oct, not 7, 14, times vary, Free

Edinburgh College of Art graduate who uses his experiences traveling abroad to inform his rich and detailed paintings.

Susie Leiper

22 Oct – 6 Nov, not 28 Oct, 4 Nov, times vary, Free

Selection of new and recent works from the Edinburgh-based calligrapher and painter.

Paul Charlton

22 Oct – 6 Nov, not 28 Oct, 4 Nov, times vary, Free

Evocative portraits on wood from the Edinburgh College of Art sculpture graduate, combining photography, painting and construction into their mix.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall Walk on the Wild Side

10–13 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Interactive, visual arts exhibition exploring the ups and downs of living with a mental health issue, and the challenge of managing the baggage we all carry.

Queen’s Gallery Treasures from The Queen’s Palaces 19 Sep – 4 Nov, 9:30am – 6:00pm, £6

Selection of 100 works from across the entire breadth of the Royal Collection, from nine royal residencies and over five centuries of collecting.

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Of Natural and Mythical Things 19 Sep – 4 Nov, times vary, Free

Showcase exhibition of RSA members alongside artists from the RSA Awards and Exhibitions Programme, with each work loosely exploring the physical, philosophical and mystical nature of the world.

Scottish National Gallery Giovanni Battista Lusieri: Expanding Horizons

19 Sep – 28 Oct, times vary, £7 (£5)

First ever exhibition devoted entirely to the impressive landscape watercolours of Rome-born artist, Giovanni Battista Lusieri.

The Scottish Colourists: Inspiration and Influence

National Museum of Scotland

Van Gogh to Kandinsky: Symbolist Landscape in Europe

Showcase exhibition placing the work of the Scottish Colourists in a wider context, running alongside City Art Centre’s solo exhibition dedicated to Scottish Colourist Leslie Hunter.

Melvin Moti: One Thousand Points of Light

First exhibition dedicated solely to Symbolist Landscape in Europe, the movement that developed after Impressionism as artists developed a more emotional approach to landscape painting.

19 Sep – 14 Oct, times vary, Free

19 Sep – 21 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

First ever solo show from the Dutch artist, working with UV light emitting rocks from the mineralogy collections at National Museums Scotland.

19 Sep – 14 Oct, times vary, £10 (£7)

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Picasso and Modern British Art 19 Sep – 4 Nov, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £10 (£7)

First exhibition to explore Picasso’s lifelong connections with Britain, looking at the artist’s reputation here and the way he influenced Britain’s own modern artists. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery In It To Win It

19 Sep – 7 Oct, times vary, Free

Display of new acquisitions showcasing some of Scotland’s most distinguished sporting talent, inspired by the Olympic Games.

Lucknow to Lahore

6 Oct – 7 Apr, times vary, Free

Series of photos by Scottish commercial photographer Fred Bremner spanning his travels in the Indian subcontinent from 1882 to 1922, exquisitely detailing the people and places of Imperial India.

Stills James Casebere: Home and Other Fictions

19 Sep – 28 Oct, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Stills present the first solo exhibition of works by James Casebere in Scotland, his constructed photography challenging the boundaries between reality and imagination.

Superclub Daniel P Irwin: Fight Like A Brave

various dates between 21 Sep and 4 Oct, times vary, Free

Presentation of Daniel P. Irwin’s ongoing project piece through which he seeks to bring about a radical disaffirmation of the conventions of art making.

Talbot Rice Gallery Tim Rollins and K.O.S.: The Black Spot

various dates between 19 Sep and 20 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Tim Rollins and K.O.S. present a selection of their literary and music-inspired work, old and new, accompanied by a series of Art and Knowledge Workshops.

Working Papers: Donald Judd Drawings 1963-93

various dates between 19 Sep and 20 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

First exhibition in Scotland to study Donald Judd’s studio methods, focusing upon the instructional drawings he and his fabricators created.

The Institute Gallery Naked Touch

19 Sep – 14 Oct, times vary, Free

Photography showcase from Gavin Evans taking in a selection of provocative and visceral portraits that reveal an inextricable link between artist and subject.

The Old Ambulance Depot Gordon Picken: Solastalgia 19–28 Oct, times vary, Free

The Glasgow-based artists presents a new collection of paintings created specifically for the Old Ambulance depot space.

