FOLK
BERT JANSCH Revisiting guitar maestro
Bert Jansch does such a charming 'l’le :n patter that it's easy to forget he happens to be one c‘ pop inusc's nnost 0‘!uet‘tial gu'tarsts. L kt: Sean Connery. the one- time Edicou’gh schoolboy used to deliver milk on the streets of the capital. and he ikes to divert Scottisn aud ences with the Cur'ous ta’e of how his accent turned into that of the arcnetycai Englisn foka during the t960s boom which brOught him to fanne. Now based in London. the Scot is a freouent Visitor home. and his Fringe concert th s year will see hih“ jO ned Cy gunarist Johnny Hodge to peddle the disti 'ation of ‘American clues singers and Scots — and other — tradit'or‘a: Singers' which has informed the sty e of Jimmy Page and countless other musicians. Catch PM i you can. for Jensen says
rt m be some time yet before he's ready to fulfil h s drea.m ct settlihg pack n the Borders.
Ninian Dunnett
I Reid Hall. 662 8740. Wed 27 Aug. 9. 750.01
2': 72 0:70;
CLASSCA._ BEETHOVEN - COMPLETE WORKS FOR CELLO AND PIANO
Ludwig gets strung up
Vinth the boy contdence .n programming that only the Fringe can nspere. the award-wnmng yOUng cello and piano duo of Robin Michael and Sarah Nicolls take on even/thtng that Beethoven wrote fOr their combination and present it over two conseCutive evenings. ‘lt's a huge proiect.' says Nicolls. “and the piano part alone is like a book that's an inch thick.‘ It at; started when M:chael had the chance earlier in the year to play all of BaCh's sclo ceilo suites. 'Being able to concentrate on one composer and to go
50 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE i5—22 Aug 200
tnrotign the whoe range 0‘ their work was a great experence.’ he says. 'Beethoven wrote f ve cello sonatas in iota. as well as three sets 0‘ varations. The sor‘atas spread over his \.r./no'e .it'e. so you get to see nis develoon‘ent as a corr‘ocser. It's fascinat ng to WOM on he Music in t" s ‘.'./ay.' Caroi Man:
I St Mark's Unitarian Church 226 0000. 20 8 2'7 Aug. 7.30pm, 2’38 526/.
INDIE. ROCK
SL RECORDS NIGHT:
BALLBOY THE STARLET , DESC
AND BARRICHELLO Realcapfial entertainment
Edinburgh's SL Records have had the priVilege of being taken lovmgfy to
heart by John Peel. and as such these bands are
‘ronting the rev:va! of sorely-m ssed. hearty. home-grown music r‘ the c pitai.
Particular Pee ‘aves ba'icoy seem to be spearhead ng the renaissance as the Arab Strap you'd take home to meet yOur mum. The songwriting craft of frontrhan Gordon McIntyre :s indisputable: nzs monologues. veering from ra'hb'hg daydreams (‘A Day in Space'l to mere 0 unt epithets i"l Hate Scotland) are certainly the band's focus. but this :sn't to deny some gorgeous sh ny pop bacwng.
Barely playing second f;ddle are melancholy poosters the Starlets. stuck somewhere between Bacnarach and the Velvet Underground: Desc. whose name practically inVites the
ROCK BADLY DRAWN BOY Badly meaninggoodly
How many times do yOu hear Bruce Springsteen and Hugh Grant mentioned in the same breath? Yet a Bruce-loving bloke. named after a 70s cartoon character can s0undtrack a film starring the bumbling fop to glorious effect. in fact. success comes easy to the cooler of the cats with hats. Damon Gough. He came out of NAM (the new acoustic movement. that is) fighting fit after 2000's Mercury Award winning The Hour of Bewi/derbeast sold 300.000 copies and proved there was more to acoustic guitars and playful melodies than the sob- alongs his peers were making.
Gough had won the hearts and tickled the fancies of every guitar-loving troubadour this side of Starsailor. but hard times lay ahead. Troubled by his sudden meteoric rise. Gough's live performances became somewhat erratic. He'd play snippets of songs in sets of three hours or more and walk off when audience appreciation was unsurprisingly thin. Basking in glory was simply not the Badly Drawn Boy way. Now having taken time out from the fame game and neatly side-stepped the ‘difficult' second release with sunshinin' soundtrack About a Boy. he's near to finishing a second album proper and celebration has come in the form of a selection of live dates and festivals.
Gough triumphed at T in the Park. made waves at Meltdown and got glOry at Glasto. and Straight after V2002. he heads up north fo.r this exclusive Edinburgh date which finds him at the top of his game and for the first time truly enjoying it. There will. however. always be unpredictability to the loveable Manc so let's relish him while we've got the chance. (Camilla Pia)
I Corn Exchange, 0870 7690700. 79 Aug. 7.30pm, £7 5.
some of the most intense nnuSical experiences on the ange.
On the 18th there's singer/fiodler Eliza Carthy (she sometimes brings her dad. and it
Ducky to take ur‘ imiteo
otshots at describing their dark. intense
cund: and upbeat boosters Barricne -o. O'ay'ng .nventive meiooies that won them a List Single 0‘ the
Fortnight. you don't know wno ne Not at all bad for a is — shame) mixed in a blue note. musical salad Witn Ulster
(Jan F. Zeschky‘, I La Be/le Ange/e, 226 7070. 22 August.
guitar hero Colen Reid and the performance poetry and lazz bass of
7.30pm, £5. Cruikshank and WeISh. On the 25m. NOTA's 306%208': THE So'r'tua leaders Mr ABOVE McFa.:'s Chamber bring A magnificent musical the" emu-3'39 meIange muSiCianshio (members
0‘ the Scott s'n Chamber
NOTA. No: a band. no.r Orchestra) to bear on
even a venue. though is genesis is ih the greenhouse of Out of the Blue Bongo Club. None of the Above is the fractal border where old forms collide and new forms are created. Usually a monthly event. at Festival time NOTA goes weekly. always on a Sunday and gameiy trying to kick off at its Supposed 8.300m. but in its laid-back boho GCIGCI'Clsm produc ng
anything from Jooiic Janis not Scott‘4 to Snostakowch Robert Burns. Robert Fripc or Frank Zappa. Then Heather MacLeod's band fuses rurai-hall roots rock Witn mature urban cool. and Shine SOuno tneir chim ng electro-harps under giacia voca: harn‘Or‘y. (Norman Cha'mersi
I Bongo Club. 558 7604, 78 <3 25 Aug. 8.30pm. £8 £6;