CLUBS listings
Phactfile
After a triumphant appearance in the Slam Tent at T in the Park, techno god Derrick May returns to Scotland for a pair of dates. Jack Mottram programs his internal 909.
M
Who's this May chap then? He is, frankly, one of the most important artists of the last century. He might not have made the first techno recordings, but along with Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson he was among the first to make music that, as May himself put it, sounded like Kraftwerk and George Clinton stuck in an elevator.
. . . Of the last century? You're kidding right? No, I most certainly am not. You obviously haven’t heard ‘Strings of Life', or ’Nude Photo’ or ’It Is What It Is’, some of the tracks produced by May as Rhythm Is Rhythm during three short years from 1987. You should, as soon as possible. While much of the Detroit innovators' early output sounds a touch I dated these days, May’s tracks are genre transcending classics, typified by lush, ‘ melancholic synths, awe-inspiring I percussion programming and 1 comparatively sparse use of that hard 909 sound we all know and love. These
precious discs of vinyl are equivalent to
Robert Johnson’s first chat with the l devil, Phil Spector having a bash at a big ; sound or Kraftwerk deciding robots l were way cool.
9 Crikey. Is he any good behind the
3 decks? What do you reckon? In fact,
after his flurry of production activity
back in the day, May’s release schedule
became sluggish to say the least, with
= little in the way of releases after he
knocked music as we know it on the
’ head. From 1991 onwards, after a stint
at seminal night The Music Institute,
; May turned to DJing full time, with
I predictably amazing results. He recently
i blew the Slam Tent away at T in the
Park with a blistering set that veered
; between weird harsh sambas at plus 16
, to four/four belters.
Anything else? What, you need more? May also set up the Transmat imprint,
, initially a subsidiary of Juan Atkins' Metroplex label, to release his own epoch defining efforts and a brace of classics besides, including Joey Beltram's
i seminal 'Energy Flash' and Carl Craig's
‘ early efforts. After 21 releases, May shut the operation down, but he has recently
‘ resurrected the label With some suitably
; high calibre releases.
Derrick May plays at Nature in
; Edinburgh on Fri 6 Oct and My
Machines in Glasgow on Sat 7 Oct.
74 THE “ST 5-19 Oct 2000
GLASGOW: FRIDAYS, CHART & PARTY cont.
I Cheesy Pop at Qudos (QMU). 10pm—2am. £2 (£1). Students and up to four guests. Weekly. Seven years on and rampant hordes of mucky-minded, vodka- fuelled urchins still flock to hear DJ Toast’s Edam selection. A riotous evening, with the emphasis on pure unashamed fun.
I Envy at Destiny. 10pm-3am. £5 before 11pm; £6 after. Weekly. Throbbing house action at the city centre megavenue. Wear nice shoes.
I Love Bug at The Garage. 10.30pm-3am. £4 (£3). Weekly. Insanely busy night of party tunes for students and youngsters.
I Pink Cadillac at Betty’s (Archaos). 11pm-3am. £5 (£3). Weekly. Break out your feather boas, ludicrous flares, platform boots and Afro wigs and groove to classic disco and sexy funk, courtesy of DJ Shaft. I Shag at Fury Murry’s. 11pm-3am. £5 (£3). Weekly. Drunken party tunes from Mark and James G. ‘No one forgets their first Shag’, they assure us.
I Strawberry Fields at Strawberry Fields. 9pm-3am. £6 before 11pm; £7 after. Weekly. A party-up set taking in dancefloor faves from the 60s to the present day.
GLASGOW SATURDAYS
Pro-club
I Anti-Bar at The 13th Note Cafe. 9pm—midnight. £4. 7 Oct. Monthly. Jill Mingo’s latest venture takes on the clubbing norms with a healthy dose of vitriol, providing esoteric music you are unlikely to hear anywhere else at a reasonable volume, thus enabling the ancient practice of talking to rise again. This time around, it’s Anti-apathy night, and Ed DMX guests (tbc).
I Budda at Bar Budda. 8pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Stevie Middleton of Solemusic with deep house and garage.
I Bughouse at Bar Jedi. 9pm-midnight. Free. Weekly. Chris and Dan bring the finest in house to the out-of-the-way, sci-fi- themed bar.
I The Corinthian at The Corinthian. 9pm—late. Free. Weekly. Wayne Dixon takes care of the main bar in this mega leisure complex with a selection of classic soul and disco and contemporary ‘groove’ (ie proper) R&B.
I Cross Wired at The Cross Bar. 8pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. House and techno with a seriously funky feel.
I Cul De Sac at The Cut De Sac. 9pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Jim Hutchison from Soma with funked-up techno and deep house.
I Dirty Wriggles at The Variety Bar. 9pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. A techno ‘n’ electro pre-club set from Dirty Wriggles of Mystec Beatz.
