— ' fillsrc LIVE REVIEWS
[III- er MAN WAGON/THE LUCI BAIHES BAND
/
Music Box, Edinburgh, Mon 3 June
Do you ever wonder how bands would perform if forced to play live first thing in the morning before their first peach schnapps of the day? Me neither. But it has to be noted that there are few jobs left where being bladdered adds an extra dimension to the carrying out of duty.
lf Luci Baines’ frontman Sami Cushnaghan is not under some chemical influence tonight then Rory Bremner can start worrying. Ilot that it has a detrimental effect on his, or the overall bands, performance. At times they are inspired but most often they come across as extremely competent and workman- like.
The sole disappointment is their fondness for buckling down, collective rear in the air and smoochily caressing the toes of their heroes. Five minutes alone in a room with them and you can hear the ghostly echoes of all those 60s warhorses who have left their indelible blemishes upon the likes of Oasis and Cast.
A case in point is their debut single, ‘Find A Li’l love’, which scurries along prettin enough only to falter in the middle with one of those maraca/drum boom-boom- boom interfaces so beloved of Ocean Colour Scene. Boys’ music, as someone probably once called it.
Headliners Bad Man Wagon may have let the long wait and the warm beer go to their heads but they remain star dubbers. Sassy and sexy and brandishing that most un- SOs of instruments, a fretless bass, the five. piece swagger on their Tricky old way, raising both roof and temperature. legend has it that leader Cressa once straightened chairs for The Stone Roses but now he is very much his own bloke, even if his demeanour is often an amalgam of the backstroking Be: and David Byrne without the scary threads. (Brian Donaldson)
Im— AC/DC
SECC, Glasgow, 1 June
In terms of heaviness of their rock, AC/DC have, at least in the last decade or so, seemed a bit light- middle to many ears. The fact that they have managed to plod on is a testament to the resilience of both the band and their faithful throng.
Their SECC extravaganza opens promisineg enough with a video screen meeting of minds as Beavis and Butthead bump into Angus and the boys. Ecstatic cheers. The screen fades and the Colliseum set is glaringly lit as a hallbreaker swings threatingly a dozen times before crashing into the ruins. Orgasmic wailing. Band appears and it’s downhill from here on in.
You have to feel a little sympathy for singer, in the broadest sense of course, Brian Johnson. Despite his admirable efforts he can’t shake off playing second-string to 37-year-old delinquent Angus Young. Still bedecked in satchel and shorts after all these years, he never passes up the opportunity to do that terribly witty hop-walk thing which seems the preserve of the guitar-rock hero. Sometimes backwards, mostly forwards, he achieves this irritating feat an average of eight times per song. To some, he is a legend in his own tuck shop queue. To me, his
antics conjure up an uncanny similarity to a dypsomaniacal Norman Wisdom.
Meanwhile, Farmer Johnson screeches his way through every line, each one as indecipherable as the next. Old faves such as ‘Thunderstruck’ and ‘Shot Down In Flames’ merge timelessly with newer tracks such as ‘The Girl’s Got Rhythm’. In each one, Johnson wails and Young struts. And so on and so forth.
Yes, it’s hackneyed and, yup, the band are freewheeling down Jurassic Boulevard but admiration is grudgingly due. They know what their fans want and they certainly know how to deliver. Just don’t send me a subscription form. (Brian Donaldson)
[III- nocxer FROM THE cover
‘* ‘2 a s. T
i
The Arches, Glasgow, 3Jun.
Oh boy. The name of the band is Rocket From The Crypt. The name of the man with the sideys is Speedo (good for chanting, that one - ‘Speeee-do-o’, etc.) and if he tells us once he tells us, oooh, five times ‘we’d like to thank you very much for coming down to see us play’. (Translator’s note: being Elvis men through and through, Rocket From The Crypt’s utterances verge on the unintelligible, as did the Burger King’s. What Speedo actually said was ‘weyakuthangavemuchacumminmumb Iemumblemumble’, but we mostly catch the drift.) To which the only possible reply is, ‘Ilo sir, thank you very much.’
Rocket From The Crypt give good show. You know they mean business when they arrive on stage clad in uniform black silky shirts (with white trim) - American bands just know how to do that stage costume thang (the memory of The Make-Up’s mustard safari suits will be one that lingers . . .) In fact, let’s face facts (and this
comes from a confirmed musical Britophile), the grooviest American bands kick their nearest British counterparts into orbit in the cool stakes.
Rocket From The Crypt’s personal take on teen ’tude comes from the era of Rebel Without A Cause (or Grease, actually) when no self-respecting young cat would be without his back- pocket comb. However, the rockabilly inflections in their music are given a distinct 90s grunge flavour via The Ramones’ relentless punk onslaught, creating the enviable impression that they’re loose-limbed and fancy-free, when they’re really technically as tight as their drainpipes.
