MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
WOODSIDE NOW
West End Oyster Bar. Edinburgh. 20 Nov. Downstairs. the West End ()yster is shaped like a big 1.. This being a Saturday night. it‘s heaving. Squashed into a corner at one extreme. between two speakers. are live guys with instruments.
‘This is the Woodside Now anthetn. It's called “Ages".‘
There's a lot of bands in the same position as Woodside Now; gigging around Edinburgh. mostly in pubs with no admission charge. perhaps taking the occasional trip to Glasgow. Many aspire to greater things. Few of them are pushing so bloody hard. though. with a saturated gig schedule since the middle of July.
The Woodside sound is a hybrid. with elements of cajun. folk. country and a certain pop sensibility. Mandolin and fiddle appear in different ways to lend character. The band possess something many established acts don't: a repertoire of uncomplicated. catchy songs. Witness the whooping skirl of ‘Heart'. the cheesy squirrel charm of “Honse'. and the heartfelt honesty of ‘1 Believe‘. lindless rounds ofgigs have served to make their delivery effortlessly tight. and fiddler John Macintosh occasionally pulls out achineg beautiful moments. sttch as during 'Sincere'.
It looks like they‘re Comfortable here; their sense of humour is given a chance. in singer Mark Smith‘s lookout pose atop his stool and the dodgy intros to ‘The Spinner'. Maybe they‘re too comfortable; occasionally you get the feeling they‘re just bashing the stuff out. thinking about tomorrow‘s breakfast. When they do go for it. though. towards the end of their second set. the difference is obvious and the songs take off.
(jigging around the pubs is a Useful proving ground for bands. but it‘s clear that the Woodsides have got beyond that and they now need a chance to stretch.
If nothing else. they demand room for dancing. (Gavin Inglis)
32 The List 3 16 December l993
, THE JAYHAWKS
' King Tut’s, Glasgow, 25 Nov.
It’s in their craggy-voiced frontman’s demeanour. The realisation that The Jayhawks are no ‘ordinary’ country band. Yes, Mark Olson is wearing a waistcoat-ish garment, but this is more tank-top-cum-cardigan, all
woollen and sensible. Add in his scarf . knotted jauntily around his neck and
his mop of curls, and Olson has more the air of a raffish Oickensian public schoolboy than dusty backwoods raconteur. Drummer Ken Callahan, meanwhile, looks like a refugee from Bon Jovi, bassist Marc Perlman a member of Extreme, and keyboard player Karen Grotberg a ringer for Garth from ‘Wayne’s World’. Only Gary louris, the lead-guitaring Fabulous Furry Freak Brother in horn-rimmed glasses, looks the prairie part.
But by this time, we know that The Jayhawks are special. In “Two Angels’, ‘Settled Oown Like Rain’ and ‘clouds’ they spin beguiling romantic elegies that neatly bodyswerve any mawkish wallowing. When brought out from the sun-beamed loft that is home to ‘Hollywood Town Hall’ - their third album, released fourteen months ago and still sounding new from the blue - and paraded on stage, they somehow surpass their recorded versions. Maybe this is down to the slip-sliding harmonies of Olson and Louris, tugging in different directions, opening up the heart of the song for inspection. Maybe this is because pure poetic joy and hot-doggie tunes need to fly free.
V BOOK NOW
Concerts listed are those at major venues, for which tickets are on public sale at time of going of press.
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) Saw Doctors. 17 Dec: Body Count. 20 Dec; Run
Rig. 21 1)ec; Bjorn Again.
3i Dec; Paul Rodgers. 22 Jan; Wonder Stuff. 24
Maybe this is a pointless exercise in full-of-shit prose, but what the heck. .
1 It’s that Jayhawks moment.
1 Meanwhile, back in the real world .back at the gig, the Minneapolians are ; gswinging their way through some (newies. At their worst, a couple sound i {like the band have spent one night too 1 ;many hanging loose in a bare bar in Ethe mid-west. At their best, best {enough to swiftly dispel any doubts (about those dodgier numbers, louris Egets the chance to ring clear with his voice. He goes ‘l’m in love with a girl I’ve been talking about’, unaccompanied and untainted. Plain iold yearning never sounded so Iprofound, The Jayhawks never more femotive. Until, that is, they cover iGram Parson’s ‘Orug Store Truck lOriving Man’. Man, I’m jelly. Tears are :cool, remember. (Graig McLean)
Venue, Edinburgh, 27 Nov. Three guys: a drummer in headphones, a singer and a guitarist. So how do they make that huge rock noise?
