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ldlewild’s Roddy Woomble dissects America’s seasonal culinary crafts.
Arrrerrcans are proud of Thanksgiving. It belongs therrr. in all its turkey trimmed. nor;- rlenomrrrational glory. Ate the worst rrreal of my life in Chicago on Thanksgiving 1999 at sorrre place called Granny's Diner. Whoevers granny she was I pity because the food was spit on the floor »- horrible. Things. unfortunately. dont improve this year. Another errrpty restaurant. another plate of candied yams. collared greens. sv-Jer-ztcorr'r mash and inrr’rrpkrn pie. It's like pouring sugar all over Christmas dinner. I blame the pilgrims. Or maybe you just have to be an Arrrerrcan.
Not long after the sweet potato fest. I'm back on a plane headed east. sitting behind a very large and restless woman. her frtful sleep causing anything on my fold-drmn table to end up on the floor. This includes drinks and. annoyingly. a strawberry yoghurt.
Touch down in Edrnburgh to the announcement that it's dropped below freezing and is raining heavily. But some places feel so instantly familiar that you can't help but smile. especially in a crty as beautiful to look at as Edinburgh. Winter frames it perfectly. The only thing that's holding me back from wandering those frosty New Town streets rs my crippling jetlag. one of the few times when my sleep patterns mirror the postman. But I use the extra hours to catch up with long magazine articles. and other things I can never be bothered doing, like writing letters and brushing my hair.
With each year passing i seem to care less and less about Christmas. not so much in spirit as in general disdain for gift buying and receiving. I'm the poster boy for the “difficult to buy for" faction. these days already owning most of the things l unwrap. I must say that now. getting to spend a few days eating mince pres and drinking wine with my family is far mere satisfying than any third copy of Bob Dylan's biography.
Happy holidays.
78 THE LIST " “
KINGS OF LEON Carling Academy. Glasgow. Mon 20 Dec
The fast track to fame is faster than ever these days. Less than 18 months ago Kings of Leon were strolling through the crowd at T in the Park, their diminutive stature and explosive facial hair turning heads more than any familiarity with their propulsive southern rock'n‘roll. A year on, when they returned, it was all bodyguards and backstage only pow wows. Mingling with the punters? You must be joking, dahling, we‘re stars now.
If Kings of Leon act prissy then it’s perhaps the music industry more than their good ole southern religious upbringing that's to blame. Their ascendancy has been so swift it‘s bordering on ridiculous. Blur, Manic Street Preachers and Teenage Fanclub all took half a decade and two or three albums each to deliver anything truly jaw droppingly brilliant. Today, bands have to arrive fully realised, time is a luxury proffered to few signing on the dotted line with The Man up in the those big bad record
Brian Kellock
company offices. Success should be instant and quality product should be forthcoming and consistent. Instead of pushing musicians and giving music fans more quality music to download onto our already jam-packed iPods. the reverse is the case. Careers last three years instead of ten and the big new thing arrives and departs with alarming regularity. Bands either deliver or crumble under the pressure of trying.
Kings of Leon have stuck it out for a second album worth celebrating. Their debut. 2002‘s Youth and Young Mangood was an oddly affected country bumpkin dotted with electrifying moments of stomping. unreconstructed boogie. Their second Aha Shake Heartbreak manages to keep a foot in the south while finding time to cause trouble while lurking around the corners of New York murky garages.
If they implode under pressure to produce a third with similar levels of intensity. sauciness and swagger, then they can almost be excused, but for the moment sit back and enjoy. (Mark Robertson)
K‘E‘LLocx, O’DONNELL, RAE, SMITH Henry's Jazz Cellar, Edinburgh, Fri 17 Dec