[-8. 15pm. £5 (£4). See Fri 26.
I The lncurable Tam White Band The Edge. Drummond Street. 557 6010 £4.50. See Fri 26.
I Dansette and The Majors Marco's. (iroy e Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3(£2.50). See Fri 26.
I The Varmints Bandwagon. .Morrison Street. Residency . until the end ofthe l-estiy al. Rather spilling local group(a|so
5 known as (‘ritter l lill \‘armintsl
specialising in y ary ing degrees ol country and bluegrass.
I Texas Breaklast Lord l)arnley . West Port. 2294341 10pm Free. Blues. (iood swinging feel.
I Drilling Wood \egociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free.
I BillyJones ( iordons ('l'he Auld (‘hase ). lionny rigg. AcoUstic rock ‘n' roll. from
(need it be said yet again?) izdinburgh's
most popular solo entertainer.
SUNDAY 28
l
1
Glasgow
I Burden Blues Breakers 1.a'1'anicre. 15 l-os Street. 9pm. Free. Acoustic version. Residency.
Edinburgh
I Ted Hawkins ()ueen‘s Hall. South ('lerk Street. 668 2019.930pm. £6.501iy eryonc knows u/mul 'l'ed llayy kins (usually in terms like Andy Kershaw 's greatest find. gri/xled old blucsman untouched by Western civilisation until his first Radio One session. blah blah' 1. bill how many can confess to actually knowing any of his songs.‘ Me neither. Remedy the situation. either tonight or tomorrow night. I Makossa Platform ()ne. (‘aledonian liolel. lolliian Road. 225 2433. 8.30pm. L2.SL‘L‘S;112~. I Amampondo Assembly Rooms. (ieorge Street. 226 2427 8. 11.45pm. £5 (£4). Sec l-ri 26. I Dansette and The Majors Marco's. Grove Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3 (£2.50). See Fri 26. I Arizona and Ca Va Soundchcck Rock ('lub. Venue. ('alton Road. 557 3073. 7.30pm. £1.50. Popular weeklyheayy rock metal club. I Billy Jones lord [)arnley'. West Port. 2294341. 10pm. Free. See Sat 2”. I S-BU Liquidator 1.ord Darnley . West Port. 2294341. 10pm. Free. .Me neither .. hope he spelt 11 right.
MONDAY 29 Edinburgh
I Ted Hawkins ()ueen's l 1all. South (‘lerk Street. 668 2019. 9.30pm. £6.50. See Sun 28.
ITanita Tikaram Assembly Rooms. (icorgc Street. 226242" 8. 8pm. £4.50 (£3.50). See Festival Rock.
I FlacoJimenez and The Tex-Mex All-Stars Venue. ( ‘alton Road. 55~ 3023. 8pm. ('onsidering his pedigree it's a wonder l’laeo not better known in his own right. has mg recorded with Dylan. Santana. Salim. (‘ooder and Willie Nelson and has composed soundtracks tor sey eral moy ies. including [)ennis I lopper's "l'he .-\meriean \Vay ' and ‘Restless \atives'. l‘hc notoriously myopicUrammy Awards people es en presented him with an award lor the best ‘..\merican ethnic (ll/('t’tll‘fs’lll musician' So what more do youyyant‘.’ (iel on down there.
I Ben Badoo Venue. (‘alton Road. 55" 3073 Midnight .-\ master drummerlrom (ihana. lien brings his eight-piece band (Bi'istol-lmsed. but drenched in
.-\tro—( ‘arribean influence) of drums. percussion. say and guitar for the next five nights.
I Jools Holland and His Big Band .-\mphitheatre. lothian Road. 2284373. 9.15pm £5 1 £4) See Fri 26.
I Dansette and The Majors .\1arco‘s.(iroy c Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3(£2.50). Sec i'l'i 2h.
MUSIC LIST/ROCK
I Makossa Platform ()ne. (‘aledonian 11otel.1.othian Road. 225 2433. 8.30pm. £2. See Sat 27.
I Amampondo Assembly Rooms. (ieorge Stret. 2262427 8.11.45pm.£5(£4).See Fri 26.
