ROCK/ELECTRONIC T BREAK HEATS La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Tue 8 May.
Given the nature of the ‘battle of the bands‘ fOrmat. this was never gomg to be an evening of perfect performances. What it did do was give a real indication of potential in several new acts.
Endowed Wllh the unenViable task of opening the evening's proceedings. Rhythm Odyssey did so With great aplomb. launching into 30 minutes of electronic trippeiy The duo owe an ObVlOUS debt to Orbital and senSibly go for atmosphere over full on techno assault. Sadly. their unerring enthuSiasm doesn't translate too well lTlUSICally and a lot of this sounds a little too familiar.
With an equally abysmal name but sharply contrasting style is Trip Fontaine. bOunding on looking like a cross between Shaggy from Scooby 000 and Richard Ashcroft. But where's his band? As the intro tape kicks in it's obvious he doesn't have one (couldn't get a band together In time). Fair enough I suppose. but then he launches into a barrage of highly unoriginal. extremely well produced cod-608 anthems; it's all a bit Stars /n Their Eyes. Maybe a real band and time will tell.
Javelin add to the eclecticism of the evening alternating fuzzy pop punk song With drawn-out post rock jams. Despite their inept drummer. they cover Duran Duran and prove this is as much about attitude and entertainment as anything else.
With more originality than the Chemical Brothers and more tongue-in-cheek wit than most po-faced bleepers. Bendy Toy does an excellent set of funky. acidy breakbeat electronics. His set IS solid and would rock a club as much as a festival tent.
Poor Red Bee Society; they were always going to sound a little tame after Bendy Toy's breaks n' squelch blast. Their poppy dub inflections are orginial enough but give way to a Spul-lite that gets dangerously early-Wet Wet Wet. but have moments of clarity that see them loosen up and rock out satisfyingly.
Closing the evening is Ellis. whose ability to sound like Travis on a methadone downer is no bad thing. Their nod to the US indie soul of Afghan Whigs and Buffalo Tom also gives them an occasional scuzzy edge that can't fail to please.
A mixed bag on offer certainly but a few who. if there is any justice. we will see a lot more of. (Mark Robertson)
Trip Fontaine
' “it a. Edinburgh: Virgin - Princes Street. 220 3234 - Ripping Records South Bridge. 226 7010 - Way Ahead Otdf 3159 8881i
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‘ 300k "OW
EXPERIMENTAL CLASSICAL
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FROM HERE TO THE STARS
Tramway, Glasgow, Sat 12 May sees
It’s a Beautiful Night From Here to the Stars is not your typical gig. In fact, the Pulsar Project’s meditation on time and space is not your typical anything. Taking as a starting point the journey of a pulsar across the night sky from East to West, Sarah Carne and Keith Johnson combined a video triptych, radio signals from a distant star converted into sound and a piece of music performed by the BT Scottish Ensemble.
This type of multimedia endeavour often falls at the first hurdle, with the diverse elements juxtaposed rather than merged into a cohesive whole, but the thoroughly engrossing set in the Tramway’s draughty performance space succeeded where
ROCK HUCKLEBERRY Venue, Edinburgh, Wed 9 May.
‘We're a very self-indulgent band.‘ admits Vic Galloway while on stage. and you'd be hard pushed to argue with Embra rock's very own
post-ironic noise-mongers as they gum and throw guitar poses in an effort to beat the
midweek blues into submission. Self- confessed music obsessive Galloway wears his influences on his sleeve. not least in the
Music
others fail thanks to the wonderful interplay between film, music and the radio signals beamed from space.
At first, the tripartite structure looked and sounded a little forced. with video loops of a playground merry-go-round illuminated by flares. the unnerving crackle and hiss of the pulsar and Johnson's jarring, lopsided composition seemingly isolated interpretations of the matter at hand. As the piece progresses, however, each element echoes the others: fizzing fireworks onscreen are matched by pizzicato violins and strident percussion, while the steady revolutions of the merry- go-round are repeated by some saccharine string runs, with both bouncing off the static crackles.
In the end, this ambitious audio-visual merger is something of a triumph: three- quarters of an hour of sound. music and film that humanised some cold science, neatly reducing events on a galactic scale to bite-sized chunks of melody and suburban scenes. Taken individually, the music, sound and film might not stand up so well, although the Ensemble's performance of Johnson’s complex, six- part piece was both confident and subtle, and the fact that the event was much more than the sum of it’s parts is the secret of It’s a Beautiful Night From Here to the Stars’ success.
