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March 2015 Scotland Issue 114

Bringing the laughs to Glasgow

Comedy Glasgow Comedy Festival Music Lightning Bolt Scotland at SXSW Gang of Four Wolf Alice Sacred Paws

International Festival Guide Warpaint WIFE

Clubs Channel One Sound System Wee Dub Festival

Art RSA New Contemporaries Ben Martin

Books StAnza Jon Ronson Mark Ellen

Film Will Anderson & Ainslie Henderson Rory Alexander Stewart Xavier Dolan Desiree Akhavan

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Contents

30 With their old band Golden Grrrls a

distant memory, Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rogers explain why they’ve kept on truckin’ as Sacred Paws.

06 Chat & Opinion: Stop the Presses has the latest news; Crystal Baws tells your fortune; Spot the Difference; Shot of the Month.

08 Heads Up: Your daily guide to cultural events across the country in March.

LIFESTYLE

Travel: Fancy leaving for your annual bout of watching bands in a field, but don’t know yer DC from yer Dour? Voila: our International Festival guide.

Deviance: V is for Vagina – one writer explains why it’s important to call a spade a spade when it comes to body parts. Plus erotic columnist Matthew Bobbu explains BDSM.

Showcase: Grays graduate Ben Martin creates playful installations with the reduced means of tensioned, weighted rope. View his portfolio ahead of his display in the RSA.

Fashion: This month the fashion world springs to life with Edinburgh Fashion Week, GSA Fashion Show, Edinburgh Charity Fashion and LFW’s A/W trend report.

Food & Drink: Let’s get furious about bar decor – here’s why it’s time to reassess our post-industrial interior design tropes. Plus Phagomania: The Return of the Sandwich.

FEATURES

Ahead of her appearance at this month’s Glasgow Comedy Festival, eternal adolescent Josie Long talks heartbreak and nonsense.

Lightning Bolt’s Brian Gibson offers his thoughts on Japanese lunatics Boredoms and new album Fantasy Empire.

As thousands of bands descend on SxSW to prove their mettle under the international music media’s gaze, this month three of Scotland’s brightest look forward to the scrum.

All prepped for Wee Dub Festival? Mikey Dread of Channel One Sound System gets straight to the roots of the resilience of roots reggae.

We chat to animation duo Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson about their Monkey Love Experiment while trying not to mention Fame Academy.

Rory Alexander Stewart, winner of the inaugural Skinny Short Film Competition, tells us about Misery Guts, the film he made with his prize money. Desiree Akhavan discusses her boundarypushing comedy Appropriate Behaviour and the media’s obsession with Lena Dunham.

20 Ask a poet to write an article, expect

an absolute avalanche of alliteration. Michael Pedersen offers an insider’s guide to St Andrews poetry fest StAnza.

So what happens when Gang of Four‘s membership goes down to one original member? We check in with Andy Gill to chat about longevity in the face of expectation.

Ahead of Wolf Alice's Glasgow date and their debut LP (due this summer), Ellie Rowsell tells us why everything we’ve ever thought about the band is wrong.

Now firmly secure in its position as post-graduate platform for the pick of Scotland’s art schools, RSA New Contemporaries returns this month.

Mommy director and Québécois enfant terrible Xavier Dolan explains why his florid and emotion-saturated cinema is his revenge against the banality of everyday life.

For pity’s sake, The Internet, will you stop shaming folk for just five minutes? Luckily, award-winning author Jon Ronson has written a book on that very subject. How convenient! Veteran music journo Mark Ellen entertains us with tales of Rod Stewart’s spending sprees and Elton John’s army of naked paratroopers.

March 2015

REVIEW

Music: Warpaint’s Jenny Lee Lindberg muses on Siouxsie and Aphex in this month’s Under The Influence; James Kelly explains WIFE’s relationship with black metal; plus new records from Lonelady, Wells & Moffat, Errors and Courtney Barnett.

Clubs: Mr. Tophat and Art Alpie reveal their favourite albums while we preview the Bloc Weekend's return to Minehead, and take a look at the clubbing highlights across Scotland this March.

Art: Our art critics cast an eye over Dictatorship and Democracy, plus a round-up of the month’s exhibition highlights.

Film: Everything you need to know about the wonders hitting the big screen this month.

DVD / Books: It’s a great month for documentaries, with Dušan Hanák’s Pictures of The Old World and Sergei Loznitsa’s Maidan just begging to be added to your DVD shelves. Meanwhile, Yuri Herrera and Catherine Chanter provide this month’s must-read books.

60 Theatre: Henrik Ibsen? The importance

of strong female characters? Amanda Gaugham tells us more ahead of Hedda Gabler’s run at The Lyceum, plus the latest reports from Manipulate Festival.

Competitions: WIN! Your very own customised goodies from Edinburgh’s favourite printers Swish. OR VIP tickets to the Riverside festival.

Listings: So many things to do! We’ve compiled ‘em all for you, and they’re all much better than the emphatic nothing with which you’d otherwise occupy your time. No, no… thank you.

Contents

Editorial

Shot Of The Month Django Django at The Liquid Room Edinburgh, 15 February by Kat Gollock

t is traditional for a cultural magazine located in the wind-battered northern reaches of Europe upon reaching March to preface every characterled column with reference to: a) winter b) how long winter’s been c) how sick of winter we all are and d) how great it is that it’s nearly spring and we can all experience joy again. In keeping with said tradition, this issue of the magazine leads with an interview with everyone’s favourite comedic pseudo adolescent, Josie Long, ahead of her appearance at Glasgow Comedy Festival this month, looking set to warm us all up with the LOLs after this long, harsh winter. What seamless linkage from the universal experience of The Seasons to Our Content. You’re welcome. We also offer a rundown of our top picks from said Comedy Festival, from Dylan Moran to Bridget Christie. Oddly no mention is made of Michelle McManus’s much-heralded comedy debut. In Music, the big hitters for March include Lightning Bolt bassist Brian Gibson, who offered us some apology-strewn time to introduce the Rhode Island duo’s new album Fantasy Empire. We look forward to South by South West in Austin, Texas, drilling down into why the world’s biggest new music conference still offers unique opportunities to the Scottish musicians who fly out to showcase there. Elsewhere, Gang of Four guitar hero Andy Gill discusses the band’s continuation after the departure of vocalist Jon King; Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell explains their drive for slow burning success; Warpaint’s Jenny Lee Lindberg kindly offers us an insight into the records that shaped her in our Under the Influence piece; and Sacred Paws’ Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers explain their long distance collaboration ahead of their Rock Action debut Six Songs, out this month. Film, fresh from an intensive month producing the CineSkinny free guide to the Glasgow Film Festival, is setting its sights squarely on the GFF’s wee pal, Glasgow Short Film Festival. The obvious highlight of their programme is the debut of The Skinny / Innis & Gunn Award winner Rory Alexander Stewart’s resulting short Misery Guts, produced

using the prize money he received last summer for dog drama Good Girl. We talk to the director about his new work, and stay on the GSFF programme for a chat with animation duo Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson aka Whiterobot, creators of the much-loved animated popcorn festival trailer as well as the chain-smoking pigeons of internet sensation Scroogin on a Greg. They’re here to debut their latest collaborative project Monkey Love Experiments, and give us some chat about their creative process and a life reliant on a Macbook. Looking beyond our usual geographical boundaries, this month Books casts its eye all the way up to St Andrews, home of poetry festival StAnza. We thought the best way to explore the scene was through an insider’s guide, so we got Neu! Reekie! scribe Michael Pedersen to pen us an insight into the country’s largest dedicated poetry festival. Veteran music journalist Mark Ellen’s memoirs come out in paperback this month, and they’re peppered with anecdotes about rock ‘n’ roll excess in the days when a squad of naked men parachuting into Elton John’s party was a goddamn secret indulgence, not a PR exercise. He discusses the changing face of the music industry, and how it may be the agent of its own demise. We also have some words with Jon Ronson, promoting his latest book, which explores the implications of internet shaming. In Art, it’s RSA New Contemporaries time again, as last year’s Scottish art school graduates descend upon Edinburgh to reveal what got them selected for Team Top Gun in the first place. This month’s Showcase, Grays graduate Ben Martin, is one of those artists, and he’ll be creating a work in tensioned, weighted rope especially for the occasion. His piece at the Aberdeen degree show was a bit magical, one of those rare works that is much greater than the sum of its parts and extends beyond the confines of its physical boundaries, impacting on the viewer’s experience of the room, themselves, their surrounding area. I for one am very much looking forward to what he’s going to produce this month on the Mound. [Rosamund West]

Spot the Difference TWO TIGERS Check out this grrrreat ambush of tigers. Aren’t they ferocious? We think there might be something fishy about the ones on the right though. Can you spot what? If you think you can spot the difference, head along to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and tell us what it is. You could win a copy of Tim Clare's debut novel The Honours, courtesy of those lovely folk at Canongate. Competition closes midnight Sun 29 Mar. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

Best in Show: TWO DRAGONS “The one on the left is lactose intolerant, the one on the right isn't. The one on the left gets its soft furnishings from Habitat, the one on the right goes to Dobbie's Garden Centre for decor purposes, and lacks imagination. The one on the right loves bingo, the one on the left can't do numbers yet. And the one on the right isn't even a kitten – it's like todally a dragon. Oh.” (JH) “The one on the left is currently reading the Club pages in The Skinny whereas the one on the right has already read it and partaken of the Club scene.” (EP) “One coughs up hair balls. The other one is from Dragon Ball.” (SS) “Both dragons used to be full of hope, naïvity and youth. But the dragon on the right recently watched Aphex Twin's music video Come To Daddy and immediately lost all those feelings.” (AT)

Chat

THE SKINNY

information in the meantime, head to redbullmusicacademy.com/events

The 2015 edition of T in the Park – the first at its new home at Strathallan Castle, Perthshire – has been unveiled. The enigmatic Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, joins returning Scottish rockers Idlewild on Saturday's bill at the first edition of the festival since its move from Balado, while electronic mainstays Hot Chip feature on the Friday night line-up. Electronic punks The Prodigy, whose new album The Day Is My Enemy is due out next month, headline the Radio 1 Stage on the festival’s final night, with US indie favourites Modest Mouse joining them on Sunday’s bill. The full lineup thus far – headlined by Kasabian, The Libertines and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – is online at tinthepark.com. T in the Park takes place from 10–12 July; tickets are on sale now. Red Bull Music Academy brings its globetrotting series of festivals and workshops to the UK this spring, with Glasgow among the four host cities. Dimitri From Paris, Goat and Mount Kimbie rank among the more notable names on the bill, which also promises a wealth of (deep breath) concerts, club nights, daytime parties, live radio broadcasts, art installations and lectures. Performances and workshops feature a broad range of internationallyrenowned musicians and industry experts, alongside a selection of local talent (selected via application). The Glasgow programme (26-29 Mar) is set to include events at The Art School (Koreless, Pional, 26 Mar, tickets £6) and The Berkeley Suite (Prins Thomas vs Special Guests, Dimitri from Paris, 27 Mar, tickets £12), with more to come at Sub Club and The Glue Factory. Further details, including application information and full venue listings, will be announced soon. For more

Scottish-based filmmakers have the opportunity for peak time broadcast thanks to This Is Scotland, a new initiative run in conjunction with Creative Scotland. The series’ first two films – Ruth Carslaw’s My New Hair and Jack Warrender’s Lost In Transition – have aired already, but organisers are calling for new applications, with a focus on material that explores “contemporary, topical, human stories in Scotland,” conceived by filmmakers from diverse and under-represented backgrounds. Six projects will be taken to the development stage, with a final two to be commissioned for production (courtesy of SDI Productions) before being broadcast at peak time on STV. Deadline for submissions is Friday 27 Mar – further information is available at scotdoc.com/TIS This year’s Riverside Festival have added another impressive name to an already-hefty bill in the shape of the Horse Meat Disco collective. Regular performers across the European club scene, the London DJs join German techno hero Sven Väth, Chilean producer Ricardo Villalobos and inspired collaboration Siriusmodeselektor at Glasgow’s Riverside Museum between 29-30 May. For tickets and further line-up details, check out riversidefestivalglasgow.com What do a meta sex comedy, a claustrophobic sci-fi fantasy, a elegiac fishing documentary and a kitchen-sink sci-fi about an ET disguised as a German Shepard have in common? They were all entries into The Skinny’s first Short Film Competition, launched last year. The winner was Rory Alexander Stewart (see our interview p. 19). With the prize money from our partners Innis & Gunn he made Misery Guts, which gets its world premiere at Glasgow Short Film Festival on 12 March at CCA, where it’s going to play alongside the best runners-up from the competition. We’d love you to come along – the screening is free, pick up tickets from the venue on the day. Join us for a drinks reception beforehand courtesy of Innis & Gunn.

Crystal Baws With Mystic Mark

LIBRA You watch as your children play a game of ‘Doctors and Nurses', filling out endless paperwork, dealing with budgetary constraints and completing grueling 30-hour shifts, all while a Tory toddler hangs around trying to shut the whole game down.

ARIES This month, having heard that methane released in cow farts is a major factor SCORPIO contributing to global warming, you invent a revoBrowsing around the surf shop for a lutionary new wind turbine that affixes to cow wetsuit so you can go in the sea come bumholes to repurpose the powerful gas emissions springtime, you're shocked to see a colourful into a renewable form of unclean wind energy. range of sporty-looking Shark Dildos for sale next to the snorkels and surfboard wax. You shrug and TAURUS pick one up as well as a Dolphin Ball-Gag and some Due to budgetary constraints your star Sea Turtle Anal-Beads. You intend to enjoy the sea sign has been cancelled in favour of this year. endless repeats of Jurassic Park III. SAGITTARIUS GEMINI You spend your evenings sitting in bars You find the law of attraction means you and restaurants doing silent, atrocious are constantly attracting large swarms farts next to bright young couples out on their of wasps. The problem is that by thinking first dates, all the while complaining loudly that about the large swarms of wasps that constantly the stench is ruining your dinner, begging whoever cover your body, you attract more wasps. Try not is doing it to stop. thinking about the wasps so much and see what happens ;) CAPRICORN As an optimist, you believe the flaming CANCER bin containing your crushed hopes and The worst thing about losing your limb dreams is half full, rather than half empty. is now everyone expects you to become a fucking athlete. AQUARIUS Paranoid about asteroids hitting the LEO earth and wiping us all out like the This month you wake to find you have dinosaurs, you develop a gigantic magnet to pull metamorphosed into a giant insect, them all closer towards earth so we can keep a dramatically increasing your sexual better eye on them. attractiveness and career prospects. PISCES VIRGO Don't join that cult, start your own, it's “Never a dull moment,” you chuckle to easy! To find out how, simply cut off all yourself as you hack through the shin contact with your family and attend my ‘How to bone of your dead best friend. Start a Cult’ lectures every day and night for the next six years in my desert compound. twitter.com/themysticmark facebook.com/themysticmark

The April Issue: Out 31 Mar

jockmooney.co.uk

Look out for our next issue, hitting the streets in just four weeks' time and featuring these guys. On the trail of George Orwell and The KLF, Errors return from Jura with Lease of Life. Neu! Reekie! introduce their debut book and album, the Riverside festival lands in Glasgow, and we take a closer look at Arika's latest challenging arts programme.

MARCH'S COVER ARTIST Ailsa Sutcliffe is an independent illustrator, designer and maker based in Glasgow. She graduated from Communication Design at Glasgow School in 2014, and recently completed a residency at Hospitalfield House. She works primarily with collage, paper cut outs and printmaking, with her inspirations coming from museums, stories, vintage imagery and archives. You can see more at cargocollective.com/ailsasutcliffe

March 2015

Opinion

Compiled by: Anna Docherty

As March brings longer days and (hopefully) less freezing weather, we look forward to a cultural calendar brimming with the return of the Glasgow Comedy Fest, a duo of outings from Idlewild, the annual RSA New Contemporaries art-a-thon, our Short Film Competition-winner Rory Alexander Stewart at GSFF, and more…

Wed 4 Mar

It's that time of year again when the talented bunch of Glasgow School of Art second and third year Fashion students showcase their work in a catwalk setting – aka all hail the GSA Fashion Show 2015! – with the third year students theming their designs on world dress and textile traditions, while the second year pups showcase selected design projects. The Art School, Glasgow, 3 & 4 Mar, 7pm & 9pm, £10 (£7)

St Andrews' annual festival of poetry, StAnza (4-8 Mar), kicks off with a taster launch bash of poetry and music, with guest speaker Clive Russell (aka 'im offa Game of Thrones) joining singer/songwriter Kirsty Law; this year's Artist in Residence, Lucy Jones; poets Glyn Maxwell, Sheenagh Pugh, and Shara McCullum (each with a hand-selected poem); and more. The Byre Theatre, St Andrews, 6.30pm, free Glyn Maxwell

Niamh Bannan, designs

Tue 10 Mar

Taking over Edinburgh for s'more curated dub, reggae and dancehall shenanigans, the fifth annual Wee Dub Festival (6-8 March) draws to a close on Sunday evening with a duo of bona fide soundsystem legends – step forward messrs Channel One and Earl Gateshead – making merry alongside Messenger Sound, Big Toes Hi-Fi Soundsystem, and more. The Caves, Edinburgh, 9pm, £10 adv. (£13 door)

TuneYards (or tUnE-yArDs, have it your way) – aka New England native Merrill Garbus's charming lo-fi pop persona/project – continue to give her latest LP Nikki Nack the live tour treatment, inventively bursting with clashing instruments and trademark whisper-to -a-scat-rap vocals, ahead of playing summer sets at Primavera Sound Festival and Field Day London. The Art School, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £14

Storytelling fun night The Speakeasy returns for its monthly outing, with March's line-up of treats including regular joke masters Bruce Devlin and Phil O'Shea, plus Stanley Odd rapper and wordsmith Dave Hook (aka Solareye), and our 2014 Skinny-award shortlisted multimedia comic Juliette Burton. As per, all the stories they tell must be true. Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, 8pm, £7

Channel One

Tune-Yards

Credit: Gemma Burke

Mon 9 Mar

Credit: Preetam Slot

Sun 8 Mar

Sat 14 Mar

Sun 15 Mar

Mon 16 Mar

Having emerged butterflylike from their art school confines, the best of last year's graduating students take over the Royal Scottish Academy for the annual RSA New Contemporaries exhibition – featuring work from an eclectic bunch of graduates handpicked from across the main art colleges in Scotland. RSA, Edinburgh, until 8 Apr, £4 (£2)

Indisputably one of the finest comics around, Stewart Lee takes to the road with his latest show – A Room With A Stew – showcasing new material penned for the return of his BBC2 series, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. Also playing Dundee's Dundee Rep (16 March) and Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium (as part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival, 19 March). Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 8pm, £22.50

Known for his distinctively leftfield and oft surreal comedy meanderings, the e'er inventive Simon Munnery hits up Glasgow International Comedy Festival for perhaps his most imaginative comedy challenge yet – performing a selection of extracts of 19th-century Danish existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard's writing, and making 'em funny. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £10 (£8)

Gordon Murray, Dodeca Adjusted

Sat 21 Mar

Sun 22 Mar

The Rally & Broad lasses hit Edinburgh for their March outing – Dance While The Sky Crashes Down – welcoming RM Hubbert, Alan Bissett, Lynsey May, Elyssa Vulpes, and the new Scottish Slam Champion for an apocalypse-themed night of literary warblings, before flitting to Glasgow for round two (Stereo, 22 March, 2.30pm). The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 7pm, £5

Glasgow folk-pop melody merchants Randolph's Leap– a 32-limbed rotating ensemble of musicians – host round three of their curated all-dayer, I Can't Dance To This Music, this time joined by DIY folk-rock troubadour Dan Willson (aka Withered Hand), Edinburgh slowcore sextet eagleowl, casiotone pop dreamers Prehistoric Friends, and more. CCA, Glasgow, 2pm, £12

In what is probably our favourite event title o' the month, Tom Brogan brings Compulsory Trousers and Book Arrow Heart Bossnappers to the CCA – his new play inspired by the controversial French Trade Union tactic of 'locking-in' employers during negotiations, set in a chocolate factory where a female workforce hatch a plan to stop their boss moving the work abroad. CCA, Glasgow, 22-24 Mar, £8 (£6)

RM Hubbert

Credit: Ashley Good

Fri 20 Mar

Withered Hand

Fri 27 Mar

Glasgow/London-straddling duo Sacred Paws celebrate the release of their debut EP with a four-date mini tour, kicking off with two dates on Scottish soil, first at Edinburgh's Sneaky Pete's (25 March), before skipping across to Glasgow's Mono the following evening – with their rough-edged take on Afrobeat tiger-striped with spidery guitar hooks and overlapping vocal shouts. Mono, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £tbc

Since no self-respecting comedy fest would be complete without a screening of Joe Dante's classic horror funny, Gremlins, Glasgow International Comedy Festival dig out the cutest little creature ever to don a Santa hat (aka Gizmo – just wook at his wittle face!), for not one, but two airings during the festival's run. Cineworld, Glasgow, 27 Mar (10.30pm) & 28 Mar (8pm), £9.80 (£7.20)

Chat

Sacred Paws

Credit: Neil Jarvie

Thu 26 Mar

Stewart Lee

Juliette Burton

Simon Munnery

Compulsory Trousers and Book Arrow Heart Bossnappers

Gremlins

THE SKINNY

Credit: Tom Brogan

Heads Up

Tue 3 Mar

To mark the end of the Coded After Lovelace exhibition, the Hannah Maclure Centre takes part in the Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon Dundee – offering punters one last browse of the exhibition, coupled with the chance to take part in an international editing session to improve coverage of women and the arts on Wikipedia. Full training and snacks provided. Hannah Maclure Centre, Dundee, 4pm, free

After having their bonces emblazoned across the cover of our February issue, Idlewild take to Glasgow's O2 ABC to play a duo of dates (7 & 8 March), giving new LP – Everything Ever Written – the full live treatment, with original members Roddy Woomble, guitarist Rod Jones, and drummer Colin Newton joined by keyboard player Luciano Rossi, and bassist Andrew Mitchell. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £20

Requiem for Edward Snowden

Coded After Lovelace

Thu 12 Mar

Fri 13 Mar

After the excitement of the Glasgow Film Festival, the shorts get their chance to shine at GSFF (11-15 Mar) – with the star of the show on the opening day being Vertical Cinema, a series of ten specially-commissioned pieces by a select batch of international experimental filmmakers, flipped on their side and projected vertically with a custom-built projector. Mind = blown. Briggait, Glasgow, 9pm, £8

Having launched our inaugural Short Film Competition last February, we – aye, your friendly neighbourhood The Skinny – take to Glasgow Short Film Festival for the debut screening of 2014 winner Rory Alexander Stewart's new film, Misery Guts, made with his prize money courtesy of partners Innis & Gunn. Screening alongside his winning film, Good Girl. Join us! CCA, Glasgow, 7.15pm, free but ticketed

A reliable highlight of Glasgow Comedy Festival, Theoretical Zombiologist Doctor Austin hosts another of his interactive Zombie Science tutorials – this time under the banner 'Genes of The Damned' – schooling attendees on the genetic susceptibility for zombieism, possible cures, tips for survival, and the ethics behind dealing with an outbreak. Essential viewing, surely? The Griffin, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £5 (£3)

Vertical Cinema

Credit: Markus Gradwohl

Wed 11 Mar

Good Girl

Tue 17 Mar

Wed 18 Mar

Thu 19 Mar

Edinburgh shares in the spoils of Glasgow International Comedy Festival, with The Skinny fave Josie Long hitting the capital before her festival set over in Glasgow the following evening – out giving latest tour Cara Josephine another airing, which finds her in introspective "shit, I'm 32!" mode, mixing personal anecdotes with daydream-like absurdist tales. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £13 (£11)

Scotland's annual (and largest) celebration of silent cinema returns, with this year's Hippodrome Festival (18-22 March) arriving in celebratory mode for its 5th anniversary, it opens with a rare screening of Kevin McDonald's documentary Chaplin's Goliath, shining the spotlight on Charlie Chaplin's mustachioed side-kick, Eric Campbell. Hippodrome, Bo'ness, 7.30pm, £6.30 (£4.80)

Glasgow's first queer (or, to be precise, QTIPoC – that's queer trans intersex people of colour, for the uninitiated) film fest, GLITCH (19-28 Mar) gets underway – opening with a special pick'n'mix event, taking in a quartet of QTIPoC shorts, plus spoken word from Bermudian poet Andra Simons, and live music from Torontobased filmmaker/musician Vivek Shraya. CCA, Glasgow, 7pm, free

Josie Long

Chaplin's Goliath

Tue 24 Mar

Wed 25 Mar

Glasgow's The Wee Man brings his Rap Battle Showdown 2015 to Glasgow International Comedy Festival, with a selection of Scottish comics going head-to-head with a batch of UK rap talent in a hiphop battle to the death*, deciding who's got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit. P.S – *no one really dies... well, perhaps only a little, on the inside. The Arches, Glasgow, 8pm, £5

Having graced our milestone 100th issue cover back in January 2014 (time flies, eh?), Warpaint return to our shores as part of their biggest UK tour to date – with the marriage of Emily Kokal's plaintive vocals and Theresa Wayman's spidery arpeggios navigating the indierock template with grit and grace, ably backed by bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and drummer Stella Mozgawa. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

Having recently surprised punters with their first studio LP in over a decade, Washington-based riot grrrl trio Sleater-Kinney take No Cities to Love on the road – recorded in a string of secret sessions in San Francisco in early 2014, many years after they began their enforced 'extended hiatus' in 2006 – allowing its sinewy melodics to bask in a live setting. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £22.50

The Wee Man

Warpaint

Credit: Sonia Kerr

Mon 23 Mar

Mon 30 Mar

The Art School institution that is the Wee Red Bar play host to a girl-worshipping fun night – Grrrl Jam – kicking off with a BYOC (y'know, bring your own cushion) screening of Sini Anderson's film about Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna, The Punk Singer, followed by all-girl DJ playlists, with a Bikini Kill tune or two on a promise. Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, 10pm, £4 (£5 after midnight)

Majestic locals Broken Records have been an Edinburgh mainstay since forming in 2007 (yes, that makes us feel old, too), this month journeying along the M8 to play an intimate show at Glasgow's Nice 'n' Sleazy's, in celebration of their upcoming single I Won't Leave You In The Dark. Also kicking off Summerhall's new curated gig series on 26 March (see listings). Nice 'n' Sleazy, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8

We end as all month's really should – with wrestling! Or, to be precise, funnymen Billy Kirkwood and Chris Brooker's new comic outing, I Am The Tag Team Champions: Insane Championship Wrestling Special – a stand-up show by wrestling fans, for wrestling fans, with real life wrestlers from Glasgow's own Insane Championship Wrestling. We've literally never written the word 'wrestling' so much. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £5

March 2015

Credit: Rory Cooper

Sun 29 Mar

Broken Records

Doctor Austin

Vivek Shraya

Sleater-Kinney

Sat 28 Mar

The Punk Singer

Idlewild

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

The e'er experimental Cryptic Nights host their latest sensory-messin' piece, with composer/ wizard Matthew Collings unveiling Requiem for Edward Snowden – a new audiovisual work based around the actions and decisions of whistleblower Edward Snowden, fusing electronic sound and acoustic instrumentation with real-time visuals from Jules Rawlinson. CCA, Glasgow, 8pm, £7.40 (£4.40)

Billy Kirkwood

Chat

Credit: Gregory Perez

Sat 7 Mar

Credit: aqnb

Fri 6 Mar

Credit: Chris Scott

Thu 5 Mar

Glasgow Cara Comedian Comedy Festival turns Teen

She comes and goes. Embarking on her sixth nationwide tour Cara Josephine, Josie Long talks to us about growing up standing up

Interview: Jon Whiteley Photography: Ben Bentley

Back for its thirteenth year, Glasgow International Comedy Festival rolls into town this month with a host of shows from this here Josie Long to Mark Nelson to, eh, Michelle McManus...?

he Glasgow International Comedy Festival is the largest of its kind, and there's plenty of variety on offer within this standalone comedy celebration. Now coming into its teenage years, the city hosts artists ranging from local heroes who impress on the live circuit, to the ubiquitous stars of TV. With over 400 shows in 18 days, there's plenty for comedy fans who know their Julia Sutherland from their Jimmy Carr. There are also a number of classic comedy films back on the big screen (including some of the late Robin Williams’ greatest flicks) and an impressive miniprogramme of kids' comedy shows. Added into the mix are workshops for those with an itch to write comedy themselves. Yet despite its continuing growth spurt and attraction for international acts, GICF remains a powerful showcase of Scottish comedy. Joining long-term legends such as Janey Godley are those bright artists whose talents have emerged in more recent years. Take Harry Garrison, whose soulful guitar strumming and twisted lyrics helped earn him runner-up spot in last year's Scottish Comedian of the Year awards. Then there's a chance to catch-up with Susie McCabe, much missed at last year's Edinburgh Fringe after backpain forced the cancellation of her show. Interestingly it's pain of a different kind she has on her mind here – her show is about the anxiety of health and titled The Drugs Don't Work. And there's a chance to catch-up with established acts such as Susan Calman in her home town, or with new material from the likes of Mark Nelson (who is now Older Than Jesus). For those not yet in their fourth decade (or even their second) there's a visit from Funz and Gamez – the hit children's show that scooped the Edinburgh Panel Prize and was recently nominated for a Chortle award for innovation. In addition, there's the only show suitable for all ages in the programme: Louis Pearl's The Amazing Bubble Man. The mesmerising soapy creations from this show will save the bairns from greetin'. Finally, be sure to catch some of the highlights from last year's Edinburgh Fringe before they make way for fresh material. Anna Morris's Would Like To Thank is a fun character show, structured around a ‘women of the year’ award. Watch the fallout as her creations – from po-faced politico to mumentrepreneur – battle for glory. Then there's Liam Williams' Capitalism. It's not quite the economic lecture it sounds – nominated for the main Edinburgh award, it's a funny, thoughtful show about twenty-something life from one of the UK's most talented young comedians. [Ben Venables] Glasgow International Comedy Festival runs from 12-29 Mar glasgowcomedyfestival.com

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t’s a cliché to say that comedians are just big kids; that being a comedian is less a career and more a means of extending one’s adolescence. Like most clichés it operates on a fuzzy, relativistic truth, with examples both for and against it. Many comedians have young families, mortgages and drive sickeningly sensible cars – other comedians are like Josie Long. As a performer, she’s unapologetically silly and boundlessly enthusiastic, and she brings more than a little of this off stage with her with both its benefits and its burdens. She started in comedy younger than most, at the age of 14, and by the age of 17 she’d scooped the BBC New Comedy Award. Despite appearances on most of the Polyfilla panel shows used to plug the gaps between Top Gear episodes on Dave, she’s broadly shunned the limelight of broadcasters’ big tentpole comedy shows, instead working for the last decade to cultivate a small but loyal following both at the Fringe – her shows sell out too quickly for the tardy punter – and all around the country. On her current tour of latest show Cara Josephine, she’s playing venues that, while not box rooms, are a far cry from the LOLosseums played by some of her contempora-ries: “I love a small gig, and obviously that’s the essence of what stand-ups do really,” she says. “I just like the fact that you’re in a place where you can kind of have that intimate, exciting connection with a room full of strangers. For me the crappest, ugliest thing is massive stadium gigs. I just think, ‘Why would you ever want to see comedy in that environment?’” At the Glasgow Comedy Festival, she’s taking herself to The Stand on Woodlands Road, the high water mark for dedicated, intimate comedy venues, beloved by performers and hardcore comedyheads alike. “It’s the same with bands,” she adds. “I’d much prefer to see a band in a smaller venue. It’s more exciting, it’s more like a real experience.” Bands, at least, can fall back on big choruses to fill an echoey void, but, as Long says, “You can’t sing along to comedy. You can’t even really dance.”

“ My character is a bit like me, but a bit more of a mess” Josie Long

Long has made her name in a style of whimsy that flits between the literary and the daft: long routines about Charles Darwin are interspersed with stupid gags and non-sequiturs. Her childlike wonder permeates her shows, right down to the hand-drawn programmes that accompany them. A large part of her enduring appeal is down to her ability to delicately balance these two conflicting pulls, taking audiences from the academy to the ballpool. Aside from this, a flowering political conscience has changed the tone of her work in the past few years. She’s begun producing shows still packed with optimism, but now with an activist slant. This has translated offstage into a number of projects, including arts-funding organisation Arts Emergency, which she co-founded in 2012.

More recently, she’s been running stand-up investigative journalism shows with reporter Martin Williams: “It’s kind of a way to do political shows but make them more interesting and unusual, because they’re Martin’s investigations – it’s not, ‘I read this news article and I wrote some jokes,’ it’s like we did this investigation together and this is what it was.” It’s an interesting approach, where tough subjects can be tackled in a friendly, lawyerfree environment. “We’ve done one so far, which is about extreme fundamentalist Christian private schools – of which there are hundreds. In particular, ones that teach a particular type of curriculum called ‘Accelerated Christian Education,’ which is fucked up, basically. It’s terrible, terrible tuition – it doesn’t teach children to think for themselves.” The Cara Josephine show is arguably more personal than some of her previous offerings, documenting the aftermath of a messy break-up. “It’s about how in 2013 I found myself in this place where I was really heartbroken and I’d just been in a relationship that’d ended, and I wanted to write about love and to use writing as a way to make sense of it all – try and move on a little bit.” Relationship breakdowns are common fodder for comics wanting to stretch themselves to an hour-long show – it’s a universally-binding human experience, an easy mine for self-deprecation and when it’s not funny, you can always scrape a pity laugh – but this isn’t Long punching for the arena crowd. She doesn’t linger on the relationship itself, but instead uses the experience to look at the weightier concepts of love and her own feelings – “I just wanted to write something talking about love and how I felt. I try not to worry too much about what people are doing because if you do that, it’s the road to ruin – once you start worrying, you never stop.” It could be self-indulgent stuff in more deadpan hands, but as she says, “There’s quite a lot of tangents about sport and poetry and nonsense and politics.” This is a show that aims to put the sense of fun back into crippling heartbreak. It’s a step away from her more polemical work (although she makes exceptions, Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg both receiving deserved kickings). “In the past, I’ve performed shows about politics where it’s like you either agree or you don’t, or it kind of stirs something up in you or it doesn’t,” she says. “Whereas with this, people have really identified with it, and it’s been such a wonderful experience to get to have that connection with the crowd.” The blindly romantic character she portrays on stage is, like most good comic personas, an exaggeration of herself. She’s used the character for a number of other projects including a Radio 4 sitcom, Romance and Adventure (named after her 2012 live show: “I just thought it was a cracking title, so I thought ‘Fuck it, I’ll get my money’s worth’”), currently in development with director Doug King. “My character is a bit like me, but a bit more of a mess I suppose. And then there’s Doug’s character, who’s called Darren, who’s a bit more level-headed. Yeah, it’s been really exciting, I’m really chuffed that we’re going to make [a] series, because I want to see where we can take it.” One of the places she’s taking it is the big screen, with an independent feature film slated for the summer: “It’s about this woman who thinks she’s got

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everything sorted, but she wants to be more involved with politics and stuff like that. Her sister moves away and she kind of has this crisis, and it’s a bit about belonging and a bit about how you kind of feel you’re rooted in you and where you live. But more fun than that.” Writing as a 32-year-old with a Peter Pan complex, she is perhaps better equipped to handle the topic of a break-up more than most: a bad break-up does, after all, expose our basest, pettiest and most childlike qualities. But if the cliché holds, and comedians are overgrown teens granted licence to show off in front of the class, do they respond to something like a dumping in the same way a teen would? Do they sit in a room writing sub-Morrissey prose, or ride their motorcycle off a cliff like a 50s hearthrob? Of course not: pain becomes puns as the tears of the clown dry from the big, exhaling guffaws of a rapturous crowd.

“ Being a comedian is such a playful thing. You have to engage with play and muck around” Josie Long

“Being a comedian, in general, is such a playful thing,” she says. “You have to engage with play and muck around and think in creative ways, that for whatever reason a lot of people can’t.” A certain childishness can break up the mundane rhythms of life – rhythms that stifle the kind of creative thought needed to make good, original comedy. It’s apt, then, that her show is very much a coming-of-age tale 15 years too late. Long celebrated the birth of her niece – Josephine – last year. “I wanted to give her something,” she says, “but I’m not really a great adult role model for her; I can’t drive and there is something really adolescent about me.” So: she’s given her a comedy show. “There’s lots of different meanings of her name like love and friendship, and I was like, ‘This show is about love and friendship.’ I thought it was really something that meant a lot to me and it was something that I could give her, you know? Regardless of whether I may not be a very conventional adult.” Arguably, she’s a much better role model than she lets on: one that says it’s okay to hold on to your playful side well into adulthood. Long’s career proves that the self-confidently adult world of professional comedy with its sharp suits and Formica smiles isn’t the only route to finding an audience, extracting laughs and gaining the respect of your peers. Josie Long plays Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 2 Mar; Gorilla, Manchester, 7 Mar (7pm and 4pm matinée); Comar Theatre, Mull, 13 Mar; The Aros Centre, Skye, 14 Mar; The Stand, Edinburgh, 17 Mar; The Stand, Glasgow, 18 Mar josielong.com

THE SKINNY

Ten Comedy Greats in Glasgow To help navigate round Glasgow International Comedy Festival's ever increasing programme, our comedy team have chosen ten shows to get you started Words: Ben Venables Watch Bad Movies with Great Comedians: Masters of the Universe No need for an explanation – the title alone recommends the show. Hosted by Billy Kirkwood and Joe Heenan. CCA, 16 Mar Bridget Christie: An Ungrateful Woman A passionate take-down of casual sexism, this show is something of a sequel to 2013's awardwinning A Bic for Her and every bit as good. The Stand, 24 Mar Dylan Moran: Off the Hook Brand new show from the sardonic comedy star and creator of Black Books. Clyde Auditorium, 18 Mar Jerry Sadowitz: Card Tricks and Close Up Magic Expect a mix of misanthropy and magic from an icon of the comedy scene. King's Theatre, 27 Mar Stand-Up for MND: #gordonsfightback A glorious line-up including Frankie Boyle, Stewart Francis, Gary Little and Janey Godley makes this evening a festival highlight, and it raises money for MND Scotland to help fight the devastating neuromuscular disease. King's Theatre, 23 Mar Candy Gigi: The Elephant Woman The onstage antics of this performer won her a Malcolm Hardee Award for comic originality at last year's Edinburgh Fringe. Her use of a bogbrush as a toothbrush may not be to everyone's taste, but Candy Gigi is the antithesis of boring. Heroes @ The Griffin, 27 Mar An Evening of Public Shaming by Jon Ronson The bestselling author has spent three years tracking down those on the receiving end of public outrage after they made some mistake or misdemeanor. This show is a look at mob mentality in the age of Twitter. Read our interview with the man himself on p27. Citizen's Theatre, 20 Mar Tim Renkow: Less Disabled than Scotland If you have no need to use a disabled toilet but do so to cut the queue for a crafty leak or more, prepare to be punished by the Amused Moose award-winning comedian. Heroes @ The Griffin, 27 Mar Glasgow International Comedy Festival runs from 12-29 Mar

March 2015

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Loud and Clear Rhode Island's noisiest pair, Lightning Bolt return with the relative polish of new album Fantasy Empire – if only bassist Brian Gibson could stop apologising

he interview has barely even begun before Brian Gibson offers an apology, and all for the heinous crime of asking to see our questions in advance. “With certain interviews, it's almost like I get a performance anxiety or something,” the genial bassist explains politely. “I'm better having casual conversation.” Whether down to natural candour or just straightforward politeness, he's easy to like. Several times during our Skype conversation, having answered queries thoughtfully and in depth, there's visible panic in his eyes when he fears he hasn't been sufficiently clear. He pauses and stares back at us through the prosaic gaze of the webcam. “Do you know what I mean?” he asks, worriedly. We assure him that we do. Not that clarity has ever been an issue for noise rock duo Lightning Bolt. The reason for our conversation is Fantasy Empire, the band's seventh album and their first to be recorded in the finery of a ‘proper’ studio, as opposed to their rather more humble practice space. It sounds enormous; a furious blend of piledriving riffs, wild drumming and incomprehensibly distorted vocals, and it's a triumph. The differences, however, have been playing on Gibson's mind. “We were definitely worried about being too hi-fi, too polished. Both of us had seen bands we liked who'd gone to record in a fancy studio, and then the magic that was there in the beginning is just instantly destroyed. I felt a little bit like that when The Jesus Lizard went on a major label. Even though I still love all their work, the record sounded a little more pristine. I was like, ‘this isn't the point,’ y’know?” Naturally, both he and drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale had their reasons for the upgrade – “We felt that we might be able to make something that's more intense than we could've made before, that has more energy, captures more of the intensity” – but their worries naturally stretched to how this new development would be received by long-term fans. “The studio felt way more relaxed – another dangerous thing. It was so comfortable that we were worried the music would lose its edginess.”

In any case, he needn't be concerned. What their recordings have lost in sonic rawness does not detract from their brutal synaptic shock. Fantasy Empire is a fresh take on a unique formula; a chemistry between two contrasting musicians (Gibson being the steady, contemplative yin to Chippendale's tireless, manic yang) that's managed to remain vital for 20 years. “If I was playing with a different drummer, I think I'd play differently,” he says, musing on the intra-band relationship, “but sometimes I think if Brian played with a different bass player he might be more inclined to play drums the same way. I think we're a little bit different in that way – he's amazing, his drumming is awesome. We just play together, neither one of us leading. The music's just kind of emerged out of the murk.”

“ Are we professionals now? That's not what we want! Not if we're supposed to be a punk band!” Brian Gibson

As with previous offerings, the murk has unleashed another collection of raucously heavy noise rock. This time, however, Gibson and Chippendale seem to reach new levels of intuition and understanding, whether exploring the outer limits of what can be wrenched from their battered instruments, or simply peeling the paint from the walls with their sheer volume. Occasionally – particularly within the throbbing currents that drive numbers like The Metal East – they even hit upon something akin to the hard rock/ drone crossover that constitutes much of psych's re-emergence in recent times. Although the 39-year-old happily talks up his krautrock-flavou-

red listening habits (“Harmonia, Roedelius… lately I've been really into Moondog”), he laughingly denies any awareness of the zeitgeist. “I never feel that tuned in. I think if I did know more about the zeitgeist then I might react negatively to it. It might sound arrogant to say that, but I get bored of things quickly – if everybody's really into something, I naturally wanna produce something else.” “We've had this thing lately where we're trying not to have too many parts. Like, Ride the Skies and Wonderful Rainbow had a lot more going on. I remember being really influenced by this Boredoms record, Pop Tatari, and how playful it was. They would grasp onto different ideas and just change direction.” He chuckles. “And it's funny, because now Boredoms are this super-long, repetitive psychedelic band.” Gibson warms to his theme: “The first time I saw them was in Providence, when Lightning Bolt formed. That one show totally blew my mind and changed the way I started thinking about music. I was really into this idea of a band that's conveying fun, excitement and joy, rather than being in a heavy band that's angsty and angry. Boredoms really showed me that.” This ties in nicely with something we've pondered after rewatching The Power of Salad & Milkshakes, the 2002 documentary that followed Lightning Bolt's tour in support of second LP Ride the Skies. It makes for incredible viewing, capturing the sweat-drenched majesty of their live show from close up (largely thanks to the duo's notorious policy for setting up amidst the audience rather than using the stage). During one scene, a frustrated Gibson bemoans the negativity of “Slayer-sounding stuff,” adding that darker sounds feel “played-out.” So what inspires the sense of catharsis in Lightning Bolt's music? “We've definitely found over the years that it's fun to be heavy and dark; that has its own quality. Wonderful Rainbow was really playful; we wanted to try being a little more serious, so we started writing more songs that were kind of intense. I have mixed feelings about it; I think when we started doing that, we lost something really magical. But also I'm not a big fan of

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Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

doing the same thing over and over.” In that sense, has the documentary come to define what people expect from the band? “I think so, yeah. I was kind of having a crisis during that documentary, ‘cause even though the audiences seemed pretty small at some of those shows, people had heard of us, and they were going crazy before we'd even started. We weren't actually playing music for people; we were just fulfilling their expectations. We weren't a shock anymore.” He stops to reflect. “I've embraced that a little more now. It's actually fun for everybody.” That familiar look of concern causes his brow to furrow. “Sorry, does this sound a little cynical?” Not at all, we insist – just the healthy perspective of maturity and experience. He nods. “It's obvious that we're 20 years older in a lot of ways. There's definitely a lot of positive aspects – we communicate way better now because we know each other so well. But when we play…! Brian was amazing 20 years ago, but every day he gets a little better, and I think my bass playing gets a little better – I feel like we can do anything and it's awesome.” A wry, self-aware grin creeps across his face. “We can't do anything. But our options have expanded a lot. Maybe in some senses that means better music, but in other senses, it's like, are we professionals now? That's not what we want! Not if we're supposed to be a punk band!” So what does he want? “That's a really hard question, but it's always been to be something real in a world that's very manufactured in one way or another. And I say that humbly, because there's no way to avoid being a product or manufactured, but the world needs real things that feel like some sort of shared experience.” And where does Fantasy Empire fit in with all of this? “I'm going to paraphrase what Brian Chippendale said: ‘It's a raging record for a raging time.’” Got it. Crystal clear. Fantasy Empire is released via Thrill Jockey on 23 Mar laserbeast.com

THE SKINNY

March 2015

THE SKINNY

Messing with Texas

hile Apple changes the goalposts for any independent band or label seeking to distribute their music on what was once presented as an ‘alternative’ platform (shedding thousands of album titles from its catalogue at its ‘editorial discretion,’ you wonder if they're still selling Jet) and Spotify struggles to replace the royalty percentage of physical record sales, a certain visibility and financial viability is increasingly lacking for artists on the bottom rung who aspire to tour outside of their homeland. As fledgling musicians without major league support hunch under a glass ceiling, South by South West still offers an undeniably tantalising opportunity to take the bull by the horns and do it yourself. Sort of. With a little assistance from Creative Scotland to help finance the trip, seven hopefuls will make the pilgrimage this month in the hope of winning a few hearts and minds amongst prospective fans, journalists, DJs, A&Rs, tour agents and festival bookers from all over the globe (some 20,000 delegates among the 300,000+ attendees) – essentially anyone and everyone who can help establish a presence outside their region. We spoke to three acts who are no strangers to these pages – each at very different stages of their career (two of whom are previous cover stars of this very publication) – to ask how they'll go about reaching for the next plateau when they get to Texas. Relative veterans to both the Northern American club circuit and South by South West itself, Kilsyth trio The Twilight Sad are better placed than most to realistically weigh up the potential yielded by the event. “Most of the music industry has some sort of presence at the festival so you never know who's going to be at one of your gigs,” says James Graham of the part that blind luck can play. “I don't think about who is in the crowd; it's about playing a gig and knowing that you have 30-40 minutes to be your best and leave an impression. First and foremost,

March 2015

United Fruit

we want the crowd to enjoy our gigs and maybe win over some people that have never heard of the band before. After that, you hope the right person is in the crowd that could help the band progress; with a lot of things in this industry it's about being in the right place at the right time.” For one week in mid March, Austin, Texas is undoubtedly both, whichever size or genre you are. Although a background in indie rock has long been the bread and butter of the music strand's remit, a strong background in electronic music and hip-hop has also become a significant part of the festival's appeal. With the veteran likes of the Rhymesayers label – an independent beacon for 20 years now – sharing wisdom on how to survive in 2015, alongside showcases from relative rookies such as Bishop Nehru and Homeboy Sandman – all there to spread the word on the global stage – why shouldn't one of Scotland's brightest hopes in the genre seize the same opportunity? “I'm gonna meet Kate Tempest and ask her to write a wee number with us,” Hector Bizerk's MC Louie says optimistically. “There are loads of unofficial hip-hop showcases too with the likes of Ras Kass on... so if time is on our side I would like to turn up and try to grab the mic!” The trick to finding such watershed moments, it seems, is to abandon cynicism and fully embrace South by South West's carpe diem nature. United Fruit can't wait to do precisely that. “This festival has always been a dream of ours,” says bassist Marco Panagopoulos. “It still hasn't sunk in that we're finally getting to go but we are totally ready to give it our all regardless. We can't wait to soak up the sights and sounds, as well as meet some of the different people from all around the world who will be attending. We do have some solid reasons to go on top of that. Our management are in touch with some great people who want to help us out. This is our chance to finally meet and for them to witness our live performances.”

Hector Bizerk can be equally pragmatic. “We're excited at the possibilities of what can be achieved there but have no delusions of grandeur,” says Louie. “We're going there to do what we do best and make lots of noise, intent on adding to our team and shaping our North American strategy. We intend to tour there when our new album comes out later this year so I imagine a lot of the focus will be on that.”

