MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS

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DAILY PAPERS i .

POOKA

Cate lloyal, Edinburgh, 4 Oct.

First things iirst: given all the laudatory baubles that have been thrown their way, praising their barely there, baer recorded, truly organic sound, tonight’s perlormance by Pooka is the stuff oi a deeply uncomiortable evening. Granted, this is a record company showcase, a horribly stage-managed ailair whereby local retailers, radio types, journalists and assorted hangers-on are proiiered iree bev, those little vol au vent things that nobody ls actually ever seen to

. buy, and a ieellng oi being one oi the

cognoscenti who is privy to what’s really what. The product, sorry the act, do their best to pretend that they’re enjoying this Christians v. lions bingo tea. llone oi which is the iault oi Sharon Lewis and Natasha Jones, two 22-year- olds irom Manchester, together Poolta. What is their iault is the fluttering slightness oi their songs (even it they do possess a latent, inchoate talent that a wise record company would have helped them coax into shape). ‘iiolllng Stone’, ‘The Car’, ‘Grahan

, llobert Wood’ - their opening gamblts

g ieature iluting vocals, billowing in and 1 out oi each other, and two naturally

I strummed acoustic guitars. One oi

"” ' ~ them almost has the sass oi Liz Phair. One oi them almost has powerlul serenity oi an Indigo Glrl. But only almost. it Is no more than iolky ephemera, trivial and immemorable. ‘Oh, it’s Joni Mitchell with 90s grit,’ prattle the antedlluvian dreamers. What rot. Pooka and those who have iallen at their ieet are more in love with an idea than a ionn, are little other than shiitless sheep iollowing a cause that has long since been debased and devalued. This is a marketing angle, not musical truth. The iact that this oh-so-bareioot, hippy sornnolence, this directionless squall oi ‘organlc’ ‘vibes’, is served up as a stilted iolky pageant is all the more wearying and totally contrary to the tradition Pooka are meant to be mining. Edinburgh’s Fjaere ililssen, Glasgow’s Carol Laula, anytown’s anybody could do better than this. ‘We’d just like to know it seriously you’ve enjoyed yourselves?’ one oi the two tentatively asks. I take it that’s a

rhetorical question. (Craig Iilclean)

iSOIIEEZEIIIICK HEYWAIIO

I A"

LADIES

‘2'.

. ‘: WAlTiNG igloo

ROOMS

3 Usher ilall, Edinburgh, 24 Sept. l What’s going on? There's two blonde, ; clean-cut candidates ior teen ldolshlp 1 up iront playing guitar and singing. ; Which is Nick ileyward, the power I behind the early SOs pop phenomenon : llaircot 100? The spotlight’s on the 1 one In the red T-shlrt. lio, wait, the one in blue check is introducing a f song and it’s on him now. _. | As It turns out, he’s the one in red.

1 illck ileyward doesn’t look like 1 himseli any more, having iilled out i into a huge hunk oi muscle. Except in proille, when his lace mysteriously 'Iosestenyears. Butwhatoihis

E; spangled guitar, missing the cute

11 trumpety bits. Nick must be heartily {sickoillCIOO comparisons, butthe truth is, he’s lost musical strength at

' new material is dull, meat-and-one- veg pop which won’t set anybody’s heart on lire.

llavlng said that, ‘Love Plus One’ can

, still work magic, its understated

E guitar pulling us back to long-gone

i summers ior a law precious moments

beiore it iades, and the stage is

. empty-

I Squeeze can smile knowingly at the

; lukewarm reaction to their opening

' song. They’ve had TOllS oi hits, which

make it into your unconscious in a

.' way careiully calculated to drag you

to your ieet without you knowing why.

i Sure enough, by the end oi ‘Ilp the

; Junction’, the stalls are on their ieet.

They have an apt name tor a band as juicy as a big Jaiia, ready to scoosh

1 all over the audience. Where they

1 music? ‘Fantastlc an’ ls smothered in 5 score over Mr Hayward is in their

f breadth and colour, straying irom ; instant pop into harder rock and 3 reggae. Their appeal is undeniable.

And you can’t really complain about

the sarne time as building his body. ills a band who lnvlte their entire

audience to their bassist’s birthday party aiterwards. Even when you discover it’s three quid to get in. (Gavin Inglis)

V BOOK NOW

Concerts listed are those at major venues, ior which tickets are on public sale at time oi going oi press.

ROCK

I GLASGOW BARRDWLAND (226 4679) Lemonheads. 26 Oct; Midnight Oil, 3 Nov; Anthrax, 7 Nov; Jimmy Barnes, 11 Nov; Silencers, 12 Nov; Terence Trent

; D‘Arby, 14 Nov; The Orb. 1 16 Nov; Christy Moore,

[7 Nov; Paul Weller, 18

Nov; Hawkwind. 20 Nov;

Teenage Fanclub, 26 Nov; Capercaillie, 27 Nov; James. 1 Dec; Sepultura. 3

1 Dec; Pogues, 10 Dec;The

The. 12 Dec; Saw Doctors, 18 Dec; Body

, Count. 20 Dec; Bjorn Again. 31 Dec; Wonder Stuff, 24 Mar.

