MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS
mm- GANG STARR
.‘ge’ér'n': T r. I" 01!?‘.‘ '
1,314“. a,
The Garage, Glasgow, 28 September. Such is Gang Starr’s studied anonymity that few blink as the 5ft Bin of street knowledge that is their rapper Guru paces about the auditorium. While he’s on stage, this concert is perfectly pitched between the west coast urban grrriots of Ices Cube and T. But while they represent LA, Gang Starr rap for Brooklyn and the east. There’s no mention of gang-banging, but plenty of references to survival from robbery, mugging and mass appeal.
One thing that characterises east coast rap is that it always purports to be 100 per cent live; Gang Starr are no different. There are no DATs, just two guys, one on a mic, the other on a pair of turntables. The latter, DJ Premier, is certainly one of the greatest DJing talents in the world; fingers flick faders adroitly, seamlessly, effortlessly. ln Premier’s presence, Guru is a different man from the one who occupied the Jazzamattazz stage in the Assembly Rooms last December.
it’ll/1,1,; ,4 : .
i There, he was surrounded by a host of i talent, with somebody always ready to 1 take centre stage when he felt like
melting into the background. Here, he
is the main man and this is his show.
Why, then, does this show only grade a
I C-minus in the enjoyment stakes?
It could have something to do with the way Gang Starr go about their job. Like much rap, this plays heavy on
3 audience participation, almost to the
point of pantomime: ‘You don’t chant,
we don’t rap!’ (cue some reluctant
applause). It’s all a bit farcical. llere,
; in the middle of Glasgow, are some street-tough NYC rappers urging young white baseball-capped males from
Glasgow to chant ‘Go Brooklyn, Go
Brooklyn’. What’s the MF point? It’s a
different world and not one they fully
understand. There’s never any real
connection here and the show just kind of lingers in limbo. White men can’t hump and Guru seems to pass
them by again. (Philip Dorward)
OCTOPUS, THE LEOPARDS, THE SECRET GOLDFISH
Nice ’n’ Sleazy, Glasgow, 3 Oct. Monday nights at the underground menagerie, and all those cheap red lights are making the animals edgy. The Silent Goldfish are probably more apprehensive than most, this being their first public outing, and jump straight into ‘Seasick’ unannounced. They needn’t have been overly concerned, though - if you’re going to lose your cherry to a subterranean Glasgow crowd, there are worse ways of going about it than playing Velvet- tinged straight pop and, monitor problems and all, they quickly relax into it. Kinda like ‘Loaded’ filtered through Edwyn Collins’ guitar, they give the game away by announcing ‘This is by Orange Juice’ before closing with the Velvets’ ‘Afterhours’, tonight more Marilyn Monroe than Moe Tucker.
The Goldfish, though, are a romp in the Disney Store’s soft toy pile compared to future Creeping Bent Iabelmates The Leopards. Based around the incredible, violent, splintered guitar of Mick Slaven, The leopards are, save for one whispered moment, full-tilt, a three-piece swaggerlng Voidoids on speed and paranoia, with an ln-your-face, strum lord bass-pirate sharing Status Duo axe posing with Slaven, in front of hammer-drill drumming. Ending with a
The Leopards' Mick Slaven 3 song which can only be described as
‘1 ‘fucker-country’, The Leopards expose all the disturbed, spontaneous undercurrent Slaven subliminally adds ; to Paul Ouinn’s Independent Group, and are, frankly, amazing. Man.
! After the claustrophobic Jackson Pollock splatter of The Leopards, Octopus aim to paint from a far bigger palette. Echo and The Cocteau Twins refracted through a 60s kaleidoscope, theirs is a rich, layered sound, heavy on melody and spinning, sub-aqua guitar interplay best displayed on ‘Universal’. Where Octopus moved into a different league, however, is upon the addition of flute and trumpet for the shimmering central instrumental, which finds all concerned beaming, clearly in love with the sound they’re producing. The dog’s tentacles. (Damien Love)
I
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) ‘ The Prodigy. 22 Oct; Stone Temple Pilots. 23 Oct; Terrorvision. 26 Oct; Crash Test Dummies. 1 Nov; Jamiroquai. 3 Nov; Counting Crows. 6 Nov; Elvis Costello. 15—16 Nov; Brand New Heavies. 17 Nov; Paul Weller. 30 Nov; Oasis. 7 Dec; Primal Scream. 9—1() Dec; Saw Doctors. 17 Dec.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 1) The Hollies. 21 Oct; Nanci Griffith. 23—26 Oct; Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett. 30 Oct; Solid Silver 70s. 7 Nov; Brenda Lee. 9 Nov; The Beat ! Goes On. 10 Nov; Iris Dement. 12 Nov; Tom Jones. 17 Nov; David Essex. 22 Nov; Legendary Ladies of Soul. 1 Dec; Bootleg Beatles. 12 Dec. I GLASGOW PAVILION (332 1846) Concert They Never Gave. 21 Oct; Dennis Locorriere. 14 Nov. I GLASGOW PLAZA (031 1 557 6969) Echobelly. 25
Oct.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Bryan Ferry. 25 Oct; Barry Manilow. 3 Nov; Joe Cocker. 3 Dec; Cliff Richard. 4—6 Dec; Status Quo. 7 Dec; Gary Glitter. 8 Dec; Dina Carroll. 10 Dec; M People. 12 Dec; REM. Sold Out; Wet Wet Wet. 18 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 QUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Indigo Girls. 18 Nov; Carter. 9 Dec.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett. 26 Oct; Brenda Lee. 7 Nov; Solid Silver 70s. 10 Nov; Legendary Ladies of Soul. 3 Dec: Bootleg Beatles. 13 Dec. I EDINBURGH lNGLISTON SHOWGROUND (557 6969)
Roxettc. 15 Nov.
