MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
V LIVE BILLY BUDD
19 Feb.
It is difficult to helieye that Scottish ()pera‘s current Billy Budd is a rcyiyal ol'a production first and last seen as long ago as 1987. ()t‘all the new productions unyeilcd in recent years. this is possibly the most memorable. the most atlecting and. now that it's the years later. the most faithfully reyiyed. (iraham \"ick may haye caUsed sortie controy ersy \\ hen he \\ as director ol‘ productions. but many line results came from his time with Scottish Opera. [is en it Bil/y Budd was the only fruit in his legacy to the company . it is proot that he is one of the best directors around. In its reyiyal by Paul Malone}. Vick‘s Billy li’udt/ ltas lost none ol'its ptm er and is perhaps ey en sharpened by art ideal cast and superb musical direction from Richard Armstrong. who takes oyer trom John Mauceri as the company's lull-time Musical Director nest year. Britten‘s rctellingol I lerman
Mels ille's talc otthe al'lairs aboard the [min/nimble the year betorc the French Resolution is one w hich disturbs. upsets and questions.
()1 the three main characters. ('laggart. the depray ed master-at-arms and piyotal figure for the opera‘s complex issues — post er. authority. homosexuality. good. eyil -- was played by the Israeli-born (iidon Saks. making his Britiin debut and supposedly sultering from throat problems. 11 last Wednesday 'sopening night pcrlormancc at (ilasgoyy 's'l‘lteatrc Royal says Saks on art oil-night.l
cannot wait to hear him in
top form. In the title role.
' Simon Keenlyside \\ as
\y'tilithl'IllIly cony incing.
as u as Nigel Robson 1 playingthepartol‘
L
(‘aptain Vere. Stnaller roles and the all-male chorus contribute similar c\cclIcttcc to make this strong stull indeed. ((‘arol Main)
32‘l‘he list 28 l’ebruary - 12 March 1992
Theatre Royal. (ilasgoyy.
KITH AND KIN
Music Box, Edinburgh, 18 Feb. Snow outside, but we’re rocking indoors tonight with Edinburgh’s liddling siblings, Celtic-punk sextet Pure Blind Panic. Ragamutlins, they are one at the most energetic bands around; hook-laden numbers like ‘Wide World' mix Poguetry and Waterboyishness to relentless, charged ettect. Fronted by the able, enthusiastic Heather Syme, PBP have a taithiul local lollowing - purchasers ol patchouli and Doc Martens to a (wo)man—which, like their musical prowess, grows with the seasons. impressive.
Kith And Kin (lormerly an ex-Swamptrash/Critterhill Varmints Lothian melee) have a new logo—
squatting Buddha in baseball gloves- two new sax players and a new lease at tile. The technically impressive six-piece now preler Bermuda shorts and international dance-beats to overworn, countrilied Mike Scottisms. They open enigmatically with
5 didgery-doo and space-guitar f harmonics. Shite, David Sylvian’s
come back lrom Tokyo to haunt us!
' Spooky! Butwait. . .
Funked up via their keen horn section where they once were bogged down with lolkisms, K&K now mean business where they once meant nothing much.
/1' r “g . ” " With an adept bassist and robust sound mix, ‘Soul Sister’ is, they admit, .‘slightlyjazzy, whilst ‘Take The Lead’
and ska in theirveins too, and they play both with aplomb behind a pallid mainman, adroit ol voice. Their eclectic, well-arranged tunes go down well. All the ‘celebs’ are in—the Crows’ (or, ahem, Wild Spirit) bassist rubs shoulders with Better Ways' head-yodeller— amidst a lair turnout tor a cold Tuesday night. And Kith And Kin deliver. Occasionally, their pop is lukewarm: a song to which they insist we ‘hand jive‘ overstays its welcome, too cliche-ridden torcomtort. Mainly allecting, though. (Paul W. Hullah)
has an early Dexys leel. There’s reggae
V LIVE
THE CARDIACS
The Venue, Edinburgh, 18 Feb.
Never been one to encourage the support-band-as-sorry-descendants- ol-headliners mentality but, really, you could lit the population at China in the musical distance between The Cardiacs and The Last Minute. The latter’s well overlong set consists
mainly ol 3 sound as anachronistic as their haircuts; the sort ol hectic,
cluttered chaos that thanklully went out
with Pigbag and Dexy's. Only twice do
they veer lrom knees-up jollity — once with a patience-bleeding blues workout. and once, more lavourably, with a
blithering scramble ol improv
overdrive almost lit to lick the boots ot The Dog Faced Hermans. Still, their slim posse ol jiving chums can spot a decent skittering beat, and who am I to talk about haircuts anyway? A word in preparation lorThe
, Cardiacs. because despite the
' longevity ot their career they’re still
3 territory unsounded by the consuming
( masses: they’re weird, they’re obtuse, and they make no apologies. A lirst encounter means instant conversion or
automatic revulsion. Frontman Tim Smith boasts the kind oi deranged glinting eyes possessed by lledgling axe-murderers. You don’t meet his gaze EVER it you want to escape with your dignity intact. The rest of the band look like a borstal breakout entangled with the Rotary Club tea dance.
