MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
HONEY/BABY CHAOS
King Tut's. Glasgow. 29 May.
What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s a-happening. You're not from round these parts. You breeze into a reputable watering hole looking for kicks. Some hack on the highway says this Honey/Baby Chaos deal could be a hot potato — record companies sniffing around. bit of press. industry 'buzz‘ (for what it's worth). So you hit the saloon and there's Baby Chaos playing 'Buzz’.
You‘re impressed by the unapologetic way they violate the pre-set conversational rhubarb. 'by the heart-and-soul way they throw themselves into the songs. the performance. each other. by the way the singers freshly-Timotei‘d locks are lank with sweat in under five minutes. They play with spunk. verve and all those other words that sound like the band name they should have chosen — What was wrong with plain old Chaos? — and if it’s taken till now to mention their songs, it's only because they hardly push the barriers of expectation. So this must be the part of the review where it’s customary to 'say ‘But . . .‘
Here's why Baby Chaos are attracting attention: they belong to that very 90s strand of indie-pop that venerates the Transit van. blueprinted by Mega City Four. Senseless Things and emasculated 'by Kerosene. 3% Minutes and other weightless NME favourites. Baby Chaos are current. but not electrifying.
Honey are backward- ‘looking in many respects. celebrating the mid-to-late 805 proviso of half- melodies and a couple of glittering riffs stretched too far (hello. Echo And The Bunnymen; howdy. House Of Love); also. they try too hard and seem bereft of the ability to manipulate from a stage. If you're not preening material. why not make a virtue of it? Take Liz Cocteau's ability to conjure an edgy performance from an alien environment.
Unfortunately. neither of tonight‘s bands. even in their finely-tuned state. have much they can call their own - a sorry assessment of two of the city's more worthwhile bets. (Fiona Shepherd)
I II' is The Plaza, Glasgow, 24 May. Molly llali llead: hali-iull, half-baked.
. lt’s diiilcult to be more enthusiastic
about a band that starts with its weakest numbers, only gradually getting to the meat oi the sandwich. Oniortunate, as there’s clearly sornethlng to be worked with - it’s just under-employed! Molly llali llead are
mostly let down by a singer with no
vocal projection, speaking with more stage-presence than he sings, and the curse oi too many iniluences rendering virtually every song
r pleasant yet inane. The result is a hit
and miss charm with a short
i aspartame aitertaste.
!
Inspiral carpets get the youth vote. Having survived the baggy ialI-out with credibility (kind oi) intact, the Inspirals have honed their knack oi marrying sharp, timeless pop songs to elements oi lndle, hippy, rave and even iootball - to the extent that the last and third album ‘llevenge (ii The Goldilsh’ was perhaps their best and most, diem, inspired yet. The
INSPIRAL CARPETS/MOLLY HALF HAD
mystery? The variety oi emotion they manage to elicit irom such a basic,
I unmistakable, organ-heavy sound.
It’s little wonder that their iollowing is so devoted, weathering the storms oi passing iashion and the brickbats oi too-trendy disdain: Inspiral Carpets deliver the goods. They may not be the most charismatic oi bands but their groovy, psychedelic light show - and ditto the songs - more than compensates.
liaii though they may sometimes
appear (those haircuts, purleese!) they
weight their show periectly, shitting irom the dance-iloor euphoria oi old classics like ‘Sackville’ to the brooding melancholia oi later tracks ‘llraggin’ Me llown’ and ‘Bitches Brew’. Flighty Madchester hedonism has crumbled and a sure rock thrill has taken its stead.
And ior an encore? Nothing less than a grunge-with-organ version oi Soit Bell’s ‘Tainted Love’. And it’s that word again: inspired! (Ania Glowacz)
V BOOK NOW
Concerts listed are those at major venues, ior which tickets are on public sale at time oi going oi press.
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) Manic Street Preachers. Jul 3; Galliano. 31 Jul; Iggy Pop. 21 Aug: Levellers. 6—7 Oct.
I GLASGOW CELTIC PARN (227 5511) U2. 8 Aug.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Squeeze.
I m
HARRY CONNICN JR
Playhouse, Edinburgh, 31 May Therearethose readyto write oii liarry Gounlck Jr as lust a pretty iace backed up by a lot oi style-page hype and a lucky movie break, but even the iirst ten minutes oi this concert was enough to dispatch that theory into oblivion, once and ior all. He may be a throwback to the days when swing was king, but Mrs Connlck’s boy has it all.
He’s good looking ior starters, which clearly didn’t hurt ii the reactions oi
: the packed Playhouse crowd were ; anything to go by; on top oi that, he ‘ sings like Sinatra, dances like Sammy
Davis, likes to sit in on drums like Mel Tonne, plays piano like nobody’s business, and lays on the charm like an old pro - he had the crowd eating out oi his hand right irom the word go.
All this, and still only in his mid-20s.
