WORLD Black Umfolosr Glasgow: Old Fruitmarket, Fri 18 Jul.
In October, coinciding with the Edinburgh Commonwealth Summit, Glasgow will be hosting Scotland Africa 97. To whet the appetite for what promises to be a major autumn event, the organisers are presenting a Taster Weekend from Fri 18-Sun 20 July.
Zimbabwe's Black Umfolosi kick off the three-day splash in the Old Fruitmarket, in a double bill with their Aberdeenshire pals, Old Blind Dogs. The Africans counter the Doric lads' instrumental prowess and casual but virtually static stage presence with dense, shimmering a cappella vocal harmony and spectacular costume and dance routines.
Voted 'Most Popular Performers' at last year’s Canadian Commonwealth Games, the Bulawayo boys put a lot into their performances, as a chat to founder member 'Lucky’ Moyo confirmed.
'We've been going about sixteen years and now have nineteen full- time members, although that’s not on stage,’ he explains. 'We have technical engineers, admin people, all of that. There are thirteen singers, and we'll have nine in the show. We share jobs; we have to be really versatile because we do other things at home. We don’t just sing unaccompanied harmony — we can go out as a band, playing all the instruments - we do a lot of theatre work, and we play for dances. Sometimes, we introduce comedy and poetry. We run community events and training programmes, and now that we have become an institution back home, we also organise a two-week festival every year.
This year marks the first time that the British High
«w s» .
Black Umfolosi: bringing African sun to Scotland
Commission have helped the ensemble, in the context of projects on the Arts and the Economy, Arts and Children, Arts and Human Understanding and so on. 'That’s what we do,’ says Moyo. 'We entertain, but there is a message. It's about education, and improving the status of musicians and dancers within the culture. And, ultimately, because we perform music and dances that come from many ethnic, tribal groups — not just Zulu — and write our own songs, mainly in Ndebele and English, we are ambassadors for our country, and all of Southern Africa.’ (Norman Chalmers) I See Folk Listings for details of the Taster Weekend
JAZZ Django Bates's Delightful Precipice
Glasgow: McEwan's Old Fruitmarket, Sun 6 Jul * t *
Bit of a philosopher, that Django Bates, what with all those intriguing .QUESIIOHS like how do we know that a centipede’s legs are really legs? And why do Glaswegians eat fried Mars bars? His music poses lots of funny questions as well, but also comes up with some exciting answers.
In many ways, he was an odd choice to end the Glasgow Jazz Festival, and one unhappy customer engaged him in verbal debate over why he didn’t play some jazz. Fuck off, was Django’s argument-closing retort, and the band roared on with their highly unconventional sonic explorations, undaunted by their perceived failure to conform with that four letter word.
When his music engages with conventional jazz structures at all, it is in the form of parody and pastiche, most overtly in a radical deconstruction of 'New York, New York' which bore
7"”.
Django Bates: jazz is another four letter word
more relation to a sonic portrait of that city than the original ever did.
His jaunty melodies on compositions like 'Armchair March' or 'South Africa’ betray a genurne lyrical gift amid all the tumult and restless invention of his
38 THELIST ll~24 Jul 1997
music. His stellar London-based big band squared up brilliantly to every Challenge, and if the event lacked the sense of occasion requned on the last night of the festival, it was surely never dull. (Kenny Mathieson)
STAR RATINGS t t it t t Outstanding at» ‘k at * Recommended * 1r * Worth a try it a 50-50 it Poor
rock & pop
listings
Gigs are listed by date, then by city. Performances will be listed, provided that details reach our offices at least ten days before publication. Rock 8: Pop Listings compiled by Fiona Shepherd and Jim Byers.
Ticket information
Tickets for most medium/large concerts can be bought from the following:
Tower Records Arger Street. 204 2500.
Credit card bookings from: Ticket Link: 227 5511.
EDINBURGH
Virgin Princes Street. 220 0925. Ripping Records South Bridge. 226 7010.
Glasgow
I Diana Ross SliC‘C‘. i'llllllcs‘lull Quay. i
287 7777. (i.3(lpm. £25/£27.5() plus i
booking fee. It'll be red carpet treatment i l
from the audience for this member of pop royalty. who is still swinging her elegantly-coif'l’ured way through 25 years of hits. See i‘l'tHllilliL‘S. page 2.
I Scarfo anti Feline King Tut’s \Vah Walt Hut. St Vincent Street. 22] 527‘). 8.30pm. £4. Scai'l'o have recently returned from a tour of horstals. so a discerning King Tut's crowd shouldn‘t present too much of a problem to these London indie rockers. Support from l‘eline. featuring (irog. the former \ocalist with Hinch for those who like their alternative rock lamin trees.
I The Jude Pears, Choke TV, Summersalt and Globe The Catliouse. Union Street. 248 6600. 8 mt. £3. I Brutal Deluxe and Na ed Truth ; Bedlam A-(lo-(io. Nice 'n' Sleazy. Sauchiehall Street. 333 9637. 9pm. A night of ‘gothic. industrial and darkwave' music.
I Wig Wam Bamz Bourbon Street. (ieorge Street. 552 lll4l. 8.30pm. £3. I (Elam tribute crowd who generate those l (Alvin) Stardust memories. I Ricky's Blues Band MacSoi-leys. Jamaica Street. 572 (ll()‘). 0pm. Free.
I Hideaway Blues Band The Brewhotise. .lohn Street. 552 38m. 9pm. Free.
I Vagabonds Kilkeiiiws. John Street. 552 3505. 8.30pm. l’ree.
I Coldshot Twa ('orhies. Killiowie Street. (‘unihernauld ()|23(i 727473. l()pm. Free.
Edinburgh
I Racey (’a\endish. \\'est'l1illc'i‘oss. 228 3252. ‘in11- 3am. £5. (‘lass‘ic retro pop for an older. dressy crowd.
I Kayenta The Attic. Diver‘s Close. Cowgate. 225 X382. 0pm. £3. l.ocal indie. I Gasgiant The Tap ( )'l .auriston. lauriston Place. 2294041. 9pm. Free. (‘lassic indie rock from this lidinhurgh hand.
I The Lapels (‘ommon (irotiiids. 2 ~.3 North Bank Street. The Mound. 22o l4l(i. h’pm. l‘ree. the music downstairs in this American-st}'le coffee house.
I Freebase Henry's (‘ellai- Bar. Morrison Street. 22l I288. llpm. £4 (£3). l‘ive-piece l‘iink oiitt'it lll this vihing
I Annie Christian, Lyd, Betty Ford and Coney Island Cyclone (‘as Rock. West Port. 22‘) 434 l. 9pm. £3. l’unk. punk and more punk.
I Huckleberry Whistle liinkies. Niddry Street. 557 5| l4. 9pm. f‘ree.
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