Emma Newlands

Exposure: Esther O’Connor

28 Oct 2008

‘I was brought up in a musical and artistic family where to want to do music as a profession was perfectly normal,’ says singer-songwriter Esther O’Connor. Fusing her gorgeous vocals to instantly hummable folk and country-inspired melodies, her music’s…

Psister Psycho

1 Aug 2007

The path to true love never runs smooth, but it’s a bumpier road than usual in unconventional love story Psister Psycho. ‘The eponymous villain is a psychotic arms-dealing lesbian robot nun,’ says Danielle Ward, who last year performed…

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…

Sammy J

Puppetry's Hell's Angel rips Disney a new one

14 Aug 2008

Part of becoming an adult, sadly, is realising that life is not going to turn out as you planned, and that a Disney-style happy ending is something that eludes all but a few of us. Not only has Melbourne-based comedian Sammy J realised this, he's only…

Home work - Tipis and pods

17 Jul 2008

Home work A festival that is boutique in all the right ways, Hydro Connect offers some truly original bespoke accommodation options, as Emma Newlands discovers Ideally, all camping experiences would take place in Jellystone Park with Yogi Bear, or…

Cirque de Sabotage

9 Aug 2007

This female three-piece act proclaims itself as ‘heavily character-driven, comprising sketch-based slapstick and silliness, woven together with verbal dexterity and an extensive wardrobe of props and costumes’. True enough, but then so was the…

The Wynntown Marshals - Westerner

4 Dec 2009

(Charger) Impressively boasting two Keiths and two Iains amongst their ranks, The Wynntown Marshalls say they write songs about ‘love, loss, wars, natural disasters and the otherwise broken ride we like to call life’. More specifically, the songs on…

Jimmy Webb and The Webb Brothers

29 Oct 2009

‘People realise that this is not just another record, this is a family working together,’ says legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, explaining how he recruited various members of his family to make the album Cottonwood Farm in what turned out to be…

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…

Blueflint - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Sep

The local folk duo dazzle

2 Oct 2009

Stories of heartbreak, revenge and plenty more drama besides pepper the lyrics of ace Edinburgh bluegrass banjo duo of Deborah Arnott and Clare-Louise Neilson who play the fingerpickin’ and clawhammer banjo respectively. Their sublime delicate vocal…

Sugar Crisis

Apple Store, Glasgow, Thu 17 Sep

23 Sep 2009

Even before they’ve played a note, the bubblegum pink guitar onstage seems like a sign that this boy-girl duo could well be about to perform a heady sugar rush of fluorescent pop. And so it proves – the short and sweet half hour set reveals a…

T-Model Ford

Authentic blues from the octogenarian

3 Sep 2009

Born James Lewis Carter Ford in Forrest, a small community in Scott County, Mississippi, myth, mystery and awe surround the life of the blues musician better known as T-Model Ford. His exact age, for instance, is unknown even to him, although he is…

Andrew Maxwell

Sparkles with charm and wit aplenty

24 Aug 2009

With many a comedian taking the new offender route, Maxwell proves it's possible to be sharp and boundary-nudging without simply being obnoxious. A friendly presence onstage, our Irish raconteur has the crowd eating from the palm of his hand, amusing…

Ivan Brackenbury

Often-amusing ailment-themed gags

24 Aug 2009

Saying you prefer a band's early material may be a cliché but this year's 'all-new' hospital radio show makes 2008's Brackenbury-induced tears of laughter seem like a dream that can never be recaptured. The inappropriate song choices are still there as…

The Moonfish Rhumba

A jarring clash between the potential and the misfiring, crude reality

19 Aug 2009

Billed as a ‘unique blend of musical mayhem and off-the-wall comedy’, this double act is, at least, visually unique as Dan Lees and Guy Combes sport the looks of a 1930s detective and a Hispanic Freddie Mercury respectively. Their material is a…

