Clubbing, live music, films, performance poetry - is probably Glasgow's coolest, most diverse festival, tapping directly into the culture of a young, clued-up generation. Here we serve up a complete listing of events and talk to some of the
‘ people who'll be making the pulse of the city race a little bit quicker than usual.
Michael Shelley
Glasgow: Renfrew Ferry, Fri 24
Fans of finely crafted, Sun- drenched pop are in for a treat, as Shoeshine Records have once again turned up a master of the catchy hook. Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Michael Shelley’s debut album Half Empty is a fine
collection of Beach Boys whimsy, country-rock tales and good old- fashioned rock ’n’ roll shot through With sarcastic Wit that seems to owe more than a little to the 1960s
'The 605 feel wasn’t really intentional,’ says Shelley, 'but my mum is really song-based in the “I love you, you don’t love me” style Plus the sound of regular Instruments recorded plainly sounds old-fashioned because people tend to throw everything into the mix nowadays.’
In addition to launching his new long player, Shelley will be showcasing the results of a transatlantic collaboration With Glasgow drummer-about-town, Francis MacDonald. The pairing may well be familiar to some
readers, accused as they were by various tabIOids of engaging in a ’Sick stunt’ With the instrumental track ’Uddingston Church Gun Terror’, named after a peculiar incident involwng a bungled fake kidnapping in FranCis's local Church.
Another Shoeshine act, The Radio Sweethearts, Will also take to the stage, and if recent performances are anything to go by, their good-time country- drenched rock Will have the crowd on their feet in no time. Finally, the indie hordes Will no doubt swamp the Ferry to catch DJ sets from Chris ’Beans’ Geddes, keysman for Belle & Sebastian and V-Twin, and elder-statesman of the Glasgow scene, Duglas T. Stewart,
(Jack Mottram)
Ibiza Exposed Glasgow: The Arches, Mon 27 Sep.
’It has always been -; there, ever since T dance culture existed,’ says Mus/k magazine’s editor, Ben Turner of the phenomenon that is Ibiza. ’In the last three years it has surpassed itself — it iust gets bigger and bigger.’ Adding to the hype is the book that Turner himself edited — Ibiza: Inspired Images From The Island Of
Dance e which places wild photos alongside anecdotes from clubbers and DJs. FuncT's Ibiza
An image of Ibizan iiberclub Manumission from Ben Turner's book
Exposed literary event also looks at the island in the fictional (but fact-based) light of Colin Butt’s novel Is Harry On The Boat? and the Wider popular culture context of John Robb's The Nineties: What The F * *k Was That All About? The importance of Ibiza to British clubbing is obvious to those on the scene. ’It seems to fuel the whole dance mUSlC industry from July until December,’ believes Turner. ’Aside from the all the clubbers, the magazines, clubs and record labels are all out there. People are releasing records specifically to try and create an Ibiza anthem. Whoever has that anthem will have a
The Big Chill Glasgow: The Arches, Thu 30 Sep.
The line-up also features Fila BraZilia playing live for only the second time ever, while Big Chill's head honcho Pete Lawrence pins they pioneer ambient conceptual eclectic, mellowed-out hip hopster multi—media clubbing, melding Mr Scruff and Global downbeat DJ excursions, live Communication’s Tom Middleton performance, state-of-the-art for some particularly chilled DJ Video mixing and physical theatre. duties. Coldcut's VJ mixers
and record label visiting Scotland for the first time.
As one of the few clubs where getting down means sitting down,
You obViously can't have a do that describes itself as a ’festival of young peoples' culture' Without haVing a fairly hefty element of club events taking you through to the small hours. Keeping things calm, however, Will be the sUitably titled Big Chill, Which sees the London-based events organisation
MONDAY 27
John Robb, Ben Turner 8: Colin Butts The Arches. 8.30pm. £4 (£2) from 248 481-1. Book launch for these three writers on 90s pop culture. See preview.
TUESDAY 28
Jerry Sadowitz The Arches. 7.30pm. £1(). Magic and comedy combine to create a unique show guaranteed to amaze — some of Sadowitz‘s close-up tricks are truly astonishing. NB: Children and magicians will not be admitted.