“ With a lot of things in this industry, it's about being in the right place at the right time” James Graham

What tangible long-term benefits have The Twilight Sad found to their spring tours through Austin? “For a start, I think it's helped the band play some major festivals as the promoter has been in the crowd and enjoyed the set. There is such a big media presence there so the band have been written about a lot, which helps you reach people that you wouldn't normally. We were able to play and record sessions that we wouldn't have normally been able to, if we weren't at the festival, which again exposes your music to new people. For me, all I am thinking about is making an impression on people and playing to the best of our ability.” Where the likes of CHVRCHES, Frightened Rabbit and indeed The Twilight Sad – now looking to level up again on the back of their most successful album thus far – have succeeded in clinching record deals and launching successful US

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The Twilight Sad

tours off the back of SxSW appearances in previous years, United Fruit are hoping this could be their time. “Hopefully, if everything goes well we will have help to get over to the States again later on in the year,” says Marco. “When we released our last single Open Your Eyes we managed to gain 63,000 plays. A significant portion of those were from the States so we are really hoping that there will be some people at the festival who are aware of us at least. Obviously the nature of the festival means that there is pretty much something to look at on every corner, but I reckon we're loud enough to turn some heads.” Hector Bizerk harbour similar ambitions. “Touring in the US is the next logical step for our development,” says Louie. “I think anyone going there without intentions of building their reputation is wasting their time. We're certainly not going there to waste anyone's time. Audrey and I did a mini-tour in the East Coast in 2014 and got some air play on college radio stations, but that's about the size of it for now. This'll change in March though.” What kind of advice does James have to offer young hopefuls and occasional tour mates United Fruit on their American debut? “First of all, I'd say enjoy yourself but also remember why you are there. It's a great opportunity that a lot of other bands and artists would bite your hand off for. It's hectic and you don't always get the best sound check – if you get one at all – so don't worry if everything is not perfect on stage; that's part of the fun. It's a no-nonsense, ‘get on stage and show me what you've got’ kind of thing.” With partial funding and support from Creative Scotland, The Twilight Sad, United Fruit and Hector Bizerk join Fatherson, Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire, Holy Esque and Dave Arcari at SxSW in Austin, Texas, between 17-22 Mar. The Amazing Snakeheads, Honeyblood and Mungo's Hi-Fi will also be showcasing at the festival. Keep up with SxSW online at theskinny.co.uk/music where we'll be reporting and filming exclusive sessions from the event facebook.com/scotsxsw / sxsw.com

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Credit: Emily Wylde

Interview: Dave Kerr

Credit: Andrea Heins

Hector Bizerk

Credit: Euan Robertson

As thousands of bands descend on SxSW with a quest to prove their mettle under the international music media's gaze this month, three of Scotland's brightest look forward to the scrum

Carrying the Torch

Credit: Nick Satta

Ahead of his visit to Edinburgh’s Wee Dub Festival, we speak to Channel One Sound System’s Mikey Dread. He shares his thoughts on the resilience of roots reggae, the sound system scene and fighting for his corner at last year’s Notting Hill Carnival

henever a genuinely innovative form of music emanates from a particular subculture or national scene, there will always be some degree of appropriation by the wider culture. Specific musical elements are filtered and then branch off in seemingly infinite directions, sometimes leaving barely any trace of the foundations from which they emerged. This is certainly true of the impact of Jamaican reggae music in post-war Britain, from the decades following the peak in immigration from the Caribbean island in the 1950s. At first these new communities were fairly insulated, their shared culture and musical roots serving to hold them together amid new surroundings. But, as they became more integrated into British society, their positive influence on the UK music scene became abundantly clear – acts like The Clash and The Police, then Madness and Culture Club began to release music heavily indebted to reggae. Further down the road, much of the UK's contemporary electronic music is dominated by a bass-driven sound that owes a great deal to reggae sound system culture – styles like rave, jungle, drum ‘n’ bass, UK garage and dubstep have all reflected these roots to varying degrees. There's good reason to welcome the proliferation of elements of reggae into other forms – music will always be somewhat derivative after all. Yet, thankfully, there are also those who remain unfazed by what they see as passing trends, and tirelessly champion Jamaican roots music alongside the Rastafarian traditions that serve as reggae's unifying creed. Founded by selector Mikey Dread and his brother Trevor, Channel One Sound System have operated with clear devotion to their roots for over 35 years – a true testament to the enduring power of Jamaican music. “I think there's a lasting

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vibe”, Mikey agrees. “No matter how you try with all these other forms of music coming along, you still can’t push reggae music down.” This buoyancy was evident in 2010 when Channel One was invited to contest the Red Bull Sound Clash in London. Pitted against contemporary bass music figures such as Skream, Benga and Goldie's Metalheadz, Mikey and long-serving MC partner Ras Kayleb's dedication to classic dub reggae sounds shone through, confirming the potency of their rich musical heritage. “They invented dubstep to try and take over reggae music,” Dread states with firm conviction. “That's how I see it. They tried to basically kill reggae music and they couldn’t do it. Dubstep never had a foundation – never did and never will. Reggae music will always have a foundation; a base line to grow from. That is why reggae music will be here for the longest time, even after I've gone.” Whenever the time comes that Channel One depart from the landscape, the British reggae scene will certainly have lost a passionate and seasoned proponent. Dread has devoted his life to spreading the sound system culture which he and so many grew up with in London. “It was the family trade, really,” he explains. “Just like anything else, it gets passed down. Dad had it and my big brother had it, so it got passed down to me. You just carry on what your old man started many, many moons ago.” From those early days, characterised by familial customs and sound system parties in the neighbourhood, Mikey has stayed true to the traditions which define sound system culture – including a strict DIY approach to set-up. Nowadays, he says, people are happy to go and pick things up from a shop, whereas Channel One continues to modify and maintain their own system. “The whole idea is to build things with your hands; it's like

a trade. I've been doing it now for 40 odd years but there's always something new to learn. The main thing is getting it over to the people. You could have the biggest sound system in the world but if the people don't come to your dance, then it's no good.”

“ No matter how you try, you still can't push reggae music down” Mikey Dread

Channel One's ability to bring people to their dance – and keep them dancing – is a trait which has been honed over decades thanks to Mikey's experiences travelling to Jamaica in the 80s. He used to go there to cut dubplates at the famous Channel One studio on Maxfield Avenue, later naming his own venture in its honour. “There were a lot of sound systems from that time going backwards and forwards to Jamaica and we were no different. That's how you do your homework. Different cultures and different countries came and started playing sound systems from that time and it progressed into what it is now.” Alongside Mikey, Ras Kayleb has been a part of the sound for 20 years as of 2015, and his commanding vocal presence is as intrinsic a factor as anything else. “A sound system will always need a mic man”, says Mikey. “That is a key element of sound system culture. You need a mic man to either introduce or MC to the music.”

CLUBS

Interview: Ronan Martin

The chemistry between Mikey and Kayleb shares a similar dynamic with the early days of hip hop, when DJs and MCs worked in tandem to move the crowd, before rappers came to dominate and the DJ was pushed into the background. The notion of sharing musical knowledge is also a refreshing stance in an age when DJ culture is so often characterised by the use of ‘secret weapons' or snobbishness around keeping things ‘underground’. “A lot of people will go to a reggae dance and they don't know what is being played. But if you have an MC there, he will tell you this is from a certain artist – Dennis Brown or Gregory Issacs or whoever, so people will recognise it again somewhere along the line.” Another parallel with early hip hop music is the ultimately positive message. As with the emergence of gangster rap in the US, many of the modern forms have not echoed earlier lyrical themes of peace and unity. Whether through aggressive homophobia, crass misogyny or a generally violent attitude, some of these new scenes depart radically from reggae's central messages. “We're keeping the music fresh and keeping it clean,” says Mikey. “We're not into dancehall or things like that, which is about your woman, or your this or your that.” This commitment to positive vibes has perhaps been most evident in Channel One's threedecade involvement with London's Notting Hill Carnival – a tradition which was threatened last year when Westminster Council tried to have them moved away from the corner they have worked hard to make their own. Luckily, with the help of an online petition which garnered thousands of signatures, the council reversed their decision – much to Mikey's relief. “The Channel One Sound System, as everybody says, is one of the cornerstones of Notting Hill because we've been there 32 years. Why stop something when nothing has gone wrong? We've been there, year in and year out, playing the same music. We were bringing people from all over the world into Notting Hill and bringing a good spirit to the corner.” That special carnival atmosphere will likely be in full effect when Mikey and Ras Kayleb take to Edinburgh's Wee Dub Festival this month. “For us, Channel One represent the very best of UK reggae,” says organiser Chris Knight. “They are royalty in the scene and have links to the original sounds that arrived in London in the post-war period. They have never deviated from their sole mission to bring their positive message and heavy music to the people.” For the event, Channel One will take part in a friendly clash against another stalwart of the scene, Earl Gateshead and his Trojan Sound System. “It's nice to come up to Scotland to do the Wee Dub Festival,” says Mikey. “We go back a long way with Trojan and Earl – we're brethren. We're not into any clash type business. It's gone past all of that. People want to come down to Channel One Sound System and hear good music. That's what it's all about.” Asked if he sees a long-term future in performing and touring the system around the world, Dread explains that he prefers to take things one year at a time. “Who knows? One day I might turn round and say ‘I've had enough; I think I've done my bit.’ But not at the moment.” “I've still got my strength, my energy and my health. As long as reggae music is there, we'll keep going.” Channel One Sound System appear as part of the Wee Dub Festival at The Caves, Edinburgh, Sun 8 Mar, £10 adv, £13 on the door weedubfestival.co.uk | channelonesoundsystem.com

THE SKINNY

LA CHEETAH CLUB - MARCH 2015

Friday 6th March

Friday 20th March

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LET'S GO BACK... WAY BACK BOSCO, ROB MASON & JP McGOWAN

CODE 5th BIRTHDAY MARK BROOM

Friday 13th March

Thursday 26th March

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EZUP CHESUS AKA EARL JEFFERS & RESIDENTS

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HEX BLEAKER & RESIDENTS

Saturday 14th March

Saturday 28th March

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PISTOLS AT DAWN CRAIG BRATLEY & RESIDENTS Thursday 19th March

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March 2015

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Simian Stop Motion

With their respective debut short films, Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson seemed to pick up more silverware on the festival circuit than the US Olympic team. They’re both in the director’s chair for new collaboration Monkey Love Experiments

t’s a crisp February afternoon in Edinburgh and Will Anderson is showing The Skinny around fellow animator Ainslie Henderson’s compact Summerhall studio, while its owner is off making a round of tea. Henderson’s work space has been a hive of activity recently – he’s been working on a two minute stop motion piece for PopUp!Scotland – but Anderson himself hasn’t been having the most productive of weeks. Will Anderson: “I’ve just lost my computer. It broke, so I’m, like, lost. I don’t know what to do.” While Anderson uses a MacBook and a mouse for his animations, Henderson’s preferred tools of the trade are plasticine and puppets. Has he ever thought of turning his hand to the old-school analogue techniques? WA: “I’ve tried.” Ainslie Henderson (bringing in the tea): “He always does a frame. You did one in [ I Am ]Tom Moody [Henderson’s award-winning graduation film].” WA: “I did one in Monkey Love Experiments too – or did you take that out?” AH: “No, it’s in there.” The Monkey Love Experiments they speak of is their latest collaboration, a hybrid of stop motion animation and live action that sees them sharing the director’s chair. Set in the mid-60s, and based on the kind of work performed by controversial psychologist Harry Harlow, the film centres on Gandhi, a lab monkey who believes he’s destined to travel into space after seeing news reports on the USA-USSR space race on TV. Gandhi, a wire and silicone puppet, is also present for the interview. He’s perched on the windowsill next to Henderson’s BAFTA Award, which is in dire need of some Brasso. Henderson won the award with Anderson (who gave his to his mum) in 2013 for their collaboration on Anderson’s graduation film The Making of Longbird, a delightfully meta mockumentary about an animator struggling to take control of his film’s paper cutout character. Why did the pair deside to collaborate? AH: “We met at Edinburgh College of Art. Will was in his final year and I was in my third.

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He’d just started making the Making of Longbird and I quite liked what he was doing, so I piggybacked on to it, basically.” WA: “I don’t think you ‘piggybacked’. I think we realised pretty early on that we shared similar interests and we were both thinking a lot about story and how that was the most important thing. And I think you really helped with the writing – stuff that I just couldn’t get my head around at the time. It’s a very all-consuming thing, trying to make your first film, you know, and the pressure’s on. I think I enjoyed it more not having to work on my own all the time.” AH: “That’s definitely how we first became friends. We discovered it was really helpful to have someone that you see eye to eye with, to discuss what you’re doing. It really helps clarify what you’re trying to figure out.” WA: “Especially with animation. It’s so timeconsuming. It’s like making a film in slow motion.” AH: “You’ve got a lot of time to get lost and go round and round in circles and lose sight of what you’re doing.” WA: “So you’ve got a lot of time to think, so being able to speak to someone else is pretty important.” Throughout the interview the pair talk in this rat-a-tat fashion, finishing each other’s thoughts. Close your eyes and it’s easy to imagine you’re listening to one of their online cartoon creations, the scrag-puffing pigeons from Scroogin on a Greg or the menagerie of bird characters in their TV Licensing ads. You’ll find less of their personalities in new film Monkey Love Experiments – on the surface at least. This new film breaks from their wise-cracking MO to form something altogether more austere and heartbreaking. AH: “We wanted to make sure we weren’t repeating ourselves. And it has worked against us in a lot of festivals. I think a lot of festivals were like...” WA (jumping in): “‘What are you doing?’” AH: “Yeah, ‘This isn’t Longbird! This isn’t Tom Moody!’ But it made it interesting for us.” WA: “I remember being at a festival and someone who had seen our previous work said to me, ‘People are wanting to see something by you, but you’ve kind of went off the rails a wee bit.’”

AH (emphatically): “There are no rails!” One of the most “off the rail” decisions in Monkey Love Experiment is that the central character, Ghandi, wasn’t going to speak. AH: “We had dialogue to begin with. We had a voiceover with the monkey imagining things, and then as we were writing it I remember that day where we went, ‘Let’s cut the dialogue.’ It seemed like such a huge thing at the time.” WA: “When you give something a physical voice and you’re saying all these things that you’re wanting to say, it’s kind of interesting to go, ‘Right, OK, we want to say that, how do we do that without any words?’ That’s kind of difficult.” While Monkey Love Experiment isn’t a directly personal piece, like I Am Tom Moody, in which Henderson mines his own past as a singer and songwriter (he appeared on the first series of Fame Academy and his single Keep Me a Secret went to number five in the UK charts), or Longbird, about an animator’s creative crisis, the pair do feel a strong affinity with its central themes. AH: “For me it’s still a story about a relationship between a parent and a child. It still has that in it. It’s about dreaming of things, about being deluded. There’s still stuff in it that I can really relate to. I remember being really conscious that, having made Tom Moody, which is so me, which is so like my own stuff, I wanted to try and make something for everyone else now. I wanted a universal thing. That’s probably what drew me to man landing on the moon, because it’s like everyone was there for that moment somehow.” WA: “Yeah, our monkey was there and he got it wrong. I’d agree, though. It’s exhausting doing a totally personal film – I know with Tom Moody, you put everything in that, of yourself. It is nice to make something that’s slightly distanced.” AH: “I don’t think you can ever take yourself out of it, though, because you’re always going to get tangled up in there somewhere, even if you’re trying to write about, oh I don’t know, a Swedish waitress.”

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Interview: Jamie Dunn What’s most pleasing about Monkey Love Experiment is its tactile visuals, which completely embrace the 60s setting. First of all there’s its intelligent use of a period-appropriate 4:3 aspect ratio, which seems to enhance our protagonist’s isolation. WA: “The actual [Harry Harlow] video is on YouTube – you know, a sort of greenish black and white, sort of very mid-tone thing. I was looking at that and going, ‘Right Ainse, this is all in 4:3,’ and we also liked the idea that he’s in these black bars and it’s almost like he’s boxed into this 4:3, because it pulls out and then squeezes back in at the low moments.” AH: “When he’s looking out at the moon the aspect ratio actually changes.” WA: “It opens out twice.” AH: “And then when he’s panicked and despairing the frame crushes him in.” WA: “I was getting horribly excited about that.” Also lending the film an emotional weight is the delicately rendered stop motion animation. The Gandhi puppet was made using real fur, which shifts restlessly from frame to frame. The herky jerky motion accentuates his vulnerability and reflects his anxiety. AH: “To begin with we were thinking, ‘Should we try not to make the hair move?’ It’s impossible obviously, it jerks around when you touch it, so we just decided that at every frame we’ll just ruffle it a little bit, and everyone who saw it was like, ‘Oh, it looks windy.’” WH: “But that’s fine, that’s cool. It makes him more hyperreal in a way. He’s a real thing and he’s boiling about the place. But very possibly there is a fan on in the lab.” Monkey Love Experiment screens at Glasgow Film Festival (11-15 Mar) Monkey Love Experiment is also part of the BAFTA Shorts programme, released in cinemas from 6 Mar

THE SKINNY

Girls Behaving Badly Sci-Fi on a Shoestring It's not in every debut that you find a scene where a bisexual Iranian woman angrily brandishes a strap-on in public – but you'll find that and more in Desiree Akhavan's boundary-pushing comedy Appropriate Behaviour. Just don't call her the new Lena Dunham

Rory Alexander Stewart, winner of The Skinny’s inaugural Short Film Competition, tells us how he made prize-winner Good Girl ahead of its follow-up’s world premiere at Glasgow Short Film Festival Interview: Jamie Dunn

Interview: Michelle Devereaux

“I

find your anger incredibly sexy – I hate so many things too,” Shirin (Desiree Akhavan) deadpans when first meeting her soon-to-be girlfriend Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). Shirin's attempts at flirting are as awkward and misguided as nearly everything else she does in Appropriate Behaviour, but her guileless need to please can't help but charm. Whether angrily and very publicly brandishing a strap-on (in her hands, that is) or spending a blind date boozing out of paper bags in the Brooklyn streets, Shirin's life is laid bare emotionally and physically. She's so plainly spoken that before roleplay she suggests to Maxine that they make their safe word “safe word” to avoid any misunderstandings. It could be said that Shirin is open to a fault – except when it comes to revealing her bisexuality to her Iranian immigrant parents. “[Shirin]'s incapable of being anything but genuine,” says writer-director Akhavan, who makes her feature debut after the cult success of online web series The Slope, which she co-created with ex-partner Ingrid Jungermann. “The title was a commentary on all these different subcultures she belongs to, the many identities of what it means to be a child of immigrants, or queer, or in New York even. To me, each one of those identities has their own very strict set of rules, of what's appropriate, what's inappropriate. The character of Shirin is someone who is incapable of being appropriate in any setting she finds herself in.” Disingenuous is a word that pops up often during our conversation, and it's obvious that Akhavan considers it a dirty one. Still, Shirin's (and Akhavan's) self-effacing, almost kittenish vulnerability mitigates her inappropriate, at times painfully blunt attitude. In Appropriate Behaviour, Akhavan strikes the perfect comic balance between cheeky and needy without ever seeming precious or posed. The film's storyline – which follows Shirin's attempts to deal with an overbearing family and win back Maxine, while tracing the arc of their relationship through flashbacks – bears more than a passing similarity to Akhavan's own life. While writing the screenplay, she was dealing with a break-up and the aftermath of having come out

March 2015

to her family. Akhavan is herself the daughter of Iranian immigrants and openly bisexual, two pivotal facets of her life she rarely sees depicted onscreen. “Just the very fact that I'm an out bisexual and Iranian is completely inappropriate,” she says, insisting there's a unique “neither here nor there” stigma attached to being bisexual. “We have depictions of gay couples and gay life and what it is to be gay, but that's a very clear-cut division in the sand, you know? Gay people feel the way you feel about the opposite sex but with the same sex. [Bisexuality] is in the messy grey area. There's also this weird implication of cheating and lying.” As for Iranian portrayals in Hollywood, she's even more disheartened. “There are very few depictions of Iranians, period. It's like, Argo and Not Without My Daughter.” Akhavan regularly tackles taboo subjects within the queer community, such as internalised homophobia, power dynamics in queer relationships, trans men versus butch lesbians, and lesbians who start playing for the other team. The tagline for The Slope, a hilariously irreverent takedown of queer Brooklyn hipsters, is “superficial, homophobic lesbians”; one of the shorts even features a scathing parody of the nearuniversally beloved ‘It Gets Better’ anti-suicide campaign. (“Don't kill yourself,” Akhavan counsels, “because suicide is super gay.”) That brashness, though it may be intrinsic to Akhavan's button-pushing proclivities, feels a little toned down in Appropriate Behaviour. But there's still plenty of the blissfully bitter mixed in with the sweet. Ultimately, Akhavan says, she's interested in redefining the parameters of what's acceptable. “The more people who come out, the more people who demand respect for themselves, the more the culture bends to them,” she insists. Her beguilingly awkward take on boundary pushing certainly demands respect, even as her fumbling, funny alter ego suffers from a lack of it. Appropriate Behaviour is released in cinemas on 6 Mar by Peccadillo Pictures peccapics.com

“S

he looks like a dog, she comes across as a dog, but… she's no'.” Somewhere between this tantalising opening and its mysterious horror ending, you realise Good Girl is not your average short film. Its title character is Tully, a German Shepard who may also be an extraterrestrial. Tully's de facto owner Julie (Julie Speers) is convinced: the dog can, after all, cause her to become stoned on command and makes life difficult for anyone who pisses Julie off. When the judges for The Skinny's inaugural Short Film Festival Competition put their heads together they soon concluded that this darkly comic hybrid – described by its director, Rory Alexander Stewart, as “a mockumentary sci-fi thriller” – was a worthy winner. Stewart was awarded the modest sum of £3000 by sponsor Innis & Gunn to use as a budget to make a new film, which is to be screened at this month's Glasgow Short Film Festival. That followup is Misery Guts, and reunites Stewart with Good Girl's human leads Speers and Ainslie Henderson (see our interview with Henderson on page 18). “I just walked in the pub with my camera and Julie was behind the bar and I asked her what she did that day.” It's a few weeks before Misery Guts' premiere and Stewart is recalling how he met Speers while shooting The Port, a short doc he made about much-loved Edinburgh bar Port O'Leith, behind which Speers works. “Without any prompting she improvised a story about a man coming in to the pub with a samurai sword, which was completely hilarious. It was just kind of obvious that she had a special talent of some sort.” Misery Guts marks Stewart and Speers' third collaboration following that initial meeting, the other film being Wyld, for which Speers won the BAFTA New Talent acting prize in 2014. “I think we both like daft humour, and her absurd monologues are always fun,” says Stewart of their partnership. “Good Girl was a chance to see how much nonsense we could come up with and make a story out of it.” What marked Good Girl out during the judging process was its lightness of touch, how it easily segues into dark and surreal areas of human consciousness without ever jarring with its humdrum setting. “Good Girl was a funny one because I really just thought it would be silly; something that was about the funny aspects of mundane life. But then it became this other thing.” One major in-

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fluence in Good Girl's trajectory might be that Stewart happened to go to a screening of another unclassifiable sci-fi midway through production. “I did see Under the Skin about two thirds of the way into it, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is like what I'm making, I'll maybe nick a couple of superficial elements from it.' I'm pretty open to genre, especially nowadays.” That's evident in new film Misery Guts. If Good Girl was Stewart's kitchen sink take on sci-fi, this follow-up is his shaggy version of a crime movie. Like with Good Girl, the film came out of just starting the camera and letting Speers and co improvise. “I would write a pretty basic outline and then we would just go through the scene and sort of get it on its feet,” he explains. “It's a lot like editing a documentary to be honest.” The team's chief concern was not to repeat themselves. “Julie wanted to do something different, so we decided to have her be unable to talk for a portion of the film.” If you've seen Good Girl or Wyld, you'll realise that the prospect of keeping Speers quiet could prove disastrous: much of their fizz comes from her deadpan delivery. Stewart had some comedic trick up his sleeve in the form of Ainslie Henderson. “Ainslie's a really amazing joke machine,” says Stewart. “In the portions where Julie isn't talking, I don't know if i'd have been hugely comfortable doing it with someone other than Ainslie. He's just insanely talented.” As well as Speers and Henderson, Misery Guts also features Jenna O'Neill, who appeared in Wyld. It seems in these three modest film Stewart is building himself quite a repertory group; he clearly finds collaboration inspiring. “In the past I was a bit more rigid about sticking to the script,” he explains. “But then after I did the documentary I kind of realised a lot of the energy you see on screen comes from the tension between the people you've cast.” The result is that he's found a looser, more responsive approach to storytelling: “I suppose it's just realising that you're always writing: you're writing when you're writing the script, you're writing when you're directing and you're writing when you're editing. It's just bringing the headspace of writing to all the different stages.” Misery Guts and Good Girl screen as part of The Skinny Short Film Award showcase at Glasgow Short Film Festival, CCA, 12 Mar. Free entry, tickets available on the day from CCA box office

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North Sea Poems You might expect a piece on a poetry festival written by an award winning poet to be... well... poetic. Neu! Reekie! helmsman Michael Pedersen refuses to prune the flowers of his prose here in his lyrical look at StAnza blooming into adulthood. Illustration: Lydia Brownlee

tAnza – you heard of it? I hope so. Poetry bod or not, it's made its mark on the Scottish cultural scene for just shy of two decades. In fact, StAnza 2015 is the big 18th birthday – so a ‘coming of age’ show in some respects, and like most buoyant 18 year olds it's full of juice and flaunting several lissome limbs. StAnza carries the tagline ‘Scotland's International Poetry Festival’, its yolk in St Andrews with a little overspill to the surrounding areas. 2015 proffers a colourful carousel of more than 100 goings-on: films, exhibitions, installations, drama, music, tours, workshops and, of course, poetry readings (70 plus poets) – so many shows, in fact, they don't all fit in the brochure. A shame-faced statement of admission opens this feast of findings – the 2014 StAnza Poetry Festival marked my inaugural visit! I could offer up a veritable buffet of excuses – living in London and Cambodia; an irrational trepidation to visit Scottish towns without train stations; not owning a car; a wariness of golf – but even collectively they don't really cut it. Last year however, I not only attended but also performed and participated – a paragoning induction into the fold. My primary reading slot was the brimful Border Crossing event with Hannah Lowe, who has since been crowned one of the Poetry Book Society's Next Generation Poets 2014. I also contributed to the education arm of the festival by taking the stage, or rather a high school assembly hall, alongside Botswana Poet TJ Dema, presenting the well disciplined youth with a taste of the more performative aspects of poetry – and, to get them on my side, a hamper of adult concepts and mild profanities their teachers wouldn't dare mutter, for fear of being reprimanded by the PTA. Both cuts of this poetry cake were a delight to serve.

“ It's been a bit of a dream to go there – just to go there, not even to read” Hollie McNish on StAnza

Fast forward to 27 January and I'm at the StAnza 2015 programme launch at the National Library of Scotland. The launch event itself boasts an all-female line-up with one exception. Words from StAnza are given by Festival Director Eleanor Livingstone and Admin Assistant Annie Rutherford, with performances by Kirsty Law, Agnes Török and Christine De Luca – Edinburgh's new(ish) Makar. The male exception to the line-up is Peter Mackay (originally from the Isle of Lewis), who reads his poems in both English and Gaelic. It's a nice taster of the diversity of medium, style, language, cadence and degrees of thespiansim to be expected. This 2015 programme is not short of recent prizewinners either – in Kei Miller, Liz Berry and Helen Mort, we have The Poetry Trust's Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection winner and two of the 2014 Forward Poetry prize winners – for Best

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Collection and Best First Collection. Helen and Kei alongside Mark Waldron and Heather Phillipson represent four of the 2014 PBS Next Generation Poets. And then there's Simon Armitage – one of my favourite contemporary poets (being alive and very much aboot) and a well televised and championed chap. Double Upsy: Helen Mort and Liz Berry appear in an event together (Five O'Clock Verses) and Kei Miller appears alongside Simon Armitage (Poetry Centre Stage) in what promise to be two of the top picks of the whole festival (mine, that is). You can also get yourself into a masterclass with Simon Armitage if you act fast and fervently. Responding to a prod on what makes StAnza such a stand-out poetry happening, Kei Miller remarked: “Years ago I was poet-in-residence for StAnza and it was then that I completely fell in love with it. There are two festivals in the world that I have all the time for – Calabash in Jamaica, and StAnza. Eleanor Livingstone has to be one of the most inventive and inspiring programmers in the poetry world.” He continues, “I meet poets all over the world and as soon as you mention the name Eleanor they all sigh with love.” We then chat about his pairing with Simon, to which Kei splashes out: “The best poets have a distinctive voice and that's Simon, that's why he appeals. I'm not sure why Eleanor paired us, but like I said, she never makes a wrong move as a programmer so even I'm excited to see what happens. When I was studying at MMU Simon was there though he didn't teach me – but even then he was a figure to look up to… I see it as some measure of having ‘arrived’ to be reading with him. It's a huge honour.” There's a few starring names lassoed this year (likely after a few attempts) that'll be making their debuts. Eleanor comments: “Sometimes it takes several years before the festival dates suit… but when it finally happens that's always really satisfying. This year that includes Sinéad Morrissey, Carolyn Forche and Ian Duhig; and I've been hoping to bring over Ilya Kaminsky since 2010 when I first met him. So I'm very excited that they're all on this year's programme.” Liz Berry is among those making her debut too, noting “This is my first time at StAnza and I'm really looking forward to it as the festival has a great reputation for exciting and eclectic events. I'll be reading poems from Black Country that are full of enchantment, flight and jeth. There'll be wings, spellbound weddings, blackness and canal murder ballads. The poems are written with Black Country dialect so you'll hear about tranklements, bone-orchards, wammels and jack-squalors… I'll also be off to hear Kathryn Maris, Hollie McNish and Carolyn Jess-Cooke discuss motherhood and writing on Friday lunchtime. My first son Tom was born just a few months before Black Country was published so it's a topic that's been very much on my mind this year.” This Festival (like all the anointed) has themes – this year's are Unfinished Business and An Archipelago of Poetry. Fountaining out the former is the opening night bash, Dylan Thomas’ Bedazzled: A Welshman in New York, feeding our penchant for the New York poetry scene in the 1950s. Find herein a chance to join Dylan Thomas, Allen Ginsberg and E.E. Cummings incarnate on

stage for a tipple and a confab – role-play and horseplay. The event mentioned above by Liz on Writing Motherhood, featuring Carolyn Jess-Cooke, Hollie McNish and Kathryn Maris, is a sublimely conceived showcase piece. Hollie said: “I have never been to Stanza before but it’s been a bit of a dream to go there – just to go there, not even to read there. But this is great.” Oh, and on the show: “…a total gem to be part of... touching on everything from the fact that you are just more bloody tired to all the creative ideas that flow from being a parent. It's ace.” The latter theme (AoP) gifts poets from islands around the world an opportunity to give their tuppence worth on that way of dwelling – Eleanor informs us: “We've invited a range of poets from islands around the world, from New Zealand, Jamaica, Sardinia, Mallorca, the Faroe Islands, also poets from Stockholm and Copenhagen, cities built on islands, to join the programme poets from Scottish islands; Lewis, Skye and Shetland.” Perhaps shanties, the vagaries in weather and the bitter bite of the sea – tongues socked in sand, talk laced with salt? Folded into this strand, which caught my eye, is Shipwrecked House, a one-woman multimedia performance from the Anglo-Breton

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poet Claire Trévien – it'll likely trigger your olfactory senses as she apparently wafts fragrance into the audience. People have their own brand of poetry as they do their own brand of thinking (homage paid to Ted Hughes’ thoughts on thinking here). Some are more energetic about it, others strain the moment; some brains are battling, others at peace; some are scripting for public performance and some spilling secrets they never thought they would. Anyhow, whatever your favourite flavour of lexical treat, there’s no doubt something here to whet the appetite. St Andrews on the bus from Edinburgh or Glasgow is not so far at all and about a tenner – one of the best you'll spend this year. I'll wrap it up there. StAnza, I'm sorry I'm such a late arrival to your sensational poetry party – but I'll be back with a vengeance and (rest assured) aw in aboot it. StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival, runs from 4–8 Mar in and around St Andrews stanzapoetry.org

THE SKINNY

Last Man Standing Through his work with Gang of Four, Andy Gill is a guitar hero who has inspired everyone from St. Vincent to Franz Ferdinand. When vocalist Jon King quit in 2012, most presumed the group was over. Gill explains What Happens Next Interview: Chris McCall

t's a question that would baffle even the most eager connoisseurs of pop music trivia. What links Gang of Four, prime movers of post-punk, and Dolly the sheep – the first mammal ever to be cloned from an adult cell? The unlikely answer involves a tour manager turned biotech entrepreneur named Simon Best and seminal Edinburgh independent record label Fast Product. It was Best who commercialised the cloning technology responsible for Dolly in the late ‘90s, making millions for The Roslin Institute that pioneered the process. Some 20 years before, as a jobbing sound engineer, Best had recommended a group of students at the University of Leeds to Bob Last, founder of Fast Product. The band was The Mekons, still touring to this day, and then good pals with Gang of Four. It's a story that Andy Gill recalls fondly when The Skinny calls him one freezing Sunday evening in January. With a much-anticipated new album, What Happens Next, out on 2 March, 36 years after the group's debut, it's hard to believe they thought their chance had once gone. “We were all feeling a bit passed over,” he laughs. “It was Andy Corrigan, who was the singer in The Mekons at the time, who told Bob: ‘You shouldn't be mucking about with The Mekons – it's the Gang of Four you want.’” That timely intervention led to the 1978 release, of a stellar EP, Damaged Goods, which won the group a deal with EMI. Gang of Four would go on to release seven albums over the next three decades. They pioneered a stripped-back sound built on robotic drums and bass, like a Krautrockinspired Chic, over which Andy Gill's guitar would chop in and out with bursts of freeform noise. When combined with the chant-like vocals of Jon King, whose lyrics ranged from Marxist critique to social realism, it was an intoxicating mix. Along with contemporaries such as Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four incorporated funk and dub influences at a time when guitar music was rapidly evolving from the snarling three-chord thrash of punk. Gill's riffing would echo down the years and inspire everyone from The Edge to Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and St. Vincent – the latter recently proclaimed him as her favourite guitar player ever along with Marc Ribot. The 59-year-old's minimalist, often abrasive style was forged in an era when convention dictated more was always more. While Genesis and Pink Floyd were reaching for outer space, Gill was listening to The Best of Muddy Waters and dreaming of emulating the style of Canvey Island's finest duck walker, Wilko Johnson. “Seeing Wilko and Dr Feelgood was a real lightbulb moment,” he recalls. “He never stopped looking at the audience and didn't spend much time looking at his guitar – I duly noted that. That robotic, machine-like thing the whole band had, that sort of riffing – it was almost like an electronic take on Steve Reich or something. “I always think of the guitar as being part of a larger instrument, which is the band,” he continues. “What I always find uninspiring is when guitarists treat the rest of the band as a background over which they show off, so the guitar playing isn't part of the intrinsic sound that the bass and drums and other instruments are making. The sort of image I had in mind was that everything was side by side – the drums had to

March 2015

work around the guitar riff, which had to work around the bass riff, which had to work around this semi-chanted lyrical thing, which worked around the drums – each element had to work with the other parts of the band.” This blueprint would be built with fantastic results on 1979's Entertainment! and Solid Gold two years later, and its influence is still apparent on the latest Gang of Four album. But there are two crucial differences between the new record and those that preceded it. There are a wider range of outside collaborators working with the band than ever before. And there's no Jon King. While original bass player and drummer Dave Allen and Hugo Burnham returned for a brief mid-2000s reunion, they played no part in 2011's Content. There were a few quips that Gang of Four had become Gang of Two, but that number was further reduced when King left the group in 2012. Gill, whose partnership with the vocalist stretched all the way back to when they ran the Leeds University film society, must have been disappointed to see him leave. “Yes and no,” he responds after a short pause. “We made Content with the explicit purpose of doing a lot of live stuff. The commercial reason for touring back in the old days was to help sell the record. And now the commercial reason is the other way around, you make the record to help the touring. We had done very few gigs, a couple of weeks in North America and a couple of weeks in Australia, when he said ‘well, I think that's me done’. So that was a disappointment, as we weren't doing what we had said we would do in terms of playing, and all touring stopped from that point on.

“ I told Jon, ‘well, you know I'm going to be continuing, don't you?’ He said ‘that's your decision.’ I didn't have to think about it for a second” Andy Gill

“But… I think sometimes his enthusiasm was not there, perhaps sometimes – you can tell I'm carefully choosing my words here! – the lack of enthusiasm didn't help the creative process. I think, from that point onwards I knew I wanted to make another record and embrace those opportunities very enthusiastically. I felt a number of doors had opened up.” There was no question of whether Gill would make another Gang of Four record. “I told Jon, ‘well, you know I'm going to be continuing, don't you?’ He said ‘that's your decision.’ I didn't have to think about it for a second.” Gill could still call upon the services of

Credit: Tom Sheehan

Glaswegian bassist Thomas McNeice, who has played with Gang of Four since 2008, but questions remained over who could fill King's sizable shoes as frontman. “I wanted to have other guests and collaborations, partly because I felt like doing that for some years. I didn't want to have a situation where I've gone, ‘okay, goodbye to the old singer… and hello to the new singer,’ ta da! It would have been a bit odd and also put pressure on whoever came in. I thought, this is the time to do what I've been thinking about, and work with different people.” Thus, new singer John ‘Gaoler’ Sterry is variously joined on vocals on What Happens Next by the likes of Alison Mosshart from The Kills, Robbie Furze of The Big Pink and Japanese guitar hero Tomoyasu Hotei. Perhaps most intriguing is the presence of German actor and musician Herbert Grönemeyer, who, although relatively unknown in the UK, is a major Central European star. “He's an old friend,” confirms Gill. “Most people in this country know him from Das Boot, but in Germany, he's their biggest selling rock star by a million miles. I was introduced to him about 20 years ago, and he volunteered as soon as I mentioned I was getting involved with a lot of different people. He's got a really extraordinary voice.” Many of the songs on What Happens Next explore the idea of identity in the 21st century, a natural choice for a group always known for being politically aware. “All across Europe there is an identity crisis,” Gill ponders. As an adopted Londoner, he views multiculturalism and the

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growth of the city favourably, but worries that the capital's dominance comes at a cost to the rest of the UK. The artwork for the new album is a dual image of the building that defines London's recent boom more than any other: the Shard, the neo-futuristic, 87-storey skyscraper that dominates the Southbank. It was a deliberate choice, says Gill. “I'm personally in favour of striking modern architecture, and I think the Shard is rather brilliant; but at the same time there's something slightly threatening about it. You look at it sometimes, and think it's like a modern-day pyramid stretched upwards, and then other times, you think that right at the top of the Shard there is probably some psychopathic derivatives trader snorting a bag of cocaine and looking through his binoculars at the minions below.” Although he is the last one standing of the original Gang of Four, Gill is in no mind to slow down and is already planning another album. His motives are simple, he insists. “I just enjoy it; if something gets in my head I make little notes, and the next thing I know I'm down in the studio busting something out. In other words, it still comes naturally and it's hard not to, in a way. I do feel sort of grateful that I'm able to continue what it is that I do.” What Happens Next is released on 2 Mar via Membran gangoffour.co.uk

Feature

Leader of the Pack As they prepare to release their debut album, Ellie Rowsell tells The Skinny why Wolf Alice have little time for indie pop convention

Interview: Gary Kaill

We move on. There is an album all but complete and Rowsell speaks about it with a breathless enthusiasm. “We were ready, organised,” she says. “The songs were about 95% complete when we went into the studio to record. And some of the songs were really quite old – perhaps three years old, so we had a breadth of material, you know; a set of songs that represented who we were from the very early days up to now. Some were very new – just a couple of months old. So, yeah, it's an interesting mix. I think you'll be able to tell which ones are old songs and which are new. I guess I'm still trying to grasp it myself but there's definitely two sides to the record. There are songs on it that maybe, if you've followed us from the start and you know our sound, or think you do, will surprise you. “We gave a lot of thought to how we'd be able to play the songs live,” she continues. “You know, originally we were very guitar-based and heavy but now we're kinda losing that. Right now we're just writing what comes naturally to us and not worrying about whether we can play it live because we don't have a hundred keyboards or what have you.

Credit: Jordan Curtis Hughes

“ Some bands record their albums exactly how they want to play them live, but that's not us” Ellie Rowsell

“W

e're not looking for instant success. With us, it's more slow-burning. We're taking small steps and that whole process will take – well, it will take as long it takes.” Ellie Rowsell doesn't do ‘I want it all’ posturing. The Wolf Alice frontwoman is resolutely modest and, against the headline-grabbing grain for young emerging pop stars, spends much of our interview thoughtfully considering her responses. Seemingly devoid of ego, she's an unassuming presence, keen to focus on her craft rather than commerce and the industry. “It might take us ten years to get where we want to be,” she continues. “We're not going to try to second-guess it. If I think about it too much…” She tails off. “I just want to enjoy myself. Too many bands at our stage seem to spend too long trying to work it all out and we don't want to make that mistake.” With their steadily growing profile set to take an upward turn in 2015, it's easy to forget that they've been around longer than many ‘Where are they now?’ victims of the unthinking taste-makers. Formed in 2010 by Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice (the name comes from an Angela Carter short story) self-released their eponymous debut EP that year, but it wasn't until drummer Joel Amey and bassist Theo Ellis joined in 2012 that they gave hint of their developing identity; an intense and wiry reworking of indie pop shapes with, as their increasingly forceful live shows began to confirm, more emphasis, ultimately, on rock than pop. A series of EPs followed, culminating in the well-received Creature Songs EP, released mid-2014.

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But it's their live reputation that has travelled the most, which is perhaps why Alt-J booked the quartet as support for their biggest show to date at London's cavernous O2 Arena. We speak as Rowsell breaks off from rehearsing for a gig that would send lesser acts racing for the comfort of your common Dog and Duck. “Mmm. It's a big deal, for sure. Yeah, I mean it's a support show so it doesn't feel too scary,” she says. “It's not our own show, sure, but it's definitely going to be weird stepping into such a huge stage.” Their forthcoming UK tour will see them leap from the bars and clubs they've played seemingly non-stop for the past couple of years to the likes of Manchester's Ritz (“Oh, that place is huge – I hope we can fill it…”) and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. Still, Rowsell is unbowed: “We'll be fine. We can't wait, actually. It'll be good to show people just what we can do now as a live band.” If Wolf Alice do, as you suspect they will, catch a wave in early 2015, it could well be due as much to their seemingly sharp set of influences as that shortlisting on the BBC Music Sound of 2015 list (a curse, rather than a blessing, for a plethora of new acts in recent years). Older heads might draw a line back to the US alt. epoch and the early-90s underground crossover managed by the likes of Veruca Salt, Belly and The Breeders. Rowsell isn't so sure. “I don't know if we do have that kind of sound,” she says. “It's certainly not a conscious thing. I know Jon, our drummer – he's perhaps the biggest muso out of all of us – has been listening to lots of cool stuff since he was a kid. But for me, I listened to a lot of chart music, a lot of pop, until I was about 14.”

We all do that, though, right? Pretend we listened to The Velvet Underground rather than Kylie when we were at primary school? “Absolutely! As a teenager, I started to listen to more, I don't know, guitar-based stuff – Nirvana, Pixies, The White Stripes, The Strokes. But yeah, I think people sometimes pitch us as something that perhaps we're not. People will say to us ‘Oh you must really like Belly…’” You really must. “Ha! Well, no. I don't. Seriously, it must be a really unconscious thing, then, because I've never really heard them.” A lazy comparison? “Maybe not. I definitely do like that kind of stuff but I think maybe that it might not be so applicable any more, certainly once our album has come out.” Briefly, we touch on another large-scale booking for the band – in August, they return to the Reading and Leeds Festival and it seems likely they'll benefit from elevated billing this year. Hopefully, they'll make the main stage, where a dearth of female and female-fronted acts has suggested the promoters have a sorry agenda at worst and cloth ears at best. Rowsell gets the criticism but is wary of plumping for an equally imbalanced solution. “I do think that that kind of billing should be addressed,” she agrees, “but I understand why it happens, I think. I mean, I don't want to see a girl band, or a band with a girl in it, headline Reading just because of their sex. It's not necessarily the fault of the promoters. Ultimately, at a base level, there needs to be more girls picking up guitars – you know, forming bands, writing, and just being good at what they do. The last thing I want to see is a poor girl band just to fill out a quota, you know?”

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“It's a much purer approach to the whole songwriting process, I think, and that will benefit the live show, too. The recording studio and the stage are two separate things but we're really learning to understand the differences, and without it compromising who we are.” With Wolf Alice daring to venture beyond the accepted constraints of trad Brit indie both musically and lyrically – “Lyrically, I'm still trying to find my feet to be honest. It's more like a stream of consciousness than a, um, Nick Cave narrative!” – the creative process must be increasingly fulfilling. “Yeah, it is, definitely. I find it immensely satisfying. I mean, I don't know if it's one of those things where I necessarily have to put it out there. I'm still not entirely sure you can be absolutely certain what, of your own stuff, is good and what is not so good. I mean, I have songs that I'm really proud of and some where I'm a bit more… mmm.” She pauses and laughs. Again, ego takes a hike: “Songs where I'm not so sure, to be honest. Once the album is out, well, I don't know – let's just see how it goes, I suppose. We're just finishing the mixes now and we're definitely trying to keep cool about the whole thing. It's important, I think, not to have too many – well, not to have any, really – expectations. Certainly not until I've heard it myself!” Playing Òran Mór, Glasgow on 23 Mar Wolf Alice's debut album My Love is Cool is due for release on 22 Jun via Dirty Hit Records wolfalice.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Take on gamingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest icons An exhibition created by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, supported by the Victorian Government. Media Partner

Until 20 April 2015 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF Book now at www.nms.ac.uk/gamemasters National Museums Scotland Scottish Charity, No. SC011130

March 2015

THE SKINNY

All Hail the Class of 2014 A mainstay of the Scottish art calendar, the annual RSA New Contemporaries exhibition of the brightest graduates of 2014 lives up to the hype

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

Gordon Murray, Auspicious Clouds

he RSA New Contemporaries exhibition, now in its seventh year, is one of the biggest opportunities around for recent art school graduates in Scotland. What’s more, all the hype this show attracts is underlined by the tens of thousands of pounds of prize money that will be shared among selected participants. Graduates from the Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Moray art schools are gathered under the gilded ceilings of the Royal Scottish Academy so it’s also a handy way to get a digest of what’s going on in the minds of up and coming artists across the country. Even those who made the rounds of last year’s degree shows have a surprise in store this year, as the work by the Glasgow School of Art graduates will be shown for the first time, following the devastating cancellation of the 2014 fine art degree show. Even being privy to the proposals and having a chat with the exhibitors, there’s (gladly) no easy way to tie together the diverse practices that have been selected by the RSA to be part of the show. In the first instance, and already featured in the Skinny Showcase, there’s Caitlin Hynes, whose work has an unashamed proclivity for riotous, raucous (and rococo), boisterous and colourful work. While there’s a dizzying amount of detail to the work, it’s not overwrought. There’s hoardercollector’s mentality to the collaging, assemblage and layering of fabrics, which are painting and print, stitched and glued together. Pretty terrifying at first glance, these works are full of smiling, out of proportion faces with big open mouths and drunk, bulging eyes. Hynes tends to pack the work in for exhibition, like the overstocked street stall you could imagine at a Day of the Dead festival. For the RSA, this accumulative logic will inform not only the dense composition of the two large wall hangings to be exhibited, but also a painted wooden cart which will host different drawings, objects and artifacts. From the colourful to the camp, there’s Hannah Clarkson-Dornan who, in her practice, enquires into “decadence, authenticity and ownership in the age of information.” Making a bit of whimsy from what could be pretty dry subject matter, Clarkson-Dornan’s more interested in the draw of cute cat videos, and the strange humour that comes with dogs doing slapstick, or as she puts it, “the cult of celebrity that surrounds particular animal characters on the internet.” She

March 2015

accepts that a lot of this kind of “stock imagery” is often amateurish and borderline dull. With this material, which isn’t intrinsically exciting visually, Clarkson-Dornan spends time revamping these images with the traditional formats of fine art. Combining an interest in “camp” internet animal imagery with painting and sculpture, Clarkson-Dornan will present two large scale paintings that combine traditional farm scenes with the cartoonish, alongside found bog wood and delicate glass sculptures.