Jollie

Story-based songs on various countries

19 Aug 2009

What do you get if you cross two men called John and Ollie? Why, ‘Jollie’ of course! And what do you get if you base an entire hour on their invitation to perform at ‘an important European festival’? Story-based songs on various countries, all delivered…

Holly Burn

A memorably awkward experience

18 Aug 2009

Oh, where to begin? At Home With Holly certainly has a quirkily curious appeal, staged in a lovely New Town flat where the audience gets to watch Holly Burn ‘live her life’. So far, so intriguing. But even before stepping over the threshold, it’s clear…

Dave Thornton

Nearly as hot as a shrimp on a barbie

18 Aug 2009

It would be easy to think the ‘Aussie abroad’ shtick has been done exhaustively from Crocodile Dundee to the many Antipodean stand-ups on the circuit, but Thornton can hold his own with some ‘bonzer’ material. A friendly demeanour, knack for visual and…

The Sunday Defensive

Unfulfilled geek potential

12 Aug 2009

They say bad things come in threes, but two can be just as terrible if this woefully unfunny double act is anything to go by. Phil Gilbert and Jacob Edwards are both geekily handsome and deliver every line with enthusiastic intensity. But it seems clear…

Pete Firman

Jaw-dropping tricks with fast and furious gags

12 Aug 2009

Firman may archly raise an eyebrow when he describes his act as ‘magic and gags, gags and magic: a killer combo’, but many a true word remains spoken in jest. Fusing jaw-dropping tricks with a fast and furious delivery of gags, he combines old school…

Craig Hill

The brutal coupling of a sharp wit and a queen bitch attitude

11 Aug 2009

Explaining how he was once told his act is ‘better than an epidural’, the stresses of the outside world really do become a distant memory when the captivatingly all-singing, all-dancing bekilted Hill is onstage. Basing his act less on scripted material…

Geoff Norcott

Former Nuts man on the more subtle differences between sexes

11 Aug 2009

‘Sexism is kind of funny’ says former teacher and Nuts TV presenter (!) Norcott during the show’s introduction. ‘It gets results in comedy.’ Hey, it worked for Jim Davidson, right? But what could have been a retread of dated material gets a breath of…

Stephen K Amos: The Feelgood Factor

Or maybe not...

10 Aug 2009

Irony is the currency of modern comedy, and Stephen K Amos’ show is undoubtedly an ironic experience; just not, perhaps, in the way he intended. Although it’s pitched as a feelgood experience, his hour turns out to be a very dispiriting one indeed. The…

Hotdoctors: The Downage

Slick DJs, slack comics

10 Aug 2009

As the old saying goes, if a job’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing well. So when it comes to the likes of musical comedy, you get your gems like Spinal Tap or Flight of the Conchords; elsewhere, subversive satire has brought us comedy gold panned by…

Ben Moor

Magical realist storytelling from Festival veteran

7 Aug 2009

‘It’s good to do it again after four years, in front of a live audience,’ says writer/comedian Ben Moor, as he prepares to perform from More Trees to Climb, his recent collection of short stories. Adapted from three of his one-man shows, Moor emphasises…

Sammy J and Heath McIvor's puppetry for grown-ups

Forests, Dreams and Postcards from Purgatory in two new shows

13 Jul 2009

My favourite moments are when puppets break on stage,’ laughs puppeteer Heath McIvor, the man literally pulling the strings behind Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams, the cult adult puppet show which prepares to return to the Fringe this year. ‘There’s…

Beerjacket: Animosity

9 Jul 2009

Like an iron fist in a velvet glove, acoustic troubadour Peter Kelly has wrapped powerful lyrical sentiment inside a delicate musical framework for this stripped-back-to-basics album. And what an album it is, with whispered vocals, plaintive harmonies…

Tongs of praise

28 May 2009

Summer wouldn’t be summer without the irresistible smell of something sizzling away on a barbecue. Although the traditional BBQ may conjure up images of basic burgers and sausages, there are plenty of pubs now offering something more upmarket, whether…

5 Reasons To Go See - 1990s

30 Apr 2009

They love numbers more than Carol Vorderman does. They can turn a bus journey into a sociological study. They get their inspiration from unusual sources. They’re fearless rhymers. They’re cosmically minded.

