MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
Venue. Edinburgh. 5 March. Capital idea. If the punters drift in too late to see the first band on a bill. in this case Flop. hand a free cassette to everyone as they leave to show them what they missed. lt has to be pointed out. though. that Flop have major label backing and can afford smart little promotion tactics like this. So. indie kids. don't try it yourselves without an adult's supervision. Reasonable numbers seem to have come specifically to see Magnapop. and it’s not hard to see why. They attack their instruments with gusto (damn! you bet!). and seem like the types who might jam on free-form noise~fests in the practice room. On stage. though. they‘re excitable but never out of control. lt‘s guitarist Ruthie's birthday. and we‘re informed that presents of hash will be gratefully received backstage. Yes. it’s Magnapop: the band that can actually make you feel guilty for not carrying drugs. Not much of a blurb. but greater praise will come their way. Right now. The Posies are sitting on some of the most seductive songs around — ‘Dream All Day‘. 'Flavour Of The Month‘. the. er. modal- sounding. vaguely lndian one that goes clump-
when they play Chris Bell's ‘I Am The Cosmos'. the converted are mouthing every line. Harmonies. frotn vocals. guitars. and probably the drums too. are flying all over the shop and it soundsjust dandy. A bit rough too. which doesn't hurt. Picking a couple of comparatively nondescript obscurities for an encore (when they could have played ‘Solar Sister‘) may have seemed like a good idea at the time. but the anticlimax dampens the mood a little. Still. if they're not playing much bigger places than this the next time they pass this way, then there‘s no justice. (Alastair Mabbott)
THE POSIES/ MAGNAPOP
clump in the middle — and ‘
PAUL WELLER
l
s ‘4“ mi
; Playhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 4. Top pop star Paul Weller hit town with t a stunning concert at the city’s
v premier posh theatre. Cheekily
sporting a sporran over his trendy red
jeans, Weller wowed a sell-out crowd
; with a mixture of hit singles and great album tracks from his two LP records.
Displaying his well-known passion for '
wildlife and nature, Weller sang songs about ‘Butterflies’, a ‘Sunflower’, ‘Bullrushes’ and a ‘Wild Wood’. And it that sounds a bit ‘hippyish’, check-out Weller’s tribute to way-out religious
cults, ‘Can You Heal Us Holy Man?’ Parents worried that their kids might be brainwashed by these loony lefty ravings - Paul is a well-known
someone in the crowd. ‘Thanks,’
trim by chewing gum. This keep fit
. shaped one. These were handed to
Q and beard. This man, introduced as
t have to be fat and have long grey hair Z and beards. It is their job to snag the
! communist and once voted Labour -
i should note that no-one listens to
: lyrics any more.
i It’s the tunes that count, and Paul
Weller’s got them by the bucketload!
All of Paul’s songs boast H.U.G.E.,
singalong choruses that make sure
that this is one teen idol who is never
far from the hit parade. His songs also
have a distinctly soulful feel, with
plenty of soul-type sounds and souin
singing. This means that it’s not just
; the kids who like him, but trendies
too. Maturer musicians, often in
couples, and groups of lads, usually
fat and with pictures of small motorcycles on their lager-stained t-
shirts, were also much in evidence.
‘He sure is ‘Weller preserved!’ ’ joked
quipped the singer. Paul, 34, keeps in
regime is complemented by the singer’s vigorous guitar-playing. Weller is an acknowleged master of the instrument, frequently swopping one guitar for another, differently-
Paul by a fat man with long grey hair
Dave, is what is known in the music business as a ‘roadie’. By law, readies
ugly girls who hang around outside hotels looking for pop stars like Paul Weller. A thankless task, but tonight
Paul let Dave have a shot of his guitar ; for the last song, the drug-influenced '
a star! (Hamish Smash)
‘5th Dimension’. What a gent and what
DID- THE HAHKIH FAMILY
Dueen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 25 Feb. The fast-rising fortunes of Canada’s
Rankin Family on this side of the Pond
over the last year are enough to make
many a home-grown folk outfit weep.
After a few rapturously received
2 festival appearances last summer, they secured a deal for their last album, ‘Horth Country’, with EMI,
whose big promotional guns have been firing steadily since last autumn - lots
. of advertising, and a shrewdly-chosen
- support slot on Mary Black’s UK tour last November-December. For my money, the Hankins’ sparkling, exuberant set easily eclipsed Black’s ever-blander middlebrow balladeering, and their reception overall was evidently such as to prompt a return strike while the iron was hot. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re from Nova
. Scotia (Canadian but Celtic too),
‘ maybe it’s that some of their compositions are country-ish enough to offer a hook to mainstream
¥ audiences wary of fiddles, maybe it’s the novelty-value fact that five of the eight-strong line-up actually are a family - two brothers and three sisters; whatever the reason, a band
with a decidedly folky bent are getting the kind of major-label backing consistently denied Scottish acts of
comparable talent.