The Subconscious Portraits 28 Sep – 2 Oct, times vary, Free

New work from Edinburgh artist Sandy Christie exploring the idea of a subconscious identity within the landscape of the mind, looking specifically at what forms our true selves.

Whitespace Platform 7

19–25 Oct, times vary, Free

Exhibition of seven young artists curated by a team of seven young curators, each reacting to the showbiz aspect of the art world and exploring the body as the site of identity and action.

DUNDEE Cooper Gallery Edgar Schmitz: Surplus Cameo Decor (Episode 1)

18 Oct – 6 Nov, not 21 Oct, 28 Oct, 4 Nov, times vary, Free

First major Scottish exhibition for Edgar Schmitz set over three episodes, expanding on recent works that develop modes of escape from our contemporary situation.

Entrance

28 Sep – 13 Oct, not 30 Sep, 7 Oct, times vary, Free

Inaugural exhibition to take place in the newly-named Cooper Gallery Project Space (formerly Lower Foyer Gallery), bringing together the work of DJCAD graduates Janey Muir and Cordelia Underhill.

DCA From The Edge

various dates between 19 Sep and 18 Nov, times vary, Free

Selection of video works from Danish-born, London-based artist Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, including Tales from the Periphery – a pair of films exploring the lives of young people living in deprived areas of Europe.

Imagine Being A World Leader

various dates between 19 Sep and 18 Nov, times vary, Free

British artists Dash Macdonald and Demitrios Kargotis create a new work around a fictional political event which enables young people’s voices to be heard, who in turn provide the inspiring, thoughtprovoking and often funny content of the exhibition.

The McManus Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography 28 Sep – 6 Jan, times vary, Free

Fashion photography showcase celebrating the lead up to the opening of the V&A in Dundee, exploring the work of international fashion photographers from the early twentieth century to the present day – from Helmut Newton to Rankin.

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Creepy Ghost Stories

Shelly, 29, from Aberdeen will chill your spine with this paranormal tale...“When I woke up at my boyfriend’s house covered in ghostly ectoplasm there could only be one explanation – my dead Dad was trying to send me a message from inside the grave...” as told to: Mystic Mark and Darren Icke

“I’ll come back after I die,” Dad told me, fixing me intently with his mad, yellow eyeballs as he lay dying in bed. “To watch over you and make sure your mum doesn’t slag about.” I’ll never forget how peaceful he looked as he contorted and frothed in my arms. His spasms and gurgled cries seeming to say, “Don’t worry.” Finally, he exhaled his last breath and was gone.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhuggggghhhhhhhh!” he said.

The smell of his final cigarette wafted into my tearful face as though it was Dad’s soul leaving his body. I took the smouldering tab from his hand and snuffed it out, much like his life had just been snuffed out by a cruel and merciless Universe.

After Dad’s death I found it very difficult to meet guys. The one thing Dad had always wanted for me was to meet someone special, settle down and “squeeze out some grandkids” that could “go to the shop” for him. He was always joking around and drinking.

For months after the funeral I was depressed. Then Mum told me to “get out there” and go speed dating like she was. Mum had dealt with the death of my father really well, she was so much stronger than I was, telling me one night in Jumping Jacks, “There’s plenty more dads in the sea!”

At the time I thought speed dating was a good idea, but it was a complete disaster! It became clear that all blokes seemed to want to do was have a snog and some sex.

Then I met Lee. Lee was different. He was the perfect gentleman. He didn’t push to have sex at all like the others. All Lee wanted to do was bring me back to his house in a taxi so we could talk about our feelings. It was refreshing. At the time my only experience with guys was that they wanted to have sex about their feelings!

Lee loved me for me. Not for “that hole” in my body “there,” he reassured me. “It’s just a hole,” he said, pointing at my groin again. “It’s not got any of you in it.”

This was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.

Even so, I never got into the taxi with Lee no

matter how many times he asked me. Then one night whilst Lee was playing the fruit machine in the pub I finally told him about how I felt after Dad died, about the “Dad-shaped” hole inside me. Out of all the guys I met, Lee was the only one who seemed to totally understand. “I’ve got loads I want to share with you too,” Lee said, putting another pound coin into the slot. “Maybe I could fill that hole in you with some of it.”