Basement Jaxx

16 Apr 2009

Ten years since they burst onto the music scene armed with hyperactively genre-hopping debut album Remedy and a carnival-like live act, are dusting down their turntables for a prolonged spell on the live scene this summer. DJs Felix Buxton and Simon…

Cloudberry Records Night

16 Apr 2009

The Cloudberry Records label may be based in Miami, but there is an undeniably Glaswegian influence on the roster of bands on the bill at this jangly guitar showcase. The Catalysts, in the bronze medal position on the line-up podium, are musical gold…

Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years

16 Apr 2009

INDIE (Rough Trade) As per comedian Steven Wright’s line about making his own water, ‘two parts H, one part O’, there is a tried and tested winning formula for Super Furries records, and this, their ninth studio album, is no exception. A handful of…

The ID Parade

19 Mar 2009

ROCK Whether anyone should ever trust a man wearing tassles is a matter for each individual’s conscience to decide. However, even the most hardline fashion police officer would surely turn a blind eye to the flamboyant shirts modelled by at least one…

Beerjacket

19 Feb 2009

Look busy, here comes The Boss! Yep, the legendary Bruce Springsteen paid a spiritual if not physical visit to Oran Mor during a Beerjacket cover of ‘Dancing in the Dark’, and the song’s bittersweet tone and repressed optimism slotted very neatly into…

The Foxes

19 Feb 2009

REVIEW ROCK THE FOXES Named after ‘the great man himself’, as angelic-looking Foxes lead singer Nigel Thomas says, introducing their forthcoming single ‘Bill Hicks’, the band’s closing song is a two-minute-long rifftastic marriage made in heaven of…

Rolo Tomassi

8 Jan 2009

HARDCORE With the current trend for turning any conceivable subject matter into a feelgood singalong musical, it seems only fair and logical that Linda Blair’s most famous film role should be immortalised in song eventually. Or so it would seem…

Esther O'Connor

13 Nov 2008

Brel, Glasgow, Wed 29 Oct An ethereal vision in a white lace corset, voluminous cotton skirt and flowing red hair, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Esther O’Connor had stepped either out of a painting or off the set of a period drama on…

Exposure: Rosie and the Goldbug

10 Nov 2008

Who are Rosie and the Goldbug? Singer Rosie Vanier, who gave her name to the band, explains: ‘We’re from Cornwall, have been together for a year and a half and are made up of me, Pixie the bass player who’s a real life pixie, and Plums the drummer who’s…

Holy Ghost Revival

30 Oct 2008

Not only does the Devil have the best tunes, but he lurks in the detail, and so it proved for this five-piece, religiously obeying all the rock’n’roll clichés. Trashing equipment, leaping out into the audience and sprawling himself across the floor…

Exposure: Findo Gask

22 Oct 2008

Who are Findo Gask? They are Gerard Black, Gregory Williams and Michael Marshall who met at St Andrew’s High School, Kirkcaldy. Now based in Glasgow, legend states that they spent a year practicing in singer Gerard's bedroom above Nice n Sleazy's. But…

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

2 Oct 2008

‘Anyone can suffer from mental health issues, regardless of your walk of life,’ says Idlewild’s Rod Jones, curator of a music evening during the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. ‘It’s something I really wanted to get involved in. It’s…

Iglu & Hartly

2 Oct 2008

ROCK ‘Glasgow make some fucking NOISE! We’re Iglu & Hartly and we’re here to party!’ If you’d ever wondered what would happen if a chiselled boy band took a brace of hook-laden pop songs to the wrong side of the tracks, then this was your answer.

