Gigs

Glasvegas - We Love To Boogie, Glasgow, Tue 1 Sep 2009

3 Sep 2009

‘Fuck the neighbours!’ shouts someone within the crowd spilling out onto the street. ‘James, please – turn it up to 11!’ Maybe the quiet little acoustic gig Glasvegas’ James Allan had in mind when he arranged this Twitter-promoted secret show wasn’t so…

Broken Records, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Son of Pedro

The Mill, Oran Mor, Glasgow, 27 Aug 2009

28 Aug 2009

With the free tickets long gone, it's a busy night at Oran Mor to see four of Scotland's promising young acts. Well three of them. For sadly, due to unforeseen illness, the sweet melodies of Sparrow and the Workshop are missing from the line-up. It's…

Faith No More

Massive shots of musical adrenaline that have the crowd and band pumping

27 Aug 2009

Surely the crowning glory in this year’s Edge Festival - the reunited Faith No More returning to Scotland after a long, long absence. Firstly, Manchester youngsters Oceansize kick things off in suitably fuzzy prog metal style, reminiscent of oor ain…

Frightened Rabbit

New material promises great things

21 Aug 2009

From the moment Frightened Rabbit take the stage, the capacity crowd at the Queen’s Hall gives them a warm welcome - roaring their approval before a note has been played. They open with the first track from their Midnight Organ Fight album, ‘The Modern…

Sparrow and the Workshop

Pure to the core and pure class

21 Aug 2009

It's a sign of their sweet nature that Sparrow and the Workshop feel the need to apologise for the sweat dripping down most people's backs in the bunker that is Sneaky Pete's. They must surely be the ones most feeling the heat, if the sodden t-shirt of…

The Juan Maclean

A reminder of just how exhilarating live music can be

18 Aug 2009

This was always going to be good one. ‘Jesus, this place is small’ says production lynchpin John Maclean confronted by a wall of 100 bodies in a packed-out Sneaky’s. With four people, a drumkit and half a dozen synths crammed onto a tiny stage, and…

Telepathe

Old-school synths and discrete artistry

14 Aug 2009

Just what, exactly, is affecting young female Brooklynites with such analog aplomb right now? Like fellow New Yorkers Au Revoir Simone, Telepathe’s duo of Melissa Livaudis and Busy Gangnes have picked up a swirl of old-school synths and applied some…

Twin Atlantic - ABC Glasgow, Wed 29 Jul 2009

11 Aug 2009

Twin Atlantic are one of Scotland’s buzz bands. The Glaswegians have already notched up an enviable list of support slots, including with our very own Biffy Clyro, and have been handpicked to open for the Smashing Pumpkins. And tonight, they’ve been…

Super Adventure Club - Captain's Rest, Glasgow, Thu 6 Aug 2009

11 Aug 2009

It’s not very often that a local band comes along and turns your head so much that you’re gyrating like an owl, but Super Adventure Club certainly do the trick. They’re here to bring their super-inventive, jazzy, experimental rock-outs to the ears of…

The Pineapple Chunks vs The Leg

Confusion Is Sex, The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 7 Aug 2009

10 Aug 2009

So what do you get if you put two of Edinburgh’s most maverick and free-spirited guitar-based bands side by side in a nightclub’s upstairs café after midnight, then get them to play their own sets – at the same time? In the case of this curious and…

The Stranglers

HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Fri 7 Aug

10 Aug 2009

The opening night of this year’s Edge Festival, and while young folksters Mumford & Sons are playing the other side of town, it couldn’t be more different at the Picture House as old school punks The Stranglers keep things ‘Nice’n’Sleazy’. Formed in…

Mumford and Sons

Furious energy from indie folk upstarts

10 Aug 2009

The tiny cavern that is Cabaret Voltaire may not be the biggest of venues Edinburgh has to offer, but it’s still some fear for these still relative unknowns from London to sell-out two intense, sweaty nights in a row, especially considering the…

U2 - In the Name of Love

9 Aug 2009

After 30 years at the top, U2 remain an unstoppable force of live performance, global success and critical relevancy. Ahead of their Glasgow date, we ask some prominent figures in music to describe their relationship with the band and explain their…

The Foghorns - Henry's Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, Wed 5 Aug 2009

6 Aug 2009

There’s something dark at the melancholy heart of lead Foghorn Bart Cameron’s country-tinged missives of loves past, present and possible. On a low-key two-date Scottish stopover in a stripped-back duo format, some-time Reykjavik resident Cameron’s…

Rough Cut Nation

Music meets art uptown

29 Jul 2009

Gallery gigs are ordinarily bespoke, underground shop-front affairs that flaunt their art-rock credentials like billy-o. The renovation of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has allowed some of that DIY spirit to mess up its normally plush interior…

Duran Duran - Edinburgh Castle, Thu 16 Jul 2009

23 Jul 2009

‘We are Duran Duran!’ shouts Simon Le Bon, legs spread, hips thrown forward, blonde highlights dipped backwards. ‘The band designed to make your nipples harder!’ Cue hysteria from thirtysomethings who scribbled Mrs Le Bon over school jotters, and man…

Simple Minds - Castle Esplanade, Edinburgh, 18 July 2009

21 Jul 2009

'We're Simple Minds,' swaggered Jim Kerr towards the end of this near two-hour set, 'and we mean business'. In the event, he had a lot of bullish rhetoric to squeeze in late in the show, because the Minds' early forays of the evening had been all but…

Mark Ronson to join Duran Duran at Edinburgh Castle

14 Jul 2009

Duran Duran have confirmed that young music producer Mark Ronson will perform with them at Edinburgh Castle this Thursday, one of two UK appearances this year. The announcement follows their collaboration in Paris last June, when Ronson re-worked…

Download 2009 - Donnington Park, Sun 14 Jun

19 Jun 2009

The sun is shining once again on the hallowed grounds of Donnington and this year’s Download has to have been one of the most successful metal festivals yet, the line-up has been fantastic (Faith No More, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and The Prodigy already…

Stadium rock in Scotland 2009

11 Jun 2009

Mark Robertson gets out his giant foam finger and keeps his fingers crossed that his topless torso turns up on the big screens as we look at just what this summer’s massive outdoor shows have to offer.

Carlos Barat - Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Tue 9 Jun

10 Jun 2009

Carlos Barat was given a warm reception at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall on Tuesday 9th June as he played a rapturous set to thrilled fans. Although the all-seated venue was not sold out, Barat’s energetic performance drew hundreds of fans from their…

Toots and the Maytals - O2 Academy, Glasgow, Fri 29 May

2 Jun 2009

Toots and the Maytals pull in a stunningly diverse crowd. In their UK heyday, the late 70s and 80s, many of the band’s songs were embraced as anthems of radical musical and political movements and for a certain generation they remain a symbol of those…

The Mill

1 Jun 2009

The Mill is a new free music night run in conjunction with Miller beer. But, as David Pollock discovers, the new bands on display are anything but run of the mill.

Futuristic Retro Champions

1 Jun 2009

During music festival season there will likely be lots of ‘cool’ new indie bands thrust upon us. But Anna Docherty meets a bright young band that is unashamedly pop.

10 Best gigs in Scotland

July-August

1 Jun 2009

We Were Promised Jetpacks, Jarvis Cocker, Emiliana Torrini, Malcolm Middleton, Come On Gang, The Cat Empire, The Wilders, Bruce Springsteen, Orkestra Del Sol and Frightened Rabbit.