Michael Dale, Iett, says the West End Festival is putting down roots; Jazzie 8, above. stars at Massifl
Glasgow goes festival mad
Three-week knees-up starts. Words: Ruth Hedges
lasgow rs set for three weeks of festlval actron, krckrng off wrth the West End Festlyal (PH 13—1 Sun 29 Jun). followed swlft y by the Glasgow Jazz Festlval lWed ’2» Sun 6 Jul; and corncrdlng wnh a new. multl-cultural celebratlon of muslc. arts and carnryal. Mt sslff Adventure (Sun 6 Jllll. All feature outdoor performances; and open stages and should generate a real summer vrbe for Glasgow. east to west.
‘lt’s not a dlrected or a produced festryal like the Edlnburgh Internatlonal FOSTIVN where you buy In your talent and your product.’ says Mlchael Dale of the West Fnd Festlval. ‘l llke to thrnk that lt's llke a tree and Is puttrng down roots.‘
Now In its elghth year the festival can boast. among hundreds of smaller events. a huge street party mm 30 bands on drfferent stages. Glasgow Reps A MIdSummer Nrght's Dream In the Botanic Gardens and Opera on a Shoestrrng's Carmen In the Cottler. 'l thlnk there'll be about 40 people In the show and 2:30 people In the audlence so they'll all be check by Jowl. In the way that If the singers turn around too gurckly thelr dresses hit you.‘ Dale says of Carmen.
The Jazz Festival has a special 85 offer for tickets to see Tony Bennett on stage In George Square and free concerts on thus centre spot wrll feature the 20-prece Jazz Jamalca All-Stars (Wed 2 July) and the London Communlty Gospel Choir (Sat 5 July).
ensurlng Scotland's brggest crty ‘.'.’l|l be su-rrngng late summer come raln or shrne l‘or later an. the Reunrt erlnlg'tt Sesslnn at the Tron offers somewhere to .‘Jll‘tl (for: t and u‘ a Spm’iizl‘l‘y constructed repllca Edwardlan Splege'ter‘t some c‘ the Wt) contemporary la/‘x n‘usrclans. :ncludung t'ur“peter Kenn, Garrett, Will be playlng.
Back on the streets, M; ssrff (Sun (3 Jul) ls noplng to create somethlng dulte new for Glasgo‘.-./ in the Trongate area. t's to do wrth brlr‘grng the creatlve comrnunltles of G'asgou' Samantha Bagg of Massrff Adventure 'lt's really about gettrng tl‘e multlcultural thlng out there."
lt's managed to secure Soul II Soul featurzng Jane B and has apparently persuaded them to bring an elght-plece. Interactrye sound-system. Wrth a yrew to creatlng somethlng of a Nottlng Hlll ylbe. there'll be barbegue, a Red Stnpe beer bar and a ram liar. Mono wrll also be sellrng all-vegan food. Local artlsts are berng lnylted to get Involved and Wrth Its organlc nature, Massltf could stlll be open to suggestlon.
I West End Fest/val, Fr/ 73—Sun 29 Jun, OM] 34] 084-4, www.westendlestrvalco.uk.‘ Glasgow Ja/x Fest/val Wed 2~Sun 6 Jul. 0747 56/1 3400. vm/vxya/xfest.co.uk; M; ssh" Adventure. Sun 6 Jul, Ol/Jl 5:32 2787. www.mass/tfadventures.coulr. See fest/va/s feature, page 76.
.t together,‘ says
Monpiot seeks captive audience
Anti-globalisation author heads book fair. Words: Ruth Hedges
eorge Monblot Is to launch the
Edrnburgh Radrcal Book Farr on
Thursday 29 May. Author of Capt/ye State: The CorpOrate Takeover of Brrtaln, he Is at the forefront of the Intellectual challenge to corporate globallsatlon and hrs presence at the far reflects the growrng Importance of this unrgue event wrthrn radlcal Crrcles.
In the wake of the brggest demonstratlons thus country has seen and wrth the recent srgnlflcant galns for smaller, more campalgnlng polltlcal partles
4 THE LIST 22 May—5 Jun ETC-133
such as the SSP and Greens. It does seem that publlc rnterest and concern for what rs happenlng to our world ls lrtcreaslng.
Monblot agrees there's been a brg psychological shlft. ‘Everybody 20 years or so ago was predlctlng the death of the book. that T\/ was gorng to klll rt. But there's been two extraordrnary trends In the last few years. One of then: has been a masswe resurgence of polltlcal wrrtlng. The second IS the resurgence of publlc meetlngs. Thls IS because we're not gettrng ft from the TV and newspapers. Suddenly people are re-drscoverlng the value of the book. They also want to get out of thelr boxes and llsten to real people saylng real thrngs. then challenge. guestron and engage Wrth them and take part Ill the process of battllng over Ideas'
And here IS the chance. It's the falr's
appearance by fentlnls‘. lntellectual Luce lralgar,a le Lochhead. Des D'HOYT and cartoonlst Dr Parsons. creator of tony and me by georg bus
I The denburgh Rad/cal 800k Farr, Thu 29 May—Sun 7 Jun, ‘.‘f.’f xxx/0rd-
power. couk. Selected hrgh/rghts In Edtnburgh Llfe. Gage 70’.
COMING SOON
I Watchlng Vinnie Jones plat football, act and debate at the Oxford Unlon may have been expenences akln
to getting your molars pulled. but none more so than hrs next role rn a klds movre currently belng shot at Pinewood Studros. Tooth features the former Wlmbledon hardman playlng the Extractor, Wlth Harry Enfield. Jim Broadbent and Stephen Fry also chlpprng Ill, That's got Chrrstmas hlt flop wrltten all over It Former croc-wrestler Paul Hogan ls set for a new Oz comedy movre entrtled Strange Bedfellows, ln whlch he plays a stralght guy who goes gay as a tax dodge. Seunds wrld . . . The man behlnd tough crlme shows such as NYPD Blue and Murder One wrll launch hrs lrterary debut In October. Steven Bochco publishes Death by Hollywood. a seemlngly corklng yarn dubbed ‘Co/umbo meets Basrc Inst/nct' . . With all this macho mayhem rattling about. why not tap lnto your femlnlne Srde when Lara Croft gets set to domlnate the summer. The Angel of Darkness. the next installment of her vldeogame franchlse. arrlves In mld‘ June whrle Angelina Jolie re-rards cmemas in late August with The Cradle of Me.