Pearl and the Puppets

4 Sep 2008

With a voice that’s as elegantly fiery as the red dress she wears to take to the stage, Katie Sutherland – aka Pearl – puts on a feistily charming and totally beguiling show for what she tells the crowd is her first-ever gig at Tut’s with the…

The Wave Pictures

4 Sep 2008

This trio may be from London, but the fine city of Glasgow is evidently a spiritual home for singer David Tattersall, who excitedly announces ‘I used to live here. I wrote this here!’ before one of the band’s raw but epic numbers, one of which includes…

Jamie Kilstein

21 Aug 2008

Hey, you know what would be a novel idea for a comedy show? Taking pot-shots at the God-fearing American right from a left-wing perspective! Kilstein evidently thinks his scattergun approach to Republicans and organised religion is edgy, and maybe it is…

Literally

21 Aug 2008

Taking an admirably no-prisoners stance against the abuse and misuse of the word 'literally', Paul Parry delivers his anecdotes and research tongue-in-cheek (though not literally). His smart, dry humour and Viz-style subversive pedantry combine with his…

Craig Campbell

21 Aug 2008

A one-man play that deserves an audience of less, there is probably a clever, poignant story here. It's just very well-hidden behind the screaming, swearing and unimaginative sexual euphemisms - and who can ever tire of simulated masturbation or crazed…

Damian Callinan

Testicular hour fails to tickle

14 Aug 2008

A visit to the sperm bank must rarely be an amusing experience for anybody, and its comedy value has already been extracted, bottled and labelled by humourists with far greater skill than Damian Callinan demonstrates here. The archetypal Aussie's hour…

Dan Nightingale

Dogging and squirrel-based japery

14 Aug 2008

The outlook wasn't good to begin with. In fact there was a palpable air of terror in the room when Dan Nightingale shuffled onstage apologetically, nervously, and admitting that his first few shows this year had not gone well. But to the audience's…

John Gordillo

14 Aug 2008

There are some gems in Gordillo's routine, which showcases him as a quick-witted and eloquent performer with a few killer lines up his sleeve. Universal matters like free-range chickens and the lunacy of circuses ring true for everyone; his father's…

Susan Calman

14 Aug 2008

Stressing there will be 'nothing whimsical' in her show, the likeable Glaswegian lawyer-turned stand-up harks back to her legal roots by mentioning concepts such as 'contributory negligence' in her routine. Her quick-fire patter on friends, family and…

Stephen K Amos

14 Aug 2008

A hurricane of relentlessly energetic charisma, Amos has the crowd eating out of his hand for every second of his set. His comedy targets, including Facebook, American politics and audience members' hometowns tread a well-worn path, but when he hits the…

Diet of Worms

14 Aug 2008

'Let's get this over and done with as quickly as possible,' says one character during yet another interminably dire 'sketch'. Please. A recurring theme here is the tortured equation that a puffin plus a cat is apparently a 'puffincat'. And, therefore…

Craig & Roxburgh

14 Aug 2008

Christopher Hitchens caused outrage when he said women aren't funny. Lucy Craig and Kate Roxburgh, performing feeble gags on family life, poshness and being Brits-who-live-in-LA, are adding treacherous fuel to his fire. This needs 'stand-up' in the…

Wendy Wason

Comedy catharsis lacks bite

7 Aug 2008

Inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's infamous 'known unknowns' comments that were beyond parody, Wendy Wason takes the audience along the rocky path of her marriage break-up (from Steve Furst of Lenny Beige and Orange cinema advert fame) and the lessons it has…

Lloyd Langford

Schoolboy whimsy misses the mark

7 Aug 2008

What do you get if you combine misanthropy and anthropology, as Lloyd Langford promises at the start of his routine? The answer is a disappointingly mixed bag of punchlines from the baby-faced and constantly chipper 24-year-old. The material, delivered…

Bloc Party - A weekend out of the city

17 Jul 2008

'Alluding to a stadium moment is not something to be ashamed of,' grins Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke, 'if it can be done well...' The band's 'agit-jitter guitar pop' not only led to their 2005 debut album Silent Alarm selling a million copies, it…

