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FESTIVAL CLUBS: PRE CLUB. FRIDAYS continued
I Underworld Vibes at Bannermans. 9pm—1am. Free. Weekly. Sean Pearson and Neil Ferguson go all garage and house.
I Vegas at PopRokit. 9pm-3am. 11 Aug only. Vegas save us again with a high kicking combination of country, easy- listening and Latin tunes down in the basement of Broughton Street’s newest addition.
I What It Is at City Cafe 2. 9pm—1am. Free. 4 Aug. Fortnightly. Bob Cairns does the 'azz, soul and funk thing.
I Vllhy Not? at Why Not?. 5—10pm. £1 (donated to charity). Weekly. Chart and dance tunes, with professional salsa dancers dotted around to get you shaking your stuff.
I Yush at Q Bar. 9pm—3am. Free. 11 Aug. Fortnightly. This Cuban-themed bar vibrates to the sounds of A.J. (Blacka’nised), Archie (Vibe) and Bullit (Mad Ambassador).
Club
I Al's All Night Jokeshop at The Bongo Club. 10.30pm—3am. £8 (£6). 4 Aug. Monthly. A ‘mega-media’ experience which sees The Bongo Club wired up like a TV production studio for. music/performance/video feedback antics. Your hosts are Garth Cruickshank and Bronagh Keegan, and tonight’s bill features funky ska types Babyhead, who have been tempted all the way up from Bristol (ie. get down there and show them a good time in our fair city), Edinburgh’s own samba-punk experience Bloco Vomit and the resident covers outfit appearing as The Hot Red ltchy Peckers. DJ action comes from E.N.,‘Believe (Boogie Mo), Frosty J and Dolphin Boy.
I Apex at Studio 24 will return on 22 Sep — in the meantime, check out the separate listing for Underground Overground.
I Arakatacal at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 25 Aug.
I Ballistic at Studio 24. Monthly. Next date 18 Aug.
I Big Beat at La Belle Angele. Midnight—3am. £9. 4 Aug. Monthly. Tonight’s event, which is run in association with the Edinburgh Jazz And Blues Festival, sees the return of funky Hammond organ man Reuben Wilson, who will be joined by his partners in soul-jazz passion, Push. This is the third time in my memory that the man has visited Edinburgh, and there have been queues round the block on each and every occasion, so get there early folks. Of course, you’ll also get the chance to sample the resident dancefloorjazz talents of Simon Hodge, Stuart Bennet and Tinku. See panel.
I C.C. Blooms at CC. Blooms. 10.30pm—3am (bar from 6pm). Free. Weekly. DJ Ally does the decks duty at this gay night with her inimitable selection of high camp and disco classics, moving on to pumped-up house and dance as the evening progresses.
I Club Latino at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 18 Aug.
I Club Le Bomb at The Wee Red Bar. 10.30pm—5am. £5 (£4). 11 Aug only. A new night of ‘electronic punk rock disco beats’ featuring DJs Mooner, Shawroc and Magnificents plus live sets from The Squits and the Club Le Bomb Gala Band. Now, we have no idea what they’re talking about, but the fact that one of the bands is from Munich is making us think Kraftwerk.
I Cream at Teviot Row Union. £10 (£8 advance from The Fringe box office). 9pm—3am. 4 Aug only. The Edinburgh International Clubs Festival launches with a bang, with the Scottish debut of those celebrated purveyors of tranced-up breakbeats Hybrid. They are joined by Cream resident Paul Bleasdale as well as lots of other attractions in the five-floored
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The main soul-jazz man: Reuben Wilson guests at Big Beat, Fri 4 Aug
SPECIAL GUEST Big Beat
Drinking at the fountain of youth with soul-jazz star Reuben Wilson
Big Beat have made their mark on Scotland's club scene by showing how the jazz-funk grooves of yesteryear permeate, pervade and make possible the music of today. Guests aplenty have been there to illustrate the point, but none have made more of an impact than legendary organist Reuben Wilson. Making his third visit to the club this month, life just keeps getting better for the granddaddy of soul-jazz.
Now 65, Wilson is kept young not only by the arrival of a whole new generation of fans but also by the fact that he has a four-year-old son. A grandfather twice to the children of his eldest son, the soft-spoken Hammond-player says: 'When you're running around after the kid, you don't have time to feel old'.
Wilson began his illustrious recording career in the late 605 with the first of his trailblazing recordings for Blue Note, On Broadway. This release was swiftly followed by four more albums which helped to redefine the soul- jazz movement created by the likes of Jimmy Smith and Richard ‘Groove' Holmes. During the 805, Wilson enjoyed his first revival when the title track to his 1974 album, Gotta Get Your Own, made a dramatic impact on the UK's acid-jazz scene. In the following decade, Wilson's signature staccato notes were sampled by the likes of U53, A Tribe Called Quest and Nas. ‘I think that’s the most sincere form of flattery,’ says Wilson, ’And economically, it's really beautiful. I’m certainly not going to say “Hey man, you can't do that".'
