Issue 590

New Scottish bands

15 Nov 2007

Over the last couple of years, it has sometimes seemed like the end of an era for Scottish indie music. Starting with the amicable split of the seminal Delgados, and, more recently, the demise of Falkirk’s Arab Strap and underrated noiseniks…

Optimo turn ten

15 Nov 2007

The main problem with Optimo (Espacio), to give the club’s full title, is that it’s almost impossible to categorise in one handy soundbite. Keith McIvor (aka Twitch, pictured left) and Jonnie Wilkes (pictured right) both came from a techno background…

Brick Lane

15 Nov 2007

The Brick Lane depicted in Monica Ali’s prize-winning 2003 novel and adapted for the big screen by Sarah Gavron is pretty much gone. While the street remains the spiritual home of the huge Bengali community in London it’s now been overrun by wine bars…

Jason Schwartzman - The Darjeeling Limited

15 Nov 2007

‘I felt like we were kids making a movie,’ says Jason Schwartzman. ‘Every day we set out to work was an adventure. We never knew what was going to happen.’ The 27-year-old American actor might well be reminiscing about his big screen debut in 1998 in…

Eating in Inverness

15 Nov 2007

I’d never really thought about Inverness as a holiday destination. To be perfectly, shamefacedly honest, I hadn’t really ever thought much about Inverness. In an age of £20 flights to Europe, the idea of the weekend city break has come to mean something…

Voodoo Rooms - Spellbound

15 Nov 2007

Renegade, the organisation that gave us Pure and Vegas! now have their very own venue to play with. The Voodoo Rooms is situated in the space above Edinburgh’s Café Royal, restored to its former glory and populated by a mixed roster of nights that take…

Allan Moyle - The Cold High

15 Nov 2007

Filmmaker Allan Moyle is beaming across the table at me: ‘I loved your movie!’ Sensing my confusion he continues: ‘The movie – your movie! Trainspotting!’ Unable to discern the distinction between my Glaswegian accent and the Edinburgh-based epic, he…

Example - Word smart

15 Nov 2007

Even for seasoned trend-spotters and taste makers like those here at The List it isn’t easy to predict which artists will strike a chord with the masses, who will stall before take-off and who will crash and burn. Having conquered press and public…

Peter Dineen - Interview by a vampire

15 Nov 2007

Today the critic is often viewed as a vampire sucking the life out of the artist but it wasn’t alwsys thus. Alexander Pope, for instance, was perfectly able to balance his career as an essayist with that of a poet, with, in fact, the former being more…

Tom Phillips - Word and image

15 Nov 2007

In 1966 the artist Tom Phillips went on a shopping expedition in Peckham, casually looking for a book to play with and adapt. Chance led him to a copy of WH Mallock’s A Human Document, an obscure and relatively forgotten Victorian novel, which the…

Cinema’s most unconventional families

The ties that bind

15 Nov 2007

Wes Anderson has made much of the dynamism of the dysfunctional family in his films. Mark Robertson presents some of cinema’s other most unconventional families The Griswolds from National Lampoon’s Vacation The farcical events of the National…

American Gangster

15 Nov 2007

Ridley Scott’s American Gangster opens with callous urban cruelty as a man is tied to a chair, doused with petrol and set on fire. But the reasons behind this violent act are less to do with anarchy than with good business, or at least that’s the lesson…

Charlie Brooker

15 Nov 2007

COLLECTED JOURNALISM Dawn of the Dumb (Faber) Listening to a verbose man rant on and on about the things that irritate him can be a relentless and exhausting chore at times. Put that down in print and those same demented opinions can appear more…

Beowulf

15 Nov 2007

(12A) 114min Beowulf is being released on four formats: 35mm, digital, digital 3D and IMAX. This review is based on the IMAX version, Beowulf being the first mainstream film to successfully employ this technology. Much of the initial wow factor is…

Rescue Dawn

15 Nov 2007

Born in 1938 in the Black Forest region of Germany, Dieter Dengler never wanted to go to war, he just wanted to fly. After emigrating to America at the age of 18 and completing flight training, in 1966 Dengler found himself on board an aircraft carrier…

In the Shadow of the Moon

15 Nov 2007

This exhilarating British-made documentary about the American lunar programme of the 1960s and 70s serves to remind us just how stirring the best efforts of mankind can be. Assembled under the guidance of director David Sington from a wealth of…

Planet Terror

15 Nov 2007

Cut loose from its Grindhouse packaging Robert Sin City Rodriguez’s freaky, apocalyptic horror film is undoubtedly the baddest, nastiest and least well behaved child to come out of that divorce. But in this case that’s a very good thing. When an…

