The Skinny December 2017 by The Skinny

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CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

December 2017 Scotland Issue 147

JOY TO THE WORLD A look back on the worst (and best) of 2017, and a celebration of the festive season!

P.25 Festive Special!

P.23 Blade of the Immortal

Photo: Sarah Donley

P.10 Albums of the Year

P.63 Local Heroes on jewellery

December 2017 I N DEPEN DENT

CULTU R AL

JOU R NALI S M

Issue 147, December 2017 ÂŠ Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 1.9 1st Floor Tower, Techcube, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

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Contents

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Events Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Intersections Editor Music Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Rosamund West Adam Benmakhlouf Alan Bett Claire Francis Ben Venables Nadia Younes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Kate Pasola Tallah Brash Amy Taylor Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Designer

Sarah Donley Kyle McPartlin

Sales Sales Manager Sales Executives

Sandy Park George Sully Keith Allan David Hammond

Online Digital Editor Online Journalist Web Developer

Peter Simpson Jamie Dunn Stuart Spencer

Bookkeeping & Accounts Publisher

Rebecca Sweeney Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Contents Baws’ final 06 Chat & Opinion: Crystal ; Auntie Trash helps

predictions you through the festive season; Fringe Dog presents his Christmas message; Shot of the Month; Jock Mooney’s observational cartoon; Spot the Difference and one very special wedding photo.

Showcase: As is tradition, a bunch of our favourite artists and illustrators have created some Christmas cards!

Intersections: Here are a couple of important festive messages: stop buying gendered gifts and don’t leave all the additional emotional labour that comes along with Christmas to women this year.

Food & Drink: Treat that foodie in your life to some tasty coffee, trendy chocolate, or hot sauce so spicy it'll melt a hole in your table with the help of our Food & Drink gift guide.

08 Heads Up: A day by day guide to festive fun and mulled Buckfast.

THE BEST OF 2017

Albums of the Year: here are the great records that we danced, cried and rocked to in 2017.

Scottish Albums of the Year: the finest home-grown music of the past 12 months.

Films of the Year: the movies we adored in 2017.

Criminally Underrated Films of the Year: the movies more people should have loved in 2017.

Our correspondent shares an insight into the indomitable spirit of the community of Mexico after the quake.

You might not think there was a lot to laugh about in 2017, but our Comedy editor found a few things.

FEATURES

Takashi Miike thinks he’s lazy. Ahead of the release of his 100th film, Blade of the Immortal, we beg to differ.

We chat to artists Kate V Robertson and Andrew Lacon, whose solo shows at DCA are the first to be programmed by the venue’s new curator, Eoin Dara.

FESTIVE SPECIAL!

A picture of an adorable dog in a scarf on a pile of scarves. Happy Christmas.

We suggest some home-grown Books Gift s to give to your loved ones this Christmas (or just buy for yourself to curl up with over the festive season).

Stumped for gifts to give this Xmas? Glasgow comedy collective CHUNKS curate a unique gift guide to solve your festive shopping woes.

Panto is shite. Oh no it isn’t! If you fall into the latter camp, here’s our handy guide to what’s on at your local theatres over the Christmas season.

REVIEW

Music: A reflection on what happens when your favourite band lets you down; a look at the fight for safer, better spaces to enjoy gigs; a call to put earplugs in at said gigs. Plus a look at alternative merch, and reviews of the new records from Björk and Karine Polwart among others.

Books & Theatre: In theatreland, December isn’t all panto. Here’s our guide to this month’s finest theatre offerings. We also roundup the Christmas season poetry highlights.

Clubs: DEBONAIR opens up about her invigorating, eclectic DJ sets, while Glasgow DJ Tony Scott – aka Edit Select – shares his pick of the year's best techno tracks.

Art: Helen de Main tells us about her Platform exhibition inspired by the women of the Easterhouse venue’s knitting group, plus we report from Amanda Ross-Ho at Tramway and Arika Episode 9.

Film: New film from Michael Haneke (Happy End) and Takashi Miike (Blade of the Immortal) catch our eye. There’s also a Star Wars movie out this month we hear – I’d probably try and squeeze that one in too.

DVD & Competitions: Slapstick hilarity in French comedy Lost in Paris while Michael Caine deadpans his way through crime caper Pulp. Plus win tickets to Nightvision Hogmanay in Edinburgh and Mogwai’s sure to be epic Glasgow Hydro gig.

Listings: a guide to all the things you’d rather be doing this month instead of shopping for gifts your loved ones will most likely hate, or socialising with people you haven’t seen since last Christmas.

Our latest Local Heroes design column highlights the work of some of Scotland’s best jewellery makers.

30 Find out where to party this Christmas

and Hogmanay with our clubbing guide.

Our Christmas Gift Guide, set over two lovely pages packed with excellent Scottish design. Buy everything, you won’t regret it.

December 2017

Contents

Editorial I

t seemed inappropriate to end a year like this with a cover that said ‘everything is lovely with the world, let’s all get down to the serious business of consumerism and tinsel’. We all welcome a distraction from the pervasive gloom / fear / realisation that we are led by utter morons that has dominated the world stage in 2017, but that doesn’t mean we need to pretend all is joy. Our brief to the illustrator was: something festive that also acknowledges the impending apocalypse. Maybe reference Medieval depictions of hell in the composition, yeah? She has done an outstanding job. Particularly the tree of severed heads. So festive. The features in this issue are split into three parts. There’s a celebration of 2017, the part where we lose our shit about Christmas, and a bit where we talk about things that have no affiliation with either the festive season or the changing of the year. We mark our favourite music of 2017 with our traditional polling of the critics to compile our Albums of the Year. You’ll find profiles of the musically eclectic international top 10 from p10, followed by the results of our readers’ poll to find your favourite Scottish album of the year on p16. Film has pooled the team’s collective knowledge to put together the definitive list of the best films of 2017 – accept not imitations. They’ve also looked back on the unsung heroes, the films that you are unlikely to see on any awards shortlist. Films like John Wick 2, which we are apparently contractually obliged to mention at least once a week. Travel revisits a place which has periodically dominated the international headlines, following up on the recovery after the news cycle has moved on. Our Mexico correspondent shares a personal account of life in Mexico City in a time of international antagonism and natural disaster. Her description of the community spirit and resilience of the people of that nation offers a rare and touching insight beyond the sensationalism and division. Fuerza Mexico. Getting into full festive mode for the centre pages of the magazine, we open with a dog, dressed in a scarf. We’ve been wanting to feature local celebridog Loki the Cocker on our pages for a while, but it’s taken longer than expected to train him to wear a hat. We’re overjoyed to be able to feature him in this special festive edition – turn to p25 to gaze upon his glorious scarf wearing, in front of a scarf decorated with dogs in costumes. So meta! Such Christmas! In further festive coverage, we offer a definitive list of the Scottish books you need to purchase for your loved ones this year, alongside a handy guide

By Jock Mooney 6

Chat

to which particular loved one would suit which particular book. Glasgow comedy collective CHUNKS have compiled a super helpful alternative gift guide, filled with such handy tips as ‘A bath bomb defuser kit’ and ‘A gift voucher with the note: “You know why I can’t give you money.”’ Theatre has dispensed with its usual critical suspicion and wholeheartedly embraced the panto season – find out where to shout ‘he’s behind you’ with a roomful of strangers on p29. Food offers some tips on weird culinary shit you can buy your relatives this year and analyses the trends of 2017. We’ve once again approached some of our favourite designers, makers and small businesses for our gift guide, providing a beautifully shot treasure trove which entreats you, once again, to shop local and support the incredible one-person businesses that are making high quality, world class products across the country year round. You can find out more about jewellery makers in Scotland in the latest Local Heroes design column on the inside back page. Intersections looks beyond the tinsel and ritual to shine a light on the emotional labour of upholding familial tradition, and the buying of gendered gifts. Music feels very (very, very) strongly that you need to think about your ears and buy some earplugs if you’re going to a gig, and offers a rundown of alternative band merch that you might also like to gift to an interested party. Escaping our festive prison briefly, we also have some articles about things that aren’t covered in glitter. In Art, we meet the new curator at DCA and the artists exhibiting there this month, Kate V. Robertson and Andrew Lacon. We also hear from Helen de Main, an artist displaying work in Easterhouse’s Platform which documents a long term process of community engagement. Film talks to Takashi Miike about directing his 100th film, which is apparently a thing that has happened. In Music, we share a pair of opinion pieces dealing with what we have flippantly dubbed ‘The year of the molester’ as evidence against public figures, actors, musicians, elected officials, talk show hosts and [insert job title with even a modicum of influence here] continues to roll in daily. One writer shares her heartbreak at losing her favourite band, and we look at some of the positive actions happening in response to all of this – the fight for safe spaces, led by a wave of young punks following in the footsteps of the riot grrrl movement. Always end on a positive. Merry new year. [Rosamund West]

Jingle Baws ARIES Every Yuletide Santa delivers copious coal sacks to ISIS in order to scold them for being so naughty. But instead of having the desired effect of shaming ISIS into being better behaved boys and girls, the Santa-delivered coal helps keep the lights on in the dying Caliphate. The CIA doesn’t appreciate the gesture, deciding that Santa is giving material support to terrorists, and this Christmas Eve they take the sleigh out with a surface-to-air missile somewhere over Syria. TAURUS It’s easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of the evil Lord Santa Claus and his demon army of night elves. GEMINI Having your head removed is an effective cure for back pain. CANCER The children have started to figure out that all is not what it seems when it comes to this so-called Santa Claus. They know too much already. After inviting them out to the car for a chat with their Uncle Tony you sit silently in the back seat with a length of piano wire to do what has to be done. LEO In December, you fulfil your dream and start a charity for daft kids. It’s vital daft kids get the support and materials they need to reach their full potential. VIRGO You actually go up to the North Pole this Christmas and just die. There is no castle made of snow or toy workshops, only ice and unforgiving blizzards and the frozen corpses of children who once believed in magic.

With Mystic Mark LIBRA You wake in the middle of the night to hear Santa’s beloved Donner slip off your roof and crumple into a pile of whimpering smashed legs in your back garden. The animal’s wounded cries stop suddenly after the famous reindeer is humanely smashed-to-sleep by a brick-wielding Santa. You peek through the curtains to see the large red man crying bitterly as he drags the carcass towards your local kebab shop. SCORPIO This Yuletide, cleanse your life of friends and family with my special RETOX diet which consists of endless quantities of whiskey and coke and shouting. SAGITTARIUS Christmas is a time for giving your family things they didn’t realise they even wanted, like the flu or a court summons. CAPRICORN In December you bond with a loved one. Literally. Like for some reason the skin just fuses and your bodies slowly begin to absorb each other. Honestly, it’s horrible. I’d advise against it. AQUARIUS This month you crawl through the digestive tract of a horse in a bid to locate your missing keys. PISCES Some Christians believe that AIDS is a plague sent by God to punish homosexuals. Little do they know that AIDS is actually the supreme creator being of the Universe and it only created God to punish Christians. twitter.com/themysticmark facebook.com/themysticmark

What is Happening?

(CONGRATULATIONS!) This happy couple kindly shared their special day with an archival copy of The Skinny, and even did us the service of sending in a couple of photos for us to scrutinise. If this seems like a slightly unusual scene to you, you're not alone. For your chance to win a copy of The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig, courtesy of our dear associates at Canongate, simply head along to theskinny.co.uk/competitions

and tell us – what do you think is happening here? Why is this man hitting his wife on the head with a copy of The Skinny? What is going on? Competition closes midnight Tue 2 Jan. The winner 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 full Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

THE SKINNY

Fringe Dog: Christmas Message 2017

chew newspaper (i digestin the arts section !!) and they help me channel diggin habit . they tell me that diggin is good for investigatin and ask , “Have you considered a career in journalism?” . i like that they always use method of carrot and not stick . and o boy it even better when carrot is actually crunchy biscit ! but i been digressin . it important that every christmas i return to battersea roots . i help put 5stars on top of tree , teach new pups simple pleasure of reviewing cracker jokes and watch cat and dog pantomime . ( panto is old form of street theater and perfect for autonomus animals . it started in italy , which may explan why italian greyhounds are so excelent at it ) back in old days , battersea was a home for dogs and for dogs only . but victorian london also have big problem with strange cats [stray? – Ed.]. just think , if you had hundreds and thousands of strange cats , where is the last place you would put them ?? what superb 5star twist !! today , my old home has long and proud history of putting ancient cat and dog rivalry to one side dish . o boy , this truce is not always easy !! take our christmas pantomime : one year we tried dick whittington and his dog ~ it cause grate uproar !! now , cats have submit 101 persians : an intricat pantomime about geo politics in modern day gulf . it ambitious and very slinky , and it lappin up all budget . despite our diffrences , pantomime help us work and laugh together . remembre , it not matter what your background or walkies of life you from , laughter is for all . maybe one day we bring 101 persians to edimbrugh !! i wish you a very happy 219 days until next fringe . love from fringe dog .

A traditional Christmas address given by comedy journalist Fringe Dog, with a story that shows friendship can be found in the most unlikely places

any dog years ago , there was famous christmas truce . o boy !!! if you thinkin i mean solders in world war part one , you are very briliant ! they left trenches at christmas to play football and sing silent nite . 5stars for them . but i actually thinkin about special truce in dog historie . and it grate honor to tell you in christmas message because this truce happen at my old home . maybe because i now 8 , i think more often about the past . i spent some time in my youth living at famous place in battersea , london . you may well ask , how you get there fringe dog ?? i must be open and honest with you . i once responsible for big mix up in my first house when i invite in a group of trapeze artistes for special pop up performance . it misfortune that they turn out to be notorius band of burglars !! luckily , the review i write in my jotter was thorough and provide clues to help police eventualy nab them . but , after this , i move out for everyone protection . at battersea , i meet teachers who let me

Ask Auntie Trash:

How to Survive Christmas

Creative Edinburgh Awards

The John Byrne Award Meet the winners of the emerging artists’ awards Open to 16-25 year olds in Scotland working across the arts, The John Byrne Award invites artists to submit their work along with a 200-word description of the values behind it. The JBA then awards cash prizes to the best emerging talent each month, and holds an annual awards ceremony in February to celebrate the best of the year’s talent. We’ve teamed up with the John Byrne Award to help you find out more about the winning artists – we’ll be hosting monthly videos profiling the winning entries, as well as interviews on their work. Find out more at theskinny.co.uk/art

Photo: Ross Fraser Mclean

Online Only Creative Edinburgh Awards: The Winners The CE Awards, handed out to celebrate the best of the city's creative community The Collaboration Award went to The Architecture Fringe, which was nominated for its 2017 programme featuring work from more than 250 contributors, while this year’s City Award was won by tech incubator CodeBase. Indie publisher 404 Ink and Flint & Pitch's Jenny Lindsay were also among the winners. Read the full winners’ list at theskinny.co.uk/news

A Guide to Wrocław Visitors to Poland often end up in Warsaw, ´ However, there’s plenty to Kraków and Gdansk. see elsewhere in the country – say, in Wrocław, for example Wrocław is buzzing with culture. Whether it’s art, design or beautifully varied architecture, it’s sure to satisfy. The city motto is Wrocław – The Meeting Place and fittingly enough, it’s full of friendly locals with plenty of tips and recommendations. Read our Wrocław guide at theskinny.co.uk/travel

The Skinny’s Top 50 Albums of 2017 We pull together a half-century of the best albums of the past year Flick through these pages and you’ll find an in-depth look at our ten favourite albums from the past year. But over on the website we’ve crunched the numbers and pulled together the fifty best records of 2017, as selected by The Skinny’s music team. Is your favourite on there? Is it a disgrace that their album only got to Number X, when really they should have been at least Y places higher? Only one way to find out Read the full list at theskinny.co.uk/music

Wrocław

Find more at theskinny.co.uk

December 2017

Our resident agony aunt helps a reader who’s struggling at the thought of getting through the festive season Illustration: Stephanie Hoffmann Dear Auntie Trash, I hate Christmas, it’s a difficult time of year for my mental health. I feel I have to be perfect at all times and not admit that I don’t like it. How do I survive this? Thanks, Help. x

ey, I want you to know two things. One: You are very brave for writing to me. Two: You are not alone. Christmas means different things to different people: food (yay), Christmas movies (The Muppet Christmas Carol, Die Hard, Gremlins), family (um), or sometimes, it means nothing and everything. The greatest lie invented about Christmas (and no, I’m not getting into anything religious here, believe what you want to believe, just leave other people out of it) is that Christmas is a time when we feel duty bound to do certain things, like visit difficult family members or just be as perfect as possible. The thing about tradition and duty, is that we very rarely do these things for us, we do them for other people. We’ll travel across the country, even the world, to visit people that we might not be on the best terms with because it will upset others if we don’t. We exhaust our bodies, minds and bank accounts trying to impress people we feel obligated to impress. All of these struggles are real and can lead to Christmas being something that you have to get through, rather than something that you can relax and enjoy. Many people find themselves in these kinds of toxic situations every December, but it’s something that we just don’t talk about,

especially not on TV or online, where we’re inundated with images of the nuclear family enjoying a fun-filled Christmas with all the trimmings and none of the drama. Christmas is hard. Combining the pressure we put on ourselves with the expectations of society makes for a pretty toxic potion that only fuels anxiety. How many times have you despaired at shops displaying Christmas stock months before December? Sometimes even before Halloween? Probably quite a few, right? While the coming of the festive season fills some with tidings of comfort and joy, and God knows whatever else that is positive, for others, it’s just not so easy. And you know what? That’s OK. It’s OK to not enjoy this time of year, it’s OK to admit that you find it detrimental to your mental health. If you take away one message from my long, rambling reply, then know this: it’s OK to feel how you are feeling. So how do you get through it? Well, I really don’t have a definitive answer, but you can’t mess with time and stop Christmas from happening, or hibernate for a couple of weeks until it’s all over. What you can do, however, is create your own tradition, something you feel you can do for yourself and not just for others. It doesn’t have to be Christmassy, it doesn’t have to be anything big, it could be as simple as organising an all-night movie marathon at your house, cooking a meal for friends, going on holiday, etc. Having something that you can actually look forward to would really help with the anxiety that comes with the season. Keep your chin up, ride this out. Love, Trash xx

Opinion

Christmas is finally upon us and whether you're a Crimbo-fiend or a bit of a Scrooge, there's plenty to keep you occupied in the cold winter month of December...

