MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
GOODBYE MR MACKENZIE
Town Hall. Falkirk. 20 Sept
Down-wind of Grangemouth’s belching chemical plant. Goodbye Mr MacKenzie’s music is suitably polluted. suitably scuzzy. Grubby anthems proudly displaying the scars and blemishes of real life. it's punk rock. beautifully wasted yet ultimately celebratory and strangely optimistic. Still.
The MacKenzies have been part of Scotland’s music scene for what seems like ever. Their graduation from student unions to the Barrowland went hand-in-hand with their countless label changes and constant vilifrcation by the London-centric music press. The more the press hated them the more the Scottish love of the underdog elevated them. While familiarity may not necessarily have bred contempt. their constant presence meant they were easy to take for granted. Amid rumours and a final move from a major label they have finally taken the DIY route and tonight's show is part of the build- up for the release of their first independent studio album. Opening with the forthcoming single ‘Hard', and despite a sound that renders guitars positively mud-like, it’s plain to see they’ve lost none of their venom.
Big John Duncan's guitar parts lift the music beyond what could easily be run-of-the-mill pop rock. it’s metal in the way the Sisters Of Mercy’s ‘Vision Thing’ album exploited the genre‘s bombast and visceral thrill; metal in the way they, like the Manics. recognise the intrinsic ridiculousness of it all. The Sinatra/Hazelwood boy/girl duet is dragged kicking and cursing into the 90s with ‘I Need The Love Of A Normal Boy'. And then there are the hits.
Handfuls of the buggers. From the brutal reality that is ‘Face To Face'. through the perverted hoe- down of ‘Blacker Than Black'. via the goodtime sing-a-long of ‘The Rattler‘ they deliver a goody-bag of pop thrills. Somehow they save the best for last, encoring with ‘The Way I Walk’ - the psychobilly standard popularised by The Cramps - and Motorhead's advertising jingle ‘Ace Of Spades’. The MacKenzies in Falkirk on a Monday night — it may not be rock ’n' roll but it sure as hell felt like it. (James Haliburton)
romrrsvis/rrrrs NAKED
SEEICOPIO MOUNT ETNA King Tut’s Web Web IIut, Glasgow, 10
Sept.
Too obvious to say that this gig is full of Eastern promise (geographically incorrect too, as Cupid Mount Etna hail from Oumfrles) but more exotic than yer average Tut’s triple bill, is this showcase of groups from further- flung Scottish cllmes.
Like a Iuddite New Order, they cane. Cupid Mount Etna are a band who, like Manic Street Preachers, know how to )uxtapose three cool-sounding words for maximum moniker effect. More immediater obvious is their ability to recall great moments in indie history without quite steeping to pastiche levels. In the absence of set list information, I’ve devised an easy-to- use descriptive roll call. It goes like this: the Joy Division-y one, the Wire-y one (particularly gripping), the Fire Engines-y one, the early James-y one, the Warsaw-y one, another .loy Division-y one - all chlselled with the craftsmanship of a freshly-appointed apprentice.
The Naked See have obviously been around a bit longer. They’ve assimilated their influences to the point where ‘quick! the lawsuit, House of Love!’ springs to mind during only one song. Not so easy to disguise is their guitarist’s resemblance to Guy Chadwick, or the singer’s to Shaun Ryder, or his lethargic, disdainful movements to aforesaid king of anti- stage presence or said manner’s lack
of relation to a sound which has become ever darker, more forceful and sure-footed over the last eighteen months. Chin up, elbows off the table and stop slouching should see them right.
