MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
Making Muslc Happen
r-._-
mm- HEI- FLOOD/GRUSH I TAKE THAT ZONE/THIRD ) SECC, Glasgow, 26 August
SURF ; To all intents and purposes, 8000 I 3 young girls playfully screaming and ' ; twirling lightsticks seemed innocent. For many, however ,this was a I glorification of puberty and the ' t " 1 writing was quite literally on the wall, “ ‘ .‘ ; ‘0rop your kegs for Scotland’ bellowed one poster. In their devilish finale Take That quite Iiterallly did and now the tabloids have them down as an accessory to the pornographic corruption of the nation’s youth. In
Venue. Edinburgh. 5 Sept Flood open up the evening with enough gusto to shake off the post-Festival slackness permeating Edinburgh at the moment. They're four young guys who kidnap melodies. rough them up. and hurl them from their speeding groove-mobile. A quick scan through the track titles — ‘1 Don't Really Care'. 'Generation'. ‘Never Today" and ‘Sister Of Despair" gives a good idea of the adolescent angst content of the lyrics. and their delivery alternates between an emotive brooding drawl and bug-eyed screaming. There are a couple of A8:R men up tonight to check out Flood. and the band seem to have channelled any subsequent nervousness into a frantic energetic performance complete
could just be that the tabloids smell the demise of Britain’s top pop act. Pity that, because Take That are
genuinely superb performers - their raw energy, humour and vitality makes them primus inter pares.
In a set where ice age melted into metal age the boys rose (phallus-Iike) from the middle of the stage. Dressed like futuristic Keystone Cops they let rip through their two albums’ worth of material: midway through the set a mini Take That (not a Jackson Five) skipped onstage to perform ‘It Only Takes A Minute’, only to be followed by the real Take That. Cue playful fighting during which the That disappear . . . only to re-emerge at the top of a flight of stairs. They jazzin descend performing ‘Could It Be Magic’.
reality, Take That are harmless - but it ’
l ’ I x'?‘ ,4
,3 ; ~ ‘I : t . r . ' \, ' ‘
J‘s
From a technical point of view ‘Babe’
stole the show with the split-second timing on a projection screen giving the impression that the band were somewhere else. This technique was used at the end when the band were filmed getting into their taxi outside the SECC leaving a lot of sweaty, wet lassies inside. The feeling of girly fulfilment can be appreciated by anyone who went to see the Bay City Rollers or the Beatles, and no amount of editorial buff and puff can take away the fact that this was a great show performed by a great act with great balls of (relight my) fire. (Philip Dorward)
with pistoning plectrum pleasures and urgent vocals. The set crashes to a finish with a knee trembling noise-out. The crowd love it and lap it up hook. bass line and sinker. One to watch.
Next up are Crushzone. resplendent in long hair and those baggy. patterned strides which are curiously popular with funk/metal crossover combos. Bizarrely the lead singer is sporting a lifter which would make that of the bloke from Jamiroquai look normal. The headgear changes regularly including a baseball cap bearing the legend ‘Oral Gynaecology‘. Sensitive ballads are not on the cards. All of these props detract from the music — no bad thing since the only redeeming feature in an otherwise uninspiring set is a funked up version of ‘Relax‘. Mildly entertaining but their novelty value wears swiftly.
Spiralling film samples introduce Third Surf's grinding guitar atmospherics. Atonal. jarring intros lead into stripped down muscular rock. Then it's time to fling back those dreads and start moshing. Forget happy. happy bouncy ditties. this is dark. angry material that garners :deserved applause but no smiley faces. (Jonathan Trew)
DEE- THBUM/TE osronoos
3's
Arches, Glasgow, 1 September. To celebrate the birth of their debut ; album, ‘llifferama’, Thrum throw a headwetting session underneath the Arches. There’s some free bev, shadows dancing decadent overhead . and an audience made up of equal parts family/friends/fans and media - most of whom are sporting ‘Thrum make you come’ stickers. God, and I’ve just had a shower.
First, though, are special guests The Delgados with their ubiquitous bubble- punk-buzz racket. Heavy with melody and attitude, The Delgados are more gum-chewing Yank garage punks with jacknifes in their jeans than glue- sniffin’ YOPpers with bike chains — and therefore kinda perfect. Funny,
too. Go and see ’em. It’s Thrum baby, though, and soon ' enough the bizarre munchkin-march i take of ‘Home On The Bange’ which , serves as an intro tape fades and Monica’s asserting: ‘It won’t be long till summertime, sunshine and I’m :feeling fine . . . ’ with her big ‘from the
boots’ voice.
That voice, though, is only half the Thrum equation, the other being extraordinary guitar work - extraordinary partly because it sounds like the work of a man who has only (and obsessively) ever listened to selected Neil Young fret-infernos. I mean, it’s a brilliant imitation, but tonight that’s all it sounds like, and for all its frayed wonder, remains strangely. . . safe.