I Jesse Rae Marquee. .Music Box. Victoria Street. 220 1708. £2.50on door. £2 in ads ance. Tonight there is alsoan under- 18s show at 7pm. £1 .50on door. £1 in adyance. (iuid auld Jesse. still waving the freak flag high. Visitors from abroad might like to note that he was theorily
yy hite man allowed to intrude into(ieorge (‘linton's New York funk sessions. and he's been putting together his own brand ol ('aledonian funk ey er since. Video (his on n ) plays a large part in Jesse's shows and no less a personage than Francis Ford (‘oppola called one of his early works the best marriage of music and visuals he'd
I Little Wolves and The Wendys A W01. (‘1ub. The iidgc. [)rummond Street. 557 6010. [inergetic rhythm 'n' blues supported by a curious amalgam of yarious elements from The Sniithsand The Wedding Present. Less than the sum of their parts unfortunately.
I Live band Lord 1)arnley.\\'est Port.229 4341. 10pm. Free. L'nconfirmed.
TUESDAY 30 Glasgow
I Hollow Horse Bar Luxembourg. 197 Pitt Street. 332 1111. lllpm. Free. Very much a ‘ncarly there" band. ()n demo andlive they hay e some very good songs centred around their 'acousticy' sound. There is also fair amount of indifferent things v- so maybe a slight re-adjustment focusingof
what they are doing could produce an excellent band.
I Urban Moon Paisley Arts Centre. Paisley. Formerly called ‘Black and Blue' — this is another acoustic based band. who unfortunately had to change their name due to the existence ofan American heavy metal band of the same name.
I Bobby Wishart iialt Bar. Woodlands Road. 332 1210. 9pm. Free. The residency that never ends . . . and a good thingtoo. I Overdrive La Taniere. 15 Fox Street. 9pm. Free. Not one to speculate. but I reckon this might just be heavy metal.
Edinburgh
I Martin Stephenson and The Daintees Queen's ilall. South Clerk Street. 668 2019. 9.30pm. £5.50. See Festival Rock. I Flaco Jimenez and The Tex-Mex All-Stars Venue. (.‘alton Road. 557 3073. 8pm. See Mon 29.
I Ben Badoo Venue. (‘alton Road. 557 3073. Midnight. See Mon 29.
I Amampondo Assembly Rooms. George Street. 2262427 8. 11.45pm. £5 (£4). See Fri 26.
I Jools Holland and His Big Band Amphitheatre. Lothian Road. 2284373. 9.15pm. £5 (£4). See Fri26.
I Dansette and The Majors Marco‘s. Grove Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3(£2.50). See Fri 26.
I Preacher's Daughter Lord Darnlcy. west Port. 229 4341. 10pm. Free. \V'henthey turn the amps up. a bit reminiscent of'l‘he Waterboys. but they've a songwriting talent that shows they're not just imitators. Far from it. The demo has some fine. wistful songs.
I Blacque Jacqoe Shellacque Oddfellows. Forrest Road. 220 1816. 8pm. Free.
TANITA TIKAIiM
Tanita Tikaram is one at these acts, like Fairground Attraction, who allow even the hardened cynic to believe that sometimes quality does and can rise to the top.
Her debut single, the crattily poppy, Good Tradition, has made the top twenty, only a year alter she passed her A-levels (‘AAB'), eight months alter her lirst gig and live months alter signing a record deal with Warner Brothers.
Good Tradition was one at three songs on the demo that got her signed - the others being Cathedral Song (probably the next single) and Poor Cow, a song about “cattle market relationships‘ observed among her contemporaries in Basingstoke, where she lived having moved lrom West Germany at the age of 12.
‘Good Tradition is the most poppy song I have‘, she explained belore its release, ‘but I don‘t leel that releasing it is selling mysell short. It has a big
drum sound, and is more likelyto appeal to the radio, so that is probably a good thing.’
‘It was a kind at compromise, and I think we'll be a bit more daring with the next single release. I would certainly be happier to be in the charts with something like Cathedral Song than Good Tradition, but the lirst single is really just a taster lor the album.’