“ It is the most ambitious thing I have ever made. Sometimes artists become deeply involved in their work, and I fell in love with mine.” Joe Hancock

Things become more wryly conceptual and tidily ordered with Isabella Widger’s very considered arrangements of objects that are “elegantly impractical.” Her work is often delicately balanced, or left standing waifish against the wall. What Widger values is the pursuit of “a fragile, precarious [and] physically, materially unstable structure of display.” Within these thoughtful configurations, there is a mixture of mass fashion textiles and the alluring textures and tactility of the high production finish and attractive materials of luxury goods. But with the addition of sex toylike objects, there’s a dual referencing of fetishising in its everyday, as well as more political senses. But – there's no shame in asking – where are the painters just going the paintings? Those looking for a more conventional painterly approach need not worry, as there’s the work of

Paloma Proudfoot

Catherine Ross. Through her paintings and model works, this artist explores remembered and imagined scenes from her earliest memories of growing up in the Northwest Territories of Canada. For the exhibition, Ross will exhibit two large panoramas of icy landscapes. Measuring four and a half metres long each and with roughly textured surfaces, these works feel designed to dominate the viewer’s gaze entirely. Choosing these bleak landscapes, there’s an illogical longing to inhabit these inhospitable yet impressive environments. From childhood memories to a dodgy Glasgow adolescence, Craig Wright experiments with the insignia of the North Glasgow gang, the Kirky Hoods, and specifically the Crann Tara – which Wright had tattooed to his thigh as part of another work, Hoods 4 Lyf. In the upcoming exhibition, Wright will exhibit photographs of an intimidating performance, when he burned the Crann Tara sign at the top of Law Hill in Dundee. Taking as inspiration the disturbing practices of the KKK and the signs and symbols of North Glasgow gang culture, Wright probes “the mob mentality,” that can push “an individual [to] perform an action in order to appease the overall group that he would never do by his own will.” It’s youth subculture again in Robbie Hamilton’s work, who brings his experience as a skateboarder literally into the gallery space as a challenge to the regulated institutional framework of the gallery context. Hamilton turns the Royal Scottish Academy into a skate park, and makes what he calls “drawings” by skating on two ramps and leaving scuff marks on the white walls. After the initial performance the two ramps are left along with the marks as documentation, as well as sculptural and drawing works in their own right. From the Flying Wallendas of the skatepark to the infirmities of old age, Joe Hancock will fulfil an ambitious sculptural project that’s been over four years in the making and survived the same fire that left the Mackintosh building worse for wear. Deus ex Machina is a large scale sculpture made from two spiral stairlifts, one of which is Hancock’s grandmother’s, retrieved after her death. Running at intervals timed to the breeding cycles of cicadas, the work’s a complex constellation of associations, mixing the personal, references to natural science and the subtle melan-

ART

cholia of an empty set of stairlifts futilely running up, then down again. Hancock doesn’t mince words speaking about his commitment to what is still a hugely labour-intensive work (at 600 kg, storage and transport is no mean feat): “It is the most ambitious thing I have ever made. Sometimes artists become deeply involved in their work, and I fell in love with mine.” Paloma Proudfoot is also making a sculptural addition to the gallery space, though far subtler. Proudfoot was recently mentioned in our online weekly events column for her participation in Embassy’s exhibition Self Storage, which was more focused on her interest in making outlandish, often completely impractical articles of clothing. In the RSA, Proudfoot’s looking more to the architecture of the RSA itself, interrupting the conventional ornamentation of one of the arches with an “intestine-like” yellow rubber-coated rope held in place with ceramic fingers. Just as her clothes sculptures incorporate functional design (of, for example, work uniforms) this rope runs into decorative ceramic drainage pipes, then to ceramic rope plaques. Whereas Proudfoot locates her work within the physical space of the RSA, Sarah Sheard wonders about the institution of the RSA itself and her place within it, as a ‘New Contemporary.’ For the New Contemporaries show, Sheard will create an audience-interactive installation of drawers and cabinets filled with paintings, prints and objects that “parody” the work of Peter Doig, John Bellany and Elizabeth Blackadder. “This is not an attack on these artists,” Sheard assures, “but an exploration of their work within the context of what it means to be a new contemporary.” With all the exhibitors as fresh out of art school as each other, and now exhibiting in the hallowed RSA, Sheard perhaps inadvertently represents the 2015 New Contemporaries when she asks, simply, “Am I part of the club now?” While there’s a questioning of their institutional positions as recent art school graduates, the New Contemporaries 2015 in all cases show no sign of being daunted by the honour of the RSA. The exhibitors finally and definitely shuck off the safety of the occupation of art student as all that degree show bravado crystallises into something solid and promising. It’s a fond moment, and deserving of all ceremony and attention. RSA New Contemporaries, 14 Mar-8 Apr, Edinburgh, £4 (£2)

Emma Kelsey

Feature

Dreaming Bigger, Screaming Louder Québécois firecracker Xavier Dolan says he sees cinema as revenge against the mundanities of everyday life. With his brilliant new melodrama Mommy, that revenge is served piping hot

Interview: Philip Concannon Illustration: Louise Lockhart

“I just think that life can be boring enough to the point where cinema is – more than any other media or art – its revenge. So characters are allowed to dream bigger, scream louder, cry uglier, sing better, dance without shame, and have the last say with sassy dialogue that they perhaps couldn't come up with in normal life. They are allowed to win.”

“ I fucking hate digital. It is lifeless, flat, soulless and a lie” Xavier Dolan

n May 2009, a young man named Xavier Dolan arrived in Cannes to present his new film, the story of a troubled relationship between a mother and her son. In May 2014, a young man named Xavier Dolan arrived in Cannes to present his new film, the story of a troubled relationship between a mother and her son. Just five years passed between the release of Dolan's debut feature I Killed My Mother and his latest film Mommy, but the difference we can see in the artist who made them is extraordinary. What looked like raw potential in 2009 has since been brilliantly realised. Although the subject matter and the presence of Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément in the cast list may encourage us to draw comparisons between these two films, Dolan refutes any suggestion that Mommy is a revisitation of earlier themes. “A movie about mothers and sons is like a movie on human beings,” he tells me. “It really is just so vast a theme, and encompasses so many, many, many possibilities for characters who are defined by quests and dreams and personalities rather than just titles.” In general, Dolan is a man who is too busy looking forward to contemplate what's behind

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him, but he is conscious of the progress he has made so far, admitting that he finds it hard to watch some of the more jejune moments in his first two features. “Certainly, every new film is a new opportunity, not necessarily to explore things you haven't explored in previous endeavours, but more likely to avoid repeating mistakes you've made in those,” he explains. As well as eliminating those mistakes, Dolan has ventured boldly into exciting new territory. After shooting his 2012 film Laurence Anyways in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Mommy finds the director squeezing the frame even further, utilising a 1:1 ratio that takes some getting used to but pays off spectacularly during the course of the film. He and his talented cinematographer André Turpin previously experimented with this style on a music video they made for Indochine's College Boy (which also starred Mommy's Antoine Olivier Pilon), but there's a big difference between a technique working for a 6-minute music promo and a 139-minute feature. “I didn't know Mommy was my next movie when I shot College Boy. I figured it out a couple of weeks later,” he tells me, “André and I realised

that anything in the ‘middle-range' shot-wise was a waste of our time; it was either close-ups, or very large shots. Anything in between was oddly inelegant, even ugly, and seemed completely in- compatible with the square aspect-ratio. It's been used over centuries for portrait photography, and portraits really are what fill it in with the most sense, and harmony.” It's funny to hear Dolan talk about harmony in the context of Mommy, because this is a film largely defined by disharmony. With his characters often at each other's throats and with every emotion being pushed to the limit, that tight frame seems ready to burst at every moment, and Dolan clearly relishes this type of storytelling. “I'm not interested in documentary-like restraint and pastel-toned characters acting like losers. It's not that I only relish histrionic display and balls-to- the-wall scenes; there is a time for silences, and calm and rest, and I love to find the balance between both.” Mommy is a full-throttle melodrama and Dolan makes no apology for that, in fact he believes that cinema should offer a heightened alternative to our reality rather than a reflection of it.

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Some subjects elicit a particularly passionate response from Dolan. Having begun his career shooting on digital, the director has since moved to 35mm, transitioning in the opposite direction to most contemporary filmmakers, and when asked about this choice his answer is unequivocal. “Look, with all due respect to masterful cinemato- graphers and the tastes of other artists, I fucking hate digital,” he says. “It's just ugly, and an absolute deception. It is lifeless, flat, soulless and a lie. Some- times extremely talented people make it work, but there always is a scene where you see it, in the whites, in the trees, it just is a lie and it takes away the film's life.” You can add Xavier Dolan's name to those of Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and other fervent 35mm advocates, but Dolan is pessimistic about the medium's future. “I just fear the time when film will disappear. I apprehend it so badly because I know that, when it happens, I'll keep making movies but I'll watch them and something will be forever missing. I'm afraid that would be life.” For the time being, Dolan is still shooting on film and still making movies his way at his own phenomenal pace. He is currently in production on The Death and Life of John F. Donovan – his first English-language feature, starring Kit Harington and Jessica Chastain – but he is already thinking beyond that film to the future. I ask him how far down the road he is looking and his answer surprises me: “Far, far, far down indeed. You never know what will go, and what won't. So, I don't know… I'd say… as far as six years down the road?” Xavier Dolan will only be 31 years old then, and considering the way his work has evolved over the course of the past five years, I'm relishing the prospect of seeing what he has produced at an age when most directors are only warming up. One thing is for sure – everything he makes will be produced with the same passion and intensity that has distinguished his films to date, and he has little time for critics who decry these aspects of his work. “I will never tone down my characters or deprive them of their traditional soliloquies and big eruptions just to please people who love sobriety, and tamed personas,” he states defiantly. “Cinema is a spectacle – wake up!” Mommy is released 20 Mar by Metrodome

THE SKINNY

The Shame Game We chat to the award-winning writer Jon Ronson about his new book So You've Been Publicly Shamed, and discuss the need for empathy in our increasingly perilous digital landscape, where the unwary are lynched in 140 characters or less

on Ronson, wildly successful British author, reporter and presenter, is sat in his Upper East Side apartment in New York, two dogs restlessly playing at his feet. As affable, curious and friendly in digital person as he is throughout his best selling back catalogue – ranging from the template classic Them: Adventures with Extremists to 2012's inescapable The Psychopath Test – Ronson's buoyant demeanour is especially notable given that he's spent the past few days on the receiving end of the sort of online abuse that might buckle the nerves of those of less certain character. “The book is a call for people to be kind to each other, to forgive each other for our flaws and weaknesses,” Ronson remarks. “But then other people took it as an excuse to publicly shame me. For writing a book about public shaming.” So You've Been Publicly Shamed had its first taste of public approval (and otherwise) as a result of a New York Times extract just two days before our conversation, offering a glimpse at the tumultuous events surrounding Justine Sacco, a 30 year old communications director at a large American firm. Travelling to South Africa and killing time on Twitter, an ill-advised and poor taste joke of misguided satirical intent landed Sacco a spot as one of the internet's most controversial figures. Between London's Heathrow and Johannesburg, she had quickly and quietly become Twitter's most searched term. While gaining many more than her initial 170 followers, Sacco lost a job. Years have passed, but Sacco's story has re-entered the public sphere with Ronson himself attached and his position questioned: well meaning empath, or deluded apologist? (The overall Twitter consensus leans towards the former, it must be said). “I remember Graham Linehan saying that Twitter, in the first years, was like white magic whereas the internet was black magic,” recalls Ronson, an avid and very amusing Twitter user. “It was a nice place, where people were nice to each other, and it's funny to think back to those days. I've definitely found that when bad things have happened in my real life in the past six years, I would sometimes go on Twitter and find like-minded people being sharp and funny, and it would make me feel better. It's still a good place to me, and that's why I felt so sorry for people like Justine Sacco when it turned on them like it did.” The book opens with Ronson at war with a spambot impersonating and interpreting his personal content to its own eerie and bizarre means, resulting in a rare spasm of anger from the author towards its creators. “I can never really enjoy things going big,” he admits. “I think, ‘fuck, is this the start of something terrible?' My anxiety only manifests itself in two ways currently. Will something bad happen to my family, and will I make a big mistake in my work? It's just those two that keep me awake at night at the moment.” Ronson, always a champion of the underdog, wants more than ever simply to understand. “I strive for empathy more and more,” he's shameless to admit, without fear of personal grandstanding. “I don't ever want to write about anybody that I don't feel great empathy for anymore. I definitely don't want to do that with my career, it feels like a necessity to me now.” Ronson is also doggedly determined to access the most important subjects at the centre of even the most delicate topics.

March 2015

His search for “the absolute truth,” coupled, you suspect, with his inherent warmth, allows Ronson closer than most. In So You've Been Publicly Shamed, he befriends the American science writer Jonah Lehrer, whose career collapsed when he was revealed to have fabricated several Bob Dylan quotes, and whose personal plight gets even knottier as he gut-wrenchingly apologises in front of a liveTweet stream personally insulting his character. Elsewhere, Ronson and F1 boss Max Mosley delve into the amusing and misunderstood specifics of his notorious ‘Nazi BDSM orgies' with remarkable and refreshing candour. “A lot of people on the New York media scene are very hardline about Jonah (Lehrer),” notes Ronson in regards to his local peers. “But fortunately, it's not me that has to defend him. However, I wasn't going to start bringing in people like Bill Cosby or Ched Evans. I wanted it to be a book about people who had been shamed for comparatively minor transgressions.” Ronson's gonzo style brought him to public attention in the 90s, alongside similarly-minded contemporaries like Louis Theroux, and both were revered and critiqued for their approach, occasionally accused of giving their oddball subjects, as Ronson recalls, “the rope to hang themselves.” Fifteen to twenty years later, and he'd still not put it that way. “I'm happy to highlight people's absurd characters, but never see it as a cruel trick,” he explains. “I like to see it as us all just sharing our absurdities in an un-self conscious way.”

“ I wasn't going to start bringing in people like Bill Cosby or Ched Evans. I wanted it to be a book about people who had been shamed for comparatively minor transgressions” Jon Ronson

In his 2008 documentary film, Stanley Kubrick's Boxes, Ronson gains unprecedented permission to rifle through the legendary director's vast catalogue of physical memories, all extensively hoarded while the director ‘found the next story’. Ronson's own back catalogue is similarly eclectic, and so, following on from military mind control (The Men Who Stare at Goats) and domestic psychosis (The Psychopath Test), he eventually landed on the admittedly hot-button topic of public shaming in a typically roundabout way involving a poorly stomach, an afternoon Googling

Credit: Emli Bendixen

Interview: John Thorp

ex-girlfriends and an eventual, unexpected arrival at the courts system. “The most ubiquitous thing done in any court is to shame somebody, and I've seen people getting destroyed by the prosecution at the Old Bailey” observes Ronson, having spent more time in the company of murderers and paedophiles than most among us. “And that was the real moment. But then a friend pointed out that courts are very niche, nobody can relate, and then that's when I settled for the internet.” Given the rapid progression of technology and social interaction, So You've Been Publicly Shamed perhaps runs the risk of dating faster than Ronson's back catalogue, although he carefully ties it in with the ancient,

BOOKS

human taste for public justice. In Ronson's view, his latest work is as relevant as any of his others. “All my life I've written stories about systems going crazy, and this is the first time that the system going crazy is happening because of us,” Ronson surmises. “We're creating a cold, conformist and conservative world where people are afraid to be personal, and is that the world we want?” So You've Been Publicly Shamed is out on 12 Mar, published by Picador, RRP £14.99 Ronson is appearing at The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow for An Evening of Public Shaming on 20 Mar

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THE SKINNY

Pop Court Chronicler Mark Ellen has documented late 20th century pop music's biggest moments in his memoir Rock Stars Stole My Life!. Here he regales us with tales of those times and offers a lament on why modern day stars just don't cut the mustard (or anything else).

Smash Hits staff in 1983

ark Ellen is and was a music journalist, if you didn't know. An important one. Mark edited Q and Smash Hits, helped launch MOJO, presented the Old Grey Whistle Test and Live Aid (the ‘85 one), and almost shunted John Peel off Radio One. Mark Ellen, more than anything else perhaps, was the designated driver of 70s and 80s popular music. He was the kindly friend who got you into bed, tucked you in, then in the morning reminded you where you vomited, who you insulted and what stimulo-depressant cocktail was to blame for it all. That is to say, Mark Ellen was present and (largely) correct throughout the giddy, gaudy peak of pop. He's recently placed those memories onto the page, his book Rock Stars Stole My Life!: A Big Bad Love Affair with Music. He did drugs in earnest just the once. It was while interviewing The Teardrop Explodes, Liverpool, 1980. Several bumps of ropey speed, he and the band “filled both sides of a cassette with fizzing gibberish,” then he spent the night juddering away in bed, “brain mushed to guacamole… feeling as though [his] internal organs had been taken out, pummelled with a milk bottle then put back in the wrong places.” So ends Mark Ellen's narcotics career. So begins a period of clarity perhaps unrivalled in the history of music journalism. Instead of hoovering up recreational drugs, he has hoovered up anecdotes and, with them, insights (for instance: there's those who like Van Morrison and those who've met him). His colleagues were much more taken by needles, powders and pills, he tells The Skinny, just before taking the stage for an Edinburgh event on music journalism. Nick Kent, NME star journalist, “was addicted to methadone, and a bit hopeless and disorganised and couldn't really type, so he used to handwrite everything on cardboard, basically torn up cereal packets – it was the only food he could eat.” Mark made his start at the magazine typing up Nick's opioid-andcornflake-fueled copy. Mark has a great, gawky love of pop music and culture. He adores the unabashedness of it all. Take two days he spent with Rod Stewart, for instance. Mark acknowledges Rod the Mod's po-

March 2015

pular mythos – “an absolute buffoon, a ludicrous popinjay” – and takes no great pains to undermine it. “There's a massive over earner for you. Again symbolic of a world where you can make absolute fat loads of cash. … He literally appeared to be getting up as early as he could in the morning to allow himself more time every day to see how much money he could spend. He could not spend it fast enough!” But, for all that, “he was just a working class guy who made a lot of money. If you've got a lot of money, go out and spend it. He used money as a kind of suit of armour. It was his protection against the people he didn't like.” As with so many of Mark's tales – and tales of tales – this episode is recounted with unmitigated pleasure. He's a bit like an exiled court chronicler, liberated and loose of tongue. Instead of 17th century Versailles, he got 20th century Britain, London mostly. His gossipy tidbits come from the courts of Stewart, Jagger and Morrissey. Morrissey, compared with someone like Rihanna, presents something of a contradiction as regards Mark's pop worldview, though he does fit with the Rod model (he's loveable because of, rather than in spite of, his profound deficiencies of character). The tension resides in the scrupulously-created Morrissey persona. “Everything about him was just so thought through,” says Mark, “...and I thought it made the world a better place, I thought it raised the sum of human happiness to have people like that around. He loved that sense of theatre and artifice.” Yet this joy, this patience in the pop flimflam seems in short supply for Mark when it comes to the musicians of today. A press spot on Rihanna's 7Countries7Days7Shows tour has left him visibly disenchanted with the contemporary superstar. The episode even brackets his book. The problem lies in accessibility and the generation of the mythos, the star persona. Rihanna's inaccessibility is, by Mark's reckoning, largely self-generated. “My composite mental picture of Rihanna is one largely made up of information whose main agent is Rihanna herself. It's Rihanna who's created the world of Rihanna, through her tweets and her blogs, because no journalist has been allowed to get anywhere near

her who can paint a really accurate picture. And I think that's a shame in a way.” New media has steadily disenfranchised the once mighty music writer. It's easy to see why a veteran like Mark might be miffed and nostalgic.

“Instead of 17th century Versailles, he got 20th century Britain. His gossipy tidbits come from the courts of Stewart, Jagger and Morrissey” It's a short distance between two poles. On one hand, we're given near constant access to stars' private lives, or at least slithers of them. On the other, we're given relentlessly mediated slithers and little else besides. Mark trumpets a positive role for the music journo, whose job it is “to be evangelical, to bang the drum, but also to bring to life the music people are already listening to.” But people like Mark have, ironically, helped birth the new status quo. Music journalists didn't create Instagram, of course. But read or listen to Mark's tales of NME's heyday, and it's easy to see why record labels and artists are so glad to disenfranchise pop's chattering classes. They were brutal in the 70s and 80s, and back then it mattered. One typically capricious change of critical preference is outlined in the book as ‘the same writers who'd adored the prog giants and rock monsters now hitch their carts to the punk bandwagon and draw a bead on the old regime as if they were eighteenth-century French aristocracy, milk-fed pompous nincompoops

ART / BOOKS

Interview: Angus Sutherland

Rihanna pouring a $50 glass of champagne on her 777 private jet, 2014

destined for a painful execution.' Hard to blame the ducs and duchêsses for fleeing the terrors. Mark's not so callous though. For all the sentimentality, he's actually quite forgiving of the current pop brood. He won't even take the bait on TV talent contests – and avoids them in the book – for fear of sounding like “some superannuated old git. Some kind of grumpy old man.” In actual fact, Mark sympathises with the would-be stars of today – “I think they have to work very, very hard to get attention” – and bemoans the focus on stage school over individuality and life experience. Still, it's difficult to avoid the past's lure, especially if you've witnessed and documented some of its truly eccentric moments. Elton John – another eccentric with whom Mark has of course spoken – seems an interesting case study in the game of persona management. In one sense, his star façade seems too clear and readily available for it not to have been cooked up by some crafty pop capitalists. Yet old Reggie also seems to give something of his private self, something authentic. Mark heard a good one about a shindig of Elton's in the summer of ‘73 or maybe ‘74, a time when “everyone was competing to have more and more outrageous parties.” Challenging Elton on the story's authenticity, our chronicler was given a soft confirmation: “Really there were so many parties, but let's say it did.” How it goes is that Elton and “his very gay gang of pals are throwing this party out in some stately home.” Lawns, powdered pick-me-ups, gallons of brandy etc. The guests are ushered out into the evening light of a stubborn mid-summer sun. In coasts a bomber plane peppering the sky with little dots, dots that grew into “paratroopers, paratrooping down into Elton's capacious estate. Turns out it's naked men on the end of parachutes!” Mark giggles. “They land, at which point Elton's dinner guests CHARGE keenly out onto the lawn, pursuing these naked men into the bushes. Is that happening with Ed Sheeran? I don't think so!” Hard not to hearken after the good, gaudy old days. Rock Stars Stole My Life!: A Big Bad Love Affair with Music is published in paperback by Coronet on 26 Mar, RRP £8.99

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Going the Distance Rock Action signings Sacred Paws got together when former Golden Grrrls Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers wanted an excuse to continue hanging out. Can their occasional meet-ups support a proper band? There's the small matter of geography to overcome first

from the more considered approach they adopted when working at Mogwai's Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan. “We spent more time on those six songs than I ever have on a whole album,” laughs Aggs. “We never talk about recording when we rehearse; it's all about playing live. It's probably a bit of a nightmare for a producer to record our stuff. But it sounds good.”

“ We did a lot of Megabus journeys and yet somehow it didn't break us” Eilidh Rodgers

aving first got together as members of nowdisbanded indiepop group Golden Grrrls, the story of Sacred Paws is a tale of two cities. While guitarist Rachel Aggs is resident in the south London district of Camberwell, drummer Eilidh Rodgers is well-known to anyone who frequents Glasgow's respected Monorail record store. The duo live 400 miles apart, but that hasn't stopped them from crafting an intriguing debut EP, Six Songs (released on Mogwai's Rock Action label this month), and carving a niche with chanted vocals, highlife-indebted rhythms and spidery post-punk guitar tones. Just don't ask what they spend on coach fares. Music cannot be tied to one place, but making a band work over such a long distance is not easy, even if there are only two members. Sacred Paws might not play all that many gigs, but their songs create enough of an impression that an increasing number of people are sitting up and taking notice. It's partly the distinctive marriage of Aggs' inspired guitar playing style, like a modern-day Elizabeth Cotten, and Rodgers' curiously off-kilter beats. Bring in the pair's synchronised harmonies, which recall the likes of The Raincoats, and you've got some of the richest lo-fi pop around. To understand why this unlikely musical arrangement came to be, you must look back to 2010 when Golden Grrrls shared a line-up with Trash Kit and Grass Widow, the former being one of two other bands that Aggs somehow finds the time to play with. “It was when MySpace was still a thing, and people used to find out about bands that way,” she explains. “There were lots of groups playing together at that time, a real DIY scene, I guess.” “It was my dream bill!” Rodgers enthuses. “We were both really shy back then, and I was especially awkward because I really loved Trash Kit. I think we only exchanged a few words in the corri-

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dor. We met again in London when Golden Grrrls played a house party for a night Rachel had started with her friend Andrew. The venue flooded and we ended up playing Andrew's bedroom – I guess that was an ice breaker. We asked Rachel to join. She was the perfect choice, I'm just glad she said yes.” “I was excited as I liked the band,” Aggs recalls. “Myself and Eilidh became good friends. We thought we would try something on our own, really as an excuse to hang out.” There was another reason to form a band, social niceties aside. Aggs' ears had pricked up when she heard the drums on Golden Grrrls track Beaches. “I was really into that beat,” she adds. “I thought we could do something a bit different, and write more songs like that. I knew Eilidh's drumming style would suit the way I play guitar more naturally – in Golden Grrrls I was more trying to play indiepop, which isn't really my style.” “We realised we liked a lot of the same music,” Rodgers adds. “We sent each other mix tapes and joked that we should start a band. I'm not sure how serious we were at the time – 400 miles apart – but somehow we made it work. It was always fun, right from the beginning. We did a lot of Megabus journeys and yet somehow it didn't break us. The band was primarily a means of hanging out, we never had an agenda. I guess that's why we enjoy it so much. When we're playing music together it feels like an escape – I just wish we could do it more often.” Sacred Paws will be seeing more of each other this month as they head out on a short tour to promote their EP launch, with shows lined up in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, and more booked in April. Six Songs represents a step up for the duo. Several demos have been doing the rounds online ever since they first played live, and while they showed promise, the EP benefits

Sacred Paws have some practical advice for anyone that wants to start a long-distance band – ensure you meet up regularly. “We just write when we are together,” Aggs continues. “We tried it over the internet, but it didn't really work – there's too much of a time delay on Skype. We did a few things where I would write the guitar part and send it to Eilidh, and she would add drums on GarageBand. Some nice stuff happened like that, but it didn't have the right energy – the sort of thing I would write in my bedroom is really different to what we write when we are together. “We probably could have done the EP quicker, but it is quite difficult, when we don't live in the same city, to get together. We're also very disorganised as people, and the combination of the two means we can get distracted quite easily. It's quite a lot of work, putting out a record. There's a lot of decisions that need to be made, and we're just quite slow to make up our minds.” Rodgers makes no secret of her desire to see her bandmate and friend move to Glasgow so Sacred Paws can continue on a firmer footing. “I'm

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Interview: Chris McCall Photography: Neil Jarvie

just looking out for her,” she insists. “London is a struggle! I think we'd both be happier if she lived here.” Aggs, however, is content to keep on travelling. “We've always lived in different cities; but it's fun, as it means I get to hang out in Glasgow – and I love the place. It's great to be in a band with someone from there, especially at the beginning as I didn't know the city at all; it was like going on holiday when I went up to practice. Eilidh is constantly trying to get me to move to Glasgow, but I don't want to. Because I have other bands here, I'll always be tied to London. At the moment I'm happy to be based here, it's a bit stressful sometimes, but it seems to be working.” The upside to their separation is that Sacred Paws can rely on two support networks, not one, and can tap rich seams of advice from a variety of musicians and industry veterans. Rodgers, through her work at Monorail, is friendly with owner and venerable Pastels songwriter Stephen McRobbie – a man who knows more than most about releasing records independently. “He's been really supportive and on our side from the beginning,” she confirms. “Recently, I've found myself asking him for a lot of advice, and he's been great. He's very encouraging and he always champions the things he believes in. Everyone in the shop is really supportive; it's a good environment to work in and it makes me excited to be making music.” Aggs, meanwhile, continues to write and record with her three bands. While it's a creative workload others might struggle with, it's something she clearly thirves on. “I just enjoy playing with different people, with different sounds. There's no sort of hierarchy, I just have to divide my time.” And as the love for Sacred Paws continues to grow, she may find herself booking an increasing number of bus tickets to the Dear Green Place. Six Songs is released on 16 Mar via Rock Action. Playing Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 25 Mar; Mono, Glasgow, 26 Mar; and Langside Halls, Glasgow (as part of Counterflows Festival) on 5 Apr; sacredpaws.bandcamp.com

THE SKINNY

March 2015

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THE SKINNY

March 2015

New York and LA might have greater claims when it comes to punk rock significance, but having given the world Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Dischord Records, DC’s disaffected youth were evidently no slouches. Check in on the new generation with three days of hardcore from around the world, including the full-pelt menace of Fucked Up affiliates Career Suicide. Taking place in a 500-capacity church in the city’s Columbia Heights district, this all-ages weekender certainly promises to be an intimate affair compared to other festivals on this list, but that suits this decidedly DIY scene just fine. Three-day pass $50, two-day pass $62; damaged-city.com

21-27 May NOS PRIMAVERA SOUND

4-6 Jun OPEN’ER FESTIVAL

Any festival that has counted Daphni and Half Japanese among its main acts is surely aiming for something a little more niche than yer average pile of buzzbands and crowd-pulling veterans, but Villette Sonique has been managing that very trick since 2003. As you may have deduced, the emphasis is on the esoteric, from experimental noise to the gnarliest IDM. Sun Kil Moon, Battles and Ought lead the charge for 2015’s announcements, divided between ticketed and free open-air shows – in true Parisian fashion, Villette Sonique is mysterious, intellectual and unfathomably cool. Tickets €20-22; villettesonique.com

Credit: Richard Manning

Belle & Sebastian // Porto, Portugal

Hookworms // Paris, France

Starting out as a four-act rock’n’pop gig in the north of Belgium, Meerhart's Groezrock has spent the last twenty years mutating into one of the biggest and most hotly anticipated punk festivals in Europe. Reformed firebrands Refused are among the biggest draws, with socially conscious sing-alongs from the likes of Against Me!, but ultimately it’s two days of booze, circle pits and fun with some of the best bands the genre has to offer. Our tip? Don’t miss Philadelphia newcomers Beach Slang, whose heartfelt hooks promise to be a highlight on their first venture outside of the US. Weekend tickets €110, day tickets €70; groezrock.be

Can you really have too much of a good thing? Frankly, it’s about time we all stop propagating this fallacy, especially when everyone’s favourite hipster-bait gathering Primavera is prepared to do the sensible thing and duplicate itself in Porto. Fancy swooning to Caribou and Antony and the Johnsons while the Portuguese sun beats down? Of course you do. It’s also worth bearing in mind that all opportunities to see Patti Smith should, nay, must, be taken. See, this is exactly what we were talking about with all that ‘good things’ business earlier. Weekend ticket €90; nosprimaverasound.com

ATP ICELAND

Credit: Ross Gilmore

Words: Will Fitzpatrick

Meerhout, Belgium

Gdynia, Poland

The world needs innovators. Pland-based Open’er’s claim to that particular source of fame may not be the most glamorous in festival history, but it’s certainly one of the most useful – the introduction of the wristband system originated here, giving organisers good reason for a peacock-like strut. This year’s line-up veers from the wildly successful (Faithless, Mumford & Sons) to those straddling the popular/cult divide (Modest Mouse, Swans), so if you’re looking for a reason to visit Poland this year, this should definitely be on your list of pros. Weekend tickets €131-150, day tickets €49; opener.pl

2-4 Jul DOUR FESTIVAL

Keflavík, Iceland

MELT! FESTIVAL

Credit: Nick Bojdo

Sure, All Tomorrow’s Parties may have irked their UK audience with a series of disappointments over the last few years, but nobody told their Icelandic counterparts. Held, fascinatingly, at a former NATO airbase in Keflavík, just outside the nation’s capital, it’s the usual mixture of indie rock veterans and sprightly up’n’comers, drawn from the weirder and wilder elements of alternative music. Belle & Sebastian and Godspeed You! Black Emperor top the bill, although ATP has always been at its best when knocking you sideways with obscure weirdo acts, so remember to thoroughly check the furthest reaches of the programme. Weekend tickets £87-110; atpfestival.com Nils Frahm // Ferropolis, Germany

See theskinny.co.uk/festivals for the latest festival news and reviews from Scotland and beyond

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15-19 Jul

Dour, Hainaut, Belgium

15-19 Jul

If you’re gonna stage a festival anywhere, it may as well be in the grounds of an open-air museum of giant industrial equipment. Ferropolis is one such place, hosting one of the biggest electronic music events in Germany. Nils Frahm, Rødhåd and Erland Øye are all down to get the party going, with Alt-J waving hello to those of a more guitar-friendly disposition. Seriously though: 30-metrehigh machines! In a strip-mined desert! You, er, don’t get this at the Carling Weekend. Even if the line-up wasn’t killer, it’d be worth going for the spectacle alone. Weekend tickets €136; meltfestival.de

1-4 Jun

ICELAND AIRWAVES

OK, the name makes it look like a dubious proposition through English-fluent eyes, but closer inspection – aye, that old chestnut – reveals Dour to be the name of the Belgian municipality hosting this five-day (!) shindig. Starting out as an all-dayer with a ‘Frenchlanguage bands only’ policy, it’s grown impressively over 26 years. Having picked up the European Festival Award for best medium-sized festival in 2010, this year sees them continuing to go from strength to strength – there’s always room for a festival bill with names like Deerhoof, Jon Hopkins and Mercury winners Young Fathers. Weekend tickets €110-130, day tickets €50-60; dourfestival.be

4-8 Nov LE GUESS WHO?

Flaming Lips // Reykjavík, Iceland

Look, it was only supposed to be a one-time party in an aeroplane hangar. We didn’t know it’d still be around years later, or that Rolling Stone’s eternally-quoted David Fricke would be calling it “the hippest long weekend on the annual music-festival calendar.” Sixteen years on from its inception, Iceland Airwaves still gathers the world’s great and good for five days of music and endless after-parties. Ariel Pink and BC Camplight are among the first to be announced for this year’s shebang, with plenty more to come – plus the beautiful city of Reykjavík offers as much to explore as the hectic schedule. Weekend wristbands 19.900 kr; icelandairwaves.is

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Credit: Cerqueira Andréa

Washington DC, United States

1-2 May

19-22 Nov

Utrecht, Netherlands

Remember the time when indie rock was firmly buried underneath the mainstream? For better or worse, those days are long gone – nowadays it’s virtually impossible to research an amazing European city without discovering a ridiculously ace festival jam-packed with the stuff. Utrecht’s redoubtable Le Guess Who? usually takes place in November, so official line-up details may yet be some way off. Still, this year organisers are also handling a one-day event entitled One Night in Pandora, starring Pallbearer and garage rock titans Thee Oh Sees, so that should give you some idea of where their hearts lie. Unmissable? Just a tad. Full bill to be announced; One Day in Pandora tickets €29.50; leguesswho.nl

THE SKINNY

Credit: Gaelle Beri

Still trying to make sense of the vast array of festivals on offer around the globe this year? From punk fests to electro havens, allow The Skinny to guide you through ten of our more esoteric favourites.

VILLETTE SONIQUE

10-12 Apr GROEZROCK

DAMAGED CITY FEST

Credit: Angela Owens

International Festivals 2015

Erotic Explorers Intrigued by BDSM but unsure where to begin? Fret not, you kinky ragamuffin – Matthew Bobbu is here to enlighten us all on everything from munches to mantras, anal to zentai Illustration: Emily Tilzey

f you were introduced to BDSM recently, it could well have been through a really awful example of what kink can be. Fifty Shades of Grey, for example, is potentially one of the worst representations of kinky in existence. This begs the question – how can those intrigued by BDSM get involved without things getting fifty shades of rape-culture? Well, there are a few good places to start… The internet If you’re looking to explore the world of kink, Fetlife.com is an ideal springboard. Hidden from Google and anyone who doesn’t have an account, it’s a front-runner for the kink community. It contains multitudes of groups discussing interests from anal sex to zentai, with events listings, photos and writings on varied topics. It also has incredibly inclusive profile settings, allowing people to specify across the gender spectrum, and display all kinds of relationships with multiple people. If you’re interested in BDSM then there will be somewhere on Fetlife where you feel comfortable.

V is for Vagina Jessica Walsh discusses the costs of nudity-shaming and wonders why we can’t all just call a spade a... well, a vagina actually. This article features discussion of sexual abuse Illustration: Emily Tilzey

t was difficult for me to describe to the police officer, sat opposite me in my living room, how I was abused. There was a lot of hand gesturing, blushing and reference to ‘thingies’. At ten years old I still believed I had a ‘front bum’ and a ‘back bum’. I wasn’t entirely sure where one began and the other ended. I shuddered to think about what came out of each. Now that I am a mother, I intend to ensure my daughter knows what lies beneath her clothing and between her legs. Once, a few years before I’d made my disclosure, I spent the day off sick from school. I recall my grandparents asking what I had been up to on my day off, and to their horror, my uncensored seven year old self responding that I had learned how babies were made. I’d been watching an educational TV show aimed at teenagers. “The man puts his penis into the woman’s vagina,” I began, and went on in great detail, colourfully describing erections, ejaculation and a sketchy journey through fertilisation. I’m sure that in some way they were glad I had been watching educational telly, but my diatribe collided with their Catholic modesty without warning. As soon as I took a breath, the subject was changed. It was an uncomfortable topic. It was an inappropriate topic. Though this televisual learning left me remarkably educated, I disassociated it from myself. Penises and vaginas were alien concepts which belonged to strangers. Meanwhile I, my friends and my family were endowed with “front bums” and “willies”, because they were the words I’d been taught, directly and indirectly, by my nearest and dearest. Needless to say, a few years later, when the policewoman told me that what I had described was sexual abuse, I thought her to be mistaken. How could that be? Surely I’d need a vagina for that to be the case? I have grown accustomed to nudity-shaming. Society has taught me I have ‘private parts’ that need covering up; not merely because they are

March 2015

private, but because they are shameful and ugly. Until I was in my early twenties I had no idea what the inside of a vagina consisted of, let alone what my own vagina looked like. I still try to find a quiet corner in the gym changing rooms in order to spare other people the sight of my pound of flesh. In retrospect, I have no doubt in my mind that had I been brought up in a culture that spoke openly and frankly about my sexual organs and intimate body parts, I would not have been as vulnerable a target to my abuser. My husband has admitted that initially he felt perturbed at the thought of hearing small children describing or naming their sexual organs. “Isn’t it sexualising them; telling them more than they need to know? Making them grow up too fast?” His rhetoric played out loud. “Would you feel as perturbed if they were naming limbs? Their arms, or legs, or feet for example? Even metatarsals or ribs?” I quizzed. The answer, as expected, was an outright no. As a preventative, safeguarding, and empowering process, I intend to only use correct physiological terminology around my daughter, wherever possible. The words she hears now at six months old may not mean anything, but they will become familiar, normal, nothing to be ashamed of. I explain to her that I am changing her nappy and do not shy away from naming her vulva, perineum, buttocks or vagina. Why should I use any other words? Do I solely refer to her eyes as ‘peepers’ or her hands as ‘grabbers’? To imagine my daughter coyly pointing to her mouth and reporting a ‘gnasher-ache’ is preposterous, so why do the innuendos remain elsewhere? My daughter has a vagina just as much as she has a face, feet, lungs and a heart. It is hoped that in time, she not only feels comfortable having a vagina, but perhaps feels proud of hers in the same way she may take pride in any other part of herself.

Over a drink If you’ve explored online, chatted with interesting folks and discovered new things about yourself too, you may want to meet some fellow kinksters. Rather than meeting a virtual stranger in private, you should probably find a local munch – a social for kinky people, usually in a pub or cafe. Being casual events where people go to catch up with friends and meet new ones, you don’t have to worry about clothing or unusual customs. Most attendees are happy to help newbies. Some areas even have numerous munches – for example, the Manchester Munch, an under-35s event

DEVIANCE

(great for young ’uns new to kink), and Midweek Munch (various cities). If you’re willing to travel a bit, you will find a munch that suits you. The market Buying online cannot compare to feeling your toys before you use them. Luckily, there are events all around the country where you can buy sexy playthings, from whips and latex to vibrators and blindfolds. The Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar (BBB) is the UK’s biggest market event, though there are others too. Many offer demonstrations, and sometimes even places where you can play with your new toys. The club BDSM clubs are often regarded as sleazy venues full of creepers, but in reality there exist a wide variety of clubs, catering to all kinds of clientele. London’s Antichrist is one of the biggest events, host to debauchery of many flavours. Whether you want to dance, whip someone, get tied up, or dress sexy and chat, club nights can provide that in fine company and style. And finally – stay ‘SSC’ Most people you meet in the kink community will be respectful, following the mantra of ‘Safe, Sane and Consensual’. It’s important that preferences are negotiated and boundaries are respected. Unfortunately, however, both inside and outside the kink community, there will always be those looking to cater to their own interests at the expense of another person. So play safe, have fun… and maybe give those Mr. Grey figures a miss if you come across ‘em. fetlife.com

Lifestyle

Degree show, Grays, 2014

Ben Martin “M

y design background has heavily influen ced my art practice to date. I work within a variety of areas ranging from the home, human experience, cathartic work to the purely aesthetic. I have developed a reduced aesthetic and my outcomes are generally larger scale installation. I am currently investigating, playing and concentrating on simple forms whilst reacting to different raw materials. I look for clean lines, flat colours and generally use materials in their raw state – I tend to source them factory processed or ready made.

"The current work, using industrial fixings and rope, I consider to be drawing within a threedimensional environment. Anchoring rope through fixed eyelets in different locations on surrounding walls, floors and ceilings creating a continuous traffic of lines pulled taut by a heavy, chunky steel weight on either end is so satisfying and creates a very simple and clean finish. I try to make the work immersive and I want people to react and enter the pieces. This is something that kids get instantly, they have no fear. Adults however are always a bit trepidatious about getting too close to the ropes.

"I try to work under a series of strict ideas to keep the piece from being too busy: Function – Line – Space – Object – Weight – Tension. As the work has progressed, Balance has definitely worked its way onto the list. These parameters have helped me make decisions that otherwise would be quite difficult to make, but by putting the rules in place if something doesn't directly attach itself to them, then it's removed from the idea. The work is fleeting and changes every time I install it. I enjoy this side of it because no piece is ever the same and every new space has its own permissions and challenges."

SHOWCASE

Ben Martin graduated from Grays School of Art in 2014 with a BA Hons Fine Art Sculpture (First Class) Selected for RSA New Contemporaries Winner of SSW Fred Bushe Memorial Award Currently Graduate in Residence at Grays benjaminjamesmartin.tumblr.com

THE SKINNY

SWG3, 2014

March 2015

SHOWCASE

Edinburgh Fashion Week Words: Fern Logue

he Scottish fashion focus is often on the West Coast, but at the start of March, the capital will be giving Glasgow a run for its money. Edinburgh Fashion Week, running from 7-15 March, is part of This is Edinburgh, a campaign designed to bring families and shoppers into the city centre, to celebrate everything that the city has to offer. This new event on the fashion calendar focuses on style and shopping, championing retailers from across the city as well as emerging design talent. Edinburgh has seen several luxury retailers open their doors in recent years, from Burberry to Tommy Hilfiger, and the city is quickly becoming a hub for the sartorially-minded to indulge in high quality designer as well as independent, vintage and high-street shopping. Edinburgh Fashion Week will see a variety of fashion and shopping-related events taking over the city with the centre of the action being the indoor fashion hub at the Mound, opening for the first weekend of the event. During this opening weekend, the fashion hub will be a go-to for shoppers with pop-up shops and capsule stores from the likes of Cambridge Satchel Company, Stockbridge Boutique, West End favourite Sam Brown and Grassmarket-based Fabhatrix, who create unique, handmade millinery. The hub will also house an exhibition space, showcasing exclusives, previews and some of the best new talent from Edinburgh College of Art. Edinburgh Fashion Week will also offer a series of runwayshows, showing garments from retailers and designers across the city centre with shops teaming up to form ‘collectives’. The shows will provide something for fans of all styles, with the Princes Street collective showcasing high-street brands Gap, Next, River Island and Vans, and the West End Collective providing garments from independent boutiques Frontiers, Just G Boutique, Odyssey Boutique and the aforementioned Sam Brown. Those who are fans of emerging design talent may be interested in the ECA ‘Best of 2014’ show, which will be closing the launch weekend and will

feature pieces by four Edinburgh College of Art graduates. Nominee for Scottish Fashion Graduate of the year Kirsty Frew will show her collection Hate is Just a Lack of Imagination, inspired by the explorations of human and religious morality found in the writing of Graham Greene. Lingerie and fashion designer Briony Campbell-Ross takes a ‘cheeky' approach to the liberation of women through the constantly evolving styles of lingerie in her collection. The show will also include work by Sarah Innes, who produces sportswear-inspired pieces which question ideas of class and taste with their aesthetic that floats somewhere between luxury and sub-culture streetwear. Finally Briony Strange, who last year showed at LFW as part of the F.A.D. fashion futures award, will present a collection which has a graphic feel, taking its inspiration from everything from science to modern art and architecture. Tickets for the shows are free to reserve but are selling out quickly. If you fancy a bit of ‘frowing’ as well as a series of goodies, VIP tickets are also available priced at £10. For those that are looking to improve their fashion knowledge, or are after some styling tips and advice on the new season trends and how to dress for your specific body shape, there will be tutorials running, as well as in-store events at stores such as French Connection, LK Bennett, Gap, Covet, Godiva Boutique and Grassmarket Tartan, with styling advice from personal stylists and local bloggers. And an added bonus if your purse strings are a little tight – a whole host of stores across the city, including Walker Slater, will be offering exclusive discounts throughout the week. With minimum discounts of 20% it'll be a great week for spending that hard-earned cash. 7–8 Mar, the Mound and various other venues 11.30am–6pm thisisedinburgh.com/edinburghfashionweek Briony Ross

Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show Words: Morgan McTiernan

dinburgh Charity Fashion Show (ECFS 2015) is celebrating its fifteenth year, with this year's event being held in the city's Usher Hall on Saturday 14 March. The fashion show is run solely by university students, who plan to create an evening that combines fashion, art and entertainment – all in a bid to raise money and awareness for their chosen charities. Since its formation in 2000, the non-profit organisation has donated nearly a quarter of a million pounds to various charities. The aim of this year's event is to “Free the Elephant in the Room” and ECFS has partnered with two charities, Elephant Family and the Scottish Association for Mental Health. ECFS hopes to both raise awareness of mental health issues (one in four people are known to suffer from mental illness at some point in their lifetime) and to also publicise the plight of the Asian Elephant (where 90% of the species has thought to have been poached in this decade alone). Last year's event proved to be a huge success and was housed in the stunning National Museum of Scotland, one of Scotland's greatest art historical landmarks. This allowed ECFS to proclaim its theme of ‘This is Edinburgh'. ECFS partnered with the charity WaterAid, raising £20,000 for the

Preview

charity to provide access to safe water (and the necessary tools of sanitation and hygiene) to the poorest communities in 27 countries across Africa, Asia, and Central America. At last year's show models wore brands such as Joseph, Walker Slater, French Connection, Hawick and 21st Century Kilts, Diane Von Furstenberg, A.L.C, Mark Fast, Alice Temperley, and Walker Slater. This year's fashion show aims to be a platform for local brands and stores to showcase their work, with confirmed designers including Herman Brown, Those Were the Days Vintage, Fabhatrix (a luxury hat shop situated in Edinburgh's Old Town) and Rail, a pop-up shop and gallery that is a collaboration between designer Gigi Ettedgui and artist Oisin Gallagher. The renowned Armstrongs vintage store will also showcase a selection of their finest garments. Georgina Futong and Louisa Dearlove, the event's chairwomen, told us: “The Edinburgh Charity Fashion show is definitely a unique event in the student social calendar. The committee consists of over 60 students who contribute a variety of incredible artistic, creative and business talents. It has become an integral part of Edinburgh and is getting better every year. What

makes ECFS special is that it is a year-long campaign to raise money for both deserving and international causes, and showcases the best of student creativity.”

“ The literal and the metaphorical elephant needs to be freed from the darkroom that is ignorance and taboo.” She continues: “The whole year builds to the show itself, with a launch party, pop-up shop, and multiple photo-shoots, all of which have taken time and effort from the committee, who are now

FASHION

eagerly gearing up to what we believe will be a truly unforgettable evening.” With this in mind, we are sure that ECFS 2015 is set to be just as much a success as previous years. As the official partner PR agency Bell Pottinger said, “the literal and the metaphorical elephant needs to be freed from the darkroom that is ignorance and taboo,” and through fashion, ECFS aim to do just that. 100% of the proceeds of the event will go to the chosen charities and there is also a ticket to suit everybody's budget: tables cost £60 per person and fit 10 people, front row seats cost £35 and standard seats cost £25. There will also be a raffle and auction, with prize details for both being released one week before the show. The auction will be open online (via the ECFS site) for those who want to get their bids in early. Expect prizes to include holiday getaways, custom made suits, designer clothing, beauty products and booze – what's not to like?! 8.30pm, Sat 14 Mar Tickets are available via the Usher Hall website usherhall.co.uk edinburghcharityfashionshow.org

THE SKINNY

Glasgow School of Art Fashion Show 2015 Words: Leonie Wolters

Niamh Brannan

he world is a big place, and in sartorial terms this means it offers more than one way to tastefully cover one's bits. This must have been the exact thoughts of the Glasgow School of Art teachers when they decided to have BA Fashion and Textile students use world dress and textile traditions as a source of inspiration for the annual GSA fashion show. On the 3rd and 4th of March, the Vic will be host to a cosmopolitan clothing extravaganza, with shows happening each day at 7 and 9pm. Second year students will show selected work from the current academic year, while third years are designing pieces that take cues from a dazzling range of global cultural expressions: Russian constructivism, 1970s Marrakech, Korean Pojagi patchwork, narco-culture as encountered in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, bark paintings of the Congolese Mbuti tribe, the thick tent rope of the Bedouin, and Armenia's traditional fruits are only a selection of the stimulants that have been getting the students' creative juices flowing. “This theme requires considered and respectful research to ensure that the end results are innovative and creative enough not to rely on cheap mimicry,” says Jimmy Stephen-Cran, Head of Fashion and Textiles at the GSA. “The students have very much risen to this challenge.” When considering the used materials range from sweatshirt fabrics to unspun wool and found objects, and the techniques include everything from hand printing to domestic machine knitting, one

March 2015

Hangjun Jo

feels liable to agree with him. Even though they're busy completing their three outfits to be shown, embroidery students Noor-e-sehar Sajjad and Rochelle McGuinness have taken some time to discuss their design processes. Sajjad's womenswear collection takes its cues from both East and West Africa: “The Maasai tribe has beautiful bright coloured garments and the Wodaabe tribe brilliantly accentuates neutral colours with highlighted tones in their textiles. I was particularly drawn towards an image of an African woman wearing layers of vibrant beads around her neck.” From this striking picture, Sajjad's process has taken shape. “I managed to personalise the imagery through drawing, and translated it onto fabric by using various hand embroidery and fabric manipulation techniques.” Rather than take inspiration directly from garments, McGuinness's research has focused on the physical aspects of the Nunavik homeland of the Inuit. “Two key elements informed my capsule collection: the ombré effect of the magnificent skyline, and the sharp geometric angles and translucent nature of the ice that adorns the habitat of the Inuit.” Using techniques such as screen printing and the construction of three-dimensional areas, McGuinness has embodied these visual qualities into a capsule menswear collection. “The piece that reflects all the elements from which I took my inspiration is a transparent men's PVC jacket with ombré leather sleeves,” McGuinness

says, to illustrate how ethereal ideas have translated into a specific garment. “The sleeves depict the snow-filled Nunavik skyline and the PVC represents the ice-covered landscape. I styled the garment with a lace t-shirt which I hand-printed to give a frosted effect, which complements the geometric ice-inspired jacket.”

