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FESTIVE FOLK CLUB JAMES YORKSTON’S TAE SUP WI’ A FIFER Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, Sat 3 Dec GRRRL PUNK ICON THE JULIE RUIN The Art School, Glasgow, Tue 6 Dec
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Buddy the Elf sure knew what he was talking about. Taking a leaf out of his book is James Yorkston, with a festive edition of his folk club series Tae Sup wi’ a Fifer. Established just last year as a music and spoken word night at the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy, Tae Sup wi’ a Fifer has grown into a surefire stalwart on the folk scene, with lineups to gently knock your socks off. The Christmas special is no exception, featuring King Creosote, Kadialy Kouyate and Laura Cannell. ‘I’m pleased Kenny (KC) is playing solo, it reminds me of those early Fence
shows,’ says Yorkston. ‘Kadialy is a great kora player and he also has a lovely, sweet voice, then there’s Laura doing her beguiling drone fiddle and dual-recorder thing. I’ve never seen Laura, so that’ll be a treat for me.’
A relaxed night of world-folk it is then, but Yorkston isn’t going to let the
Christmas theme slide that easily. ‘I may do a Christmas song or two, Kenny probably will,’ he says. ‘Also, I shouldn’t say, perhaps, but I did hear a rumour that Santa Claus himself was going to be in the audience, having a last night out before he gets on with the serious work.’ Result. That’ll see us nicely into the new year, when Yorkston isn’t planning to slow down much. ‘There’s six further Tae Sup wi’ a Fifer’s, plus Domino Records are releasing the second Yorkston Thorne Khan album. Alongside that, I’d better be getting on with my next book. Plenty to keep me occupied.’ (Kirstyn Smith)
For 15 years, from the turn of the 90s until the mid-00s, Kathleen Hanna was always there, declaiming loud and proud for women, for outsiders, for minority rights, agitating for a female-friendly environment at gigs where shoving and groping was not considered part of the deal.
But then in 2005, having raged righteously in riot grrrl trailblazers Bikini Kill and explored the politics of dancing in Day-Glo electro trio Le Tigre, she dropped off the radar – no records, no shows, no voice. All was eventually revealed in Sini Anderson’s 2013 Hanna documentary, The Punk Singer. Hanna had been forced into retirement due to ill health, her voice and ear problems, dizziness and fatigue finally identified as Lyme disease.
With treatment came the comeback, and a new band, the Julie Ruin, occupying
a musical space somewhere between her two previous bands. Their current album Hit Reset combines the punk rock action of Bikini Kill with the playful pop danceability of Le Tigre, but also makes room for more personal material about her parents and the first known instance of a Kathleen Hanna ballad. The voice cuts through again, true and unfettered, just like her emancipated stage presence. Naturally, Hanna is still agitating and has shared her thoughts on the US presidential battle by releasing the first new Le Tigre track in a decade - ‘I’m With Her’ is trademark Hanna bubblegum electro punk, which cheerleads freely for ‘pantsuit-wearing herstorical first-timer’ Hillary Clinton. (Fiona Shepherd)
MATH METAL DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN QMU, Glasgow, Thu 19 Jan
Dillinger Escape Plan are one of the most startlingly original bands in metal. Drawing on their hardcore punk roots, they have destroyed ideas of conventional music with jarring time signatures, vicious thrashing guitars and intricate song structures. They’ve constantly evolved, grown and expanded in sound
and vision – until now. DEP have announced that after 20 years they are calling it quits. One last album, Dissociation, and a final world tour and that’s it, the end. ‘Artistically, there is no strength in doing things endlessly just for fun, or for finance,’ explains vocalist Greg Puciato. ‘That’s not empowering or exciting to us. Giving something a deliberate final act, a deliberate resolve, that feels artistically strong. By doing this, we seal the band up and make it a complete thought, from a conscious deliberate beginning, to a conscious deliberate end.’ Dissociation is an impressive swansong. From the brutal
assault of ‘Limerent Death’ through the melancholic ‘Symptom of Terminal Illness’ to the skittering electronics of ‘Fugue’, it’s a challenging proposition, each listen revealing further layers. Dillinger are masters of their art, honing this jittery thrash into a coherent whole. ‘Instead of a collection of songs, this record feels like the most cohesive album this band has done since Calculating Infinity [1999],’ says Puciato. ‘It just feels like one organism to me. Internally we grew more between the last record and this, as individual people and as a band, than in any other length of time in our history.’
By coincidence, the founding fathers of heavy metal, Black Sabbath, also play their final ever UK tour in January. ‘They've indirectly influenced absolutely everyone and anyone playing after them,’ says Puciato, ‘just through the magnitude of their existence.’ (Henry Northmore)
3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017 THE LIST 103