Beneath the Olive Tree

Mon 4 Dec The Greek Film Festival returns from 1-6 Dec this year, with a line-up of films about recovery and resistance. Multiple award-winning documentary Beneath the Olive Tree screens tonight, followed by a Skype Q&A with narrator Olympia Dukakis and director Stavroula Toska. The documentary centers on the secret diaries of Greek women imprisoned during the World War II Resistance, following them as they revisit their old prisons and detail their experiences. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £6.50-10

LA-based artist Amanda Ross-Ho debuts her first solo exhibition in the UK, UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE inspired in part by Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 political comedy Modern Times, made. The new sculptural pieces will appear within an installation resembling a factory floor, dedicated to the production of oversized garments, including, by the looks of it, some rather large trousers. Until 20 Dec, Tramway, Glasgow, times vary, free

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett squashed their personal beef and returned after a seven year absence, with their fifth Gorillaz album, the star-studded, 20-track long Humanz, in April. We awarded the album four stars, describing it as “intelligent party music” and “what we need right now.” Tonight, the visual band make a stop at Glasgow's Hydro, with support from North London rapper Little Simz. The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, 6.30pm, £37.50

Amanda Ross-Ho, UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE, Install View

Photo: Mareike Tocha

Compiled by: Nadia Younes

Wed 29 Nov

Tue 5 Dec

Wed 6 Dec

Indie royalty The Cribs play the last gig of their four-night residency at Glasgow's legendary King Tut's tonight, celebrating the tenth anniversary of their famed Cribsmas shows in 2007. The band released their seventh album 24-7 Rock Star Shit earlier this year and typical rockstar antics are to be expected at their live shows. King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £25

Explore Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens under the dark of night for a brand new festive event, Christmas at the Botanics, taking place at various times of day until 30 Dec. Get in the Christmas spirit and hop on the trail along the Garden's paths, through the stunningly lit trees and landscape, to enjoy a magical experience for all the family. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, times vary, £10-18

The Cribs

Photo: Amy Muir

Heads Up

Tue 28 Nov

Gorillaz

Christmas at the Botanics

Sun 10 Dec

Mon 11 Dec

Tue 12 Dec

Wed 13 Dec

Over 70 businesses will set up shop at the Summerhall Christmas Market today, with an array of stalls to meet all of your Christmas shopping needs, including Summerhall residents, local companies and independent retailers. Food vendors will also be on hand to fuel your appetite while you shop, as Linton & Co, Babu Kitchen, FacePlant Foods and Pizza Geeks cook up a storm. Summerhall, Edinburgh, 11am-5pm £2

Food and comedy – what more could you want? The Stand Christmas Special kicks off tonight, running for a whole week in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, until 16 Dec. As well as treating you to a huge line-up of comedians, the kind souls over at The Stand are also giving you the option of adding a luxury Christmas meal too. Sadly, the scran is exclusive to Edinburgh but we're pretty sure there's food in Glasgow too. The Stand, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, prices vary

South African visual activist Zanele Muholi confronts the politics of race and representation in her ongoing selfportrait series, Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness. Muholi poses critical questions about social justice, human rights and contested representations of the black body in her collection of shots taken primarily in Europe, North America and Africa between 2014 and 2016. The exhibition closes on 17 Dec so make sure to catch it before it's gone. GSA, Glasgow, times vary, free

We've all been there, absolutely blootered at the annual Christmas do, shouting in the face of a co-worker about how you need to spend more time together outside of work because you have SO much in common – just us? Well, BAaD are offering you the opportunity to not only embarrass yourself in front of your colleagues, but total strangers too at their Office Christmas Party Night. There will be a seasonal buffet from A'Challtainn as well as themed drinks, entertainment and DJ's. BAaD, Glasgow, 6pm-1am, £26.45

Summerhall Christmas Market

Robin Grainger

Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness

BAaD Office Christmas Party Night

Mon 18 Dec

Tue 19 Dec

Wed 20 Dec

The UK's favourite firestarter's The Prodigy play their first UK dates since 2015 this month, with a stop in Glasgow lined up. The big beat pioneers recently announced that they will be releasing a new album next year, so you can expect to hear some new tracks at their upcoming shows and, of course, all the classics too. Get your bass face ready. O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm, £39.50

If the thought of panto season makes you want to boycott all theatres this month, then breathe a sigh of relief because the Traverse bring us the least Christmas-y play of the month, How to Disappear. Winner of the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play, this pitch-black comedy merges biting social commentary and fantasy in unexpected ways. And there won't be a single Disney character in sight. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £11-22

Ever wondered what a jazz version of a Biffy Clyro song would sound like? Well, wonder no more because The Great Hipster Songbook are here to show you, with a very special Christmas edition. Four-octave award-winning UK vocalist/saxophonist Angus Munro fronts a jazz quartet, transforming modern indie classics into jazzy jams, with prizes to be won along the way. The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, 9.30pm, £5-6

Winter Weirder

The Prodigy

Chat

How to Disappear

Tue 26 Dec

Wed 27 Dec

Thu 28 Dec

Christmas is officially over so you can now Scrooge-out with absolutely no guilt. And why not Scrooge-out with Ebenezer Scrooge himself at Neil Duffield's stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol? The award-winning ensemble will bring the novel's colourful characters to life, with Ann Louise Ross giving us her best “Bah! Humbug!” as Scrooge. Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dundee, times vary, £9-27

Helena Hauff recently came in at number one on Crack magazine's 50 most exciting DJs in the world and you can see for yourself why she's so great at Sub Club tonight. For their 9th birthday celebrations, Bigfoot's Tea Party bring the Hamburg DJ back to Scotland, where she's sure to be slamming some of our finest Scottish whisky behind the decks and rolling out some heavy techno jams. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm-4am, £12

Another American artist flocking over to Scotland this month, for the lovely weather no doubt, is photographer Anne Collier. Typically working with appropriated photographic images, the New Yorkbased artist uses found images to examine the embedded meaning and cultural value of photographs. The exhibition will include several works from Collier's recent series Women Crying, along with a new 35mm slide-projection piece Women With Cameras (Self Portrait). The Modern Institute, Glasgow, times vary, until 13 Jan, free

A Christmas Carol

Helena Hauff

Photo: Katja Ruge

Credit: Ana Jarén

It's Christmassssss!

Photo: Amy Muir

Sun 17 Dec For a different take on a Christmas market, head to The Old Hairdressers today for a scout around Roky Records' Winter Weirderland Market. Held over two weekends (2-3 Dec and 16-17 Dec), the left-field market will support local artists and independent traders, with a cult or DIY slant. Peruse a selection of records, zines, comics, prints and crafts or just enjoy a festive drink and snack. The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, 12pm, free

The Great Hipster Songbook

Anne Collier

THE SKINNY

Sat 2 Dec

Sun 3 Dec

Make sure to catch Camara Taylor's first solo show, Flourish, featuring a sound work made in collaboration with DJ, promoter and OH141 founder Sarra Wild, before it closes on 3 Dec. The soundscape brings together Taylor and Wild's shared ideas about survival, particularly in relation to music. Taylor is one of the most active critics of poor representation within cultural institutions in Glasgow so the show is not to be missed. Many Studios, Glasgow, times vary, free

It's officially that time of year again (the most wonderful time, some may say) and Christmas events are very much in full swing. Thanks to their Sichuan partners, who brought us those pesky pandas, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo will host The Giant Lanterns of China until 25 Feb, with over 200 animal-themed handcrafted lanterns, entertainment from Chinese performers and a Christmas marketplace featuring handmade crafts from Chinese artisans. Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh, times vary, £9.50-19

Is there anything better than cheap bevvy? We think not. Head up North to Tomatin Whisky Distillery's Christmas Fair today and prep for the festive season in true Scottish style. Enjoy free distillery tours, refreshments and a chance to buy some pressies from some of the best independent retailers and specialist brands in Scotland. There will also be drinks and food stalls, including festive pizza from Cheese & Tomatin – geddit? Tomatin Distillery, Inverness, 10am-4pm, free

Malian powerhouse Songhoy Blues have some pretty big name fans, including Damon Albarn and Julian Casablancas, and their latest album Résistance featured none other than Iggy Pop, who lent his grizzly chops to one of its tracks, Sahara. They're probably the most smiley band you'll ever see live so it's worth going along just for that. Òran Mór, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

The Giant Lanterns of China

Tomatin Distillery

Fri 8 Dec

Sat 9 Dec

DIY collective Spiral Oh bring Geordie garage-rockers EAT FAST for a jaunt up to Glasgow to perform some ditties from their recent EP Immortal Kombat. They've also managed to pull together an almighty line-up of local support acts in the form of LUCIA, HOME$LICE and West Princes. All that and it won't even break the bank – you could call it a Christmas miracle. The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, 6pm, £6

The Lionoil pride celebrate another year of releasing great records and putting on banging parties, with a not-to-be-missed 3rd birthday party at Bongo tonight. Heidelberg DJ and Lionoil pal, Move D drops in for a B2B with Edinburgh's own Telfort, alongside an appearance by Philip Budny. All fans of each others work, it's going to be a big old love-in. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 11pm, £8-12

There may not be turkey but meat is murder after all, or so says Morrissey. Vegan Connections bring together some of the best vegan producers in the UK for The Glasgow Vegan Christmas Festival today, promising a blissful blend of carol singing, mulled wine and Yuletide spirit. The festivities continue into the evening with a gig at Mono, headlined by Randolph's Leap. The Briggait, Glasgow, 10am5pm, £2-3

LUCIA

Photo: Cameron James Brisbane

Thu 7 Dec

Move D

Songhoy Blues

The Glasgow Vegan Christmas Festival

Fri 15 Dec

Sat 16 Dec

Former Magnetic Man member and dubstep pioneer Artwork embarks on another of his Art's House tours, this time bringing South Korean DJ Peggy Gou to Subbie. Drawing inspiration from the sounds of her current home city Berlin, as well as London and Detroit, Gou has begun to garner a name for herself in underground circles and is sure to tear it up behind the decks. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £15

Single-handedly bringing slouchy grunge-rock back into fashion, Archy Marshall returned with a new album, The OOZ, under his King Krule moniker in October. The album is Marshall's most immersive yet, switching up from triphop to jazz to punk seamlessly. This is definitely one to pencil in to your diary as he's known to put on quite the show. SWG3, Glasgow, 7pm, £12.50

Yas, Queen! Dig out your wigs and practise your best tuck because the Christmas Queens are coming to town. Join Michelle Visage and a lineup of some of our favourite Queens from past series of Ru Paul's Drag Race, including Peppermint and Sharon Needles, for a festive extravaganza, as they perform tracks from their new album Christmas Queens #3. O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £35

Thu 21 Dec Aberdeen's creative scene gets a boost with the introduction of the HAAN Christmas Design Market, commissioned by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen Inspired, and supported by Creative Scotland. Over 50 local, national and international designers and makers will be in place, offering a carefully curated selection of products. This weekend is your last chance to check out the market so make sure to pop along for a nosey. Marischal College Quad, Aberdeen, times vary, free

King Krule

Fri 22 Dec

Sat 23 Dec

Sun 24 Dec

A strong contender for the least Christmas-y event of the month is Hans Lucas' Psycho/s. No, it's not Jean-Luc Godard returning under his journalistic pseudonym; the Glasgow-based independent filmmaker edits Hitchcock's classic 1960 horror with Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake into a single narrative, exploring both similarity and difference. This version also records changes in film-making apparatus, modes of production and attitudes towards identity. CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm, free

From the least Christmas-y film to perhaps the most Christmas-y film, It's a Wonderful Life screens tonight at The Glad Cafe. Frank Capra's 1946 festive feel-good classic is bound to get you in the mood for Crimbo, spreading joy to viewers across the world for more than seven decades now. That's more joy than Mr. Claus himself could even dream of. The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £7

How else would you want to spend the day before Christmas (otherwise known as Christmas Eve) than at the panto? Johnny McKnight's version of Lewis Carroll's novel, Alice in Weegieland, sees the protagonist Alice fed up of Brexit, Trump and reality TV and missing her ballet exam to follow a white rabbit down a rabbit hole, ending up in Weegieland. Let's hope she doesn't get caught up in a square go. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, times vary, £11-20

Psycho/s

Fri 29 Dec

Sat 30 Dec

Kick off the New Year sesh early at Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling club night Headset's 3rd Birthday, and they haven't held back on the line-up. Mosca, Laksa and Hi & Saberhägen (yeah, try saying that three times out loud) join resident Skillis to warm you up for the weekend to come and they've even bagged themselves a 5am license – that's a whole two extra hours of partying! The Mash House, Edinburgh, 11pm, £7-9

Enjoy a nice relaxing day perusing some art before drinking yourself into oblivion tomorrow, at Jacqueline Donachie's major mid-career exhibition of sculpture, installation, photography, film and drawing, Right here among them. The Glasgow-based artist exhibits a series of new sculptures and installations in the context of two existing works, each specially reconfigured and re-presented, and shares a new version of her Advice Bar. The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh until 11 Feb, times vary, free

December 2017

Mosca

Peppermint

It's a Wonderful Life

Alice in Weegieland

Sun 31 Dec 2017 is nearly over, but don't let it go out without a bang. In Edinburgh, Wee Dub Hogmanay take over Hasties Close, with Dub Mafia's Eva Lazarus and Nice Up! Records' DJ Shepdog just two of the acts playing at La Belle Angele, while Samedia Shebeen and DJ Ru Robinson hold things down over at The Mash House. Over in Glasgow, La Cheetah Club host an audible feast with Marcellus Pittman, Call Super and Ectotherm's Courtesy leading proceedings, alongside local party-starters Partial, Lezure and Wardy & Dom D'Sylva.

Right here among them, Install View

Photo: Ruth Clark

HAAN Christmas Design Market - Editions Of

Photo: James Daniel

Peggy Gou

Photo: Jungwook Mok

Thu 14 Dec

Credit: Creative Commons

Camara Taylor

Photo: Stuart Moulding

Fri 1 Dec

Photo: Alison White

Thu 30 Nov

Eva Lazarus

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#10

Protomartyr – Relatives in Descent Timelessly urgent but bitingly current, Protomartyr's Relatives in Descent attacks with rigour and ruthlessness – but leaves a little space for redemption, too rotomartyr will crush your ears and crush your heart, and it’ll feel worth it every single time. Last year frontman Joe Casey described their success as “a lot of dumb luck”, but the grounded, self-critical work which goes into each of their records is more vital than ever. Relatives in Descent is a rare thing, poetic and brutal. Casey’s indomitable baritone rages across the stormy skies conjured by Greg Ahee, Scott Davidson and Alex Leonard, and the result is a bleak picture of the state of… all things? It used to be that Protomartyr’s music had a Detroit focus, but these days they’re attacking a broader kind of human malaise. “I’m away from Detroit so much that I don’t feel I know enough to comment on it,” Casey frowns. “The city’s changing drastically. I don’t ever want to pretend like I’m going to [be able to] change things – so there’s a line [on Here is the Thing] about snoring all day, pulling cork. Usually when I’m in Detroit I’m either sleeping or drinking.” Instead, a heavy tour schedule has resulted in some

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et’s go hard, get drunk and travel down a rabbit hole.’ Even in its opening few lines, Stephen Bruner – better known as bass maestro Thundercat – prepares us to dive deep into the odyssey of sound that is Drunk. What follows is an epic adventure that takes the listener through cosmic, sun-dappled jazz, neo-soul soundscapes and just about everything in-between. He even enlists Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald for the smooth R’n’B jam Show You the Way. It’s not just the carefree attitude toward genre conventions that makes Drunk such a dynamic listen though. Immense pleasure (and more than a few laughs) is to be found in hearing Bruner’s lyrics. It’s his most honest, open and personalitydriven record to date, a style of songwriting adopted following his numerous collaborations. “I feel like these things inspired me to be bold enough to say how I feel,” he explains. “Compared to writing pop songs, it became more like actually what it was to me.” While his previous two albums focused mostly on death, here Bruner turns his attention to life through a heady mix of pop culture references, light-hearted humour and societal observations. He navigates through mundane moments on the likes of Captain Stupido (‘Comb your beard, brush your teeth’), while on Tokyo he spends his money on anime and pachinko machines, comparing himself to Dragon Ball Z protagonist Goku. With A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song Suite II), he gets more personal still, almost feeling envious of his beloved cat Tron and tenderly musing that if he was a feline there’d be ‘No one watching over me / I do what I want’. Even in this seemingly innocent look into his mind though, there’s always the sense that something threatening lies around the corner. Racial politics come to the fore throughout Drunk, but like many other topics he tackles it head-on with a dose of humour. “Politics gives

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Tracking the references on Relatives in Descent opens up a world of curiosities and injustices. The Windsor Hum, for example, is a pervasive rumbling allegedly afflicted by American industry on an island near a Canadian town. “I thought it’d be a good title for a song,” Casey admits, “then investigating it I’m like, okay – I can use it as an allegory for America, blasting out these weird messages.” Timelessly urgent but bitingly current, Relatives in Descent attacks with rigour and ruthlessness – but leaves a little space for redemption, too. The album closes with a faint glimmer of light: ‘Truth is the half sister that will not forgive / She is trying to reach you.’ “Truth can also mean basic human decency,” Casey urges. “It’s somewhere out there, and it’s getting harder to find. But it does exist. I’m hopin’.” Relatives in Descent was released on 29 Sep via Domino protomartyrband.com

Vince #8 Staples – Big Fish Theory

Thundercat – Drunk Stephen Bruner’s third studio album as Thundercat, Drunk invites us down a genre-bending rabbit hole full of humour, politics, anime, video games and more

kind of cosmic joining of the dots: “You get to see that the problems Detroit has are in other places, too, you realise the connections.” Here is the Thing reads like a catastrophic shopping list of fuck-ups, from Comic Sans to the soulless commercialisation of health care. Leonard’s drums tick like a time bomb, holding your nose to the razor edge of late capitalism. Lead single and opening track A Private Understanding exemplifies how Casey’s lyrics are a patchwork of references, throwing satirical ‘blasting trumpets’ and philosophical references to Heraclitus the Obscure into a song that is, underneath it all, about the Flint water crisis. “I’m not a depressive person but I have a lot of sad thoughts, so I try to think – where’s the good in this?” Casey offers by way of explanation. “I’ll read an interesting book and not understand it – Heraclitus, who the hell’s that? [...] The fun of it is presenting things that I don’t even really know what they mean.”

Interview: Eugenie Johnson

you one dirty look and you’re like ‘excuse me, what was that?’ That’s just the name of the game, you know,” he laughs. So on the likes of the intergalactic, upbeat Jameel’s Space Ride, his casual, innocent desire to ride his bike around his block is ruined by the police: ‘Will they attack? / Would it be ‘cause I’m black’. He calls on Captain Planet, a cartoon character who protects the earth from pollution, on The Turn Down to help fix ‘the mess we’ve made’, fully aware of the impossibility of this task.

