'9):
Real live hip hop from the old, old, old school
'rilP inf,” JURASSIC 5 Barrowland, Glasgow, Wed 5 Mar
‘Just that classic rap shit from Jurassic’, indeed. Even that peculiar brand of person who - to paraphrase George Harrison - thinks that rap should be spelled with a ‘c' holds a place in their heart for Jurassic 5. Not since De La Soul has one band done so much to popularise the artform for a public who
- dare we say it? - may be a little too frightened to investigate the denser, more polemical beats of anyone from Public Enemy to the mighty Wu Tang Clan. And for most of your common-or-garden J5 lovers out there, it was ‘Concrete Schoolyard’ that first did the job. But no group's going to spin an evening’s entertainment out of one classic tune, although God knows, plenty of them try. No, the J5’s live shows are legendary as textbook, precision-point examples of how to work a crowd the right way from start to finish. To be fair, though, they should be, because there are six people on stage, and only Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark are responsible for the music. Otherwise, the four-MC assault force of Chali 2na, Zaakir, Akil and Marc 7 is right up front, bringing it to the audience. Judging by Power in Numbers, last year’s second album, they still have more than enough of ‘it’ to bring. Introducing guest collaborators as diverse as Big Daddy Kane, JuJu from the Beatnuts and Nelly Furtado to the J5 family, it reveals a more mature side in places, but still contains many welcome additions to the live show; in other words, music that's great to party to, but which far transcends the ‘party music' bracket through its sheer lyrical intelligence. ‘I love the fact that we can get up there on that stage and entertain the shit out of you,’ enthused Chali 2na in a Rolling Stone interview last year. ‘That’s the ethic of old school that we hold on to. Those guys never had videos and it was a major push to bring what they did to you. When you came to seem them at the club, they brought it to your ass, and when you left you were like: “That shit’s amazing, I'm telling my friends and next time they play, all of us are coming!" That’s our ethic right there - that’s what
we hold as golden to us.‘
The lucky ones that got a ticket won’t need to tell their friends anything - guaranteed they‘re kicking
themselves already. (David Pollock)
CLASSlCAL
SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Wed 5 Mar; Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 6 Mar
A browse through the SCO's Current brochure reyeals a llLi'lTDGr of concerts that are deyoted to the II‘USIC of single composers. This is not. ll()‘.'.'ey'er. the greatest hits' programming tool beloy ed of classic pops series. but a much more fascinating look at composers and how. they worked at a particular point in ther own lifeiiiites. Nether is it liker to become a regularly reCurring feature of SCO perfom‘ances the future. 'It's something that we're dOing espeCiaiiy for ill'S season." explains riwanaging difGCiOr. Roy McEy-.an. and y'.e'\.e selected figures ho can stand this kind of attention.‘
Slbellus and Prokofiey. albeit both lron‘ different starting points. are featured during March ‘The Prokofiey 50th anniversary concert is tied into a CD y'.e're
doing with Linn Records. 80 the 'l‘ajO'liy of the music .-.iill be recorded. says MCEy‘.'an. 'As for the others. inCIudzng Sibelius. wanted to put On a series of cencerts Showing composers at the end of their CO'i‘DOSlliOTTai iy'esf BeethOy'en heard in
this way at the start of the season
followed by a highly Successful Mozart evening. ‘For the Sibelzus. ‘.-.e'ye chosen the last he symphonies . nd some of the music he wrote :‘Or Shakesoeare's The Tert‘cesrfi
The great Finnish composer Sibelius. y-. ho liyed until he was 92. is an especially interesting choice. because his final works
The $00 from start to Finnish
were Written noy'.'he'e near the end of his lzte. ‘What we're doing lets ‘y'Ou hear the composer's language at a particular time' explains McEy-.an. ‘The Sixth and seyenth Symphonies are QLlite different. but they both haye a similar sort of y’aledictory Spiritf For audiences. this strand of the SCO's season aliows the opportunity to fociis on. one co'i‘poser at a time. As McEwan says: ‘lt's away of programming at certain times if yo-u“.e got gooo reason to do it' iCa'Ol Main
I There are ore-concert ranks at 6.303”? and 6.450m respective'f.’ Poi ‘JcEizan. '.‘.”70 fans about
."Te c of 8 beds.
Music
5REASONSTO GO SEE...
ISIS
1 Their name is of suitably pretentious origins lsis was a" Egyptian god. the wife of the aii pOwerful Os'ris — she was a y'. l‘gOCl figure who represented the minds and was the great goddess 0‘ magic. ‘Isis' is also track two Cl‘ Bob Dylan's album Desire.
2 They’ve invented a new genre: post-doom rock Now those of you Out there. (sadly this includes us at The List) that missed Out on the original ‘doom' phenomenon car‘ take solace in the knowledge that its post-modern revamp has arrived. BaSically what this means is. here is a heaw rock band who don't stick their tongues out. dress up like Kiss or have long hair. They look like the pallid American indie kids who raided the dr:nks cabinet and medicine cabinet both in One night. but don't want to date Kelly OSbOurne.
3 It all sounds pretty great Their mu5ic is actually really good: hypnotic waves of angry choppy goitar tangled in pained vocals. drowning in a cacophony of drums and bass With the occaSional ethereal female mice or throbbing keyboard riff tucked in for good mea3ure.
4 They give good concept Like. their new album is a full-on concept album, man. but WithOut the Rick Wakeman-esque arsing abOut. And seri0us’? YOU irickin' bet yer copy of Tales frOm the Topographic Ocean — these boys are serious. There's a whole watery theme gomg on: the album is called Oceanic. the artwork features various expanswe bodies of water crashing upon rocks and there are titles like “Maritime' and ‘From Sinking'. But definitely no sea shanties. they're not exactly the Coral.
5 I know I might not be selling this too well, but they sound like a lot of bands you might like . . . Think a turbulent mix of Motorhead at their most brutal. Mogwai at their most krautrock and the Cure at their most brooding. and yOu're somewhere near what they SOund like. (30 — y0u never know. yOu might just like it.
I /SIS p/ay King Tut's. Glasgow. Tue 77 Mar.
' -—‘3 t.‘.a' 21-7: THE LIST 39