MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
DINA CARROLL
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 29 Oct.
Now, if 1 was playing the first ever night of my first ever tour in Glasgow. l‘d be wearing asbestos underwear. Not Dina Carroll. No, she's wearing a daring off-the-shelf brown velvet suit. in a way she’s amongst her ain — she has relatives here. and it was only apt that she start her journey into stardom with some sort of homecoming.
Carroll at first seems most unlike a stage natural. She is ganeg onstage and her hair is tormented into nervous abuse. She doesn’t have an easy gig, and it’s made all the worse when she drops the mike early on in the set. The fact that she ignores this and looks so self-assured by the end of the concert is to show the courage of her convictions. lfanything, it‘s the deep beauty of her voice that won her over in this lions‘ den.
She has an excellent power-filled voice which is totally natural (she has never received any formal training). But. like M- People’s Heather Small. she has to concentrate to keep her voice in check. At one point. she launches straight into a note only to let out the most appalling caterwaul. Either that or she hiccuped. However. it is slightly unfair to draw so much attention to her sole mistake of the evening. Her tones are sweet. the way her voice shimmers is allun’ng, making tracks like ‘Don't Be A Stranger‘, ‘So Close' and ‘Ain’t No Man’ sound better than the vinyl. and she has the potential to be a very successful entertainer.
If there is a complaint. it's the format of the show: too static with not enough spontaneity. To date, Dina has only played club PAs and it shows. This concert hums somewhat of the format she has become accustomed to. The beats and keyboards are too pre- programmed and it tends to make the seven-piece backing line-up a bit redundant. There is little
choice but to concentrate on the vorce. it’s a damn
good job she was on form — they've killed for less in Glasgow. (Philip
L Dorward)
WORLD PARTY
llsher llall, Edinburgh, 25 Oct. We must be in the land of Pop, because Tinkerbell’s here, and she’s brought all her friends to sparkle in little white balls of light all over the stage. There’s music playing, out there somewhere, and there’s a feeling of magic about to happen . . . hang on, who are these guys with the guitars? World Party aren’t a raw-power sort of band, who demand to be lumped around to; although they play up- tempo, they’re more something to marvel at, and their inventive l-lightshow reinforces this, colours ' sliding slowly and luxuriously. People still want to dance, and this gives rise to a bizarre phenomenon where the rear half of the hall is on its feet moving and the front half sitting comfortably (sensible, I suppose, better view at the back). On goes the 1 music along its sparkling course, good times, good times. Frontman, ex-Waterboy Karl Wallinger is an interesting character: I smiling with Robbie, the lone ) haranguer, disguising a dig at the 1 security as a mid-song deadpan rap, i repeatedly going off-stage during ' solos to sort out audience problems. His hand have all got really duff hairstyles to show solidarity, horrible
, bobs and pudding-bowl moptops
1 distracting from Karl’s curly
. lampshade.
! A feeling of having a good time persists both onstage and in the audience. The band don’t have a huge array of hits to drag out; perhaps because of this, they are consistently Iistenable and their energy washes
. They succeed without needing a
' bouncing hall, and the applause is still i pretty energetic. lie back and Party
1 on. (Gavin Inglis)
l min- 9 THE LEMONHEADS/SOUL ; ASYLUM
Barrowland, Glasgow, 26 Oct. Eugenius have been and gone - third on this bumper bill - but a passing punter informs me they were total punk rock. The passing punter is Gordon Keen, their guitarist. Quite a coincidence, I’m sure you’ll agree. Soul Asylum say they didn’t feel
ready for their recent surge of success 7 in America and to a lesser extent here. (Well, you have only had ten years to
’; with grungey pop must have proved a
.testing experiment.
, Tonight, just to delineate the middle
,ground they occupy, their first song
lsounds like a sprightly Senseless
lThings number, their second like REG
l8peedwagon. From there, their
1 capacity to surprise depletes rapidly
i as banal workouts are sweated out innocuously, and then plummets to the sea bed as the boy Dando )oins them for a ‘guest spot’, a trick he’d tried with Eugenius which will probably become some sort of rite of pmge to be respected every night as the tour advances. Social leper that I am, Evan fails to tickle my erogenous zones, but here he comes across like a charisma saviour in an ocean of mundanity.
Really, The lemonheads are as guilty
as their support band when it comes to perpetrating musical wallpaper (albeit with an ‘alternatlve’ pattern).
Though it’s hard not to succumb to the i
goofy charm and simplicity of “Into Your Arms’, a minimal strum like ‘Big 1 Gay lleart’ is just musically ! inconsequential. llando’s economy is 1 welcome after the blustering of Soul | Asylum but the lack of true moments I in the set suggest he’s erring towards | the formulaic. The emotional zenith
4 j 1 comes with a solo rendition of a ’ ’ i Eugenius song, ‘Breakfast’. I At times the songs feel like a
sideshow attraction, with Dando’s Neanderthal looks the main feature. ills lust to remain on the stage when the house lights are telling him to go home just like his audience is indicates that beneath the ‘regular guy’ facade he’s lapping it up. He may be a slacker but he’s a devilish egomaniac too. (Fiona Shepherd)
BOOK NOW
Concerts listed are those at major venues, for which tickets are on public sale at time of going to press.
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) Hawkwind. 20 Nov; Hot House Flowers. 21 Nov; Teenage Fanclub. 26 Nov; Capercaillie. 27 Nov; James. 1 Dec; Sepultura. 3 Dec; 4 Non Blondes. 4 Dec; The Damned. 7 Dec;
Pogues. 10 Dec; The The.