Boosted by this resurgent interest, Wilson released a new album, Organ Donor, in 1998, an already classic collection of new material and reworkings of his prime Hammond cuts. He's recently recorded tracks with Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry and has plans to release another solo CD in September. Not that Wilson lets it go to his head: totally unprompted, he states, 'All of that is almost as good as being in Edinburgh. I love the reception I get there, it makes it all worthwhile.’ (Catherine Bromley)
I Big Beat, La Belle Ange/e (Venue 707) 225 7536, 4 Aug, midnight—3am, £9.
entertainment emporium that is Teviot, including drum & bass activism from DJ Kid and Tania Swift (Jungle Magic).
I Catalyst at Studio 24. llpm—3am. £5. 4 Aug only. A one-off which promises to donate at least 40% of your door tax to the Cancer Research Campaign. Musical attractions include dirty trance action from Alan Joy, progressive house from Nic Cavendish (Up!) and a mixture of industrial goth stuff, house and acid noise from Primal “T”, Mic-Mac and Aden Giuntini. To aid and abet the debauched
atmosphere, there will be party games, vodka raffles and other such nonsense. I Disco Dock at Club Java. lOpm—Zam (bar open from 4.30pm). £5 (£4). 4 Aug. Monthly. MC Otis, of Disco Inferno and Vegas, works the floor to a selection of disco classics and dance anthems.
I Disuko at Ego (formerly Eden). llpm-3am. £5 (free passes available from The Outhouse). 4 Aug. Monthly. A bit of swapsies down at Ego as Disuko takes over Queer Friday’s old slot. For fans that just means a double helping of
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funky house with kitsch Japanese overtones in the decor, served up by residents Malks MacBeth and Neil McDonald.
I Divine Divas at The Venue (top floor). lOpm—3am. £6 (£4); two for one before 11pm. 4 Aug. Monthly. Edinburgh’s all- female dance fest goes all Latin this month, with tunes from DJ Tanty and free salsa and merengue classes for those who make it down before 11pm. All proceeds go to Lothian Gay And Lesbian Switchboard.
I Dr No's at The Bongo Club. 11pm—5am. £8 (£6). 11 Aug. Monthly. Real deal, original ska, reggae and rock steady on the main floor, with a touch of soul and funk through the back. Watch out for their next date on 8 Sep which features a DJ set from Jerry Dammers of The Specials.
I Evol at The Liquid Room. 10.30pm-3am. £4. Weekly. Still going strong, Evol is the city’s longest running indie night. These days, expect a heady mix of the best alternative and crossover tunes, new and old.
I Go Go at The Place. Monthly. Next date 25 Aug.
I Golden at Teviot Row Union. 9pm—5am. £10 (£8 in advance from The Fringe box office). 11 Aug only. 805 popster-turned-superstar DJ Boy George is the main attraction as the Clubs Festival manages to tempt Stoke-On- Trent’s superclub away from the sun in Ibiza for one night only. Also on the roster is Golden regular Glen Guest and, somewhere else in the building local lad and lass Stuart Duncan (Atomic Baby) and Gail Sellars (Shebang).
I Higher Ground at La Belle Angele. One-off event on 18 Aug.
I Jazz Joint at The Jazz Joint. lOpm—3am. £5. 4 Aug sees innovative young Scottish saxman Martin Kershaw leading his International Quartet (£7.50) for the 9pm Jazz Festival slot, with Latin-inflected jazz from Tabasla (£6) at midnight. 11 Aug sees Martin Kershaw return as part of drum & bass-meets-jazz outfit Rarefaction (band on stage midnight).
I Lizzard Lounge at La Belle Angele has now finished.
I Loop at The Wee Red Bar. Monthly. Next date 18 Aug.
I The Mambo Club at The Cavendish. 10pm—3am. £4 before midnight; £5 after. Weekly. Still going strong after so many years, Sir Ossie provides the reggae, ragga, soul, funk, rap, hip hop and R&B delights.
I Manga at La Belle Angele. llpm—Sam. £8 (£6). 11 Aug. Monthly. Peshay is the guest at tonight’s drum & bass extravaganza. One of the stalwarts of the scene, his releases include the massively well received ‘Miles From Home’ from his debut album, and he’s working on another long player at the moment. He joins another team of drum & bass stalwarts, the residents — that’s G- Mac, DJ Kid, The General, Unify and MC Feelman. Note that there will be no DVD screening this month due to Festival activities. For more info, check out the website at www.basstrap.com.
I The Mission at The Venue. Fortnightly. Next date 12 Aug.
I Mondo at Wilkie House will return in Sep.
I Nature at The Attic. 11pm—3am. £6. Weekly. Deep and funky tunes at this snug little venue, decked out for the occasion with scented candles and pot plants. Don’t think the Nature posse have gone all soft and hippy on us though — they still manage to russle up an electric atmosphere with some serious decks action. Subculture ’s Harri is joined be Graham Wilson on 4 Aug, with Ben Davis of the respected Paper Recordings imprint joining local lad Matt Grey on 11 Aug.
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