“ The sleeves depict the snow filled Nunavik skyline and the PVC represents the ice covered landscape” Sajjad's describes her favourite piece as a “black jacket with hand-stitched green fabric manipulation.” The immense work involved in making her collection becomes clear when she explains the details of the jacket's construction. “Every little piece is bonded, cut and carefully hand stitched using different coloured embroidery threads. I feel that the use of rigid cotton on black silk organza gives it a lovely feel and movement.” Creating outfits and organising the four shows

FASHION

Noor Sajid

has been a lengthy process, which has in and of itself had an effect on the nature of the work. “Initially, I intended to create a capsule collection aimed at women,” says McGuinness, “but during my fabric development process I felt that the angular monochromatic elements within my work were more suited to menswear.” When asked what project she'd like to embark upon if there were no practical limitations whatsoever, McGuinness deftly moves on to a model that is even more angular. “I'd clothe the art school's Macintosh building in my own three-dimensional fabric design throughout the restoration work, to be unveiled on completion.” It is to be hoped fashion's ability to make people look great will be extended to buildings in the not-too-distant future, and the Macintosh building seems like an appropriate candidate. Perhaps a spot of guerrilla knitting will do until then. In the meantime, the GSA fashion show promises to pay homage to a veritable plethora of cultures, as well as to the creative process of interpretation itself. The GSA Fashion Show 2015, GSA Student Association Building, 3 & 4 Mar at 7pm & 9pm, £10/£7 theartschool.co.uk

Preview

London Fashion Week From 70s flares to look-at-me 80s garish knits, we discuss the trends for the coming autumn/winter season emerging from the LFW A/W15 shows

DAKS

t is the season that, living in our climate, is much more a day-to-day reality than spring/summer dressing ever will be. As is usual in the A/W season, trends such as gothic romance and androgyny, as well as materials such as leather and fur, were seen throughout the shows. Awash with different trends, shapes and styles, this season saw designers' collections take a vast array of inspirations including cinema, music and romance, but with each designer celebrating and staying true to their own unique style. After studying the autumn/winter 2015 shows, they leave us asking not ‘What trends will you be following?' but ‘what decade will you be wearing?'

Sixties Who to watch: DAKS, Orla Kiely, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou God bless the 60s! The notorious decade that brought us the mini-skirt and Twiggy; it seems it will never truly go out style. Autumn/winter 2015 has revamped the decade, however, adding a recognisable, modern twist – think lucid, rich colours, micro hemlines and knee boots. At DAKS the look was utility-inspired with a distinct nod to the mod; from the make-up look (the nude lips to the heavy-lined eyes) to the 60sinspired baker boy caps. The collection featured bold prints, military-style elegant tailoring, belted woollen double-breasted coats, A-line skirts and patent brogues – all in an intense colour palette of red, black, white and grey. Glaswegian designer Jonathan Saunders' offering came in the form of psychedelic prints and colour blocking on garments with long sleeves, high necklines and A-line shapes typical of the

Words: Ailsa Mullins

Jonathan Saunders

Burberry

swinging-60s look. However, when these pieces were paired with long, skin-tight lace-up boots it gave the collection a much more intriguing and sexy feel overall. Orla Kiely played with the idea of librarian chic – with pussy bow and high-neck blouses, checked, collared dresses, mini-skirts and prim pinafores. The muted colour palette continued the 60s theme with custard yellow, peachy pink, beige, green and cream. Brown patent Mary Jane T-bar shoes added to the look. Following on from last season, the cocoon and belted mac are favoured 60s-style coat shapes. However, unlike the spring/summer offerings, normcore's simple neutral palette is taking a back seat to make way for bright prints – where bolder is better! Bonus point goes to Mary Katrantzou and her stunning studded pockets. Over-the-knee boots prove that they are here to stay. If you still haven't done so, this season is the time to invest in a pair (there is a style and shape for every taste and leg), be it long, black, classic or white peep-toe lace-ups.

Seventies Who to watch: Burberry, Topshop Unique, Roksanda Ilincic The 70s trend has been on the peripheries of many collections for a quite a few seasons now but in the A/W15 we see the 70s taking centre stage; from flares to fringing to folk embroidery and round sunglasses, the boho look has broken out the confines of spring/summer and has cemented itself as a clear season-spanning trend. Burberry and Roksanda Ilincic offered up an array of peasant dresses that would be perfect to carry

you from festival season into the wintery months. Paired, obviously, with fringed bags, boots, jackets – and possibly a signature Burberry poncho! At Burberry, designer Christopher Bailey was evidently feeling crafty. There were full-length fringed coats in brown and wine hues, mirrored embroidery and lace-adorned ponchos featuring in muted purple, navy, green and blue. Dresses were made from intricate paisley and folklore-like floral prints and were given lace or subtle cut-out details on the neckline. Even the brand's signature trench coat was given the 70s treatment! Accessories came in the form of (amazing) thighhigh suede boots which were appliqué with coloured leather patches, pom-pom bracelets and bucket bags with layers of fringing – all adding to the extremely retro feel to the show. The rise of the 70s-inspired turtle neck also makes no intention of slowing down anytime soon. The cosy neckline was spotted across shows and across garment types (dresses, jumpers and tops – you name it). Topshop Unique's sophisticated dandelion-floral-printed turtle necks were a particular favourite and were paired with blue highwaisted, wide flares or in dress form with a split to the thigh and knee-high leather boots. We saw other glimmers of the 70s look throughout with the colour combinations of brown, yellow and blue as well as in the fabric choice: a brown velvet jumpsuit and shaggy fur coats. Typical of the 70s colour palette, garments ranged from rich wine to plum along with subtle, gorgeous nudes and browns (we loved the orange with burgundy with rust at Roksanda Ilincic). As with the aforementioned 60s trend, there are jolts of bright colour details caught within surface patterns and furs.

JW Anderson David Koma

David Koma

Eighties Who to watch: Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Kane, JW Anderson A more surprising decade to crop up this season is the decade with the love of girl-boss dressing and the shoulder pad. If the flirtiness of the 60s or the floatiness of the 70s is just too soft for you, this is the runway inspiration that will get you noticed. Fast. Northern Irish designer JW Anderson's collection was crammed full of 80s-inspired pieces; from the you-can't-miss-me statement knit jumpers to the scarlet gathered, pointed boots and the geometric dangly earrings. There were circular beltbuckle details, oversized jumpers emblazoned with either large graphic strokes of bright yellow, red and black or kitschy animal motifs, emerald cord legging-trousers (we're not quite sure) were paired with balloon-sleeved striped lurex tops with asymmetric fastenings. We wouldn't expect anything less than a hint of 80s from grande dame of fashion Vivienne Westwood, whose models stalked down the runway with dramatic warrior-like red and black paint smeared across their faces, creating a strong, dramatic and sinister look. Chokers, safety pins and cuffs were staple accessories giving a (very large) nod to her punk roots. Westwood showed tigerprint outerwear, prom-like dresses and pieces in printed crushed velvet and (classic Westwood) tartan suits. JW Anderson and Westwood weren't the only ones to be bringing the 80s back; there were even flashes throughout Scottish designer Christopher Kane's collection, most notably an oversized coat in bright tangerine orange with black flocked lightning bolts zig-zagging across it. londonfashionweek.co.uk

Review

FASHION

THE SKINNY

Situated beneath everyone’s favourite beer garden The Peartree, Usher’s Bar has reopened after a brief hiatus of nearly 200 years.

Welcome to Andrew Usher’s est.1813 Edinburgh’s most original bar Situated beneath everyone's favourite beer garden at The Peartree, Ushers Bar is resurrecting a proud beer history after a brief hiatus of nearly 200 years.

We are proudly brewing onsite from our very own in-house microbrewery, these supply several of the 20 craft & cask taps on offer. Enjoy theses small batch, hand crafted original brews as a perfect accompaniment to our chefs beer inspired menu. Although you can't buy our beers anywhere else in the land you can take them home in one of our 64oz growlers. The menu has beer at heart & running through its veins, who could resist our take on Scotch eggs (soft yolk, Arran cheddar, baby pickled onions and home made beer mustard) or the Brewmasters Mixed Grill that at 15oz is nothing short of a carnivores delight.

If you needed any more convincing that we are Edinburgh's most original bar, our actual bar top and tables are made from the reclaimed timber from Granton Pier! The Ushers were at the forefront of Edinburgh's original golden age of brewing in the 1800's and now we're back! Andrew Usher II invented the worlds first original blended Whisky, also in the 1800's and was born and raised under our roof and now you can blend your own onsite, a worlds first for a bar!

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Andrew Usher and his son (also Andrew Usher) pioneered the art of whisky blending on this very premises back in 1853. In doing so they literally sparked the entire Scottish whisky industry (The Usher Hall is called that for a reason). Newly opened Usher’s Bar borrows the name from the family and has created, without doubt Edinburgh’s most original bar.

Cocktail Column The internet has been responsible for a whole host of great innovations, from huge databases of all the world's accumulated knowledge, to social media that allows you to contact your friends from anywhere in the world. Of course, it hasn't all been plain sailing – social mediawith means your friends look a lot of can natural The bar has a contemporary fromfrom anywhere, andphotos. those banks The of info split canyou see the wood used as you annoy filled to the(or brim with hoaxes and bad jokes. those just wanting a level setup givesaredinners and wild goosefrom chases have staygags well away the bar. quiet drink) the optionButtorubbish been around for hundreds of years, and it was a The menu has ancombination interesting feel, from our take on of the two which led to the creation the TomArran Collins cocktail. In 1874, baby the wind-up cheddar, pickled Scotch eggs (soft ofyolk, merchants of New York and Philadelphiato hit The on made beer mustard) onions and home a new Grill joke – gowhich into a bar,is and a patron that atell monster 15oz Brewmaster Mixed a ‘Tom Collins’ wasdelight. saying a whole host of mean carnivore’s things about them, and that he was in a bar just around the corner. The irate subject of the joke would head out to confront him, except – in a stunning twist – there was no Tom Collins. We said it was a popular joke, we didn't say it was funny. Eventually, bartenders grew tired, and the Tom Collins was born. When an individual stormed in demanding to see Tom, the barman would produce a spirit and lemon-based cocktail that would cool the situation down nicely. Heads and Tales' Colinton Collins brings the Collins right up-to-date, adding the elderflower As you can see liqueur above haveGinatomicro brewery fromwe Edinburgh the classic spirit of the 15 craft beer which supplies several and citrus blend, with a touch of sugar syrup taps time. things Also, where we available at any one to sweeten up.you It's thecan kind ofsee cocktail to savour, and the advances in modern technology experiences. Booking ahead, do our whisky blending meanyou that you enjoy it with one hand andwhisky wind tocanblend your own we can arrange for your friends on Twitter at the same time. eye of allupunder the watchful right on the premises,

our Master Blender. Custom bottle labels and a Themake Colinton Collins this a great gift idea for presentation box who enjoys a dram. anyone INGREDIENTS: 25ml Edinburgh Gin All in all we think Usher’s is well 25ml Edinburgh Gin Elderflower Liqueur worth a visit even if it’s only for an Usher’s IPA, 25ml Lemon Juice first brewed on site in 1824. Bring a couple of mates 15ml Sugar Syrup of our “growlers”. and get it served Soda toin topone up

Join the family at

ushersofedinburgh.co.uk

METHOD: Pour the Edinburgh Gin, Elderflower Liqueur, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a glass with ice. Stir and top with a dash of soda water. SERVING GLASS: Serve the Colinton Collins in a highball glass TO GARNISH: Lemon Twist Rutland Street, Edinburgh EH1 2AE

32b West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DD mail@ushersofedinburgh.co.uk 0131 662 1757

www.headsandtalesbar.com

THE SKINNY

We're All The Same On The Inside Our Food and Drink editor looks at the changing face(s) of your favourite venues, offers some top-notch interior design advice, and ponders a future where everywhere is a burger restaurant

odern life can be pretty confusing sometimes; with so much to do and so many little bits of information to keep track of, it's easy to get mixed up and end up locking yourself out of all your email addresses, or accidentally misremembering what words mean. As such, it's a good idea to look for visual cues and special details when creating that mental map of where all the bits of your life are at any one time. Which leads us on to coffee. A couple of weeks ago your friendly neighbourhood Food ed was out on his rounds, tutting at sandwiches and swaggering around with an overblown sense of self-importance, when he popped into an Edinburgh cafe for a coffee. Past the glass frontage and impressive typography outside, there was exposed brickwork on the walls, polished wooden benches, some rather snazzy light bulbs, and an equally snazzy parquet floor. Fast-forward to a week later, and yours truly is out and about again when he stops at a cafe for a coffee. Past the glass frontage and impressive typography outside, there was exposed brickwork on the walls, polished wooden benches, and HANG ON A MINUTE WE'VE JUST BEEN HERE. The walls, the glass, the hilariously underpowered but over-the-top light fittings – it was all eerily similar. It was only on looking directly at the ground (partly to make sure it wasn't melting beneath my feet) that the lack of patterned wooden loveliness made it clear that we were, in fact, somewhere else. Now this does sound like the set-up for a tubthumping rant, or the origin story for some kind of Death Row vs Bad Boy-style coffee rivalry, but it actually isn't. Both these cafes – Brew Lab and Cult Espresso, by the way – make great coffee, are run by switched-on folk who know what

March 2015

they're doing with an espresso tamper, and are interesting, nice places to be. But they are strikingly similar, and emblematic of one of the main conundrums faced by food lovers – as more and more venues make great coffee, or pour great beer, or cook great food, your choice often comes down to which venue's interior and vibe you like the best. So what do you do when all the best places are basically the same inside? When setting up a foodie venue in urban Scotland in 2015, it seems there are a few key styles to go for. There is the post-industrial, which comes in actual and pseudo varieties – that's the place with bare walls, dangling light fixtures, a super-simple colour scheme and enormous windows. There's the ‘country kitchen,' whose lovely pine counters and desire to house all its stock in baskets are noble, setting aside the obvious fact that we are neither in the country nor in someone's kitchen. Or perhaps you would care to try the canteen-inspired look, where 40 covers fit around three tables, all of which overlook a sweary open kitchen, and there's a three-hour wait for one of the two two-seater booths should you not want a side order of being repeatedly elbowed in the face by Joe Public with your dinner. In the world of bars, one of the key tropes is what might be dubbed the ‘Artist Formerly Known as Old Man's Pub.' It entails getting a few of the building's original features done up to their former glory, adding some more features around the edges that are convincing enough to maintain the restoration vibe, giving the place a nice matt coat of paint (an eggshell blue, or perhaps a washed-out emerald), and jet washing the interior to give it that ‘new old pub' smell and make all the tables super-shiny.

If that doesn't sound familiar, you'll certainly recognise the ‘neo-boho' cafe-bar that looks like the result of a furniture binge by Wes Anderson, with more cornicing and pattern flashes than you can shake an Ikea catalogue at. All the signs are penned in the style of a 19th-century calligrapher, and good luck reading them in the low light (if you were wondering where all the lampshades went earlier, here's your answer).

The walls, the glass, the hilariously underpowered but over-thetop light fittings – it was all eerily similar. In a sense it was always thus; this year's stripped-back wall was last year's style bar feature, painted head to toe in a colour from the very depths of the Pantone colour chart, and if you look hard enough you can still see the colonialstyle fans spinning in bars where the owners have long since realised that enormous spinning blades might not be the smartest thing to put in a busy, darkened room. Styles change, trends develop, and everyone bets on a new shade of matt emulsion as the colour of the moment – it's fun to watch, if occasionally slightly infuriating.

FOOD AND DRINK

Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Raj Dhunna

The real problem comes when the similarities between venues outweigh the differences, and there becomes very little to choose between them. Case in point – Glasgow city centre's almost comical love affair with the burger. Burger Meats Bun, Bread Meats Bread, Handmade Burger Company, Meat Bar, Jacker de Viande; all these venues do the same thing, in similar surroundings, literally within earshot of one another. And that's just one corner of one part of the city. There are a series of venues – some of which are good, some very good – that would be fine individually, but when put together create one powerful message: If you don't like red meat and modern interior design techniques, you can pretty much fuck off. It may be fine for now – people won't just stay in their homes chewing on their slippers, they'll have to go out to eat at some point – but it won't be ‘now' forever. When presented with a series of choices they don't want, some foodies will just disengage entirely, and then when the hip trend of the moment changes – as it has a funny habit of doing from time-to-time – it becomes that much harder to track those people down and convince them you were never that sure about red meat either. The trick to remember, food and drink proprietors of Scotland, is to use your design and style tropes carefully. We know your venues will sometimes look similar, or you might all simultaneously hit on the same idea for a kooky vessel to put your cocktails in (have watering cans been done yet?) Just make sure you don't take it too far… oh, and buy some proper bloody lightbulbs.

Lifestyle

Phagomania: Swedish Sandwich Cakes

Food News

Marking the finalé in our sandwich trilogy, we seek out the greatest sandwich concept in the world – the sandwich/cake hybrid known as the Smörgåstårta

In this month's Food News, beer faces off against wine, gin ploughs its own furrow, and the StAnza and Wee Dub festivals get in on the food action...

Words: Lewis MacDonald

Words: Peter Simpson We start this month with one of our favourite dilemmas: beer versus wine. The Drygate brewery in Glasgow is home to the latest battle between the two titans of by-the-glass alcoholic refreshment (take a hike cider, you blew it with all that blended fruity nonsense in the late 2000s). While the choice of venue might seem to give beer a bit of advantage, the format – a fourcourse dinner, each course paired with beer and wine, to be hyped up by experts in the field – means it should be a fair fight. May the best beverage win, we say. 4 Mar, 7.30pm; Drygate Brewery, 80 Drygate. £50, tickets from drygate.com If you prefer your food events to be a little less competitive and a little more enlightening, the Poetry Café for Breakfast series at the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews should be up your street. Expect enlightening talks on the impact of language and location on poets' work with contributions from some of the writers appearing elsewhere at the festival – it should be a cut above the standard breakfast table chatter, that's for sure. 6–8 Mar, 10am; Byre Theatre, St Andrews. £4.50, stanzapoetry.org Of course, it is possible to be enlightened while supping a lovely drink or two, as is the case at Summerhall's Botany and Mixology event. Hosted by on-site gin-makers Pickering's Gin, you'll learn the ins and outs of infusion as well as the basics of what goes with what when it comes to gin-based cocktails. There's also the chance to take the ‘tour' of the distillery's boutique operation – packed with Heath Robinson-style apparatus, it's a must for anyone with a spare room and an overactive imagination. 7 Mar, 7pm; Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh. £20, summerhall.co.uk Going back to festivals, Edinburgh's Wee Dub Festival returns for its fifth year this month, and besides all the music and DJs and general ‘partying' that all those other sections of the magazine set such great store by, there's also some food and drink happenings to investigate. Namely, the festival's Sunday Social at Hemma, with Jamaican fusion food and Jamaica-inspired cocktails on the menu, and the chance to embrace the Wee Dub vibe in the middle of the day. Lovely stuff. 7 Mar, 12–4pm; Hemma, Holyrood Rd.

o, straight for the hip, we are talking about the ultimate sandwich here. We're pushing the sandwich to its outer limits, but in this ‘Year Of The Sandwich,’ where can we go after last month's sandwich art? Well, not to a meaty, greasy, Americangoverned excess of cholesterol – as much as we love that kind of thing. No, we're off to Scandinavia – where else in the world would be quietly getting on with perfecting such a great construction as the sandwich cake? At this point I'd do my best Peter Kay impersonation by alternating the words ‘sandwich’ and ‘cake’ repeatedly with emphasised question marks.

Lifestyle

But unbeknownst to most readers, north-eastern countries such as Finland, Estonia and Sweden have a traditional masterpiece under their culinary belts in the form of the Smörgåstårta. Imagine rocking up to a wedding, anniversary or funeral to be greeted with a towering edible masterpiece in the form of multiple layers of light rye bread housing all sorts of meat, fish, pâté and salad, then plastered in mayonnaise and cream cheese and completed with a decorative spectacle of cucumber, radish, egg or whatever you like. Heck, why not cover it in kiwifruit and turn it into

a giant tortoise? As the images show, it's not like we haven't seen that one before. Where have these masterpieces been all our lives? We've been in the dark about these Scandinavian national treasures for too long, and let's face it, they probably make for a healthier party alternative to whatever it is you have in mind for your next shindig. So mark your next major occasion with a colossal tower of sandwich – you can thank us later. theskinny.co.uk/food/phagomania

And we end where we began this month, with lots of beer. But unlike earlier, where bread's liquid cousin had to compete for attention, The Great Scottish Beer Celebration brings some of the country's top breweries together under the roof of the Barras Art and Design Centre for a weekend of purely hop-based fun. Organised by Glasgow's Hippo Beers, with food from Fire in Babylon and Burger Meats Bun and beers from the likes of Top Out, Pilot, Stewart and Brewdog, the real winners in this one will be you lovely people. Congratulations, you've earned it. 13–14 Mar, various times; BAaD, Calton Entry, Glasgow; £7.50, hippobeers.co.uk theskinny.co.uk/food

FOOD AND DRINK

THE SKINNY

The Ultimate Burger Challenge

Do you have what it takes??

1 Burger, 45 Minutes

READY, SET, GO!

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Gig Highlights

ear readers, spring is here! We know this is true because Tesco has started selling puny bunches of half-dead daffs. And with spring comes the start of pre-festival gig circuits. The time of year bands shake off their winter podge and hope to wow you enough that, when lost in the haze of Glastonbury, you remember the bloke you saw in Sneaky's one time is worth showing to your pals. It's a happy time of year because there's just so much to choose from. The next four weeks will see heavyweights like Moz and Mr. Lionel Richie hit the stadiums, but don't be swayed – there's much more to March than that. Right then. Kicking off the month in fine style, you've got hardworking Perth lads GoodCopGreatGop and Glaswegian locals Ghost Alaska taking the stage at Bloc on 4 March for a night of angular, heartfelt alt-rock. They'll be competing for crowds with the young but hotly-tipped Neon Waltz, who'll be down the road at Nice 'N' Sleazy the same night, peddling their swooning psychedelia. Next we've got what will become known as A Weekend With Idlewild. The alternative-rock legends take over Glasgow's ABC for a double billing of shows, playing both Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March in honour of their long-awaited seventh album Everything Ever Written. Fresh from recording live sessions that chronicled their story so far with The Skinny last month,

we can promise unreservedly that you're in for an absolute treat. Will you go to both nights? Should you? Yes, but... on 7 March Glass Animals play Edinburgh's Electric Circus. The Oxford quartet had a mammoth 2014 with debut album Zaba and they're now embarking on a worldwide tour – if you're into sticky, seductive indie that's downright naughty, this is how you should spend your evening. 9 March sees Merrill Garbus bring the party at The Art School (Glasgow). If you haven't seen TuNe-YaRds before, do it: fresh from last year's album Nikki Nack, the band promise a night of colour, chaos and bone-shaking percussion – with Garbus' outrageously versatile vocals soaring above the melee. You'll have your shirt off and you'll be dancing on the tables before they've even played Bizness, probably. After all that high-octane hip shaking, try the enigmatic Franz Nicolay, who'll be lighting up 13th Note (Glasgow) on 15 March and visiting Dundee's Buskers the night before that. The multi-instrumentalist, formerly of The World/Inferno Friendship Society and The Hold Steady, is the king of prolific collaboration (he's worked with The Dresden Dolls, Frank Turner and many many more) and he'll be putting on a show with his eccentric solo material. It's straight back into saccharine pop with Liverpudlians All We Are, whose crowd will be

flying on a sugar high at Broadcast (Glasgow) on 17 March. All mellow funk and casual falsetto (remember last year's blogosphere hit Feel Safe?) the alt-indie trio are set to be a soothing comfort for this summer's hangovers. But stop, wait a minute. The same night, Leeds prog five-piece turned techno machine Vessels will be blowing down the doors at Nice 'N' Sleazy. Fresh from this month's incredible new album Dilate, the band's forged a gargantuan new sound, and by god, will their ice-cold electronic bangers make for a stormy, immersive ride. Major clash alert. On the 17th the only wrong choice is staying in; follow your heart. Up next in the diary, London indie crooner Sivu will no doubt charm with his super-smooth vocals and eerie day-of-reckoning imagery at Glasgow's Broadcast on 19 March. He'll be on stage at Sneaky Pete's (Edinburgh) the next night, too. Back in Glasgow on the 20th, the truly eclectic singer-songwriter (that label doesn't even begin to cover it) Kiran Leonard will be working his magic at the Glad Cafe. On 24 March, Warpaint grace the O2 Academy (Glasgow) with some killer new tracks in tow – as bassist Jenny Lee exclusively explained to The Skinny late last month. Their eponymous second album was our #1 favourite in 2014, and their shows are no less sensational. The LA four-piece are renowned for exploding and exploring their tracks live, promising a show that's effervescent

TuNe-YaRds

and ever-changing. Don't miss out on what'll be a hypnotic, magical set from a band truly at the top of their game. If you can't tell, we're a bit excited. The following night, 25 March, treasured twopiece Sacred Paws launch their UK tour in Sneaky Pete's following the drop of their debut EP Six Songs earlier in the month. Single Vince is leading the pack and it's an absolute gem; don't miss out on this one before they're way too big to play our favourite drinking venues. Glasgow/Perth four-piece We Came From Wolves are playing all over the bloody place in March, thanks to the excitement surrounding debut album Am I Useful?, which drops at the end of the month. If you like well-crafted rock songs with huge hooks (and who doesn't?), you'll be down the front when they kick off their tour at Electric Circus on the 25 March. The week-long excursion spans Glasgow, Dumfries, Inverness and Dundee, so we'll see you there – no excuses. Finally, gentle heartbreakers Broken Records bring all the emotions to Nice 'N' Sleazy (Glasgow) on Sunday 29 March. If you didn't catch them on the 26 March, kicking off their new night at Edinburgh's Summerhall with Garden of Elks and Fuzzy Star, no sweat. We've got you. What a month.

Do Not Miss Sleater-Kinney with Pins, O2 ABC, Glasgow, 25 Mar It's happening, it's really happening. After a painfully long hiatus Sleater-Kinney are giving all would-be comeback bands an absolute schooling. It's been ten years since last album The Woods, and the legendary riot women are back and brimming with pithy, acerbic mega-tunes. Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker and Janet Weiss dropped their new album No Cities To Love back in January, which, when played loud in the bedrooms of rapturous fans world-wide, proved to be a record even bolder, brighter and wholly more badass than anyone could have hoped. Then, when the trio played single A New Wave live on Letterman, all dreams were fully confirmed:

March 2015

Sleater-Kinney are back and stronger than ever, signature leg-kicks included. Now the band are on a mammoth tour, and the electrifying sight of the trio re-formed and reinvigorated should serve as a stern reminder to any band resting on their laurels: this is what you call a comeback. Plus, in a no-brainer booking move, support will come in the form of the mighty Mancunian four-piece Pins. The raucous ice queens' brand of gloomy, reverb-laden punk rock will prove the perfect opener to what promises to be an incendiary show. Really, truly, one not to miss. [Katie Hawthorne] Sleater-Kinney

MUSIC

Preview

Credit: Tom Manley

Kiran Leonard

Credit: Manox

Idlewild

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Words: Katie Hawthorne

Photo: Kat Gollock

Photo: Rita Azevedo

Deerhoof

Django Django

Deerhoof are worlds away from traditional understandings of pop music. rrrrr Drummer Greg Saunier is a joy to behold; operating with the grace and poise of a ballerina, whilst It's an odd choice for an opener. Mirror Monster, bobbing, weaving and feinting like the most nimble the phantasmic second track from Deerhoof's of boxers; constantly sucker punching before raimost recent album La Isla Bonita, begins with an ning down blows with speed and agility. He's the ethereal chorus of mournful guitar quivers before technically-minded counterpoint to Matsuzaki's a staggered, ambling breakbeat trips into the more visceral glee, conveyed through high-kicking fog of noise. Above it all, Satomi Matsuzaki sings poses and air-traffic-controller dance moves. sweetly about us all being “islands in recovery”. Somehow, they concoct a bizarre logic where Given that the band's current set is based so the squalling rush of Exit Only can fit seamstrongly on wracked garage and a simulacrum of lessly alongside There's That Grin's hypnotically RnB that's constantly on the verge of implosion, it's synthetic funk, while a perfect storm of off-piste unusual that they should introduce us to their guitars threaten immaculate harmony without immersively-oddball avant-party with a moment losing their grip on discordancy. Pop bands come of such fraught contemplation – but why should and go, fashions rise up and die. Meanwhile Deerhoof we expect anything else? As they have done repea- remain blissfully oblivious and fully plugged-in: so tedly over 20 years, they're inviting us to reframe many steps ahead of the game. [Will Fitzpatrick] what we already know, or at least to shift our perdeerhoof.net ceptions of what a band should be. Essentially, Stereo, Glasgow, 24 Feb

The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 15 Feb

rrrrr

djangodjango.co.uk

Trust Fund

their earnestness that will doubtless lend itself to lazy descriptors like ‘twee', but poke about rrrrr beneath the surface and you'll find something genuinely sincere and compelling. Anyone can “We love you, Glasgow,” deadpans Trust Fund's craft a scrappy lo-fi pop song, but it takes some Ellis Jones, after bassist Roxy Brennan mock-trips style to pull off this level of conspiratorial intiherself up with some wry, audience-baiting banter. macy, especially with one foot poised above the “And… I think you love us too.” He grins knowingly, distortion pedal. as though this is the most ridiculous thing he could A recent split with Joanna Gruesome makes possibly have said with a straight face – and any- comparisons inevitable, yet whereas the Cardiff one versed in performer etiquette might agree that quintet's identity is entirely split between the roar it is. But so sprightly and winsome is their take on of their records versus the ramshackle nature of punk-tickled indiepop that you'd struggle to find the live show, the stage enables Trust Fund to trananyone in Nice N Sleazy tonight who'd disagree. scend the fragility of their fine studio recordings They're at their most potent at full pelt (see to become something kaleidoscopically captivathe breezy Reading The Wrappers, where three ting. When Cut Me Out's grunge-flecked jangle voices alternate between joyful unison and break- gives way to a singalong moment, there's no doubt ing into sumptuous harmony), but for some reason that love is in the air. [Will Fitzpatrick] it's the quiet numbers like Q&A duet Idk that really trustfund.bandcamp.com cut to the core here. There's something about Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, 17 Feb

Photo: Ross Baynham

Photo: Elliott Hatherley

Django Django claim they have spent the past 18 months writing and recording the follow-up to their eponymous hit debut album; their attire tonight suggests they've been playing five-a-sides. The group have ditched their trademark matching t-shirts and take to the Liquid Room stage in a variety of early ‘90s polyester football shirts. Keyboard player Tommy Grace sports a slick West Germany away top, while singer Vincent Neff opts for a screamingly-loud Union Berlin strip that looks straight from the Kriss Akabusi school of fashion. The playfully bright clash of shirts reflects Django Django's sound; multiple interweaving rhythm patterns drive surf guitar melodies and club-sized synths, as beautifully illustrated in rousing opening song Hail Bop. “It's great to be

back in Edinburgh,” Neff tells the audience on several occasions. “We've finished our new album…” he continues. “About fucking time,” shouts back one punter. The group, now London-based, met as Edinburgh College of Art students and look delighted to be back in familiar territory and genuinely thrilled to be playing live again. Several new tracks from forthcoming album Born Under Saturn are premiered tonight, including the dancefloor-friendly First Light and a cosmic-sounding Reflections, which indicate that the Djangos have lost none of their ability to fuse disparate influences to great effect. Predictably, it's the older material that gets the biggest reaction, including an extended Skies Under Cairo, and a floor-shaking Default, but the evident enthusiasm of both crowd and band tonight suggests it won't be long before the new material is welcomed to the fold. [Chris McCall]

Prides / Flyte

hooks: Prides are a pop band. It's a sold-out show of surprisingly massive rrrrr proportions; The Liquid Room is blasted by dry ice and strobe as Prides slam down huge chorus after Glasgow continues to prove an unexpected incu- huge chorus to an eager, emotional crowd. The bator for radio-friendly synth and although Prides three-piece have a certain if-it-ain't-broke attimight be the most bearded of the crop they're no tude, but when your songwriting formula creates less pop. After signing to Island, changing moniker tracks as radio-ready and floor-filling as these, who and concreting their line-up, the trio look a band gives a toss? Latest single Higher Love receives with steely-eyed focus. a rapturous sing-along, and Out Of The Blue is a In Edinburgh, Londoners Flyte fill the support sugary, anthemic finish to a fiercely charismatic set. slot with nonchalant disco all dressed up The mandatory encore that follows (“We were in indie. Testing out fresh material on a rowdy having a piss break,” they giggle. “A tea break.”) Saturday night crowd is the act of a band secure in screws the lid on their poptastic formula. Recreatheir ability to start a party, and their confidence ting a mixtape they filmed last year, the band fly is well placed. It's a happily sweaty, boozy audience through an exuberant ten-minute mash-up covewhich welcomes Prides to the stage. Stewart Brock ring the popular music they love. Taylor Swift, and Callum Wiseman are now sharing piano/vocals Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas all get an airing, and, front-man duties, with Lewis Gardiner's larger-than- obviously, the crowd goes nuts. Wrapping up with life drumming filling out the sound. Artistically their own Messiah, Prides prove that they're aiming scruffy checkered shirts and a heavy dose of facial for the same heady heights. [Katie Hawthorne] hair keep the trio looking more rugged than their The Liquid Room, 7 Feb

pridesband.com

Review

Music MUSIC

THE SKINNY

Under the Influence: Warpaint’s Jenny Lee Lindberg From Aphex to Siouxsie, Warpaint’s bass player goes rummaging through the record bag and tells a potted history of her musical education 1.PiL – Theme [from Public Image: Firs t Edition, 1978] We all lived in this house in Los Angeles when we first started the band. It was Shannyn [Sossamon], Emily [Kokal], Theresa [Wayman] and myself. David Orlando, who became our drummer years later, lived in the garage. I’d go over to practise and he’d play me records. I didn’t realise how much I loved Jah Wobble’s bass playing; he’s also on my list of all-time greats. That was over 10 years ago and I’d already developed a style of playing by that point but I’d been told by a few people that I kind of reminded them of him – well, they called me Jen Wobble. I didn’t grow up listening to PiL or anything and wasn’t entirely familiar with his style before we lived in that space. I get the comparison now. When I was in high school I was a fan of the Pistols’ hits, but that was more to do with teenage rebellion. The Pistols were great, but PiL have the edge. 2. Tears for Fears – Pale Shelter [from The Hurting, 1983] This is a throwback to my youth. I heard it at the time, thought it was nice enough, but then I was reintroduced to Tears for Fears a lot later on. We had the big chains like Tower Records and Sam Goodie in Reno, then there was Recycled Records which sold vinyl, that’s still there. We’d cruise on over to the mall and I’d have a wish list of records I wanted for my birthday or Christmas. When I was younger than that my mom would buy me tape singles and I’d listen to the radio a lot. When I was little I was all about the radio. I remember this song from those days. 3. Sea and Cake – Bird and Flag [from The Fawn, 1997] This is another one our former drummer Davy introduced me to; he’s a DJ and has the most amazing collection. He pointed me towards Sea and Cake back when I was 19. To this day, that song never gets old, ever. I can and have listened to this over and over again on repeat. It’s just the prettiest song, and this is such a good record overall. Sea and Cake have been around for a long time and have a lot of albums; they’re kinda mellow but there’s some – I don’t want to say prog – but at times they can be a little mathy and kind of jazzy. Just beautiful. I haven’t seen them live. I only found out a couple of years ago while we were on tour that the drummer John McEntire also plays for Tortoise. I love ‘em both! Exciting trivia! 4. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Umbrella [from Tinderbox, 1986] One of my favourite voices of all time, guy or girl. I have a lot of respect for Siouxsie and she’s given me a lot of inspiration over the years. My sister and I used to listen to her a lot and just dance around. It’s all about the tone, there’s something about that band that’s pretty rare – something dark but also slightly poppy and accessible about their records. This is a song that my husband and I bonded over – we’d definitely heard it individually before, but one day we were

March 2015

Interview: Dave Kerr Photography: Marie Hazelwood

just playing the album and that song stopped us in our tracks… played it on repeat for the whole night. I understand why some people can hear a little Siouxsie in what we do. I mean, when we started the band, everybody had grown up differently and we were coming from completely different musical backgrounds. Everybody brings in what they like, and although we may have similar tastes we’re all still coming from somewhere different. Hopefully we’re never considered strictly derivative of any one thing. 5. Sylvester – I Need Somebody to Love Tonight [from Stars, 1979] That’s just a jam. Always, whenever I DJ, this goes on. Devendra Banhart played this for me and turned me onto it. It’s sort of disco… but not quite in the prime of disco; his era was the late 70s and early 80s. Sylvester’s not around anymore, sadly he died of complications from HIV/ AIDS in 1988. He left a lot of great records – most famously You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) – but there’s only a few of his songs I really love. This is his best in my opinion. It’s really funky, super dance-y, nice n’ long, and it just grooves.

“I understand why some people can hear a little Siouxsie in what we do” Jenny Lee Lindberg

6. Carly Simon – Why [from Soup for One OST, 1982] I love it. Bernard Edwards is one of my favourite bass players; that bass-line is super funky, there can’t be a better one. And of course this is written and produced by Nile Rodgers. It’s basically a Chic track with Carly Simon on vocals. I think she’s pretty amazing, but I’m not a huge fan. I’d always associated her with being kind of country, and a little soft pop – which is pretty – and had no idea she was capable of making music like this. It’s a totally different vocal style, on a whole new level. This song is incredible. 7. Art of Noise – Moments in Love [from Into Battle with the Art of Noise, 1983] Could listen to this on repeat forever and ever. It’s slightly nostalgic and melancholic but still really groovy. It doesn’t take me back to a specific memory but it does remind me of being a kid – there’s a warm fuzzy feeling that hits me when I hear this song. When I was growing up it was all about singles because that’s how my mom listened to music – she’d never buy the whole record. I guess that’s how I grew up. I’m just starting to get more into DJing and singles are pretty key to that. As of late, I’m listening to Sirius satellite radio, and there’s this channel

called 1st Wave that plays rarer new wave and dance songs – not just the hits. I’ve been using that to collect songs for my sets – the stuff that gets overlooked. Stuff like this. 8. Kraftwerk – Computer Love [from Computer Love, 1981] Loved this when I was a kid and love it more so now. My husband went to see them at their residency at the Tate Modern, but I missed out big time. They weren’t too huge in the states, but somehow, even growing up in Reno, Nevada, I got to hear them a little bit. This track is another that I’ve gotten to know more in recent years – one of those songs that was playing when I was getting to know my husband, on in the background while we were hanging out. 9. Aphex Twin – On [from On EP, 1993] Beautiful, it’s not played often enough. One of the places I’ve lived with Emily was this amazing house in Malibu, for like a year. There was a huge yard, big salt water pool – we had our own rehearsal space in one of the pool houses and I lived in a trailer at the end of the

MUSIC

property while she and John [Frusciante] lived in the main house. We used to put on Aphex at night. There was a big old deck and these speakers outside, and we would just dance in our underwear on the deck for hours. This was one of the songs we’d listen to over and over, all night. 10. Depeche Mode – Everything Counts [from 101, 1989] Live at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. That song has been on heavy rotation since before I’ve been in the band – the girls love this song as well. Almost every song on here I’ve either introduced to or shared with them, other than Aphex – Emily played me that for the first time. I’ve never seen Depeche Mode live, although I’ve seen Dave Gahan play a benefit gig with John and Josh [Klinghoffer] for MAPS – which is a music programme for addicts. As close to Depeche Mode as I ever got. Still rockin, he’s still got the moves. This version beats the original – it just comes alive with masses of people singing at the end. Warpaint play O2 ABC, Glasgow on 24 Mar warpaintwarpaint.com

Feature

Album of the Month

Courtney Barnett

Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit [Milk! Records, 23 Mar]

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She's a smart one, Courtney Barnett. Like all the best observational lyricists, she can summon – or at least suggest – profundity in the most banal of subject matter, whether house-hunting in grim satellite towns (Depreston) or simply falling in love with a stranger at the swimming baths (Aqua Profunda!). Elevator Operator finds its existentially-bored hero forced into explaining himself as he heads to the top of a building: “I'm not suicidal, just idling insignificantly / I come up here for perception and clarity / I like to imagine I'm playing Sim City ”. It's as touching as it is playful; the work of an artist captivated by the possibilities of the palette.

LoneLady

Playing Glasgow Art School on 2 Apr | courtneybarnett.com.au

Moon Duo

Hinterland [Warp Records, 23 Mar]

Shadow Of The Sun [Sacred Bones, 2 Mar]

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Writing his Manifesto of Futurism in 1909, Fillipo Tomasso Marinetti stated his desire to sing the virtues of railway stations, factories, bridges, and an unhealthy amount of smoke. Manchester native Julie Campbell's second album shows the aftermath of this idea, a tense and eclectic exploration from the margins of her post-industrial city, pooling inspiration from post-punk, 80s dance and funk. Hinterland sees her reaching for a richer, more playful sound this time, mashing cello stabs with Stevie Wonder-inflected bass in the title track and gradually ramping up Groove It Out from its percussive opening into a joyous, mesmerising six-minute techno thump with burbling synths. Flee! is a real outlier, a spare elegy pervaded by clanks and a sickly cello drone. “Remember,” she cries, but it's clear that the engines have long burnt out, a feeling only reinforced by the nervy Red Scrap, which finds Campbell reflecting on ghost trains and corrugated iron. The points of reference on Hinterland may be remnants now, but Campbell's still singing of them, reviving them in her own way. [Chris Ogden]

Still, all this detailed wordsmithery would mean little if Barnett didn't have the tunes to back it up, and this debut album is full to the brim with irresistible shuffles and subtle left turns. Her first two EPs drew comparisons to Stephen Malkmus and Jeffrey Lewis, but the execution is pure Lou Reed, especially in her deadpan speak-sing delivery and effortless capacity for psych-soaked, glorious choruses. Bathe in the internal rhymes and scattered themes of the ironicallytitled Pedestrian At Best, and let yourself be dazzled by such casual brilliance. This one's a keeper. [Will Fitzpatrick]

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Moon Duo take us back to the year 1972, a time where we find Roger Waters pummelling a gong in the ruins of the lost city of Pompeii. And while ‘72-era Floyd were at the point where their psychedelic tendencies in the studio were gradually turning into fleshed out prog epics on the stage (see A Saucerful of Secrets and Echoes), Shadow Of The Sun goes further (chronologically speaking) – all the way to 79AD in fact – embracing the subterranean volatility that caused Mount Vesuvius to erupt. Despite the feeling that anything could happen, the album eschews chaos for structure. The guitars are distorted and the grooves repetitive, but they still carry a sense of propulsion and adventure. The addition of drummer John Jeffery and mix-master Jonas Verwijnen has manifested itself in a danceable, fuzzy freak-out of a record that alternates between the hypnotic Night Beat and the – whisper it – almost poppy Slow Down Low. Anchored in the past, but a welcome evolution. [Thomas Ingham] Playing Live Festival, Glasgow on 3 May | moonduo.org

lonelady.co.uk

Lightning Bolt

Fantasy Empire [Thrill Jockey, 23 Mar]

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Noise rock cognoscenti of a volatile disposition might want to cover their eyes and ears: the unthinkable has happened. Yes, Lightning Bolt – that riff-happy, paradigm-shifting, four-legged-behemoth from Rhode Island – have finally cleaned up their sound in a ‘proper' studio. Admittedly, ‘cleaning up' is a relative matter. Despite the higher fidelity, Brian Gibson's scuzzified bass still rattles in the red, while Brian Chippendale flails psychotically at the drums like a nail gun at warp speed. Truthfully, Fantasy Empire is an ear-splitting delight – Over The River And Through The Wood retains all their signature moves, shuddering rampantly through hi-octane thrills before a moshworthy second half. Teeth-chattering headcharges like Horsepower provide the purest (and dumbest) moments of euphoria, but concerns should be most satisfyingly addressed by epic closer Snow White (& The 7 Dwarves Fans), as the two Brians repeatedly deconstruct and reinvent their roles – musically and texturally, individually and collectively – over eleven scintillating minutes. [Will Fitzpatrick] laserbeast.com

Swervedriver

I Wasn't Born to Lose You [Cherry Red, 2 Mar]

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Some 18 years after protracted label dramas and a frosty reception to underrated fourth album 99th Dream saw Swervedriver quietly withdraw from the race, I Wasn't Born to Lose You plays out like a promise kept from the resurgent Oxford quartet. Although the Swervies' revival has been an understated cause since they dipped a toe back onstage at Coachella in 2008, their first recorded output since is a sure-footed return at a gentler pace. The dense, propulsive grooves and inspired Stooges-like sax freakouts that characterised their 1993 classic Mezcal Head have been traded in for a certain lightness of touch, but like the familiar growl of an old Harley, the likes of Last Rites, Deep Wound and Red Queen Arms Race arrive with a tasteful measure of distortion. Yet it's the shimmering Everso that scales new heights – spacious, slower, but still very much dreamy and built for the open road (like all their best work), Adam Franklin's gift for penning hypnotic, widescreen rock'n'roll keeps on giving. [Dave Kerr]

Gang of Four

Purity Ring

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What Happens Next [Membran, 2 Mar]

Another Eternity [4AD, 2 Mar]

The departure of vocalist and arch-lyricist Jon King from Gang of Four in 2012 means many fans of the band will view What Happens Next with suspicion, regardless of its merits. Guitarist Andy Gill remains the only member from their Entertainment! post-punk glory days, and his decision to keep the band going – with the help of a variety of collaborators – is a brave one. But GOF were always keenly aware of the world changing around them, and the spirit of bringing in new faces has revitalised other bands. Alison Mosshart of The Kills deftly handles single Broken Talks, which has the right bass 'n' drums groove to showcase Gill's famous choppy style of playing. But other tracks feel like they have been cut from a Gill side project. The lo-fi piano electro of The Dying Rays, featuring German musician Herbert Grönemeyer, is only really Gang of Four in name only. This is nevertheless a well-produced collection of modern guitar music, which deserves to rise above the cynicism. [Chris McCall]

Album artwork can speak a thousand words. Take the sleeve to debut Shrines, an eerie, dark cartoon: girl embraces sheep, ghostly hands paw at floating lungs. It aptly established Purity Ring's haunting, doll-like sound (and its smiling body-horror lyricism). Conversely, Another Eternity's cover gleams: suspended girl ascends to a pink supernova, as shiny as its production. Corin Roddick's processed beats again sound mechanistic, drawing on hip-hop and electronica for an otherworldly synthesis. But where Shrines felt grounded, reeking with earthy unease, Another Eternity's more procedural compositions form a sugar-frosted fortress in the clouds. And it suffers for it: the moments of poetry (Sea Castle, Dust Hymn) are outshone by the bling and cloying autotune (Push Pull, Repetition) cutting off the blood supply. Megan James' vocals once mixed cute ‘n' creepy, sweetly singing about cutting us open; her newfound android pallor is no longer fairytale-weird, but a cold pop mannequin with no heartbeat. [George Sully]

gangoffour.co.uk

Playing Glasgow Art School on 28 Apr | purityringthing.com

Playing King Tut's, Glasgow on 19 May | swervedriver.com

of Montreal

Aureate Gloom [Polyvinyl, 2 Mar]

ofmontreal.net

Review

Errors

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The Most Important Place In The World [Chemikal Underground, 16 Mar]

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In the past, of Montreal have seen myriad reincarnations but Aureate Gloom isn't worlds apart from the shambolic, hedonistic disco of 2013's Lousy With Sylvianbriar. True to past form, this – their thirteenth album – was conceived by Kevin Barnes working solo, with the lines coloured in later by the rest of the band. His verbose, awkwardly confessional lyrics are covered in glitter glue and sunshine, but this is painful catharsis rather than joyful celebration. Like a hall of mirrors, it makes for a confusing, disorientating experience: initially exhilarating but ultimately exhausting. Some tracks, like the unexpectedly political Bassem Sabry (full of morbid, ironic handclaps) feel fresh and purposeful but others (with names far too long to list) feel deliberately impenetrable and perhaps only for the ears of the die-hards who've been there since 1996. Barnes' troubling, colourful imagination isn't always easy to follow, but by now of Montreal fans should know what to expect from the territory. [Katie Hawthorne]

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat

Lease of Life [Rock Action Records, 23 Mar]

It's twenty years since Arab Strap first enabled Aidan Moffat to demonstrate his talent for extracting sage poetry from the seediest of situations, providing a cracked mirror to the parochial cocaine jauntiness of London-centric Britpop. The band have long since disintegrated, but that pervy barfly eye still finds grace in decay, and this second collaboration with wandering muse Bill Wells is particularly reflective. With Moffat providing the narrative, it's easy to see this as a lyricist's record, but to do so would be a gross injustice to Wells. No mere foil, his jazz-inflected crescendos adroitly frame the boozey ranting of The Unseen Man's squalid flâneur; likewise the pounding tension of Lock Up Your Lambs feels thrillingly, dangerously volatile. Best are the moments of bruised tenderness, however: “I feel awkward, fat and grey / In any other mirror but you,” sighs the singer against simple piano chords, and in that moment, all this battered wisdom feels beautifully hard-earned. Just magnificent. [Will Fitzpatrick]