“ Politics gives you one dirty look and you’re like ‘excuse me, what was that?’” Stephen Bruner

Humour, politics, anime, video games and so much more collide in the genre-bending melting pot of Drunk. Ten months after its initial release, it’s hard not to continually want to take another intoxicating plunge into Thundercat’s vibrant rabbit hole and explore the many wonders of what might well be his magnum opus. Even after numerous listens, its dizzying, cascading, uninhibited nature continues to reveal new surprises. Just like Goku, Drunk proves that Thundercat is over 9000. Drunk was released on 24 Feb via Brainfeeder brainfeeder.net/thundercat

Photo: James Mataitis

Protomartyr

Photo: Daniel Topete

Interview: Katie Hawthorne

ow firmly removed from the tumultuous lifestyle that allowed for the stark nihilism of his studio debut Summertime ‘06, on Big Fish Theory, Vince Staples opts instead for a collection of upbeat snapshots that mixes flavours of UK dubstep, electronica and Detroit techno with his powerful delivery. The result makes for one of the most unique and colourful additions to the hip-hop canon in years. Crabs in a Bucket opens the album with skittering, two-step beats that conjures an image of Staples in grimy East London, emphasising the disconnection with his SoCal roots. However, as the record progresses it becomes clear that he isn’t rejecting his typical material, rather he’s incorporating new elements that make for a more international sonic palette. The influence of Burial, James Blake and industrial hip-hop can be seen elsewhere, while Homage and Party People revive the hedonistic maximalism that was hinted at on 2016’s Prima Donna EP, adding EDM to the smörgåsbord of genres that Staples utilises across Big Fish Theory. The new elements mean that Big Fish Theory jumps from idea to idea with a restlessness so prevalent in today’s hip-hop consumption. Club-rap courtesy of SOPHIE, Flume and Jimmy Edgar mixes with acerbic critiques of the corrupting nature of celebrity while avant-garde arrangements help to pick apart the self-aggrandisement of the industry. The eerie ‘calm amidst chaos’ persona that Staples has previously exuded is generally missing, replaced with a narrator happy to revel in the disorder, rather than commenting from the peripheries. There are also a host of guest stars to go

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Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory is one of the most unique and colourful additions to the hip-hop canon in years Words: Lewis Wade along with the producers, including big names like Damon Albarn, Justin Vernon and A$AP Rocky. However, these are rarely more than window-dressing to the main event. The two notable exceptions are Kendrick Lamar, who gives a typically spirited show on Yeah Right, and longtime collaborator Kilo Kish who appears on a number of tracks to bring a more palatable edge to Staples’ sometimes mechanical proclamations. Nevertheless, in spite of the genre-hopping and guest turns there remains a thread of bleakness that fuses the album together. This is underscored by Alyssa Interlude, which features an excerpt from an Amy Winehouse interview. In it, Winehouse talks about her tribulations with love, ending with the admission, ‘I’m quite a selfdestructive person, so I guess / I guess if you give me some material...’, a mantle taken up by Staples as he flatly intones over The Temptations’ I Wish it Would Rain. Staples has no shortage of material, and though Big Fish Theory only comes in at a scant 36 minutes, it’s a continuation of his exploration of darkness. Previously, this was concentrated on a view through a single lens, but with new possibilities and collaborators now available to him, Staples can express his ideas in different ways. Big Fish Theory provides a kaleidoscopic melee of treats, but the source remains as precise as ever, like light shone through a prism. Big Fish Theory was released on 23 Jun via ARTium, Blacksmith and Def Jam vincestaples.com

THE SKINNY

Run the Jewels – RTJ3

Run the Jewels soundtrack the fraught, dystopian present with a third album of futuristic and ferocious hip-hop

LCD Soundsystem – American Dream American Dream is both a highlight reel and a reinvention for LCD Soundsystem

#6 Words: Lewis Wade

Words: Peter Simpson

aime Meline and Michael Render – aka El-P and Killer Mike of Run the Jewels – in their time as a duo have managed to forge an interesting path through the cultural landscape. When we caught up with the duo in Barcelona in the summer, Meline told us that the strength of Run the Jewels lies in the duo’s ability to be both jesters and truthtellers at once. Usually, he said, “You’re just the party guy that no-one wants to hear from because you took too long to say anything in the first place, or you’re the guy who no-one wants to hear that you like sex or you like drugs because you’ve never smiled.”

“ The overall vibe feels pretty appropriate for a year in which complete fucking idiots are in charge” It’s a fair point: if 2017 has proven one thing, it’s that simply being correct isn’t going to get you anywhere – you need a bit of personality to make an impact. And personality pours through in spades on RTJ3, with the duo throwing out their now-customary mix of boasts, slams and constant reinforcement of just how great they both are. ‘Me and Mike, we just think alike and can’t stop high-fiving’, says El-P on Stay Gold, and the pair dovetail expertly throughout. That said, on this album the political and

social commentary is to the fore – police brutality, gentrification, terminal illness and urban warfare all get an airing over its 14 tracks, held together and buoyed by El-P’s futuristic production. Meline has always had an ear for a dystopian soundscape, but RTJ3’s scale is truly impressive. This is a record of enormous bass, snapping snares and robotic crunch everywhere, while vocal samples and ominous chirps lurk in the shadows of the mix. There are bangers here, make no mistake; Panther Like a Panther and Legend Has It are among the hypest tracks the duo have released. But the overall vibe feels pretty appropriate for a year in which the promised future of meritocracy and free global communication has been replaced by a reality in which complete fucking idiots are in charge while the Russian government covers everyone in a thin film of propaganda. RTJ3 boasts a number of great guest spots including Danny Brown, Kamasi Washington and Zack de la Rocha. When we catch the duo on a cold night in Glasgow, playing their final tour date of 2017, Brown bursts out from the back in his underwear (having thrown his coat, shoes, belt and watch into the crowd during his earlier support set) to drop his verse from Hey Kids. El-P is absolutely pissing himself at the sight, but within two songs we’re pulled into the deliberate and emotional world of Thursday in the Danger Room with the very same El-P at the helm. Mixing the serious and the sardonic, the political and the puerile can be a tricky ask. But on their third album, Run the Jewels get the recipe pretty much spot-on. Run the Jewels was released physically on 13 Jan via Run the Jewels, Inc. runthejewels.com

hen LCD Soundsystem called it quits in 2011, it was a huge shock to the music world. The comeback shows of 2016 proved that LCD were still a force to be reckoned with live, but a new album after time apart was a whole different prospect. Fortunately, for band and fans alike, any feelings of trepidation were quickly swept aside by a record that is ruminative, melancholic, nostalgic, but never less than masterfully triumphant. American Dream can be separated into its constituent parts and analysed in depth, but each moment is in service to the greater cohesive whole, to a 68-minute treatise on the state of the American Dream, via James Murphy’s psyche in 2017. Never one to hide their influences, American Dream sees LCD proudly pilfering from their usual sources; Brian Eno, Talking Heads and Berlin-era David Bowie, but also injecting a little Suicide into the mix. Murphy’s delivery has always been an amalgamation of his heroes but, while previous albums may have been mostly indebted to David Byrne, it’s a weary, drawling Lou Reed approximation that permeates American Dream. Murphy has been a snobbish elder statesmen from day one (Losing My Edge), but fifteen years on there’s a wistful twinkle to his invocations. Where the self-awareness was once an insular, indulgent facet of his lyricism, Murphy has grown over the course of LCD’s career, accepting his position and privilege, but also his limitations. American

Dream is LCD’s most ego-less album, allowing it to bask in both the macro (Tonite, Call the Police) and the micro (I Used To, Emotional Haircut). The micro is explicitly visited on How Do You Sleep? which is arguably the album’s centrepiece, but its true masterstroke is the 12-minute closing track, Black Screen. In it, Murphy candidly details his feelings surrounding the passing of his friend and mentor – David Bowie. Murphy is disappointed in his own lack of self-belief, but also in awe at the friendship he had with Bowie; ‘Been saving email trails... I read them back sometimes... Your quick replies / Made me high’. It’s a sad note to end on, but the ‘You could be anywhere / On the black screen’ closing refrain acknowledges Bowie’s presence as both a lasting cultural icon and profound influence on LCD Soundsystem. American Dream is both a highlight reel and a reinvention for LCD, paying tribute to their idols by taking what they have given the world and reimagining and repackaging it for the next generation. Their penchant for capturing the zeitgeist remains unmatched and while most bands are struggling to stay relevant in an oversaturated marketplace, LCD breeze past the competition by refusing to bend to contemporary trends, instead setting the mould themselves. American Dream was released on 1 Sep via DFA / Columbia lcdsoundsystem.com

Sampha – Process With Process Sampha collects and outs his personal tragedies, culminating in a deftly produced record of immense emotional weight that is matched by the depth of his talent

ampha’s success arrived in the form of a slow, steady burn, which makes the title of his debut album Process feel all the more pertinent. The 2017 Mercury Prize winner’s story is one doused heavily in personal tragedy: his mother, for whom he was primary carer during her battle with cancer, passed away in 2015. Sampha lost his father to another strain of the disease during his childhood. The last of his brothers to leave home, the South London artist stalled his career to care for his mother. Sampha has been open about his mother’s passing and the influence of her illness on his career, as well as his own struggles with anxiety and isolation, and it feels all too easy to hone in on these factors and their influence on the record. Though Process comes from a place of experience that certainly informs its atmosphere, musically it’s stunning in its own right, showcasing the full

December 2017

range of Sampha’s production talents and falsettostretching voice. Sampha’s grief and anxieties are channelled into diverse sonic forms – from perfectly formed ballads and electronic R’n’B to the heavier, trip-hop indebted lead single Blood on Me. Just as quick but less frenzied are the rhythms and instrumentation of Kora Sings, which reference his parents’ native Sierra Leone, before transitioning into gospel-like raptures, sustained by field recordings of cleansing rainfall and the chitter-chatter of children’s voices. Where Kora Sings refers to Sampha’s West African heritage, elsewhere the album is rooted in South London domesticity. In its standout track (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano, the piano that is central to his mother’s home (which his father bought when Sampha was three as a ploy to stop him and his brothers watching so much television) becomes animated; meaning is breathed into the

immovable instrument, which at once becomes a metaphor for his mother’s being and the medium through which he expresses that metaphor. It’s the tool through which he explores his loss, but also an object that possesses its own record of Sampha’s domestic life.

“ Sampha’s grief and anxieties are channelled into diverse sonic forms” Take Me Inside sees that vulnerability veer into a half-whispered but powerful falsetto, while

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Words: Bethany Garrett Timmy’s Prayer has the hook of a pop hit and is met with a commanding vocal. Album closer What Shouldn’t I Be? uses powerful imagery of being hung by family ties to grapple with identity, responsibility and expectation. There’s a rhythmic peacefulness to the song that allows the album to feel open-ended, though its lyrics hint at a state of feeling conflicted. Behind closed doors, people have their personal tragedies and their own ways of dealing with them. With Process Sampha collects and outs his, culminating in a deftly produced record of immense emotional weight that is matched by the depth of his talent – sealing his patient and embattled ascent to stardom. Process was released on 3 Feb via Young Turks sampha.com

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Perfume Genius – No Shape M

ike Hadreas doesn’t hold back, and under his musical moniker Perfume Genius, he’s given us four albums of heart-wrenchingly honest, pure and powerful records; his latest, No Shape being his grandest yet. Opening track Otherside begins like a Perfume Genius track of old: all vulnerable, isolated vocals and minor-key piano notes, before shattering into glistening percussion and firmly establishing this as an entirely new kind of Perfume Genius record. Although he may not shake off all that lingering negativity, and it’s likely he never will, there is a much greater sense of hope pushing through all the sadness on No Shape. Lead single Slip Away sees Hadreas instructing himself, ‘Don’t hold back, I want to break free,’ and urging himself to battle his inner demons more than ever before. No Shape deals with much more positive themes than we’re used to hearing from Hadreas, who often documents dark and troubling memories from his past in his music. He appears to take a new stance on happiness now though, attempting to accept it rather than push it away. “I kind of realised that my brain and my circumstances didn’t really match up sometimes; that I wasn’t as kind to myself as I could be, day to day, or I wasn’t as present or available in my relationships when really there’s no reason not to be more grateful,” Hadreas told us earlier this year. “So, it’s sort of a way for me to be a little more warm about things when sometimes the noise in my head doesn’t really let me get there.”

Hadreas’ internal battle with his physical self – he suffers from Crohn’s disease and has openly spoken about his gender fluidity – has often been just as important for him to talk about in his music as his battle with his mental self, and that continues here. Wreath is a perfect example of the dissonance Hadreas has referred to when talking about the album: lyrically, an emotional documentation of Hadreas’ uncomfortable relationship with his body, and his desire to be free of it, but melodically an uplifting, synth-shimmering beauty. ‘I wanna hover with no shape / I wanna feel the days go by,’ he sings with vulnerable desperation, over 80s-tinged synths that wouldn’t sound out of place in a John Hughes film. Hadreas enlisted Grammy-nominated producer Blake Mills to assist on the album. Mills’ credentials include previous production work for Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes and John Legend, so he’s someone who knows his way around massive pop melodies, and the grandeur of his production brings that extra bit of electricity to No Shape. “He wrote me really detailed, long pages of notes – so much of it was exactly what I was thinking and then some of it was completely surprising but in a way that totally fit the spirit of the songs,” says Hadreas. The album’s closing track is dedicated to Hadreas’ long-time partner Alan (Wyffels). The pair have been together eight years and Wyffels, a classically trained musician, has collaborated on every Perfume Genius album bar 2010's Learning. ‘Did you notice / We sleep through the night / Did

Interview: Nadia Younes

Photo: Inez and Vinoodh

Mike Hadreas comes to terms with his own contentment on No Shape, his fourth album as Perfume Genius

you notice, babe / Everything is alright?’ sings Hadreas, the sheer simplicity of his words beautifully highlighting the feeling of comfort, and ultimately happiness. “I guess I’m either really negative or really positive, I don’t really have a middle,” says Hadreas. If that’s the case, then No Shape displays a

more positive side to Hadreas and although there are still those darker threads beneath the surface, they are no longer the centrepiece they once were. No Shape was released on 5 May via Matador perfumegenius.org

Lorde – Melodrama

In exploring all the recklessness of late adolescence with a self-knowing wink, Lorde’s Melodrama celebrates young adulthood in all its brutal beauty; it’s how chart-topping pop should be done

ver since Lorde’s debut album Pure Heroine dropped in 2013 – boasting her smoky, worldweary voice, minimalist electronics and a pop song to last the ages in Royals – Ella YelichO’Connor has been identified as an artist with enormous potential. Few people expected that by the release of her second LP Melodrama, the young New Zealander’s artistry would already prove to be fully formed. It’s easy to forget that Yelich-O’Connor, now 21 – was still in her late teens when she wrote most of Melodrama, which was released back in June. One’s first adulthood years are a challenge

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to negotiate as it is, and an even stranger time to have expectation upon you. On Melodrama, Lorde masterfully explored what it is to be ‘19 and on fire’, commemorating her newfound independence in an album that’s proved to be an even more remarkable accomplishment as 2017 has gone on. Sonically, Melodrama is a triumph, with its songs eschewing existing pop formulas, including Lorde’s own. The cover’s post-Impressionist depiction of Yelich-O’Connor leads us to expect Melodrama to be a more extravagant outing than the restrained Pure Heroine, and boy, is it. From the “incorrect songwriting” of opening track Green

Light and its exhilarating house piano, Melodrama is a lush, nocturnal record which successfully adds fluorescent colour to Pure Heroine’s moody and spacious electropop. Just listen to the brass in Sober, the stuttering rhythms of Homemade Dynamite, or the ominous trap of Sober II (Melodrama). Lorde’s voice progressed on Melodrama too, the lower end of her register and falsetto mixing to fantastic effect on the Kate Bush-aping Writer in the Dark. Lorde’s morbid wit hasn’t been left behind on Pure Heroine either as, Melodrama’s lyrics capture the emotional whiplash of late adolescence, be it loving someone to the point of psychopathy or arrest, imagining being mangled into art by a drunk driving accident, or comparing skipping someone’s calls to ripping their heart out. Whatever Lorde feels on this album is relentless and shared unflinchingly. In this, Lorde not only captures the ecstasy of being free for the first time – documenting many a messy night out clubbing – but also the bittersweet violence of it, as she reflects on a serious break-up she had during the course of recording the LP. The highs are particularly stunning, such as the guitar chug of The Louvre or the transient neon rush of Supercut. However, the album is not one of clinically effective bangers. Under producer Jack Antonoff ’s intuitive direction, Melodrama is humid and romantic, not afraid of using extended instrumental outros to cement its mood. In less capable hands, all this could be too intense to manage, but Lorde’s success on Melodrama is how she shows a precocious level of self-consciousness, always aware of her overindulgence and unafraid to share the inevitable

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Words: Chris Ogden comedown that follows. When she sings, ‘You’re all gonna watch me disappear into the sun,’ over Liability’s spare piano, it isn’t a brag, but her understanding how her Icarusian ambition may leave her alone to face disaster. Lorde even admits her failures as she reflects on her break-up in Supercut: ‘In my head, I do everything right’. By the penultimate track of Melodrama – and its most moving – Liability (Reprise), Yelich-O’Connor finally accepts herself just as she is, as a chorus helps her repeat: ‘But you’re not what you thought you were’. It’s life-affirming stuff. Despite Lorde knowing she will never be satisfied – possibly for her entire life – Melodrama closes with the shining synths of Perfect Places, as she just decides to embrace the whole imperfect mess while it lasts. The second half of 2017 has only made Melodrama more impressive since it was released in the sultry days of summer. Compared to the overcooked egg that is Taylor Swift’s Reputation, which distracts itself with mega-rich romance and celebrity sniping, Lorde succeeds on Melodrama by remaining relatable despite her growing fame. Sure, Swift and Yelich-O’Connor may not be on the same playing field now, or ever, but this is how chart-topping pop should be done. In exploring all the recklessness of late adolescence with a self-knowing wink, Melodrama celebrates young adulthood in all its brutal beauty. What a graceful way for Lorde to exit her teenage years, and what a gift Melodrama is in making that time sound eternal. Melodrama was released on 16 Jun via Republic Records lorde.co.nz

