Scene and heard
Traditionally, the weekend began on a Friday teatime and ended abruptly on the Sabbath. But there’s nothing remotely trad about LE WEEKEND, which has provided Stirling with seven years of musical plenty. Neil Cooper
investigates.
e Weekend was this country‘s first annual festival of avant-garde sonic adventures and set the tone for the equally expansive lnstal. Kill Your Timid Notion and Free Radicals events. with which it has pooled resources via Scotland's lixperimental Music Partnership consortium. This
year. a long weekend stretches itself to four nights of
free jazz. folk—drone Americana and all-round ear- pounding scree from ten acts that include several L'K premieres. It all adds tip to something which leaves the recent Triptych shindig looking as safe as a karaoke night in suburbia. ‘Le Weekend‘. as they say. starts here.
5! Borbetomagus 27 May, 9pm When sax player Jim Sauter played the Subcurrent festival in a duet with electronic kindred spirit Norbert Moslang. it was a physical experience that rumbled deep into the solar plexus. squeezing itself till it popped with the strain. Sauter’s main group for the last quarter century. Borbetomagus. bend the template even further out of shape. Together with fellow reedsman Don Dietrich and noise guitar terrorist Donald Miller. they've defined their wayward NY clatter as ‘snuff jazz’. Smarter than the average skronk trio. this is a mercifully odorama—free exercise. When bears shit in the woods. this is what it sounds like. S‘nuff said.
4! Heather Leigh Murray 28 May, 7.30pm Valley girls aren't exactly renowned for playing pedal steel guitar. but. like. hey. the coolest cool is not to give a great big flying one. right‘.’ So. whether Heather Leigh Murray ever hung out at the mall isn‘t on record. but given the backwoods excesses of her music. it‘s unlikely. Whatever. the UK debut of this one-time bona fide teen idol. a solo improvisation for aforementioned pedal steel and voice that sounds like the stars all wrapped up together with the weather. may at first come on a bit (’Illt'lt'lt' to the uninitiated. But stick with the programme and it transcends into something that‘s like. so. you know. a-mazing.
3! Haco & Sakamoto Hiromichi 29 May, 7.30pm
Le Weekend would not be complete without llaco. the Japanese avatar of voice and electronics who‘s been a regular pilgrim to Stirling over the years. Here
she gets back to nature with cellist and musical sawist Hiromichi joining her
impressionistic chirrups in a piece called ‘Ash in the Rainbow.‘
The album of the same name is a reimagining of a Hiromichi solo work that snapped. crackled and popped with fairytale wonder and foreboding. As irresistible force met immovable object. the third way of ‘Ash in the Rainbow‘ is a forever evolving mantra.
2! Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers & Hamid Drake 27 May, 8pm
Another Le Weekend wanderer returns. as (‘hicago percussionist Hamid Drake draws on the international language of squalling in this new power trio culled from the most maverick extremes of the liuropean and L'K free jazz scenes.
Saxophonist Dunmall has blown storms in his own image for more than 30 years. while Rogers” bass-playing is made even more glorious by his seven—string custom-built double bass. That‘s one for each year of Le Weekend. which still leaves Rogers with two fingers and a thumb going spare. As for Drake himself. his roots lie with Pharaoh Saunders and other giants on a mission.
1! The Dead C 30 May, 8pm New Zealand isn‘t exactly renowned for extreme musical exports. but then there‘s only one Dead C. And thank the Lord for that. more sensitive types might say once they've recovered from the unprovoked assault of Bruce Russell and Michael Morley‘s bastard twin guitars bickering with Robbie Yates‘ drums as the ultimate garage band in a strop. It‘s been thus ever since early albums on New Zealand‘s seminal Flying Nun label. though word on the boulevard is that these guys don‘t even talk to each other any more. Other whispers suggest that this much belated [TK premiere might be the estranged alliance‘s last ever show. Way to go. this is truly the sound of the world turned upside down. shaken like a ripped. stripped‘n'patched-up rag doll till it bleeds. then left to fend for itself in the wilderness. Phew. I Le Weekend is at the To/boot/i, Stirling, 27 -30 May See panel (page 7 8)
to explore a forest of
22 THE LIST 27 May-1f) June 2004
competitions and concerts. Various Venues, Keith, 07343 540325, £5.
I Edinburgh Treetest (12-13 Jun) Annual two-day celebration of trees and forests, featuring crafts. entertainment, environmental stalls, displays and interactive activities celebrating the vital role that trees. woods and forests play in our health and heritage. Inver/eith Park, Edinburgh, 0737 332 2229, Free. I West End Festival (11-27 Jun) The streets of the West End come alive with a two-week multi- arts festival. See preview page 24. Various Venues, Glasgow, 0747 347 0844, prices vary.
I Pride Scotia (19 Jun) Scotland's national LGBT (lesbian, gay. bisexual and transgender) festival celebrates its tenth birthday. Think flamboyant parades. fairs, live music and DJs. Various veues, Glasgow, 0747 560 0866, free.
I Mendelssohn on Mull Festival (27 Jun-2 Jul) Founded by celebrated violinist, Leonard Friedman, and set in the beautiful surrounds of the Inner Hebrides. the Mull test is an OppOrtunity for ten days of artistic exploration relating to the landscape and the sounds of Mendelssohn himself. Various Venues, Mull, Oban, 0737 228 7979, prices vary.
I Royal Bank Glasgow Jazz Festival (29 Jun-4 Jul) This popular jazz festival has hosted some of the biggest name in the business. Various Venues, 0747 552 3552, prices vary.
I T in the Park (10-11 Jul) Back for its 1 1th year and still Scotland's favourite festival, selling out in record time. Not that surprising as classic rock (David Bowie). cool punk (the Strokes). interstellar hip hop (N‘E'R'D) and dance rhythms (Slam) collide over two days. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ba/ado Airfield, Kinross, 0870 769 0700, £42.50. £75, £88.