To the layperson, Forkeye are one- trick ponies. As there can be few experts on the musical approximation of an amplified cement mixer, this must include most of their audience. For some fifteen minutes their propeller blade guitars and elephantine rhythms generate a Therapy?lButtholes-type adrenalin and the voice of Beelzebub distortion on the vocal mike doesn’t feel crushineg predictable, but knock me down with their steamroller if fifteen minutes of same isn’t enough, they give us a mansize half-hour. Put me down for an economy pack. (Fiona Shepherd)
am- STEREOLAB
. w '~
I- . ‘ - 3' c g _;" ..=$s;'.. . h '5‘. King Tut’s Wah Wah Ilut, Glasgow, 11
The advent of stereophonic sound recording equipment has facilitated a hl-fidelity revolution in the world of
1 popular music production. Take
Stereolab as a prime example. No other band modulate their one sonic innovation so effectively or with such
1 frequency. Tire super-refinement of
i modem-day studio technology allows
1 them to spit out recorded works with a regularity that drains the purse of the completlst collector. The alternative is to attend their rarer live appearances where accurate reproduction of their vinyl catalogue creates the illusion of a musical ensemble performing in your own home. Or is it the other way round?
; Technology. The 90s. So confusing for
i the stereophobe.
; Stereolab are the band who’ve based
; a career on replicating the )uddery
i incidental music from The Six Million
; Dollar Man and The Incredible Hulk. Moments in musical history they
1 treasure: Brian Eno interfacing with a
space-age Blue Peter creation prior to
i lift off; the invention of the Moog and
‘ the Mellotron; the works of Iiob
i Grainer and the BBC IIadiophonic l Workshop. They also own a full set of
_, é lt-Tei albums and always buy those
perfect Christmas gifts from Home.
i like Stereoldr. Two female vocalists i (unusually. they both have low-pitched
, I voices) exchange monotone harmonies
5 over repetitive chords and digital
1 burps. They’re a reflexive musical
1 experience, a commentary on the
creation of synthesized sound. Songs and albums are titled accordingly: ‘Lo- i fi’, ‘Switched On’, ‘Transient Random f Noise Bursts With Announcements’.
5 In the llesh, they lack the humour of ; Pulp and World Of Twist but they
; occasionally relax the academic
: gravity with the likes of the warm
j Mamas G Papas-inspired synchronised ’ vocal melodies of ‘Avant-Garde MOIl’ i or the psychedelic glitter stomp oi
i ‘Stomach Worm’. They’re a post-
~ modern curio - a band whose detached performance politely suggests ‘stay at home and simulate the gig with the records’, but whose hypnotic musical autosuggestion has you rooted to the spot and reeling at the syrnphonlc thrill of it all. (Fiona Shepherd)
BOOK NOW
Concerts listed are those at malor venues, for which tickets are on public sale at time of going to press.
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) Carter, 9 Oct; Fishbone. 13 Oct; Almighty. 14 Oct; Australian Doors. 15 Oct; Lemonheads. 26 Oct; Midnight Oil. 3 Nov; Silencers. 12 Nov; Terence Trent D’Arby, 14 Nov; Christy Moore. l7 Nov; Paul Weller. 18 Nov; Teenage Fanclub. 26 Nov; Capercaillie. 27 Nov; Pogues. IO Dec; Saw Doctors. 17 Dec; Wonder Stuff. 24 Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 l) Jethro Tull. 11 Oct; Gene Pitney. 13 Oct; The Strawbs. 20 Oct; Mary-Chapin Carpenter. 21 Oct; World Party. 26 Oct; Dina Carroll. 29 Oct; Don McLean. 31 Oct; Crowded House. 9 Nov; Bobby Vee. 11 Nov; Kinks. 25 Nov; Sylvian and Fripp. 2 Dec; Moody Blues. 10 Dec.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Jim Diamond. 15 Oct; John Hiatt, 31 Oct; Liberty Mountain Elvis Show, 14 Nov; Nazareth and Uriah Heep. 21 Nov.
I GLASGOW PLAZA (03l 557 6969) M People. 10
? Oct.
I GLASGOW SECC (227 5511) Aerosmith. 29 Oct;
Lenny Kravitz. 30 Nov; Take That. l-2 Dec;
OMD. 4 Dec; Status Quo.