THE SKINNY

December 2017

THE SKINNY

SZA – Ctrl

SZA takes control on her debut album fully unearthing her deepest insecurities and comes out the other side stronger Words: Alexander Smail ost artists can’t – or won’t – ever fully unearth their deepest insecurities for their music. SZA does it on her debut. Ctrl shows an astronomical leap forward for the American songwriter as she unequivocally fulfils the promise of her early releases with more mature songwriting, quietly masterful production and a measured and dynamic vocal delivery. Witty and consistently relatable, Ctrl is a collection of blunt confessionals from SZA’s late twenties; she brushes off the myriad of problems that could drag her down with a quiet sigh that teeters on the edge of apathy and anxiety. Throughout these tribulations, the one constant in SZA’s life is her family. Recordings of her mother and grandmother’s voice appear throughout Ctrl as interludes, which could have been mawkish, but their lines tie effectively into the album’s themes – namely self-confidence and the notion of losing control. On Garden (Say it Like Dat), she repeatedly asks a lover for reassurance: that he’ll keep her grounded, that he’ll call her out on her bullshit. In the outro, though, her grandmother responds by telling her that she mustn’t change herself for anybody. While SZA treasures her family, romance is a decidedly more mixed bag. She mulls the worth of relationships throughout Ctrl, but past experiences leave her sceptical. Album opener Supermodel is a refreshingly unconcerned take on scorned love, a scathing ‘fuck you’

to an unfaithful ex-boyfriend: ‘Let me tell you a secret / I been secretly banging your homeboy,’ she spits, her contempt palpable as she recounts the ultimate revenge fantasy. In Justin Timberlakesampling The Weekend, SZA takes the perspective of two different women dating the same man, likening one to the weekdays and the other to the weekend. Rather than bemoan the betrayal, she dismisses it as an inevitable fact of modern dating. Elsewhere, SZA sounds uninterested in romance altogether. Lead single Drew Barrymore finds her making a series of apologies to a partner, at first tapping into her own insecurities – ‘I’m sorry I’m not more attractive’ – before revelling in minutiae: ‘I’m sorry I don’t shave my legs at night’. Yeah she could easily shave, but that’s irrelevant – SZA is making a larger statement about how she refuses to ‘fix’ herself for the sake of a partner. The point is made more explicit in Broken Clocks where she sings about how she ‘don’t need nobody’ while reminiscing about a past boyfriend; she vows instead to focus on her career while a trap beat clatters beneath her vocals. These moments of effortless badassery make it all the more poignant when SZA lets down her guard and strips to her deepest insecurities. Pensive album closer 20 Something taps into the existential dread of a quarter-life crisis, illustrating the anxiety that’s inherent to a time of such

Photo: Sage Adams

tectonic shift. Her rejection of relationships is not without uncertainty, too. ‘Wish I was the type of girl you take over to mama,’ she laments on Normal Girl, realising that her fierce independence makes it impossible to settle down. The stripped-back arrangements on Ctrl are most effective in these sober moments. She reaffirms her dismissal of needing a man to make her happy on Love Galore, but in moments of vulnerability longs for an ex. Her voice is deliberately the focal point of the track, while a breezy

Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. Kendrick Lamar names and faces his fears on his fourth studio album DAMN.

go missing without explanation. He’s seen a new president come into office, bringing with him a messy cohort that in many ways appears like a photo negative of the memorable TPaB cover. And he’s seen protest movements sputter and falter, heard his lyrics picked apart by FOX pundits and trolls, and heard his art form accused of doing more damage than racism. DAMN. is Lamar’s way of grappling with all that, a question-and-answer session that picks up where TPaB left off – that is, in the silence after

Credit: Creative Commons

endrick Lamar was interested in the prophets and apostles long before he realised that he had become one. Since then – sometime between the conception of K-Dot’s dialogue with Tupac at the end of To Pimp a Butterfly and the album’s frenzied critical reception – he’s become an ethical lightning rod and an icon for a generation; he’s met with a president to talk policy and (hood) politics, and he’s seen his lyrics become anthems for protest movements. He’s also seen more young boys and girls who looked up to him get killed or

December 2017

tropical beat gives her affective delivery room to breathe. On Ctrl, SZA finds comfort – and control – in self-acceptance. The album candidly illustrates her realisation of who she is as a person, together with the solace and angst intrinsic to such an awakening. She exposes her soul more than most others could probably bear, and comes out the other side stronger for it. Ctrl was released on 9 Jun via Top Dawg and RCA szactrl.com

Words: Aidan Ryan Tupac’s voice disappears, leaving only Kendrick, the prophet, in dialogue with himself and his times. Because of that, DAMN. feels closer, more claustrophobic (though not anywhere near Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition-level claustrophobic) compared to the freewheeling, far-sampling, jazzy TPaB. The beats are heavy and hard. Lamar demonstrates the versatility of his flow – like a natural force on DNA., so entrancing and totalising we forget the beat behind it; smoky and cool on YAH., like a light rain on the remnants of a wildfire; and with a nasality on LOYALTY. that he tailors perfectly to Rihanna – but the buoyancy of earlier efforts (think Alright and King Kunta) is gone. Or perhaps interiority is the better word. While TPaB unleashed a host of voices, characters, and ciphers over Compton, the White House, and the political landscape of 2015, Lamar here is… mostly Lamar. Lauded as a prophet, a positive influence, a new lyricist, jazz-soul messiah, yambringer, Lamar now has to retire into a personal desert to ask questions that belong only here. Every question he asks, though, is bi or tri-directional: addressed to himself, to his audience, and to God. He fixates on the loyalties of those in his inner circle while prodding his own. He uses the lances of criticism to further explore his own wounds – his motives, his honesty, his past. He names and faces his fears. On HUMBLE., he simultaneously knocks his critics and competitors and vents his ever-present doubt about his own skill, truthfulness, impact, and longevity. Then on LUST., he slips into a heady, heavy-steeped expression of intoxication, desire, and exhaustion – from sex, celebrity, and politics. It will also stand the test of time as one of the rawest and most cogent expressions of the day after the 2016

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American presidential election. The themes are familiar from earlier efforts – but this is more obviously an effort, a struggle. Appropriately then, he laconically raps on YAH., ‘I’m a Israelite, don’t call me black no mo’.’ He’s mining a deep vein – many African American artists have appropriated Old Testament narratives to describe their social and political experience. Here, though, Lamar really is Israel: ‘he who struggles with God.’ The result, like TPaB, has a few great bangers, but is in toto difficult listening. And we need to listen from start to finish, because the album doesn’t remain trapped inside its closed loops of doubt, and personal and political exhaustion. The final track, DUCKWORTH., breaks the ‘cycle,’ and breaks Lamar’s hold on himself. It tells the story of how Anthony ‘Top Dawg’ Tiffith, founder of Top Dawg Entertainment, spared the life of Lamar’s father – another break in a cycle, this time the cycle of violence and fatherless childhoods in Lamar’s Compton. Like the best of the prophets, Kendrick offers no prophecy here: instead the album closes with an acknowledgement of just how difficult choosing mercy, trust, and community can be – while reaffirming that if we are to have any salvation, it is in these small moments, in making this choice again and again, every opportunity we get. And while he’s emerging from the desert with this luminous parable, of course, Lamar manages to slip in one last reminder that he’s ‘the greatest’. DAMN. DAMN : was released on 14 Apr via Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interslope kendricklamar.com

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Great Scots 2017 in Scottish music was packed with variety and intrigue; here are ten albums that have stood out from the pack this year

he past year in Scottish music has thrown out an exciting range of sounds, from dance bands to solo songwriters to returns from some of the country’s most notable musicians. Our writers pulled together a list of their favourite records from the past year, and we asked you lot to name your fave via the website. Let’s run through those records now, starting with the screeching punk cacophony of Breakfast Muff. The Glasgow trio take on bullying, harassment and outmoded gender politics on Eurgh! and their raw sound gives their message a very direct energy. BM’s Cal Donnelly told us earlier this year: “Maybe at the start we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could make a band where it’s just people that can’t really play anything and people would give a fuck about it, and they have. In turn it would be nice if people would look at us and be like ‘aw, I want to start a band’.” Fellow Glaswegians Golden Teacher have a similar energy, but their sound on debut full-length No Luscious Life is altogether looser and more expansive. Pulling together elements of electro, funk, pop and plenty more besides, the result is a chaotic and exciting series of jams in the mould of Talking Heads or the returning LCD Soundsystem. Speaking of returns, there were a pair of artists whose comeback records made an impression on 2017, and coincidentally their names both begin with the letter ‘M’. Neil Pennycook returned as Meursault after a three-year hiatus with new album I Will Kill Again, and it’s a record filled with sorrowful beauty but shot through with touches of light. “I talk [a lot] about there being a narrative in this album,” Pennycook told us earlier this year, “but the narrative’s not complete unless you’re listening to it and creating the scenery in your head.” He went on to acknowledge that point as being “wanky as fuck,” so he hasn’t lost his sense of humour in the time away. Mogwai, on the other hand, hadn’t been away but had begun a transition towards ‘national treasure’ status. Or so it seemed until the release of Every Country’s Sun, a record that draws and borrows themes and styles from across their career to build an album as monumental as anything

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they’ve achieved so far. The band recorded their ninth album in upstate New York with producer Dave Fridmann, and wound up being in Las Vegas on the day Donald Trump took the reins of the US government. “It was, as you can imagine,” Stuart Braithwaite told us, “a very odd time.” Back in Scotland, Mogwai’s own record label Rock Action was responsible for releasing a pair of the year’s best Scottish LPs including Strike a Match by Sacred Paws. An explosion of highlife guitars, danceable beats and brilliantly crafted songs, Strike a Match snapped up this year’s SAY Award back in June, with drummer Eilidh Rodgers remarking at the ceremony that the award would help her convince her dad to take her musical career seriously and “stop asking me about a career.” At the time of producing the record, the duo were split between Glasgow and London, with guitarist Rachel Aggs now planning on making the move back to Scotland. “It’s going to be so much better from this point onwards,” said Rodgers at the SAY Awards – and that’s an exciting thought. At a lower tempo but equally capable of captivating a crowd, Siobhan Wilson’s There Are No Saints ties English indie-folk with European classical music to spellbinding effect. The Elgin-via-Paris songwriter talked us through the album’s origins earlier in the year, and explained that her heartfelt lyrics are as much for her as for the listener. She said: “I actually think for a little while I lost the excitement for live performances and wasn’t enjoying it. I had to move myself again because it’s the only way I can authentically reach out to others.” Safe to say, it’s worked out well. The most recent of the albums to make our top ten, Spinning Coin’s long-awaited debut Permo only hit the shelves in November, but it’s made an immediate impact. Released on Geographic, the Domino imprint of The Pastels’ Stephen McRobbie, it sees the five-piece follow in the footsteps of some of the great guitar bands of Glasgow’s past. That said, guitarist Jack Mellin told us last month that the band’s sound is the result of each of Spinning Coin’s members “having seen each other play in different bands and wanting to play each other’s songs.” Either way, the results are impressive.

When we reached out to find out which was your favourite Scottish album of 2017, there were three which pulled away from the chasing pack. Third place went to Conflats, the fantastic album from the Out Lines trio of Marcus Mackay, 2015 SAY Award winner Kathryn Joseph, and The Twilight Sad vocalist James Graham. Created out of the Easterhouse Conversations project at the Platform arts centre and released via Rock Action, Conflats is the result of Graham and Joseph’s interviews and interactions with members of the local community, with their stories inspiring the album’s often bleak but ultimately defiant seven tracks. “I hadn’t thought about it until going and doing this,” Graham told us in October, “but actually seeing and hearing people tell you [that] the place has helped turn their life around, shows you how important [Platform] is. If there’s a theme to the record, it’s that there’s always someone out there to talk to or listen to, no matter how bad it gets, and that’s what Platform is.”

“ I’ll never be cool, I’ll never be good looking, I’ll never be rich, I know, but, Skinny readers, I am grateful”

Ross Wilson, Blue Rose Code

Coming in second was another long-awaited debut from a Glasgow band – In Memory Of by Glasgow glam-rockers Catholic Action. Frontman Chris McCrory is a leading light among Glasgow’s producers – in fact, he’s produced records by nearly half the bands on this list in recent years – but for his band’s first full-length album McCrory turned to Fat White Family producer Margo Broom

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for an outside perspective. Introducing the album in the October issue, McCrory revealed that, at times, the recording process left him in tears. “There were points where I thought I couldn’t continue,” he said. “But the reason I like working with her is she challenges you. We could have went into the studio and made a pretty standard guitar pop record. I could do that in my sleep. But Margo didn’t want us to do that, as there is so much of it out there and a lot of it is quite boring. So it was challenging but ultimately it was a rewarding experience.” And at number one, your pick for Scottish Album of 2017, is an album which feels like a personal and professional turning point for its creator – The Water of Leith by Blue Rose Code. “To have my album recognised in this way is a thrill and a privilege,” Wilson tells us of his win. The Water of Leith sees Ross Wilson shedding the past, embracing self-forgiveness and looking ahead to the future with his demons at bay and hope in his heart. “You would expect me to say this but I believe it to be true, TWOL is my strongest piece of work to date.” Wilson continues, “Moving home to Scotland and working with my good pal, Angus Lyon, to produce the album, I’ve never felt more confident, more emboldened to take risks and ask questions in the studio. We assembled a cast of Scotland’s finest singers and musicians and I want to thank everyone involved, from start to finish. “In the end, be it live performance or studio recording, at its finest, music is a spiritual transaction between audience and artist. I’m moved to have so many people believe in what we do and everyone is welcome to come along for the ride. We are inclusive, never exclusive.” Wilson concludes, “I’ll never be cool, I’ll never be good looking, I’ll never be rich, I know, but, Skinny readers, I am grateful.” The Water of Leith is an ode to forgiveness, to letting go of the past and holding on to hope. It’s the culmination of Wilson’s life so far – an astonishingly accomplished, pure and sincere record celebrating his next chapter, and your favourite Scottish album of the past year. theskinny.co.uk/music

THE SKINNY

December 2017

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Different Voices, Stirring Lives

10. The Florida Project (Sean Baker)

9. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)

The best film of the year as voted by our critics was about women and directed by a woman. Elsewhere, we were stirred by films from points of view rarely represented on screen: those of people of colour, LGBTQIA+ people and poor people

Willem Dafoe turns in a career defining performance as kind-hearted, hard-working Bobby, a budget motel manager in Sean Baker’s sumptuously shot, naturalistic comic drama. The Florida Project focuses on the children of impoverished families who are forced to live in ‘temporary residences’ on the cheap commercial strips that have grown out from Disney’s Orlando resort. Moonee (Oscarworthy newcomer Brooklyn Prince) is a fiercely intelligent, witty six-year-old who leads her friends into all kinds of comical hi-jinks (both whimsical and criminal) in the bright DayGlo environs of off-brand, unlicensed Disney – an uncanny wonderland which Baker films without judgement. [Rachel Bowles]

There can be no doubting the astonishing technical craft of Christopher Nolan’s retelling of the evacuation of over 300,000 British soldiers from the eponymous French beach. The director’s sense of scale has never been better realised than in Dunkirk’s stunning 70mm IMAX presentation, shot masterfully by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. Nolen's preoccupation with non-linear storytelling is put to brilliant effect, too, with the narrative cross-cut against three parallel stories running at a rate of one week, one day and one hour. Some may have baulked at Dunkirk’s historical liberties, but its sensational intensity and propulsive narrative resulted in Nolan’s best film yet. [Chris Machell]

8. Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)

7. Blade Runner (Denis Villeneuve)

6. Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)

A documentary, a self-portrait, a kind of cinematic scrapbook – Cameraperson is a unique formal achievement. The film consists of unused footage shot by cinematographer Kirsten Johnson over the course of 25 years, but taken together these discarded images create an extraordinary portrait of humanity. A boxing match in New York, a maternity ward in Nigeria, a wounded teenager in Afghanistan; Johnson has captured piercing moments of great joy and pain, and her film touches on a number of questions about the ethics and responsibilities of filming such images. Cameraperson is a film one can return to time and time again, to be continually moved, challenged and surprised in new ways. There is so much life in this movie. [Philip Concannon]

The long-gestating, always seemingly ill-advised Blade Runner sequel could so easily have just skated by on a battered Ryan Gosling hanging around neon lights for a couple of hours – had Nicolas Winding Refn been in the director’s chair, it could plausibly have been called Only Gods Forgive Electric Sheep. In the hands of director Denis Villeneuve, and with the original’s screenwriter Hampton Fancher back on (co-)writing duties, Blade Runner 2049 comfortably fits in the company of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road – another big-budget sci-fi revival, made decades after its predecessor that refurbishes and organically expands on the prior material’s modes to exhilarating thematic, aural and visual ends. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is a beautiful, understated exploration of grief and catharsis. Watching Lee (Casey Affleck), a man haunted by an unbearable tragedy, struggle between continuing with a self-imposed punishment and accepting a shot at redemption evokes an emotional response few other films could ever generate. It’s a film about despair, but Lonergan’s cast – who also include Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler – bring such warmth and humanity that it’ll make your heart soar in moments too. The film’s underlying brilliance lies in its ability to find humour in the most heartwrenching of moments – and melancholy in the happiest. The bitterest tears flow after the heartiest laughs. [Benjamin Rabinovich]

5. Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)

4. The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook)

3. Get Out (Jordan Peele)

A tenderly drawn coming-of-age story flush with the awkwardness and ardour of youthful infatuation, Call Me By Your Name is the final chapter in Luca Guadagnino’s trilogy of desire. The film recounts a summer romance in Northern Italy between a precocious 17-year-old (Timothée Chalamet) and a visiting scholar (Armie Hammer). There’s a relatability to the men’s relationship that goes beyond specifics, with Guadagnino seemingly stealing many of his shots without permission to create a deeply sensual piece of cinema with a vein of messy, rampant emotions running through it. The result is a seductive film that, like a first love, stays with you, long after it’s over. [Patrick Gamble]

Constructed with the satisfying precision of a polished pocket watch, The Handmaiden sees director Park Chan-wook relocate the action of Sarah Waters’ 2002 neo-Victorian novel Fingersmith to his native Korea for an exquisitely charged erotic thriller. Kim Tae-ri plays an orphan girl whose appointment as handmaiden to the young fiancé of a rich purveyor of erotic literature sets off a cascading series of duplicities, cons and double-cons. It’s a woozy, dizzying piece that spins its audiences around several times, as Park melds his elegant style to Fingersmith’s deliciously manipulative plotting in order to explore the politics and power dynamics that surround sex and desire. [Tom Grieve]