The album, Ancient Heart, will probably give a more complete picture at Tanita Tikaram than the live show, which by her own admission is severely limited by its acoustic lormat, although the potential is more likely to be realised by her perlormances with a band, planned tor later in the year. in spite at her catalogue ol achievements to date, Tanita seems singularly unmoved:
‘When W.E.A. signed me, the MR people were not at all patronising, they seemed quite excited', she said. ‘They seemed more interested in me as an artist, than they were in the buzz in the industry. I'm not terribly excited about getting a record deal. It's not the main thing - I just want to carry on writing benersongsf
The temptation to throw Tanita Tikaram in a pigeonhole with Suzanne Vega and the likes is strong — but her inlluences are best determined lrom her autobiography, where she claims:
‘l tell back on my leet with Joni Mitchell (how well she understood) and later on it was Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen (via Jenniter Warnes), Van Morrison (via the badger on the lawn) and Otis Bedding (via Blue.)'
The ingredients are right— and it is a sale bet that Tanita Tikaram will not be a one hit wonder. (Mab)
Accessible pop.
WEDNESDAY 31 Glasgow
I Kool Whip Fixx. 86 Miller Street. 248 2859. 10pm. Free. In roughly the same division as llollow Horse a good band. who on the evidence of their last Fixxgig. still need to put some work into the live set to be totally convincing. This may be the time though.
I Amampondo ('umbernauld Theatre. (‘umbernauld (1236 732887. From Wembley Stadium to (‘umbernauld Theatre in under three months. Amarnpondo were one of the less heralded acts on the Mandela Day concert — you can‘t imagine Tracy Chapman playing the (‘umbernauld Theatre now— but could be brilliant in this environment.
Edinburgh
I Martin Stephenson and The Daintees Queen‘s Hall. South Clerk Street. 668 2019. 9.30pm. £5.50. See Tues 30.
I Ben Badoo Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. 8pm. See Mon 29.
I Jools Holland and His Big Band Amphitheatre. Lothian Road. 2284373. 9.15pm. £5 (£4). See Fri 26.
I Dansette and The Majors Marco's. Grove Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3(£2.50). Sec Fri 26.
I Dog Faced Hermans and Therapy The Edge. Drumrnond Street. 557 6010. Good double-header. Therapy‘s sound has beefed up noticeably of late. and the llermans are at a commanding peak.
I Soullinger ()ddfellows. Forrest Road. 2201816. 8pm. Free.
I Bon Ton Boulez Lord Darnley. West Port. 229 4341. 10pm. Free.
THURSDAY 1 Glasgow
I The Prowlers La Taniere. 15 Fox Street. 221 4844. 9pm. Free. An indie. hard rock band from Wolverhampton. Probably better than Wolverhampton‘s other favourite sons. The Mighty Lemondrops. if Murrayfield was anything to go by.
I Jamie Barnes and Cochise Rooftops. 92 Sauchiehall Street. 10.30pm. Residency- a night of ‘boogie and booze‘. it has to be said that Jamie Barnes and cohorts have survived much longer in this game than Scheme ever did.
IThursday orSomething ilalt Bar. 160 Woodlands Road. 332 1210. 9pm. Free.
Edinburgh
I Blues 'n' Trouble Queen‘s Hall. South Clerk Street. 668 2019. 9.30pm. £5 See Festival Rock.
I Tom Robinson Assembly Rooms. George Street. 226 2427 8. 11.45pm. £6 (£4.50). Tom‘s cut down his Festival run this year. from several weeks to only three nights. Hopefully he hasn't lost his late-night cabaret charm. which made the small shows of a few years ago so enjoyable.
I Ben eadoo Venue. (‘alton Road. 557 3073. 8pm. See Mon 29.
I Jools Holland and His Big Band Amphitheatre. Lothian Road. 2284373. 8.15pm. £5 (£4). See Fri26.
I Dansette and The Majors Marco's. Grove Street. 228 2179. Midnight. £3(£2.50). Sec Fri 26.
I Alan Rankine and In Real Lite Venue. (‘alton Road. 557 3073. Midnight. Fax-Associate. whose solo albums have provided some gorgeous.
key board-sw atth love songs". has taken to San Francisco lately. producing in Real Life'sown work.
I Deal Heights Cajun Aces Bandwagon. Morris-on Street. The last two words ofthe name says it all.
I Texas Breakfast Ry rie's. llaymarket. 9pm. Free. See Sat 27.
I Rich Free Fall ()ddfellows. Forrest Road. 220 1816. 8pm. Free.
60 The 26 .-\ug— 1 Sept 1988