When he iirst emerged, Nat King Cole seemed his major vocal influence, but these days the resemblance to Sinatra in terms oi singing ster (not to say demeanour) grows more and more marked, both in the way he phrases
, songs, and in the very timbre oi his
dark-hued, lightly-weighted baritone voice. It is most obvious when he sings songs associated with Francis Albert, like ‘Just line (it Those Things’, ‘It Had To Be You’, or the encore, ‘All oi Me’, but is never iar away.
Above all, though, Connlck is an entertainer, and this show never let up ior a moment. lie has the nerve to try - and invariably pull oii - the corniest material, including ‘Bare Necessities’ irom ‘The Jungle Book’, and even, God help us, ‘llanny Boy’, which he maybe thought was Scottish, what with all those mountains and glens. lie played some dazzling stride and boogie piano (and is actually an even better piano player than he showed us tonight), and was backed by as tight, exciting and dynamic a big band as you are likely to hear this year, or any other. All pretenders to the throne can stand aside right now - Mr Connlck is the genuine article. (Joe Alexander)
I 26 Sept; Jethro Tull. ll . Oct; Gary Glitter. 23-24
Dec.
I GLASGOW PAVILION
(332 1846) Big Vern. 26
Jun; ELO Part II. 7 Jul;
Blues Band. 27 Aug;
i Errol Brown. 19 Sept.
1 u cuscow secc (031
i 557 6969) Neil Young. 12
Jul; OMD.4 Dec.
I EDINBURGH
MEADOWBANN (557 6969)
Prince. 29 Jul.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S
HALL (668 2019) Indigo
Girls. 30 Jul.
I EDINBURGH USHER
HALL (228 1155) Rob
: Strong. 18 Jun; Little Angels. 6 Jul.
3 JAZZ
I GLASGOW CONCERT
HALL (227 5511) Dionne
Warwick. 3 Jul; Nina
Simone. 7 Jul; BB. King.
i 8 Jul; Tony Bennett. 9 Jul;
Stephane Grappelli. 10 Jul; Bilk & Ball. 12 Oct;
Syd Lawrence Orchestra. 30 Oct; Glenn Miller Orchestra. 18 Nov.
I GLASGOW
E FRUITMARNET (GIJF) (227
} 5511)Jools Holland Big Band. 1 Jul; Stan Tracey
Octet. 2 Jul; Jack Bruce. 2 Jul; David Murray Trio. 3
Jul; Joe Pass & Martin
E Taylor. 3 Jul; Don Pullen.
. 3 Jul; Tommy Smith & SYJO. 4 Jul; Tommy
Smith & John Taylor. 5
Jul; Ahmad Jamal. 6 Jul;
Brecker Brothers. 7 Jul;
Carol Kidd. 8 Jul; Art
5 Ensemble of Chicago. 9
Jul; Django Bates &
Joanna MacGregor. 10
Jul; Hermeto Pascoal.
9—10 Jul. GIJF info from
041 552 3572.
j I EDINBURGH OUEEN'S
5 HALL(668 2019) Carla
Bley. 30 Jun; Georgie Fame. 8 Jul.
FOLK
I EDINBURGH IISHER HALL(228 1155) incantation. 20 Jun; Clannad. 22 Jun; Mary O'Hara. 26 Jun.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(227 5511) Mary O'Hara. 27 Jun; Tom Paxton, 3 Oct.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Pasadena Roof Orchestra. 27 Aug; Rebecca Storm. 17 Oct; 1 Dominic Kirwan. 4 Nov; . Tammy Wynette. 7 Nov; . Patsy Cline Tribute. i 28-29 Nov. g I GLASGOW SECC (031 5 557 6969) Johnny Mathis. ' 26 Sept. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155)Tammy Wynette. 6 Nov.
7 CLASSICAL
: I GLASGOW CONCERT ; HALL (227 5511) RSNO 2 Proms. 18-19. 22-26 Jun; 1 100 Summers with Tchaikovsky. 8. 15. 22 Aug; GIGS. 17—19 Sept. I GLASGOW RSAMO (332 i 5057) Zoe Alambicum. 19 3 Jun; St Mary’s Concert. . 20 Jun; Jun Orch. 26 Jun; Magic Flute. 28 Jun—l Jul. 1 I EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Haddo House Choral. 19 Jun; 1 Napier Bands. 25 Jun; Come and Sing. 26 Jun; ' Philomusica. 27 Jun; Scottish Ensemble. 9 Jun. I EDINBURGH 1 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL | 15 Aug-4 Sept. Programme and tickets from EIF Box Office. 21 Market Street. Edinburgh EH1 lBW(031225 :5756) I SUBSCRIPTION I SEASONS Programme details and tickets for RSNO. SCO. BBC $80. and CGPO concerts are , available from !Ticketcentrc. Glasgow .(227 5511); Usher Hall. [Edinburgh (228 1155); Queen's Hall. Edinburgh (668 2019). Tickets for Scottish Opera from fTheatre Royal. Glasgow (332 9000); King's Theatre. Edinburgh (229 1201).
35 The List 4—17 June 1993