Issue 627

5 of the best - Tattoo parlours

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Terry’s Tattoos, Old Town Tattoos, Tribe, Forever More Tattoos, Studio XIII

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam

16 Apr 2009

Cirque du Soleil might be celebrating its 25th birthday this year, but the French-Canadian company, which has made a name for itself across the world with its foundation-shifting take on traditional circus acrobatics, shows no signs of lagging behind in…

The big picture: Tracey Emin - Sweet Thing

16 Apr 2009

Brit art brat Tracey Emin is one of 50 contemporary artists, including Peter Howson and Douglas Gordon, featured in an exhibition of works inspired by Robert Burns. Emin’s ‘Sweet Thing’ was based on the bard’s poem ‘Nine Inch Will Please a Lady’. So. Is…

5 of the Best - Hairdressers

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Boosh, Sublime, Jar Hair, Anton Steele, Emma Hall

Profile - Riz Ahmed

16 Apr 2009

Born 1 December 1982 Background London Riz Ahmed graduated from Oxford with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics before training as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He came to prominence playing Shafiq Rasul, a member…

Alestorm

16 Apr 2009

Trying to confuse us all with yet another music subgenre, Alestorm are purveyors of pirate metal and are proud of it. Yes, you heard right. The pirates from Perth have made a splash in the metal community and are turning heads across Europe and beyond.

Glasgow - The West End

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Glasgow - The West End Leafy, artistically inclined, fashionable, but not in a corporate way, dear me no, the West End is one of the most beautiful – and thoroughly self–contained – areas of Glasgow. It is fed into by the students of the nearby…

Glasgow - Merchant City

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

From the polished windows and grand granite buildings on Ingram Street to the lo-fi galleries that line Parnie Street, the Merchant City is a tale of two shoppers: as one strolls in and out of top boutiques, paper bags flapping in the wind and metal…

5 of the best - Online accessories

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

The internet has proved a boon for young, talented Scottish designers who can't afford to rent premises. Here are some of our favourites.

Big Ned - Big Ned

16 Apr 2009

(Optimo Music) The third release and first album from this new label isn’t what anyone who still believes Optimo is just a club night will be expecting. The brainchild of D James Clark and John Murray (and band), Big Ned is a seedy, guitar-propelled…

Edinburgh - Old Town

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Independent shops in the capital’s historic centre, presided over by Edinburgh Castle, take their aesthetic responsibilities seriously. That’s not to say that they’re all authentically restored and historically preserved properties frozen in time, nor…

Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette & John Totleben - Saga of the Swamp Thing

16 Apr 2009

COMICS/SUPERHERO There’s no point going over old ground: if you have even the vaguest interest in comics you’ll know of the genius of Alan Moore. Watchmen, V For Vendetta and From Hell are established classics of the medium, as of course is Saga of…

Profile - Ron Peck

16 Apr 2009

Born 15 May, 1948, South London Background Even in his bookish, middle-class youth the now-sexagenarian Peck was determined to become a filmmaker. ‘It was three strands that made cinema very vital and alive for me,’ he says, citing as major…

Paul Wunderlich: Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper From Six Decades

16 Apr 2009

REVIEW MIXED MEDIA Compass Gallery’s museum-style six-decade retrospective of this German-born octogenarian visual artist is a voice from the past, articulating the development of style, technique and medium across the last century and into this, and…

Five Comedy Things to Watch on TV

16 Apr 2009

The Inbetweeners Series two gets into its stride as Will’s birthday looms. He’s planning a suitably grown-up dinner with a few close friends, and, naturellement, any girls they can persuade to come. E4, Thu 16 Apr, 10pm. Reno 911! More spoof…

Exposure: Ingested

16 Apr 2009

If you’re finding metal just isn’t doing it for you any more, why not delve into the brutal world of death metal, a hardcore body blow of sound accompanied by guttural vocals? This fortnight there’s a bumper bill of extreme noise with Manchester’s…

The Xcerts - In the Cold Wind We Smile

16 Apr 2009

(Xtra Mile/King Tut’s Recordings) After relentless touring schedules, tremendous support appearances and several EPs, The Xcerts finally release their long awaited debut album. Filled with the most heart-wrenchingly catchy pop-rock melodies around…

Beltane Fire Festival

16 Apr 2009

What’s that coming over Calton Hill? Yes, it’s the annual Beltane Fire Festival, complete with fire, frolics and lashings of body paint. Celebrating the beginning of the summer season, the unique festival draws inspiration from ancient Gaelic traditions…

Hinterland: Sounds and the City

16 Apr 2009

Just because it’s a brand new festival doesn’t mean Hinterland is free from pressure. The weight of expectation building up behind Glasgow’s two-day music bonanza is considerable. Partly this is because the one-ticket, multiple-venue format hasn’t been…

Independent Shopping guide: Introduction

16 Apr 2009

In a recession, small businesses are usually hit worst. Shopping Editor Kirstin Innes channels the spirit of the Blitz as she launches our campaign to support local, independent shops

5 of the Best - Ethical Shopping

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Entrading, Seesaw Toys, Bolshie, Flux, Organic Pleasures.

Glasgow - Southside

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

The actual boundaries of the Southside are a much debated issue, says Allistair Burt, who runs the Southside Happenings blog. ‘Everyone agrees that it starts at the river, but where does it end? The general consensus seems to be somewhere between…

Shifty - High times

16 Apr 2009

‘I said God damn, God damn the pusher man.’ From Easy Rider’s doomed wild hogs to Denzel Washington’s Harlem kingpin in American Gangster, I’ve enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with cinema’s dealers and peddlers. I’ve laughed my socks off with Cheech and…

Shifty

16 Apr 2009

(15) 85min After a four-year absence Chris (Danny Mays) returns to his hometown, the fictional Dudlowe, in the south of England. He has come to make amends to his old friend and small-time drug dealer Shifty (Riz Ahmed). Something happened between…

5 of the Best - Institutions

Independent Shopping Guide

16 Apr 2009

Armstrongs, Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop, Mr Ben’s, Avalanche, Word Power