Issue 642

Hitlist: Visual art

The fortnight's most fascinating artworks and exhibitions

15 Oct 2009

Running Time, Taking Liberties: John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, David Austen: My love, I have been digging up my own bones in the garden again, Torsten Lauschmann: The Darker Ages, Charlie Hammond: The New Improvement Scheme, Lara Favaretto, An Entangled Bank

Invasion and Jackie Treehorn - Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Tue 13 Oct

15 Oct 2009

The power of the press is something that can be overstated. Evidence of this is the glowing notices given to Invasion by both NME and Kerrang! of late which state them to be the finest new rock ensemble anywhere. Such fawning hasn’t made it out here in…

King Khan and the Shrines - Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 4 Oct

Camp Motown funk madness

15 Oct 2009

When a man takes to the stage sporting a leopard print jacket and a precarious headdress of ostrich-feathers, listen up. Not that tonight’s supports were mundane: local troublemakers Black Rat Death Squad thrashed and cussed like slack-jawed pop punkers…

Dream Theater - SECC, Glasgow, Sun 11 Oct

Prog rockers entertain

15 Oct 2009

Progressive metal godfathers Dream Theater are here tonight for their Progressive Nation tour, and they bring with them some buddies who share their insatiable love for odd-timings and guitar wankery. Sub-headliners Opeth impress with their melancholic…

James Apollo - The Caves, Edinburgh, Tue 6 Oct

Ecstatic Americana

15 Oct 2009

Some people might say that rock’n’roll isn’t all about having great hair. But these people are fools! James Apollo has a truly spectacular quiff and a rockabilly sound of equally high calibre that both get an awe-inspiring showcasing in the…

Hitlist: Comedy

A fortnight of laughs

15 Oct 2009

Alun Cochrane The daydreaming Yorkshire lad who was born in Glasgow gives us the kind of blistering show that earned a mighty five stars from us in August. The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 26 Oct; The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 27 Oct. Daniel Kitson He…

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

15 Oct 2009

What really went on in the household of Frida Kahlo and her painter husband, Diego Rivera? Their stormy relationship, full of extra-marital flings and break-ups, is probably as famous as their art, and the curiosity factor grows when they sheltered Leon…

Hitlist: Music

Another fortnight of fantastic gigs

15 Oct 2009

Camera Obscura, Oxjam 2009, Phoenix, Biffy Clyro, Julie Fowlis, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent, Cluthc, Kylsea, Kamchatka

Rockers and Rollers by Brian Johnson

15 Oct 2009

AC/DC singer and sometime amateur racer Brian Johnson measures his ride along the highway to hell above all not in sex, drugs or rock’n’roll, but automobiles. Motors are the Geordie petrolhead’s passion – from E-Type Jags to TVRs, Rolls Royce Phantoms…

The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi by Andrew McConnell Scott

15 Oct 2009

This sprightly biography of Britain’s most famous clown is inevitably prefaced by the Grimaldi family tree. This is a particularly handy illustration, given the Olympic appetite of his father, ‘the Signor’ – a true bastard it seems – for copulation.

Mike Stern - Big Neighbourhood

15 Oct 2009

Guitarist Mike Stern sees the big neighbourhood analogy as central to his musical philosophy as well as a way of encompassing the diverse line-ups and musical styles on this latest album. Recorded in New York, Los Angeles and Texas (and that is a very…

John Abercrombie - Wait Till You See Her

Refined chamber jazz, with a bit of a swing

15 Oct 2009

Guitarist John Abercrombie continues to refine the chamber jazz approach he has developed in this excellent quartet in recent years, although bassist Thomas Morgan takes over from Marc Johnson on this occasion, alongside regulars Mark Feldman on violin…

TMSA - Young Trad Tour 2009

15 Oct 2009

The bands assembled annually by the Traditional Music and Song Association for the Young Trad Tour draw their personnel from the finalists in the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year award, fought out each January at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.

Hudson Mohawke - Butter

The LuckyMe producer has more soul than Prince

15 Oct 2009

In some strange alternate universe, young Glasgow producer Ross Birchard (aka Hudson Mohawke) is as famous and respected as Timbaland, The Neptunes or Diplo. His productions, a fierce amalgam of R&B, wonky rave and smooth 80s soul, demonstrate that a…

Kiss - Sonic Boom

Rock Gods swagger in once more

15 Oct 2009

It’s been 11 long years since Kiss’s last studio album. While they are rock gods across the globe only ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ really broke in the UK, which is a crying shame as they are one of the most electrifying bands the world has ever seen. A concept…

Sergeant - Sergeant

15 Oct 2009

Time was, a few words of praise from Alan McGee were enough to see a jangling indie band on their way to a batch of hits and national touring at a decent level for the next decade. Now all it really guarantees is that they, like he, listened to a lot of…

The Book of Genesis

A comic book bible

15 Oct 2009

Biblical scenes have inspired some of the greatest works of art ever created, but it’s been decades since a major artist tackled theology in a big way. Until now that is, as the legendary illustrator Robert Crumb retells the first book of the Bible…

Rupa and the April Fishers - Este Mundo (This World)

15 Oct 2009

With their second album, Rupa and the April Fishers establish themselves at the cutting edge of world music. Their unusual name, top-quality musicianship and linguistic versatility, fused by the eclectic ideas of a second generation brought up on world…

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula

15 Oct 2009

Following on from Segu Blue, his award-winning debut album, Kouyate offers us a denser sound with his wife Amy Sacko’s glorious voice well to the fore. Championing the language of his own Malian ethnic group, he charges the sound with the energy of live…

Scottish Style Awards

Sophie Ellis-Bextor presents the design awards

15 Oct 2009

It had better not be Murder on the Dancefloor (oh yes, I think you see what we did there) at oor annual fashion awards this year, as angular style icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor takes on the hosting duties, with this year’s lads-most-likely-to, The Phantom…

Topdog / Underdog

Two brothers with opposing views in Pulitzer winning play

15 Oct 2009

The Citizens Company presents the Scottish premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play about two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, who have very different ideas about how to escape their troubled upbringings. While Lincoln strives to earn an…

Volume!

Dubstep delights on an Edinburgh night

15 Oct 2009

Edinburgh’s premier dubstep specialists are back for another one off special. This time they highlight two rising stars that go for the jugular with the dark and brutal beats of Reso (pictured) who adds hardcore breaks and techno to the pot with…

Modern Lovers

Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite performs the DJing honours at this psych-rock night

15 Oct 2009

If you are looking for a mix of psych-rock, garage funk, sonic rock’n’roll and Motown classics that has a retro soundtrack but isn’t stuck in the past Modern Lovers is the perfect prescription. This fortnight expect an even heavier, darker version of…

Diwali at the Square

The Hindu Festival of Light in Glasgow

15 Oct 2009

Never mind the dubious sectarianism of Bonfire Night. Come early November, George Square is going to be submerged in light for much more joyful reasons, with a fire, light and dance spectacular in celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light.