Kevin McDermott

3 Jul 2008

ROCK Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 23 Jun ‘Was that good?’ says the chipper Scots musician early on in his set, and 20 years into his career as a singer-songwriter. ‘I thought so,’ he adds, tongue in cheek. ‘And I liked the guitar solo.’ But he has every…

John B McKenna, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Over the Wall

3 Jul 2008

ROCK Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Thu 5 Jun Starting with suitably hushed reverence for John B McKenna’s gentle powerhouse of a voice in an acoustic set, and ending with the squawking guitar, pounding keyboard and trumpet combo of Over the Wall, tonight’s…

Sergeant

19 Jun 2008

ROCK/POP King Tut’s, Glasgow, Fri 20 Jun ‘I wasn’t prepared for the sublime genius of Sergeant,’ says Alan McGee, who believes the Glenrothes band is carrying on a great tradition of perfectly-crafted sunny Scottish pop songs. ‘They have that slight…

Black Kids

22 May 2008

INDIE King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 4 Jun They’re not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance with you, but tipped-for-greatness combo Black Kids are hellbent on entertaining the Tut’s crowd as part of their UK and Europe-wide tour. Speaking from…

Natty

10 Apr 2008

REGGAE Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 1 Apr ‘You’ve made my night very enjoyable,’ says Natty at the end of his infectiously sunny set, before needlessly adding: ‘I hope I have yours.’ It’s a suitably charming signing off from this Londoner; fresh from…

Manchester Orchestra

13 Mar 2008

ROCK Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 10 Feb When it comes to compiling the worst album titles of all time, this Atlanta-based five-piece will surely be up there with the likes of Fiona Apple and Limp Bizkit with their second release, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a…

Yellow Bentines

28 Feb 2008

ACOUSTIC Linen 1906, Glasgow, Thu 31 Jan I like to imagine that bands are created in a Weird Science-style lab, and that when they’re complete, they emerge in a puff of dry ice to the delight of their creator. Then again, maybe I should lay off the…

Adele

14 Feb 2008

REVIEW SOUL Classic Grand, Glasgow, Fri 1 Feb Dovetailing two phenomena, namely the fast track route to fame via MySpace and the new crop of ‘60s-style female singers triggered by the combined forces of Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, Adele is most…

The Apple Scruffs

14 Feb 2008

REVIEW ROCK 13th Note, Glasgow, Fri 1 Feb The original Apple scruffs used to hang around waiting to meet The Beatles, and tonight the devotion was so intense that you could have been forgiven for thinking that the door to the 13th Note was a portal to…

Rags and Feathers and Eugene McGuinness

31 Jan 2008

ROCK FOLK ‘Heckle us if you like!’ was a brave challenge from Rags and Feathers frontman Tom Davis, especially as the band was apparently brought to life in this very venue only a few months previously. But there was nothing to find fault in during a…

Beerjacket and Kate Sutherland

17 Jan 2008

ACOUSTIC Brel, Glasgow, Thu 20 Dec Katie Sutherland’s motivation for picking up a guitar was, she explains: ‘I wanted to do more than listen. I wanted to play. So I bought a Jim Deacon and taught myself guitar.’ It proves to have been a very wise…

Technophobes and Iamchemist

4 Jan 2008

ELECTRO POP Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 16 Dec Marty McFly was the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born. Lamentably, I reckon I was the only person in the audience to get into trouble before either Technophobes or iamchemist were…

Luva Anna - review

29 Nov 2007

Barfly, Glasgow, Fri 9 Nov Dundee may currently be famous musically for giving the world The View, but other than a similar capability for whipping the audience into a frenzy, it’s clear from their opening, perfectly harmonised sea shanty that Luva…

Chi Weapon - review

29 Nov 2007

The Beat Club, Glasgow, Wed 7 Nov For every band breaking new territory by moving too fast to be pigeon-holed, there are plenty more who are spreading themselves too thinly. Chi Weapon, originally from Bute but now Glasgow-based, live up to their…