I Fourward Thinking at Four Cafe Bar (CCA). 9pm-midnight. Free. Weekly. Pre- club with an emphasis on breaks and beats. I Kenny H at Russell‘s Cafe Bar. ()pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Funky house, with a smattering of soul.
I Nico's at Nico‘s. 9pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Gavin Somerville with a pungent blend of cheesy house.
I Nomad at Nomad. 7.30pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Enjoy some quality house from Kris Keegan, Ian Thompson and A.J. And you can capture those cheeky grins with the free camera hire offer.
I Sam Wallace at Eat Drink Man Woman. 8pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Across-the- board house sounds to get you ready for a night out.
I Walker 8r Hughes at The Living Room. ()pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. The deepest of house from Colin and Lawrence — one of the best ways to gear up for the night out proper.
I The Works at Bar 10 9pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. Graham Wilson with soul, hip hop and house.
Club
I Archaos at Archaos. 11pm—4am. £8. Weekly. Kris Keegan and AJ. rock the main room with house and garage. Ian Thompson whacks out the best in underground garage and dance classics in Betty's, while members in The Skybar are treated to Paul Traynor’s smooth R&B mix.
In addition, the Archaos cast of performers bring a touch of the circus to Clubland with fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and daredevil trapeze artistry.
I Ascendance at The Temple. 11pm—3am. £7 (£5). 7 Oct. Fortnightly. Johnny Rockit and DJ Zoe with seriously thumping tribal house and hard-edged trance. Regular guests include Simon Foy and The Gallery’s Steve Lee.
I Atomic at The Temple. 11pm—3am. £7 (£5). 14 Oct. Fortnightly. Crisp and shiny hard house from the ever-reliable Michael Kilkie and Zammo.
I Bennet's at Bennet’s. 11.30pm-3am. £5. Weekly. Shaun with a commercial dance set and Annie with a blend of 705 and 805 hits at the city’s oldest gay club. Not in terms of the clientele, of course.
I The Cathouse at The Cathouse. 10.30pm-3am. £3.50 (£2.50) before 11.30pm; £4 after. Weekly. Indie, rock, grunge and beats across three floors.
I Club Cubana at Caledonian University Student Union. 11pm—3am. £4 (£3). 7 Oct. Fortnightly. Latin grooves from the Cubana DJs at a new venue.
I Club 69 at Rocksy’s Basement. 10pm-2.30am (midnight curfew). £5 (members only). Weekly. The team behind the Rub-A-Dub record shop with the deepest underground sounds and the best guest DJs. For membership details, call Rub-A-Dub on 400 6967.
I Colours/MTV Dancefloor Party at The Arches. 10.30pm—3am. £17. 14 Oct. Monthly. MTV hijack Clours for one night only to help host a monster bash that features Agneli & Nelson, Alex Gold, Lee Burridge, Colin Tevendale and all the Colours regulars. See the special offer on page 75 and you could go for free.
I Divine at Glasgow School of Art. 10pm—3am. £5 (£4); £3.50 GSA students. Weekly. Andrew Divine and Hush Puppy get on with the next ten years of moogy noodling, Northern stomp and other future-retro sounds.
I D] Q at Alaska. Next date 21 Oct.
I Freak Menouvers at Glasgow School of Art. l()pm—3am. £4 (£3). 7 Oct. Monthly. The Menouvers take over the front gallery, adding their turnablistic skills to the already heady mix at the Art School
I Freefall at The Arches. 11pm—3am. £10. 7 Oct. Monthly. Simon Foy and Alan Belshaw have seen their new venture going down a treat with fans of the harder stuff, and this month’s residents showcase should be no different.
I Freetorm at The 13th Note Club (both floors). 9pm—3am. Free before 10.30pm; £5 (£4) after. Weekly. All sorts of tunes from Steven and Paul Watt, taking in hip hop, jazz, disco and Latin, augmented by Ray Suzuki’s left-of-centre projections. I Freelance Science at Alaska. 11pm—3am. £15 (tickets in advance from 23rd Precinct.) 7 Oct. Monthly. In a
E departure from the usual formula, Stuart
and Orde will be handing over scientific duties to long-standing Plus 8 collaborators Richie llawtin and John Aquaviva, DJing together for the first time in years. See Hitlist.
1 I Fruitfly at The Arches. Next date 21
Oct. I Gain at Alaska. 11pm—3am. £10
(£8).14 Oct. Monthly. Percy X launches
his new residency in fine style. with
pioneeringacid house legend Baby Ford.
I Groovejet at Trash. 1 1pm—3am. £7 (£5). Weekly. Brothers Matt and Pete knock out quality house and garage in the
main room, while Paul N’Jie spins R&B in room two.
