POP
DIDO see
St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh, Wed 5 Nov As strong as the temptation is to pan Dido for all the slushy high street muzak she keeps churning out, this gig - an Up Close affair sponsored by SRH and the Royal Bank of Scotland - was actually not that bad. We were in nice surroundings, after all, and the stripped-down arrangement she had on the go - just Ms Armstrong and a guitarist - showed off all the folky vocal and songwriting subtleties that radio-friendly production usually tends to steamroll.
If she’d played a full set, mind you, it probably would have become a bit tedious,
but the five songs she did do were straight-in-no-messing, surprisingly
resonant versions of ‘White Flag’, ‘Thank You’ and ‘Here With Me’ to please the
crowd, and newer numbers ‘Life for Rent’ and ‘Mary’s in India’ for all the Dido
trainspotters (do they exist?). Most pleasing of all was her frank, funny and entirely unpretentious Q&A
spot, in which she confirmed what the nation suspected - that she used to get
called Dildo at school. Still, it’s testament to the entirely unexpected warmth
and personality of her music up close that this revelation inspires a sympathetic 3
‘awww . . .’ rather than a snidey schoolboy chuckle. (David Pollock)
I Electric Six Barrowland. Glasgow. 27 Nov.
I Meatloaf SECC. Glasgow,
27 Nov. SOLD OUT
I Edinburgh Rock Liquid Room, Edinburgh. 28 Nov
I Turin Brakes Carling Academy, Glasgow, 28 Nov. I Echo and the Bunnymen Barrowland. Glasgow, 28 Nov.
I David Bowie and The Dandy Warhols SECC. Glasgow, 28 Nov. SOLD OUT I Therapy? Garage. Glasgow 28 Nov
I The Skatalites Carling Academy. Glasgow, 29 Nov. I The Dandy Warhols Barrowland. Glasgow, 29 Nov. I TTF Carling Academy. Glasgow 29 Nov
I Radiohead SECC. Glasgow. 30 Nov. SOLD OUT I Daniel Bedingfield Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, 30 Nov.
I The Strokes Braehead
Arena. Glasgow. 1 Dec. SOLD OUT I lnspiral Carpets
Carling Academy, Glasgow, l Dec.
I Simple Minds Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, 1 SOLD OUT & 2 Dec.
I Blue SECC. Glasgow, 3 & 4 Dec. SOLD OUT
I The Levellers QMU. Glasgow, 3 Dec.
I Jools Holland Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow. 4 & 5 Dec.
I Hammel on Trial Arches. Glasgow, 5 Dec.
I Machine Head Barrowland. Glasgow, 5 Dec. I Bjorn Again. Carling Academy Glasgow, 5 & 6 Dec I Feeder SECC. Glasgow. 6 Dec.
I Alabama 3 Carling Academy, Glasgow, 6 Dec.
I Eric Bibb Queen's Hall. Edinburgh, 6 Dec.
I Suede Carling Academy. Glasgow. 7 Dec.
I The Human League Barrowland. Glasgow, 7 Dec. I Basement Jaxx Corn Exchange. Edinburgh, 7 Dec. I Fleetwood Mac SECC.
., viii ,
PROG POP JOHN CAVANAGH WITH TEENAGE FANCLUB
Mono, Glasgow, Sun 10 Nov sees
Tonight's audience combines people old enough to remember the subject matter of Piper at the Gates Of Dawn with those young enough to know better. Thus, Mono is packed to capacity. the 'Sold Out' signs long since on display for — following 60's ideology — this free gig-cum-book launch.
Author John Cavanagh takes centre stage. the Radio Scotland DJ and sometime musician delivering us
EXPERIMENTAL POP COUNTRY OLD SOLAR eeee THEONEWHOFLEW eeee Your Sound @ Stereo, Glasgow, Wed 5 Nov
Your Sound doesn't quite promise Tomorrow's Hits Today but showcases up-and-coming live acts and
Music
passages from his tome, which seems an entertainineg written read. But it's the musical interludes which have drawn such a crowd here and the Fannies oblige with some fairly accurate reworkings of Pink Floyd's finest moments, including a version of 'Chapter 24' with Bill Wells on some suitably improvised guitar and Cavanagh himself on clarinet.