But there’s also Factor X, elevating their performance to the realms of the awesome, which could be defined as the Spirit of Rock ’n’ Roll, or as it is more dispassionately known, a massive outpouring of testosterone with a chaser of sheer sex appeal. In short, utterly quifftastic. (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 ARCHES (.556 5555) (irant |.ee Bull‘alo. l6 Jul.
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) Elvis Costello. 2] Jul; Prodigy. 2—3 ()ct.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 55I l ) What A Feeling. 30 Jun; Jackson Broune. I5 14 Jul; Patti Smith. 5 Ang; The Manlreds. it) Oct; The Hollies. 9 .\'o\; The Bootleg Beatles. ll) I)ec. I GLASGOW IBROX STADIUM (339 3183) Bolt Jo\l. II Jul; Br_van Adams. 20 Jul.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Se\ I’islols. l() ,ltll'. Neil Young. 20 Jul; Iiast I7. 20 Sept: Marv (‘Itapin Carpenter and I.vIe l.o\'ett.3~1 Sept; (‘eline I)Il)ll. l‘) 20 Nov; (iloria listclan. 33 No“. ('ranberries. J Dec: 'I‘lte ('ure. 6 Dec; Status Quo. 7 Dec; (iar_v (ilitter. S “Cc”. l‘.lL‘|lllll. Ill Dee.
I STRATHCLYDE COUNTRY PARK ((II 3 I 557 6969) 'I‘ in the I’ark \\ lllI Radtohead. Alanis .\Iott.\\clle. 'I'lte I’rorlrg'y. Pulp. Black (irape. and more. l3 l4 .lnl.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 (man) The Hollies. I0 Nov.
I EDINBURGH INGLISTON (.557 (i969) Ministry ()I' Sound. 29 Jun.
I EDINBURGH MURRAYFIELO STADIUM (557 6969) Tina 'I‘urner. 3t) Jun; liagles. J Aug. I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (557 2590) Jools Holland. 24 35 Aug.
I IRVINE BEACH (l) l f» I 557 6969) ()n The Beach \\'IIII Bjork. Supergrass. .lnlian ('ope and more. 3| Ang -I Sept.
COUNTRY
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 55I I ) Billie Joe Spears. 2| Nov.
I GLASGOW SECC (248 9999) Mary (‘Itapin ('arpenter and Lyle l.o\'ell. 3-1 Sept.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 1155) Daniel O’Donnell, 17-19 Nov.
JAZZ
I GLASGOW CITY HALL (327 55I l ) Ronnie Scott. 23 Jun; 'I'Iieo Travis. 29 Jun; Steve Hamilton. 30 Jun: Bill Wells ()ctet. I Jul; .Alan Barnes Sextet. 2 Jul; The Hungry .Ants. 3 Jul; Iilla Fitzgerald Songbook. 4 Jul: UII. WakenitIs. 4 Jul; Dave ()‘Iliggins. 5 Jul; .Iean 'I'oussaint. 6 Jul.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 551 I) I.an Schifrin. 28 Jun; George Benson. 2 Jul.
I GLASGOW OLD FRUITMARKET (227 55 I I) Martin Taylor and Claire Martin. 2‘) Jun; McCoy Inter and Michael Brecker. 29 Jun; James Morrison. 29 Jun: Ray Brown Trio. 30 Jun; Nat Adderley Quintet. 1 Jul; Ron Carter Quintet. I Jul: Anld Alliance Jazz. 3 Jul: Tommy Smith. 4 Jul: Mike Stern. 5 Jul; Yellowiackets. 5 Jul; (ion/.an Rubalcaba. 6 Jul; I-‘ourth World. 6 Jul: Iimpire State Sextet. 7 Jul; Mingus Big Band. 7 .lul.
I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (332 9000) BBC Big Band. I Jul; Chris Barber. 3 Jul; Wonderful \Vot'ltl ()l. I .otlls‘ Armstrong. 7 Jul.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 ()000) Hot I-‘oot In Harlem. ll) Jul; Thank You. Mr Gershwin. I.) Jul.
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 I I55) Syd Lawrence Orchestra. 7 Nov.
FOLK
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (228 l I55) Joan Baez. J Jul.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 55 I I) Val Doonican. 2 Nov.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (227 55l I) RSNO Scottish Power Proms. 28 -29 Jun.
I EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE (529 6060) Sam I)uo. S .lnl'. The (‘artlinall's Musick. I2 .Inl.
I EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (325 5756) Various venues. II—RI Aug. Tickets lor all concerts III the Edinburgh International Festival programme are available from the Box Office. 2| Market Street. Edinburgh l-IHI IBW. by personal application. telephone (225 5756) or lax (226 7669). See brochure for order liornt.
I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Programme details and tickets for RSNO. SCU. BBC SS() and (‘GPU concerts are available from 'I‘ickelcentre. Glasgow (227 55l l )2 Usher Hall. Edinburgh (228 ll55): Queen‘s Hall. Edinburgh (668 2(II9). Tickets for Scottish Opera from Theatre Royal. Glasgow (332 9000): Festival Theatre. Edinburgh (529 6000).
4G The List 14-27 Jun I996