Jordan Peele’s surprise hit of a directorial debut follows photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and his white girlfriend Rose Armitage (Alison Williams) to the countryside where he will meet her family for the first time. What begins as a modern-day Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner soon descends into something far more diabolical when it turns out the Armitages are the architects of an insidious scheme. The film effortlessly balances humour and horror and boasts impressive performances from its cast; but it’s the layered social commentary underpinning the horror that cements Get Out as one of the most important films of the year, if not the era. [Kelli Weston]

2. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)

1. Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)

The Next Ten:

Forget envelopegate, there are a whole host of reasons why Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is genuinely remarkable. A character study in three parts, it combines a lyrical meditation on identity and self-determination with the challenges facing young black men in modern America. In doing so Jenkins constantly upends stereotypes, finding knotty contradictions in among moments of grace. The scene of our protagonist, Chiron, swimming in the sea with Mahershala Ali’s Juan may be transcendental, but the repercussions of Juan’s drug-dealing are of equal import. It’s a beautiful and sad tale, made all the more poignant by the wonderfully coalescent performances by Alex R Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes, the actors playing Chiron at different ages, who seem to inhabit the same person despite minimal resemblance. [Ben Nicholson]

Kelly Reichardt’s triptych, based on short stories by Maile Meloy, was the most quietly riveting movie of the year, contemplating the burdens, strengths and everyday rhythms of four Montana women. In a meticulous social drama of strivings, perpetrations, loyalties and miscalculations, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone all perform masterfully without any sudden movements, drawing us into their internal lives with tiny and sometimes shattering gestures, against backdrops so vividly rendered you can smell the cold mountain air. [Ian Mantgani]

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11. Silence (Martin Scorsese) 12. Aquarius (Kleber Mendonça Filho) 13. Logan (James Mangold) 14. A Ghost Story (David Lowery) 15. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright) 16. Raw (Julia Ducournau) 17. Good Time (Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie) 18. mother! (Darren Aronofsky) 19. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade) 20. Song to Song (Terrence Malick) Read the full Films of the Year rundown at theskinny.co.uk/film

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All Guts, No Glory These are the films that didn’t set the box office alight but should have, the movies that critics roundly ignored, and the films that won’t be in conversations come awards season. In other words: these are the year’s most criminally overlooked movies

John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski) John Wick 2 will never not be underrated, even by the people who thoroughly enjoyed it. Underneath an extraordinary quantity of bullets lurks a beast of surprising intelligence and ambition. While the original gently hinted at Shakespearean, Jacobean themes – a court of spies and assassins and tragic avengers – John Wick 2

flawlessly takes it to scale. Courts of spies become duchies; dukes and duchesses sit at the high table while characters with names like Ares and Cassian trade bullets in the ancient streets of Rome. For all its mindless violence, John Wick 2 is at its heart a Jacobean revenge tragedy. How many modern action films can make that claim? [Benjamin Rabinovich]

Heal the Living (Katell Quillévéré)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Paul W.S. Anderson)

The Lost City of Z (James Gray)

Despite boasting an ensemble cast that reads like a who’s who of French cinema, there’s no central character in Katell Quillévéré’s Heal the Living, something that might explain why it failed to attract a wider audience. The film follows the journey of a human heart as it’s harvested from the body of a young surfer and transplanted into a middle-aged mother. The premise sounds maudlin, but Quillévéré, a self-proclaimed humanist, cuts through the melodrama with the clinical precision of a surgeon, favouring empathy over miserablism to create a breathtakingly beautiful medical procedural about human interconnectedness and the invisible bonds that bind us. [Patrick Gamble]

Paul W.S. Anderson makes a final visit to his Resident Evil sandbox as he takes Milla Jovovich’s Alice back to The Hive: the hellish laboratory that unleashed a bio-engineered apocalypse on the world at the start of this six-film series. The previous two instalments were defined by a slo-mo, geometric elegance, but Anderson, working alongside editor Doobie White, cuts quicker and amps the action up to a frenetic pace for this depiction of humanity’s desperate last stand. Nevertheless, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter maintains the cinematic grandeur and pulpy smarts that have made this overlooked series such a pleasure for plugged in cinephiles. [Tom Grieve]

Charlie Hunnam proves his mettle as Lt. Col. Percy Fawcett, a disappointed army officer who grabs a chance at glory – T.E. Lawrence style – when he is offered the dangerous job of mapping a disputed border in South America. James Gray’s intimate epic is a bildungsroman of exploration, striving and sacrifice, daring comparison with Werner Herzog at his finest. Here the jungles are genuinely wild and dark but refreshingly honest compared to an old Europe of class distinction and imminent World War. Sienna Miller does her best with the wife-left- at-home role and Robert Pattinson continues his reinvention as an actor. But it is Hunnam’s subtle portrayal of bravery and curiosity in the Conradian depths which makes the movie such a lost treasure and one worth cutting through the vines to see. [John Bleasdale]

Prevenge (Alice Lowe)

Slack Bay (Bruno Dumont)

Christine (Antonio Campos)

Fans of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers will already be well aware of Alice Lowe’s comic chops. In her directorial feature debut, Prevenge, Lowe showcases her considerable talents. This comic-horror tells the story of a woman (Lowe) whose unborn baby tells her to go on a killing rampage in the wake of her husband’s untimely demise. Prevenge is viscerally hilarious and terrfiying in equal measure, showing contemporaries like Richard Ayoade and Edgar Wright just how it’s done. Prevenge will no doubt be passed over come awards season, but Lowe’s effort remains one of the best British films of the year. [Christopher Machell]

Bruno Dumont’s sudden swerve into comic territory with P’tit Quinquin was as welcome as it was unexpected. Thankfully, Slack Bay proves it wasn’t just a one-off; in fact, everything in this bizarre slapstick farce is bigger, louder and more cartoonish than its predecessor. Dumont pushes his unusually starry ensemble (including Juliette Binoche and Fabrice Luchini) to give the most over-the-top turns they can muster, but for all of the film’s star power, it’s the new faces who stick in the memory. The Laurel and Hardy-esque Didier Després and Cyril Rigaux get big laughs with their frequent pratfalls, while a young actress credi- ted only as Raph steals the movie as Binoche’s gender-swapping offspring. Slack Bay is frantic, ridiculous, violent and consistently hilarious. There’s nothing else quite like it. [Philip Concannon]

Based on the final days of Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall), the 70s Sarasota journalist who committed suicide on live television, Antonio Campos’ Christine frustratingly never got the recognition it deserved for its sensitive exploration of depression and the inconspicuousness of great suffering. As the eponymous protagonist begins to spin out of control, Campos ramps up the horrifying sense of claustrophobia, bringing the camera closer, moving Christine into literal corners. Hall finds a multitude of rages in Christine, from the explosive outbursts that manifest due to career setbacks to the quiet terror of realising that you are suffering from something no one recognises, something no one can see. It’s a terrible shame Hall wasn’t Oscar-nominated for her performance. [Benjamin Rabinovich]

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ang Lee)

Lost among the yearly slew of superhero blockbusters, it’s a real shame that Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal was largely ignored by audiences and critics. Perhaps its failure to connect was due to its billing as a kind of indie-monster movie, the USP being that Anne Hathaway’s heroine Gloria can control the rampaging monster’s actions. What we got, however, was something more akin to a drama-comedy about alcoholism and domestic abuse. Hathaway is hilarious and vulnerable in equal measure, with her monster embodying the consequences of substance abuse. But the film really delivers when the monster becomes an emblem of empowerment against the manipulative Oscar, played with gut-churning nice-guy familiarity by Jason Sudeikis. [Christopher Machell]

Initially touted as the first 120fps, 4K 3D spectacle, then almost forgotten by the time it hit the UK in a cursory release, Ang Lee’s experiment about an American soldier returning from Iraq may have proved too visually distracting for the first wave of critics who saw it, while audiences barely knew it existed. We saw it in 2D, and stripped of its gimmicks of technical immediacy, it’s clearly a masterful balance of tones, envisioning the divided America of the mid-2000s as a period flick with alternate captivation, bemusement and brutality. Joe Alwyn is guileless, haunted and boyish as the titlular veteran, with sensitive support from a cast including Kristen Stewart and Chris Tucker; and the film is a beguiling odyssey that unpicks military mythos as much as something like Flags of Our Fathers, while adding aspects of surrealism, farce and direct, heartfelt reflection on the need for national reconciliation. [Ian Mantgani]

Thelma (Joachim Trier) Joachim Trier’s latest is an enchanting supernatural thriller with a compelling, lovable heroine in its titular character (Eili Harboe) who leaves her strict religious parents (Henrik Rafaelsen and Ellen Dorrit Petersen) in the countryside to start university in Oslo. Her sheltered upbringing does her few favours when it comes to making friends, and despite her loneliness, Thelma does not welcome her romantic feelings for her beautiful classmate Anja (Kaya Wilkins). At the same time, she begins experiencing inexplicable seizures that prove to bear devastating consequences. All at once ominous and beguiling, moody and romantic, Thelma lingers in the mind, a strangely hopeful horror film unlike anything else out this year. [Kelli Weston]

December 2017

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THE SKINNY

“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Donald Trump (16 June 2015)

December 2017

I’ll never forget the night I watched Donald J. Trump elected into power. We sat eating pizza, laughing at the unfolding mess the world was plummeting into, the value of the Mexican Peso, and our paycheques, plummeting alongside it. We were indeed laughing – at the stupidity of it all. That a man with no political experience, a handful of bankrupt companies and enough tasteless ‘pussy’ quotes to keep John Oliver in material for centuries, was now the leader of ‘The Free World’. The following day I was anxious to leave the house for fear of a backlash from those assuming I, an Australian, was an American. But the jeers never came, only a wave of ironic smiles that said, “Hey, at least you’re on our side of the wall.”

“When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity,” Donald Trump (16 June 2015)

On 19 September at 1.14pm my boyfriend, a Mexican, watched an apocalypse of falling buildings and gas pipe explosions from the swaying 43rd floor of one of Mexico City’s tallest buildings. My former employer and friend, a British citizen, lost everything she owned, but luckily not her life, when her apartment building collapsed with her still inside the lobby. My friends, a mixing pot of Mexicans, Americans, French, British and Venezuelans were scattered across our crumbling city, stranded due to traffic, panic and widespread damage, and struggling to contact loved ones due to poor cell coverage. As a community, we watched the buildings fall. As a community we pulled our loved ones from the rubble. There was a silence across Mexico City the following day. An eerie mourning of a country broken, bleeding and scared. The fear of aftershocks was silent yet drowning. You can somewhat protect yourself against robberies and violence, but how do you protect yourself from the Earth shaking beneath you without warning? Buildings in my neighbourhood still remain teetering like games of Jenga, waiting for the final block to be pulled. Others are empty lots where rubble once fell. Three hundred and seventy people lost their lives in the S19 Earthquake, with at least another 6000 people injured. While much of the media focused on Mexico City itself, millions in surrounding areas to the south, in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca were left isolated and without the resources to rebuild. “People in the city centre are more likely to have the money, resources and support systems to get back on their feet,” says Alfonso Padilla, who two months after S19 continues to dedicate his time to one of many Centro de Acopios, or Aide Collection Centres, run by the community. “Not everyone has these means, which is why much of this aid is being sent out to rural areas, such as Oaxaca.

t hasn’t been the smoothest of years for my beloved, adoptive mother, Mexico. Dealing with a belligerent neighbour whose antics have devalued the Mexican Peso, and dehumanised her people to ‘murderers’ and ‘rapists’. And now, as her year draws to an end, Mother Nature has cruelly sent a series of earthquakes across the south and central regions, leaving thousands homeless, jobless or simply dead. Death: it’s something we don’t like to think about often. In fact, for most of us, we have become incredibly adept at ignoring the big white skeleton in the room. Sometimes it takes an earthquake to shake you from giggling at the latest Trump meme on your iPhone, and to reconnect you with the fragility of human life. On 19 September, Mexico City and surrounding areas received that very shake.

FE Words: Kate Morling Illustration: Alexis Jang

Trump: It’s a word that strikes frustration into the hearts of many. But what is it really like being his neighbour? In earthquake ravaged Mexico, it’s not easy…

Fuerza Mexico: After the quake

“In the days immediately after, it was about saving lives. Now our focus has shifted to preserving lives and giving these people their quality of life back.” “The border is wide open for cartels & terrorists. Secure our border now. Build a massive wall & deduct the costs from Mexican foreign aid!” Donald Trump (31 March 2015) When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in the USA in August, flooding Houston and leaving a trail of destruction worth nearly $US200 billion and 77 dead, Mexico was one of the first countries to offer aid. Carlos Sada, Mexico’s deputy foreign minister for North America, called it “a demonstration of our neighbourliness; a show of solidarity.”

“ As a community, we watched the buildings fall. As a community we pulled our loved ones from the rubble” Following S19, Mexico has relied heavily on its neighbours, including the USA, and the wider global community, in its attempt to rebuild. But as the focus of the mainstream media moves on, the Mexican people are endeavouring to return to a state of normality, after facing their mortality. In Mexico, death is faced the same way as life;

TRAVEL

with family, food, and ‘fiesta’. Day of the Dead falls on 2 November and is a celebration of the lives of loved ones who have died. Families and communities gather to create elaborate ‘ofrendas’ or offerings which allow passed relatives to cross back into the world of the living, to visit family, in a celebration through food and dance. This year’s celebrations have been marked by an acknowledgment of those lost in the S19 Earthquake, as well as those who risked their lives to pull others from the rubble. “You have to celebrate that you are alive, while moving on in a conscious way,” says Alfonso. “The trend on social media [of donating and volunteering] has passed, but we need to help keep the conversation going, as many continue to need help.” “God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you.” Donald Trump (19 September 2017) The Mexican culture is one that has captivated many. The food is rich and heavy, the music is fast paced and intoxicating, but most importantly the people here are warm and community-minded, something the current, global-political rhetoric fails to acknowledge. I’m often asked by family and friends when will I return to Australia? Why would I choose to live somewhere so dangerous and third world? And my answer is always simple – community. Every country in the world faces dangers, both natural and man-made. How we face those dangers says much about us as human beings. Mexico is a country striving to secure its place in the first world, while battling social injustice, internal political corruption, natural disasters, and a problematic neighbour. And yet, as she rises from the rubble, she and her people are setting the world an example of how to truly ‘Love thy neighbour’. #FUERZAMEXICO

Lifestyle

Chuckle Revision In Books: Adam Kay – This is Going to Hurt Comedian Adam Kay’s memoir of his time as a junior doctor sometimes reads more like a world record attempt at sleep deprivation, such are the working conditions endured by young medics. Still, with a cast of zombified doctors and symptomatic patients, there’s no shortage of humour. The book gives Kay room to expand on his celebrated 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show Fingering A Minor on the Piano. And his scalpel has lost none of its sharp edge in prose with his searing open letter to weaselfaced dope (and health secretary) Jeremy Hunt. Adam Kay: This is Going to Hurt, Picador, out now

On Film: My Life as a Courgette Swiss director Claude Barras’ debut feature was unlucky to miss out at the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, the prize going instead to Disney’s Zootopia. The film is a stop motion about an orphan, Courgette, as he gets used to life in a foster home. The story then follows the boy as he makes new friends with the other kids and builds a rapport with Raymond, a kindly police officer. The film’s scenes unfold at a gentle pace, and this is partly how it maintains a tone of bittersweetness throughout, often seeming simultaneously comedic and dramatic. My Life as a Courgette, DVD, Blu-ray and download, Thunderbird Releasing, out now

In Music: Father John Misty – Pure Comedy It is sometimes difficult to know how seriously to take Joshua Tillman’s onstage persona as Father John Misty. The title of his 2017 album – Pure Comedy – suggests he’s gone full blown character comedian. Yet, he’s perhaps never been more serious. Pure Comedy is a 74 minute diatribe against the ills of contemporary culture and politics where, ultimately, the joke is on the human race. Misty even seems to look forward to our extinction. In July, our music editor Tallah Brash experienced a similar feeling when hearing about Ed Sheeran’s nomination for a Mercury Music Award. “Is Ed Sheeran really all that remarkable? The answer is a resounding no. No, he isn’t.” Father John Misty: Pure Comedy, Bella Union / Sub Pop, out now In Stand-up Comedy: Hannah Gadsby – Nanette In November, Hannah Gadsby tweeted that what she performs is not really stand-up. Winning accolades throughout 2017 in Adelaide, Melbourne and Edinburgh respectively, Nanette does seem less like a stand-up hour and more like a day of reckoning, addressing comedy’s limitations. It’s about prejudice and violence, the art and the artist, and even an explainer on how a joke works. Like all of Gadsby’s work, Nanette lingers and changes the way you see the world afterwards. It’s disquieting, but changes to our perspective often are.

My Life as a Courgette

Father John Misty

On TV: Inside No. 9 Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith presented the 2017 Edinburgh Comedy Award to Hannah Gadsby and John Robins, twenty years since they won it themselves as part of The League of Gentlemen. Their peculiar comedyhorror, Inside No. 9, which returned with a confident third series, might be their best work. An episode can take you to unexpected places, such as to a karaoke booth and then the stories are just as unpredictable: plots might revolve around a crossword puzzle or a lost shoe. Every week is compelling and no scene is ever wasted. Inside No. 9: Series 3, BBC, DVD and download, out now theskinny.co.uk/comedy

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COMEDY

THE SKINNY

Photo: Guy Lowndes

Words: Ben Venables

A round-up of the best comedy of 2017 from across the arts

Miike Blue Eyes Absurdly prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike reaches a 100-film milestone with Blade of the Immortal. We speak to the controversial filmmaker about shocking movies, sword fights, Starship Troopers, film vs digital, and how he’s actually really lazy

“I

’m a very lazy person by nature,” director Takashi Miike tells us. Were one to assess laziness on a spectrum, the act of having completed a film of any kind would, we feel, denote a distinct lack of lethargy. So it seems especially strange to hear this character assessment from an individual who’s due to release his 100th film, called Blade of the Immortal. Such a prolific resume surely suggests a lack of laziness? Miike, who seems very relaxed throughout our chat, clarifies his position, albeit somewhat confusingly: “Making a film, with one scene you have to move on in order to shoot the following day; move on and carry on doing things,” explains the Japanese filmmaker. “And I think if you’re really dedicated in personality, you spend so much energy on one thing, so it’s probably difficult to move on and carry on. I think, by nature, for making films, you need to have a certain level of laziness to just let go, for the filmmaking process to work.” The 57-year-old got his directing start making straight-to-video features in the early 90s, ‘graduating’ to big screen gangster movies around 1995, and has dabbled in practically every genre since. He’s had at least one film released every year since his debut feature, sometimes as many as five, though a majority of these have not received distribution outside of Japan. That said, a lot of the ones that (legally) made it to British shores over the last two decades have become major cult favourites: Audition, widely considered one of the best horror films of its era, has fucked up many a mind; Ichi the Killer brought us (mostly comedic) gore like never before, and

December 2017

caused the BBFC much chagrin; yakuza tale Dead or Alive has one of the maddest endings you’re ever likely to see; One Missed Call was a major entry in the J-horror craze of the early aughts; The Happiness of the Katakuris blended The Sound of Music with Night of the Living Dead; Visitor Q and Gozu prompted many a vomiting; and The Skinny’s Scottish film fan readership, in particular, may have either fond or foul memories of Glasgow Film Festival springing 13 Assassins, with its opening hara-kiri sequence, on an unsuspecting Surprise Film audience.