However, it's a climactic version of 'lnterstellar Overdrive' that closes a set shon enough to. as Cavanagh tells us earlier, have fitted into Floyd's Hendrix support slot all those years ago.
(Stuart McHugh)
Frank, funny and entirely unpretentious
theonewhoflew is a songwriting gem among today‘s pale pop idols. Catchier than Darius. but with the edge of Tim
Buckley and the darkness of Will
Old Solar give the shivers
Oldham, he also manages to pull off playing a moothie without looking kitsch. Oldsolar aren't chart stars in the making. Well. as Mark Russell says, ‘Pick Me Up' is as close to pop as they'll ever get. True. their sound is very far removed from the
opening act — lush and complex, with effects and cello mixing for an absorbineg
Glasgow, 7 Dec. SOLD OUT I Iron Maiden SECC. Glasgow. 8 Dec.
I Michael Franti and Spearhead QMU. Glasgow, 8 Dec.
I The Darkness Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, 9 Dec. SOLD OUT
I The Wonderstuff Carling Academy. Glasgow, 9 Dec.
I Elton John SECC. Glasgow, 10 Dec.
I The Damned Carling Academy. Glasgow, 10 Dec. I Turbonegro Garage. Glasgow, ll Dec.
I Hunrig Barrowland. Glasgow, 12 Dec.
I John Cale Liquid Room. Edinburgh. 12 Dec.
I Shed Seven Carling Academy. Glasgow, 13 Dec. I Belle a Sebastian Usher Hall. Edinburgh, l4 Dec.
I Hell is for Heroes Garage, Glasgow, l4 Dec.
I Madness and Aswad SliCC. Glasgow, 14 Dec.
I Bootleg Beatles. Usher Hall. Edinburgh. 15 Dec.
I Buzzcocks Garage. Glasgow, 16 Dec.
I The Proclaimers Barrowland. Glasgow, 18 Dec; Corn Exchange. Edinburgh, 21 Dec.
I Mondo Generator Garage. Glasgow, 17 Dec.
I Saw Doctors Carling Academy. Glasgow. l9 Dec. I UB40 and The Stranglers Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow, 1‘) Dec. I Status Ouo Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow, 21 Dec. I Kings of Leon Carling Academy. Glasgow. 22 Dec. I Justin Timberlake SECC. Glasgow. 14—16 Jan. SOLD OUT
I Primal Scream Carling
Academy. Glasgow, I6—l7 Jan.
I Spiritualised Barrowlands, Glasgow, 1‘) Jan. I The Magic Band Liquid Room. lidinburgh. 24 Jan.
I Him Barrowlands, Glasgow,
26 Jan. I Athlete Carling Academy.
complex sound; twin falsetto vocals layered on top. They have a second album ready to go. so oldies are in short supply. but ‘Cut' swells from a whispered ballad Low would be proud of into a devastating wall of sound. Ironic then that it's their starkly glacial cover of ‘Always on My Mind“ which causes jaws to drop and shivers to run down spines. Who needs hits when the misses are this good? (Stuart McHugh)
Glasgow. 2‘) Jan.
I Lamb Carling Academy. Glasgow 6 Feb.
I Damien Rice Carling Academy. Glasgow, 1 1 Feb. I The Distillers. Barrowlands Glasgow [3 Feb. I Liberty X SIiCC. Glasgow. l9 Feb.
I Shania “vain SECC. Glasgow. 22 Feb.
I The Ataris Barrowland. Glasgow, 27 Feb.
I Dropkick Murphys. Garage. Glasgow, 2 Mar.
I Brian Wilson Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, 4 Mar. I Busted SECC. Glasgow, 16 Mar.
I Zero 7 Carling Academy. Glasgow, 2() Mar.
I Sugababes Carling Academy. Glasgow, 28 Mar. I Pink SECC, Glasgow. 3l Mar.
I David Cassidy Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow, 24 Apr. I Eric Clapton SECC. Glasgow, 26 Apr.
I Yes Clyde Auditorium. Glasgow. 20 Jun.
13—27 Nov 2003 THE LIST 49