REVIEW INDIF
THE JOY FORMIDABLE, CHEW LIPS AND LEMONADE
Stag & Dagger at the Art School, Glasgow, Sat 23 May 0000
On the tiny stage in the Art Schools Vic Bar. the roaming audience at this inaugural Glasgow leg of the multi- venue Stag and Dagger festival were treated to a line-up which was young and diverse enough to be mistaken for a possible future NME tour.
American trio Lemonade might be set for the most niche-market career. With an angular dancefloor indie sOund. which perhaps appealed most tO the art students in the crowd. Chew Lips. on the other hand. have a pretty good shot at being the new La Roux Within the next few months. While both boys in the hand play tug-of-war with a bank of machines and some turned-up guitars in the background. singer Tigs gives them star quality. even if all that need amount to is a stroppy stare and a Debbie Harry pout over some effortless electro—pop bangers. Wales London trio The Joy Formidal')le also make a feature of lead singer and obvious star Bit/y Bryan. although their sound is richer for the swathes of epic guitar. Imagine Sleeper covering MBV: The Joy Formidable are much better than that. lDawd Pollockl I WWW.myspace.com/ the/oy/ornfit/able
70 THE LIST ll :25) .Jun 200‘.)
IIIZVIEZW INDIE. POP
PLAYER PIANO
The GRV, Edinburgh, Sat 23 May .0.
Indiana boy Mr Piano (aka Jeremy Radwayl pitched up at Homegame. Fence's annual music fest in Anstruther. a few years ago. and was welcomed into the prolific collective of Fife musicians for whom folk is not a four-letter word.
At this gig for Fence royalty King Creosole. the multi-instrumentalist is on first support slot duty. attempting to bring what is expansive on record to life Without his band. His current EP mm the Dark takes in orchestral scope. melodramatic vocals and a pop sensibility yet a bare bones stage presence of just his honeyed vocals. guitar and natural charm prove that his success doesn't reside in the Window dressing of production.
As the set progresses. the line-up is added to by his pseudonymous brethren Pictish Trail. OnTheFly and Uncle Beesly. to make a full-on Fence family affair that sets the mix'n'match tone of the rest of the evening. Unfortunately more is less. the full stage at times obscuring Radway's strengths ~ affecting lyrics matched to tight melodies and While nothing can hide the fact that on King C's night. Player Piano is a strong contender for the crown. lSu/anne Black)
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PREVIEW INDUSTRIAL THROBBING GRISTLE Tramway, Glasgow, Wed 17 Jun
stuck.
alone. (Neil Cooper)
REVIEW SlNGER-SONGWRITER PHIL CAMPBELL
Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sun 24 May 0000
YOU can tell that Phil Campbell‘s a songwriters songwriter by the company he keeps: members of Edinburgh’s Aberfeldy and The Gillyflowers have sung around for his set. and they seem to be enjoying what they hear. But then the currently Glasgow-based Campbell has lived one variation of the dream, at least. He's worked and lived in London. been in various bands. had more than one solo deal With EMI and even made it to the dIZZy heights of Later. . . Wit/i Joo/s Holland over the last decade and a bit.
So this intimate two-piece set in the smaller of the Voodoo Rooms' spaces might be a step down, but it was still a rare treat. Campbell possesses the kind of gravelly bluesman's voice which has really lived. and an easy manner that sits somewhere between world-weariness and devotional contentment to his music. Autobiography seems to be writ large over tracks from his forthcoming album Daddy's Tab/e — he dedicates one tender lullaby to his son and then names ‘Gone' as being for his ex-Wife. ‘While the River Runs'. meanwhile. demonstrates some dynamic blues guitar playing. (David Pollock)
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When Throbbing Gristle issued a communique in 1981 announcing that ‘the mission is terminated'. it looked like the last self-destructive flourish by the UK's premier avant-provocateurs. Sired from underground performance art troupe COUM Transmissions in a not so united kingdom whose crumbling grey cities teetered on the verge of collapse. Throbbing Gristle's confrontationalist electronic extremes looked and sounded like a dress rehearsal for the civil unrest that would erupt that summer. The nascent TG had long been damned as 'wreckers of civilisation‘ by Tory MP Nicholas Fairburn following a tabloid-baiting turn at London's ICA. It was a label that
When Chris Carter. Peter Christopherson, Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti reconvened 23 years later, then. for the Industrial music and Noise community TG had birthed by way of off-shoot projects. Psychic TV. Coil and Chris and Cosey. the succession of live dates and recording of the limited edition TG Now' release and 2007 album. Part Two: The Endless Not was the biggest shock of all. Similar sensations followed the announcement of TG's first ever Scottish date. which will see them perform a live score for a new film by artist Cerith Wyn Evans prior to a second half greatest none-hits set.
This is a major coup for Tramway. as last time any of TG appeared this side of the border was via a solo Edinburgh outing by P-Orridge playing to backing tapes at the old Cafe Royal function room almost a decade ago. Since then. death. body-modification and a prevailingly conscious sense of taboo-busting have made this revived TG look like elder states-people of a fecund noise scene still facing up to industry resistance. Yet. for a band Whose entire lifespan has been one experiment. Throbbing Gristle still stand
REVIEW POP. ROCK MAEVE O’BOYLE AND MICK HARGAN AND THE
PROPOSITIONS
Oran Mor, Glasgow, Thu 4 Jun 0...
Being the venue she was signed at. Oran Mor was always going to be a special one for local singer-songwriter Maeve O'Boyle's return gig. Opening the show full of energy and charisma. the 21 -year-old has the audience's interest immediately. Songs from her debut album For All My Sins — a mixture of soft rock and folksy ballads — are enthusiastically received. in particular the upbeat ‘Romeo' which prompts one fan to throw flowers and shout. ‘l'll be your Romeo!‘
The closing act of the night Mick Hargan and The Propositions have a strong American influence. SOunding similar to Pearl Jam and Counting Crows. but still showing their Glaswegian roots. Blasting out the infectiously happy 'Pina Colada. Vanilla Ice Cream and Me'. might sound cringeworthy. but it has everyone smiling and singing along by the second verse.
This kind of thing has been done to death. but Mick and his Propositions offer a fine feelgood vibe that is worthy of at least a little of your love. By far. the most memorable act of the night though is 080er whose future is bright. (Susannah Nichol)
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