It can be all too easy to let an album's artwork inform your appreciation of the music in imaginary ways, like some kind of reverse Rorschach ink blot. Yet it's difficult to see the pot plant at the centre of Errors' fourth album and not feel that it's indicative of a slightly more natural approach from the Glaswegian trio. Lease of Life is hardly Errors picking up the acoustic guitars and panpipes – it's still very much an uplifting fusion of electro with indie rock sensibilities – but it certainly comes across as a more organic sound overall. The liberal use of vocals, something that has been slowly evolving with previous records, is certainly part of this, yet rather than burying them so deep within the mix that they become almost another instrument as before, Lease of Life is instead flush with straight-cut melodies to complement the shimmering 80s breeze of Slow Rotor, or the kinetic pulse of Genuflection. Errors' collective heart has always been evident, but on Lease of Life, it beats that little bit louder. [Darren Carle]

chemikal.co.uk

Playing Glasgow Art School on 11 Apr | weareerrors.com

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

Karin Park

Ghostpoet

Matthew E. White

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Apocalypse Pop [State of the Eye, 2 Mar] Karin Park, Norwegian queen of goth-pop, returns darker than ever – as the menacing title of new album Apocalypse Pop attests. But although Park proffers a lyrical dystopia, shiny production and handfuls of hookladen choruses render this one enjoyably kitsch apocalypse. It's satisfying to see the original version of Shine on the album, showcasing Park at her best. Creepy, calm-waters vocals drip over industrial beats, and, somewhere along the way, the track metamorphosises into a grand-scale, exuberant pop song. This ethos, proven successful, lays the foundations for Apocalypse Pop on the whole. Lead single Look What You've Done is freaky, yes, but defiantly radio friendly. Closer Hurricane sees Park team with Pandora Drive (aka Thomas Knights and Nick Sheldon) to create a shaded, nightmarish worldscape that's still more glitter ball than it is 28 Days Later. [Katie Hawthorne]

Shedding Skin [Play It Again Sam, 2 Mar] Having grown out of Some Say I So I Say Light's late night lounging with dim sum and dial tones, Ghostpoet is stepping outside. London-based rapper Obara Ejimiwe's third album is a more direct, day-lit account of urban anxieties than previous efforts. Despite this he relinquishes none of his idiosyncratic drawl, shuffling onto the street with pacy lead single Off Peak Dreams and the morose duet X Marks The Spot, Nadine Shah one of several guest vocalists. The risk Ejimiwe takes in trading out drowsy electronica for driving drumbeats and serrated guitars is that his conversational tales no longer have an aura of shadow. This rawness creeps into the final third with the over-sludgy Better Not Butter and the pat piano closer Nothing In The Way. All in all though, a satisfying evolution. [Chris Ogden] Playing Electric Circus, Edinburgh on 2 Apr | ghostpoet.co.uk

soundcloud.com/karin-park

Liturgy

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Dilate [Bias, 2 Mar]

Liturgy faced both praise and ridicule back in 2011 with the publicity surrounding Aesthetica, an LP that strengthened the quartet's hyper-intense fusion of black metal and math rock, but also gave way to band founder Hunter Hunt-Hendrix's dubious philosophy of ‘transcendental black metal’. Now billing themselves as a “21st century total work of art,” Liturgy return with a sonically muddled effort which tones down their Scandanavian influences in favour of an icier blueprint; Fanfare opens with a singular MIDI horn which mutates and multiplies, whereas Follow awkwardly juggles urgent tremolo-picked guitars and flat vocal chants – much more fit for purpose within the context of Survival, Hunt-Hendrix's other project. The album hits its stride with an impressive couplet (Quetzalcoatl and Father Vorizen, both of which build through strong riffs and blissful repetition), but the intensity and raw power of previous releases is oddly absent. There's a notable lack of peaks here – odd for a band who once specialised in perpetual climax. [Ross Watson]

Glasgow on 17 Mar | vesselsband.com

thrilljockey.com/thrill/Liturgy

The Monochrome Set

The injustices wrought by the fallout of the UK's post-punk explosion are infamous and many. While mavericks such as Wire and The Fall secured a loyal audience, and acts more easily quantifiable (The Cure, Killing Joke) found mainstream success, the left-field struggled to gain a lasting foothold. The Sound, arguably the scene's finest, are barely remembered and The Monochrome Set might have skulked quietly away years ago, their ornate chamber pop ever a cause for critical rather than commercial success. But here they are again with studio album number twelve. A showcase for the low key narratives of enigmatic leader Bid, Spaces Everywhere is an unhurried work, whose outward cheeriness tells only half the story. Nigh on impossible to dislike and, at its best (the pointed intimacies of A Little Village), a vibrant reminder that the young ‘uns don't know everything, money only makes you miserable and music – as ever – is its own reward. [Gary Kaill] emonochromeset.co.uk

The Cribs

The Ark Work [Thrill Jockey, 23 Mar]

Vessels take a turn for the colossal with third album Dilate. The Leeds five-piece swap their postrock trappings for a taste of techno, crafting an immaculately balanced monster of a record. If ever there was a case to do away with the shuffle button, this album is it: on Dilate, context is king. The tracks could seem disparate, from the frosted sheen and panning tick of Echo In to the club-ready, distant subwoofer of Glass Lake – but together they establish a frame of reference, setting you in precisely the right place for when those glacial vocals pierce through on As You Are.Brooding and swollen, Attica rattles into view. A hulking beast of a track, it feels as much a vision of a future world as the backdrop to dramatic industrial decay. Maybe it could even soundtrack a particularly dramatic Arctic episode from the National Geographic? However your imagination works, it's immeasurably vast. The whole album is. Surgical and metallic, this is a listening experience that demands submission then softens and folds as soon as you sink below the surface. Bask in Dilate, play it loud and in full. [Katie Hawthorne]

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With 50 Shades still filling cinemas, “let me sleep in your tent tonight” is far from the most salacious request you might hear this month, but posed between the feathery caress of lilting flutes and a cooing gospel choir on Fresh Blood's third track, it's emblematic of an attitude towards love and sexuality on Matthew E. White's sophomore release that's subversive by today's standards. White preaches love as salvation. Distilling classic soul, blues and rock stylings into a homely amalgam of southern sounds that's distinctly spiritual, Fresh Blood offers a doctrine-free sermon in the transcendent power of love – be it the ecstatic brass crescendo that follows White's assurance that “there's nothing healing like the human touch” on the opener, or the angelic strings that disperse the cloudy peels of feedback on Tranquility. An old-fashioned message and a vintage sound, Fresh Blood is nonetheless a revitalising listen. [Andrew Gordon] Playing Òran Mór, Glasgow on 14 Apr | matthewewhite.tumblr.com

Vessels

Spaces Everywhere [Tapete Records, 16 Mar]

Fresh Blood [Domino, 9 Mar]

For All My Sisters [Sonic Blew/Sony Red, 23 Mar]

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They've never shirked from the big, difficult issues in their lyrics but it felt like a real darkness had enveloped the post-Marr Cribs for their dense last album In the Belly of the Brazen Bull. Mercifully the Wakefield siblings have recovered a lightness of touch for latest offering For All My Sisters, and they wear it well. The tone is set early doors with the harmony-propelled salvo of Finally Free, Different Angle and Burning For No One, each track fitting snugly alongside the Jarmans' previous poppy high points. The band still sound like they listen to an awful lot of US college radio which means few stylistic variations across these 12 tracks and, in truth, beyond the jagged City Storms, the quality dips a little after the high bar set by a powerful opening. Simple Story at least offers something more delicate and lovelorn, but the wait for a 100% classic Cribs album frustratingly continues. [Stu Lewis] HMV Glasgow on 27 Mar www.thecribs.com

Modest Mouse

Heems

Strangers To Ourselves [Epic, 16 Mar]

Eat, Pray, Thug [Greedhead Music, 9 Mar]

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Eight years, eh? Modest Mouse finally return, unscathed – indeed, unMarred – by lineup changes and relocations, and the inclusion of some electronic bleeps'n'bloops aside, it sounds like they never went away. The pensive croak of the title track sounds wearier than previous efforts (“How often we become susceptible to regret,” laments Isaac Brock) but also relieved somehow, and as reintroductions go, it's pretty close to perfect. In fact, there's much to love throughout Strangers To Ourselves – the stellar grooves of drummer Jeremiah Green, Brock's unique way with words, that familiar knack for off-kilter melody (Lampshades On Fire is an earworm to rival 2004's mighty Float On)… It's a long time now since they swapped the anarchic sprawl of yesteryear for neatly elliptical pop songs, but The Ground Walks and Pups To Dust show the mastery of their craft in full effect: graceful, volatile and frantically brilliant. Despite some plodding missteps, Modest Mouse's welcome return manages to maintain an impressive stride. [Will Fitzpatrick]

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Known for his wily mix of social criticism with silly referential humour as part of defunct rap outfit Das Racist, Himanshu Suri manages to crack the odd joke on his debut solo effort but it's clear he has very little to smile about. Dealing with the aftermath of a messy break-up and his experience growing up amid the heightened racial paranoia of post-9/11 NYC, the laughs on Thug are the strained, bewildered sort to which one resorts in utterly hopeless situations. Departing from the disaffected ironic distance of his previous output, Thug marks a change in tone that Heems' slovenly vocal style is well suited to deliver, imbuing dour scenes from his past (“and from then on they called us all Osama”) with a wrenching sense of woe. His political material far outshines the comparatively blunt relationship post-mortems but both are buoyed by an idiosyncratic, Bollywoodinflected production which, along with Heems' affable character, shines throughout. [Andrew Gordon] twitter.com/himanshu

Playing T in the Park, Strathallan on 12 Jul | modestmouse.com

Evans the Death

The Go! Team

Expect Delays [Fortuna POP!, 2 Mar]

The Scene Between [Memphis Industries, 23 Mar]

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The classic indie pop juggernaut gathers pace. Evans the Death share lineage with a host of C86influenced acts, most of whom give the lie to the notion that the previous generation's methods were little more than jangle and fey posturing. Alongside the likes of Allo Darlin' and Desperate Journalist, the London-based four piece revisit with a curious eye and advanced chops. Whilst the original scene had its fair share of bandwagonjumpers, the new breed aim high. Plus, Evans the Death have a trump card and a half – a singer who can. Katherine Whitaker brings soul and gravitas to the likes of Enabler (Sonic Youth playing nice) and the fractured folk of Intrinsic Grey. Their barrelling riffola and way with a tune further define their headlong ambition, but it's Whitaker who centres the whole. Expect Delays is sensational; a beguiling enigma, as street-tough as it is sophisticated. [Gary Kaill] facebook.com/evansthedeath

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Ian Parton began The Go! Team as a home studio project – he recorded 2004 debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike in his parent's kitchen – and transformed it into a dazzling six-piece pop band, producing two further memorable albums along the way. Five years on, and Parton is back where he started; with the group's other members off pursuing various musical projects, he took the opportunity to retry the working practices that made The Go! Team stand out first time around. Title track The Scene Between is a perfect example of Parton's songwriting skill; a joyous, chaotic song with a childlike vocal breezing over grunge guitars, crashing live drums and a piano sample that will stick in your head for weeks. Unlike other previous GT releases, the samples are treated like instruments and never dominate. Despite the sometimes dense instrumentation, this remains sugar-sweet pop that some will find a bit sickly. But many will love the taste of its fizz. [Chris McCall]

The Top Five 1

2 3 4 5

Courtney Barnett

Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

LoneLady

Hinterland

Matthew E. White

Fresh Blood

Lightning Bolt Fantasy Empire

Errors

Lease of Life

thegoteam.co.uk

March 2015

RECORDS

Review

Trouble and Strife

Under the moniker WIFE, James Kelly released one of last year's most overlooked records. We caught up with the Cork native backstage in France to discuss his background in black metal, the need to keep progressing and his new home in LA

ames Kelly is sitting in a bright room in the west of France, freshly emptied champagne flute rested on the table in front of him. He's just finished playing an electrifying live set under his solo moniker WIFE in a dark and cavernous club in Rennes. The performance, he says, was intended to stare people down: to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Such was the level of its intensity, it must surely be considered a success. Sitting opposite him afterwards, it requires a double take to ensure this softly-spoken Corkman, with his neat hair and big blue eyes, is the same WIFE we just encountered on stage. His debut solo album, 2014's What's Between, is a monster. Treading a thrilling line between James Blake and Trent Reznor, it is dark and brooding. Kelly's vocals are but an element in the maelstrom of noise: shards of melody that occasionally penetrate the amorphous shadows. In the live show, his vocals are higher in the mix and more prominent. WIFE has been a “thing” for more than two years, but it's only recently that Kelly has felt comfortable as a singer. It's only recently that he's felt confident to project his voice. He comes from a metal background. He was the driving force behind the critically acclaimed black metal band Altar of Plagues, which disbanded in 2013. The band was described as “Ireland's most promising extreme metal band since Primordial.” It was celebrated for the “stark images of crumbling skyscrapers, dying and rotten urban structures, empty cracked worn down highways and desolate vast oceans.” Kelly simply got bored. “I felt like black metal was all repeating itself. I was stuck in a bubble and I had to get out of it,” he explains. “WIFE is still tonally dark. But at times, I'm aiming to go for something more elated… not so oppressive. So yes, tonally, I can personally draw a lot of comparisons. But Altar of Plagues was a very different thing that had a very different purpose. The difference is that Altar of Plagues is way more aggressive and bleak than WIFE is. WIFE has the capacity for a happier outlook.”

Feature

WIFE was born when Kelly relocated to London to study for a masters' degree in environmental science. He moved into a small East London flat with neighbours who weren't happy for him to thrash about on his guitar. So he just started making music on the laptop. “I've always been really into electronic music,” he says. “I started getting really back into it when dubstep first came out – when it was really interesting. That rejuvenated my interest and made me feel very strongly that I had something I could offer the world, that I had some good ideas. The early stuff was straight-up fucking obvious dubstep.” London's fingerprints exist all over What's Between. There are nods to the likes of Skream and Benga, dubstep's earliest innovators, but also more genre-bending artists such as the Bug and Burial… even Nicolas Jaar. Kelly admits that his early efforts at electronic music were based around the famed “imitate, assimilate, innovate” creative cycle, learning from the best before attempting to put his own mark on the genre. “I am trying to learn as I go and trying to adapt as many of the live band practices as I can,” he says. “The blessing and curse of electronic music is that sometimes you'd keep going and going, changing and changing. It gets to a point – and I've learned the hard way – where you find something you're really happy with and excited about, then spend too long noodling over an unimportant detail and lose your interest in it. Learning how to leave well alone, is what it is.” Those who monitor Kelly's progress on Twitter will have noticed, in recent weeks, nods to Jam City, who Kelly says “owns pop music right now,” and Carly Simon's Why, which he says he is “stuck on right now.” Okay, Jam City may fall slightly beyond most people's parameters of “pop music,” but it shows Kelly's leaning towards more accessible music. To be clear: WIFE's debut record is a challenging listen. It's complex and demanding. This reporter's notepad from that live show in

France screams, excitedly: ‘Sprawling,' ‘Nebulous,' ‘Thumping,’ ‘Dense.’ But those things considered, even, there are moments of pure beauty on What's Between, particularly on standout tracks Dans Ce and album closer Further Not Better. Kelly says he uses the term “pop music” loosely and is referring instead to a sense of levity and the traditional art of song writing.

“ I don't want to write throwaway beats that are just functional on the dance floor” James Kelly

“I just like songs,” he says, with a laugh. “I always say ‘pop' because it's an easy reference point. I just want to write songs that make people happy or sad, or whatever. I don't want to write throwaway beats that are just functional on the dance floor and nothing more. That's why I'm lucky I sing. At least the room knows that I'm real. Half the time, people don't know what else you're doing.” It appears that Kelly views WIFE as a much more “human” project than Altar of Plagues – of which he is still immensely proud. He wants to maintain the trajectory he's on, he loves the sound he's created and the tools he has used to create it, but like all the most interesting musicians, seems determined not to gather any moss. He has spoken in the past about the polishing of the record, on an island off the coast of England with Bobby Krlic of The Haxan Cloak, who lent his production skills to What's Between. The pair

MUSIC

Interview: Finbarr Bermingham Photography: Dominique Vrignaud

stocked up on bottles of whisky, got extremely drunk, and made some wonderful music. He says he would be keen to involve another member in WIFE in the future and that his experiences with Krlic shows what that can bring to the table. He continues: “It's in my nature to make something better and make it grow within itself. Altar of Plagues changed a lot, but it was still making total sense when you heard each record after the other. They all make sense as part of the same thing. With WIFE – this is why acts have side projects or new bands. As much as everyone has freedom within their musical endeavour, we all know the confines of it and what you want it to be. So yeah, I can see it changing and developing, but within the pop context. I would love to add another member in the future and see what we could do, without compromising the other sounds.” For now, Kelly is settling into a new home in Los Angeles, a move he made after becoming fed up with London rent and securing a US visa this year, having previously spent time there as a student. He says the album is of London – that's where he made it. But he's drawing inspiration from the Jekyll and Hyde nature of LA. “LA is cheap. It's inspiring. There's lots of cool stuff going on there. What I like about it is that it's really bright, shiny, sunny and happy – but it's also got this oppressive, heavy, dark, sketchy, dirty side to it, which inspires art and music. It's a city of two sides. It's got an energy to it that I really enjoy.” Having produced one of the most overlooked records of 2014 in the shape of What's Between, we're fascinated to see what new bent Kelly's new surrounds will have on the future of the WIFE project. What's Between is out now via Tri Angle whats-between.us

THE SKINNY

March 2015

Back on the Bloc With a dizzying array of talent lined up, the Bloc Weekend returns to Minehead in emphatic style this month Words: Ronan Martin Photography: Beth Chalmers

The Art School 20 Scott St.

G3 6PE

MAR

theartschool.co.uk

Preview

It's that time of year again when, with a spe-culative eye on the still distant summer months, we tentatively start to get into festival mode, and look for early opportunities to get a proper weekend fix away from the dull realities of daily life. Luckily, this month marks the return of the Bloc Weekend, which was one of the most enticing electronic music festivals the UK had to offer until a disastrous outing in London in 2012. That fateful year, when organisational chaos on the opening day led to cancellation of the whole event, thankfully proved to be a temporary setback for the concept, which returns with renewed gusto for 2015. With a commitment to re-establishing what was a particularly successful brand, Bloc this year return to their original home – the site of many a traditional British holiday, namely Butlins in Minehead. This original holiday camp setting arguably played a significant part in Bloc's initial appeal so we suspect the signs are positive for a return to success. Of course, the music on offer is our primary concern, which is why this year's lineup looks set to be the real key to the Bloc reboot. Heading up the bill are the likes of Jon Hopkins, who's risen to prominence as one of the UK's most esteemed producers in recent years, Jeff Mills, an immovable force in techno who continues to explore the genre's most otherworldly recesses, and Warp luminaries Autechre, who return to the festival having impressed in 2011. There is also a chance to revel in the kind of epic techno most associated with Berlin's infamous Housecat-free zone, Berghain – represented here by the ever-popular Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann, who will play a special back to back set. Even away from the main headliners – of which there are far too many to squeeze in here – quality shines throughout the entire bill, with the likes of L.I.E.S head honcho Ron Morelli on hand to showcase his boundless passion for raw and rustic sounds. There is also a place for Hamburg-based Helena Hauff, whose scintillating analogue style is exemplified in both her productions for Actress's Werk label and her increasingly hyped DJ sets. Three-deck maestro DJ Bone is also a welcome addition to the bill, presenting his Differ-Ent alias – which serves as a more

CLUBS

introspective complement to the rapid Detroit techno flair with which he has made his name. UK talent is scattered generously throughout the roster with Glaswegian headliner Jackmaster joined by the likes of Ben UFO – a more complete DJ you will struggle to find – and Paula Temple, whose blistering releases on R&S are matched by her brilliantly structured hybrid live/DJ sets. There is also acid royalty in the shape of the peerless Luke Vibert, the similarly squelchy Ed DMX and a troupe of reliable underground soldiers such as rave king Mark Archer, techno stalwart Jerome Hill, and Bloc's ever-faithful electro champion Ed Chamberlain. Pleasingly, there are also a number of particularly inspired picks on the line-up, broadening the scope of proceedings and bringing a true festival feel, where some less adventurous promoters might have stuck with strictly clubby material. Influential New Yorkers ESG come with a reputation for genre-melding brilliance, incorporating elements of punk, funk and soul into their work since their 70s heyday. Similarly hard to peg to any one style, vocalist Dean Blunt emphasises the weekender's dynamism. Last, and by no means least, the festival's individual showcases make it a bit easier to plan your coming and goings. The spot reserved for Edinburgh crew Substance makes us most happy, given the tireless work they have put in to the local scene over the years. Resident Gavin Richardson, no stranger to Bloc after serving up his pummelling take on techno at their boat party in 2012, is joined for the proceedings by fellow regulars Velocity Funk and Dommm, who is just as likely to serve up frenetic electro as he is to dip into ghetto house and bouncing techno. With countless more acts on offer across the weekend, and a setting that promotes an allinclusive approach to the weekend blowout in a way no central London complex possibly could, we're very happy to have Bloc back in business at their trusty seaside base. Pop us down for a gold chalet, please! Bloc Weekend takes place between 13-15 March, at Butlins in Minehead. At time of writing, there are still two berth and four berth chalets available via Bloc's website. blocweekend.com

THE SKINNY

Guest Selector: Clubbing Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie Highlights March's clubbing calendar puts the spring in our step courtesy of Sunil Sharpe, Anthony Naples and Roni Size

The Karlovak duo go halves on eight choice LPs ahead of the ninth instalment in their mesmerising KVK series

Words: Ronan Martin Illustration: Mouni Feddag

Credit: Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie

MR. TOPHAT (RUDOLF) PICKS:

ART ALFIE (OSCAR) PICKS:

Plastikman – Musik [Plus 8] This was the album that really drove me into the minimal techno scene. I remember when I heard the album for the first time, it totally blew me away, especially Plastique and Ethnik. The two 606s that are running along the bassline and melody made with the 303s is when minimalism is pretty much at its best. Ethnik is cool since it has a kind of long arrangement, it takes a while before the different parts go in; also very beautiful minimalism. A lot of feeling in this and, for me, it produces an image of a cold warehouse at some point in the 90s. I like it a lot!

Ebba Grön – 1978-1982 [Mistlur] This is classic Swedish punk rock. I bought this record when I was around ten years old and it's probably one of most influential experiences I've ever had, maybe more politically than music-wise. It has some sort of raw energy and urgency. I mean, I still like it. A lot of the band members have kept on doing great stuff. The drummer actually lived in the house next to mine in Midsommarkransen, a Stockholm suburb, and had some beef with a guy in my house. Their dogs didn't get along apparently. One track in particular, Staten & Kapitalet, is just as valid today as back then.

The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land [XL] Doc Martens, neon clothes and asking, “Where is the rave?” That was my motto during the time I listened to this album. For me, the golden nuggets here are Breathe, Smack My Bitch Up and Firestarter. So much energy, quite aggressive and typical of The Prodigy's ethos.

The Roots – Illadelph Halflife [Geffen] I loved this album so much at the time, I actually bought it twice. I traded my first copy for a Shorty's hoodie with a dude in my school. I missed it so much I had to buy it again. The sounds are dark and warm and all the drums are, of course, super funky. I recommend checking out the whole album.

Jan Johansson – Jazz På Svenska [Megafon] I listened a lot to this album when I was around ten years old – the name literally translates as Jazz in Swedish. As you'd expect, it's very typical of Swedish jazz from the 60s. It's melancholic to start with and it only gets more melancholic once you know what happened to Jan Johansson. He died in a traffic accident in 1968 at the age of 37, leaving two small boys and a family behind. This is his most famous album and a lot of the tracks are actually different Swedish folk songs, re-created in a jazz arrangement.

Lost Boyz – Legal Drug Money [Uptown] I wanted to have a record from the 90s New York hip-hop scene because this has to be my fave time and place for hip-hop. It showed once again that expression and bounce often goes a lot further than slick, technical musicianship. I love the grit, the bounce and the attitude in these tracks. I was thinking of picking Wu Tang's first album, Enter the Wu-Tang, but I choose this in the end. I used to listen to these tracks into my twenties and I feel that it's a little bit overlooked. I have to highlight two tracks here: 1, 2, 3 Thousand Problems, and Reneé.

The Doors – The Doors [Elektra] This is a nostalgic album for me, I remember when I was small and my family listened to this album when we drove around with the car during the summers at our countryside home in the north of Sweden. We'd sit in the car and just look across all the pines, fir trees and the big forests that never end. You could really feel the mysticism. Nice psychedelic, organic and a lot of ‘troll' vibes.

e kick off in Glasgow where Headstrong have fierce techno on the cards, taking over the Assembly Hall of the Art School on the first Friday of the month. Samir Alikhanizadeh AKA Happa announced his presence in 2012, unleashing a dark hybrid of dubstep and techno tracks produced when he was just 14. From then he has had releases on Church and Bleep, alongside The Black Dog, has built his rep as a DJ and, as of last year, co-runs PT/5 Records. We suspect the future is bright! Joining him is Dublin maestro Sunil Sharpe, whose relentless flow is everything you want from techno. The line-up is rounded off by Perth-based duo Clouds, who've been gaining momentum in recent years with releases on Turbo, Blood Music and Glasgow's legendary Soma label (Fri 6 Mar, £8/10). If you're looking for a slightly more sedate, but equally worthwhile outing on Friday 6 Mar, Numbers have a cracker lined up: New York's Anthony Naples at the Sub Club. With releases on the likes of Mister Saturday Night, The Trilogy Tapes and his own Proibito outlet, Naples has shown considerable range and proficiency, from hazy deep house to more coarse techno-inspired sounds. He's joined by Numbers' own Spencer, a DJ whose appeal has always been in his cultivated selection, exploring a similarly dizzying range of sounds to buddy Jackmaster and perhaps more often reflecting Numbers' underground roots (£10). Our final Glasgow shout takes us back to Jamaica St, courtesy of the Red Bull Music Academy as part of their UK Spring tour. For their visit to Subculture they've invited one of Detroit techno's founding fathers along to share his 30 plus years of experience behind the turntables: Derrick May was among the first exponents of the high tech soul which made the Motor City widely synonymous with techno. Also on the bill are Gerardo Delgado and Quinn Whalley AKA Paranoid London, who unleashed the sensual acid killer Paris Dub in

2012. As always trusted residents, the legendary Harri & Domenic, will be on hand to support (Sat 28 Mar, Sub Club, from £15). Across the M8, Edinburgh's Nightvision continues to expand: this month they welcome jungle and drum n bass royalty in the form of Roni Size to La Belle Angele. The night celebrates 18 years of Size's contribution to the UK scene, during which he won the Mercury Prize in 1997 for his seminal New Forms album with group Reprazent. Incredibly influential in his field, the Bristol native co-founded the Full Cycle label in the mid 90s and has continued to contribute significantly to a scene he helped build. He's joined by S.P.Y, Eno and MCs Youngman and BZ (Fri 20 Mar, £15). The following evening the Nightvision team offer up something completely different when they host in-demand Lithuanian producer Marijus Adomaitis AKA Ten Walls, a man with a clear knack for producing haunting melodies within the framework of deep dancefloor-focused tracks. His 2014 smash Walking With Dinosaurs reached number 6 in the UK singles chart – no mean feat – and reigned supreme in Ibiza last year. He's joined on the bill by Northern Irish cosmic disco whizz Space Dimension Controller – Jack Hamill laces his futuristic sounds with generous helpings of sleek funk, earning him releases on the likes of Clone's Royal Oak and the mighty R&S. Local Moda Black signing Theo Kottis completes a strong and varied line-up (Sat 21 Mar, The Liquid Room, £17.50). Our final pick takes us to The Tunnels in Aberdeen for a collaboration between Bigfoot's Tea Party and Minival. Detroit brothers Lawrence and Lenny Burden AKA Octave One appear live, offering a soulful and full-bodied take on techno which is both exhilaratingly rhythmic and, at times, emotionally charged. Providing DJ support is Chilean artist Dinky, with her remarkably openpolicy sets spanning house, techno, disco and soul – check out 2009's brilliant Fact Mix for evidence of her quality (Sat 28 Mar, from £13.50).

Killa B and Mika – Kya Bamba Mix CD #1 I never really knew anything about this mixtape until recently, just now actually. I just had a burned CD that I got from my friend Ronny. Me and my friends used to listen to that tape over and over, at the party, at the after-party and the morning after. Couldn't find the whole thing online unfortunately. KVK900 is out 9 Mar on Karlovak Records karlovak.com

March 2015

CLUBS

Feature

Cultural Calendar A guide to our picks of the CCA programme Words: Will Fitzpatrick

ree time: it's a drag, isn't it? All those dauntingly empty hours to fill, the overwhelming vastness of the cultural landscape to wade through… it's enough to send a poor soul spiralling into an existential black hole. Worried that you too will be found on the precipice, releasing a primal howl of ‘THERE'S NOTHING TO DO' into the unforgiving ether? Fear not – your dear ol' buddy The Skinny is here to help, and as usual, Glasgow CCA has a pretty phenomenal programme of events on the horizon. These carefully selected highlights should ensure your schedule remains id-satisfyingly full.

Episode 7

Wed 15 — Sun 19 Apr 2015 Tramway, Glasgow

A 5-DAY EXPLORATION OF CARE AS A FORM OF STRUGGLE AND RESISTANCE, WITH COMMUNITIES WHO EMBODY IT.

TICKETS: THU, FRI & SAT £4 / SUN £6 SOME EVENTS FREE

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First up is the unmissable GLITCH (19-28 Mar), a QTIPOC film festival – that's queer, trans, intersex and people of colour, for those of you not paying attention at the back there. Run by Digital Desperados, a local group focussed on free filmmaking courses for women of colour, entry is resolutely free of charge, with screenings, Q&As and workshops all high on the agenda. Opening night sees a facinating array of shorts before an acoustic performance from Toronto's Vivek Shraya, who'll also be reading from his book She Of The Mountains. Our additional picks include the documentary Audre Lord: The Berlin Years, 198492 and Hong Kong romance Happy Together, but that's merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of remarkable movies on offer here.

On 21 Mar, the good folks from Randolph's Leap present the third in their series of I Can't Dance To This Music all-dayers. Indiepoppers, get excited: the Fortuna POP! label is particularly well-represented, with Edinburgh boydone-good Withered Hand topping the bill alongside the day-glo vivaciousness of East London's Tigercats. Poet and comedian Andrew Learmonth also heads a list of stand-ups scheduled to perform, so ensure your chuckle muscles

are suitably warmed up. Meanwhile, the Goethe-Institut and Alliance Française continue their Franco-German Film Series with Ramon Zürcher's debut feature The Strange Little Cat (31 Mar). Described by the ever-quotable Roger Ebert as “like reading a short story by Chekhov or Ionesco, that was translated by Kafka and staged by Bertolt Brecht,” it's a tale of the mundane and the familial, with allusions to the darker details lying underneath: manna from heaven

for fans of esoteric European cinema. Further ahead, the Counterflows festival returns to Glasgow, providing a spotlight on what's loosely termed ‘experimental' music. If word association has got you fretting about unlistenable free jazz noise, then broaden those horizons, daddio: as one of the host venues, the CCA brings you some of the brightest brushstrokes from a remarkably vivid palette. Rio's raw power trio Chinese Cookie Poets bring their serrated blasts of math-tinged, post-punk ferociousness to town (2 Apr), with German multimedia artist Florian Hecker (3 Apr) not far behind – his thoroughly immersive work deals in electroacoustic pulses, influenced heavily by post-war modernity. There's also a collaborative residency between two of electronic music's most forward-thinking practitioners, Berlin's Andrea Neumann and local boy Adam Campbell (28 Mar-5 Apr), plus talks, film screenings, DJ nights

and more. Not too shabby, all told. Like art? Love t'wireless? This next one's for you. A combination of temporary FM radio station and art installation, Radiophrenia (13-20 Apr) brings together a plethora of bold ideas that challenge the traditions of the medium, transmitted via both pre-recorded and live broadcasts in front of a theatre audience. Much of the content was selected through an open call for programming proposals, with the intention of providing a fascinating alternative to the world of mainstream radio. This may not resolve your concerns about the nature of existence, but it'll certainly be bloody brilliant. cca-glasgow.com

Review

CLUBS

THE SKINNY

Ballet of the Palette

GoMA

rrrrr Artists from last year's Picture Show have put together an exhibition of paintings selected from the Glasgow collections. It's a clever crossing of the kind of historical painting shows that might be expected in the Burrell Collection but involving the painters working and living in Glasgow now. But this is accessible work. “I did one like that,” lies a small child as she looks at the Paddy Japaljarri Sims. It's the largest painting in the show, going almost floor to ceiling, and its whirling dots are abstract and refer in their texture and design to Aboriginal woven fabrics. However, there's a more honest and interesting line of influence between Japaljarri's work and Hannaline Visnes who selected the work and whose work in the previous Picture Show hung in the same spot. Accompanying the works on the wall is a video that explains the restoration work that came before the show. It also acts as a workaround to feature a painting that was chosen by Carol Rhodes, though not in an appropriate condition

to feature in the show, Gorbals Tower (1919) by an unknown artist. The dirt that has accidentally got mixed in with the varnish which has become discoloured, and its canvas which has warped and bulged over time, suggests it was the work of a skilled amateur without the proper materials. Its neat incorporation avoids the potential indirect classism that could rule out older works by non-professionals, that have been varnished or stretched incorrectly. This show is almost the opposite of the Raoul De Keyser Show at Inverleith House now. Showing the practice of an older painter, Inverleith showcase his oeuvre which is remarkably similar to the kind of painting that is fashionable now – two or so colours, painterly application of paint, abstraction tidily arranged, but still foppishly sloppy. In Ballet of the Palette, there's a digging into the Glasgow collections and an unabashed celebration of painting that – as Hanneline Visnes describes Birds and Tree (1969) by William Crosbie - “really looks of its time.” [Adam Benmakhlouf] GOMA, until 24 Jun, free

Dictatorship and Democracy

Goethe-Institut

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What is art? It is leaving beauty and pleasure behind and recognising the entity as part of everyday life. The analysis is Leo Tolstoy’s and one wonders whether Russia’s exile could imagine anything creative about the treachery engulfing Europe. Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century at Glasgow’s Goethe-Institut offers one hundred and ninety photographs depicting a dramatic story of tyranny. Three academics lead the exhibition with Professor Dr Ulrich Mahlert curating the content beneath twenty-six perspex frames: from photography and propaganda posters to handwritten letters from Stalin, all the images used are copies of the originals yet their seamless, grey design subtly reflects the first industrial war, the barbaric, silent purges surrounding 1939 and the suppressed prologues to more than twenty-six million deaths. The frightening thing about this otherwise straight show is that persecution of ethnic minorities manages to survive. That’s why it’s difficult

to rationalise whether humanity’s self-serving violence can be portrayed as art. However, perhaps in its capactity to invoke the emotion of the content’s creator at the moment the image is captured, it can indeed be thought of as art. And from murder to extortion and backdoor deals with the enemy, the Goethe Institut’s historical account of dictators hiding behind democracy is not only mentally stimulating but includes sharp, well informed commentaries chronologically portraying the formation and demise of different locations throughout the continent. Along with partners Institut für Zeitgeschichte (Institute of Contemporary History) et al, and notably Professor Andrew I. Port of Wayne State University who translated the exhibition from German to English, this modest exhibition is an intelligent reminder of the atrocities felt by Slavs, Jews, Poles, French and many more before the creation of the European Union. With text beneath the pictures citing “demilitarization, decentralisation, denazification and democratization” it sends chills down spines to realise all of the above continue to exist. [Franchesca Hashemi]

Comicbooks, Perms, A-ha Across Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh, there are several major new exhibitions opening throughout March, as well as accompanying conversation and discussion events Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

his month in art starts on Friday 6 March, when three new exhibits open up across Edinburgh and Dundee. Let's start with Dovecot, who will be exhibiting work by Magne Furuholmen. Enjoying a double life, Furuholmen is a respected visual artist, but as ‘Mags’ he is also one-third of the band A-ha. For the exhibition, Furuholmen has had one of a series of his woodcuts turned into a tapestry at the Dovecot Studios, titled Glass Onion after the Beatles song. This in turn forms the centrepiece: “a new body of work for the exhibition using music, film, printmaking and large scale ceramic.” Open from 6 March, there's an In Conversation event on 5 March between Furuholmen and radio broadcaster Gaby Hartel. Also opening on 6 March is the group show Possibilities of the Object, in Edinburgh's Fruitmarket Gallery. Here visiting curator Paulo Venancio Filho looks at the developments in Brazilian art since the 1950s, and the building of Brazil's reputation for producing experimental contemporary art. Established artists from Brazil like Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark will be shown alongside some of their less well-known contemporaries, and the latest generation of Brazilian artists. On Friday 6 March, there is a curator's talk by Paulo Venancio Filho in conversation with

March 2015

Professor Briony Fer of UCL. In Dundee, again from 6 March, there will be an exhibition of the work of Hugo Canoilas. An extensive show, Someone a Long Time ago, Now will include paintings and projected works that collage drawings, writings and photographs. The artist has also set up “an exhibition within an exhibition” in the form of a comic book by Francisco Sousa Lobo “that mirrors and examines” Canoilas' practice. There will be a performance by Hugo Canoilas on Thursday 5 March at 6pm. He will be appearing as “his alter ego Jeffrey, a 60-yearold hippie.” From 14 March, in Edinburgh again, Ross Birrell and David Harding will be showing their work in the Talbot Rice gallery. Titled Where Language Ends, Birrell and Harding use “spectacular coloured window installations, sculptural objects, prints and multimedia works” in which they make “poignant references to the voices of those in exile – poets and musicians writing from the margins.” Music comes into the works as the form of a “redemptive force; a force never far from brutality and violence.” Birrell and Harding look to celebrate “the importance of symbolic labour and the possibility of transcending a purely material reality.”

On Friday 13 March from 7-9pm, there will be the opening for Jess Ramm's show Earth Rise. Ramm will present works across film, sculpture and performance documentation, through which she addresses the human-environment relationship. More specifically, she reconfigures objects and materials drawn from nature, including outdoor performances in which she directly reconfigures the environment. Conducting these experiments acts as a means of research into the current order of technology and science, and as contrasted “against the environmental forces of the natural world.” On Friday 20 March in Glasgow again, Good Press will move from its established home in Mono to 5 St Margaret's Place, just around the corner. For the first installation at new God Press, there will be an installation of paintings, sculptures ‘and more' from Owen Piper, as well as a new A2 glossy print edition to mark the occasion. It's an early opening, starting at 3pm, with drinks. Also throughout this month is Perm, a series of weekly one-night exhibitions by Glasgow School of Art Painting and Printmaking graduates in the Old Hairdresser's. Details for each week's artist will be published online in the weekly news and events column.

ART

Credit: Klaus Lehnarzt

Dictatorship and Democracy

Review

Film Event Highlights C

lub Noir, the world’s biggest burlesque club, brings a touch of glamour to the Grosvenor this month (22 Mar) with a special double bill showcasing two of Hollywood’s most beautiful leading ladies, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. The evening’s entertainment includes screenings of Some Like it Hot and To Catch a Thief, a buffet and two burlesque acts by members of the club’s troupe. Guests are invited to don their finest attire for the event, so dress to impress. If you like your sexy movies with a bit more gothic horror, head to the GFT for Daughters of Darkness (24 Mar). This 1971 European film, an intriguing combination of arthouse style and exploitation sleaze, follows a couple of newly-weds through their encounter with the most famous female vampire of them all, Countess Bathory. Written and directed by Belgium’s enfant terrible Harry Kümel, this erotic, violent film has alternately been praised as a masterpiece and dismissed as trash – see it and decide for yourself.

MOMMY

Mommy

White Bird in a Blizzard

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Director: Xavier Dolan Starring: Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon Released: 20 Mar Certificate: 15 Xavier Dolan’s fifth feature, Mommy, could be viewed as a companion piece to his debut I Killed My Mother, with a comparison between the two films highlighting how his filmmaking has advanced in the intervening five years. He remains a stylistically bold director – shooting Mommy in a 1:1 aspect ratio and filling the tight frame beautifully – but what’s most impressive about his latest work is the confidence with which he chases euphoric highs and shattering lows. Mommy is an unabashed melodrama that’s constantly swinging for the fences, and the emotional force of the picture is irresistible, with Dolan nailing a series of bold and emotionally wrenching sequences, and even finding unexpected textures in a number of familiar pop songs. He also draws extraordinary work from his actors, with Antoine-Olivier Pilon’s lively and unpredictable presence as a volatile teen and Suzanne Clément providing touching support as a mousy neighbour. Meanwhile Anne Dorval’s performance as embattled single mother Diane (Pilon plays her son) is simultaneously hilarious and devastating, and as brilliant a piece of acting as you’ll see anywhere this year. [Philip Concannon]

Closer in spirit to his Mysterious Skin than The Doom Generation, White Bird in a Blizzard sees director Gregg Araki adapting a Laura Kasischke novel and applying his trademark gifts for depicting both the sweet and the sour of adolescence. Beginning in the late 80s, it sees 17-year-old Kat (Shailene Woodley) going through a big sexual awakening while reckoning with her mother Eve’s sudden vanishing, which follows years of increasingly strange behaviour towards both Kat and the husband (Christopher Meloni) Eve seems to despise. Eve is played, predominantly in flashback and dream sequences, by Eva Green on an acting register suggesting Faye Dunaway dropped into a Douglas Sirk melodrama, but not always as compelling as that sounds. Woodley leaves a better impression, but, like Kat describes her stoner boyfriend, what’s behind the surface of Araki’s film is just more surface. Little of its psychological explorations hold great weight and its mystery elements are fumbled by Araki’s louder directorial instincts. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Life of Riley

Appropriate Behaviour

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Director: Alain Resnais Starring: Sabine Azéma, Sandrine Kiberlain, Caroline Sihol Released: 6 Mar Certificate:

Daughters of Darkness

All Night Horror Madness returns to the Cameo in Edinburgh (21 Mar) and Grosvenor (28 Mar; programme TBC) with five nightmareinducing films (if you dare to sleep, that is!), a selection of vintage trailers and a raffle. At the Cameo, be impressed by the incredible FX work in John Carpenter’s The Thing, be grossed out by Slugs: The Movie, and enjoy some unintentional comic relief during Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Controversial horror Child’s Play is also showing, with a surprise movie rounding off the features, four of which are being screened from 35mm prints. Several venues around Glasgow are screening films as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. At the Grosvenor, Robin Williams’ finest comedies are being showcased, including Mrs Doubtfire (15 Mar) and The Birdcage (22 Mar). Cineworld is a slightly unexpected venue for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (20-21 Mar) – but who said sweet transvestites can’t visit the multi-plex? At the Govanhill Baths, political satire In the Loop (20 Mar) and mockumentary Best in Show (21 Mar) – think Spinal Tap at Crufts – are sure to keep audiences laughing. Check glasgowcomedyfestival.com for the full line-up. At the DCA in Dundee, artists Michael and Florian Quistrebert have chosen to screen Gasper Noé’s Enter the Void (10 Mar) to coincide with their exhibition Visions of Void. The artists’ work on show at the DCA is a collection of abstract videos and paintings, perfectly complemented by Noé’s hallucinatory Tokyo-set fantasy drama – why not go see both? [Becky Bartlett]

Review

Director: Gregg Araki Starring: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Thomas Jane Released: 6 Mar Certificate: 15

Director: Desiree Akhavan Starring: Desiree Akhavan, Rebecca Henderson, Halley Feiffer Released: Out now Certificate: N/C 15+

Alain Resnais’ final film, Life of Riley, premiered just three weeks before the director’s passing. An adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn’s play of the same name, Resnais’ reworking gives new meaning to staying faithful to your roots – it’s filmed exclusively in front of hand-painted theatre sets. Ayckbourn’s quintessentially British tale of death and infidelity in rural Yorkshire translates surprisingly well into Resnais’ auteurist form, making for a delightful postmodern experiment in the intertextuality of art. Imbuing the levity of Ayckbourn’s prose with Resnais’ lifelong obsession with time and memory (although not to the same monumental effect as per-haps Hiroshima Mon Amour), this delightfully droll comedy feels a little too safe and conventional in its approach to achieve the heights of Resnais’ previous output. However, the film’s overall message that death is best approached with a lightness of touch makes for a fittingly playful adieu to one of cinema’s great visionaries. [Patrick Gamble]

As an Iranian-American bisexual woman living in New York, Shirin deals with a lot on a daily basis. There’s the dissonance between the culture she descends from and the one she lives amongst, the difficulties inherent to her much misunderstood sexual identity, and of course the ever-looming spectre of sexism. The combined pitfalls of life as an ethnic minority, a member of the LGBT community and a woman don’t leave a whole lot of safe ground to stand on. As writer, director and star of Appropriate Behaviour, Desiree Akhavan mines each of these areas of Shirin’s life for humour, gifting her lead character with a compelling mix of total social inelegance and deadpan wit. Mostly though, Shirin’s problems don’t come from trying to live as an Iranian, a bisexual or a woman in particular. Her skin colour, sexual orientation and her gender are the surface, but the core of Akhavan’s stunning debut is the universally identifiable drive to figure out who we are and who we want to be. [Ross McIndoe]

Still Alice

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

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Director: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart Released: 6 Mar Certificate: 12A

Still Alice deviates from most dramas concerned with Alzheimer’s in adopting the point of view of the sufferer, rather than devastated loved ones. Julianne Moore plays Alice, a 50-year-old linguistics professor diagnosed with inheritable early-onset Alzheimer’s. Big fans of Moore’s brand of damaged women might find traces of her career cornerstones – the likes of Safe – in Still Alice. It’s a mesmerising performance, quietly devastating rather than showy. At times her work’s subtleties feel like a rebellion against the potentially cheesy directions taken by the screenplay, such as one speech to the Alzheimer’s Association which could so easily feel like awards showreel-bait in the hands of a less assertive performer. Indeed, it’s the surrounding filmmaking that lets Still Alice down somewhat. Some script issues aside, its directors never really apply a distinctive visual scheme to convey Alice’s increasing incapacity, with the aesthetic often akin to how a Channel 5 TV movie version might play. Moore allows it to still remain moving, but it never becomes a great film about illness. [Josh Slater-Williams]

FILM

Director: Damián Szifrón Starring: Liliana Ackerman, Luis Manuel Altamirano García Released: 27 Mar Certificate: 15 Cosmic airline coincidence begets claustrophobic violence begets matrimonial mayhem in this portmanteau feature from Damián Szifrón. Coproduced by the Almodóvar brothers, each episode is equal parts hilarious, unnerving and horrifying. The six shorts that comprise Wild Tales are linked only by their theme of violence and retribution. Watching two hours of six individual acts of revenge may sound maniacal to some, but you really shouldn’t dismiss this film as “not your sort of thing”. This is your sort of thing! Whether wishing to enact revenge on an unfaithful lover, jobsworthy parking attendants or essentially everyone who’s ever wronged you – we’re all familiar with those thoughts. The nuances are perfectly articulated, the observations expertly perceived and the tragedies heart-wrenchingly realised. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year and in the running for the 2015 Academy Award for best foreign language film, this really is a feat of storytelling and narrative cinema, full of wit and cruelty. [David McGinty]

THE SKINNY

Man of the West

Director: Anthony Mann Starring: Gary Cooper, Julie London Released: 23 Mar Certificate: 12

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This late-career Western from Anthony Mann doesn't quite stand shoulder to shoulder with his classics of the genre (The Naked Spur, Winchester '73), but Man of the West does showcase the director's prowess in balancing light and dark, both literally and metaphorically. The tale is pretty standard Western fare, with a reformed outlaw (Gary Cooper) getting robbed on his way to hire a schoolteacher and being sucked back into his criminal ways when he stumbles across his old gang in hiding. Cooper's performance may be a little formulaic at times but the same cannot be said of the superb Lee J. Cobb, whose drunken gang leader is a masterclass in bitterness. Shot in CinemaScope, it also has a scenic grandeur that's finely captured on this new transfer. Despite its flaws, Man of the West remains a must-have for Western buffs; also included is a 15-minute documentary narrated by noted film historian Douglas Pye. [Chris High]

Pictures of the Old World

Director: Dušan Hanák Released: Out now Certificate: E

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Dušan Hanák's award-winning documentary, available with English subtitles for the first time, examines the lives of elderly villagers in northern Slovakia, each of them out of step with the modern world. Taking inspiration from photographer Martin Martincek's striking portraits, he returns to the subjects and gives them an opportunity to talk about their experiences, their faith and their view of the world. Flowing between staged photography and candid interview footage, he both preserves the concept of them as living pieces of art and transcends the format by resisting easy sentimentality and labels. Hanák presents them simply as they are: human, with all their complications and contradictions. Given that they're living in extreme poverty, much of it is heartbreaking but there's an undeniable warmth and sensitivity to Hanák's approach. At a little over 60 minutes it's over too quickly, but the villagers' stories are fascinating and beautifully presented. An exceptional work. [Scott McKellar]

BOOK OF THE MONTH The Well

Maidan

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Sergei Loznitsa's Maidan is a film that achieves a visceral sense of immediacy by keeping its distance. Shooting from judiciously chosen vantage points, the director presents us with images of the 2013 Ukraine revolution, capturing the protestors as they gather in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, build barricades, sing and make speeches and, finally, fight and die for their cause. Shot in a series of static takes, Loznitsa gives us little context to elucidate what we are seeing, instead allowing us time to let our eyes scan the packed frame and finding telling details – if you can settle into its methodical rhythm then it grows into an immersive and rewarding experience. There's one scene in which Loznitsa's camera moves under duress (a moment comparable to Medium Cool's “Look out, Haskell – it's real!” incident) but for the most part the director simply presents this conflict in the clearest terms possible, and asks us to bear witness. [Philip Concannon]

Elia Kazan didn't want Montgomery Clift for Wild River – even delaying in the hope of luring Brando – but the troubled star gives a moving performance in this undervalued masterwork. He's the Tennessee official sent to procure the last piece of land required for the damming of the river, but he gets drawn into a battle of wills with a stubborn matriarch (Jo Van Fleet) while falling for her widowed daughter (Lee Remick). Kazan's control of the film's emotional register is absolute, and Paul Osborn's skillfully constructed screenplay questions the value of ‘progress' if things of longstanding value have to be sacrificed in its name. It's an expansive work, distinguished by exceptional location photography, but, as ever, his focus is on complex interpersonal relationships. The thorny battle between Clift and the formidable Van Fleet is compelling, but Remick gradually emerges as Wild River's greatest asset. [Philip Concannon]

Pride

White Bird in a Blizzard

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Director: Matthew Warchus Starring: Ben Schnetzer, George MacKay Released: 2 Mar Certificate: 15 Doing for the LGBT community what The Help did for African Americans, Pride conspires toward a feel-good conclusion by affirming the human spirit's tenacity in the face of bigotry. Like the aforementioned civil rights crowd-pleaser, however, it's guilty of sanitising the struggles to which it pays its respects. Director Matthew Warchus, the man who brought Ghost: The Musical to Broadway, is adept at manipulating his audience's emotions. We cheer as Dominic West's gay bookshop proprietor wins over homophobes with flamboyant dance moves and curse the men who subject his partner to a hate crime, but these are merely kneejerk responses. The unlikely union forged between homosexuals and striking miners during the 80s is interesting enough to withstand Warchus's paint-by-numbers filmmaking, but to have talent of Bill Nighy's and Paddy Considine's calibre go to waste in twodimensional supporting roles lends this sassy hit an air of missed opportunity. [Lewis Porteous]

Ghettoside

By Jill Leovy

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Director: Gregg Araki Starring: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green Released: 6 Mar Certificate: 15 Closer in spirit to his Mysterious Skin than The Doom Generation, White Bird in a Blizzard sees Gregg Araki adapting a Laura Kasischke novel and applying his trademark gifts for depicting both the sweet and the sour of adolescence. Beginning in the late 80s, it sees 17-yearold Kat (Shailene Woodley) going through a sexual awakening while recko-ning with the sudden disappearance of her mother, Eve, which follows years of increasingly strange behaviour towards both her husband (Christopher Meloni) and Kat. Eve is played, predominantly in flashback, by Eva Green on an acting register suggesting Faye Dunaway dropped into a Douglas Sirk melodrama, but not always as compelling as that sounds. Woodley leaves a better impression, but, like Kat describes her stoner boyfriend, what's behind the surface of Araki's film is just more surface. Little of its psychological explorations hold great weight and its mystery elements are fumbled by Araki's louder directorial instincts. [Josh Slater-Williams]

The Adventure of the Busts of Eva Perón

Signs Preceding the End of the World

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By Carlos Gamerro

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Out 5 Mar, published by Canongate, RRP £12.99

Director: Elia Kazan Starring: Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick Released: Out now Certificate: PG

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By Catherine Chanter

The Well opens with a woman under house arrest. Ruth, our protagonist and narrator, is restricted to her farm in Wales. Named The Well, it is beautiful, lonely, and one of the few places left on earth to still feel rain. This is a world after ours, steeped in loss. The rain has gone, as has optimism and any planning beyond survival. The state is self-imploding, and desparate new religions are springing up. It’s sci-fi, but with a very soft accent on the sci – nobody knows why the world is drying up, yet this drought is not just window dressing, but thematically crucial. A thirst for connection, revenge, and for answers haunts this world, this farm and our cast. Cartherine Chanter’s debut is superb: frighteningly assured, its themes are deftly tied together and it manages to maintain real suspense within a story which could easily have faltered. Its treatment of grief and anger – at a world dying, at the vicious dissolution of a marriage – and of the fear of one’s own inner darkness is so realistically drawn that it would threaten to overwhelm without the focus that Chanter brings. Chiefly we find this focus within its central mystery, the solving of which could help alleviate Ruth’s loss. Imprisoned as Ruth is though, her memories become the landscape of this dark and haunting detective story. [Chris Lynch]

Wild River

Director: Sergei Loznitsa Released: 13 Apr Certificate: E

Ghettoside, that wonderful neologism, forms the title of this dark and murderous LA noir. The only problem being that it’s 100% real. LA Times reporter Jill Leovy spent over a decade embedded with the LAPD, investigating a murder epidemic involving young black males. The killings seem senseless and juvenile – not only in relation to the tragedy of the victims’ ages (many in early teens), but also the incidents’ origins – bruised egos, territorial disputes. Leovy refuses to condescend, aspiring instead to understand by combining what is basically urban conflict reportage with historical framing and scientific grounding. She discovers a twilight society which holds no trust in American justice and so extracts its own terrible version on the streets of Watts – which are policed heavily and microscopically, on all aspects bar murder, by an establishment 'obsessed with nuisance crime, and lax' with regards to 'answering for black lives.' These cops and crims are finely fleshed out – the boys in blue hagiographically at times – and this true life tale builds the narrative steam of the finest thriller. Ghettoside is an exceptional and dedicated piece of work which sits alongside William Shaw’s Westsiders and Randall Sullivan’s Labyrinth in exposing the ground floor of a two tier city, a place of perpetual fear and mourning where age, zip code and most importantly skin colour dictate which young lives must live in the crosshairs. [Alan Bett]

Ernesto Marroné is a corporate warrior, a sales samurai who takes How to Gain Friends and Influence People as his Bushido code. Even as his countrymen are rising up to reject capitalism all across the land, Ernesto remains a devout follower. His good books tell him how to get ahead and he zealously recites their mantras, performs their creativity exercises and preaches their word to all who’ll listen, unshakeable in his faith that his efforts will one day be rewarded with the divine bounty of a Vice President position. The Adventure of the Busts of Eva Perón is a Salman Rushdie-style retelling of a nation’s history from the recollections of an oddball individual, as Carlos Gamerro delves back into a vital passage of Argentina’s past from the skewed perspective of a man fundamentally unsuited to his own time. Devoid of political ideas of any kind, and unconcerned with the plight of any working man below the ‘Executive Class’, Ernesto bumbles right into the middle of history and does his best to survive it. The result is a comically charged and slyly satirical tale that strips away the high rhetoric of history and politics, and reveals the squabbling egos underneath. [Ross McIndoe] Out 24 Mar, published by And Other Stories, RRP £10.00

By Yuri Herrera

This is a gorgeous, crisp little thing. And although Signs... is no epic – accounting for chapter breaks it clocks in at under 100 short pages – Yuri Herrera has managed to achieve such extraordinary scope, of space and meaning, without any sense of hurry or clutter. Makina works the switchboard in remote smalltown Mexico, mediating lovers’ sweet nothings and less savoury transactions. She’s a polyglot, flitting between the native tongue, Spanish, and the northof-the-border Anglo-Latin hybrid. She also ‘knows how to keep quiet in all three.’ Cora, her mother, ushers Makina off to the US with a message for her brother. To gain passage she requires the help of the local ‘top dogs,’ Messrs Double-U, Aitch and Q. What follows is a vaguely Pynchon-esque quest through tundras rural and urban. On her way Makina absorbs the refashioned identity and language of fellow border crossers, whose ‘gestures and tastes reveal both ancient memory and the wonderment of new people.’ Herrera distils near enough every gram of that spirit into these few pages. Signs... is an important work, given the tenor of the immigration debate in the US and internationally. Herrera and Makina make a mockery of old-order American patriotism, which is easy to do but tough to actually pull off. The whole book is in fact a tiny exercise in bold and clever writing done with verve. [Angus Sutherland] Out 3 Mar, published by And Other Stories, RRP £8.99

Out 5 Mar, published by Bodley Head, RRP £16.99

March 2015

DVD / BOOKS

Review

Hedda Gabler Amanda Gaughan talks strong women on stage and the pull of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, in advance of its run at The Lyceum later this month.

