POP SOUNDSONGS: US
Barely-there pop
I once overheard a discussion by two movie nerds in a Cinema foyer. One reckoned that the best movie directors were those who not only knew what to put in but also knew exactly what to leave out. Julian Hinton and Beverly Harling could well have been at that same movie as, in their uS guise. they follow that same maxim to. well, the maximum. Gentle breaths of vocal are wrapped around sparse. considered piano. violin and guitar arrangements. It is patient but passionate and dark at times. too. but far from gloomy. These pared down arrangements are augmented by visuals from Chris Petts, who blends video footage and projections to create the perfect atmosphere for these late night excursions. (Mark Robertson) I Cfoo, 226 0000, 7-70 Aug, 72.30am, £5.50 (£4.50).
finally
FOLK A NIGHT OF GAELIO SONG Pungent Gaelic flavours The Roots@the Reid mini-folk festival manages to put on some of the best Gaelic music events at the festival. The opening week has the youthful, new all-women grOup Dochas on 6 August, and on 8 August there's the Scots/Cape Breton/Californian/lrish all-instrumental lads in Daimh (pronounce it like ‘dive‘, it means kinship). The Night of Gaelic song is on 7 August. pulling in Alyth McCormack, Kathleen McGuinness. and the vocal/harp/piano duo of Anne Martin and lngrid Henderson. If you've heard Daimh's dynamic first album y0u'll already have heard Martin guesting on it. 'Daimh's the connection between all the singers.‘ she says. ‘They‘ve worked with all of us before. so who knows what sorts of things will end up on stage.‘ (Norman Chalmers) I Reid Hall, 662 8740, 7 Aug, 7.30pm, £70 (£8).
ROCK/POP/HIP HOP PLANET POP
Underground rock fest returns i
/
lt’s planet of the japes with Olympic Llfts
‘We Believe in Planet Pop’ - since 1996, the motto of acts such as Belle and Sebastian, Idlewild, and Teenage Fanclub, as Edinburgh’s longest-standing music festival - still staunchly independent in the face of competition from corporately-sponsored rock, and still providing an alternative to high-brow theatre, low-rent comedy, and blokes painted silver pretending to be robots.
This year’s programme commences with bis, the Silver Pill, Huckleberry, When Pilots Eject (formerly Annie Christian) and Torqamada in the aforementioned We Believe in Planet Pop. In accordance with the show’s title, bands will perform a cover version of a song by an act who have performed previously. Their choice offers quality and quantity - apart from those mentioned above; alumni also include the Fall, Pavement (via Steven Malkmus) and Mogwai.
If you like your music with more of a danceable edge then there’s Ugly Duckling - acclaimed hip hop crew whose garrulous charm hint at the ear-friendly sensibilities of De La Soul. Support is from ' Belfast collective Olympic Lifts — a flurry of ill-fitting suits and cantankerous rhythms, they’re a must- see live act. And later still, Babacool construct dance beats with an epic feel, while Terrapins Found Us, despite the name, make quite serious melodic rock.
For the next four weeks, prepare to worship at the altar of Planet Pop. (Stuart Mcl-lugh)
I We Believe in Planet Pop, La Belle Ange/e, 4 Aug, 7.30pm, £4; Ugly Duckling, La Belle Ange/e, 5 Aug, 8pm. £9; Babacool, La Belle Ange/e, 8 Aug, 8pm, £4.
£1 IFF
TICKETS AT THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
Don’t miss your chance to save £1 on normal ticket prices!
Pick up your copy of the programme (from most book shops)
or call the Hotline on 0131 624 5050
or visit www.edbookfest.co.uk Choose the events you want to attend
1%. Call 0131 624 5050 and book your tickets before August 9th
Come to the Book Festival and you can:
Hear Lemony Snicket, Tariq Ali, Alan Warner, ‘ Gerry “Thunderbirds” Anderson, Walter Mosley and Neil “Sandman” Gaiman.
Debate burning issues
Us on the grass
* Browse the bookshops
{h Stay late in the bar in the only Spiegeltent in town! iTer‘ms & conditions: Discount limited to .i Ill.’lXIIl'ltIIll of 5) events
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Edinburgh International Book Festival
10 ~——~- 26 August Charlotte Square Gardens www.edbookfest.co.uk
44 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 1—8 Aug 2002