Like all the best contemporary music, the Pulsar Project’s work blurred boundaries, was chock-full of surprises and engaged with head and heart in equal measure. And that beats your typical gig hands down. (Jack Mottram)
band's ch0ice of covers — 13th Floor Elevators' 'LeVitation' (as the small but dedicated nioshpit attempt some levitation of their own) and Motbrhead's 'Ace Of Spades (because. well. . . it rocks!). Elsewhere. their own material references everything from punk to prog to garage-pot). mixed tip With some buckshot Mark E. Smith-esqtie vocals and the Quiet-loud-quiet formula of the Pixies. But much more loud than quiet. it must be said. (David Pollockl
Ticket information: Tickets for most medium/large concerts can be bought from the following: Glasgow: Virgin, Buchanan Galleries. 332 4400 - Credit card bookings from: Ticket Link: 287 5:31 1 8. Way Ahead: (3:59 8383
I Tool Barrowland. Glasgow. 8 Jun.
I Limp Bizkit SIZC‘C. Glasgow. 9 Jun. SOLD ()lfT
I Belle 8. Sebastian Queen‘s Hall. Dunoon. 9 Jun: City Hall. Perth. l() Jun; Carnegie Hall. Dunl’ermline. ll Jun.
I Neil Young and Crazy Horse SECC. Glasgow. l0 Jun.
I Astrid Cottier Theatre. Glasgow. 1() Jun.
I Rae & Christian
Liquid Room. Edinburgh.
10 Jun.
I Semisonic Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow. 1 1 Jun.
I Reel Big Fish Garage. Glasgow. l 1 Jun. I Roxy Music SECC. GlasgowJ l Jun.
I Guns ‘N’ Roses SECC. Glasgow. 12 Jun. SOLD OUT
I Judas Priest Barrowland. Glasgow. 13 Jun.
I The Proclaimers
Liquid Room. Edinburgh. 14 Jun; Garage. Glasgow.
15 Jun. I The Wildhearts
Garage. Glasgow. 15 Jun.
I Belle 8. Sebastian Barrowland. Glasgow. 15 & 16 Jun.
I Goldfrapp Liquid Room. Edinburgh. 17 Jun.
I Irn Bru Live & Loud Bellahouston Park. Glasgow. 17 Jun.
I Willard Grant Conspiracy Counting House. Edinburgh. l7 Jun.
I The Bathers Liquid Room. Edinburgh. 19 Jun.
I Super Furry Animals Barrowland. Glasgow. 23 Jun.
I Sparklehorse King Tut's. Glasgow. 2-1Jun. I Gorilla: Corn Exchange. Edinburgh. 27 Jun.
I Suzanne Vega Liquid Room. Edinburgh.
27 Jun; King Tut‘s.
Glasgow. 28 Jun.
* The Dickies Venue. Edinburgh. 29 Jun.
I Nashville Pussy Garage. Glasgow. 2 Jul. I Robert Cray Royal Concert Hall. Glasgow. 2 Jul.
I Vonda Shepard Royal Concert Hall. Glasgow. 3 Jul.
I David Byrne
Queen's Hall. Edinburgh.
4 Jul.
I Isaac Hayes Theatre Royal. Glasgow. 7 Jul.
I T in the Park Kinross. Balado. 7 & 8 Jul.
I BB King Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh. 8 Jul.
I Megadeth and Boiler Room Barrowland. Glasgow. ‘) Jul.
* Shelter Venue. Edinburgh. ll Jul.
I Bob Dylan Stirling Castle. l3 Jul.
I Black Crowes Barrowland. Glasgow. 17 Jul.
I Beach Boys and Status Guo Edinburgh Castle. 19 Jul.
I Saw Doctors Barrowland. Glasgow. 2() Jul.
I Mark Knopfler Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow. 20 Jul.
I Tom Jones
lidinburgh Castle. lidinhurgh. 2f) 6;; 2| Jtil. I The Eagles llampden Park. Glasgow. 22 Jul.
I Robbie Williams Hampden Park Glasgow. 3 8.; 4 Aug. 80].!) ()l'T I Extreme 2001 l'eat. Pitchshifter and The Ataris SliCC. Glasgow. 18 Aug.
I Spooks Barrowland. Glasgow. 22 Aug.
I Gig On The Green Glasgow. 25 & 26 Aug.
* Pantera, Slayer and Cradle Of Filth SECC. Glasgow. l6 Scp.
I Shed Seven Barrowland. Glasgow. 7 Oct.
24 May—7 Jun 2001 THE LIST 49