Credit: Andrea Miltnerova

Interview: Emma Ainley-Walker

And Then He Ate Me Traverse

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Nicola Daley as Hedda Gabler

n her first week of rehearsals directing Hedda Gabler, Amanda Gaughan, associate artist with the Lyceum, took time out for her busy schedule to sit down with The Skinny and talk about her upcoming production. “We’ve been bouncing about lots of ideas and dissecting the play, and we’ve very quickly realised that every line has a relevance. Once the ball starts rolling the momentum just keeps going. There’s no fluffiness around the language or any time for any of the characters to have a breather. It’s a bit relentless, so we’ve just been dissecting that and getting to know one another. I think it’s really important to build a shared language so we’re all on the same page as a company. Gaughan first read the play in 2008 as part of her MA in theatre directing at the RCS. Looking at lots of different translations of the text, she found herself particularly drawn to Richard Eyre’s 2005 version, which is the basis for this production. “I feel the language is very contemporary and accessible to the ear and hopefully therefore to our audience,” she says. It is not just the language of the play that Gaughan wants to be accessible, however. “I’m interested in real characters and real relationships, and the events that enable them to carry out certain actions. I found these characters and these relationships to be really relatable, even though it’s happening in 1890. When I became an associate at the Lyceum last year and we started having discussions about what play I wanted to do, it was either Hedda Gabler or Streetcar, and we went with Hedda. I find in a lot of my work I’m interested in strong women getting put through the ringer. I love seeing strong female roles on stage.” Henrik Ibsen was among the first playwrights to give agency to strong female characters and allow them to be the centre of his plays. Is that something Gaughan finds directly referential to theatre now? “Ibsen wasn’t scared to put real human emotions and relationships on stage and hold a mirror up to society. That’s why he never neglected

Review

The Skinny at Manipulate Festival 2015: Read our coverage of Manipulate at theskinny.co.uk/theatre And Then He Ate Me, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended manipulatefestival.org

women, because woman are real people and he could see how they were being pressed at times. He wanted to put them on stage and I thank him for that. When Hedda was first performed, what Ibsen did was pave the way for people to be brave. Without him presenting realism, but heightening it and giving it hidden depths, perhaps we wouldn’t be as bold with our storytelling now. He was someone that dared to do that and we have brilliant playwrights who dare to that now. It’s the playwrights who are daring that are so exciting”

“ Ibsen wasn't scared to put real human emotions and relationships on stage” Gaughan recently worked with NTS’s James Plays, and names Rona Munro among these exciting playwrights. “She writes strong women, she’s like Ibsen. The female characters were so strong in all three plays. They really drove the men, put them into action and were daring as well.” Of her experience, Gaughan says: “You learn on every single experience and every single job, and hopefully because I’ve learned from every past experience that will help with the direction of this play. I will make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, as you do with every process, but that’s what’s exciting.” With such a focus on the daring, and on strong female characters, Gaughan’s Hedda Gabler looks likely to make a strong statement while entertaining audiences at the same time. It begins its run on 20 March at The Lyceum, through to 11 April. Hedda Gabler, The Lyceum, 20 Mar-11 Apr; £12.50-29 lyceum.org.uk/whats-on/production/hedda-gabler

Credit: Velo Theatre

Strange, fantastical and dark, And Then He Ate Me is a fairytale for the stage that bites back. Created by the award-winning French company Velo Theatre, this piece roars and howls as the passing of time, memories and an eternal hunger gnaw away at the occupants of a small house in a forest of black pine trees. As always with fables, the Big Bad Wolf – or is it a Wolfman? – is ever present as his part man, part beast (Charlot Lemoine) becomes both antihero and narrator; reliving his conquests, his battles and his insatiable desires alone. Except this wolf isn’t alone, he’s aided – or is it hindered? – by a familiar rabbit (Jose Lopez) from Wonderland. And Then He Ate Me begins where fairytales end and nightmares commence, and is an

exceptional fantasy that features elements from other fairytales, including The Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, Peter and the Wolf and most notably, Little Red Riding Hood. Peppered with moments of emotion and comedy, Lemoine, Lopez and Tania Castaing (the doomed girl in red) remind us of the childhood fears we once thought long dead. The strength of this fantastical production lies in its ability to take universal stories and render them almost unrecognisable by using darkness, memory, pain and desire. We all remember fearing The Big Bad Wolves of our childhood, the thoughts that kept us awake at night, but as Velo Theatre remind us, they never really left, they just grew up with us. [Amy Taylor]

Dance of The Magnetic Ballerina Traverse

rrrrr From an achromatic gloom, the figure of Andrea Miltnerova materialises, on a contained platform adrift in the middle of the enormous Traverse One stage. Evoking the figurine ubiquitous to innumerable trinket boxes, she moves spasmodically in staccato time to the pulsing electronic soundtrack. The actions suggest a marionette, manipulated by some unseen puppeteer, but her human physicality stands out from the rippling muscles on her shoulders, arms and neck. The exertions of rehearsal and performance are written on her body and hint at the breathtaking dexterity and muscular acuity to which the audience will be treated in the following 35 minutes. Although Andrea is the sole performer in the piece, the sound and lighting design are equal stars of the show. A deeply infectious

THEATRE

soundtrack syncs with and accentuates dizzying fluctuations in light, darkness via all shades between, weaving a hypnotic canvas on which Andrea can physically paint her images. Evocations of human experience – from the spiritual to the physical – occupy the production and carry the audience along, enthralled despite the absence of a defined storyline. Dance of the Magnetic Ballerina is at times a disorientating experience, laced with flashes of a phantasmagorical nature. Although a performance of this kind might not be to the taste of every theatregoer, it challenges anyone not to be wholly drawn into the mesmerising, ethereal world of the ballerina. [Cian O’Siochain] The Skinny at Manipulate Festival 2015: Read our coverage of Manipulate at theskinny.co.uk/theatre Dance of The Magnetic Ballerina, Traverse, Edinburgh, run ended. manipulatefestival.org

THE SKINNY

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RICHARD HERRING

ANDREW LAWRENCE

16/3 NEWCASTLE 17/3 EDINBURGH 18/3 GLASGOW

17/3 NEWCASTLE 18/3 EDINBURGH 19/3 GLASGOW

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IN CINEMAS MARCH 6 March 2015

Win Swish swag!

Win VIP tickets to the Riverside Festival!

dinburgh's favourite garment printers Swish Where is Swish Print's sister shop, Swish, Print celebrate their 10th birthday this year. located in Edinburgh? To mark this occasion, you've got a chance to win a t-shirt, a mug and a tote bag for you to customise! a) Dundas Street Since 2005, Swish Print have been providing b) Victoria Street their customers with unique products – be it a onec) George Street off or a bulk order for an event, group holidays, hen and stag dos, or theatre or art group promotions. Now's your chance to get your own customisable bundle – just head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and answer the following question:

Competition closes midnight Sun 29 Mar. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny. co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

he Electric Frog & Pressure Riverside Festival In what venue does the Electric Frog & Pressure returns in 2015 bigger than ever before Riverside festival take place? between 29-30 May on the grounds of the iconic Riverside Museum in Glasgow. a) Barrowlands A stellar line-up including a Glasgow visit by b) Edinburgh Castle Cocoon, along with Sven Väth, Ricardo Villalobos, c) The Riverside Museum Magda and Carl Craig, Siriusmodeselektor, Len Winners will be added to a winner guest list. Entrants Faki, Joy Orbison, Ben UFO, Robert Hood plus must be 18 years and over, and be able to produce proof of many more. age to collect tickets. Prize is one pair of weekend tickets with VIP upgrade and access into after parties. The VIP Priced from £35 for day tickets and £75 for includes access to an exclusive VIP area, access weekend tickets, fans can purchase via Ticket Tailor, upgrade to buy drinks from a premium cash bar, and special viewing Tickets Scotland and Resident Advisor. platform. For your chance to win a pair of tickets, head For more information and full line-up visit along to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and answer riversidefestivalglasgow.com this simple question: Competition closes midnight Sun 29 Mar. Winners will be

COMPETITIONS

notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Music Tue 03 Mar

COVENANT (ANALOG ANGEL + ADVANCE)

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:00, £17

Swedish-based electronic fourpiece formed way back in 1986, which means they sound quite a lot like The Human League and Depeche Mode. YEARS AND YEARS (SAM SURE)

Fri 06 Mar ALASDAIR ROBERTS (SOUND OF YELL)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The inimitable folk musician and songwriter plays tracks from his self-titled new LP. LIONEL RICHIE

THE SSE HYDRO, 20:00–22:00, FROM £40

The latest in the BBC Sound List’s self-fulfilling prophecy gear up for their year in the sun.

Mr Smooth himself plays songs from his vast back catalogue, all night long, all night (see what we did there?).

AVANT GARDE, 20:00–22:00, FREE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £20

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £9

THE LATECOMERS

More acoustic pop loveliness from the Glasgow-based outfit. HIBAGON (MARY FIELDS + THE COLOUR PINK IS GAY)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Italian duo of the heavy and suitably loud variety.

Wed 04 Mar HAWKWIND (FOCUS)

O2 ABC, 18:00–22:00, £22.50

Seminal spacerockers headed up by original overlord (and former busker) Dave Brock. NEON WALTZ

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7

Psychedelic indie-rock ensemble from the wilderness of Caithness, where they write and play melodic, sun-drenched, sonic soundscapes in a remote croft. GOODCOPGREATCOP (GHOST ALASKA)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Vibrant, emo-tinged indie rockers from Perth.

YELLOWCARD + LESS THAN JAKE (CHUNK! NO CAPTAIN CHUNK!) O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £19.50

Florida indie-rock lot Yellowcard hit the road with fellow Floridian ska-pop dudes Less Than Jake. JOAN SHELLEY (AISLING QUINN + ROBIN ADAMS)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Kentucky singer/songwriter using modest observations as the basis for big and bold arrangements. GERANIÜM (BAD AURA + CLOCKED OUT)

13TH NOTE, 20:30–23:00, £5

French crust punk outfit moving one soul-crushing minor chord at a time.

Thu 05 Mar

STRUGGLE (GET IT TOGETHER + UNIFORMS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Monthly punk and post hardcore selection of bands from DIY collective Struggletown. ROOM 94

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

North London band of brothers – made up of Kieran, Dean and Sean Lemon, joined by Kit Tanton on bass – doing their pop-meetsrock thing. DENNIS LOCORRIERE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £20

The former Dr Hook man plays a two night stint in the Weege.

BBC SSO: PROKFIEV’S ROMEO AND JULIET

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11.50

The BBC SSO perform excerpts of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score, amongst others. EUROPE + BLACK STAR RIDERS

O2 ABC, 18:00–22:00, £26

Swedish hard rock ensemble Europe take to the road with the latest incarnation of Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders, for twice the noise. KATHRYN JOSEPH (YUSUF AZAK)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £9

The Scottish singer/songwriter and pianist does her lyrically compelling thing. COURIER’S CLUB

MONO, 20:00–23:30, FREE

The Glasgow alternative indie outfit play a special set to celebrate the release of their debut EP, Upriver.

VISION FORTUNE (MAURIZIO ABATE + ABOVE THE TREE) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:30, £5 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

Expect machinist rhythms and gaseous drones from ATP Record’s newest signings.

March 2015

DENNIS LOCORRIERE

The former Dr Hook man plays a two night stint in the Weege. HALESTORM (NOTHING MORE + WILSON)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £16

Hard rockin’ American quartet led by feisty vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale. SCO: SCHUBERT’S GREAT

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14.50

Fine young violinist Renaud Capuçon joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for a recital of Schubert’s Great C Major, amongst others.

EUROPE + BLACK STAR RIDERS (THE AMORETTES)

O2 ABC, 18:00–22:00, £26

Swedish hard rock ensemble Europe take to the road with the latest incarnation of Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders, for twice the noise. ABDOMINAL AND THE OBLIQUES (BIGG TAJ)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Return of hip-hop legend Abdominal, playing a live set with instrumental duo The Obliques. BELTURN (RETURN TO THE SUN + CAMMY BLACK + JOHN CARSON)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

Glasgow-based rock ensemble formed from the ashes of various other bands. THE STEFAN (HEAVY SMOKE + RELEASE + THE HARDLINES)

BUFF CLUB, 19:15–22:00, £6

The Dumfries rock-meets-punk lot play a selection of new tracks, alongside older faves. ZUN ZUN EGUL (JOHN KNOX SEX CLUB + SLUTS OF TRUST)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £8

Experimental fusion group formed by Mauritian guitarist/ singer Kushal Gaya and Japanese keyboard player Yoshino Shigihara, backed by a core ensemble of musos. BREAKING THE BARRIER: FINAL (BLIZZARD) AUDIO, 18:30–22:00, £10 (£7)

Final stage of the live rap battleoff, where finalists Wee D and Andrew Mackenzie go head-to-head battling wit, flow, technique and ability, bolstered by a live guest slot from Blizzard. ALEX G (TUFF LOVE)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £7

Pennsylvania native (aka Alex Giannascoli) making bruised and melodic guitar pop. IKARIE (ROBOT DEATH MONKEY + KHYDRA)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £4

Heavy, but joyful soundscapes from ex-members of Soulfinger, the Grease Monkeys and Vakunoht.

Sat 07 Mar

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

Noel Gallagher and his new band of warriors tour in support of their latest LP, Chasing Yesterday. TO KILL A KING (WAYLAYERS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

Leeds/London quartet fronted by the brooding vocals and denselycrafted songwriting of Ralph Pelleymounter. GOGO PENGUIN

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £12

Proud recipients of the annual Mercury Music Prize Token Jazz Album Nomination Award hit the road to make the most of their newfound profile.

RSNO: SONDERGARD CONDUCTS PATHETIQUE GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

Danish Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Sondergard leads a recital of Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony and Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto. IDLEWILD (SORREN MACLEAN)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

After having their bonces emblazoned across the cover of Scotland’s February issue, Idlewild give new LP – Everything Ever Written – the full live treatment. KIM CHURCHILL

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Australian singer/songwriter matching his lyrical artistry with fierce vocals.

BURGER REVOLUTION (SHAM GATE + YOUNGSTRR JOEY + SPINNING COIN)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–23:00, £3

The El Rancho troops present a showcase of bands, taking in Sham Gate, Youngstrr Joey and Spinning Coin. WINTER MOON (ZARATHUD)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Musical side project of Woven Tents’ Kev Denny, launching his new LP, Winter Moon. MADAFAKA (COLOUR PINK IS GAY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £3

Experimental tech metal, or ‘stuff that’s awesome to make your ears sad and your soul happy’, so say they. STREETS OF LAREDO

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £6

Brooklyn-based indie-folk lot out on their European tour.

Sun 08 Mar WILLIWAW

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 18:00–20:00, FREE

Expect a good bit o’ ukulele mayhem as Williwaw brings his merry cavalcade of melodious din to a live setting once more. COVES (LUSTS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7

Spacey Leamington Spa-hailing duo made up of John Ridgard and Beck Wood. IDLEWILD (ELLA THE BIRD)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

After having their bonces emblazoned across the cover of Scotland’s February issue, Idlewild give new LP – Everything Ever Written – the full live treatment. SPANDAU BALLET

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £40

The 70s-formed new wave ensemble ride the wave of their twilight years. SUNSET SONS (MAN MADE)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

THE QEMISTS (TEKLO)

UNDERWORLD

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £10

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £28:50

Brighton-based electronic tinkerers signed to the inimitable Ninja Tune imprint.

Tue 10 Mar THE CHARLATANS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £27.50

One of the central figures of the no wave movement of the late 70s, formed in New York City in 1977.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

Fri 13 Mar

MODESTEP

London dubstep-styled rockers out and touring some new tunes. THE HIGH KINGS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £16

Irish folk quintet, dazzling audiences with their multi-instrumental skills racking up a total of 13 instruments between ‘em. CLEAN BANDIT (JESS GLYNNE, WHILK AND MISKY)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Eccentric young pups from London, building their sound on the instrumental core of bass, drums and strings, bolstered by a variety of budding vocalists. LANCASTER (ARMSTRONG + THESE LITTLE KINGS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

London/Barcelona-straddling rock ensemble of the high-energy, guitar heavy variety.

Wed 11 Mar

ARCHITECTS (EVERY TIME I DIE + BLESS THE FALL + COUNTERPARTS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Hardcore Brighton foursome, mixing a pummeling concoction of post-metalcore, metal and progressive to suitably headmangling effect. THE CHARLATANS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £27.50

The veteran indie-rock survivors play a duo of consecutive Glasgow dates (10 & 11 Mar), touring in support of their first new LP in four years, Modern Nature. EMERALD ARMADA (JOSHUE BURNSIDE + RUNAWAY GO!)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

Unsigned alternative folk quintet, all soaring harmonies and cheeky banter. TARIBOWEST (BODY HOUND + RUMOUR CUBE)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

A selection of super-heavy live band sounds curated by Vasa’s J Niblock and Detour’s Ally McCrae.

DUNE (SAPIEN + BURIED SLEEPER)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

The local doom metal outfit bring their usual psych-tinged epic riffs. PSEUDO SATELLITES

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glaswegian grunge-rock trio who recorded their first EP before they had even performed a gig.

Thu 12 Mar

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

2-tone ska revival band formed in Coventry back in 1979, now back on’t live circuit celebrating 35+ years of being.

Alias of musician/producer Robin Edwards, interweaving melodic threads of Krautrock, psych, experimental electronics and modulating drones via spectral flecks of psych-noise.

Mon 09 Mar

STEEL PANTHER (SKINDRED)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £21.50

LA quartet churning out the tongue-in-cheek glam metal tunes to a happy bunch of dedicated followers. THIS IS THE KIT (ROZI PLAIN + ELARA CALUNA)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7 ADV. (£9 DOOR)

Musical project of Kate Stables and pals, layering primal and hushed electric textures onto songs of unaffected beauty. TUNE-YARDS

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:30, £14

Merrill Garbus’ charming lo-fi pop project, inventively bursting with distorted ukulele, horns, bass, drums and whisper-to-a-scat-rap vocals. COLLIE BUDDZ

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £14.50

American/Bermudian reggae chap of the designer stubble and smouldering stares variety. MARCUS FEEHILY

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

Him from Westlife. You are busy that night.

JAMES CHANCE AND LES CONTORTIONS (JD TWITCH + WHILST)

The veteran indie-rock survivors play a duo of consecutive Glasgow dates (10 & 11 Mar), touring in support of their first new LP in four years, Modern Nature.

UK and Australia-straddling rockers out and touring their new EP. R.SEILIOG (JONNIE COMMON)

The British electronic mainstays perform their 1994 release, dubnobasswithmyheadman, live and in its entirety.

THE SELECTER

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

LONELY THE BRAVE (HANNAH LOU CLARK)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £10

Self-described ‘epic-rock’ fourpiece from Cambridge. LEO AND ANTO

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13

With the Saw Doctors still on sabbatical, band members Leo Moran and Anthony Thistlethwaite take to the road as an acoustic duo covering different takes on well-known Saw Doctors songs. MCBUSTED

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £37.50

You know that nightmare you had about Busted and McFly touring as one? Well it was real. Run for the hills! SWALLOWS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6

Melodic hardcore Glasgow mob, served up abrasive, tough... and usually shirtless. BBC SSO: GRIEG, SIBELIUS AND STENHAMMAR

CITY HALLS, 14:00–16:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Hannu Lintu, Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, leads an appropriately Scandinavian programme of classics.

STEREO, 20:00–22:00, £12

DAMIEN DEMPSEY (THE WAKES)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Favourited Irish singer/songwriter bringing his mighty voice to bear on topics both local and global. CULANN (TWIN HEART + WHEN I WAS YOUNG)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £6

Irvine-based rock quintet who’ve christened themselves as ‘folkressive’, which pretty much sums ‘em up. LUCY ROSE (THE HALF EARTH)

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:30, £14

Singer/songwriter who has contributed vocals to Bombay Bicycle Club tracks, now striking out on her lonesome. ALABASTER JONES (MICKEY 9S + EMMA NUELLE)

BUFF CLUB, 19:15–22:00, £6

Glasgow’s resident funk fiends offer up their take on modern alternative funk. MCBUSTED

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £37.50

You know that nightmare you had about Busted and McFly touring as one? Well it was real. Run for the hills! SCO: MOZART’S REQUIEM

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14.50

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform Mozart’s acclaimed unfinished Requiem, alongside Schubert’s famous unfinished Eighth Symphony. THE BLACK RYDER

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £12

Aussie sonic songwriting duo made up of Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper. AUSTEROS (HAPPY ACCIDENTS + THE KIMBERLY STEAKS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

Cheltenham’s finest (if only) power-pop-punk trio.

Sat 14 Mar

COUNTER CULTURE (TURRENTINE JONES + THE MONA LISAS + THE HAZY SHADES + THE SUEDE SWITCHBLADES)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £7

New showcase night aimed at uncovering great bands right under your nose (i.e. from bonnie Scotland).

PAPA ROACH (THE ONE HUNDRED + COLD RAIN)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £20

The Californian rockers bring the nu-metal nostalgia, as bloody per – playing tracks offa their new LP, F.E.A.R. RSNO: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 15:00–17:30, FROM £15

The RSNO pay tribute to composer John Williams – y’know, he of the 21 Grammys, seven BAFTAs, five Oscars, four Golden Globes and three Emmys. And the theme from Jaws! RSNO: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15

The RSNO pay tribute to composer John Williams – y’know, he of the 21 Grammys, seven BAFTAs, five Oscars, four Golden Globes and three Emmys. And the theme from Jaws!

THE AFTERPARTY + BEYOND RECALL

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £6 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

Double headline tour from London alternative rockers The Afterparty and Bristol nu-metal experimenters Beyond Recall.

MARCH OF THE MODS 2015 (TARGET 5 + SOLDIER ON + ESPERANZA + BERRY TWEED AND THE CHASERS + THE REDSTARTS + THE BEAT MOVEMENT + THE APPARELLS + DOGTOOTH) O2 ABC, 16:00–22:00, £13.50

Mod-styled all-dayer in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

COLD OCEAN LIES (THE PHANTOMS + MADE AS MANNEQUINS + THE DARK JOKES) KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £6

Birmingham-based indie-punk outfit who will this year also make their first ever festival appearance, at Live at Leeds. THE HELLFIRE CLUB

STEREO, 19:45–22:00, £8

Glasgow’s own Americana collective play an unplugged mix of covers and original songs to help welcome their new LP into the world. MONO WAVE (DIRTY BOOTS + MIRROR PARTIES + DOLPHINBOY)

13TH NOTE, 19:30–23:00, £5

Grunge-meets-shoegaze Glasgow trio drawing influence from the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Mudhoney.

EUGENE CHADBOURNE: DOC CHAD (HOWIE REEVE)

THE PROJECT CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£10 THREE-DAY PASS)

Legendary US musical eccentric Eugene Chadbourne brings a trio of his monikers to Glasgow over three consecutive nights: Doc Chad (14 Mar), Eugene’s Psychedelic Basement (15 Mar) and Eddie Chatterbox (16 Mar).

Sun 15 Mar

FRANZ NICOLAY (BROKEN STORIES + DAVE HUGHES + TRAGICAL HISTORY TOUR)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

The former keyboardist in Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady plays a set of his multi-instrumental, beat poetry-inspired punk-rock. PERDURAMO

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

PEACE (ECHO VALLEY)

JOAN ARMATRADING

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £29.50

Alternative indie up-and-comers who describe their sound as ‘music to fuck you in the heart’, which is nice. EDINBURGH QUARTET

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, £15

The local quartet play a selection of works to mark WWI, including Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet. SAM SMITH

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

British soul singer best known for crooning single, Stay With Me. USHER

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £35

Pop ya collar y’all, it’s only ruddy Usher! ALL WE ARE (CHELOU)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

Liverpudlian psychedelic boogiemeisters, self-described as ‘The Bee Gees on diazepam’. CLUB DE RADIO (TUMFY AND THE DEECER)

DROPKICK MURPHYS (THE MAHONES + BLOOD OR WHISKEY) BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19.50

Boston rockers who started playing in the basement of a friend’s barbershop back in the 90s, blending the musical influences they grew up with – punk-rock, Irish folk and hardcore – into one chaotic whole. PEACE (ECHO VALLEY)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

FOREST FIRES

Aberdeen-based alternative rock quintet, setting themselves apart via intricate chords and delicate melody work.

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:00, £14.75

The American guitarist (also of Danger Danger and Pawn Kings) plays with his touring band.

The contemporary blues singer/ songwriter takes his new LP on’t road, backed by his live band of players.

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £8

Thu 19 Mar

EUGENE CHADBOURNE: EUEGENE’S PSYCHEDELIC BASEMENT (DEATH SHANTIES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£10 THREE-DAY PASS)

Mon 16 Mar SAM SMITH

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

British soul singer best known for crooning single, Stay With Me. BBC SSO: NIELSEN AND STENHAMMAR

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, £10

The BBC SSO’s short focus on Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar continues with a rare performance of his Serenade for Orchestra, completed in 1913. EUGENE CHADBOURNE: EDDIE CHATTERBOX (SINK)

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£10 THREE-DAY PASS)

Tue 17 Mar STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

70s punk-pop foursome par excellence, on the go now for a ridiculous amount of years. VESSELS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £10

Impressive Leeds quintet who’ve traded in their siren guitars for pulsing techno.

ANTHROPROPHH (BATTERY FACE + FIESTA MINOR)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

Solo project of The Heads frontman, Paul Allen, moving in the realm of psyche space rock with analogue electronics.

Wed 18 Mar

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Scottish jazz vocalist showcases tunes from the songbooks of Tom Waits and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.

CUT HANDS (DALHOUS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £9

African-Haitian inspired project of noise icon William Bennett, a percussive and hypnotic combination of polyrhythms created to induce trance like states.

Experimental singer/songwriter hailing from Oldham, still riding the wave of his debut LP, Bowler Hat Soup.

Glasgow alternative folk quartet with distinctly lo-fi and acoustic credentials.

Influential Washington DC stoner/ psych lot, formed in 1998 from the remnants of two young indie DC bands – The Impossible Five and its immediate follow-up, Colour.

SALLY MCGREEVY

The British singer/songwritercum-actress does her glossy, retro-referencing soul-meetspop thing.

KIRAN LEONARD (PRONTO MAMA + HERBERT POWELL)

Alternative indie up-and-comers who describe their sound as ‘music to fuck you in the heart’, which is nice.

ANDY TIMMONS BAND

PALOMA FAITH (VINTAGE TROUBLE)

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Heavy, guitar-based Glasgow rockers riding along on huge guitar loops and intricate soundscapes.

DEAD MEADOW (THE COSMIC DEAD + THE MUSHROOM CLUB)

The longstanding British singer/ songwriter plays a selection of newer songs and older classics.

IAIN SIEGAL BAND

STEREO, 19:30–22:00, £16

RAGLANS (THE TALES + THE LAPELLES + ORTHODOX)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

Dublin-based quartet formed in a festival tent back in 2010, riding along on muscular new wave guitars, gritty pop melodies and indie-folk arrangements. REPEATER (HERBERT POWELL)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Post-hardcore DIY gig/club effort, with a selection of live acts dropping by. SIVU

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £8

The Cambridge-born, Finnishnamed singer/songwriter does his tremulous quaver of a thing. HIGH FLIGHT FANZINE PRESENTS...

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

The fledgling fanzine takes to Sleazy’s for a night of new sights and sounds. BBC SSO: OSBORNE PLAYS BEETHOVEN

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11.50

Pianist Steve Osborne joins the BBC SSO for a recital of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.2, amongst others.

AMARANTHE (ENGEL + SANTA CRUZ)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £19

Swedish hard rock unit with a trio of vocalists at the helm.

Fri 20 Mar WILKO JOHNSON

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The inimitable guitarist and founding member of Dr. Feelgood returns to the live circuit for his ‘Still Kickin’ Tour’, following his (not actually) farewell tour after his diagnosis with terminal cancer. RUSTIE (NIGHTWAVE)

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Glasgow-based man of the moment, in the world of dance music anyway, plays as part of his Green Language world tour. THIS FEELING (TIJUANA BIBLES)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

The London rock’n’roll night takes a trip north with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7

ELEVANT (HAND CRAFTED + KEVIN MACDONALD + THE STUMBLERS + SWEET AMBER)

BUFF CLUB, 19:15–22:00, £6

Liverpudlian psychadelic rockers, the brainchild of singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Edward.

UPCDOWNC (BLOOD OF THE MOTHER + LOST LIMBS) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Kent purveyors of massive, dark, mental Moog noise.

Sat 21 Mar

BIG BOY BLOATER (MELISSA KELLY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7.50

The Jools Holland-prasied bluesmeets-roots guitarist and singer/ songwriter does his live thing. MORRISSEY

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £45

Ol’ Moz takes to the road for his first full UK tour since 2011.

KING KING (THE LAURENCE JONES BAND)

O2 ABC, 18:30–22:00, £15

British bluesbreakers and multiaward winners at the British Blues Awards. RAG N BONE MAN

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £8.50

One-man brutal trash blues noise machine, on drums, harmonica, guitar and expletives.

RANDOLPH’S LEAP: I CAN’T DANCE TO THIS MUSIC (WITHERED HAND + EAGLEOWL + PREHISTORIC FRIENDS + TIGERCATS + VIKING MOSES + HENRY & FLEETWOOD) CCA, 14:00–19:00, £12

Glasgow folk-pop melody merchants Randolph’s Leap host another bout of their I Can’t Dance To This Music all-dayer – this time featuring sets from Withered Hand, eagleowl and more. KIESZA

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Canadian singer/songwriter best known for her single Hideaway. RSNO: AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

Peter Oundjian conducts a selection of pieces by American composers, including Gershwin’s An American in Paris. A CELEBRATION OF NINA SIMONE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £20

Musician Warren McIntyre pays tribute to Nina Simone, with help from Belle and Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson as band leader playing guitar and harmonica, and various other musicians.

FOUR YEAR STRONG (HIT THE LIGHTS + FOREVER CAME CALLING + LIGHT YOU UP) THE ARCHES, 18:00–22:00, £14

The US punk rock quartet return to Scotland as part of their Pure Noise Records UK tour. CHUCK RAGAN AND THE CAMARADERIE (SKINNY LISTER)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £11

American singer/songwriter of the folk rock variety, formerly of Hot Water Music.

THE BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS (JASMINE RODGERS)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00, £10

The bluesy folk locals play a special set in’t surrounds of Drygate brewery.

Listings

Sun 22 Mar

NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION (INUIT + CUTTY’S GYM) BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Edinburgh-based post-progressive rock and electronica troupe melding almost perfectly subtle electronic beats with a spaced-out guitar sound. THE PARLOTONES

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:00, £20

South African rockers who have achieved multi-platinum status in their own country, go them. SHAHYAD AND BARAN

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

Persian pop singer, producer and composer.

Mon 23 Mar BILLY LOCKETT (MEGAN WASHINGTON)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £11

Northampton singer/songwriter skilled on the ol’ piano, which he taught himself to play in a basement, aged eight, as you do. WOLF ALICE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £12

London four-piece fronted by Ellie Rowsell, making un-pigeonholeable folky rock with a distinctly poppy vibe. PURLING HISS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

Philly experimentalists who started life as the fuzzed-out solo side-project of Mike Polizze.

Tue 24 Mar

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

Indie rock’n’roll quintet full of guitars and songs about love an’ that. NICK MULVEY

OLD FRUITMARKET, 20:00–22:00, £15

The founding member of Portico Quartet does his solo singer/songwriter thing. WARPAINT (THE GARDEN)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Having graced our milestone 100th issue cover back in January 2014 (time flies, eh?), the psychedelic LA indie-rockers return to our shores as part of their biggest UK tour to date. ABEL GANZ

COTTIERS THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £11

The veteran Glasgow proggers return to the live stage for a special filmed performance at Cottiers. CENTURY THIRTEEN (POLAR BEARS IN PURGATORY + SEEL)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Fledgling Glasgow alternative poppunksters with two EPs already under their belts.

Wed 25 Mar

BAD SIGN (THE COLOUR LINE + SWORN TO OATH)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

Classic rock trio hailing from Croydon, known for moving from melody to mosh in 4.3 seconds, or something like that. FLYTE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

Melodic London foursome led by Will Taylor, known for their exuberant live performances. SLEATER-KINNEY

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The Washington Riot Grrrl trio return to a live setting with their (secretly recorded) new LP, No Cities to Love, emerging seven years after they began their ‘extended hiatus’.

THE MARCH MARCH (ROB HERON AND THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA + DANIEL MEADE + THE STRANGE BLUE DREAMS)

STEREO, 20:00–23:00, £7

Mini roadshow of country, western swing and rock’n’roll, including a set from six-piece jazz ensemble Rob Heron and The Tea Pad Orchestra. WHITE BAER (COUER)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Edinburgh-based indie outfit, taking their cue from the likes of The Smiths and Interpol.

Thu 26 Mar KILL IT KID

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £10

More groove-infused blues from the experimental foursome, with Chris Turpin on dust-bowl howlin’ duties.

Listings

WE CAME FROM WOLVES

RSNO: JOHN SUCHET’S BEETHOVEN

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15

Post-rock foursome all about the harmonic, melodic soundscapes with hook-laden, euphoric choruses. THE SUBWAYS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Alternative indie-rock trio now 10 years and four albums down the line. A QUIET NIGHT IN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

Showcase night curated by Scottish new music blogs Podcart, Pop Cop, Rave Child and Song, by Toad. SACRED PAWS

MONO, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Glasgow/London-straddling duo with a capriciously rough-edged take on Afrobeat.

Fri 27 Mar

INTO IT, OVER IT (MODERN BASEBALL + TINY MOVING PARTS)

STEREO, 18:30–22:00, £12.50

Experimental alter ego of Evan Weiss, taking on the emo, indie and acoustic rock genres with an ingenious slant. THE VIEW

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £25

The Dundee indie-pop scamps play Scottish soil, if anyone’s still bothered? DJ YODA

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

The sampler extraordinaire presents both his live band Breakfast of Champions, as well as a solo AV DJ set. LORDI

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £17.50

The – let’s face it, slightly bizarre – Finnish hard rockers bring the mayhem, all monster masks, hard riffs and O.T.T. pyrotechnics.

UNIVERSAL THEE (HOW TO SWIM + HELLO CREEPY SPIDER + MISS THE OCCUPIER)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6

Edinburgh-based alternative indie lot led by husband and wife pairing James and Lisa Russell, providing an interesting quiet/loud contrast. YVONNE LYON (ANDREW HOWIE)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £8

The Scottish singer/songwriter plays a batch of uplifting folk-pop soundscapes from her latest LP, These Small Rebellions. VIDEO GAMES LIVE!

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £35

Video game touring concert created by composer Tommy Tallarico in 2002, taking in a series of video game music performed by a live orchestra and choir.

STELLAR FUSE (BORN A GIANT + PERPETUAL MOTION + DAVESNEWBIKE) BUFF CLUB, 19:15–22:00, £6

Edinburgh-based psychedelic rockers who recently played nationwide touring music night, This Feeling. THE NONTH WAVE

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Glasgow alternative rock’n’rollers made up of two brothers and a cousin.

Sat 28 Mar

GUN (JAMES KING AND THE LONE WOLVES)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Rock’n’roll outfit formed by the Gizzi brothers in the mid-80s, taking to a live setting to play their debut LP – Taking on the World – live and in its entirety. BOMBSKARE

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, FREE

Edinburgh’s original nine-piece ska juggernaut – known for reaching zero to 60 in the space of three chords, or something impressive like that. THE STRANGLERS (THE REZILLOS)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £17

The long-standing punk-rockers take to the road once more, marking some 40+ years and still standing. THOUSANDSOUNDS (UPROAR + MHAIRI CAULFIELD)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

Sonic mash-up of widescreen guitars, dream-pop, 60s psychedelia, shoegaze and good ol’ rock’n’roll from the Glasgow quartet. THE VEX

13TH NOTE, 14:00–17:00, £TBC

The reformed Weegie lot play a special afternoon set to help welcome their new LP into the world.

John Suchet and the RSNO pay tribute to Beethoven – taking in the Egmont overture, the Third Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony.

NORTH OF THE WALL 2015 (GAMA BOMB + BOLZER + FEN + MAEL MORDHA + CANCEROUS WOMB + CNOC AN TURSA + SAOR + RISEN PROPHECY + EXILE THE TRAITOR + BURIED SLEEPER + PYRE OF THE EARTH) CLASSIC GRAND, 15:00–22:00, £15

Non-profit, one-day festival celebrating Scottish metal bands of all kinds of pure dead bangin’ hues. ALIAS KID (THE MOON KIDS + THE BEAT MOVEMENT)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £6

The Manchester outfit bring their fusions of 60s style anthems up Scotland-way.

SINDERINS (HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS + CHARLY HOUSTON)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00, £12

Harmonic East coast ensemble with duelling lead vocals, formed from the ashes of the impossibly titled Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward and Fisher.

Sun 29 Mar THE VACCINES

OLD FRUITMARKET, 19:30–22:00, £20

London-based indie-rockers of dubious musical merit. BROKEN RECORDS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £8

The 2007-formed Edinburgh mainstays play a special intimate Sleazy’s show, with their usual wide variety of instrumentation complimenting their eclectic sound. BIPOLAR SUNSHINE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

Solo project of Manchester-based musician Adio Marchant (formerly of Kid British fame), still riding the wave of his newly-released EP, Aesthetics. ANDREW MONTGOMERY

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Scottish singer/songwriter who is best known as a member of late 90s Aberdeen indie-rock outfit, Geneva. FUSE ODG

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

London-born Ghanian muso with a fondness for baseball caps worn backwards. Ain’t we all.

RALLY & BROAD: DANCE WHILE THE SKY CRASHES DOWN (UTOPIAPOCALYPSE + NO MORE TIGER + HANNAH JANE WALKER + CALUM RODGER + JOSEPHINE SILLARS) STEREO, 14:30–17:00, £5

The Rally & Broad literary merrymakers host round two of their March specials, with guests Utopiapocalypse (aka Sam Small and Bram Gieben), No More Tiger, Hannah Jane Walker, Calum Rodger and Josephine Sillars taking to the stage.

Mon 30 Mar RIVAL SONS

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £17

Long Beach-hailin’ Californian band of heavyweight rock’n’rollers. OF MICE AND MEN (THE AMITY AFFLICTION + VOLUMES)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £18

Californian metalcore outfit out and touring their new LP, Restoring Force. BLUE

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £25

Lee Ryan et al get back on the road for a spring tour. Nobody cares. WALKING ON CARS (PORT ISLA)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Young pop-meets-rock scamps hailing from the delightfully named Dingle, in Ireland.

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT (PERIPHERY + SHINING) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

Canadian musician and producer Devin Townsend takes to the road with his live band of players.

Edinburgh Music Tue 03 Mar MARTIN SMITH

THE CAVES, 19:15–22:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The Cutting Edge and Delirious? man goes it solo.

Wed 04 Mar ADMIRAL FALLOW

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

Louis Abbott and his merry six-piece stage their usual rousing collective rabble of a thing. FAT SUIT

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–23:00, £10

The Glasgow instrumental music collective deliver their usual mighty fusion of jazz, rock and folk.

Thu 05 Mar MIKE PETERS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £15

The frontman of Welsh band The Alarm continues his solo quest. ABSOLVA (TERGAZZI)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

Classic metal unit hailing from Manchester, upholding the British tradition of twin lead guitars.

SCO: BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

Fine young violinist Renaud Capuçon joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for a recital of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. SURVIVALIST #1 (DEAD BOY ROBOTICS + URVANOVIC + REDOLENT + FINN LEMARINEL)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £PAY WHAT YOU LIKE

First of a new regular showcase night hosted by Edinburgh-based label and promoter Survivalist, in collab with Glasgow's A Quiet Night In.

SONG, BY TOAD’S BAD FUN (BECKY BECKY)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Music blogger Song, By Toad’s fledgling night, taking in live talent and guest DJs of the reliably good variety.

Fri 06 Mar

ROY’S IRON DNA (ORDINARYSON + JOE ALLEN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £12

Edinburgh-via-Berwick outfit, aka the anagrammatic alter ego of Ordinaryson, who also plays a stint on the evening. THIS FEELING

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:45–23:00, £8

The London rock’n’roll night takes a trip north with a selection of live bands taking to the stage. GOGO PENGUIN

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £12

Proud recipients of the annual Mercury Music Prize Token Jazz Album Nomination Award hit the road to make the most of their new found profile. RSNO: SONDERGARD CONDUCTS PATHETIQUE

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12 (£6)

Danish Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Sondergard leads a recital of Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony and Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto. THE RUSE

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Hometown show for the psychedelic rock crew, out launching their new EP. WEE DUB FESTIVAL: WARM UP SESSION

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Brother Most Righteous and various guest DJs warm your cockles right up for the kick off of Wee Dub Festival 2015.

WEE DUB FESTIVAL SESSION #1 (MC SOOM T + LALA AND THE BOOYA + RED EYE HI-FI + ESCAPE ROOTS SOUND + DJ NEM + ELECTRIKAL SOUND SYSTEM) LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£11 DOOR)

Sat 07 Mar GLASS ANIMALS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10

Baroque folk trio with distinct pop(ish) influences, still riding the wave of their debut LP, ZABA. JAMIE BARTON

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15 (£12.50)

The American operatic mezzosoprano plays her first Scottish recital. Rescheduled date. ABDOMINAL AND THE OBLIQUES

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£7)

Return of hip-hop legend Abdominal, playing a live set with instrumental duo The Obliques.

WEE DUB FESTIVAL SESSION #2 (ONLYJOE + MAXIROOTS + DJ BEN-JAMIN)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £9 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Wee Dub Festival continues with live sets from Onlyjoe and Maxiroots.

WEE DUB FESTIVAL SESSION #3 (MUNGO’S HI-FI + CHARLIE P + OBF & SHANTI D + TAIWAN MC + RIDDIM TUFFA SOUND) STUDIO 24, 22:00–03:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

Wee Dub Festival throws up a full-on soundsystem showcase for yer Saturday night, with guests including Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Riddim Tuffa Sound and more. THE RHEMEDIES (STELLAR FUSE + MECHANICAL ARMS + THE DURTY WURKS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Rock’n’roll outfit formed by the Gizzi brothers in the mid-80s, taking to a live setting to play their debut LP – Taking on the World – live and in its entirety. SISTER (FALLEN MAFIA + NEST OF VIPERS)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

The Swedish horror rockers make their return to Edinburgh.

Thu 12 Mar PLAYTIME

THE OUTHOUSE, 20:00–00:30, £7 (£5)

A showcase of jazz performers experiment by playing some brand new music. MIKE MCGOLDRICK + JOHN MCCUSKER + JOHN DOYLE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £17.50

Three members of the Transatlantic Sessions play a rare ensemble set, touting their flutes, whistles, pipes, fiddles and guitar-mastery. SCO: MOZART’S REQUIEM

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform Mozart’s acclaimed unfinished Requiem, alongside Schubert’s famous unfinished Eighth Symphony. ECLIPSE

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

The Stockholm hard rockers hit Scotland for a one-off date promoting their new LP.