Thrum are very likely the ideal cuppa for a great many people - and it’s easy to see why: Big Glasgow Voice, hope- in-the-face-of-adversity lyrics, huge melodies and the occasional guitar blitz-out. Fine, but by the end of tonight, to these fevered ears, the closing cover of ‘Like A Hurricane’ is an ill-starred choice, pointing up as it does the lack of drama and wonder in many of their originals, and marred by an incredibly histrionic vocal performance, kinda like Lulu on karaoke. (Damien Love)
' V 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 BAHRUWLANU (226 4679) Ramones. 23 Sept; Pretenders. 27 Sept; Gang Starr. 28 Sept; Sugar. 29 Sept: Body Count. 2 Oct; Grant Lee Buffalo. 4 Oct; Manic Street Preachers. 5 Oct; PWliI. 8 Oct; The Cranberries. 13 Oct; Spin Doctors. 16 Oct; The Mission. 19 Oct: The Prodigy. 22 Oct; Stone Temple Pilots. 23 Oct; Ter'r'orvision. 26 Oct; Crash Test Dummies. 1 Nov; lilvis Costello, 15—16 Nov; Brand New Heavies. 17 Nov; Saw Doctors. 17 Dec.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511)Trafftc. 24 Sept; Level 42. 5 Oct: Solid Gold Rock 'N' Roll. 14 Oct; The Hollies. 21 Oct; Nanci Griffith. 2.3»26 Oct; Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett. 30 Oct; Brenda Lee. 9 Nov; lris Dement. 12 Nov; Tom Jones. 17 Nov; David lissex. 22 Nov; Legendary Ladies ofSoul. 1 Dec: Bootleg Beatles. 12 Dec. I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Ricky Van Shelton. 26 Sept; Hue and Cry. 27 Sept; The Jets. 2 Oct; Voulez Vous. 9 Oct‘. Ticket to Ride. 16 Oct: Concert They Never Gave. 21 Oct; Dennis Locon'iere. 14 Nov.
l GLASGOW PLAZA (031 557 6969) Radiohead. 27 Sept; Grid. 11 Oct; James Taylor Quartet. 16 Oct.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Bryan Ferry. 25 Oct; Barry M anilow. 3 Nov; Cliff Richard. 4-6 Dec; Gary Glitter. 8 Dec; Dina Carroll. 10 Dec; M People. 12 Dec; Wet Wet Wet. 15 Jul.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 6000) The Hollies. 23 Oct; Penguin Cafe Orchestra. 6 Nov; Sixties Show. 13 Nov; Rocky Horror Show, 22—26 Nov.
I EDINBURGH LYCEUM THEATRE (229 9697) Hue and Cry. 2 Oct.
I EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Carter USM. 9 Dec.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Solid Gold Rock ‘N‘ Roll. 15 Oct; Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett. 26 Oct; Brenda Lee. 7 Nov; Bootleg Beatles. 13 Dec. I EDINBURGH INGLISTON SHOWGROUND (557 6969) Roxette. 15 Nov.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Stanley Jordan. 21 Oct.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Chris Barber. 19 Dec.
I I ouscovv concern HALL (227 5511)Glenn Miller ()rch. 24 Nov.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Harry C onnick Jr. 28 Oct.
FOLK
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2()l9) Wild Cigarillos. 1 Oct; Whisky and Water. 2 Oct; Wolfstone. 12 Oct.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) Ralph McTeII. 19 Nov.
LIGHT
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 6000) Sydney Devine. 12 Nov. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Joe Longthorne. 1 Oct; Jack Jones. 22 Oct; Daniel O'Donnell. 6-8. 10—11
Dec.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 SSI I)th Longthorne. 4 Oct; Val Doonican. 18 Oct (2.30pm); Jack Jones. 18 Oct; RAF Bands. 28 Oct; Dominic Kirwan. 20 Nov; Michael Ball. 28 Nov; Honky Tonk Ladies. 1 1 Apr.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Sydney Devine. 16—19 Nov.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Barry Manilow, 3 Nov.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 1) Red Army linsemble. 1 Oct; Opera in Concert. 7 Oct; Children‘s Classics. 9 Oct; Tokyo Philharmonic. 19 Oct; Strathclyde Showcase. 31 Oct—2 Nov; Gothenberg SO. 3 Nov; Bernard D'Ascoli. 14 Nov; Borromeo Qrt. 18 Nov; limma Johnson. 6 Dec. I GLASGOW TRAMWAY (227 5511) BBC SSO. 10 Nov; liCAT. l 1 Nov; Chamber Group of Scotland. 12 Nov; BBC S80. 13 Nov; RSNO. 27 Nov. I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE ( 529 6000) King‘s College Choir. 25 Sept; Israel in Egypt. 2 Oct; Lithuanian NPO. 30 Oct; Vienna Boys Choir. 27 Nov; Scottish Opera. 29 Nov—10 Dec; Messiah. 1 1 Dec. I EDINBURGH KING’S THEATRE (220 4349) Romanian National Opera. 11—15 Oct. I EDINBURGH QUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Ebbw Vale Male Voice Choir. 24—25 Sept; One Voice Ensemble. 30 Sept; Wanderer Trio. 3 Oct; Hebrides Ensemble. 10 Oct; Piano Circus. 17 Oct; Sandra Porter. 19 Oct; Andrievsky and Renshaw, 26 Oct; BTSFZ. 27 Oct; Meadows CO. 29 Oct; Lindsay Quartet. 14 Nov; Ralph Kirshbaum. l5. 17 Nov; Mitsuko Uchida. 5 Dec; BTSli. 15 Dec: Brindisi Quartet. 23 Jan.
Tennents Live! Making Music Happen
34 The List 9—22 September 1994