MUSIC LIST
MONDAY 12 Edinburgh
0 The Communards Playhouse Theatre. (ireenside Place. 557 2590. 7.30pm. £6. £5. Is it my imagination. or are The Communards getting to be a great big drag nowadays? Finding it hard to care. either way. 0 Bon Ton Roulez Lord Darnley. West Port. 2294341. 10pm. Free.
0 The Heaters Engine Room. ()ueensferry Street Lane.
0 Avail Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9.30pm. Free. Heavy metal night again.
0 Ave-8 Music Box. Victoria Street. 2201708. 10pm. Free. Power pop. for want of a better description.
0 The Volunteers Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
0 The Nick Robertson Band Negociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free.
TUESDAY 13 Glasgow
0 Filming in Alrica Fixx. 86 Miller Street. 10pm. Free. Another worthwhile local band. who have played quite a few gigs recently to enthusiastic responses.
0 The Right Stuii Reflections. Cumbernauld. 9pm. Featuring all sorts ofex-Strangers And Brothers. ex-Love And Money. It is hardly surprising that the music is extremely professional. extremely cynical. extremely commercial and ultimately just what the major labels are looking for. It's a pity though that those capable of more are responsible for such soul-less songs. 0 Bobby Wishart Halt Bar. Woodlands Road. 9pm. Free. The usual residency.
Edinburgh
0 The Wolihounds The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. 7.30pm. Indie band beloved of fanzine writers. Sound to me like they ingested garageband compilations with their mothers' milk.
0 Apex Beat Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9.30pm. Free.
o The Rootsie Tootsie Band Lord
Darnley. West Port. 229 4341. 10pm. Free. Rockin' blues.
0 Blues Brothers Music Box. Victoria
Street. 220 1708. 10pm. Free. Ditto.
o The Peristalsis Brothers
Negociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Fee. See Tue 6.
0 Willie Logan Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
WEDNESDAY 14 Glasgow
0 Hot Fixx. Miller Street. 10pm. Free. Another good band. this time from Clydebank. They had a lot of potential last year- but line-up changes have halted their progress in the interim.
0 The Force Rock Club. Crystals. East Kilbride. 9pm. Hometown gig
z for East Kilbride band. with a large
l
local following.
LoNaiian Halt Bar. Woodlands road.
9pm. Free. As always . . . Edinburgh
0 The Everly Brothers Playhouse Theatre. Greenside Place. 557 2590. 8.30pm. £11.£9.£7. Been reading some interesting psychological analyses ofthis pair lately. Have to get back to you on this one . . .
O Nicky Hind Assembly Rooms. George Street. 225 3614. Edinburgh-based New Age-style minimalist composer Hind in his first solo concert (with his ensemble) in his home town.
0 Drchestre Jazira Moray House Student Union. Holyrood Road. Freshers Week being over. this is open to the general public (if you can get yourselfsigned in) and should be a cracking start to the term. Orchestre Jazira have been playing African music up and down the country for years. long before the current vogue.
0 Close Music Box. Victoria Street. 2201708. 10pm. Free. Only thing I‘ve heard of theirs so far is an inoffensive. jazzy but maudlin track on a compilation. Wouldn‘t recommend it from that track alone. but they could have better up their sleeve.
0 Apex Beat Fresh. Waterloo Place. 556 2839. 9pm. Free.
0 Revolver Lord Darnley. West Port. 229 4341. 10pm. Free.
0 Loo-Aka-Bop Boston Bean Co. St James Ccntre.5560111. 8.30pm. Free. See Wed 7.
THURSDAY 15 Glasgow
0 The Style Council Barrowland. Gallowgate. 7.30pm. Officially they are playing a special tour of ‘more intimate‘ venues - although it is more likely that they are just unable to sell enough tickets for the larger ones they have played in the past. A shame as Weller still has some of the finest songs of the 80s in his back catalogue with both the Style Council and the Jam.