Fri 13 Mar

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £6

Experimental-styled progressive rockers, taking their sound to some symphonic and dramatic places.

SACRILEGE

The NWOBHM era masters make their Bannermans debut.

LIMBO (JONNIE COMMON + A-LIX + CALLUM EASTER)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–01:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Beloved ‘burgh gig-in-a-club night, this time headered by Glasgow-based sonic boomer Jonnie Common.

Sun 08 Mar RHODES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7

Singer/songwriter hailing from Hitchin, with two EPs now under his belt.

WEE DUB FESTIVAL SESSION #4 (CHANNEL ONE SOUNDSYSTEM + EARL GATESHEAD + BIG TOES HI-FI SOUNDSYSTEM + MESSENGER SOUND) THE CAVES, 21:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£13 DOOR)

The fifth annual Wee Dub Festival draws to a close with a duo of bona fide soundsystem legends – step forward messrs Channel One and Earl Gateshead – making merry alongside Messenger Sound, Big Toes Hi-Fi Soundsystem and more. KIM CHURCHILL

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

KARNATAKA

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:15–23:00, £14

THE HOLY GHOSTS (MIRACLE GLASS COMPANY + BLACK CAT BONE)

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £6

Edinburgh rock’n’rollers infusing their sound with a splash of country and blues, launching their new EP on the night.

THE AFTERPARTY (BEYOND RECALL + BLACKMAIL LETTERING + AUTUMN'S FALLEN)

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £6

The London alternative rockers make a Scottish stop-off. DED RABBIT (LÉ DIM)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £3

Band of brothers playing an eclectic mix of indie and sax funk. ANDY JORDAN

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £11

The Made In Chelsea star embarks on his UK mini tour, we’ll do the hiding. LEO AND ANTO

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £13

With the Saw Doctors still on sabbatical, band members Leo Moran and Anthony Thistlethwaite take to the road as an acoustic duo covering different takes on well-known Saw Doctors songs.

Australian singer/songwriter matching his lyrical artistry with fierce vocals.

FORTUNE PROMOTIONS SHOWCASE (HOMESICK ALDO + THE DRAYNES + MONTICULE + ROME)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Evening of hand-selected unsigned indie from Fortune Promotions.

THE PYGMIES (BAOBAB GATEWAY)

Up-beat and off-beat Afro-jazz, ska and blues merrymakers, out launching their new EP.

Mon 09 Mar

SOUNDHOUSE @ TRAVERSE THEATRE: CELTER SCHMELTER

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £10

Continuing its weekly gig residency at Traverse Theatre, departed Edinburgh music venue Soundhouse host a special set from grassroots Klezmer ensemble Celter Schmelter, helping raise funds for The Soundhouse Organisation.

Tue 10 Mar THE HANDSOME FAMILY

THE PLEASANCE, 19:00–22:00, £16

Musical collaboration between husband and wife duo Brett and Rennie Sparks – still making lovely Americana-styled alternative folk tunes after some 20 years together.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Middlesbrough rock’n’rollers take to the road as part of their tour of nine cities.

GUN

Edinburgh indie-rock quartet with a distinct psychedelic twist.

Returning to celebrate all things dub, reggae, and roots across a weekend-long programme of treats, Wee Dub Festival opens proceedings with a set from eclectic lyrical Glaswegian Soom T, amongst others. THE REVOLVE (LOSING GROUND)

Wed 11 Mar

THE EMERALD ARMADA

Alternative folk ensemble, all soaring harmonies and cheekychappy banter.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

RSNO: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

The RSNO pay tribute to composer John Williams – y’know, he of the 21 Grammys, seven BAFTAs, five Oscars, four Golden Globes and three Emmys. And the theme from Jaws!

Sat 14 Mar THE SELECTER

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £18.15

2-tone ska revival band formed in Coventry back in 1979, now back on’t live circuit celebrating 35+ years of being. LUCY ROSE (THE HALF EARTH)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £14

Singer/songwriter who has contributed vocals to Bombay Bicycle Club tracks, now striking out on her lonesome. JUSTIFIED SINNERS (ONZLO)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Edinburgh alternative rockers playing a mix of covers and original material.

EDINBURGH HIGHLAND REEL AND STRATHSPEY SOCIETY THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£10 STUDENT/£8 CHILDREN)

EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB (JO HARMAN AND COMPANY + WANG DANG DELTA) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–23:00, £13

Annual bash with the celebrated fiddle orchestra and guests hosting an evening of traditional Scottish fiddle music and song.

Monthly blues club taking in touring blues acts from the UK and beyond.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £8

The Cambridge-born, Finnishnamed singer/songwriter does his tremulous quaver of a thing.

DOOM OVER EDINBURGH

Weekend-long showcase of the best in all things dark and gloomy, including The Prophecy, Iron Void and more.

Sun 15 Mar THE POOZIES

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–23:00, £10

All-female folk ensemble made up of Sally Barker, Mary Macmaster, Eilidh Shaw and Mairearad Green. CAMERATA SALZBURG + NICOLA BENEDETTI: SYMPHONIES

USHER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £12 (£10)

The collective of musicians that make up Camerata Salzburg join forces with violinist Nicola Benedetti for a programme of symphonies. DOOM OVER EDINBURGH

BANNERMANS, 15:00–23:00, £10

Weekend-long showcase of the best in all things dark and gloomy, including The Prophecy, Iron Void and more.

Mon 16 Mar STEVE WILSON

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £25

The four-time Grammy nominee multi-instrumentalist and producer plays tracks from his fourth solo LP, Hand. SOUNDHOUSE @ TRAVERSE THEATRE: GRAEME STEPHEN TRIO

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £10

Continuing its weekly gig residency at Traverse Theatre, departed Edinburgh music venue Soundhouse host a special set from jazz guitarist Graeme Stephen and co., helping raise funds for The Soundhouse Organisation.

Tue 17 Mar

FRANZ NICOLAY (SUPERMOON + HAILEY BEAVIS + BROKEN STORIES)

THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 19:00–22:00, £5.50 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

The former keyboardist in Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady plays a set of his multi-instrumental, beat poetry-inspired punk-rock.

Wed 18 Mar EDINBURGH QUARTET

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£12)

The local quartet play a selection of works to mark WWI, including Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet.

THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND SOUND SHOWCASE

WEE RED BAR, 18:30–22:00, £4

Pretty much what it says on the tin: a showcase evening from The Academy of Music and Sound. ARIDA

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Spanish stoner rock duo make their Edinburgh debut. HUNTER AND THE BEAR

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £11.50

British folk-rock ensemble who used to rehearse in a soundproofed shipping container in a London car park, obv.

Thu 19 Mar JOAN ARMATRADING

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £29.50

The longstanding British singer/ songwriter plays a selection of newer songs and older classics. CIAN NUGENT

THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 19:30–22:00, £6

The Dublin guitarist and composer plays a set of his trademark traditional music fused with 20th century composition. SMASH INTO PIECES

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

Swedish metalic rockers led by Chris Adam Hedman Sörbye. BOUGE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £4

Musical duo formed by pals Barney and Maxim, expanding to a seven-piece live band for their current tour.

SIVU

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

THE UNTHANKS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The former Mercury Prize nominees return after a couple of years doing their own thing, set to unleash their dark Northern folk on the stage again. RSNO: AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

Peter Oundjian conducts a selection of pieces by American composers, including Gershwin’s An American in Paris.

THE GREAT OLD ONES (BARSHASKETH + ENNERACT)

THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

Genre defying ensemble from Bordeaux, combining elements of doom, black metal, post rock and more.

RALLY & BROAD: DANCE WHILE THE SKY CRASHES DOWN (RM HUBBERT + ALAN BISSETT + LYNSEY MAY + ELYSSA VULPES) THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Rally & Broad literary merrymakers host round one of their March specials, with guests RM Hubbert, Alan Bissett, Lynsey May, Elyssa Vulpes and the newly crowned Scottish Slam Champion taking to the stage. PUNK FOR PAM

BANNERMANS, 19:00–23:00, £DONATION

Annual charity fundraiser with an all-punk schedule of bands, raising money for Waverley Care and Milestone Hospice. SONG, BY TOAD’S BAD FUN (VIKING MOSES)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Music blogger Song, By Toad’s fledgling night, taking in live talent and guest DJs of the reliably good variety.

Sat 21 Mar

KNOCK OUT KAINE (DEAD CITY RUINS)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

Midlands-based rock quartet led by Dean Foxx, out and touring their new LP.

BLUNT FESTIVAL SHOWCASE (XREPENTANCEX + RENOUNCED + GROVE STREET FAMILIES + BACK DOWN + WAR CHARGE + FRONTLINE + REVULSION + IN TONGUES GHC + KINGPIN) THE MASH HOUSE, 16:30–22:00, £10

First instalment of yearly Blunt Fest showcase, taking in a selection of talent from the hardcore scene. PUNK FOR PAM

THE LIQUID ROOM, 18:30–22:00, £40 (THREE-DAY PASS)

Annual charity fundraiser with an all-punk schedule of bands, raising money for Waverley Care and Milestone Hospice.

Sun 22 Mar PAUL WELLER

THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE, 19:30–22:00, £39

The Jam and The Style Council singer/songwriter, doing his solo thing with that haircut. CHUCK RAGAN (SKINNY LISTER)

THE CAVES, 19:15–22:00, £11

American singer/songwriter of the folk rock variety, formerly of Hot Water Music. COLTSBLOOD (NINKHARSAG + NOLTI NAN GANA NAN NOLTA)

OPIUM, 19:00–23:00, £7

Liverpudlian dark noisemakers who surfaced in 2013 with their self-released demo tape.

ASTHMA UK FUNDRAISER (SAVE THE RECKLESS + SKY BOI + SHAARP + UNTOLD CHAPTERS )

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £4

The staff from M&S Ocean Terminal and their respective bands help raise funds for Asthma UK.

Fri 20 Mar

Mon 23 Mar

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £9

RAGLANS

Dublin-based quartet formed in a festival tent back in 2010, riding along on muscular new wave guitars, gritty pop melodies and indie-folk arrangements.

THE CORONAS

Irish indie-rockers led by Danny O’Reilly, who started penning tunes at the tender age of 13.

THE SKINNY

ASOMVEL

CASSANDRA LONDON

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–01:00, £7 (£9 AFTER 10/£4 STUDENTS)

British bruisers of the metalpunk-rock’n’roll variety, out and making their usual glorious racket. SOUNDHOUSE @ TRAVERSE THEATRE: MARTIN SIMPSON

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £10

Continuing its weekly gig residency at Traverse Theatre, departed Edinburgh music venue Soundhouse host a special set from English folk singer Martin Simpson, helping raise funds for The Soundhouse Organisation.

Tue 24 Mar

CLICK CLACK CLUB (STEELE PLAYS ZAPPA + GOOD JOB SQUAD + DIG FOR VICTORY)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £6 (£4)

Experimental monthly music club bringing the good times with their Beefheart-inspired funk and special guests.

POP EXCHANGE #5 (JACK AND THE’ + HOW TO SWIM + MIYAGI) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

Pop Exchange present their biggest line-up to date with the eclectic triptych of Jack and the’, How to Swim and Miyagi.

Wed 25 Mar WE CAME FROM WOLVES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6

Post-rock foursome all about the harmonic, melodic soundscapes with hook-laden, euphoric choruses. SACRED PAWS (WOUNDED KNEE + DJ YVES)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Glasgow/London-straddling duo with a capriciously rough-edged take on Afrobeat.

WHISKEYDICK (OLD DOLLAR BILL)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

Texas-hailing Southern rock duo made up of Fritz and Reverend Johnson.

Thu 26 Mar AXIS OF

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Belfast hardcore outfit bore a hole through the stage as per. THE QUIREBOYS

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Hard rock group formed in 1984 in London – on-and-off until 2001, when they reformed with their current line-up. PLAYTIME

THE OUTHOUSE, 20:00–00:30, £7 (£5)

A showcase of jazz performers experiment by playing some brand new music.

LIVE IN THE JUNGLE (ROB CRIMSON + THE SOUTHPAWS + PEACOCK MASSIVE) ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Live band night raising funds for the Vine Trust.

BROKEN RECORDS (GARDEN OF ELKS + FUZZY STAR) SUMMERHALL, 20:00–01:00, £10

The 2007-formed Edinburgh mainstays play a special show to help launch Summerhall’s new gig series, with their usual wide variety of instrumentation complimenting their eclectic sound.

Fri 27 Mar

BRIDIE JACKSON AND THE ARBOUR

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £11

More ethereal and dark folk from the Newcastle-based quartet. EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB ( WITHGERRY JABLONSKI BAND + LIGHTS OUT BY NINE)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–23:00, £13

Monthly blues club taking in touring blues acts from the UK and beyond.

CATHOLIC ACTION (POOR THINGS + STAR ROVER)

THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 19:30–22:00, £5

Glasgow noisemakers featuring members of Male Pattern Band and Casual Sex. AL GRANT: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF JIM REEVES

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £21.50

Musician Al Grant pays tribute to Jim Reeves with a concert of his classic hits alongside narration and video footage. RSNO: JOHN SUCHET’S BEETHOVEN

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

John Suchet and the RSNO pay tribute to Beethoven – taking in the Egmont overture, the Third Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony.

March 2015

Up-and-coming reggae singer/ songwriter from the mean streets of Croydon. THE IMMECKE ALL STARS

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

The German rock troupe hit UK soil, or, more precisely, Henry’s diminutive stage. DUNE RATS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Aussie stoner pop ensemble take to the road to help welcome their debut LP into the world.

Sat 28 Mar

HERE LIES A WARNING (MIND SET A THREAT + SWALLOWS)

THE MASH HOUSE, 18:00–22:00, FREE

Hardcore metal outfit fae Fife, fronted by the magnificently named Leonardus Segerius. TRAIN

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £26.50

The San Franciscoan pop-rockers do their Grammy Award-winning thing, showcasing new material alongside old faves. COLLAR UP

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Dream-pop Edinburgh trio signed to local Permwhale label, rich with sweeping pianos and dreamy vocals. BIPOLAR SUNSHINE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10

Solo project of Manchester-based musician Adio Marchant (formerly of Kid British fame), still riding the wave of his newly-released EP, Aesthetics.

THE MARCH MARCH (ROB HERON AND THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA + DANIEL MEADE + THE STRANGE BLUE DREAMS)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–23:00, £7

Mini roadshow of country, western swing and rock’n’roll, including a set from six-piece jazz ensemble Rob Heron and The Tea Pad Orchestra.

Sun 29 Mar

DUNEDIN CONSORT: MATTHEW PASSION

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £12

The Dunedin Consort perform St Matthew Passion by JS Bach for the fifteenth year in succession. ALIAS KID

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

The Manchester outfit bring their fusions of 60s style anthems up Scotland-way.

Mon 30 Mar FURYON

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £8

Brighton-based thrash metal quartet fueled on a diet of heavy metal, prog and classic rock. SOUNDHOUSE @ TRAVERSE THEATRE: NICK HARPER

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £10

Continuing its weekly gig residency at Traverse Theatre, departed Edinburgh music venue Soundhouse host a special set from English singer/songwriter and guitarist Nick Harper, helping raise funds for The Soundhouse Organisation.

Dundee Music

Sat 07 Mar

BROKEN BOY (WHITE BEAR?)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Fife and Dundee-hailing trio of the alternative indie-rock variety.

Sun 08 Mar

MAPS OF MICHIGAN (FOXBEEF + FLAT SIX)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Perth-based instrumental postrockers imbued with elements of math rock.

Thu 12 Mar

Fri 27 Mar

SHIFTY’S 3RD BIRTHDAY (SHIFTY VS NITTY GRITZ + SILIBIL & BRAINS + BIGG TAJ & SPEE69 + AEREKA & EMIGRATZE + MOG & THE FREESTYLE MASTER + P NOLOGY + GIMIK + GMC) BUSKERS, 20:00–02:30, £TBC

The Dundee fun night celebrates it’s 3rd birthday with a stellar line-up of live hip-hop acts, with buses running from Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Perth.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

The Numbers crew stage their regular takeover, with guest Anthony Naples and Numbers resident Spencer taking control of the decks.

ATLAS:EMPIRE

Californian metalcore ensemble with not one, not two, but three guitarists.

General Ludd, part of Glasgow collective Golden Teacher, commence a new Glasgow residency showcasing their new productions and discoveries.

Fri 13 Mar

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

DR FEELGOOD

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £10

The longstanding, no-holdsbarred Essex rock’n’rollers continue to do what they do best – tour.

Sat 14 Mar

FRANZ NICOLAY (BROKEN STORIES + BILLY LIAR + JON SHOE)

WE CAME FROM WOLVES

Post-rock foursome all about the harmonic, melodic soundscapes with hook-laden, euphoric choruses.

Glasgow

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £6 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

The former keyboardist in Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady plays a set of his multiinstrumental, beat poetryinspired punk-rock.

Sun 15 Mar

HOPES UP HIGH (ECHO VERSES + SALEM STREET + MELOPHOBIA)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Fledgling Dundee pop-punk scamps formed in mid-2014, out launching their new EP.

Wed 18 Mar

NAOMI BOOLE-MASTERSON + FALI PAVRI

MARRYAT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£7)

Tue 03 Mar KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a bungee run and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night out. I AM: BETA & KAPPA’S ACID THUNDER

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Cellist Naomi Boole-Masterson covers a selection of chamber classics alongside her pianist husband Fali Pavri, professor of piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa pull out all the stops for a one-off acid house rave-off, what with it being 03.03 an’ that.

Fri 20 Mar

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

DOUGIE MACLEAN

DUNDEE REP, 19:30–22:00, £20

The renowned Scot (aka he who penned Caledonia) returns to the live stage. FAT SUIT (ALAN BENZIE & JOE WRIGHT + FERGUS MCCREADIE)

DUNDEE REP, 20:00–22:30, £10

The Glasgow instrumental music collective deliver their usual mighty fusion of jazz, rock and folk. BREAK THE BUTTERFLY (NOTHING BUT ATOMS)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Levenmouth rock quartet led by Cameron Barnes.

Sat 21 Mar

DIXIE FRIED + RAG N BONE MAN

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Upbeat hypnotic blues rockers Dixie Fried play a double headline set with one-man brutal trash blues noise machine Rag N Bone Man.

Sun 22 Mar

FALLING WITH STYLE (THE HDING PLACE)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Wed 04 Mar TAKE IT SLEAZY

An unabashed mix of 80s pop, electro and nu-disco. They will play Phil Collins. SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Disco-styled party night bolstered by added karaoke fun. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp.

Thu 05 Mar WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Fri 06 Mar STEREO-FILTH

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

The Dundee psychedelic blues trio launch their new LP

RSNO: JOHN SUCHET’S BEETHOVEN

John Suchet and the RSNO pay tribute to Beethoven – taking in the Egmont overture, the Third Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony. FOREST FIRES (SCOUTS)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Aberdeen-based alternative rock quintet, setting themselves apart via intricate chords and delicate melody work.

OUT OF ORBIT: DRAG NIGHT

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

JELLY BABY

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. SMASHED

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Smashed up night of the best rock, metal, punk and emo, plus hip-hop, pop, EDM and dubstep selections. That do you? CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Two rooms of tunes with DJs David Lo Pan and RYRY, taking in rock anthems, pop-punk, screamo and requests.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

Sat 07 Mar NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Mix of DJs and drag performances, with live acts including Clip Art and Penny Cress, bolstered by various art student interactions.

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Fri 06 Mar

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

OLD SKOOL

CAIRD HALL, 19:30–22:00, £16 (£12.50)

Return of hip-hop legend Abdominal, playing a live set with instrumental duo The Obliques.

GENERAL LUDD

The Glasgow progressive rock quartet play their mighty mix of alternative rock, ambient electronica and energetic posthardcore.

KINGDOM OF GIANTS

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

READING ROOMS, 22:00–02:30, £7 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

NUMBERS (ANTHONY NAPLES + SPENCER)

The Voodoo crew host a house music double-header, with Spinnin’ Records regular Sam Feldt making merry alongside celebrated future house producer Henry Krinkle.

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Thu 26 Mar

ABDOMINAL AND THE OBLIQUES (SPEE SIX NINE + BIGG TAJ + MONOSAPIENS)

VOODOO (SAM FELDT + HENRY KRINKLE)

Sun 29 Mar

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Thu 05 Mar

VERSUS CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

All-new Friday metal party, with the added bells’n’whistles of Beer Pong, go-go dancers and Buckfast shots.

Wed 04 Mar Italian duo of the heavy and suitably loud variety.

BEAT STREET BROADCAST, 22:00–03:00, FREE

The Handpicked Cassette dudes and a rotating schedule of pals take over both floors of Broadcast for their new residency – with danceable beats downstairs, and mellower vibes in the upstairs bar.

The South Wales post-hardcore unit bring the noise.

HIBAGON

Glasgow Clubs

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday jivin’ pleasure.

ABSOLUTION

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £16

BIGFOOT’S TEA PARTY (SPENCER PARKER + MR TIES + GENERAL LUDD + EWAN CHAMBERS + MWX) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£6)

The Nomadic tech-house night makes its regular(ish) Glasgow stop-off, this time handing over the decks to Berlin cult figure Mr. Ties and techno specialist Spencer Parker, playing back-to-back, plus various supports in the Vic Bar.

Sun 08 Mar VERTIGO

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors.

DJ Kelmosh plays a mix of rock, dance and indie hits.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

SUBCULTURE

SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Mon 09 Mar

THE ROCK SHOP

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

PROPAGANDA

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez at the helm. THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue. HARSH TUG

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms. MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Tue 10 Mar

CATHOUSE, 17:00–21:00, £2 (£1)

LOVE MUSIC

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. SINGLES NIGHT

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £7

Members of Glasgow’s posthardcore noise-masters United Fruit curate their lively event of big-beat alternative indie and disco. YES!

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5

Gay indie night with a playlist that mixes oldies and newbies to fine effect. MISSING PERSONS CLUB

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Residents-manned evening of the finest techno and house offerings from the MPC crew. HEADSTRONG (HAPPA + SUNIL SHARPE + CLOUDS)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

New world rave dance craze from the Animal Farm and Clouds bods. In the Assembly Hall. NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR (MISTER SATURDAY NIGHT)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FROM £4

The Night Of The Jaguar collective welcome back the man behind Brooklyn’s world famous Mister Saturday Night Loft parties and the Mister Saturday Night record label, Justin Carter (aka Mister Saturday Night, obv). FLASHBACK VS FRESHBEAT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

DJ Craig Guild holes up in main hall playing fresh new tracks, with DJ Nicola down in G2 playing the best of 80s-00s. THE YELLOW DOOR

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

New monthly night playing contemporary classics, unheard of gems and a few well-kent belters, all for your general dancing pleasure, natch. CLASSIC FRIDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJs Barry and Tailz (upstairs) and Gary and David (downstairs).

BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Under 18s rock night playing, er, anything and everything rock.

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night dedicated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable.

TEENAGE RIOT

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Gavin Somerville spins the finest chart, dance, house and hip-hop in the main hall, with rock and metal anthems in the bar.

VOODOO

Hip-hop and gangsta rap brought to you by the Notorious B.A.G and pals.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

BURN

SUPERMAX

A taste of the decadent sound systems of NYC’s disco era with yer main man Billy Woods. DEATHKILL 4000

KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

GOOD GRIEF’S GOOP SHOP (CIVIL ELEGIES + SEAS, STARRY + EXWIVES) BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The DIY label and zine collective present their monthly clubmeets-gig outing and fresh zine launch combined. SMASHED

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Smashed up night of the best rock, metal, punk and emo, plus hip-hop, pop, EDM and dubstep selections. That do you? CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Two rooms of tunes with DJs David Lo Pan and RYRY, taking in rock anthems, pop-punk, screamo and requests. BEAT STREET

BROADCAST, 22:00–03:00, FREE

The Handpicked Cassette dudes and a rotating schedule of pals take over both floors of Broadcast for their new residency – with danceable beats downstairs, and mellower vibes in the upstairs bar. SHOW (JULIO BASHMORE)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

The Show troops return to Subbie, this time joined by one of the biggest and best new names in UK house music scene (erm, that’d be Julio Bashmore).

BOOO! VS RHYTHM SECTION: END OF TERM PARTY

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Art School’s fledgling garage and dancehall night, Booo!, takes over the Assembly Hall, with the disco-ready Rhythm Section troops in The Vic bar.

Fri 13 Mar OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday jivin’ pleasure. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. OSMIUM

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two.

Italo, disco, synthpop and funk with the e’er capable Osmium residents.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

#TAG

LAIDBACK LUKE (D.O.D.)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £19.50 EARLYBIRD (£24.50 THEREAFTER)

Industro-rock noise party with live players and bespoke visuals to boot.

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a bungee run and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night out.

The electro-house specialist makes a return visit to The Arches, his hyper-drive-house-step and ghetto-jack-trance-bass collection firmly in tow.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Wed 11 Mar

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

MAGIC WAVES

The Glasgow chapter of the Magic Waves party hits Sleazy’s, with the finest of everything Italo in their kit-bag. GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. I HEART SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart. LET’S GO BACK… WAY BACK

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£8 AFTER 12)

Residents Bosco and Rob Mason bring acid-house, techno and rave back to the dancefloor.

COLOURS: 20TH BIRTHDAY, PART 2 (PAUL VAN DYK + SIMON PATTERSON + SIED VAN RIEL + MENNO DE JONG + BEN NICKY + DAVID FORBES) O2 ACADEMY, 21:00–03:00, £22.50

House music specialists Colours celebrate 20 years with a suitably sprawling line-up of guests, with part two of their birthday celebrations featuring Paul Van Dyk, Simon Patterson and more. MELTING POT: 14TH BIRTHDAY

THE ADMIRAL, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£10)

The Melting Pot troops celebrate their 14th birthday by welcoming back record collector, DJ, producer and label owner Joey Negro – a champion of all things disco for over two decades.

DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Disco-styled party night bolstered by added karaoke fun. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp. SUB ROSA (BEN PEARCE)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 EARLYBIRD (£7-£10 THEREAFTER)

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm, this edition joined by rising Manchester DJ and producer Ben Pearce.

Thu 12 Mar WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

LEVELS

Compa indulges his love of all things dubstep, backed by residents Insight and Bate Kush on the Bass Alliance Sound System. COMMON PEOPLE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Celebration of all things 90s, with hits a-plenty and a pre-club bingo session. JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez at the helm. THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue. ENJOYABLE MOMENT

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The Cosmic Dead chaps trip out with an evening of rollin’ Krautrock DJing for your general aural pleasure. FLASHBACK VS FRESHBEAT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

DJ Craig Guild holes up in main hall playing fresh new tracks, with DJ Nicola down in G2 playing the best of 80s-00s.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

JELLY BABY

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

CLASSIC FRIDAYS

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJs Barry and Tailz (upstairs) and Gary and David (downstairs).

Listings

VERSUS

SUNDAY SCIENCE

ANDY C

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

All-new Friday metal party, with the added bells’n’whistles of Beer Pong, go-go dancers and Buckfast shots. RETURN TO MONO (FUNCTION)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £12

Monthly night from Soma Records, this edition with Function joining them for a full live show.

EZUP VS COSMIC (DISKO PHONKERS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The EzUp and Cosmic crews team up for a one-off special.

OPTIMO’S FOODBANK FUNDRAISER (OPTIMO (ESPACIO) + NIGHTWAVE + HARRI & DOMENIC + MWX + LAETITIA PLEIADES + DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS + AFRODEESIA DJS + CHARLIE MCCANN + DICK 50) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £10

The Optimo chaps host a foodbank fundraiser takeover, with live acts across the Assembly Hall and Vic Bar, plus bespoke visuals from GSA alumni Torsten Lauschmann, filmmaker/musician Luke Fowler and video artist Diane Edwards.

Sat 14 Mar NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms. THE ROCK SHOP

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. FANTASTIC MAN

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Messy Saturday night uberdisco armed with Erasure and Papa Roach discographies. WRONG ISLAND

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

The English DJ/producer and cofounder of RAM Records mans the decks for the evening, marking his Subbie debut while he’s at it.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:00–03:00, FREE

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

DEAD MEADOW: OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY

Official after-bash for the Dead Meadow gig, with Radar Men from the Moon, plus Eyes Wide Open and El Rancho DJs.

Mon 16 Mar BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats. BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Gavin Somerville spins the finest chart, dance, house and hip-hop in the main hall, with rock and metal anthems in the bar.

Tue 17 Mar KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

E’er the ones for a themed kneesup, the i AM boys transform the club for their latest venture into the unknown, with groovemaster Space Dimension Controller on deck duties.

Wed 18 Mar NOT MOVING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

South African house, grime, jungle, r’n’b and hauntology – a tropical mix, ayes – from yer wumman Laurie Pitt. SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

BEAST WEDNESDAYS

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp.

Under 18s rock night playing, er, anything and everything rock.

Thu 19 Mar

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow.

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. I HEART SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart. SUBCULTURE VS THUNDER DISCO CLUB

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Long-running Subculture residents Harri & Domenic join forces with the Thunder Disco Club residents for a jolly fusion of house and disco. SANKEYS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £15

The legendary Manc club heads Glasgow-way for a special 20th birthday celebration, with guest DJs including DFTD and Toolroom.

PISTOLS AT DAWN (CRAIG BRATLEY)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Pistols At Dawn crew return with eclectic DJ selector Craig Bratley.

Sun 15 Mar EASY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Jamie spins anything and everything your heart could possibly desire, with requests all night long.

Listings

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday jivin’ pleasure. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez at the helm. THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

I AM: THE QUANTUM GATE

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

GUILTY PLEASURE

OLD SKOOL

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£8-£10 THEREAFTER)

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £3

VOODOO CATHOUSE, 17:00–21:00, £2 (£1)

Fri 20 Mar

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

Disco-styled party night bolstered by added karaoke fun.

Sweatcore disco hits played out by James T and Ramo, with a Gina G tune or two on a promise.

Thursday night party, this time handing over the decks to Body Party for the full four hours.

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a bungee run and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night out.

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure. GLITTERBANG

STEREOTONE (BODY PARTY)

WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. SMASHED

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Smashed up night of the best rock, metal, punk and emo, plus hip-hop, pop, EDM and dubstep selections. That do you? CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Two rooms of tunes with DJs David Lo Pan and RYRY, taking in rock anthems, pop-punk, screamo and requests. BEAT STREET

BROADCAST, 22:00–03:00, FREE

The Handpicked Cassette dudes and a rotating schedule of pals take over both floors of Broadcast for their new residency – with danceable beats downstairs, and mellower vibes in the upstairs bar.

SUGO

The Italian trashy disco returns for another night of supremely danceable carnage. ANIMAL FARM (BEN KLOCK)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £12 EARLYBIRD (£18 THEREAFTER)

Animal Farm welcome the one man techno wrecking machine that is Ben Klock for a four-hour deck takeover. FLASHBACK VS FRESHBEAT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

DJ Craig Guild holes up in main hall playing fresh new tracks, with DJ Nicola down in G2 playing the best of 80s-00s. SWEET STREAMS

THE FLYING DUCK, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

New electronic music-packed live broadcast clubber’s delight, with Michael Kasparis and Gareth Roberts at the reins. CLASSIC FRIDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJs Barry and Tailz (upstairs) and Gary and David (downstairs). VERSUS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

All-new Friday metal party, with the added bells’n’whistles of Beer Pong, go-go dancers and Buckfast shots. TEN WALLS (MARIBOU STATE + WILL SAUL)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £12 EARLYBIRD (£15 THEREAFTER)

The producer behind 2014 hit Walking With Elephants brings his full live AV show to Glasgow for the first time. ISLE (NUMMER)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Isle lot welcome up-andcoming Paris-via-London producer duo Nummer for a live set.

LA CHEETAH CLUB VS KUNST (TRAXX)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

La Cheetah Club and Kunst team up to welcome Chicago native Traxx back for a second time, this time manning the decks for the full four hours.

SAMSON SOUNDS AND FROGBEATS PRESENT... FURRY CHILLUM WARMUP (K.O.G. AND THE ZONGO BRIGADE + SAMSON SOUNDS + SAMEDIA SHEBEEN + SWANK ‘N’ JAMS + CREAM T + SOMBADI) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

To celebrate the coming of spring, Frogbeats and Samson Sounds team up with The Eden Festival to present a taster of the Furry Chillum experience.

Sat 21 Mar NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

I AM

JAMMING FRIDAYS

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

Wed 25 Mar

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SO WEIT SO GUT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

The party sounds of residents Fergus Clark, Gareth Roberts, Ruaidhri McGhee and their special guests.

THE ROCK SHOP

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. STRANGE PARADISE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Party night from floral-shirted Wild Combination man David Barbarossa, specializing in leftfield disco, post-punk and far-out pop. GIMME SHELTER

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Varied night moving from the 50s to present day, via selections of rock’n’roll, soul, garage, psych and r’n’b. VOODOO

CATHOUSE, 17:00–21:00, £2 (£1)

Under 18s rock night playing, er, anything and everything rock. GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. I HEART SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart. MONSTER HOSPITAL

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Energetic club outing from DJ duo Beyvnce Nailz and C4lvin Malice.

CODE: 5TH BIRTHDAY (MARK BROOM + NICK M) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Code techno specialists celebrate their fifth birthday in style with an appearance from UK techno veteran, Mark Broom. SUBCITY: 20TH ANNIVERSARY (BEN MARTIN + DJ KEOMA + NOFACE + VITAMINS DJS + MR CHOON! + PAUL THOMPSON + HUSH + GARETH ROBERTS + GK MACHINE) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£7-£8 THEREAFTER)

Subcity birthday takeover with a dizzying variety of musical mavericks weaving and spinning rhythms from the four corners of the globe.

Sun 22 Mar EASY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Jamie spins anything and everything your heart could possibly desire, with requests all night long. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

DISCO RIOT

Disco-styled party night bolstered by added karaoke fun. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp. SUB ROSA (HEIDI)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 EARLYBIRD (£8-£10 THEREAFTER)

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm, this edition joined by the mastermind behind the worldwide Jackathon series, Heidi.

Thu 26 Mar WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic.

HAUS DIMENSION

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Occasional night taking in a bit of disco, house, techno and acid, plus all manner of other wavy beats. CLASSIC FRIDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJs Barry and Tailz (upstairs) and Gary and David (downstairs). VERSUS

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

All-new Friday metal party, with the added bells’n’whistles of Beer Pong, go-go dancers and Buckfast shots. NEW LATIN FLIRT

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

SLIDE IT IN

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes over two floors, with DJs Mythic, DJ Nicola and Div on decks. SUNDAY SCIENCE

SURPRISE GARAGE EVENT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00

Sat 28 Mar NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

PRESCRIBED

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £3

Bi-weekly bass and house fun night with a regular schedule of guests.

Fri 06 Mar

ONE NIGHT STAND (CHEAP PICASSO)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Cheap Picasso and pals now in a bimonthly slot, playing everything good in house and beyond.

Mon 30 Mar

Chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos. BURN

FUCK YEAH

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

FOUR CORNERS

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

BARE MONDAYS

Gavin Somerville spins the finest chart, dance, house and hip-hop in the main hall, with rock and metal anthems in the bar.

PLANET EARTH

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. PROPAGANDA

Tropical selections of independent and alternative Latin tunes. The Garage host a surprise fun night, keeping all details being kept firmly under wraps. The teases.

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Edinburgh Clubs Tue 03 Mar SOUL JAM HOT

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. STEPBACK

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5

Mixed bag of electronic bass from DJs Wolfjazz and Keyte, moving from Baltimore to dubstep. DOMINO CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly institution with DJ P-Stylz at the helm spinning the best in hip-hop, r’n’b and soul. In the cafe space.

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

FLY CLUB

TRASH

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

STRETCHED

SMASHED

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Smashed up night of the best rock, metal, punk and emo, plus hip-hop, pop, EDM and dubstep selections. That do you? BEAT SURFING

VARIETY BAR, 20:00–00:00, FREE

Pre-club session with Frizzo from Frogbeats playing selections of nu jazz, funk and electro swing. CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Two rooms of tunes with DJs David Lo Pan and RYRY, taking in rock anthems, pop-punk, screamo and requests. BEAT STREET

BROADCAST, 22:00–03:00, FREE

ABSOLUTION

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms. THE ROCK SHOP

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. HOUNDIN’ THE STREETS

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Nothing but bare bone rattling, foot tapping, ass shaking hip-hop classics, new wave and disco. VOODOO CATHOUSE, 17:00–21:00, £2 (£1)

The Handpicked Cassette dudes and a rotating schedule of pals take over both floors of Broadcast for their new residency – with danceable beats downstairs, and mellower vibes in the upstairs bar.

Under 18s rock night playing, er, anything and everything rock.

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

NOTSOSILENT (ADESSE VERSIONS + P.O.L STYLE)

HEX (BLEAKER)

Fri 27 Mar

Tue 24 Mar

Barry Price and Junior provide cutting edge electronic sounds from across the globe, with a guest or two likely in tow.

Sun 29 Mar

HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Jazz-influenced sound sauna, moving through mathcore to postrock, with a few live acts thrown in for good measure.

BURN

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

SENSU

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Subculture residents Harri & Domenic play host to the Red Bull Music Academy 2015 Weekender, with guests including techno pioneer and all-round-legend Derrick May and the mysterious producers behind Paranoid London Records.

HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections.

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Gavin Somerville spins the finest chart, dance, house and hip-hop in the main hall, with rock and metal anthems in the bar.

Monthly evening of hip shakers and neck breakers, combining everything from Buddy Holly to Motorhead.

SUBCULTURE: RBMA 2015 WEEKENDER (DERRICK MAY + PARANOID LONDON)

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Thursday night party, with special guest Bleaker joining the Hex residents for the evening.

BARE MONDAYS

SHAKE APPEAL

THE ARCHES, 21:00–03:00, £16

Easter-themed rave-up, with George Bowie, Sparkos and Kutski amongst the guests.

JUICE SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Mon 23 Mar Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a bungee run and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night out.

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms.

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez at the helm.

GBX: THE EASTER BUNNY (GEORGE BOWIE + SPARKOS + KUTSKI)

OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday jivin’ pleasure. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms.

OLUM

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

I LOVE HIP HOP

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

LEZURE PRESENTS... JEREMY UNDERGROUND

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £8

Second club outing from popular house promoters Lezure, this time joined by My Love Is Underground label’s Jeremy Underground. JIVE & DUTY

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

Wed 04 Mar

Danceable – nae, jiveable – tunes with DJ Cheers and Coconut Smoke.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Sat 07 Mar

WITNESS

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

TEASE AGE

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

Glorious return for the legendary Glaswegian club institution, back and in its indie stride.

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

Midweek party night with DJs Thom and Pagowsky playing disco and deep house into the small hours. In the cafe space.

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle played out by inimitable residents Brother Most Righteous, Skillis, Era and Deburgh.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FROM £8

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Belch and crew bring the best in underground house, this edition letting Adesse Versions loose on the decks, with P.O.L Style on support.

THE GETTUP

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

MAYA (THE MOUSE OUTFIT + GROOVERIDER)

Occasional gathering pumpin’ out high energy disco tunes.

Launch of an all-new night offering up some of the best UK hip-hop, jungle, D’n’B, house and more, with a bounty of live acts in tow.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Thu 05 Mar

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

GUILTY PLEASURE

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. I HEART SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

BIG ‘N’ BASHY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

SPEAKER BITE ME

The Evol DJs worship at the alter of all kinds of indie-pop, with their only rule being that it’s gotta have bite. REWIND

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Journey back through the ages, with the residents digging out anthemic gems from the last 40 years. THUNDER DISCO CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits, as is their merry way.

THE SKINNY

Edinburgh Clubs NIGHTVISION PRESENTS... HANNAH WANTS (MELE + DJ BARELY LEGAL) LA BELLE ANGELE, 21:00–03:00, £12.50 EARLYBIRD (£15 THEREAFTER)

Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues with a takeover from up-and-coming house producer Hannah Wants, with support from Mele and DJ Barely Legal. KARNIVAL (MONIKA KRUSE)

THE CAVES, 23:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£12.50 THEREAFTER)

The local house and techno legends play host to German techno DJ, producer and label owner (aka one all-round talented lass), Monika Kruse.

Sun 08 Mar COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs. THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

Mon 09 Mar MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

HULLABALOO

TEESH (GLOWING PALMS)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room. CIRQUE DU SOUL (ARTFUL DODGER)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FROM £8

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 11 Mar COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. THE GETTUP

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Midweek party night with DJs Thom and Pagowsky playing disco and deep house into the small hours. In the cafe space. SOUL CITY

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5

Soul and funk playlists dominated by Aretha Franklin. Obvs. LOGAN SAMA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Kiss FM grime specialist mans the decks for the evening.

Thu 12 Mar I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass. JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

March 2015

Sun 15 Mar COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

PLANET EARTH

Mon 16 Mar

FUCK YEAH

Chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms. CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 GUESTLIST)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie.

THE AFTERPARTY (BEYOND RECALL + BLACKMAIL LETTERING + AUTUMNS FALLEN)

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Tue 10 Mar

I LOVE HIP HOP

Craig Smith plays an array of deep, soulful house, plus funk in the back room.

Fri 13 Mar

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–03:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

The London alternative rockers make a Scottish stop-off.

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

THINK TWICE

The newcomers from down south return with another dose of theatrics, joined by garage legend Artful Dodger.

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs. SOUL JAM HOT

DJ Cheers – frequent flyer at many a Sneaky’s night – finally gets his own show on the road, this edition joined by Glowing Palms.

DOMINO CLUB

Weekly institution with DJ P-Stylz at the helm spinning the best in hip-hop, r’n’b and soul. In the cafe space. FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. CONFUSION

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

All-new spin-off night from the Confusion is Sex peeps, placing its focus on bringing in guest DJs, MCs and live acts from outside Edinburgh. SURE SHOT

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

All-new night spanning 80s-00s hip-hop and r’n’b, manned by The Skinny’s own Peter Simpson and one half of Edinburgh’s Kitchen Disco, Malcolm Storey. AUDIO TALKS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Launch of a new deep house and disco night, spilling across two rooms. IN DEEP (WOLF MUSIC DJS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Sneaky’s new Friday nighter welcomes the Wolf Music chaps for a guest slot, most likely indulging their love of house and disco.

Sat 14 Mar TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Swinging soul spanning a whole century, with DJs Tsatsu and Fryer. DR NO’S

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and early reggae. BEEP BEEP, YEAH!

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s, via a disco tune or ten.

MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 17 Mar SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 18 Mar COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines. THE GETTUP

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Midweek party night with DJs Thom and Pagowsky playing disco and deep house into the small hours. In the cafe space.

Fri 20 Mar FUCK YEAH

PLANET EARTH

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections.

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room. PRESCRIBED

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £3

Bi-weekly bass and house fun night with a regular schedule of guests.

A TWISTED CIRCUS

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Carnival-styled Edinburgh music night showcasing a selection of musicians from across the UK.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

PROPAGANDA

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. DOMINO CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly institution with DJ P-Stylz at the helm spinning the best in hip-hop, r’n’b and soul. In the cafe space. FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. CREATURES OF HABIT

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

House, tech-house and techno from resident DJs Peter Annand and Jack Swift. HEADSET

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Fledgling night mixed up by a selection of Edinburgh DJs, including the chaps behind the Witness, Coalition and Big ‘n’ Bashy nights. NDAJE: AFRICAN CONNECTIONS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Afro-beat and funk playlists, bolstered by a selection of live acts. ALTITUDE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Selections of house and bass artists from across the UK.

NIGHTVISION PRESENTS... RONI SIZE (S.P.Y. + ENO + YOUNGMAN + BZ) LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–03:00, £12.50 EARLYBIRD (£15 THEREAFTER)

Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues with a takeover from legendary D’n’B pioneer Roni Size, out and celebrating 18 years in the game. IN DEEP (FIRECRACKER RECORDS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

The In Deep troops make merry for a Firecracker Records showcase special. THE SOLAR BOOGALOO (DJ YVES)

THE WUB HUT

Dub and tropical selections prettied up by bespoke décor. NIGHTVISION PRESENTS... TEN WALLS (THEO KOTTIS)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 21:00–03:00, £15 EARLYBIRD (£17.50-£20 THEREAFTER)

HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room. MOON HOP

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 20:00–01:00, £3

Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues with a special set from the producer behind 2014 hit Walking With Elephants, Ten Walls, in full live AV form.

Musical club night featuring live performances from a selection of hot musical talent, bolstered by the regular DJs playing into the wee hours.

Sun 22 Mar

Fri 27 Mar

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

THE CLUB

FUCK YEAH

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

Chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

COALITION: 8TH BIRTHDAY (CURSES)

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs, out and celebrating their 8th birthday with NYC Trouble&Bass label boss Curses (aka Drop The Lime), returning for a seventh time.

Mon 23 Mar MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

PLANET EARTH

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie. DOMINO CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly institution with DJ P-Stylz at the helm spinning the best in hip-hop, r’n’b and soul. In the cafe space. MJÖLK

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Occasional night playing the finest in Swedish indie pop, plus 60s, 70s and independent tunes from near and far.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

GIN ‘N’ JUICE

Occasional night traversing the gamut from classic hip-hop through to dirty south beats, via a whole lotta Run DMC.

Tue 24 Mar SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

FLY CLUB

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. MORE DIALOG

THE OUTHOUSE, 20:00–01:00, FREE

An eclectic mix of local DJs take over the upstairs area of The Loft.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

Sat 21 Mar

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs.

Soundsystem party-starters, part of a music and art collective specializing in all things bass, this edition joined by Newham Generals and a ‘secret guest’ they’re keeping under their hats for now.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

DJ Yves leads a disco-fuelled freestyle funk boogie freakout, as you do. TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. THE EGG

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

JUICE

ASYLUM KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BETAMAX STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

I AM EDINBURGH

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

JUICE SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Well-kent burlesque producer Chaz Royal puts on a spread of sparkle-packed burlesque guests for your general pleasure.

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Jake playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk – now taking up a monthly Saturday slot, in what is their 20-somethingth year.

Thu 19 Mar

THE BURLESQUE BALL THE VOODOO ROOMS, 21:00–03:00, £27

BUBBLEGUM

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. GASOLINE DANCE MACHINE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

More classic Italo and straight-up boogie allied with contemporary house and disco, as Edinburgh’s GDM crew do their thing. WASABI DISCO

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Heady bout of cosmic house, punk upside-down disco and, er, Fleetwood Mac with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker. POP ROCKS!

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

TRASH

Friday party night playing danceable selections of house, minimal and techno.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 28 Mar

HECTOR’S HOUSE

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 25 Mar COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. THE GETTUP

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Midweek party night with DJs Thom and Pagowsky playing disco and deep house into the small hours. In the cafe space. SOUL CITY

Soul and funk playlists dominated by Aretha Franklin. Obvs.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 AFTER 12)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger soundsystem.

BODY

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all). MESSENGER SOUND SYSTEM

ELECTRIKAL (NEWHAM GENERALS)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5

Thu 26 Mar I AM EDINBURGH

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. MUMBO JUMBO

Monthly offering of new wave, disco, post-punk and a bit o’ synthtastic 80s with your hosts Chris and Big Gus. VEGAS!

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:30–02:00, £6 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

Scotland’s award-winning retro club night presents an evening of cocktails and cool, showgirls and swing, roulette and romance with DJs Frankie Sumatra, Bugsy Seagull, Sam Jose, Nuno Endo, plus Nikki Nevada & The Vegas Showgirls. POCKET ACES

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Dance-inducing party with an anything goes attitude and rotating schedule of guest DJs. GRRRL JAM

WEE RED BAR, 22:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

Girl-worshipping fun night kicking off with a BYOC (y’know, bring your own cushion) screening of Sini Anderson’s film about Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna, The Punk Singer, followed by all-girl DJ playlists. EIGHT & TWENTY (LO SHEA)

511, 22:00–03:00, £8

The E&T troops welcome Lo Shea (aka owner of vinyl-only label Seaghdha) for a special guest slot, with support from Harry Hausen and Dave Methven.

Sun 29 Mar COALITION

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

A hodgepodge of quality tracks chosen by JP’s spinning wheel – expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, amidst a whole lotta one-hit wonders. RIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot. MADCHESTER

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Thu 12 Mar

PSYCHIC DANCEHALL: DJACD DEGREE SHOW FUNDRASIER

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £5

Fundraiser party night raising pennies for the DJCAD Degree Show.

Fri 13 Mar KLIK

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£7 AFTER 12)

The Klik troops return, this time buoyed by sets from Animal Farm’s Quail and Tantric’s John Gallagher. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 14 Mar ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

A selection of Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Wed 18 Mar

SUCH A DRAG (GROUNDSKEEPER FANNY AND FRIENDS)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE

NIGHT HEAT

UNDERGROUND, 22:00–02:30, £5 (£4)

DJ Aftershock spins selections of chart, dance and remixes.

Fri 20 Mar CONTOUR

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

New monthly drag night with emphasis on all things weird and wonderful.

More fresh beats and flashy visuals from the Contour crew.

Mon 30 Mar

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

WARPED

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 21 Mar LOCARNO

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Dundee Clubs Wed 04 Mar NIGHT HEAT

UNDERGROUND, 22:00–02:30, £5 (£4)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £7

MAGIC NOSTALGIC

DJ Aftershock spins selections of chart, dance and remixes.

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

NIGHT HEAT

UNDERGROUND, 22:00–02:30, £5 (£4)

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

DJ Aftershock spins selections of chart, dance and remixes.

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

Wed 11 Mar

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£7/£5 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Funk, soul, beats and mash-ups from the Mumbo Jumbo regulars and pals.