I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 I) World Party. 26 Oct; Dina Carroll, 29 Oct; Don McLean. 31 Oct; Crowded House, 10 Nov; Bobby Vee. 11 Nov; The Commitments. 19 Nov; Kinks, 25 Nov; Deborah Harry, 26 Nov; Sylvian and Fripp. 2 Dec; Mary Black, 10 Dec.

I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Horse, 24 Oct; John Hiatt. 31 Oct; Liberty Mountain Elvis Show, 14 Nov; Nazareth and Uriah Heep. 21 Nov; Maria McKee, 22 Nov; Carol Laula. 5 Dec.

I GLASGOW SECC (227 5511) Aerosmith. 29 Oct; Lenny Kravitz, 30 Nov; Take That, 1—2 Dec;

OM D, 4 Dec; Status Quo, 5 Dec; Wet Wet Wei. 8 Dec; Gary Glitter. 23—24 Dec; Meatloaf, 19 Mar. I EDINBURGH IHLISTDN (0715871414)UB 40,14 Jan.

I EDINBURGH PLAYHDUSE (557 2590) Bootleg Beatles, 21 Nov.

I EDINBURGH (wears i HALL (668 2019) Horse,

23 Oct; Texas, 6 Nov; Silencers, 11 Nov; Dream Theater, 28 Nov; Carol Laula, 4 Dec; Therapy?, 9 Dec.

I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155) Return to the 605. 23 Oct; Mary- Chapin Carpenter. 24 Oct; World Party, 25 Oct; The Commitments. 14 Nov; Mary Black. 9 Dec.

JAZZ

I HASGDW CITY HALL (227 5511) Betty Carter. 29 Oct; Jan Garbarek, 31 Oct; Carol Kidd, 16 Feb; Danish Radio Big Band. 10 Mar.

I HASGDW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Syd Lawrence Orchestra, 30 Oct; Glenn Miller Orchestra UK, 18 Nov. I flASGDW RSAMD (332 5057) Trilok Gurtu, 14 Nov.

I HASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (332 9000) Humphrey Lyttelton Band, 30 Dec.

I EDINBURGH DUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) 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'Reiily, 10 Dec,

FOLK

I flASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Christy Moore. 16 Nov; Mary Black, 9 Dec.

I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Capercaillie, 15 Nov.

I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) Rumillajta, 20 Nov; Stn'ngs of Scotland, 27 Nov.

I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S HALL (668 2019) Aly Bain. 8 Nov; Cauld Blast Orchestra, 18 Mar.

I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Capercaillie. 30 Nov; Mary Black, 10 Dec.

LIGHT

I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) 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. 18—20 Nov.

I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155)Tammy Wynette, 6 Nov.

I CLASSICAL

1 I cuscovi cm! iIALl. {(227 5511) BBC SSO,12 : Nov; Mozart Requiem, 20 ; Mar.

1 I flASGOVl CONCERT

1 HALL (227 5511) RAF Band. 27 Oct; SM Benevolent Fund Concert, 22 Nov; Csardas. 28 Nov; Verdi Requiem, 5 Dec;

j Pops at the Phil, 19 Dec;

5 Favourite Music, 13 Feb; { Choral Spectacular, 5 Jun. f I GLASGOW RSARID (332 5057) BTSE, 22 Oct;

1 Barbican Virtuosi, 23 Oct; : GJCS, 31 Oct; A0. 4

1 Nov; SEMC. 5 Nov; John ; Curn'e Singers, 7 Nov; Bahai Concert, 12 Nov;

1‘ Indian Classical, 13 Nov; ; SEMC, 19 Nov; Paragon. 1 21 Nov; ACO, 25 Nov;

; Norma Lerer, 28 Nov;

3 AWO, 2 Dec; Drysdale

I and Emslie, 5 Dec; BTSE, 10 Dec; SUWB&C. ll

; Dec; Carols, 14 Dec;

1 JO&C, 18 Dec.

I EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) BTSE, 24 Oct; Barbican Virtuosi, 24 Oct; Calton Piano Trio, 27 Oct; Elizabeth McKeon, 27 Oct; Chilingin'an Qt, 15 Nov; ECAT, 20 Nov; Paragon, 23 Nov; Imai and Vignoles. 6 Dec; BTSE, 12 Dec; Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe, 15 Dec; Emperor Qt, 17 Jan; Paragon, 25 Jan.

I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155) Samaritans Gala Concert, I 7 Nov.

36 The List 8—21 October 1993