CNN are the kind of band you’ll only understand when you see them live. They get their sound by a combination of upfront mixing and heavy sampled backing tracks. But the essence of what they are is a joke, taking the piss out of rock music the way 02 did it for television. That’s why the singer
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tmock-slaughters a guitar in a Hendrix
ister right at the start and why he camps it up in a bored persona during
the breaks between songs, swaggering around and thanking the audience
j without sincerity.
Soundwise, they can cut it comfortably. The drums are reliably punchy, the vocals have the edge when required, and ex-Sister of Mercy Tim Bricheno’s guitar can do the
wailing rock hero act with no problem at all. Maybe the on-stage theatrics do mean the sound is less than studio- perfect, and maybe not every song stands out as much as ‘looking .Forward To The an’, but let that pass.
They do have an eye for rock cliches, saying they’re not going off before the encore, they’ll just stay on-stage and soak up the applause. When they finish, the lights dim, a record starts.
. . only for them to return half-way through with an evil laugh.
The problem is, their set is 45 minutes long at the outside. With no support, not terribly good value for a (fiver. OK, OZ are on another level entirely, but at least they make a point 'of entertaining with a long, calculated 'show, several hours, with other bands and mock TV. CNN don’t even try. It :begs the question: is their piss-take (purely about the rock establishment or. ldoes it extend to the audience too?
5 A final observation: does being a ; imock rock hero demand that you carry I your own gear out afterwards? lSomehow, it fits. (Gavin Inglis)
Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Lindisfarne and The Strawbs. 19 Dec; Kenny G. 28 Jan.
I GLASGOW SECC (227
‘ 551 1) Gary Glitter. 23—24
Dec; Meatloaf. 19 Mar. I LIVINGSTON FORUM
. (557 6969) Body Count.
19 Dec. I EDINBURGH INGLISTON
(071587 1-1141UB 40. 14
Jan.
PLAYHOUSE (557 2590)
Deacon Blue. 22 Apr.
JAZZ
I GLASGOW CITY HALL : (227 55ll)Carol Kidd. 16 ; Feb; Danish Radio Big
Band. 10 Mar.
i I GLASGOW CONCERT
HALL (227 55 ll) Kenny
G. 28 Jan; 1n the Mood.
18 Mar.
I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (332 9000) Humphrey l.yttelton Band. 30 Dec.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Michel Petrucciani. 11 Feb; Carol Kidd. 18 Feb; Tommy Smith. 4 Mar; Danish Radio Big Band. 11 Mai". Cauld Blast Orchestra. 18 Mar.
FOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Lindisfarne and The Strawbs. 19 Dec: Celtic Connections. 9—23.1an. I EDINBURGH UUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Cauld Blast ()rchestra. 18 Mar.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511)]ohn Denver. l5 Mar: Shirley Bassey. 19 Sept.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511) Mozart Requiem. 20 Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Pops at the Phil. 19 Dec. Carol Concert. 22 Dec; Favourite Music. 13 Feb:
: Julian Lloyd Webber. l0
Mar; Choral Spectacular. 5 Jun.
I GLASGOW RSAMO (332 : 5057)JO&C. 18 Dec;
Paragon. 23 Jan; SEMC. 4 Feb; BTSE. 11 Feb;
Cappella Nova. 12 Feb;
Paragon. 27 Feb;
Hebrides. 6 Mar: SliMC.
l 1 Mar: Paragon. 20 Mar;
? BTSE. l5 Apr.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Cappella Nova. 18 Dec; Jubilo. l9
Dec; Clarsach Concert. 20 Dec; Messiah. 22 Dec;
limperor Qt. l7 Jan; Paragon. 25 Jan; Hebrides. 2 Feb; BTSE. 6 Feb; Hebrides. 6 Feb; Schubert Ens. 7 Feb; King's Consort. 19Feb; Paragon. 1 Mar; Hebrides. 7 Mar; Endellion Qt. 21 Mar; Paragon. 22 Mar; ECAT. 30 Mar: BTSE. 17 Apr; F.CAT. 28 Apr; King‘s Consort. 7 May: Meadows CO. 15 May. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 ll55) h-lessiah. 3 Jan; ERCU. 7 May.
I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Programme details and tickets for RSNO. SCO. BBC 880 and CGPO concerts are available from Ticketcentre. Glasgow (227 5511); Usher Hall. Edinburgh (228 1155): Queen's Hall. Edinburgh (668 2019). Tickets for Scottish ()pera from Theatre Royal. Glasgow (332 9000); King's Theatre. lidinburgh (229 l20l ).
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