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PREVIEW ALT.ROCK THE BESNARD LAKES Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sun 28 Mar
‘I think one of the most rock’n’roll things ever done was landing on the moon,’ muses vocalist Olga Goreas of celestial pop voyagers The Besnard Lakes. ‘It was the end to a great decade that produced more than just amazing music and art: it was a mindset. I’m not saying there haven’t been zeitgeisty moments of brilliance since, but what happened during the 60s – it was just out of the ordinary.’ The Besnard Lakes are out of the ordinary. The Canadians’ spacious, interplanetary alt.rock has reaped legion devotees, and little wonder: their hazy variations on The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Black Mountain and Fleetwood Mac – as currently shown
on bombastic third album Are the Roaring Night (Jagjaguwar) – are magnetising.
Fronted by the conjugal union of Goreas and co-
songwriter/vocalist Jace Lasek, The Besnard Lakes presently operate as a colossal dream-pop four- piece, whose instrumentation spans all the rock standards, plus mellotron, woodwind, omnichord and 12-string guitar. ‘Yeah there’ll be quite a bit of ground to cover when we play,’ Goreas ponders, à propos their roving stage plan. ‘Bring it on!’ Are they looking forward to returning to Glasgow, following an interstellar gig here three years ago? ‘That was the night we almost lost our drummer
Kevin! He has family in Scotland and he went out on the town after the show and – well, let’s just say we had some nail-biting moments trying to get him back,’ she laughs. ‘You almost took him from us! Please don’t do that again.’ (Nicola Meighan)
PREVIEW JAZZ DAVID PATRICK TRIO WITH BOBBY WELLINS The Lot, Edinburgh, Sat 27 Mar; City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 28 Mar; Perth Theatre, Mon 29 Mar
Bobby Wellins was a unanimously popular choice when he received a Lifetime Recognition award at the Scottish Jazz Awards last year. The Glasgow-born saxophonist has been a major figure on the UK jazz scene since the 60s, and is still going strong. Edinburgh pianist David Patrick continues a collaboration that began at the
Edinburgh Jazz Festival in 2006, and has evolved through successive tours. As icing on the cake, David planned to add saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski to an already powerful quartet, but the latter’s commitments to the SNJO and Brass Jaw have meant that the he will only be able to take part in the final concert in Perth. ‘I’ve been imagining hearing Bobby and Konrad on stage together for about a year now,’ Patrick said. ‘In some ways it is the classic Young Buck meets the Elder Statesman cutting contest framework, but what sets it apart for me is that the music always comes first for both Konrad and Bobby – ego won’t get in the way. In my experience, that’s when the very best music happens.’
The pianist is looking forward to linking up with Wellins again, with Tom Bancroft (drums) and Sean Pentland (bass) completing the line-up. He acknowledged that working with the saxman had been both inspiring and educational in a quartet which has become ‘a joyful experience’. (Kenny Mathieson)
Music
5 HADDOWFEST HIGHLIGHTS
1 Idlewild Old pros, compared to the majority of the rookie hot-shots on the bill at this Camden Crawl- style one-dayer festival, Roddy Woomble and the boys bring the angular jock-rock, as enjoyed by fans since 1995. 2 The 10:04s Entering the indie- rock history books in true style, this Edinburgh band (pictured) began with a bass guitar purchased for 80 bucks from Cash Converters. Expect itchy, frantic punk-rock hooks, with a nod to the Strokes and Libertines from these guys, who also happen to be the organisers behind Haddowfest.
3 Nine Black Alps
A rare band from (*shudder*) south of the border, on this otherwise very Scotland-centric festival line-up. (They’re not racialists at Haddowfest, mind, they just wanted to give unsigned Scots acts maximum exposure.) NBA bring very beautiful alt-rock from Manchester, full of spindly guitars and surf-pop flourishes. 4 We Were Promised Jetpacks Headlining with The Dykeenies (exact venues TBC, but The Bongo Club, Cabaret Voltaire, Electric Circus, Sneaky Pete’s are all putting on gigs through the day), WWPJ are off too SXSW next month, and also putting out the quiet-loud mini-album, The Last Place You’ll Look, full of battering military drums and Scottish- accented melodrama. Catch the Embra locals before they get so big they forget the little people.
5 Ardentjohn At the folkier end of the spectrum, this Edinburgh-based band hail from the Isle of Bute. Their wistful, jangly, gently strummed melodies definitely aren’t the sort of thing to give you mosh-related whiplash injuries, but they may just soothe your soul. ■ Haddowfest, various venues, Edinburgh, Sun 28 Mar, 1pm- midnight, £20. For updates and line-up, check www.myspace.com/haddowfest
Check out the GreatOffers on page 6 18 Mar–1 Apr 2010 THE LIST 63