I Homebass at Alaska. Next date 28 Oct.
; I Home Cookin' at Babaza. 6pm—3am (DJs from 11pm). Free before 11pm; £5
after. Weekly. Naeem isjoined by Stuart McCallum. regular guest at the likes of Fresh ‘n’ Funky and Rotation down in the Big Smoke, who will be flying up each and every week to spin his trademark Ré’tB with a dash of classic disco and
funk. I Infusion at Yang. 11pm—3am. Free
before midnight; £5 after. Weekly. Making full use of Yang's three rooms, you can catch Colin Gate and Dribbler in the main room with disco, New York garage and
house. Andy Young and Nick Peacock do their Latin jazz thing with live percussion from Gee in room two and, last but not least, Scott Ferguson and Rhonamok man the decks in the upstairs bar.
I Inside Out at The Arches. Next date 28 Oct.
I Jamboree at Reds. 11pm-3am. £7 (£5). Weekly. John Lyons and Martin Hesketh of Velvet Rooms fame mix up a blend of commercial R&B and soul.
I Knucklehead Present My Machines at The Glasgow School of Art (upstairs). lOpm—late. £4 (£3.50). Weekly. Wilkes and Hatch hammer out cool, deadly funked-up techno and hard as nails house to a seriously appreciative crowd. This month sees a rare guest on the bill, in the form of techno inventor, the studio-shy genius Derrick May. See Phactfile and Hitlist.
I Life at Life. l()pm—3am. £5. Weekly. Andy Unger presents a selection of soul, funk and disco augmented with original samples and loops to guarantee a new take on familiar sounds.
I Lush at The Polo Lounge. 10.30pm—3am. £5. Weekly. Featuring Andy in the Trophy Room with hits from the 60s to the 80s while Tom provides an upfront dance selection in the main room at the city’s prettiest gay club.
I MAS at The Apartment. 11pm-3am. £8. Weekly. House and disco with a funky undercurrent.
I Media at Media. 11pm—3am. £5 (£4). Weekly. Step back in time to revel in the tunes of the 70s and 80s.
I Mish Mash at The Riverside Club. Next date 28 Oct.
I Miss Moneypenny's at GI. 10pm-3.30am. £12 (£10). Weekly. The Brummie superclub touches down in Glasgow. With a reputation for glamorous antics that stretches from Britain to lbiza and then some, expect beautiful punters, exotic dancers and seriously funky dancefloor action thanks to the Moneypenny‘s residents.
I Rumba Te Tumba at Havana Bar. 9pm—3am. Free. Weekly. A wild mix of Latin and Spanish selections from the Salsa Sabrosa crew.
I Sabotage at Glasgow School of Art. Monthly. Next date Nov 24.
I Shindig at The Riverside Club. Midnight—3am. £7. 7 Oct. Monthly. Ouch continue their monthly showcase of funky house, soul, dub, and hip hop that always benefits from a little live action. This month residents Kev Dillon and Chris Lamb welcome live beats and breaks from Engine and Ground Control.
I Slave Sexual at Slave. l()pm-3am. £7 (£5). Weekly. Robin and Lovejoy with a harder hard house set titan their weekly outings. Dress up lovely and arrive early to avoid disappointment.
I Solution at Q. 5pm—3am (DJs from 11pm). Free before 11pm; £5 after. Weekly. Archaos’ Ryan Kerr takes over from Stevie Middleton, on a vocal house tip.
I Subculture at Planet Peach. llpm—3ant. £10. Weekly. lt’s business as usual on 7 Oct, but Domenic is set to step aside on 14 Oct, temporarily handing over to Alton Miller. Known to the house cogncsccnti for his seminal club The Music Institute that helped to forge the house sound, Miller is also responsible for numerous releases on Guidance and BPM Records. See Hitlist. I Traxx at The Soundhaus. Next date 21 Oct.
I Triumph at The Tunnel. 10.30pm-3.30am. £9 (£7). Weekly. Colin Tevendale and Steven McCreery supply the dressed-up glamour kids with progressive house and trance in the main room while Kevin MacFarlane and Stephen Lee mix up garage, disco and vocal house in room two. if you're not wearing awfully nice clothes, however, don’t expect to get in.
I 2 Tons Of Fun at Club Budda.
1 lpm-3am. £6. Weekly. Geoff Montford and Chris Harris get funky with a bang up- to-date selection of disco house.
I The Unit For details visit www.the- unit.co.uk.
I Vegas at The Renfrew Ferry. 10pm—3am. £8 (£6 in fancy dress). 7 Oct. Monthly. Featuring Frankie Sumatra, Bugsy Seagull and Dino Martini plus Lola Las Vegas and The Vegas Showgirls, this is