Issue 634

Foundation Glasgow – The Growth of a City

23 Jul 2009

A new exhibition is being launched in Glasgow next month, chronicling the history of the city. Foundation Glasgow – The Growth of a City will be a free animated exhibition charting the historic emergence and development of Scotland’s largest city.

Taking Back Sunday on tour

23 Jul 2009

Taking Back Sunday have had so many line-up changes since their inception in 1999 that they’re now printing T-shirts with the slogan ‘I used to be in Taking Back Sunday’. So have they sent one to former bassist, Fred Mascherino, who had an acrimonious…

The Conversation Piece: Scenes of Fashionable Life

23 Jul 2009

PAINTINGS ‘One or two paintings in this exhibition may be satirical; the majority … celebrate the prosperity, elegance and pleasure of fashionable life in Holland and England.’ Leaving aside the £5.50 entrance fee to cop a glimpse of a des-res…

The Big Tent Festival

23 Jul 2009

‘There is a real sense of belonging and connection to something at the Big Tent Festival,’ explains the event’s programme director Mike Small. ‘The message is more “come join us” than “gimme your money”.’ Set up in July 2005, the…

LGBT Edinburgh Fringe Highlights

23 Jul 2009

This year’s Fringe features a good scattering of shows for those of an LGBT persuasion. Theatre pleasures range from dramatic monologues such as Jeffrey Solomon’s Mother/Son (Sweet Grassmarket, pictured above), which charts the writer/performer’s…

The Space Between - an exhibition by Fiona Watson

23 Jul 2009

ETCHINGS & PRINTS The printing workshop and gallery at Glasgow Print Studio (GPS) is currently closed due to relocation to Trongate 103. Every month its retail outlet across the road, Gallery III, invites a workshop member to show a selection of work.

Food For Thought - Green MSP Patrick Harvie

23 Jul 2009

As someone who stays in bed till the last possible minute each morning, too many of my breakfasts are missed, or consist of whatever I can grab on the way to the day's first meeting. This morning that means a Pret baguette and a black coffee from the…

Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes

Delightfully disgusting storytelling

23 Jul 2009

It’s nearly 30 years since the publication of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, yet the gory tales still captivate. Clem Silverman and Lewis Baker from the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire are capitalising on this enduring narrative magic with readings…

Rumba

23 Jul 2009

Written and directed by the triumvirate of Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy, Rumba is a deadpan Belgian tragi-comedy, in which the clowning of the characters goes hand-in-hand with a series of disastrous setbacks in their lives. Happily…

5 Things You Might Not Know About: Janey Godley

23 Jul 2009

1 Having run a pub in Glasgow, Janey Godley was born to tame wild audiences and a stand-up career beckoned. But as well as her progression on comedy stages, she’s a playwright, serial blogger and community worker, having helped kids in drug-rampant…

Merchant City shopping

23 Jul 2009

As a shopping mecca, Glasgow seldom disappoints with its range of high street emporiums and vintage hangouts. Straddling the divide between old and new, Merchant City encompasses the city’s ethos for boasting something for everyone. Fifi & Ally’s…

Zeitgeist

Butoh-inspired bravery

23 Jul 2009

Created by innovative Queensland-based Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, Zeitgeist comes to the Fringe loaded with intrigue and unabashed sex appeal. According to director, Lynne Bradley, audiences can expect ‘55 minutes of nightmarish fantasy and eight…

Peter Duncan's Daft and Dangerous

Family-friendly romp down memory lane

23 Jul 2009

When you start life having your nappy changed by Danny La Rue, it’s fair to say you’re not going to have a run-of-the-mill career. Growing up in a show business family, Peter Duncan spent his childhood backstage, and most of his adult life tackling…

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…

Bronto Skylift and The Gap Year Riot

23 Jul 2009

Two-piece bands are an irregular find these days, especially ones who can make this much noise. With a simple set-up of drums, guitar and one hell of a screeching set of lungs, Glaswegian duo Bronto Skylift easily cram this modest venue with their…

Paul Cornell & Leonard Kirk - Captain Britain and MI13: Secret Invasion & Hell Comes to Birmingham

23 Jul 2009

The first two compilations of TV-writer Paul Cornell’s new run on Captain Britain kicks off during the huge Secret Invasion. Neatly setting itself in the Marvel universe, Cornell (whose credits include Doctor Who, Robin Hood and Coronation Street) has…

Ariel Leve - The Cassandra Chronicles

23 Jul 2009

‘There are two things in life I enjoy. Talking on the phone and drinking coffee. Better yet, talking on the phone while drinking coffee. That’s about it.’ Welcome to the wonderfully dark and witty world of Ariel Leve. This collection of her much-loved…

Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra - Metamorphic Rock

23 Jul 2009

Hard on the heels of the Orchestra’s GIOpoetics disc from the Creative Sources label in Lisbon comes this recording on the Glasgow-based Iorram Records (http://iorram.blogspot.com/), run by three members of the band. The music was recorded during the…