“ Actually, I haven’t seen that many horror movies” Takashi Miike

Whether played for laughs or in a more serious register, a lot of Miike’s most popular films – though not all, it should be said – are characterised by forays into brutal bloodshed or some form of transgressive content. Blade of the Immortal, a manga adaptation concerning a reluctantly immortal warrior helping a young woman on a quest for revenge, is definitely another bloody affair. We’re curious as to whether any recent works by other filmmakers have shocked him, personally. The answer: “I don’t think so... If I thought there was an element of something that might shock

me in terms of violence, I don’t think I would go and see that. Actually, I haven’t seen that many horror movies. I think I’ve only seen two in cinemas, ever.” Considering this is the man that made Audition, to name just one freaky work from the horror section of his CV, this answer comes as something of a surprise. What were the two he did see on the big screen? “Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Pulse by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Those two were far too scary; horrible, horrifically scary.” We’re speaking to Miike ahead of Blade of the Immortal’s screening at London Film Festival, and the festival programme describes it as a companion piece to 2010’s 13 Assassins, Miike’s biggest commercial hit in the UK this decade. It’s a comparison the filmmaker seems to agree with. “I think having a big epic fight scene at the end is similar and it’s set in the same time in Japanese history,” he says. Riffing on Kurosawa, 13 Assassins was concerned with samurai and their world, whereas Blade of the Immortal’s subjects are outlaws and delinquents. “I think you could possibly describe them as non-identical twin pieces,” suggest Miike, “because they look very different in appearance but could be twins.” The film continues Miike’s recent streak of fairly big budget features with studio backing. In a nearly 30-year career, he’s gone from straightto-video work to independent movies to video game adaptations with major money behind them, and has also experienced the global industry shift from shooting on film to (mostly) working

FILM

Interview: Josh Slater-Williams

with digital. Does he miss anything about the old days and ways? “There is nostalgia,” he says. “I do remember it fondly because a lot of the films I shot, especially in my early career, were on 16mm; partly because I couldn’t afford anything else for budgetary reasons. 35mm was a real luxury, so I shot an awful lot on 16mm. In those days, I mainly made yakuza films and, by nature, yakuza is gritty. The grainy look suited the yakuza, rather than using 35mm with the high-quality picture. And so I feel that if there’s an opportunity to make another yakuza film, I would like to insist on making it using 16mm.” As our time wraps up, we recall another Miike interview in which he described Starship Troopers as one of his favourite movies. We’re curious as to whether the Japanese director has ever met that film’s director, Paul Verhoeven, and whether he feels they share anything in common as filmmakers. “No, I’ve never met him,” says Miike. “But no, we’re not similar at all – [we’re] very much a different scale. There’s a different level of energy. So much money, so much budget; I don’t think I would ever be able to do anything like that. It’s not just [my] ability as a director; I think making a film in Hollywood, from my own brief experience [his entry in the Masters of Horror anthology series, Imprint, was not allowed to air on US television], takes so much more energy.” Unable to resist a gentle ribbing upon departing, we point out, to the response of a light chuckle, that, as he said previously, he’s too lazy for all that. Blade of the Immortal is released 8 Dec by Arrow Films

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Public Access Art Artists Kate V Robertson and Andrew Lacon will show this month in Dundee Contemporary Arts, and they share a commitment to engaging non-art audiences that’s shared by new Dundee Contemporary Arts curator Eoin Dara Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf

new pair of solo exhibitions open in Dundee Contemporary Arts this month. They mark not only the final gallery projects of the year, but also the first shows programmed with the new curator Eoin Dara. Speaking to him in advance of the opening, along with the artists Kate V Robertson and Andrew Lacon, there are obvious threads of a shared commitment to the importance of openness and accessibility in curating and making artwork. Visiting Robertson’s studio, she refers to a scale model of DCA when describing the parts of This Mess is Kept Afloat, as her upcoming solo show is titled. One part of her installation will be a floorwork, which is comprised of concrete casts of food containers laid on the floor like slabs. There will also be resin casts of corrugated metal hanging from the ceiling that delicately change the light in the room, large works made from metal mesh, and a room with a floor of sand made from ground egg shells. Speaking of the title as an insight into the work, Robertson describes it as speaking to a sense of environmental and economic precarity that underlies the day-to-day sense of routine and stability that some people are presently able to enjoy. For example, another work in the show directly considers the ambivalent ideas of technological dematerialisation – storing files in the cloud, and condensing several gadgets into one – that is nevertheless accompanied by the constant and toxic junk of rapidly obsolete phones and computers. In a small room that’s usually walled-up, she plans to put in a mechanism that holds a polystyrene form that will be spinning very quickly and look like a cloud. “You’ll look through a little aperture, into a small cube-like room tiled in blue,” she explains. “The tiles are [pieces of] unexposed photographic paper in the format of 6x4 snapshots.” When it stops, it’s clear that it’s a lump of polystyrene. Thus the visual illusion of lightness and immateriality gives way to the reality of the non-degradable material that sustains it. As well as visual illusion, another important feature of the works is that they are designed

Andrew Lacon, Studio Tests

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to gradually change over the course of the show, whether from exposure to light (in the case of the photographic paper) or like the eggshells and concrete casts that will be walked over by the audience. “You can come on the first day of the show, [but] later on it will be something else. Sometimes that means it will be broken, because there’s a fragility to the works.” Part of this approach is traced by Robertson not training initially as a sculptor, and often not necessarily going by the book when it comes to methods and materials. Bypassing a schooling in conventional formalities, she also finds it easier to position herself away from an overemphasis on the value of a pristine finish.

“ It’s not like going to the V&A when you can’t touch the artworks” Andrew Lacon

Instead, Robertson’s measures of a successful artwork are grounded in being able to communicate complicated impressions and senses, without necessarily relying on a presumption of the audience having an extensive artistic background. Reflecting on the kinds of decisions that she makes when putting work together, Robertson questions whether exhibition audiences will be able to engage thoughtfully and meaningfully “without any historical knowledge or artistic training.” She goes on to reflect on the kinds of “recognisable” forms and materials she uses – “I almost never make abstract work. It always looks like something or it’s directly cast from something.” There’s a sense that direct engagement (standing on the work itself), optical illusions and elements like movement are all intended to draw audiences using impactful and relatable visual and material cues. Though interviewed separately, Robertson’s

Kate V Robertson

parallel solo exhibitor Andrew Lacon speaks of some of the same preoccupations and principles with how to draw in an audience that Robertson describes. Lacon will also be working on the floor, with a work “which will take up the whole of Gallery 1. It’s 50 slabs of coloured terrazzo that are about four foot square, so they’re made from marble chippings, cement and pigments.” Together, they’ll make up a geometric design or pattern. “The idea is people will actually walk on it.” This has implications for Lacon on the hierarchy of the artwork. “When you step on the artworks, it instantly destroys that feeling that, ‘Oh, I can’t touch this.’” This subversion of expectations is continued in Lacon’s relationships with the associations of marble as a sculptural and decorative material. Having worked with marble for a while, Lacon sets out to find the material when at its least lofty. Though the marble is more often associated with antiquity and classical artworks, Lacon makes a point of working with “offcuts or broken parts, or marble that’s intended to be worktops.” He’s drawn to terrazzo, as it’s made from the waste of the larger scale cuttings for bespoke countertops, “so it’s all waste that’s being used to make this luxury object.” He also speaks of some of the strangeness of using industrial methods for a fine art context. Though he describes “not overtly talking about class,” he still tracks moments of reflection on his place as an artist from a working-class background. “I’m casting concrete for an artwork, which is [quite]… bourgeoisie and has no tangible value.” Something he’s also aware of, is wanting to avoid “putting people off… It’s not just about the material but if people can interact with the work. [In this case] people can stand on it and touch and understand marble the material. It’s not like going to the V&A when you can’t touch the artworks on the wall.”

Andrew Lacon, Studio Tests

ART

Robertson and Lacon both speak in different ways about opening out their art to audiences from the widest range of backgrounds. New DCA curator Eoin Dara speaks about their respective approaches proudly: “I think Kate and Andrew are wonderful examples of that kind of practice that is deeply sophisticated, nuanced and layered, but at the same time Kate and Andrew in different ways are hyper-aware of audiences and wanting to be generous and open and welcoming with their works. They are the kind of artists that we will continue to work with in the DCA, that strike that balance between really rigorous, intelligent work that wants to speak to as wide an audience as possible.” In this way, the artists’ practices correspond with some of the features of the DCA that Dara identifies as exceptional. “DCA as an organisation or institution feels like much more of a public, civic space than I have felt in an arts organisation in quite a long time.” He speaks also about “how strongly the people of Dundee feel about the [DCA], a sense of ownership and a desire to know what we’re up to within. This is hard won, that’s not easy to cultivate within an institution that has the phrase ‘contemporary art’ within its name and with all the exclusive or difficult or inaccessible associations that contemporary art has. DCA has carved out a unique position within Dundee and Scotland.” It’s for this reason that Dara thinks of the show as evidencing his commitment to contributing as far as possible to the priorities, practices and structures that have existed in DCA since 1999. He sums up one particular impetus of his career and something that the DCA has been working towards for a long time: “that deceptively simple democratic idea that art is for everyone and should be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone and challenge everyone.” This Mess is Kept Afloat by Kate V Robertson and Fragments by Andrew Lacon will run from 9 Dec-25 Feb

THE SKINNY

Scarves by: Karen Mabon - karenmabon.com Photography by: Sarah Donley - sarahdonley.co.uk

FESTIVE SPECIAL FEATURING: Books of the Year Pantomime Guide CHUNKS Comedy Collective Alternative Gifts Scottish Craft & Design Shoot Christmas & Hogmanay Clubbing Artist Christmas Cards Festive Food & Drink Intersections' Guide to Resisting the Gender Binary Band Merch & Earplugs Gift Ideas and... Loki the Cocker!

December 2017

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Illustration: Rachel Davey

THE SKINNY

Wreath All About It As a celebration of Christmas, here are a handful of Scottish books from 2017 that are timely, transformative and begging to be cracked open on a cold winter’s evening

or those of us who have grown out of Santa Claus’s judgemental binary, those lazy Christmas nights often come to mean more than the day itself. Ideally, those nights will find you curled up with a glass of something old and Scottish in hand, so this year why not pair it with something else from the homeland that’s shiny and new? Nasty Women – 404 Ink After Trump’s electoral ‘victory’ dropped like a nuclear bomb, indie publisher 404 Ink’s feminist anthology rose from the ashes like a newly-powerful, pissed-off super mutant. Personal tales told from around the world, some drove directly at the election while others took the side roads of punk, peer pressure and body politics, but all of them bent back to the shared centre of rage and defiance. The President himself might still be far from being toppled but 2017 seems set to finish with a series of thuds as high profile abusers are knocked from their positions of power, one after the other. In the mere months it’s been around, Nasty Women seems to get more salient by the second. The Perfect Gift For: Your sister who’s just turning old enough to understand what ‘feminism’ means. Your brother who’s already too old to act like he doesn’t. Anyone at all who wants to live in the outside world where the other people are. This is Memorial Device – David Keenan Or, to give it its full, paradox-laden short story of a name, This is Memorial Device: An Hallucinated Oral History of the Post-Punk Music Scene in Airdrie, Coatbridge and environs 1978-1986. Yup. A lot going on there. You’ve got that whole ‘hallucinated history’ thing. You’ve got a musical genre involving the term ‘post.’ You’ve got Coatbridge. Just a whole heap of reasons to skip down to the next book in this guide, really. … Oh, you’re still here. Excellent! Your reward is one of the most exhilaratingly inventive, rawly comedic and deeply poignant novels to have been

December 2017

produced here or anywhere this year. Documenting an imagined, radically alternative music scene arising in Airdrie in the late 70s, the narrative whirls between mad musicians and avant-garde porn stars, postmodern housebreakers and braindamaged savants. It is deeply Scottish and totally otherworldly, a complex stream of consciousness that never strays into the unintelligible thanks to the hard-worn heart beating loudly under all the weirdness and wonderment. It will resonate most forcefully for anyone who grew up in a part of Scotland – or a part of anywhere – so devoid of life and colour that the idea of creating something seemed impossible. The zen mind-flip at the centre of Keenan’s debut novel is to see liberation rather than restraint – in the places where no-one is watching and nothing matters, anything can happen. The Perfect Gift For: Your Dad who wants to reminisce about zines and cassettes and the days when music was real, damn it. Your musician friend who worries they’ll never be internet famous. So Happy it Hurts – Anneliese Mackintosh Her award-winning debut collection Any Other Mouth immediately announced Anneliese Mackintosh as one of the most exciting new voices in Scottish literature. Loud, lewd, ragged and warm, stories inspired by the loss of her father and her struggles with alcohol felt ripped straight from the heart and on to the page. Three years later and her first novel So Happy It Hurts feels like the natural evolution of her style and skill. Ottila McGregor is striving to stay sober, stay sane, find happiness and love, all without her life or her family crumbling around her. Her sister has been in and out of hospital her whole life with a mind full of demons determined to tear her apart. Her mum is still hurting from the loss of her husband, worried sick over her daughter’s dosages, her other daughter’s drinking. Ottila

hates herself for not doing more to help them while barely managing to hold herself together. Written partially in answer to insipid self-help literature, So Happy It Hurts refuses neat solutions or easy platitudes. It is a book that can make you feel better, but not because everything will always be okay or because the world isn’t full of terrors. Happiness is something you have to fight tooth and nail for – So Happy It Hurts is a bruised and muscular battle cry. The Perfect Gift For: Your friend who’s been struggling with drink. Your friend who’s been struggling with depression. Your friend who’s been struggling with life. The Long Drop – Denise Mina The Scots have a real thing for crime writing. Blood-spattered stories smelling of cigarette smoke, whisky and deceit – this is where we live and breathe. It’s one thing that, for reasons good or bad or both, we are really fucking good at. It is also one of the many things that Denise Mina is really fucking good at. Breaking out back in 1998, Mina has become one of the most acclaimed crime writers around, inducted into the Crime Writers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2014. Between those two dates, she has also written for the stage, contributed to a graphic novel, made a film about her family and become an established TV and radio presenter. Basically she’s like if James Franco was less annoying and had better hair. This year, she turned her hand to True Crime with a ‘factional’ take on the tale of Scotland’s first serial killer, Peter Manuel. After William Watt’s wife, sister-in-law and daughter are brutally murdered in 1956, he is held as the police’s first and main suspect. Himself believing Manuel to be the killer, he does what any rational Scotsman would do in that situation – goes out, tracks Manuel down and… gets the pints in. The two drink and talk, ducking and diving in a verbal sparring session as they each look for weakness in the other’s story.

BOOKS

Words: Ross McIndoe

As it delves deeper into the ego of violent men, Mina once again exposes the darker side of a culture prone to idolising ‘hard men’ and the weakness that lies behind their deadly machismo. The Perfect Gift For: Your friend who is into true crime to the point where it has begun to become unsettling but you’re totally not ready to deal with that yet. Goblin – Ever Dundas Magic Realist stories, especially those with young protagonists, often see their hero slipping off somewhere fantastical to escape the harshness of the real world. In a good story, you’re often not sure whether these moments of magic are real or the imaginative embellishments of a vulnerable mind protecting itself from trauma it can’t process wholesale. In a great story, you’re left feeling like it really doesn’t matter. Goblin is a great story. An exiled child when the Second World War breaks out, the titular Goblin learns to live among the rubble of the London blitz, befriending animals and blocking out the worst of the world as best she can. Years later, she finds herself called back to confront as an adult the shadows she suppressed as a child. With ‘cruelty-free’ cafes and restaurants on the rise throughout the country, Goblin feels like a novel rushing in on the tip of a cultural wave. It’s a dark, dark novel, but it glows with a message perfect for the season of goodwill – empathy is all that ever stands between us and carnage, so be kind. The Perfect Gift For: Your vegan-ish friend who seems like they don’t fully know what they’re doing. Your friend who’s still kind of messed up from Okja. Your younger sibling who’s ready to graduate from Harry Potter but still looking for some magic. theskinny.co.uk/books

Feature

An Alternative Christmas Gift Guide Christmas shopping just became a lot easier thanks to Glasgow comedy collective CHUNKS curating a unique gift guide

Illustration: Sonny Ross

jokes written by women cut out. »» Instead of getting a last minute gift at the petrol station, buy your special someone a petrol station. Crude oil is projected to average $54.1 per barrel in 2018, 2% higher than previous estimates. The windfall from this market uptick, combined with declining US inventories, will make this the gift that keeps on giving. »» A Cadbury’s selection box is a great way of saying, ‘Here. Merry Christmas.’ or you can buy tickets to every CHUNKS show at McPhabbs during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival in March. But then don’t let them go. We shouldn’t be encouraged. »» For that very special magician in your life: a pineapple shoved right up him. »» Why not treat yourself to Now That’s What I Call Scottish Comedy Circuit Injokes 32? »» And, if you forget to buy a present, you can always issue them a Kevin Spacey apology: “I can’t remember not buying you a Christmas present, but if I didn’t I’m sorry. I’ve had sexual relations with both men and women.” Then send Christopher Plummer to Christmas dinner in your place.