Charles M Schulz - Small world

15 Nov 2007

It’s the little things that make the difference. In the case of the Charles M Schulz cartoon strips, that could mean the smallest of pen strokes for a raised eyebrow, an extra crease on a forehead, the downward bend on the ends of a mouth. Schulz…

Stereophonics

15 Nov 2007

ROCK SECC, Glasgow, Sun 25 Nov It’s a rock truism. Some bands burn out, some fade away while a few just keep rolling on for an age, undaunted by critical opinion and undimmed in their fans’ affections. Stereophonics are an archetypal example of…

SNJO plays Woody Herman

15 Nov 2007

JAZZ Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Nov; Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Fri 30 Nov; RSAMD, Glasgow, Sat 1 Dec The SNJO have already featured the music of Ellington, Basie and Goodman, so it seems only natural that Tommy Smith and his troops should now…

Fiddle 2007

15 Nov 2007

FOLK Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 16–Sun 18 Nov Asked to name a famous fiddler, most people think of the mysterious character in Fiddler on the Roof, the archetypal lone folk musician, or failing that the lass from The Corrs. Musically, it’s a…

Vieux Farka Toure

15 Nov 2007

WORLD Arches, Glasgow, Sun 25 Nov When Vieux Farka Toure played at WOMAD this year, world music fans were intrigued to see how he would fare. When his father, the great Malian music oracle Ali Farka Toure died in 2006, he left behind a musical…

The Necks

15 Nov 2007

JAZZ The Lot, Edinburgh, Wed 7 Nov Live, the extended improvisations of the Australian trio of pianist Chris Abrahams, drummer Tony Buck and bassist Lloyd Swanson should curl up into an inward-looking heap. Yet, as their recent album, Townsville…

John Spacey

15 Nov 2007

HOUSE Karnival at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Nov Having enjoyed increasing success as a DJ under his BeGoodMusic banner, house DJ John Spacey is making something of a comeback gig here. Spacey (real name John Brownlie) is originally from…

Bamboo Fifth Birthday

15 Nov 2007

HOUSE Bamboo, Glasgow, Sat 24 Nov Despite being a commercial club in the heart of the city, Bamboo’s music policy doesn’t just pander to the mainstream, so it’s definitely worth shouting about the fact that they are five this month. A three-room…

Christmas secrets of the master chefs

15 Nov 2007

MARY CONTINI Our family traditions are tied up with the religious traditions that my grandparents brought across with them from Italy, and are to do with fasting and abstinence in the days leading up to a feast. So on Christmas Eve, we always have…

Pamper perfect

15 Nov 2007

Once, your cut and blow dry experience amounted to a cup of coffee and a flick through the latest fashion glossy. But hairdressing has come a long way with today’s super salons offering a brilliant, modern and elegant array of luxury services. A…

Remote Control

15 Nov 2007

It’s probably not Jack Dee’s fault that comparisons with Curb Your Enthusiasm have been made to his Lead Balloon (BBC2, Thu 15 Nov, 9.30pm ••). Sure, Curb’s ‘Larry David’ and Lead’s Rick Spleen work in similar areas of the entertainment industry and…

Spiders - Eight-legged freak out

15 Nov 2007

A spider fear is an embarrassing thing to admit to. They don’t bite, they don’t sting, they’re almost blind, and yet I find the sight of one running towards me distinctly unsettling. I’d like to be one of those people who scoops them up in her bare…

Roseleaf - Upbeat pub grub

15 Nov 2007

There’s no doubt that the shake-up of pubs nearly two years on from the introduction of the smoking ban is well underway. Most of us have changed our attitudes to pubs in that time – we’ll go more often, but for a shorter time, we’re more likely to eat…

Music DVD Round-Up

15 Nov 2007

Oasis show their capacity to entertain remains undiminished on Lord Don’t Slow Me Down (Sony) ••• which follows Noel and Co round the world on the tour to support Don’t Believe the Truth. More accurately it shows the relentlessness and tedium of touring…

The Persian Revolution

15 Nov 2007

NEW WORK Traverse, Edinburgh, Wed 21–Sat 24 Nov What do we imagine when the word Iran is mentioned? In the West, the frequent response might be images of great masses of conforming folk, all similarly attired, with a succession identical…

Twelve days of Christmas - daily entertainment

15 Nov 2007

1 Norweigan Carol Concert Struggling to tap into the festive spirit? Awaken your seasonal senses at this sonorous evening of family carol singing with a Scandinavian slant. St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, Thu 22 Nov. 2 The Wizard of Oz The…

