list.co.uk/music Reviews | MUSIC

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POP KATY PERRY Hydro, Glasgow, Sat 17 May ●●●●● NOISE ROCK SWANS The Arches, Glasgow, Sat 24 May ●●●●●

I shouldn’t be here. Small-scale gigs in filthy, subterranean rooms are my usual turf. The fanbase of ‘Katy Cats’, in tiki-print dresses and blue wigs, sense my trepidation. Despite its boot-in-the- face capitalism, the Hydro is an impressive and fantastically well-designed space. And luckily, Ms Perry provides distractions. Namely, a relentless barrage of outlandish gimmickry: a pop star materialising inside a pyramid, neon gladiators, a golden animatronic horse, psychedelic visuals, flying guitarists, a dancing can of sardines.

There are songs, too, at riot-quelling volume, some tweaked or radically reinvented. A harder, metallic ‘I Kissed a Girl’; a dubstep-infused ‘Dark Horse’; a disarmingly beautiful acoustic ‘By the Grace of God’. The closing ‘Firework’ gets no special treatment or visual tricks, standing alone as an irresistible, precision-tooled pop gem. In terms of scale and spectacle, it’s hugely impressive. But ultimately the appeal is Perry herself. Though often derided for her vocal skills, tonight at least, she soars. By the end, I too was wearing a tiki-print dress and blue wig. (Matt Evans)

Although Michael Gira rejects the nostalgia that usually accompanies the reformation of fondly remembered bands, this incarnation of Swans looks backwards for inspiration. The ferocity of the double drummers, Gira’s tortured growl and the layers of guitar noise evoke the 1980s, when Swans were important, while the orchestration of unexpected instruments, including Christoph Hahn’s lap steel guitar and Thor Harris’ violin and trombone, hints at their explosive, psychedelic early 90s phase.

Once again, the acoustics of The Arches undermine the grandeur of the band’s ambition. However, Gira fails to help by frequently singing out of tune and enacting all manner of rock star posturing. The deep grooves that have become Gira’s recent preoccupation are present and devastating in small doses, with the band unearthing a surprising funk and swing beneath the intensity. Gira’s bold decision to ignore his past recordings doesn’t, unfortunately, mean that he can avoid his legacy. The clarity of even recent album The Seer is increasingly lost in self-indulgent and vulgar displays of power. (Gareth K Vile)

NOISE / PUNK / EXPERIMENTAL BAD AURA, SHAREHOLDER AND ACRID LACTATIONS Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh, Sun 1 Jun ●●●●● Glasgow sputter duo Acrid Lactations open, resuscitating broken jazz loops and cassette tape squiggles through a knackered pair of Walkmen, while Edinburgh power trio Shareholder (above; l-r, Grant Smith, Graham Stewart and Sandy Milroy) bring blue-collar blues through shrieking feedback and almost Flipper-style repetitiveness, with echoes of The Fall and Edinburgh’s Country Teasers at their most insidious and playful.

POP / FUNK PRINCE The Hydro, Glasgow, Thu 22 May ●●●●●

It’s hard to believe he’s genuinely here. Prince last played Glasgow 19 years ago, and unsurprisingly, this show sold out in seconds. His unmistakable voice screams ‘Let’s go Glasgow!’ over the PA and the curtain drops to reveal His Purple Majesty resplendent in kaftan and afro combo. Who else could open with back-to-back tracks

of the quality of ‘Let’s Go Crazy’, ‘Raspberry Beret’ and ‘U Got the Look’? There’s a shiver down the spine during ‘When Doves Cry’ but rather than giving it room to fly, it’s thrown away in a medley.

Bad Aura is the culmination of some of Glasgow’s There are some strange choices; the hits are

noisiest and weirdest, featuring members from Pyramidion, Vom and Moon Unit. Despite their name, they’re a pretty darn feelgood live band with a completely malevolent bass sound. Singer Tuukka Asplund flips between straight up oi punk barking and oblique rambling via a delay unit joyfully pissing in the communal soup tonight with an excellent asparagus cocktail of crust riffs, dirge and avant tailgating, something which hasn’t been seen around these parts for a while. (Nigel Hennessey) See page 75 for a Bad Aura interview. truncated, but ‘The Love We Make’ and ‘Funknroll’ are played in full. The funk is turned up to the maximum, however, for a triple bill of ‘Controversy’, ‘1999’ and ‘Little Red Corvette’, but the delicate 'Nothing Compares 2 U' just doesn't work here as a rowdy singalong. It seems almost churlish to complain about a show of this quality, but it’s frustrating to only hear snatches of ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ and ‘Alphabet Street’. Still, with so much ground to cover, inevitably, sacrifices must be made. (Henry Northmore)

POP RADIO 1’S BIG WEEKEND Glasgow Green, Sat 24 & Sun 25 May ●●●●● Radio 1’s Big Weekend delivered a big, bouncy, blaring, bargainous bumper bill to those listeners who were quick off the mark in claiming the 50,000 free tickets dispensed across the two days and a shock to the system of anyone who deserted the station years ago with what felt like a relentless diet of throwaway nursery rhyme tunes allied to brainless beats, presented live from the main stage by an assortment of DJs in a state of unremitting high excitement. OMG, it’s 1D!

The station may be losing out in audience share to Radio 2 but it can certainly muster an impressive lineup of the pop stars of the day. The compromise was that few of the acts brought their A-show. One Direction brought a couple of ramps and a shrug of a set, a lacking Lorde donned a shiny cape too late to save herself, Lily Allen (above) wore a pink confection to complement her sugary sound.

The more rabble-rousing acts Example, Kasabian, You Me At Six managed mad-for-it business as usual and the traditional subtlety bypass. Despite their sweaty efforts, superstar DJ Calvin Harris trumped them all with a laptop and an expensive lightshow. Pop can be such a cruel mistress.

In contrast to all that beat-driven bluster,

Saturday headliners Coldplay threw a reassuring comfort blanket across the site. Chris Martin enjoyed himself so much he stuck around to play guitar with Kings of Leon the next day but, just to counter any misguided notions that we were at grown-up Glastonbury, Sam Smith, who had earlier packed out the In New Music We Trust tent, was hauled onstage for his live-in- person reaction to the revelation that he was the nation’s Number One. Eeeeek!

There were pockets of sophistication, sanity and actual great music to be found from Pharrell Williams so stellar he has a style roadie to help him out of his expensive jacket and Paolo Nutini, somewhat overselling his maturing soul schtick on partisan home turf.

God bless Klaxons, their lamé shirts and

superlative trancey anthems, and all credit to Katy Perry for bringing some of the spectacle of her current Prismatic tour to the stage for a saucy seaside postcard romp involving multiple costume changes, dancers in bulbous fat suits and a big firework finish. (Fiona Shepherd) See list.co.uk for longer versions of these reviews.

12 Jun–10 Jul 2014 THE LIST 71