That’s not to knock the Bankins’
1 accomplishments, however. Their
material is an adroitly-mlxed blend of
old Scots fiddle tunes, played in the measured, emphatic, clean-lined Cape | Breton style, Gaelic songs delivered in
' creating a substantial, multi-Iayered
is with Hanci Griffith’s gutsy delicacy.
I: “ Una . I” “(V & I, '7’ 3 27¢
exquisite three-part harmonies by the 1 three sisters, and self-penned ballads ranging from the poignant to the jaunty. lnstrumentally, their arrangements are polished and solid yet light and brightly defined - lots of colourful piano and muscular guitar -
sound but avoiding any hint of overburdening the tunes. But their secret’s really in the singing, specifically the sisters’ high, pure, keen voices, which weave and twine
around each other to create swathes
of sweet, soaring noise - the nearest comparison, in range and resonance,
The underlying sophistication of their sound contrasts delightfully with their
fresh-faced, boisterous performance 5 style, which could charm the pants off the most hardened of cynics. This lot could be very big. (Suzanne Williams)
V BOOK NOW
Concerts listed are those at major venues, for which tickets are on public sale at time of going of press.
ROCK
I GLASGOW BAHROWLAND (226 4679) Primal Scream. 2 Apr; Soundgarden. 11 Apr; The Beautiful South. 15 Apr; Lloyd Cole. 7 May; Nine Inch Nails, 21 May; Elvis Costello. [4 Jul.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Elkie Brooks. 16 Apr; Bonnie Raitt. 6 Jun.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Magnum. 9 Apr; Toyah. 17 Apr.
; I GLASGOW SECC (248
9999) Motown Road Show. 14 Apr; Go West. 14 May; Phil Collins. l—2 Dec.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (557 2590) Deacon Blue. 22 Apr: David Lee Roth. 4 May. I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Kristin
; Hersh. 31 Mar; Bitty
McLean. 15 Apr; Blur. 17
May.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Solid Silver 60s. 31 Mar; Jethro
Tull. 16 May.
JAZZ
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S i HALL (668 2019) Dee Dee Bridgewaler. 25 Mar;
Deborah Henson-Conant. 27 Mar; What Size is Jazz‘?. 6 Apr; Candy Dulfer. 4 May; McCoy Tyner. 20 May.
FOLK
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Foster and Allen, 7 Apr.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S
HALL (668 2019) Mac-
talla. 26 Mar; Deborah Henson-Conant. 27 Mar; Alasdair Fraser. 3 Apr.
LIGHT
' I GLASGOW CONCERT ’ HALL (227 551 l)
Hollywood and
Broadway. 3 Apr; Elkie Brooks. 16 Apr; Howard Keel. 3 May; Shirley Bassey. 19 Sept.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Joe Longthorne. 25—26 Mar; Music ofJames Last. 23 Apr; Sydney Devine.
1 16—19 Nov. ; I EDINBURGH USHER
HALL(228 1155) Hollywood and Broadway. 29 Mar; Patsy Cline Tribute. 3 Apr; Dominic Kirwan. 8 May.
5 CLASSICAL
, I GLASGOW concern
1 HALL (227 5511) Stars of
i the Bolshoi ()pera. 13—14 Apr; BPO Wind Qnt. 21
j Apr; Choral Spectacular. 5 Jun.
5 I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) Platte Dukes
Rahman Trio. 28 Mar;
Medici Qrt. 30-31 Mar:
BTSE. 15 Apr. ; I EDIHBUBGH OUEEH’S ; HALL (668 2019) SCO
Brass. 27 Mar; Plane
1 Dukes Rahman Trio. 29 Mar; ECAT2Virtuoso
Piano. 30 Mar; SCO
Quartet. 3 Apr; ECAT. 30
Mar; Chamber Group of Scotland. 11 Apr; Essential Scottish Opera. 13 Apr; BTSE. 17 Apr; ECAT: Music for Voices. 28 Apr; King's Consort. 7 May; Imogen Cooper. l2 May; Meadows CO. 15
May. I EDINBURGH USHER
HALL (228 1155) Stars of the Bolshoi Opera. 5 Apr; Rostal and Schaeffer. 15 Apr; ERCU. 7 May.
: I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Programme
details and tickets for RSNO. SCO. BBC SSO and CGPO concerts are available from Ticketcentre. Glasgow (227 5511); Usher Hall. Edinburgh (228 1155); Queen‘s Hall. Edinbttrgh (668 2019). Tickets for Scottish Opera frotn Theatre Royal. Glasgow (332 9000); King’s Theatre. Edinburgh (229 1201 ).
32 The List 1 1—24 March 1994