JAZZ
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Stanley Jordan. 21 Oct; Guy
Barker Quintet. 4 Nov;
Tarn White‘s Eco-Drive Band. 25 Nov; Carol Kidd ; Trio. 1 Dec; Craig McMurdo. 16 Dec;
Michel Petrucciani. 20
Jan; Humphrey Lyttelton.
3 Feb; Eberhard Weber. 1 '
10 Feb; Courtney Pine. 17 Feb; Suzanne Bonnar. 24
Feb; Trilok Guitu. 3 Mar; Wayne Krantz. 10 Mar. 1
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(228 1155) Chris Barber. 19 Dec.
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (227 5511) Stanley Jordan. 22 Oct; Guy
' Barker Quintet. 3 Nov;
Phil Bancroft‘s Big Shebang. 16 Nov; Tam White‘s Eco-Drive Band. 24 Nov; Carol Kidd Trio. 1 Dec; Russell Cowieson Quintet. 4 Dec; Nigel
Clark Quintet. 10 Dec;
Michel Petrucciani. 21 Jan; EH 15. 22 Jan;
. Humphrey Lyttellon. 4
; Feb; Eberhard Weber. 9
Feb; Courtney Pine. 16
Feb; Fraser Spiers. i9
Feb; Suzanne Bonnar. 25 Feb.
I GLASGOW CONCERT
; HALL (227 5511) Glenn
Miller Orchestra. 24 Nov. - I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057)Trilok Gurtu.4
i Mar.
I GLASGOW SECC (248
9999) Harry Connick Jr.
28 Oct.
: FOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT
HALL (227 5511) Ralph j McTell. 19 Nov; Celtic 4 Connections. 5—22 Jan.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
THEATRE (529 6000)
! Sydney Devine. 12 Nov.
I EDINBURGH USHER
HALL(228 1155).)ack Jones. 22 Oct; Daniel
O‘Donne11.6—8. 10-11
Dec. l GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 5511) RAF
Bands. 28 Oct; Dominic
Kirwan. 20 Nov; Michael Ball. 29 Nov; Honky
Tonk Ladies. 11 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 5511) Strathclyde Showcase. 31 Oct—2 Nov; Gothenberg
SO. 3 Nov; Bernard
D‘Ascoli. 14 Nov; Borromeo Qrt. 18 Nov;
Emma Johnson. 6 Dec; Cancer Fund Concerts. 10. 16 Dec; Messiah. 11 Dec; John Williams. 24 Jan; Novosibirsk Philhamionic. 12 Feb; Leif Ove Andsnes. 22 Feb; Stuttgart Philharmonic. 28 Mar: Joshua Bell. 2 Apr; Melos Ensemble. 4 May; lvo Pogorelich. 2 Jun; Cecilia Bartoli. 7 Jun; Ravi Shankar. 2 Jul; Jessye Norman. 6 Jul.
I GLASGOW RSAMD (332 5057) Paragon Ensemble. 30 Oct. 27 Nov. 29 Jan. 26 Feb.
I GLASGOW TRAMWAY (227 5511) BBC $30. 10 Nov; ECAT. 11 Nov; Chamber Group of Scotland. 12 Nov; BBC $30. 13 Nov; RSNO. 27
Nov.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 6000) Lithuanian NPO. 30 Oct; Vienna Boys Choir. 27 Nov; Scottish Opera. 29 Nov—10 Dec; Messiah. 11 Dec.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (668 2019) Andrievsky and Renshaw. 26 Oct; BTSE. 27 Oct; Meadows CO. 29 Oct; Maxwell Davies Birthday Concert. 6 Nov; Lindsay
Quartet. 14 Nov; Ralph
Kirshbaum. 15. 17 Nov;
‘ The Mega Concert. 22
Nov; Lyell Cresswell Birthday Concert. 30 Nov; Mitsuko Uchida. 5 Dec:
BTSE. 15 Dec: Contemporary Violin. 11
Jan; Brindisi Quartet. 23 Jan; BTSE. 23 Feb; ECAT Concert. 6 Feb; Vellinger
Quartet. 13 Mar; BTSE. ' 20 Apr.
I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Programme
details and tickets for
RSNO. SCO. BBC $80
and CGPO concerts are available from Ticketcentre. Glasgow (227 5511); Usher Hall. Edinburgh (228 1155); Queen's Hall. Edinburgh (668 2019). Tickets for Scottish Opera from Theatre Royal. Glasgow (3329000); Festival Theatre. Edinburgh (529 6000).
Oasis play Glasgow Barrowlard on 7 Dec
36 The List 7—20 October 1994