Paul Vickers & The Leg

15 Nov 2007

ROCK Nice’n’Sleazy’s, Glasgow, Tue 6 Nov Rock’n’roll clichés, eh? Musicians trashing their instruments, throwing TVs out of their hotel room windows, and erm... their backing bands modelling terrifying panda-meets-voodoo-skeleton outfits. The…

The Graduate

20 Sep 2007

ROCK Barfly, Glasgow, Thu 6 Sep ‘Did you see his hair? Did you see his arms? Did you see his teeth?’ The post-gig analysis comes in many forms, but for some it had an overwhelmingly teenybopper feel when The Graduate left the stage after this…

Plain White T's

6 Sep 2007

ROCK ‘We are the Plain White T’s from Chicago. And we’re super excited about this tour!’ Sharing that enthusiasm was the unusual occurrence of a squealing audience of young ladies in the Tut’s crowd, but despite a promisingly frenetic start, things…

Flavour of the month

23 Aug 2007

Food at festivals is too often hit and miss. At best you may find some culinary treat that shocks and delights the pallette, while others are there to fill a hole as you rush from stage to stage between bands. But the organisers of Connect are…

Shazia Mirza

23 Aug 2007

Most notorious for her line about the name on her pilot’s licence, Brummie comic Mirza here conjures up plenty more where that came from. The point she makes is as important as the quality of her material, lampooning the audience for choosing to see…

Tanyalee Davis

16 Aug 2007

She may be 3ft 6in, but describing herself as ‘low to the ground and kind of racy’ reflects that that there is definitely nothing small about Tanyalee’s personality. Her self-deprecating humour provides a fair few laughs detailing the trials and…

Stephen Carlin

16 Aug 2007

Examining and dissecting popular culture is a hurdle that has felled many a stand-up, but the very dapper Carlin has some aces up his sleeve with a seemingly laid-back delivery revealing extremely shrewd and highly amusing observations. Technical…

Jim Bowes

9 Aug 2007

Whether WMDs can be launched within 45 minutes may be debatable, but a far safer bet would be to spend that length of time in the company of Bowes. An affable and enthusiastic host, he guides us along the journey from polite to increasingly assertive…

Stuckey and Murray

9 Aug 2007

A musical comedy act is a tough tightrope to walk at the best of times, and although the camaraderie of this duo is impossible to fault, it proves that a song doesn’t automatically become funny because it contains the word ‘douchebag’. One to avoid if…

The Queef of Terence

9 Aug 2007

The insincerity and superficiality of daytime TV make a ripe target for lampooning, and the three stars of Queef start out promisingly in this supposed pilot for a show. With a finely-tuned sense of character acting and comic timing, they deserve a…

Stephen Grant

1 Aug 2007

‘Comedy just pokes at problems, rarely confronts them squarely,’ Woody Allen once said. He didn’t, however, reckon with Stephen Grant whose self-proclaimed mission this August is not only to ‘obliterate untruths and punish inaccuracies’, but to solve…

The Be Good Tanyas

16 Jul 2007

ROOTS THE BE GOOD TANYAS City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 22 July ‘We approach music simply, very simply,’ says Sam Parton of Vancouver-based trio The Be Good Tanyas. ‘In terms of production, we don’t tend to stray too far from what our capacities…

Summer in the City

3 Jul 2007

It’s summer. Well, as close as it gets to summer in Scotland. Sunshine is carefully rationed so when it does make an appearance you’d better be prepared to make the most of those breaks in the cloud. Here we present some of the best ideas for enjoying…

Candie Payne

21 May 2007

MELANCHOLIA Phil Spector’s name may now be more likely to be linked at the moment to incarceration than innovation, but the eccentric New Yorker’s influence still casts a powerful shadow over the performance by diminutive Scouse songstress Candie…

Amy Macdonald

King Tut’s, Glasgow, Tue 13 Mar

27 Mar 2007

ACOUSTIC POP I thought that if you had an acoustic guitar, a wise man once said, then it meant that you were a protest singer. Quite what he’d make of 19-year-old Amy Macdonald is difficult to predict; her lyrical targets include reality TV, ‘the…