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Fri 06 Mar

MUNGO’S HI-FI SOUNDSYSTEM + CHARLIE P

Special LP launch party for You See Mi Star, with Mungo’s Hi-Fi and Charlie P at the control tower. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go. JUNGLISM

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 22:30–02:30, £5

Friday night party of drum’n’bass soundscapes, ripe for dancing feet.

Sat 07 Mar COOKIN’ SESSIONS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

Special Reading Rooms sessions night catering for all your dance music needs, with bespoke visuals to boot.

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Wed 25 Mar NIGHT HEAT

UNDERGROUND, 22:00–02:30, £5 (£4)

DJ Aftershock spins selections of chart, dance and remixes.

Fri 27 Mar

A NIGHT WITH... A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s rather ace London night takes a trip to Dundee, with the mighty duo playing back-toback over a four-hour takeover. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 28 Mar BOOK CLUB

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

The Good Stuff DJs spin all genres of disco house and techno, alongside anything else they damn well fancy. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Listings

Theatre Glasgow CCA

CRYPTIC NIGHTS: MATTHEW COLLINGS – REQUIEM FOR EDWARD SNOWDEN

5 MAR, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £7.40 (£4.40)

The e’er experimental Cryptic Nights host their latest sensorymessin’ piece, with composer/ wizard Matthew Collings unveiling a new audiovisual work based around the actions and decisions of whistleblower Edward Snowden. COMPULSORY TROUSERS AND BOOK ARROW HEART BOSSNAPPERS

22–24 MAR, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £8 (£6)

New play by Tom Brogan inspired by the controversial French Trade Union tactic of ‘locking-in’ employers during negotiations.

Citizens Theatre THE SLAB BOYS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 12 FEB AND 7 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

David Hayman revives one of the best-loved works in 20thcentury Scottish theatre, set in the technicolour confines of the slab room of A. F. Stobo & Co. RUM AND VODKA

5–7 MAR, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, FROM £8.50

Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s oft shocking tale of one young man and a three-day alcohol-fuelled rampage around Dublin.

Garnethill MultiCultural Centre THE CHING ROOM

5–6 MAR, 7:45PM – 8:30PM, £5

Dickson Telfer and Kal Sabir perform Alan Bissett’s compelling debut play, set entirely in a nightclub toilet cubicle.

THE KING’S SPEECH 16–21 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £9

Stage production of the rousing period drama, based on a true story, with Jason-bleedingDonovan taking the role of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. SEX IN SUBURBIA

22 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £19

Claire Sweeney stars in and co-writes in a new comedy about dating, men and finding Mr Right. Riveting, we’re sure.

Tramway HANDSOME

7 MAR, 7:30PM – 8:20PM, £6

Exploration of gender and our performance of gender, with four performers take us on a physical, intriguing and sometimes humorous journey, prodding at foolish conventions and shaking off preconceptions as it goes. 5.9 MILLION

20 MAR, 22 MAR, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

New piece from award-winning young performance group Junction 25, taking its cue from George Orwell’s 1984 quote ‘If you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself’.

Tron Theatre LOVE 2.0

14 MAR, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£7.50)

Humourous look at modern dating and how social networking is messing it all up for everyone, with Facebook profiles brought to vivid life on stage. MAN IN THE MOON

5–7 MAR, 7:45PM – 10:00PM, FROM £14 (£10)

Irish playwright Pearse Elliottpenned piece about one man’s resolve to overcome everything that life has to throw at him.

12–13 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Assembly Roxy

The Glad Cafe

COCKTAIL: FEAR, PAIN, POWER

5 MAR, 7 MAR, 8:00PM – 9:00PM, FREE (BUT REGISTERED)

Contemporary performance work by writer Rachel Jury and composer Andrew Cruickshank, based on interviews with people who have experienced intra-Christian sectarianism in Scotland.

The King’s Theatre CRAZY FOR YOU

18 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £16

The all-singing, all-dancing Gerschwin musical is given a new lease of life by The Lyric Club. THE BODYGUARD

4–14 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18.50

Musical based on the blockbuster film of the same name, with X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke taking on warbling Whitney duties. Matinee performances also available.

Theatre Royal RAMBERT

5–7 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

Dance performance featuring four contrasting dance works performed by 22 dancers, accompanied by the Rambert orchestra.

Listings

Scottish Ballet revisit Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play with an inspired new production.

King’s Theatre OLIVER!

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 3 AND 7 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £15

Southern Light present their take on the classical musical, based on Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel of the boy who asked for s’more. THE HISTORY BOYS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 AND 21 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

New adaptation of Alan Bennett’s multi-award winning play, following eight bright young lads on the brink of adulthood. THE SLAB BOYS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 AND 14 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

David Hayman revives one of the best-loved works in 20thcentury Scottish theatre, set in the technicolour confines of the slab room of A. F. Stobo & Co.

Royal Lyceum Theatre

THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 FEB AND 14 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £12.50

Re-telling of Bertolt Brecht’s parable about a peasant girl who steals a baby, only to become a better mother than its natural parents. Matinee performances also available (Wed & Sat, 2pm). HEDDA GABLER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 MAR AND 11 APR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £12.50

Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama of passion and desperation, following a dangerously irresistible woman as she rushes headlong towards a disaster that will embrace all those around her. Matinee performances also available (Wed & Sat, 2pm). THE EFFECT

Edinburgh Theatre

Moscow Ballet present their reimagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale.

18–21 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £15.50

Summerhall

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall MOSCOW BALLET: SLEEPING BEAUTY

SCOTTISH BALLET: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

THE FAIR INTELLECTUAL CLUB

3 AND 4 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £13 (£10)

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 AND 14 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Firebrand, in partnership with Heart of Hawick, present Lucy Prebble’s unconventional and moving love story exploring the limits of medicine in today’s pill-popping culture. A WINTER’S ORESTEIA

True tale of teenage love, friendship and betrayal set at the dawn of the Scottish Enlightenment, based on the story of three Edinburgh girls who formed The Fair Intellectual Club in 1717.

3–6 MAR, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £8 (£6)

Church Hill Theatre

10 MAR, TIMES VARY, £10 (£7)

WHEN WE ARE MARRIED

18–21 MAR, TIMES VARY, £10 (£8)

Edinburgh People’s Theatre present their reworking of J.B. Priestley’s 1938 comedy of unholy matrimony.

Festival Theatre

RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 10 AND 14 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £15

The Olivier Award-winning rock spectacular returns as part of its 25th anniversary UK tour. SCOTTISH OPERA’S ORFEO ED EURIDICE

3, 5 AND 7 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Scottish Opera’s reworking of Gluck’s dramatic play, sung in Italian with English subtitles. THE PRODUCERS

16–28 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

New adaptation of the Broadway musical comedy (based on Mel Brooks’ Academy Award-winning movie), starring Jason Manford as Leo Bloom, Phill Jupitus as Franz Liebkind and Louie Spence as Carmen Ghia.

James Beagon’s chilling new adaptation of the ancient Greek classic, telling the tale of a family tragedy of honour and revenge. SEQUAMUR

Multimedia Gaelic language play by DS Murray reflecting on the life of Lewis educationalist William Gibson and his inspirational leadership.

The Edinburgh Playhouse DIRTY DANCING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 FEB AND 14 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £20

The cult 80s film revamped for the stage – cue Baby and Johnny, sexy dancing and a good dose of hungry eyes. Matinee performances also available (Fri 5pm & Sat 2.30pm). SPAMALOT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 16 AND 21 MAR, TIMES VARY, FROM £10.50

Classic Monty Python tale telling the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Cue beautiful showgirls, cows and killer rabbits. ELLEN KENT’S RIGOLETTO

27 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Favourited Italian opera telling the story of the court jester Rigoletto and his beautiful daughter Gilda, sung in English with Italian subtitles.

ELLEN KENT’S MADAMA BUTTERFLY 28 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Ellen Kent’s take on Puccini’s classic Italian opera, as lavishlycostumed as ever. SEX IN SUBURBIA

Comedy

30 MAR, 31 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Claire Sweeney stars in and co-writes in a new comedy about dating, men and finding Mr Right. Riveting, we’re sure. ELLEN KENT’S LA TRAVIATA

27 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £15

Verdi’s interpretation of one of the most popular love stories of the 19th century is given a modern reworking by Ellen Kent.

Tue 03 Mar

BEYOND A JOKE (CALLUM MCLEOD + ROSCO MCLELLAND + HEATHER HARDCASTLE + ROB KANE) VESPBAR, 20:00–23:00, £5

Monthly sketch night manned by a selection of up-and-coming UK comics. RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

The Voodoo Rooms

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

22 MAR, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £10

Wed 04 Mar

MINI FRINGE: A POCKET SIZE FRINGE FESTIVAL

Showcase evening of contemporary stage art including comedy, dance, magic, flamenco and reggae. Y’know, like a mini Fringe, in your pocket.

Traverse Theatre LONG LIVE THE LITTLE KNIFE

7 MAR, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £16 (£13 STUDENT/£8 UNEMPLOYED)

An uplifting and oft absurd tale of forgery, castration and blind drunkenness, penned and directed by theatre wizard David Leddy. BEATING MCENROE

12-14 MAR, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

A play about rivalry, love and tennis – telling the tale of Bjorn Borg and his bitter on-court rivalry with John McEnroe – it’s theatre with balls (boom, boom). THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL AND HYDE

19–25 MAR, NOT 22, 23, 24, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

Ro Cambell and The Wee Man’s comedian rap battle-off, where a select batch of comics compete to see who’s got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit.

MOSCOW BALLET: SLEEPING BEAUTY

12–13 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Moscow Ballet present their reimagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale.

Dundee Rep BLOOD WEDDING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 AND 14 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10 (£9)

David Ireland’s new take on Federico Garcia Lorca’s Spanish classic, refueling the story with a contemporary twist. Matinee performances also available (Thu & Sat, 2.30pm). MIANN

19 MAR, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£13 UNEMPLOYED/£9 STUDENT)

Intimate dance/music collaboration between visionary choreographer Fleur Darkin, Linbury prize-winning designer Alexander Ruth and Glasgow quartet The One Ensemble. THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL AND HYDE

19–25 MAR, NOT 22, 23, 24, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

New play by Morna Pearson inspired by RL Stevenson’s classic story.

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit. BEST OF VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 22:00–00:00

Graham Barrie introduces a ‘best of’ selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. SCIENCE CEILIDH

GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE, 19:00–00:00, £14 (£12)

Sun 08 Mar

MAG 7

THE GRIFFIN, 20:30–22:30, FREE

Relaunch of the up-and-coming comedy showcase night where each act has only seven minutes on stage, interspersed with music, spoken word, cabaret, magic and more.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Caird Hall

LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Thu 05 Mar

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

5–7 MAR, TIMES VARY, £12

Dundee Theatre

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

New play by Morna Pearson inspired by RL Stevenson’s classic story. Lyceum Youth Theatre return to the Traverse for the 5th year as part of National Theatre Connections, presenting a dark new comedy work exploring the delicate balance between freedom of information and invasion of privacy.

THE SATURDAY SHOW (JOHN MOLONEY + KAI HUMPHRIES + NICOLA MANTALIOS-LOVETT + JELLYBEAN MARTINEZ + MC STUART MURPHY)

Ceilidh celebration of International Women's Day 2015, with ceilidh dancing, a Bright Club comedy set and guest speaker Dr Christine McCartney OBE sharing her experience in building a successful career in science as a woman.

NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JOHN MOLONEY + KAI HUMPHRIES + NICOLA MANTALIOS-LOVETT + JELLYBEAN MARTINEZ + MC STUART MURPHY)

HACTIVISTS

Sat 07 Mar

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (JANEY GODLEY + LEONA IRVINE)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

Mon 09 Mar FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show.

Thu 12 Mar

WEST BREWERY COMEDY CLUB

WEST, 20:15–22:30, £10 (£9)

Jamie Dalgleish hosts West Brewery’s regular night of live stand-up, introducing a trio of headline acts. MAG 7

THE GRIFFIN, 20:30–22:30, FREE

Relaunch of the up-and-coming comedy showcase night where each act has only seven minutes on stage, interspersed with music, spoken word, cabaret, magic and more. ROB DEERING: MUSICFACE

THE STAND, 19:30–20:30, £10 (£8)

The comedian and multiinstrumentalist does his one-man soundscape thing. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 13 Mar BRENDON BURNS

THE STAND, 19:45–20:45, £12 (£10)

Mr Burns once again experiments with the form of stand-up, to suitably laugh-worthy effect, natch. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. ZOMBIE SCIENCE: GENES OF THE DAMMED

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit. HARDEEP SINGH KOHLI

ORAN MOR, 20:00–22:00, £12.50

The comedian, broadcaster, journalist and chef mixes classic and new comic tales. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

SIMON MUNNERY SINGS SØREN KIERKEGAARD

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£8)

The e’er inventive Simon Munnery takes on perhaps his most imaginative comedy challenge yet – performing extracts of 19th-century Danish existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, and making ‘em funny. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. ST PATRICK’S DAY: IRISH COMEDY SPECIAL (OWEN O’NEILL + MARY BOURKE + DONAL VAUGHAN + MC MICHAEL REDMOND)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

HENNING WEHN: EINS, ZWEI, DIY

CITIZENS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Jolly stand-up German comic, who pretty much seems to have selfappointed himself German Comedy Ambassador to the UK, mores the joy. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Wed 18 Mar

JOSIE LONG: CARA JOSEPHINE

THE STAND, 19:30–20:30, £12 (£10)

GARY DELANEY: PURIST

THE STAND, 21:30–22:30, £11 (£9)

All-new comedy night showcasing a select batch of UK comics, followed by rock tunes to see you through to bedtime.

NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JOHN MOLONEY + KAI HUMPHRIES + NICOLA MANTALIOS-LOVETT + JELLYBEAN MARTINEZ + MC STUART MURPHY)

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Long-running comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

Mon 16 Mar

The writer and stand-up comic continues with his quest to tell as many jokes as possible, because apparently most shows simply don’t contain enough for his liking. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:30–22:00, £5 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 20:00–22:00, £12.50

Lloyd Langford vocalises his general bamboozlement with the modern world, with promised gags about CGI, plugs and gang bangs. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

The triple comedy award nominee and cult optimist returns with a new show about love and being as outdoorsy as a bear. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

COMEDY ROCKS (BILLY KIRKWOOD + JIM SMITH + GARY FAULDS + JOHN GAVIN + RYAN DOOLEY)

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (JUSTIN MOORHOUSE + MICHAEL REDMOND + SCOTT GIBSON + MC KATIE MULGREW)

LLOYD LANGFORD: OLD FASHIONED

THE STAND, 21:30–22:30, £8

LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Fri 06 Mar

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sun 15 Mar

A selection of top comics from the contemporary Irish circuit do their thing, in honour of St Paddy’s Day. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Tue 17 Mar

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Not for profit, independent film making and comedy talent event screening a selection of short film funnies. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

THE GRIFFIN, 19:30–21:30, £5 (£3)

Spoof tutorial hosted by Theoretical Zombiologist Doctor Austin, arriving at the eventual conclusion of how to deal with The Damned, via interactive demonstrations and a multi-media presentation. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

VESPBAR VIRGINS

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

SHORT COM CCA, 21:15–22:15, £6 (£5)

CHUNKS OF THE YEAR

13TH NOTE, 20:00–22:00, FREE

Tue 10 Mar RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 11 Mar

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show. NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (VIKKI STONE + BENNY BOOT + SUSIE MCCABE + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) DRYGATE BREWING CO., 20:00–22:00, £12.50

Long-running comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

Sat 14 Mar

MARK NELSON: OLDER THAN JESUS

THE STAND, 19:45–20:45, £12

Rising Scottish star with a dark sense of humour (What? A Scot with a dark sense of humour? Never!), muttering about how he’s officially older than Jesus. Part of Glagsow International Comedy Festival.

The anarchic live comedy night, Chunks, enjoys its annual awards ceremony, sending one lucky comic away with the coveted Golden Pineapple. SIMON AMSTELL: TO BE FREE

CITIZENS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £21 (£18)

The toustle-haired comic returns with his new show, following sell out residencies in New York and London – again making nuanced comedy out of the most tragic of existential quandaries. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Thu 19 Mar MAG 7

THE GRIFFIN, 20:30–22:30, FREE

Relaunch of the up-and-coming comedy showcase night where each act has only seven minutes on stage, interspersed with music, spoken word, cabaret, magic and more.

THE SKINNY

RICHARD HERRING: LORD OF THE DANCE SETTEE THE STAND, 19:30–20:30, £15

The thoughtful comedian ponders things like whether the term ‘cool comedian’ is an oxymoron, and whether’s he’s even bettered a piece of slapstick he came up with aged 16. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. STEWART LEE: A ROOM WITH A STEW

CLYDE AUDITORIUM, 20:00–22:00, £23

One of the country’s most respected comedians prepares new material for his new BBC2 series of Comedy Vehicle.Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. SIMON AMSTELL: TO BE FREE

CITIZENS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £21 (£18)

Fri 20 Mar LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sun 22 Mar

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show. PATRICK MONAHAN: ADVENTURES IN MONAHAN LAND

THE STAND, 09:30–22:30, £10 (£8)

High-energy gags of the funnyman’s Irish/Iranian/Teeside heritage. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Mon 23 Mar

THE WEE MAN’S RAP BATTLE SHOWDOWN 2015

THE ARCHES, 20:00–22:00, £5

A selection of Scottish comics go head-to-head with a batch of UK rap talent in a hip-hop battle to the death, with The Wee Man at the helm. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

STAND UP FOR MND (FRANKIE BOYLE + GARY LITTLE + JANEY GODLEY + PATRICK MONAHAN) THE KING’S THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, FROM £16

A bounty of comedy faves come together to raise funds for MND Scotland, including Frankie Boyle, Gary Little, Janey Godley, Patrick Monahan and more. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

VESPBAR VIRGINS

GRASSROOTS COMEDY

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

THE PLEASANCE, 20:00–22:00, £1

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 27 Mar

ANDREW LAWRENCE : REASONS TO KILL YOURSELF

THE STAND, 19:45–20:45, £12

The ginger-haired stand-up master cobbles together his thoughts on how awful the world is, as you do. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

JANEY GODLEY: HONEST TO GODLEY

ORAN MOR, 20:00–22:00, £13 (£11)

The slightly wicked, awardwinning comic returns to say things most people might think but few would dare to. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (ZOE LYONS + AIDAN STRANGEMAN + DAVEY CONNOR + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 20:00–22:00, £12.50

Long-running comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

Sat 28 Mar

AMERICA STANDS UP (EMMA WILLMAN + KENDRA CUNNINGHAM + SEATON SMITH + MC SCOTT CAPURRO) THE STAND, 19:45–20:45, £12 (£10)

Showcase night of all-new American talent. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and up-and-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots. In the Cabaret Bar.

Wed 04 Mar

THE BROKEN WINDOWS POLICY

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

More fast-paced and anarchic skits and character comedy from The Stand’s resident sketch comedy troupe and their special guests. SUSAN CALMAN

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £16 (£13)

The favourited funnywoman makes an Edinburgh stop-off on this, her first ever UK tour.

Thu 05 Mar

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JASON COOK + JARRED CHRISTMAS + JIM PARK + DANIEL WEBSTER + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 06 Mar

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of upand-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ FESTIVAL THEATRE (AISLING BEA + RAY BRADSHAW + CHRIS FORBES + JOE HART)

FESTIVAL THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £12.50

Long-running comedy club the Gilded Balloon hits up the Festival Theatre as part of its all-new residency, welcoming a trio of comedians and one cheeky MC. In The Studio space.

Sun 08 Mar

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from off-the-cuff audience suggestions. FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show.

COMEDYDOO (JOJO SUTHERLAND + BOB GRAHAM + MC JONNY THOMSON)

Mon 09 Mar

THE WHITE HORSE, 20:00–22:00, £9

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Fresh line-up of fledgling comedic talent, topped off with a national headline act and a jovial compere.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JASON COOK + JARRED CHRISTMAS + JIM PARK + DANIEL WEBSTER + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Tue 10 Mar

GARY DELANEY: PURIST

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £11 (£9)

The writer and stand-up comic continues with his quest to tell as many jokes as possible, because apparently most shows simply don’t contain enough for his liking.

JANEY GODLEY: HONEST TO GODLEY

ORAN MOR, 20:00–22:00, £13 (£11)

The slightly wicked, awardwinning comic returns to say things most people might think but few would dare to. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

CITIZENS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £15 (£12)

Author, documentary filmmaker and radio presenter Jon Ronson presents a one-man show about the renaissance of public shaming, and our very scary part in it. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (STEPHEN CARLIN + LUCY BEAUMONT + CHRIS MACARTHUR BOYD + MC CHRIS CONROY)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 20:00–22:00, £12.50

BRIDGET CHRISTIE: AN UNGRATEFUL WOMAN

THE STAND, 19:30–20:30, £10

The self-aware British comic riffs on life in general – including what made her lose control of her emotions at a casting for a yoghurt commercial. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Wed 25 Mar

IAIN STIRLING: EVERYTHING

THE STAND, 21:30–22:30, £10

Long-running comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

Edinburgh’s very own Bafta nominated chappie is back with his third show following two successive sell-out runs, musing on heartbreak, immigration and, erm, meeting Jedward. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Sat 21 Mar

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit. SUSAN CALMAN

CITIZENS THEATRE, 17:00 & 20:00, £15 (£13)

The favourited funnywoman makes a Glasgow stop-off on this, her first ever UK tour. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material. THE LAST PODCART ON THE LEFT

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Horror-centric NYC-based comedy podcast and live show, out on its first ever international tour. Part of Glasgow Comedy Festival.

Thu 26 Mar MAG 7

THE GRIFFIN, 20:30–22:30, FREE

Relaunch of the up-and-coming comedy showcase night where each act has only seven minutes on stage, interspersed with music, spoken word, cabaret, magic and more.

March 2015

Funnyman Richard Melvin introduces an all-star cast of comedy stalwarts, this month recording panel show The Good, The Bad and The Unexpected.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + ANDREA HUBERT + PETER PHILIPSON + MC BRUCE DEVLIN) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of upand-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. THE IMPROVERTS

BEDLAM THEATRE, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4.50)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an ever-changing line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Sat 07 Mar

THE SATURDAY SHOW (FRED MACAULAY + JARRED CHRISTMAS + JIM PARK + DANIEL WEBSTER + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

GRASSROOTS COMEDY

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and up-and-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots. In the Cabaret Bar.

THE SPEAKEASY (DAVE HOOK + BRUCE DEVLIN + JULIETTE BURTON + PHIL O’SHEA) SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE, 20:00–22:00, £7

Monthly storytelling night of the rather ace variety, featuring a feastful of writers, comedians and musicians telling (mostly) true stories.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of upand-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. THE IMPROVERTS

BEDLAM THEATRE, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4.50)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an ever-changing line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from off-the-cuff audience suggestions. FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show. STEWART LEE: A ROOM WITH A STEW

FESTIVAL THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £22.50

Wed 11 Mar THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

Mon 16 Mar

More in the way of stand-up comedy crossed with live storytelling, with the tease of a promise of robot badges for all (as in, we’re there).

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD)

THE FRIDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + ANDREA HUBERT + PETER PHILIPSON + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

One of the country’s most respected comedians prepares new material for his new BBC2 series of Comedy Vehicle.

ELECTRIC TALES

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and up-and-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots. In the Cabaret Bar.

Planning to share fond memories of past weekends, a typo on the poster means that John Shuttleworth’s A Wee Ken To Remember now sees the comic paying homage to his next-door neighbour Ken Worthington. Foolish.

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

THE PLEASANCE, 20:00–22:00, £1

GRASSROOTS COMEDY

THE PLEASANCE, 20:00–22:00, £1

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from off-the-cuff audience suggestions.

JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH: A WEE KEN TO REMEMBER

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

The triple comedy award nominee and cult optimist returns with a new show about love and being as outdoorsy as a bear.

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £15 (£13)

Sun 15 Mar BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

JOSIE LONG: CARA JOSEPHINE

Fri 13 Mar

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of upand-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5

THE STAND, 20:00–21:00, FREE (BUT TICKETED)

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

I AM THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: INSANE CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING SPECIAL

RICHARD MELVIN PRESENTS... MORE RADIO RECORDINGS! (JO CAULFIELD + JASON COOK + ZOE LYONS + GRANT STOTT + MC JULIA SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

Mon 30 Mar

Tue 03 Mar

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£11)

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Alun Cochrane does his thinking aloud, chatty style of stand-up. You do the laughing. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Edinburgh Comedy

CANONS’ GAIT, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

THE STAND, 21:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

The stand-up comedy show by wrestling fans, for wrestling fans, makes its debut – with hunky hosts Billy Kirkwood and Chris Brooker at the helm.

Sun 22 Mar

THE SATURDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + ANDREA HUBERT + PETER PHILIPSON + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

ALUN COCHRANE: (ME NEITHER)

Tue 24 Mar

Tue 17 Mar

MEN WITH COCONUTS

Sat 14 Mar

Sun 29 Mar AN EVENING OF PUBLIC SHAMING WITH JON RONSON

Thu 12 Mar

RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 18 Mar

RICHARD HERRING: LORD OF THE DANCE SETTEE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The thoughtful comedian ponders things like whether the term ‘cool comedian’ is an oxymoron, and whether’s he’s ever bettered a piece of slapstick he came up with aged 16.

Thu 19 Mar

THE THURSDAY SHOW (OWEN O’NEILL + STU AND GARRY + DAISY EARL + WILL SETCHELL + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 20 Mar

THE FRIDAY SHOW (OWEN O’NEILL + STU AND GARRY + DAISY EARL + WILL SETCHELL + MC SCOTT AGNEW) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

SEANN WALSH: 28 ASSEMBLY ROXY, 20:00–22:00, £14 (£12)

The rising comedy chappie presents his new show about being, yes, 28 years of age – now apparently living with his girlfriend, who is trying to sort him out.

Mon 23 Mar RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 24 Mar

IAIN STIRLING: EVERYTHING

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10

Edinburgh’s very own Bafta nominated chappie is back with his third show following two successive sell-out runs, musing on heartbreak, immigration and, erm, meeting Jedward. GRASSROOTS COMEDY

THE PLEASANCE, 20:00–22:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and up-and-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots. In the Cabaret Bar.

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Wed 25 Mar

THE IMPROVERTS

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show.

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £13 (£10)

POETS AGAINST HUMANITY

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an ever-changing line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Three comedic contestants attempt to tear poetry a new one in a live panel show variation on Cards Against Humanity.

Sat 21 Mar

Thu 26 Mar

THE SATURDAY SHOW (OWEN O’NEILL + STU AND GARRY + DAISY EARL + WILL SETCHELL + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend. THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of upand-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 20:00–22:00, FREE

MEN WITH COCONUTS

CANONS’ GAIT, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5)

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD + JOHN GILLICK + RICHARD HUNTER + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Listings

Fri 27 Mar

Mon 16 Mar

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

One of the country’s most respected comedians prepares new material for his new BBC2 series of Comedy Vehicle.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD + JOHN GILLICK + RICHARD HUNTER + MARTIN MOR)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. THE IMPROVERTS

BEDLAM THEATRE, 22:30–23:30, £5 (£4.50)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an ever-changing line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Sat 28 Mar

THE SATURDAY SHOW (JASON JOHN WHITEHEAD + JOHN GILLICK + RICHARD HUNTER + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend. THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sun 29 Mar

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from off-the-cuff audience suggestions.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (CHRIS FORBES + VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + LEONA IRVINE + MC SCOTT GIBSON)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues. ROCK AND ROLL PING PONG

THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–23:00, FREE

The It’s Funtime jokers present a free, fun, table tennis evening with a comedy bent, bolstered by dancing discs from DJ Ding Dong (ahem).

Mon 30 Mar RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

STEWART LEE: A ROOM WITH A STEW

DUNDEE REP, 19:30–22:00, £SOLD OUT

Sat 28 Mar PHIL KAY

DUNDEE REP, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£11)

The favourited comic does his thing; occasionally naked, often inexplicable, always lovely.

Glasgow Art CCA

ROMANY DEAR: DANCING IN A CIRCLE IS A REMINDER THAT WE ARE PART OF THE WHOLE

31 JAN – 15 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Winner of our RSA New Contemporaries 2012, artist/choreographer Romany Dear showcases a new body of work offering an early overview of her collaborative and individual practice, bolstered by a programme of live performance (1pm & 5pm, Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun). RACHEL LEVINE: SOFT CHAOS

20 FEB – 14 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

New work by the Glasgow-based artist – winner of our RSA New Contemporaries Award 2014 – whose practice concerns sculpture as a method of research and as a medium, showcasing a selection of pieces developed in residency at the Banff Centre in Canada. ROSS HAMILTON FREW: LOCUS OF POINTS

27 MAR – 11 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow-based artist working predominantly with drawing, utilising a series of frameworks derived from the golden canons of page construction and graphic design grid-systems.

Compass Gallery ANNA GEERDES: AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE

5–28 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo show from Compass Gallery’s New Generation artist, Anna Geerdes, made up of her intriguing, skilful and imaginative paintings.

Gallery of Modern Art

ALASDAIR GRAY: SPHERES OF INFLUENCE I

21 NOV – 25 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Part of a season of Alasdair Gray exhibitions, with this one looking at his practice, influences and work – delving into the Glasgow Museums Collection to explore connections between them. THE BALLET OF THE PALETTE

20 FEB – 24 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Dundee Comedy

Showcase exhibition of 20th century paintings selected from Glasgow Museums’ collection, chosen by a selection of contemporary artists who exhibited work in the 2013 exhibition, A Picture Show. RIPPLES ON THE POND

Wed 04 Mar

DYLAN MORAN: OFF THE HOOK

CAIRD HALL, 20:00–22:00, £25

Still much loved for 00s comedy sitcom Black Books, Mr Moran returns with a new show, as sharp-witted as ever.

Fri 06 Mar SUSAN CALMAN

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, 19:30–21:45, £14

The favourited funnywoman makes a Dundee stop-off on this, her first ever UK tour.

Fri 13 Mar JONGLEURS

DUNDEE REP, 20:00–22:00, £12

The famed comedy club hits Dundee for its monthly outing, joined by three comics and a compere.

27 MAR – 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow Museums’ collection exhibition designed as a conversation between works by women on paper and moving image, taking as its starting point recent acquisitions from the Glasgow Women’s Library 21 Revolutions series.

Glasgow Print Studio

COLIN JOHNSTONE: THE ROMANCE OF IRON AND CORTISONE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 FEB AND 22 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

GSA graduate Colin Johnstone exhibits his second solo show at Glasgow Print Studio (his first being in 1987), showcasing works created in Orkney, where he has lived and worked since leaving Glasgow in the mid-80s.

Art Glasgow School of Art THE POLITICS OF CRAFT: AFTER FORD 151

7 FEB – 8 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Unique exhibition engaging with historical ideas relating to both mass mechanical reproduction and craft in order to encourage contemporary art and design to have a use, presenting Grizedale Arts’ own polticised history of design.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios

TILL THE STARS TURN COLD

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 JAN AND 14 MAR, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Collective exhibition of new commissions and recent works by six contemporary artists – Tyler Coburn, Michael Dean, Kathryn Elkin, Josh Kline, Megan Rooney and Cally Spooner – all of whom display an interest in objects and bodies that carry speech.

Govanhill Baths FUTURE ARCHIVE

20 MAR – 24 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Selection of new work created specifically for Govahill Baths by artist in residence Ailie Rutherford, running concurrently with her 100 Years of Govanhill Baths exhibition and archive.

Hillhead Library MARTIN HUNTER: FORTH & CLYDE

14 FEB – 27 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Off-site exhibition from Street Level Photoworks, with Martin Hunter displaying a series of images depicting the beaten track along the once thriving canal route that linked the River Forth and the River Clyde.

CRANHILL ARTS PROJECT: GLASGOW FAMILY ALBUM

14 FEB – 27 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Off-site exhibition from Street Level Photoworks, taking in a collection of family photos submitted by the people of Glasgow, put together as part of Street Level’s ‘Commonwealth Family Album’ during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum SCARRED FOR LIFE

13 FEB – 13 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Unique photography exhibition of adults born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), baring their scars in celebration of life. Showing in the Central Hall space.

Project Ability IT IS NOW

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 MAR AND 4 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Group exhibition for which ten of the top international supported art studios will be showing work by two or more of their artists, in aid of the International Summit for Learning Disability Artists and their Support Studios.

RGI Kelly Gallery

ELISE V ALLAN: NOTES

21 FEB – 7 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

First solo show at RGI Kelly in 15 years for Elise V Allan, encompassing collage, oil paintings and gouache, and taking abstract expressionist Mark Rothko’s quote “Silence is so accurate” as part of her inspiration. ROBIN LEISHMAN

14 MAR – 4 APR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo exhibition of new work by Glasgow School of Art graduate Robin Leishman, whose deeply personal recent paintings, sculptures and drawings are shaped around his late father.

Street Level Photoworks

JUDAH PASSOW: SCOTS JEWS – IDENTITY, BELONGING AND THE FUTURE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 FEB AND 12 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Fruits of Judah Passow’s photograph project of the Scottish Jewish community, exploring one of the community’s defining characteristics – the ability to simultaneously acknowledge its heritage, live in the creative present and build for the future.

The Art School

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART FASHION SHOW 2015

3–4 MAR, TIMES VARY, £10 (£7)

The GSA second and third year Fashion students showcase their work in a catwalk setting, with the third year students theming their designs on world dress and textile traditions, while the second year pups showcase selected design projects.

The Lighthouse DAVID ROSS DESIGN + BESPOKE ATELIER

26 FEB – 5 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of new collaborative works from the studios of Bespoke Atelier and David Ross Design, who first collaborated on a lampshade design for the Pond Life Laser Lamps launched at The Lighthouse Scottish Design Shop in 2014. SCOTLAND + VENICE

6 FEB – 18 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

NEILL MACDONALD: ELVIS NIPPLE PLINTH

Exhibition presentation of Scotland’s five diverse projects presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale since 2004, including the most recent contribution, Past + Future in 2014.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 FEB AND 4 APR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

6 FEB – 18 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Kendall Koppe

Partner exhibition to The Lighthouse’s Scotland+Venice show, taking in a series of public information posters which helped create a critical mass of new public schools during the post-war modern era.

Mary Mary

20 FEB – 6 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 FEB AND 4 APR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

New body of work from GSA graduate Lorna Macintyre, focusing on the photographic element of her practice, drawing upon an extensive archive of photographic negatives, concentrating on the physicality and materiality of her process and subject matter.

The Los Angeles-based artist showcases works from her primarily minimalist and geometrically formal sculpture practice.

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane ALEX DORDOY: MODEL T

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 JAN AND 21 MAR, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

New exhibition of work from contemporary Glasgow artist Alex Dordoy, known for his fascination with the disconnect between the physical and the virtual. MARK HANDFORTH

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 23 MAR AND 23 MAY, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

The Miami-based sculptor – primarily known for large-scale site-specific work – takes over The Modern Institute’s Aird’s Lane space with a new showcase of work.

Tramway

JAMES RIGLER: AT EVERY FADING OF THE STARS

30 JAN – 8 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

New body of work from ceramic artist James Rigler, this time exploring ruins, architectural salvage and IKEA. LAURA ALDRIDGE: CALIFORNIA WOW!

30 JAN – 22 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

New installation from Laura Aldridge made especially for Tramway’s main gallery, reflecting on her engagement with the relationship between art, craft and performance, and intended to act both as an exhibition and a site for collaboration and discussion. JESSICA RAMM

14 MAR – 19 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Edinburgh-based artist known for her elaborate and laboriously-constructed sculptural ‘mechanisms’, concerned with mythological themes and the relationships between humans, the environment and technologies.

iota @ Unlimited Studios DAVID CAMPBELL: POINTS OF REFERENCE

5–21 MAR, NOT 8, 9, 15, 16, TIMES VARY, FREE

David Campbell displays a series of oil, acrylics and prints exploring the highly complex relationship between memory and place, particularly where urban form and space – the points of reference – have been swept away. SHAPE, LINE AND FORM

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 27 MAR AND 28 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Fashion design showcase from Sheridan Barnett, Patty Glanville, Sheilagh Hosker Brown and Philip Treacy, showing 100+ drawings of their work, including prototypes, finished products and screenings of catwalk shows.

AS FOUND: LOST PRACTICE

New showcase of work from Outer Hebrides artist Neill Macdonald, known for his delicate assemblages created through a painstaking process of molding in silicone and casting the forms in pure white plaster. LORNA MACINTYRE: MATERIAL LANGUAGE, OR ALL TRUTHS WAIT IN ALL THINGS

LIZ LARNER 20 MAR – 23 MAY, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

BEST USE OF TIMBER AWARDS 2014

As part of the annual RIAS Awards, Forestry Commission Scotland and Wood for Good sponsor an award encouraging innovative use of timber in new buildings in Scotland, with this exhibition showcasing the winning and shortlisted entries.

The Modern Institute

JACK SMITH: THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE WORKS

24 JAN – 6 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

A key figure in the cultural history of downtown New York film, performance and art, The Modern Institute present a showcase of work by queer cinema pioneer and codifier of camp Jack Smith, taking in a mix of theatre and performance pieces.

Edinburgh Art Bourne Fine Art EMILY YOUNG: STONE FROM THE MOUNTAIN

6 FEB – 14 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo exhibition of work by London-born sculptor Emily Young, comprising of head sculptures, torsos and discs made using onyx, alabaster, adjuba and jaisalmer, amongst other varieties of stone. THE FAEDS

5 MAR – 11 APR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of 30 paintings by five members of the Faed Family, one of the oldest and rarest of Scottish surnames and with its history firmly rooted in the picturesque landscape that is Dumfries and Galloway.

City Art Centre

YOU CHOOSE: FAVOURITES FROM THE CITY ART CENTRE

13 DEC – 24 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual showcase exhibition drawing from the City Art Centre’s permanent collection of historic and contemporary Scottish art – this year opening it up to the public to select their favourite works to make up the display.

Collective Gallery

WENDELIEN VAN OLDENBORGH: BEAUTY AND THE RIGHT TO THE UGLY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 JAN AND 5 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Wendelien van Oldenborgh examines the ambition – and failure – of utopian architecture, taking her cue from Frank Van Klingeren cinematic experiment of the exhibition’s title, which sought to propitiate communal forms of habitation. GEORGIA HORGAN: MACHINE ROOM

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 13 FEB AND 19 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

For the first exhibition of Satellites Programme 2015, artist Georgia Horgan presents a research project about the proliferation of the textile industry in Scotland, and how this affected patterns of witch hunting in the seventeenth century.

Dofos

THE EDINBURGH BARBER SHOP QUARTET

1 FEB – 22 MAR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Taking over the old Dofos pet shop, photographer Simon Paterson unveils the fruits of his The Edinburgh Barber Shop Quartet project, documenting Edinburgh barbers (and their shops) in all their many and varied hues.

Dovecot

MAGNE FURUHOLMEN: PEELING A GLASS ONION

6 MAR – 25 APR, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Solo showcase of works by Norwegian visual artist and musician Magne Furuholmen, with the Glass Onion tapestry as the centrepiece – woven at Dovecot in summer 2014.

Edinburgh College of Art

EMMA GILLIES: REDISCOVERED

5 DEC – 7 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Edinburgh College of Art showcase a special collection of ceramics by Emma Gillies – the sister of eminent Scottish painter Sir William Gillies – unearthed after the key to a locked cupboard was traced.

Edinburgh Printmakers DAVID LEMM: DEBRIS AND PHENOMENA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 16 JAN AND 7 MAR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

First solo exhibition by artist/ illustrator/designer David Lemm, showcasing a new body of printed works produced at Edinburgh Printmakers and whilst on an artist’s residency on Eigg. DARK MATTERS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 MAR AND 23 MAY, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Specially commissioned exhibition for which artists, astronomers and space engineers have been asked to create new public art installations that explore the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Gayfield Creative Spaces DISMANTLE

20–25 MAR, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Group photography exhibition by Collective Ratio 7:1, exploring the ideas of structure, breaking down, taking apart or stripping back a subject though visual representation.

Ingleby Gallery ABJAD

24 JAN – 21 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Group showcase taking in work by Jane Bustin, Kevin Harman, Paul Keir and Jeff McMillan, all of whom, in their sometimes sideways approach to abstraction, balance conceptual concerns with an intuitive touch.

Inverleith House RAOUL DE KEYSER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 FEB AND 12 APR, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

First major UK solo exhibition in over a decade by the prolific Belgian painter, whose work combines elements of both figuration and abstract expressionism in an approach that pushed the boundaries of painting.

National Museum of Scotland GAME MASTERS

5 DEC – 20 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £10 (£8/£6.50 CHILDREN)

The Australian touring exhibit makes its first European stop, featuring 100+ playable games spanning 30+ designers – moving from early heroes like Sonic and Super Mario, to recent gems like Scottish graduates Space Budgie’s 2014 creation, Glitchspace.

Open Eye Gallery

DONALD PROVAN: FORMATION

16 MAR – 1 APR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

New works by Edinburgh-based artist Donald Provan, showing a range of new oil paintings further exploring his acute attention to detail in the portrayal of fish. LARA SCOULLER: THE PASTEL MENAGERIE

16 FEB – 9 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Emerging Dundee-based artist Lara Scouller exhibits her first solo exhibition at Open Eye Gallery, comprising of an array of pastel drawings based on her recent time spent at Dublin’s Dead Zoo

Patriothall Gallery STILL SPACE

20–29 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Eclectic exhibition of recent work produced by eight student photographers exploring a range of subjects, from the human body to the exploration of immigration removal in the UK.

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA)

RSA NEW CONTEMPORARIES 2015

14 MAR – 8 APR, TIMES VARY, £4 (£2)

Now in its seventh year, RSA New Contemporaries offers up the pick of last year’s degree shows, with works from graduates in Fine Art and Architecture jostling for attention in the grand neoclassical gallery.

Embassy Gallery Scottish National Gallery PLEASE RETURN VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 13 MAR AND 29 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Group show bringing together artists whose work looks at the notion of sci-fi and discussions surrounding desires for possible futures, exploring the darker manifestations of human desire and identity found throughout the internet and social media.

DAVID ROBERTS: DRAWINGS FROM THE HELEN GUITERMAN BEQUEST

21 FEB – 14 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of 30+ drawings and watercolours by late Edinburgh artist David Roberts, many of which are drawn from the important group of works bequeathed to the Scottish National Gallery by Helen Guiterman through the Art Fund in 2008.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ROBERT COLQUHOUN AND ROBERT MACBRYDE: THE TWO ROBERTS

22 NOV – 24 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8 (£6)

Double-header showcase of the Scottish artists Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, or ‘The Two Roberts’, who took the London artworld by storm in the 40s, but had faded into obscurity by the 60s. ROY LICHTENSTEIN

14 MAR – 10 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A special three-room ‘Artist Rooms’ display dedicated to works by celebrated American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, bringing together a newly assembled group of works care of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery MAKING HISTORY

12 OCT – 29 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo exhibition of recent work by Sandy Stoddart (Sculptor In Ordinary to The Queen of Scotland), of which the main focus will be the creation of a new figurative statue of William Birnie Rhind commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. REMEMBERING THE GREAT WAR

4 AUG – 5 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the WWI, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery display various portraits and related works in various media - including work by artists Sir James Gunn and Sir William Gillies, who were wounded in action. BEAUTY BY DESIGN: FASHIONING THE RENAISSANCE

15 NOV – 3 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition linking the renaissance art collections of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery to contemporary fashion design, practice and display. BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2014

29 NOV – 12 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual showcase of the best in contemporary portrait painting from around the world, now in its 33rd year and marking the fifth time the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has hosted the exhibition. MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY + PATRICK WATERHOUSE: PONTE CITY

6 DEC – 26 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky and British artist Patrick Waterhouse’s documentation of Ponte City, recording the half-occupied building through a series of photographs and a collection of documents and other debris from the abandoned units.

St Margaret’s House Art’s Complex

GRAY’S SCHOOL OF ART: PREDEGREE SHOW 2015

7–22 MAR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

The final year painting students at Gray’s School of Art showcase their cutting-edge and contemporary takes on traditional practice. TIME AROUND TREES

7–22 MAR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Triple-header exhibition taking in work by Tansy Lee Moir, Eoin Cox and Catherine Lilley, encompassing drawings, paintings, carvings and prints celebrating trees, wood and woodlands. RONA MACLEAN + AILEEN GRANT: NO WOMAN IS AN ISLAND

7–22 MAR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Special double-header exhibition coinciding with International Women’s Day (8 March), with female artists Rona MacLean and Aileen Grant showcasing work focused on Scottish landscapes and natural forms. HENRY FRASER: BREATHE

28 MAR – 12 APR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Showcase of painting by studio painter Henry Fraser, combining pieces from various stages of his body of work.

JACQUI HIGGS: KILNS AND CRANES 28 MAR – 12 APR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

SSA member Jacqui Higgs continues her series of small and larger scale paintings related to the tanker/frigate image.

The Fruitmarket Gallery POSSIBILITIES OF THE OBJECT: EXPERIMENTS IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY BRAZILIAN ART

6 MAR – 25 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

BRUCE ECKHART

28 MAR – 12 APR, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

The Tanzania-born, Edinburghliving artist displays a selection of past and present works, bordering on the abstract and noted for their luminous forms and flares of colour.

Stills

LEAP IN TIME: ERICH SALOMON + BARBARA KLEMM

7 FEB – 5 APR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Showcase of work by two German photographers – Erich Salomon and Barbara Klemm – who, working primarily as photojournalists, have produced unique documentary images of their time, documenting history in Germany and beyond.

Summerhall

MICHELE CIACCIOFERA: I HATE THE INDIFFERENT

Group show examining the role Brazilian artists played in the international art scene of the 50s-70s, moving from wellknown Brazilian artists such as Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark and Mira Schendel, to a selection of their lesser-known contemporaries.

Whitespace Gayfield Square OUT OF STEP

6–12 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collective photography exhibition by seven different artists – Joseph Wilson, Nikoletta Majewska, Emily Cox, Phillippa Large, Bryn Dunbar, Hayley Gray and Caitlin Little – each presenting personal work produced over the last 12 months.

DCA

FLORIAN AND MICHAEL QUISTREBERT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 FEB AND 22 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of hypnotic abstract videos and paintings by collaborative French brothers Michael and Florian Quistrebert, based in Paris and Amsterdam, and nominated for the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize.

Hannah Maclure Centre CODED AFTER LOVELACE

3 NOV – 6 MAR, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 9:30AM – 4:45PM, FREE

Showcase of work exploring the role of women, past and present, working at the forefront of art and technology, with the exhibition’s title referencing Ada Lovelace, who is credited as being the first computer programmer.

The McManus

CLASSICAL ART: THE LEGACY OF THE ANCIENTS

7 DEC – 30 APR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

First exhibition in the UK for Sardinian artist Michele Ciacciofera, using different means of expression – painting, drawing, sculpture and photography – to illustrate a narrative path that connects ideas of epic and utopia across all of history.

Dundee Art

DAVID RUSTON: BERLIN, 1989

4 JAN – 22 MAR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Showcase of David Rushton’s Berlin series of photographs, taken whilst visiting Berlin in 1989, when those on the Western started chipping away at the wall’s concrete.

Talbot Rice Gallery

WHERE LANGUAGE ENDS

24 JAN – 10 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Cooper Gallery

Showcase of works with a taste of the antique, illustrating the enduring influence of ancient Greek and Roman culture through paintings, sculpture and ceramics from Dundee’s nationally significant collection of fine art.

5 MAR – 10 APR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

University of Dundee

HUGO CANOILAS: SOMEONE A LONG TIME AGO, NOW

First major solo exhibition from the Portuguese artist, taking in multiple collaged projections of paintings, photographs, drawings and writing, cast on each other and the architectural fabric of Cooper Gallery.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 MAR AND 2 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

MATERIAL CONCERNS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 FEB AND 30 MAY, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Selection of works by Gina Czarnecki and others, shown alongside research and artefacts from the University of Dundee. In the Lifespace gallery (open Sat 11am5pm and by appointment).

Showcase exhibition from Glasgow-based artists Ross Birrell and David Harding, encompassing coloured window installations, sculptural objects, prints and multimedia works.

26 03 15

BROKEN RECORDS

GARDEN OF ELKS / FUZZY STAR 02 04 15

PAWS

ALGERNON DOLL / LE THUG 08 04 15

MINERVA SCIENTIFICA (EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL) 23 04 15

JAMES YORKSTON

PIP DYLAN / MATT NORRIS

08 05 15

WITHERED HAND

WOODPIGEON / EYES OF OTHERS 09 05 15

TEEN CANTEEN

ARE PROUD TO PRESENT 'THE GIRL EFFECT'

(FOR SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AID) FEAT. TEEN CANTEEN MACHINES IN HEAVEN BROKEN RECORDS / SOLAREYE EUGENE KELLY & MANY MORE 10 05 15

KHARTOUM HEROES

ROZI PLAIN (ALBUM LAUNCH)

FEAT. KING CREOSOTE (TRADFEST) ADAM STAFFORD / C. DUNCAN

06 05 15

THE PHANTOM BAND

01 05 15

(LOST MAP RECORDS & TRADFEST) EAGLEOWL / SUPERMOON

14 05 15

R.M. HUBBERT

JONNIE COMMON / MAN OF MOON

07 05 15

HONEYBLOOD

LYPSYNC FOR A LULLABY / TISSO LAKE

RANDOLPH'S LEAP

THE SON(S) / BOOK GROUP

21 05 15

JESUS H. FOXX / MC ALMOND MILK

£10 8PM - 1AM / TICKETS: WWW.SUMMERHALL.CO.UK THE MANAGEMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENTRY. PLEASE CHECK INDIVIDUAL LISTINGS ONLINE FOR ANY AGE RESTRICTIONS. LINE UP SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

March 2015

Listings