“ Give your least favourite family member a Quality Street box filled with an assortment of screws and printed out Coldplay lyrics” Alternative Gifts »» Why not give the gift of not giving a gift? Because let’s face it, life would be simpler if people just gave you something to give them next Christmas. »» How about giving away all the DVDs you can no longer watch due to their star/director/ producer/writer being revealed as a creep in 2017. (CHUNKS’s member Paul Mcdaniel is giving Louie Seasons 1–3 to his nan). »» A gift voucher with the note: “You know why I can’t give you money.” »» If you are married to a bread-man a nice Christmas gift is to keep him away from heat, lest he toast (RIP Toby Wheatcrust). »» The complete collection of the DVDs they sell in Primark. Or, instead of buying new or classic DVDs, create your own films for loved ones. (NB: This only really works if you are really sure you aren’t going to be a prick at some point). »» Give your least favourite family member a Quality Street box filled with an assortment of screws and printed out Coldplay lyrics. »» Pets are starting to get a look-in on the Christmas action in recent years, with festive costumes and holiday treats keeping tails wagging on 25th December. But don’t forget about man’s friend of a friend: the goldfish. This year, give your fish pal an all expenses paid trip to the North Pole by putting the goldfish bowl in the freezer. You can then turn your aquatic friend’s home into a highly effective snowball to toss at your enemies, or use it as

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the translucent head of a snowman to make your fish the belle of the snowball. »» A bottle of Before-shave. »» Pigeons are part of the columbidae bird family; collectively known as ‘çolumbine’ or ‘terrible shitbringers’. A pigeon seduced my wife – my wife would rather be with a pigeon than me. And it could happen to you... My gift is death: death to all pigeons. »» A Christmas jumper that’s only ugly on the inside. »» Get your parents a carbon cast of their footprints. This way mum and dad can be reminded that their Christmas shopping trips to New York and twice-yearly golf/sex-tourism holidays are, although keeping their marriage alive, in fact killing the planet. »» A dog, just to see if they’re ready for a baby next year. »» Men can be so hard to buy for... avoid presenting your dad with socks and a book he won’t read for the 27th year in a row by killing yourself. »» Women can be so hard to buy for, so it’s probably best you never meet any. But if you do, get them the latest accessory no gal should be without at a work Christmas party: mistle-finger! It’s a novelty posy of small rubber hands, each gesturing a middle finger, to be held above one’s head in response to the Christmas party creep who has brought along his own mistletoe. »» Bath bombs are the perfect gift for any aunt/

niece/cousin/person-who-has-a-vagina in your life, because nothing says Merry Christmas and “I don’t know you but am obligated to present you with a present” like a glittering yeast infection! »» A bath bomb defuser kit. »» A box of especially decorated kazoos: red (Karl Marx), blue (saltire), tartan (shortbread), green (cannabis leaf) and (yellow-banana). »» A calendar with famous baldies every month: January (Peter Gabriel), February (the Mitchell brother still in EastEnders), March (the other one that goes to meet gangsters of the world), April (Michael Style [sic]), May (Iain Duncan Smith), June (the baldy woman in the first Star Trek movie), July (Patrick Stewart), August (Moby), September (Nothing can compare to you [sic]), October (Duncan Goodhew), November (Guy Fawkes with no hair), December (Santa Claus with no hat or hair). »» Post-it notes or a Filofax can help that special someone that needs to remember to bring props or other materials for an important magic trick or illusion at a business function. »» Savlon is always a timely gift. »» After being asked by family friends how you’re getting on, your parents have had to choose between washing away the shame or drinking away the shame, but now they can do both, with Shower Gin, the gin you can drink in the shower. »» For a hardcore Rick and Morty fan why not get them the special edition VHS with all the

COMEDY

Gifts for Kids »» It is CHUNKS’ co-daddy Nev’s son’s first Christmas! If you want your child brought up with the ethos of CHUNKS we recommend: »» Das Kapital (pop up version). »» Sammy the Magic Frog: he’s a happy frog who wants to be your brother. His hobbies include laughing, friendship, responding to simple voice commands and screaming “I’M SORRY! PLEASE! DON’T!” whenever you try to remove his batteries. »» Captain Coprophagia’s Scatalogical Chocolate Factory for Kids: an affordable fun factory that comes with comic moulds, non-toxic dung and real scorpions. »» Baby’s First Airhorn. »» A special baby Jesus doll that can urinate on command: fill it with water, order it to urinate and out will pour a piping hot stream of serviceable mulled wine. It also defecates chocolate Santas. »» Gorilla Soldiers on Scorpions Island Playset: a delightful little set that contains small plastic gorilla soldiers, a prehistoric rocket cave, monkey slime and real scorpions. »» Lego Tim + Eric »» A healthy disrespect for any authority Thanks to: Amelia Bayler, Chris Thorburn, Gabriel Featherstone, Hannah Cruickshank, James Rolland, Jim Hobbit, John Aggasild, Joseph Goss, Martin James, Nev, Paul McDaniel, Richard Brown CHUNKS: Komedy, YesBar, 4 Dec, 8.30pm, £3/PWYW CHUNKS: Fuck 2017 It’s Chunkmanay, 31 Dec, 11pm, £3/PWYW CHUNKS will also be resident at McPhabbs during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, 8-25 Mar 2018

THE SKINNY

Oh Yes It Is... Panto Season! Ain’t nothing like a dame? Or does panto make you want to cancel Christmas forever? Well, dinna fash, here’s Auntie Trash with the best panto guide she could pull together

h, Christmas, the time of the year everyone from theatre gathers together and praises our real God; The Panto Jesus; employer of actors everywhere. But which panto should you see? Do you even panto, bro? The good news this Christmas season is there are options to suit everyone across Scotland’s theatres. Read on and find out what those options are. Apocalypse Now: Theatre to distract you from 2017 Did you read the news today and realise that literally everything was on fire? Are you surprised that none of our leaders seem to know what is going on? If so, then you need panto that will totally distract you from the hell that is 2017, and for that, you have two main options. In Edinburgh, the King’s Theatre’s production of Cinderella stars that unsinkable trio of Grant Stott, Allan Stewart and Andy Gray. Dubbed ‘The Fairygodmother of Pantomimes’, it’s the good old story of Aschenputtel, rags to riches, pumpkins to carriages, and ugly sisters with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Well then, you shall go to the ball, baby; just put your glad rags on and head to Tollcross and forget about the world for a few hours, it’ll be grand. King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 2 Dec–21 Jan, prices and times vary, edtheatres.com/cinderella West of Haymarket, the Glasgow Pavilion’s panto is the excellently-titled The Wizard of Never Woz, a traditional panto that looks and sounds like The Wizard of Oz, but doesn’t share the same name, for reasons. Anyway, join Dorothy, Scatty Scarecrow, Tinny the Tin Man and Leo the Lion on this journey down the yellow brick road to a hopefully brighter future in a panto not at all affiliated with The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and it also stars comedian and professional wrestler Grado, which is a nice bonus. Glasgow Pavillion, 30 Nov–14 Jan, prices and times vary, paviliontheatre. co.uk/shows/the-wizard-of-never-woz-3

December 2017

Staying in Glasgow for another production of Cinderella, this time at The Citz, where director Dominic Hill’s production promises slapstick, music and fun for all the family. Following much the same story that we know and love, in the run up to the ball Cinderella dreams of finding her true love, but could it be someone closer to home than she realises? Citizens Theatre, 28 Nov– 31 Dec, prices and tickets vary, citz.co.uk/ whatson/info/cinderella Camp Christmas: Johnny McKnight in Stirling and Glasgow If you feel like having a Christmas with a wee bit of sparkle, then all you need to do is look in the mirror and utter the name ‘Johnny McKnight’ three times. Lo, he shall appear and make your Christmas even merrier than before by giving you the choice of not one, but two different pantos for 2017. The first of which can be found at the Tron Theatre, where McKnight’s Alice in Weegieland is a nice wee piece of escapism. In McKnight’s version of the story, the eponymous heroine is bored. Fed up of Brexit banter, reality TV and Trump, and with a big ballet exam to contend with, she decides to follow a white rabbit into a rabbit hole. It goes a bit nuts from there, to be honest. Tron Theatre, 1 Dec–7 Jan, prices and times vary, tron.co.uk/event/alice-in-weegie-land/ Elsewhere, in a kingdom not far away, the second of McKnight’s pantos takes place at the Macrobert in Stirling. Written, directed and starring McKnight, Chick Whittington follows the great grand-daughter to the legendary Dick (LOL) as she attempts to stop an evil queen! It’s been 50 years since the pantosphere was almost destroyed in The Great Christmas Rat Race of 1967, and now the villainous Queen Rat is back to do it all again! Can Chick save panto? Head to Stirling and find out. Macrobert Centre, 24 Nov–31 Dec, prices and times vary, macrobertartscentre.org/event/chick-whittington

The Biggest of Them All: Celebrities in panto If you like your pantos to be in the biggest venues and boast stars you might have actually heard of, get yourself to Glasgow. Like its Edinburgh namesake, the King’s Theatre in Glasgow have opted for a very traditional panto in the form of Sleeping Beauty, starring Elaine C. Smith, the so-called 'First Lady of Scottish Pantomime' (their quote, not ours, but we do think she’s nice). Billed as ‘the pantomime of your dreams’, it begins on Sleeping Beauty’s 16th birthday, when she is cursed to sleep for 100 years, which doesn’t sound too bad actually. Kings Theatre Glasgow, 2 Dec–7 Jan, prices and times vary, atgtickets. com/shows/sleeping-beauty/kings-theatre Not to be outdone in terms of scale or guest star, the SEC’s panto – Jack and the Beanstalk, which they are claiming is 'Glasgow’s Biggest Panto Adventure' – is mixing the traditional with the brand new. Although it’s missing John Barrowman and The Krankies, it has something else this year: Gary Tank Commander and The Dolls. SEC Armadillo, 16 Dec–7 Jan, prices and times vary, sec.co.uk/events/detail/jack-and-the-beanstalk Boasting a guest star that’s as impressive as its Glaswegian counterparts, His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen has Jimmy Osmond as Abanazar in their production of Aladdin, and also promises flying carpets and lots of laughs, too. His Majesty’s Theatre, 2 Dec–8 Jan, prices and times vary, aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/ aladdin-2017-panto Definitely not Panto: Alternative Christmas Theatre Fancy something that isn’t panto? Do you hate dames? Or are you just a bit of a Scrooge? It’s OK, because theatre understands and has got you, boo. Here are some non-pantomime Christmas shows to ease you into Yuletide. At the Dundee Rep, the ensemble is tackling Neil Duffield’s stage

THEATRE

Words: Amy Taylor Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Starring Ann Louise Ross as, it would appear, Scrooge, this production will be traditionally festive, and marvellously uplifting. Dundee Rep, 30 Nov–31 Dec, prices and times vary, dundeerep.co.uk/event/achristmascarol Over in the festival city, the Lyceum host the world premiere of The Arabian Nights, by Suhayla El-Bushra, and directed by Joe Douglas. Set in the bustling bazaar of Baghdad, the show features – among many, many other things – Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the tales of Sinbad, and a flying horse. The Lyceum say the show is ‘irresistible for all ages’, and who are we to doubt them? They have a flying horse! Royal Lyceum Theatre, 25 Nov–6 Jan, prices and times vary, lyceum.org.uk/whats-on/production/ the-arabian-nights Just a few steps away, the Traverse’s PantoThat-Isn’t this year is Shona Reppe’s re-imagining of Cinderella, where every day is a bad hair day. Performed by acclaimed puppeteer Rick Conte, and following the galloping success of Black Beauty last year, audiences can expect secret hatches, hidden drawers and a handbag full of surprises. Traverse Theatre, 8-24 Dec, prices and times vary, traverse.co.uk/whats-on/ event-detail/1266/cinderella.aspx And if you really, really can’t stomach anything Christmas-related, wash down your troubles with Gilded Balloon’s production of A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Cline, the first Christmas production in their new Rose Theatre venue. This musical extravaganza, starring Gail Watson, features some of Cline’s biggest hits and champions her life’s work as a woman in the music industry, no tinsel guaranteed (there might be some tinsel). Rose Theatre, 30 Nov–30 Dec, 8pm, prices vary, gildedballoon.co.uk theskinny.co.uk/theatre

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Clubmanay We take a look at what's happening in clubland over the festive season Illustration: Alessandra Genualdo Optimo b2b Domenic Cappello @ Fireside, Edinburgh, 22 Dec Kick off your Christmas weekend with Optimo, along with one half of Harri & Domenic at the Fireside pop-up at the New Waverley Arches. Join them for a four-hour back-to-back set from 7pm to 1am, with drinks handled by everyone’s favourite dive bar Paradise Palms, then head off for another three-hour b2b set at the afterparty (venue TBC). Minival @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 22 Dec Travelling electronic music carnival Minival returns to Edinburgh for a festive bash curated by Worldwide FM resident Esa. He brings LuckyMe producer Eclair Fifi and Amsterdam party-starters Beesmunt Soundsystem for a sweaty night at Sneaky’s with a 5am finish. Headset 3rd Birthday @ The Mash House, Edinburgh, 29 Dec Kick off the New Year sesh early and help Edinburgh’s resident techno-heads Headset celebrate their third Birthday, with Mosca, Laksa and Hi & Saberhägen (yeah, try saying that three times out loud). They’ve even bagged themselves a 5am license so you get a whole two extra hours of partying. The Black Madonna @ Sub Club, Glasgow, 30 Dec Last year, The Black Madonna helped Edinburghers ring in the bell’s on NYE but this year she’s heading to the west side a day earlier to suitably warm you up for the night afore. This is the 2016 Mixmag DJ of the year’s final Scottish date of 2017 and judging by her previous sets, it’s going to go off. The GO-GO @ Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 30 Dec If you fancy something a bit retro this festive season then look no further than Edinburgh institution The GO-GO. This will be the second of two December dates at Bongo for them (also 2 Dec) where you can expect to dance the night away to the best mod, soul, garage, beat, girl groups and psychedelia from the 60s. RIDE NYEE @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 30 Dec Avoid the madness of actual NYE and celebrate the night before at Sneaky’s staple, RIDE. Expect a healthy dose of 90s hip-hop and 00s R’n’B all the way through until 5am, with your main gals Teacha El and CheckyerStrides. Live fast die young, RIDE gals do it well. Sub Club XXX NYE: Harri & Domenic @ Sub Club, Glasgow, 31 Dec Sub Club celebrated its 30th anniversary this year and what better way to bring 2017 to an end than with Subbie royalty Harri & Domenic. The Subculture residents have played virtually every Saturday night at the club for 23 years, a world record in DJ residencies, and they’re playing all night long for a NYE special. Headset Hogmanay NYE @ The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 31 Dec Headset bring in all your Edinburgh faves for their NYE party at their original home of Bongo, marking the last of their third birthday celebrations. Telfort headlines alongside Headset regulars Ariose, Ami K, Skillis and Shapework DJs in the main room; while room two Soul Jam, Brother Most Righteous, DJ Jonny Cashback and Electrikal’s Skanky B & Drowzee hold things down.

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La Cheetah Club presents NYE 2017 @ La Cheetah Club, Glasgow, 31 Dec La Cheetah Club host an audible feast, with Detroit don Marcellus Pittman, a second appearance at La Cheetah from Call Super and Ectotherm boss Courtesy leading proceedings. Local party-starters Lezure, Partial and La Cheetah’s own Wardy & Dom D’Sylva will also be on hand to get the party started. Massaoke Hogmanay Hootenanny @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, 31 Dec We can practically hear the eye-rolls as you read this, but wind yer neck in! We too were pretty sceptical at first, but after having gone to their Halloween special at the end of October, we’re now fully on board with the whole thing; it’s done really well and it’s bloody good fun! If you fancy a no-pressure kind of night with a guaranteed non-stop singalong then look no further. FLY NYE @ The Old Abandoned Leith Theatre, Edinburgh, 31 Dec Party-starters FLY Club are back with a massive end of year blow-out to top off what has been quite an amazing year for the Edinburgh promoters. Having hosted some of the city’s biggest outdoor parties in recent months, FLY are bringing the fun to The Old Abandoned Leith Theatre this Hogmanay with a little help from HYBRID and 131 Northside. Line-up TBC. Pretty Ugly Hogmanay @ BAaD, Glasgow, 31 Dec Glasgow’s Pretty Ugly has been running now for 12 years but 2017 sees them host their first ever Hogmanay party. Finally!!! Pretty Ugly will be unlike most other Hogmanay parties this NYE, so if you fancy dancing the night away to nothing but guilt-free indie, pop and disco bangers, then this is quite simply the night for you! Optimo 20 Hogmanay @ The Art School, Glasgow, 31 Dec At the end of a spectacular year for the godfathers of Glasgow’s club scene, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes take over The Art School for a Hogmanay all-nighter. It’s an all-Glasgow line-up, with the 12th Isle hosting downstairs while Optimo are joined upstairs by electronic duo LAPS. Nightvision Hogmanay @ The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 31 Dec Nightvision specialise in enormo-parties, and they don’t get much more enormo than this. Groove Armada headline the seven-hour New Year’s Eve party at The Liquid Room, with Joris Voorn, Ben Pearce, Theo Kottis and Jamie Roy also on the bill. Wee Dub Hogmanay @ La Belle Angèle & The Mash House, Edinburgh, 31 Dec Wee Dub take over Hastie’s Close with a two-venue party. Dub Mafia’s Eva Lazarus and Nice Up! Records’ DJ Shepdog are just two of the acts playing at La Belle Angèle, while Bass Alliance Sound System power proceedings. Over at The Mash House, there’s a Samedia Shebeen-hosted tropical den with a guest DJ set from Ru Robinson. Electric Frog Hogmanay @ SWG3, Glasgow, 31 Dec They may have missed a trick not calling it Electric Frog-manay, but EF’s Hogmanay bash features an impressive line-up nonetheless. Groove Armada and Joris Voorn are joined by the Bicep-affiliated Hammer and Glasgow’s own We Should Hang Out More crew, with more to be announced ahead of the big night.

Happy Meals & Loosen Up @ The Rum Shack, Glasgow, 31 Dec Glasgow’s favourite transcendental disco duo Happy Meals play a live set to bring in 2018 at The Rum Shack in the Southside. They’re joined by two-thirds of the Loosen Up crew, with Charlie McCann and David Barbarossa promising a set of ‘huge soca screamers and afro belters.’ Book Club Hogmanay Get Down @ Reading Rooms, Dundee, 31 Dec Dundee’s favourite club in a former library lets longtime residents Book Club take the reins for Hogmanay, with Is Kill & Marc JD going back-toback all evening. “Expect disco, house and techno,” they say. “Expect a really fucking good NYE party.” Sounds good to us.