0 Wolihounds The Venue. Coatbridge. 9pm. Another C86 band — but with a bit ofindividuality.
o The Chesterfields/Jesse Garonand The Desperadoes Fury Murry’s. Maxwell Street. 10.30pm. The Chesterfields can be either good or terrible there doesn‘t seem to be much in between. Jesse Garon are the pick of the Narodnik bands. with some nice tunes and a few good singles behind them.
Edinburgh
0 Punch The Venue Calton Road. 557 3073. 7.30pm. Alan Campbell raved about their ‘modern thoughtful pop‘. so they must have something!
0 Strategy Fresh. Waterloo Place. 556 2839. 9pm. Free.
0 Shiver 'n’ Shake Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9pm. Free. 0 Picture The Scene Music Box. Victoria Street. 220 1708. 10pm. Free.
0 Los Supremos Canny Man's. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
0 Backshiit Clowns. High Street. 556 1830. 9pm. Free.
SINGLES
o The Shamen: Christopher Mayhew Says (Moksha). Still searching ior that elusive hit, and probably quite worried by now. Strengthening the Blis’ end oi their sound with hip-hop drum machine and a harsh guitar rlii, deitly whipped irom The Smiths’ ‘Barbarism Begins At Home’, The Shaman sound on good lorm, but will a tribute to the first Member oi Parliament to drop LSD get played enough on the radio to give them the coverage they deserve?
0 Hard Corps: Lucky Charm (Rhythm King). This single, on the same label as disco queen Tally, positively reeks. You can guess the story: precocious ‘avant garde' electronic brats wake up to discover the rent due and decide to turn ‘iunky’, trying to kid on it’s all part oi a masterplan to inilltrate the nation’s youth, while in realltythey’re iust desperate to keep the balliiis away. That reminds me, where are SPK and 400 Blows now? Personally, I'd play this to clear a dancetloor, not till it.
o The Firm: Superheros (Bark). AAAAAAARRRRGHHH! Worse, worse, worse than ‘Star Trekkin’. Destroy all copies!
ALBUMS
o Chris Rea: Dancing With Strangers (Magnet). I’d been putting oii listening to this, but slapped it on as some mellow background noise alter a iraught day. Having never reckoned Chris Bea very much, was pleasantly surprised to hear an accomplished album by a periormer who knows both where he’s going and how to get there. The gruii voice and swing oi ‘Wlndy Town' evokes comparisons with Springsteen, but Rea was born in
Mlddlesborough, and on top at the clearly American lnlluenced music spins tales that centre on his native land. And he plays nearly all the guitars himseli. I'm impressed.
LIVE REVIEW
The Right Stun/Deacon Blue/The Proclaimers: Motherweil Civic Centre The Right Stuii have chosen the right . name. They have a pedigree -working with other known Glasgow bands in the, past, and they are playing a set oi " clinical and ultimately gutless. designer Glaswegian pop, with a high degree at proiessionallsm. To an ASR man, songs like Show Some Respect and That's Alright (their best song) are just. . . the Right Stuil. To this reviewer, Love And Money were doing similar things a lot better two years ago.
Deacon Blue were simply excellent as always, with a 17-song set sending the younglsh audience wild. Highlights were Suiiering, Spencer Tracey and the current single, When Will You Make My Phone Ring, which iorced Mr Angst Ridden beside me to comment 1 think they are better than The Smiths.‘ As statements at the obvious go this is akin to Diego Maradonna being called a better iootballer than me.
Mr Angst Ridden probably enjoyed the Proclaimers more than i did. The ilrst time I heard them, the Proclaimers were hash and interesting, but now the sheet has worn oil a bit, despite the strength at the songwriting, as seen on Misty Blue and Beautiiul Truth. At the end oi the day, there lustweren’t enough Mr Angst Riddens in the audience to make this a truly great Proclaimers gig, like their outing at the ' Henry Wood Hall.
30 The List 2—15 October