DVD Roundup

15 Nov 2007

‘No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees/No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!’ That’s how English poet and humourist Thomas Hood chose to describe the month of November. There is some of Hood’s cheeky sense of observation in John Waters: This…

BAFTA - In the spotlight

15 Nov 2007

BAFTA continued to showcase its dedication to short film last week, launching details of this year’s 60 Seconds of Fame initiative. The competition, set up last year, aims to support and encourage the public to participate in filmmaking. Open to anyone…

Also Released - Film

15 Nov 2007

Bug (18) 101min ••• William The Exorcist Friedkin’s film adaptation of Tracey Letts’ nausea-inducing play about a couple of depressed white trash lovers holed up in a rundown hotel, and their slow realisation that something may be crawling under their…

Wristcutters: A Love Story

15 Nov 2007

There’s a thick-blooded vein of Slavic humour running through Croatian writer-director Goran Dukic’s absurdist purgatorial romantic comedy. Adapted from Israeli writer Etgar Keret’s short story, Kneller’s Happy Campers, Dukic’s feature debut boasts a…

Singles & Downloads

15 Nov 2007

There’s a definite sense of gloom hanging over this fortnight’s bunch, particularly from the Glaswegians. Make Model prove that misery needn’t be without a sense of humour in ‘The Was’ (EMI) ••••, whose grungy cries of ‘Comatose stoned/Softening the…

Cinderella’s fella

15 Nov 2007

Matthew Lenton, artistic director of Vanishing Point, explains why he moonlights as a children’s entertainer every December ‘I’m writing and directing Cinderella at Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline this year. I’ve directed their annual panto for the past…

The Pearlfisher

15 Nov 2007

NEW WORK Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended Philip Howard’s final production as the Traverse’s artistic director might be seen to characterise much of his sterling work there over the last decade. His swansong with Iain F MacLeod’s gentle, but…

Smith/Stewart: Enter Love and Enter Death

15 Nov 2007

SCULPTURAL INSTALLATION Royal Botanic Gardens, Inverleith House, Edinburgh, until Sun 20 Jan Simply entering Smith/Stewart’s new exhibition is difficult. Faced directly with a black horizontal girder, one feels tempted to advance, yet hesitant.

Interview - Russell Ferguson

15 Nov 2007

Alexander Kennedy takes a walk in the woods and meets Russell Ferguson, co-owner and curator at Analogue Alexander Kennedy Tell me about the exhibition space at Analogue. Which artists have you shown there and what kind of work do you exhibit?

Gillespie, Kidd and Coia: 1956–1987

15 Nov 2007

ARCHITECTURE The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Sun 10 Feb It’s always difficult to review an architecture exhibition. Do you focus on the realised buildings or the sketches, blueprints and models on show and the way they are presented? At first…

Introducing . . . The GRV

15 Nov 2007

The best new venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh. This month: The GRV, Edinburgh Residents A comprehensive array of local talent providing a variety of styles. Regulars include GT, Joe Jerome and Scottieboy. Guests Lo Fidelity Allstars (pictured…

Dunedin Consort – Buxtehude Anniversary Concert

15 Nov 2007

ANNIVERSARY Queens Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 18 Nov Composers’ anniversaries can be neat pegs upon which to hang concert programmes, with the added bonus that audiences hear music that otherwise might not get much of an airing. In the case of Dietrich…

GHQ

15 Nov 2007

NEW VENUE Allan Radcliffe savours a gay venue with a difference in the capital According to a recent study by Washington’s Urban Institute, which highlighted indicators of a city’s economic success, one of the marks of a thriving urban economy…

Winterfest Glasgow

15 Nov 2007

Glasgow is set to sparkle in suitably gallus style this year, as, for the first time, the various massed events and celebrations are being collected under the non-denominational and kinda cuddly umbrella Winterfest – a programme of ceilidhs, clubs…

A Soldier’s Tale

15 Nov 2007

MUSIC THEATRE Tron, Glasgow, Fri 16–Sat 17 Nov Among what we rather forbiddingly call ‘serious’ or ‘classical’ music composers, perhaps the most frequently performed over the last century, at least in terms of theatre rather than opera, is…

They Make These Noises

15 Nov 2007

NEW PLAY Arches, Glasgow, until Fri 16 Nov The noises in question emanate from the rumbling stomachs of the old boys living in a godforsaken hostel where the theft of a splash of milk can lead to a bloody stabbing. This is where Brian Ferguson’s…

5 Reasons To Go See - The Hives

15 Nov 2007

1 ‘Cos every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man’ Sorry for starting with a ZZ Top quote, but it couldn’t be more apt for this impeccably attired Swedish five-piece garage rock behemoth. Every new record comes accompanied by a razor-sharp new look, and…