As he gazed at the TV screen above my head, I looked lovingly into his eyes. There was a twinkle in his eyes, maybe it was just from the screen, but he was so sweet and had lovely big blue eyes, like black circles with blue rings around the black. I could tell at that moment that Lee was The One, the one that I would eventually make love to, when we were married a few years down the line.

“You’re more than a slab of flesh to me,” he smiled as he relentlessly put another coin into the slot. “That’s why I love you.”

That was the first night I got into the taxi with Lee. It was a big step for us, sleeping in the same bed. We watched a DVD of the World’s Worst Police Chases and settled in for our big ‘sleepover.’ I won’t lie, Lee did try a bit of heavy petting

and he pushed his groin against my thigh like a naughty teenager! But we both knew that the time wasn’t right.

“Fine,” Lee said, as he turned away to sleep.

The next morning I awoke, but my eyes wouldn’t open properly. “Lee! Lee!” I screamed. “I’ve gone blind!”

“No you haven’t,” Lee reassured me, gently prising my eyelids open with his big fingers.

“Something mysterious has happened instead. It must have been a ghost.”

Lee was right, I had ectoplasm all over my face.

“I’ve heard about this in films,” he explained, handing me a cloth. “It’s science. This is the stuff ghosts give off as waste when they fly around.”

Then it hit me. I’d always believed in ghosts, ever since Dad died and became one. I always felt that Dad was floating about, watching over me like he

said he would. Now I had the proof. He’d given me a sign.

“Oh my God,” I suddenly thought. “Dad! It’s Dad, trying to send me a message from beyond the grave!” I started crying.

“Daddy...” I said, and Lee’s smile showed that he understood exactly what I meant. He cuddled me as I told him all about what Dad had gurgled at me on his deathbed.

“He’s trying to tell you something.” Lee said.

“You should stay over more often so we can get to the bottom of this mystery.”

We both spent the day wondering what the message could mean as Lee completed Resident Evil: Code Veronica. But it was only later that the true explanation hit me... Dad wanted Lee and I to get married! He was giving us his blessing.

Five years later I found myself stood outside the local church where Dad had been buried. There Goes the Bride was playing on the PA system as I entered and slowly made my way down the aisle, my husband-to-be waiting nervously at the altar with the kindly priest.

But with Dad long-gone, who was walking me down the aisle?

Several friends of the family had kindly offered to take my father’s role in this ceremony, but I told them no thanks. I had a jar of my Dad’s ectoplasm to walk me down the aisle. Dad would be there after all. I had my Jar of Dad! The start of the wedding was lovely, the priest talked about how love was eternal and God was eternal and how eternal things last forever and how forever is the longest amount of time anyone can think of.

Then it was time to do some serious marrying!

“I do,” we both said when the priest asked us if we did, and with that, the ceremony was completed; in the eyes of God, Lee and I were now a single legal entity.

At the reception my Dad Jar was the talk of the party! “What’s that you’ve got there?” people asked,

pointing at it, full to the brim with yellowing slime.

“That’s my Dad.” I told them proudly. “He’s been visiting me in the night for years.” “It’s ectoplasm,” Lee shouted, pulling the bottle of WKD out of his mouth to explain. “Like in Ghostbusters.”

People shook their heads in disbelief; the shock was too much for some, my mum included, who cried with happiness, absolutely speechless and nauseous after I revealed to her what was in my jar and made her smell it.

After my wedding night, Dad stopped his ghostly visits. I could tell that he was at peace now. He could finally rest. And Lee slept soundly for the first time in years!

All that was left to do was release my father back into the spirit world from whence he came.

Lee suggested we drive out to the beach one weekend and I jumped at the chance to bring the Dad Jar along for the ride. We found the perfect cliff, and after I said a few words I unscrewed the lid and waited for the jar’s solidified contents to slide out, bouncing and exploding down the side of the cliff, showering the unsuspecting sunbathers below in the paranormal essence. Dad always was a bit of a joker! At the end of the day, Lee told me, the screams and cries of the people as they were sprayed head-to-toe with globules of unearthly ectoplasm is what he would have wanted.

Now Lee and I are expecting our first child, and we couldn’t be happier. Sometimes, about once a month, I still sense that Dad is up there, looming over me. But I know now he’s at peace. And I hope that maybe one day, when me and Lee are dead too, we can all be ghosts together.

October 2012

THE SKINNY 71