WEDNESDAY 29 Godsmack King Tut‘s Wah Wah Hut. 8.30pm. £6 from 221 527*). Boston thrash outfit here to promote their self-titled debut album.
At The Arches, live music comes from Instrumental, Whose Acoustek album recently won CD Of The Week in The Observer. You might remember Jeremy Deller’s Acid Brass proiect a few years back, with techno tunes banged out by a brass band; well, this is a similar idea, but here we’ve got a string sextet getting dreamy with covers of The Orb (including the
Hextatic and Big Chill’s VJ Glimpse create the unique Visual experience, while contemporary dancer and trapeze artist Kirsty Little sWings between film and live performance.
Add to this events featuring Roni Size’s Breakbeat Era, a UK tour date for Sister India and regular Arches club nights, and FuncT forms one of the most exciting
number one record.’
But with national coverage comes the revealing of the less desirable elements. ’The frustrating thing about TV programmes like Ibiza Uncovered is that our mums and dads think that that is What Ibiza is all about,’ states Turner. ’The scene that we write and talk about is far more sophisticated than anything like that. But the lager lout mentality is there in Ibiza for all to
see.’ (Simone Baird)
lush ’Little Fluffy Clouds’), Shamen
and Brian Eno.
Jerry Sadowitz The Arches. 7.30pm. £l(). See Tue 28.
Big Sky The Ferry. 8pm. £6 from 553 0606 and 287 551 1. This gig features two of the founding members of Capercaillie along with singer Laura McKerron.
THURSDAY 30 Jerry Sadowitz The Arches. 7.30pm. £1(). See Tue 28. The Big Chill The Arches. 9pm—3am. £ 1 2/£ 10 adv. l)Js.physical theatre and live music in a multi-media extravaganza. See preview above.
FRIDAY 1
Jerry Sadowitz The Arches. 7.30pm. £l(). See Tue 28.
Relief The Arches. 1 1pm—3am.
£8 (£6). Slam present residents
(Rory Weller)
Silicone Soul and Laurence Hughes for a night of underground house and techno.
SATURDAY 2
Jerry Sadowitz The Arches. 7.30 m. £l(). See Tue 28.
Tra e The Arches. 10.30pm—4am. £13/£l 1. Hedonists only need apply for this hardcore night of ‘music. visuals. colour. flesh and passion.
SUNDAY 3
Sister India The Arches. 9pm-late. £(i/£5. An Asian club night featuring DJ Ritti with live vocals. percussion. tabla. visual art and dance. The Sister India show is on between
10-1 1.30pm. with Glasgow's DJ Jazz. playing Latin and Asian discs on either side of this slot.
club seasons Glasgow has seen.
I Ibiza: Inspired Images From The Island Of
Dance is pub/ished by Ebury Press, priced f 74. 99.
A King Tut‘s Wah Wah Hut. 8.30pm. £7.50 from 221 5279. Full-on guitar noise from the band with more energy than they know what to do with. Lovebytes Clips OFT. 6pm. £4.50 (£3.25) from 332 8128. A Mirrorball-style compilation of music videos featuring the best recent work by both new and established directors.
MONDAY 4
Canongate Book Prize The Arches. 8.30pm. £2 (£1) from 332 9105. To mark the inaugural Canongatc Book Prize. winning writers read from their works.
WEDNESDAY 6 Asian Dub Foundation & Kitachi The Arches. 8.30pm. £8. Rap. punk energy and break beats combined with traditional
Indian music. supported by hip hop/ska outfit Kitachi.
THURSDAY 7
Lizzard Lounge Presents 21st Century Desgarga The Arches. 9pm—late. £8/£7 adv. A night of Latin. jazz. salsa and hip hop with Carlos Pena and his ten- piece orchestra. plus others. Tartan Amoebas The Ferry. 8pm. Free. Celtic/modern technology fusion and a new single [00.
FuncT runs until Sun 17 Oct. See next issue for further listings
23 Sep—7 Oct 1999 THE lIST 23