HOGMANAY 2014
Cossack dancers, Ida Barr from La Clique, and Twinset & Twirls, ‘the world’s only tassel-twirling twins with a double whammy shimmy’. Sounds exciting. Just remember to dress up: jeans and trainers are banned. ■ O2 Academy, Glasgow, Wed 31 Dec, 9pm.
12LOONY DOOK There’s a strong chance you’ll be suffering when you wake up on the i rst day of 2015, and the South Queensferry Loony Dook
is a surei re way of getting rid of that hangover. This parade culminates in a (freezing) swim in the River Forth under the Forth Rail Bridge to shock your body into a new year. If you can’t face venturing out of the city then Scot:Lands (see page 19), a series of music, theatre and visual art events, is taking place across Edinburgh too. ■ South Queensferry, Thu 1 Jan, parade 1.20pm; dook 1.30pm.
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the wonderfully named electric ceilidh band the Jimi Shandrix Experience will be keeping time. ■ St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow, Wed 31 Dec, 7pm–1am; The Mound Precinct, Edinburgh, Wed 31 Dec, 9pm–1am.
9FIREWORKS If it isn’t clear from the list so far, Edinburgh takes Hogmanay very seriously indeed and this year is no exception. Dubbed as ‘Edinburgh’s
Midnight Moment’, even the traditional midnight i reworks display from Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill has been expanded, with rockets et al erupting every hour, on the hour, from 9pm until midnight. ■ City centre, Edinburgh, Wed 31 Dec, 9pm.
10CLUBS For a serious night out, Optimo Hogmanay in Glasgow is taking over the Art School. At the Assembly Hall, Boot & Tax, JD
Twitch and JG Wilkes take to the decks, and in the Vic Bar, Whilst and Golden Teacher are in charge. In Edinburgh, the Summerhall Hogmanay features Signed, Sealed Delivered, a club night of Motown, disco and funk in the atmospheric Dissection Room, with live DJ sets and a performance from female vocal harmony trio the Harmonettes. ■ The Art School, Glasgow, Wed 31 Dec, 10.30pm–4.30am; Summerhall, Edinburgh, Wed 31 Dec, 9pm–3am.
11BURLESQUE From ukulele playing to a tartan dominatrix, Club Noir New Year’s Eve Burlesque promises to be a distinctly unique way to see
in 2015. Performances also include Russian
e Waverley Sta Fathers play the Waverley Stage along with Fathers play the Waverley Stage along with Twin Atlantic and the Twilight Sad. Meanwhile, over at the Scottish Stage, Eddi Reader, Breabach, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson are performing. ■ Princes Street, Edinburgh, Wed 31 Dec, 9pm–1am. Street party arena opens at 7pm.
7LIVE MUSIC If freezing your socks off on a packed street just isn’t your cup of tea, then head to Glasgow for live music on NYE. Up-and-coming rockers Tijuana Bibles play King Tut’s with support from Crash Club and Medicine Man. Over in the O2 ABC, American DJs the Martinez Brothers will be bringing (down the) house. ■ Tijuana Bibles, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Wed 31 Dec, 8.30pm; The Martinez Brothers, O2 ABC, Glasgow, Wed 31 Dec, 10pm.
8CEILIDH Whip out your moves and reel in 2015 with some traditional Scottish dancing. Glasgow’s Hogmanay Ceilidh in St Andrew’s in the Square offers haggis and a dram to revive you as you get sweaty, plus music from the Ardoch Ceilidh Band. If you’re Edinburgh-side, The Keilidh on the Mound has a ‘ceilidh caller’ to sort out your pas de basque from your high cut, and
IN WITH THE NEW
A few of this year’s street
party acts tell us what Hogmanay means to them
‘New Year’s Eve: When it’s dark there is life in the shadows. Fireworks and light create shadows. Deafening bass makes hissing rain poignant. We still have the summer sun in our skin so the cold bites.
Love. A full stop makes you consider what went before. Filter out all the crap of the year and what are you left
with? It’s got to be love. Renewal. A kiss at fucking midnight is a promise for the future, even if it’s a goodbye kiss to people we will never
see again.
If we weren’t performing we would be
‘I like to try and do something different ‘This will be my second time at
every year for Hogmanay. I’ve been out in Glasgow, I’ve been out in
Edinburgh, I’ve stayed in, got pished myself and watched the TV. If you can get all your friends in the one
place at Hogmanay then that’s when it really becomes a good night and that’s what we’re going to be able to
do in Edinburgh this year. If we weren’t playing the Street Party in Edinburgh this year I think I’d be in my local pub having a drink with my friends. Either that or sitting in the house pished, listening to Abba and occasionally
Hogmanay! I fi rst came as a 21-year- old Aussie backpacker a few years ago (not revealing how many!) and it was WILD! I remember a blur of snow, girls, music and meeting so many people. It felt like we talked to everyone! There is a unique sense of community and hedonism at Hogmanay that I can’t wait to be a part of again. And if I wasn’t playing the Hogmanay Street
Party I’d be back home in Sydney
being a lot warmer!’
DJ TOM LOUD – HOT DUB TIME MACHINE
kissing . . . strangers and lovers.’ shouting at the TV.‘
YOUNG FATHERS JAMES GRAHAM – THE TWILIGHT SAD
11 Dec 2014–5 Feb 2015 THE LIST 15