Musically, they hop between Oevo’s orchestrated electro eccentricity and Gong’s mock-epic meandering. They know a bit about structuring their set too, moving progressively from the staccato to the searing. ‘Day Is Gone’ is astounding — a wracked guitar edilice. ‘Ol The Land And The Sea‘ is wonky and dense and rattles your vertebrae. They encore with the gargantuan ‘ls This The Lite?’, welcomed like an old lriend come to dinner, an old lriend who proceeds to overturn the table and trample your chicken supreme into the carpet. We’d lorgotten what an awkward customer it was.
They end as they began: eyes tront, bodies rigid, three pairs 01 hands blurring overtheir strings. More quirks than Carstairs. They should be institutionalised — in every sense at the word. (Fiona Shepherd)
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Concerts listed are those at major venues, tor which tickets are on public sale at time at going at press.
”’FROCK
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BARROWLAND (226 4679)
i ' Loy'e'llate.14Mar:Stiff
Little Fingers. 17 Mar;
Charlatans. 5 Apr; 1, Levellers. 1 May; Carter. ' q 8—9 May. :y‘ I GLASGOW CELTIC PARK
(227 551 1) Prince. 28Jun; Bryan Adams. 1 1 Jul. I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(227 5511)Jethro Tull. 18 Mar: Lisa Stanst'ield.2(1Mar: Drum Beat. 3 Apr; Four Tops. 14 Apr. I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Australian Doors. 18 Mar: Philadelphia 11. 21 Mar;
(iary Numan. 27 Mar: Errol Brown. 15 Apr: (‘harley Pride. 17 Apr. I GLASGOW PLAZA(()31 557 (i969) [{MI". 27 Apr. I GLASGOW SECC (031 557 6969) Wet Wet Wet. 13 Mar: Tom Petty. 15 Mar; Rollercoaster. 25
Julian Joseph. 15 Mar: Dubliners. 18 Mar: Danish Radio Big Band. 2(1Mar: Ornette Coleman and Prime Time. 27 Apr. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1 155) Dizzy Gillespie Bebop Band. 19 Mar“. Katia Labeque and John McLaughlin Trio. 20 Jun.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511)The Musicals. 3 May: Jesus (‘hrist Superstar Concert. 4 May.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (557.2590) James Last. 4—5 Sept.
CLASSICAL
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HALL(227SSII)
l’hilharmonia. 23 Mar;
1 Midori. 29 Mar; ()pera Gala. 5 Apr.
7 Rickiel.ceJones.22Mar; ; 2,,E7Lfgffiffflifi'g‘flfif'
' and Kenneth Broadway.
21) Mar: Academy (‘0. 26 Mar; Junior ()rch. 29
Mar; Scottish Iinscmblc.
Apr.
11) Apr; S(‘() Brass. 11
IEDINBURGH QUEEN'S HALL(66821119)Brindisi
Mar; Rush. 15 Apr; Diana
Ross. 1(1Jun; Roxettc. 18 Jul: ('lilT Richard. 29—31 Oct 1 Tom Jones. 2 Nov. I LIVINGSTON FORUM (557 6969) The Beautiful South. 21 Apr.
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(557 259(1) Jethro Tull. 17 Mar: I‘irasure. 3—5 Jul.
I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S HALL (668 21119) EMF. 26 Apr.
JAZZandFOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(2275511) Dubliners. 17 Mar; Danish Radio Big Band. 22 Mar; ('hick (‘orca lilcktric Band. 26 Mar; Foster and Allen. 3(1Mar: Sonny Rollins. 21 Apr; Syd Lawrence ()rchestra. 22 May.
I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S HALL (668 21119) John Ilarle Big Band. 13 Mar:
é
c i;
‘I
I
String Quartet. 16 Mar; ()rkcst dc Volharding. 25 Mar; Alfred Brendel. 11 Apr; Scottish Ensemble. 12 Apr: Iiyelyn (ilennie and Anna Stcigcr. 29 Apr. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1 155) Verdi‘s Requiem ([iR(‘L.' ). 9 May; S(‘()’Ratt1e. 16Jun. I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Programme details and tickets for Royal Scottish ()rchestra. Scottish Chamber Orchestra. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. and City of (ilusgow Philharmonic Orchestra are available from Ticketccntre. Glasgow (2275511):llshcr11all. Lidinburgh(2281155); Queen‘s 1 Iall. Edinburgh (668 2019). Tickets for Scottish Open: from Theatre Royal. (ilasgow (332 900(1); Playhouse. Edinburgh (557 259(1).