12 Dec; Mr Big. 13 Dec; Saw Doctors. 17 Dec; Body Count. 20 Dec; Run Rig. 21-22 Dec; Bjorn Again, 31 Dec; Wonder
Stuff. 24 Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 1) The Commitments. 19 Nov; Kinks, 25 Nov; Deborah Harry. 26 Nov; Sylvian
, and Fripp, 2 Dec; Mary
Black, 9 Dec; Moody
Blues. 10 Dec; Run Rig, 1 13—14 Dec; Dr Hook. 16
over the crowd rather than gets inside. .
Dec; Lindisfame and The Strawbs, 19 Dec.
'. I GLASGOW PAVILION
(332 1846) Nazareth and
5 Uriah Heep. 21 Nov;
Maria McKee. 22 Nov; Carol Laula. 5 Dec.
I GLASGOW SECC (227 5511) Lenny Kravitz. 30 Nov; Take That. 1—2 Dec: Smash Hits Roadshow. 3
Dec; OMD. 4 Dec; Status : prepare lads, and crossing A08 sludge 1
Quo, 5 Dec; Wet Wet Wet, 8 Dec; Gary Glitter.
! 23—24 Dec; Meatloaf, 19
Mar.
I GLASGOW THEATRE
g ROYAL (332 9000) Maggie Bell. 2 Dec.
I LIVINGSTON FORUM
3 (557 6969) Run Rig. 6
Dec; Body
Count, 19 Dec.
I EDINBURGH INGLISTON
(0715871414)UB 40.14 Jan.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (557 2590)
Bootleg Beatles, 21 Nov;
Deacon Blue. 22 Apr.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Liberty Mounten. 27 Nov; Dream
Theater. 28 Nov; Carol , Laula. 4 Dec; Therapy'?, 9
Dec.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Run Rig, 1—2 Dec; Mary Black. 10
Dec.
JAZZ
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511)Carol Kidd. 16 Feb; Danish Radio Big Band, 10 Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Chris Barber. 12 Dec.
I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (332 9000) Humphrey Lyttelton Band. 30 Dec.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Andy Sheppard. 19 Nov; Phil Bancroft, 26 Nov; Pinski Zoo/Nigel Clark. 3 Dec; Melanie O‘Reilly, 10 Dec; Michel Petrucciani, 11 Feb; Carol Kidd. 18 Feb: Tommy Smith. 4 Mar; Danish Radio Big Band.
11 Mar; Cauld Blast Orchestra. 18 Mar.
FOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Edinburgh Ceilidh House Roadshow, 26 Nov; Mary Black, 9 Dec; Lindisfame and The Strawbs, 19 Dec; Celtic Connections. 9—23 Jan.
I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) Rumillajta. 20 Nov; Strings of Scotland. 27 Nov.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Cauld Blast Orchestra, 18 Mar. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Capercaillie. 30 Nov;
. Mary Black. 10 Dec.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Patsy Cline Tribute, 28—29 Nov. I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Sydney Devine. 18-20 Nov.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511) Mozart Requiem. 20 Mar.
| I cussmv concern
HALL(2275511)
Benevolent Fund Concert. , 22 Nov; Csardas. 28 Nov; ‘ Verdi Requiem, 5 Dec;
7 Pops at the Phil. 19 Dec;
Carol Concert. 22 Dec:
Favourite Music. 13 Feb; Choral Spectacular. 5 Jun.
I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) SEMC, 19 Nov;
Paragon, 21 Nov; ACO,
25 Nov; Norma Lerer. 28 i Nov; AWO. 2 Dec;
Drysdale and Emslie, 5
Dec; BTSE. 10 Dec;
SUWB&C. 11 Dec;
Carols, 14 Dec; JO&C. 18
Dec; Paragon. 23 Jan; SEMC. 4 Feb; BTSE, ll
“ Feb; Cappella Nova, 12
Feb; Paragon, 27 Feb; Hebrides, 6 Mar; SEMC.
11 Mar; Paragon. 20 Mar; BTSE, 15 Apr.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S
HALL (668 2019) ECAT. 20 Nov; Elizabeth
McCormack. 21 Nov; Paragon. 23 Nov; Paul
lanes, 24 Nov; Brindisi Quartet. 29 Nov; Katherine Durran. 30 Nov; ELO. 5 Dec; lmai and Vignoles. 6 Dec; King‘s Consort. 11 Dec; BTSE. 12 Dec; Meadows CO. 12 Dec; Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe. 15 Dec; Marisa Robles, 16 Dec; Cappella Nova. 18 Dec; Jubilo, 19 Dec; Clarsach Concert. 20 Dec; Messiah, 22 Dec; Emperor Qt. 17 Jan; Paragon. 25 Jan; Hebrides. 2 Feb; BTSE. 6 Feb; Hebrides, 6 Feb; Schubert Ens. 7 Feb; King’s Consort. 19 Feb; Paragon. 1 Mar; Hebrides. 7 Mar; Endellion Qt, 21 Mar; Paragon. 22 Mar; ECAT. 30 Mar; BTSE. 17 Apr; ECAT. 28 Apr; King's Consort. 7 May; Meadows CO. 15 May.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Messiah. 3 Jan; ERCU. 7 May.
36 The List 5—18 November 1993