Conman - a comic thriller by Richard Asplin

23 Jul 2009

Comic memorabilia shop owner, young family man, and general nerd Neil Martin finds himself in a rollicking British fix: the stock-filled basement of his shop has been flooded and he’s been less than scrupulous with his insurance payments. Enter…

Borders Tunesmiths - Borders Traditions Vol. 6

23 Jul 2009

The Borders Traditions series of CDs issued by the Scottish Borders Council to showcase the traditional music of the area has generally concentrated on precisely that, but this sixth volume in the sequence takes a slightly different tack by offering new…

Zed-U debut album - Night Time on the Middle Passage

23 Jul 2009

Zed-U are a London-based trio made up of saxophonist and clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings, bassist Neil Charles and drummer Tom Skinner. Their debut album has the feel of a work-in-progress, but an intermittently intriguing one. There are a couple of…

Bap Kennedy - Howl On

23 Jul 2009

Belfast-born singer-songwriter, Martin (or Bap) Kennedy, has been treading the rocky boards for nigh-on 20 years having led minor hitmakers, Energy Orchard, on their unsustainable UK Top 60 debut in 1990. Once sharing a stage with mentor, Van Morrison…

Cruiser - Happy Robots:Programmed to Love You

23 Jul 2009

Despite a touring schedule which might fairly be described as minimal, Fife’s long-serving Cruiser are still criminally under-rated. So anything that gets the gospel out there – particularly a well-realised remix version of their last album Happy…

Joyriders - Others Caught on But They Never Caught Up

23 Jul 2009

They coulda been contenders. At the start of the 90s, Edinburgh noiseniks Joyriders were contemporaries and friends of The Lemonheads and Nirvana, yet somehow conspired not to make it big. This Japanese released retrospective collection shows what the…

Master Shortie - ADHD

23 Jul 2009

Adopting a grassroots approach to music, taking control of his own marketing and distribution shows this 19-year-old Londoner is determined to be master of his own musical destiny. What he presents is a diverse blend of hip hop, grime infused with…

Knifeworld - Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat

23 Jul 2009

After a few of the scattergun offerings on this, the solo debut from guitar visionary Kavus Torabi, images of great great and the good of the tripped out 90s indie come drifting into focus including Levitation and The Cardiacs.Fitting perhaps as Torabi…

Various - Soma Coma Vol III

23 Jul 2009

Glowing ambient melodies here invite you to get horizontal, maybe stare at something moving in slow-motion, and zone out. A soft, melodic flip-side to the label’s techno and electro releases, it’s best enjoyed in one long spaced-out chunk, like an aural…

Gareth Sager - Slack Slack Music

23 Jul 2009

This is aptly named, because this debut solo album from a founder member of post-punk legends The Pop Group is an unhinged, ramshackle affair, with scattershot tactics producing moments of grin-inducing wonder and cringeworthy dreadfulness in equal…

Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

23 Jul 2009

Imagine Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons fronting vintage Talking Heads. It might just work, right? Wrong, at least in the hands of Kendal kids Wild Beasts, it is. Maybe it’s all in the execution, which is at best seriously underwhelming and…

DJ Kevin Saunderson hits Glasgow

23 Jul 2009

It’s always a pleasure to witness a set from Detroit hero Kevin Saunderson, one of the DJs who can truly claim a stake in the birth of techno as we know it on the streets of Motor City. But beyond his standing in dance music history he’s also a…

Alyn Cosker Trio

23 Jul 2009

Flexing some proper musical muscle in this genuinely innovative power trio format, Cosker infuses his musical hybrid with the many flavours he absorbs from his other adventures, be it rock, jazz, folk or beyond. Here, it’s a case of balancing the…

Jam the Box meets Rebel Waltz

23 Jul 2009

Starting from humble beginnings at Edinburgh’s City Café, Rebel Waltz have now made their home in London’s East Village via many successful years in Barcelona at City Hall and La Terrazza. So it’s great to see Murray Richardson and Stuart Patterson back…

Buckcherry

23 Jul 2009

Back in support of latest album Black Butterfly are LA’s Buckcherry. Upon completion of current European tour they will be heading to off to support KISS on their tour of North America and Canada. Expect good old-fashioned rock’n’roll from these dudes…

Edinburgh Mela Festival

23 Jul 2009

The Edinburgh Mela Festival is returning to Pilrig Park this year for its usual celebration of cultural diversity in Scotland, taking place between 7–9 Aug. The BBC Asian Network are on board for the first time and will be broadcasting live from the…

Book Festival director stands down

23 Jul 2009

Catherine Lockerbie, the director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, has stepped down from her position after a 9-year tenure. Lockerbie leaves behind one of the most respected book festivals in the world, thanks largely to her commitment…

Dead Man’s Waltz

23 Jul 2009

Otherwise know as Injuns, DMW are the slightly more eccentric de-incarnation of their more subdued counter parts. Live shows promise to be something of a mystical experience aiming to blur the lines between gig, audience and band to create something…

The Godfather re-issued

23 Jul 2009

Francis Ford Coppola’s murderous masterpiece The Godfather is set to return to cinemas on 25 September. The re-mastered working of the film will see it restored to pristine condition for its return to the big screen. The 1972 original was responsible…