I 5 Dec; Meatloaf. 6 Dec; ‘ Wet Wet Wet, 8 Dec; Gary
i l
Glitter, 23—24 Dec. I EDINBURGH INGLIST ON (0715871414)UB 40.14
lJan
I someones mvrrouse (557 2590)
Bootleg Beatles. 2] Nov.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Jim
Diamond. 8 Oct; Texas. Still, you’ve never heard a band quite
17 Oct; Silencers. 11 Nov. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Return to the 60s, 23 Oct; Mary- Chapin Carpenter. 24 Oct; World Party. 25 Oct.
JAZZ
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511) Peanuts Hucko. 17 Oct; Betty Caner. 29 Oct; Jan Garbarek. 31 Oct; Carol Kidd, 16 Feb; Danish Radio Big Band. 10 Mar. I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Bilk and Ball. 12 Oct; Syd Lawrence Orchestra. 30 Oct; Glenn Miller Orchestra. 18 Nov.
I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) Trilok Gunu. 14 Nov.
I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (332 9000) Humphrey Lyttelton Band. 30 Dec.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S
' llALL (668 2019) Peanuts
Hucko. 15 Oct; Lester Bowie. 22 Oct; Jan Garbarek. 29 Oct; Four Guitars. 5 Nov; Trilok Gurtu. 12 Nov; Andy Sheppard. 19 Nov; Phil Bancroft. 26 Nov; Pinski Zoo/Nigel Clark. 3 Dec; Melanie O’Reilly. 10 Dec:
FOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551|)The Strawbs. 20 Oct; Christy Moore, 16 Nov.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Dougie MacLean. 10 Oct; Ronnie Browne. 16 Oct; Capercaillie. 15 Nov.
I GLASGOW RSAMD ( 332 5057) Rumillajta. 20 Nov; Strings of Scotland. 27 Nov.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Siberian Folk Dance Ens. 12—13 Oct; Cauld Blast Orchestra. 18 Mar.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155) Capercaillie. 30 Nov.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Rebecca Storm. 17 Oct; Val Doonican. 25 Oct; Dominic Kirwan. 4 Nov;
Tammy Wynette. 7 Nov; Patsy Cline Tribute.
28-29 Nov.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Lena Martell, 10—11 Nov; Sydney Devine. 168—20 Nov.
I EDINBURGH USHER
i HALL (228 1155) Tammy
Wynette. 6 Nov.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511) BBC 880. 12 Oct; BBC 850. 12 Nov; Mozart Requiem. 20 Mar. I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 1) Opera in Concert, 15 Oct; RAF Band. 27 Oct; SM
Benevolent Fund Concert.
: 22 Nov; Csardas. 28 Nov; t Verdi Requiem. 5 Dec;
' PoEs at the Phil. 19 Dec. I
LASGOW RSAMD (332
5057)SEMC.8 Oct; Hebrides. 10 Oct:
Soundstrata. 15 Oct;
BTSE. 22 Oct; Barbican Virtuosi. 23 Oct; GJCS. 31 Oct; A0. 4 Nov;
SEMC. 5 Nov; John
Currie Singers. 7 Nov;
Bahai Concert. 12 Nov; lndian Classical, 13 Nov;
SEMC. 19 Nov; Paragon. 21 Nov; ACO. 25 Nov; Norma Lerer. 28 Nov; AWO. 2 Dec; Drysdale & Emslie. 5 Dec; BTSE. 10 Dec; SUWB&C. ll Decz. I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Tam O’Shanter, 9 Oct; ECB, 10 Oct; Hebrides. ll Oct; BTSE. 24 Oct; Barbican Virtuosi. 24 Oct; Calton Piano Trio. 27 Oct; Elizabeth McKeon. 27 Oct; Chilingirian Qt. 15 Nov; ECAT. 20 Nov; Paragon. 23 Nov; lmai & Vignoles. 6 Dec.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155) Samaritans Gala Concert. 7 Nov.
34 The List 24 September-7 October 1993