CLUBS

Greg Wilson / Rebecca Vasmant @ Sub Club, Glasgow, 1 Jan Start 2018 as you mean to go on, with a big fuck-off party at Glasgow’s Subbie featuring dance music giant Greg Wilson. Support comes from Glasgow-based producer Rebecca Vasmant, who will be treating your ears and feet to her jazz-infused dance music. Oh, and there’s a 4am licence as well. Yaldi! Maximum Pressure @ SWG3, 1 Jan If a ten-hour party is more your vibe for NYD then Maximum Pressure have you covered with their SWG3 takeover! Starting at 5pm and going on until the wee small hours of the morning, the line-up consists of Slam, Jeff Mills, Alan Fitzpatrick, Paula Temple, FJAAK (live), Radio Slave, Dr. Rubinstein, Edit Select, Darrell (Pulse) and Telford. Ooft. Last entry 10pm. skiddle.com/newyear | theskinny.co.uk/clubs

THE SKINNY

December 2017

MUSIC

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Gift Guide Credits: Photography by Sarah Donley sarahdonley.co.uk @donley_photo Styled by Stacey Hunter localheroes.design @localheroesscot & Rosamund West @rosamung Model (p25): Loki Anderson @loki_the_cocker

RIGHT All clockwise from top left

Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun Lamp, €30 Trakke, Finnieston Tote £70 Green Thomas, Semaphore Scarf Red and White, £125 Pickerings's Tartan Gin, £20 Ocelot Chocolate, Fig and Orange, £6 each or 5 for £25 The Object Company, Oak cutting boards, £32, £36

ABOVE Paulin, Orange Square Wallet, £65 Orange Bifold Card Holder, £45 Myer Halliday, Coffee Pot, £150 Steph Liddle, Grid Pot Big, £45, Dash Dish, £35, Dash Pot Tiny, £25 Hilary Grant, Tivoli Headband, £34 Laura Spring, Tote Bag Conceal Pink/Red, £38 The Object Company, Sterling Silver Spoon, £50, Sterling Silver Salt Scoop, £34 Fare Magazine, Istanbul, £12 Stack Magazines, Assortment, £70 per year, £20 per quarter, £7 per month

RIGHT Stack Magazines Boom Saloon, £12 She is Fierce, Magazine & pins, £10 Fare Magazine Risotto Studio, Riso Club Subscription, £6 per month

LEFT Risotto Studio, Riso Club Subscription, £6 per month Isle of Harris Gin, £37 Paulin, Clock (model 2), £45, Lavender Square Wallet, £65, Lavender Bifold Card Holder, £45 Ocelot Chocolate, Bee Pollen and Mango, £6 each or 5 for £25 Collingwood Norris, Oronsay scarf, £80 Lucky Cloud, Balancing Face Oil 30ml, £20, Mini Nourishing Cleansing Balm 15ml, £7.50 Myer Halliday, Shot Cups, £13

SHOWCASE

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LEFT Ocelot Chocolate, Island Sea Salt, £6 each or 5 for £25 Hills & Harbour Gin, £33 Kate and the Ink, 3D Christmas Card with glasses, £3.20 East End Press, Tropical Birds of Paradise Garland, £8 Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun Lamp, €30 Hilary Grant, Archipelago Shawl Mustard and White, £130 Risotto Studio, Monster Notebook, £10 Pickering's, Gin Baubles, £30 for 6

BELOW Sara Hill, Get Crackin Glitter Cracker, £28 Pickering's, Gin Baubles, £30 for 6 Filmore Skincare, Moisturiser, Eye Gel, Face Wash. From £20 Ocelot Chocolate, Salted Almond, £6 each or 5 for £25 Kate and the Ink, Christmas cards, £3 each Lucky Cloud, Balancing Face Oil 30ml, £20, Mini Nourishing Cleansing Balm 15ml, £7.50 East End Press, Parrot Colourful Pencil Case, £16, Bird Colourful Coin Purse, £14

Find out more: littlesun.com trakke.co.uk greenthomas.com shop.pickeringsgin.com ocelotchocolate.com object.company eu.paulinwatches.com myerhalliday.co.uk stephliddle.com hilarygrant.co.uk lauraspring.co.uk faremag.com stackmagazines.com craftydistillery.com kateandtheink.com eastendpress.com risottostudio.com harrisdistillery.com collingwoodnorrisdesign.com luckycloudskincare.com sarahill.com filmoreskincare.com boomsaloon.com sheisfiercemag.co.uk

December 2017

SHOWCASE

Christmas Cards!!!

Ana JarĂŠn

Andrew Denholm

Nic Farrell

Stephanie Hofmann

ocozza Nick C

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

Eunjoo Lee

Xenia Latii

tepien

BruĂŻ Stu

dio

S Waldemar

Rebecca Brown

Some of our artist pals made us these lovely cards to share with you December 2017

SHOWCASE

Present Day We question why, even in adulthood, we resort to stereotypes when stuck for Christmas gift ideas Words: Toby Sharpe Illustration: Terri Po

he holiday season is bloody tiring – it’s dark outside at two in the afternoon, you’re barraged by tinny festive choruses, and the British high street is dressed up like a dystopian Candyland from the start of October. Even if you’re not the one preparing a turkey dinner for 15 greatnephews, you’re probably sick of the season before it’s even really begun. The holidays often force you to travel across the country. There’s a ton of awkward small talk. Perhaps most upsettingly, you’re forced to spend hard-earned cash on presents that you know will end up gathering dust in someone’s shed. Gift-giving is hard. You have to think for at least two minutes about whether your uncle Geoff is even going to be at Aunty Sheila’s this year (is he on a cruise with his new wife?), and then you throw down a ton of money that you could have spent on avocado toast and a Tinder Gold membership. It’s a lot of cash, and if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re in my generation: the first in recent history that’ll be poorer than its parents’. The urge to buy something affordable, though maybe pointless and plastic, makes sense. It’s easy to grab something tacky and sparkly for a niece and a water gun for your nephew – or perhaps just whatever’s on sale. The problem is, though, that this desire to cut down on mental effort leads one to make some reductive decisions based on gender norms. Gendered gifts are easy to purchase. Society already gives you all the answers. Do you have a woman over 40 in your life? Buy her a candle. She’ll LOVE it. Do you have a man in your life? He’s probably a blithering idiot who can only express enthusiasm for cars, so buy him something vaguely vehicular. Like a spanner, or a wrench! Maybe something with Jeremy Clarkson on the cover. Young boy? Obviously: football. Young girl? Something pink and glittery which will decimate her parents’ home with its glimmering shrapnel. Perhaps you’re related to a millennial, to whom you can no longer relate because they’re now a social justice warrior with impeccable hair. Remind them of the prison that is patriarchy with a few outfits you’ve thrown together for them without considering their own taste in colours and styles. Chuck in some commentary about how sweet they’d look if they just tried a little harder. Maybe you want to break free of this troubling paradigm and fight gender norms. You might want to buy your niece a spaceship, get a princess outfit for your grandson. However, attempting to escape this gender binary can be easier said than done, especially as retailers generally resist marketing products as potential gifts for people of all genders. Small steps are being made, though – John Lewis no longer labels kids’ clothing as specially for ‘boys’ or ‘girls’. Even so, most of the high street, especially when one’s shopping for children, is firmly divided between rose and cerulean, girl and boy, flower-fairy or football fanatic. It’s a mess. Whenever you acknowledge this kind of problem, someone always retorts that some people genuinely enjoy gendered products. This, they think, is a hot take. One would think, listening to the loudest of these voices, that heteronormative society is under attack. It’s not. It’s a tricky balance, of course, because for some, finally being able to identify with ‘traditional’ gender roles can be empowering. For gay men, for example, being able to safely enjoy fitness culture can be profoundly empowering, after childhood years of exclusion from locker-room life. For many women, whose

Lifestyle

interest in femininity has been derided throughout their lives, engaging in make-up and fashion can feel like a reclamation of their own selfhood. Even so, it’s important we consider how certain people may feel when bought gender-normative gifts. If you’re a struggling gay kid, presents that remind you of a heteronormative world you’re excluded from can be suffocating. And if you’re beginning to realise your gender identity doesn’t match up with who your family sees you as being, then their pink or blue presents can feel like attacks. Experiences are not universal, and what seems like fun to some can be subtly wounding for someone else. We need to broaden the possibility of gifts and fun, rather than dictate what people should enjoy. Being mindful of the types of gifts we buy isn’t denying people their gender, only giving people a chance to breathe beyond their own. If you’re a guy and you love football, more power to you. If you’re a woman who loves make-up, dope. The point remains that society requires an emotionally-engaged conversation. Don’t assume that your aunt necessarily craves lavender-scented everything, but, yes, if she does, indulge that yearning. If she implies she’d rather have a guide to monster truck repair, don’t buy her mango body butter.

“ Do you have a man in your life? He’s probably a blithering idiot who can only express enthusiasm for cars, so buy him something vaguely vehicular” Think about the message we might be sending to young people; how does it look to kids when the adults in their lives only ever receive gender-normative products? Ask your loved one what they want. Don’t just assume based on their gender or, indeed, the gender you perceive them to identify with. And perhaps you think that resorting to asking someone what they’d like ruins the magic of Christmas. But when you ponder all the presents that you may have ever been given, do you really think your family and friends truly telepathically knew what you wanted? Are you still using the novelty football phone someone gave you? Or that homebrewing kit? If your loved ones articulate a want for something traditional, girly, masculine: that’s fine. If they don’t, then actually engage with the task of thinking of something new. There are, let’s not forget, a trillion gifts you could buy which aren’t obviously associated with one gender or another. And if you’re not comfortable with just asking someone what they’d like for Christmas, without even forcing a conversation about traditional gender roles, then maybe you’re not close enough to be buying them a present in the first place.

INTERSECTIONS

THE SKINNY

No Miracles Here

Words: Kate Pasola Illustration: Ana Jarén

If Christmas is a time for sharing, then what’s the deal with emotional labour?

ou know a feminist theory’s gone mainstream when even the Telegraph is writing about it. Over 30 years have passed since the term ‘emotional labour’ was first coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, but of late the concept has finally made its way via feminist Tumblr and Metafilter into the public consciousness. Put simply, emotional labour is the type of task or responsibility left to a female member of a group – be it a family, a friendship circle or an office – usually because others regard her to be more suited to it than her male equivalents. Often this isn’t even a conscious decision – women are expected to do these jobs because that’s the way it’s always been. There’s no handbook to what constitutes emotional labour, and that’s exactly the problem. In a household, emotional labour manifests itself as scheduling the family’s appointments, counselling the children or delegating chores. In a workplace setting, it might be organising birthday cards, keeping communal spaces clean, making coffees, greeting visitors or comforting a colleague who’s having a bad day. In hetero relationships it could be the co-ordination of schedules to find time for dates; in friendships it’s unreciprocated advice and support. Emotional labour is a type of responsibility often woven into the general workload of women under the assumption that higher competence in certain areas is inherent, rather than learned. Women are simply more domestic. Better listeners. Thoughtful. Multitaskers. Detail-orientated. Sociable. Empathetic. Emotionally intelligent. It doesn’t occur to us that these skills are the product of women spending their childhoods learning to copy feminised traits like domesticity, emotional maturity and sociability. Of course many women resist these expectations, and many men step up to do their share of the work. But the point remains that if a woman excuses herself from carrying out emotional labour, those around her notice. Er, has anyone

December 2017

noticed the fridge is empty again? The birthday girl is crying? The father-in-law is pissed off? Likewise, if a man opts into acts of emotional labour he is often praised disproportionately; such a nice guy. The Christmas Miracle This unfair distribution of labour is especially prevalent during the festive season. Sure, women aren’t explicitly asked to juggle their usual responsibilities with choosing gifts for the in-laws / upholding precious family traditions / donning sparkled dresses and handing out salmon-topped blinis / keeping an extra panettone in the freezer in case of unannounced visitors. If anything, such competence and festive vigour is often met with gasps of bemusement and you-shouldn’t-haves. But really, if you’re a woman, you should have – at least as far as society’s concerned.

“ The Men Can’t Cook trope irritatingly persists as a golden excuse, despite titanic amounts of evidence to the contrary” Leslie Bella, author of The Christmas Imperative: Leisure, Family and Women’s Work told the Washington Post that “women feel compelled to create rituals and follow traditions, especially

around Christmas,” because of a need for what she calls “family-making.” The traditions, the extra bows on presents, the final shift of Christmas shopping, the final dusting of glitter is often described in the article as a ‘self-imposed labour’, implying that it’s an opt-in system for the most enthusiastic of women. But that’s usually not the case. A woman, especially of the baby boomer generation, is often validated according to their ability to make Christmas magical for relatives and friends. And, while the young girls of the family learn – wide-eyed and whimsied – the work that goes into a standard (not even perfect) Christmas, they’re also often subjected to the assumption that females are naturally more capable of socialising with adults. They’re instructed (sometimes whether they like it or not) to talk to their uncle, to kiss their grandmother, to sing a Christmas song, to twirl in the middle of the room. When they’re teenagers, they’re expected to engage in family politics, and when they’re adults, to resolve it. Meanwhile, on the whole, boys are left to be boys until, well, forever. Beyond the family This unfair distribution of labour manifests itself beyond family contexts, too, leaking into young relationships and friendship circles. Take Monica Geller, Friends’ emotional labour extraordinaire. Remember The One With The Late Thanksgiving, in which Chandler and Monica announce they’re taking a break from hosting Thanksgiving every year? Of course, it’s no surprise to any committed viewer – throughout its ten seasons the programme regularly portrays Monica thanklessly hosting the group with little assistance, especially from the e’er hapless Chandler. But for Monica’s pals, it’s a different story. The group respond with fury and disappointment. They ignore the fact that Monica is currently orchestrating a gruelling

INTERSECTIONS

adoption process, and convincing her (note: not Chandler) to reconsider. When it comes to the day of Thanksgiving, the gang chastise Monica for ordering in dessert (and forget to pick it up for her), before turning up late. Sure, Monica is an accomplished chef and open about the pleasure she takes in cooking and organising, but she’d also stated clearly that she did not wish to host. What’s more, the only culinary help she feels confident in accepting from co-host Chandler is with the cranberry sauce (because “it’s low-profile and nobody cares”). And let’s not pretend that his attempt to wash the cranberries with actual soap isn’t a gag too far. A man in his mid-30s who can’t wash fruit isn’t funny. It’s depressing. Though these scenes are fiction from the distant past (the episode first aired in 2003), the Men Can’t Cook trope irritatingly persists as a golden excuse, despite titanic amounts of evidence to the contrary. These tropes and stereotypes that play into this problem are not only tiring for the women picking up the slack, they’re offensive to men who actually do a fair share of all the work, year-round and at Christmas. And, just as neglected emotional labour affects all genders, the disparity is also only solved when all genders begin to notice and act on it. Every dude who assumes the women around him will take care of dinner or who finds it hilarious to buy thoughtless gifts on Christmas Eve contributes. Every outlandish compliment for the hubbie’s godforsaken bread sauce or the adolescent nephew’s surprising conversational skills contributes. The media’s idolisation and sexualisation of good fathers and kind men conributes. Every single person who fails to acknowledge the quiet, automatic, well oiled machine of emotional labour, operated disproportionately by women – contributes. This Christmas it’s time to take notice.

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THE SKINNY

Food Yule Like This Christmas, give the gift of tasty coffee, trendy chocolate, or hot sauce so spicy it’ll melt a hole in your table Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Luis Pinto

everal thousand years ago, Hippocrates suggested that the balance of four essential humors – black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm – were responsible for our temperament, health and general well-being. It was, of course, total pish. But it did give us an idea for this year’s Christmas gift guide. We’ve picked out food and drink gifts in the four categories which really make the world go round – if you want to give someone a cabbage as a present, do it on your own time – and thrown in some ludicrous cookware for good measure. If these don’t put smiles on faces come Christmas morning, we recommend a course of leeches. It’s what ol’ Hippo would have wanted.

Coffee gifts When finding a gift for a coffee lover, keep it simple. That is to say, get them some coffee. Scotland has some great indie roasteries knocking out fantastic beans, and a host of them have subscription or gift pack options that’ll keep your giftee hopped up on caffeine for the considerable future. Machina offer a collection pack of four of their single origin coffees (£25) which should keep things ticking along nicely, while there are subscription options available from Dear Green in Glasgow (£9 per bag), Steampunk Coffee in North Berwick (£60 for six months) and Artisan Roast (£55 for six months) among others. Another gift option from further afield is the sample pack from Berlin roasters The Barn (€19) – they’ll receive six taster bags of coffee, plus a stylish tote bag to alert fellow coffee hipsters to their credibility. And if you like your presents to pose a bit of a challenge, the raw green coffee on sale from Kinross’s Unorthodox Roasters (£6.50) is ideal. It’s one to roast at home, so will make a good test of skill and/or a good way to get rid of people for a few hours on Boxing Day. If you want something longer lasting, grab a piece of coffee equipment that will prove incredibly useful but won’t break the bank or prove a nightmare to wrap and/or hide before the big day. Something like an AeroPress (£30), a highly portable gizmo that makes for a delicious and full-bodied coffee with enough strength to wake you up then knock you back out again. Espresso aficionados can plump for the Wacaco Nanopresso (£80) by Wacaco or the fantastically-named Handpresso Wild Hybrid (£79) – both are handpowered, both pack a serious amount of pressure, both look like parts from a futuristic space bicycle. Chocolate gifts All aboard the train to esoteric design town! Chocolate is an ideal low-cost way to give a gift that looks great. It also serves as an opportunity to spark mild confusion and irritation as the recipient tries to work out whether you’ve given them a bar of chocolate or some particularly trendy stationery. If you want to keep it simple, get a couple of bars from East London one-man-band Land (£5.50) – expect muted colours, dotted outlines of countries of origin, and lovely fonts. If you want to turn things up a notch, go for the intriguing flavour combos and colourful wrapping of Coco (from £4.50), with their Hazelnut and Isle of Skye Sea Salt bar packing a Hokusai-esque pattern punch. And to get stranger still, Leith chocolatiers Ocelot (£6 per bar, or five for £25) have you covered, whether it’s their standard milk chocolate packed inside a Rorschach test, or the fact that their square bars

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can quite easily be passed off as a CD or tiny book until the very last second. If you like your sweets to look good but still be identifiable from the off as, well, food, we recommend a pair of Edinburgh chocolate supremos. Edward & Irwyn serve up fantastic honeycomb and caramel treats that look incredible and taste just as good (from £6), while Mary’s Milk Bar have some incredibly lovely chocolate boxes to snap up before the Instagram hordes beat you to it. Go now, and grab an ice cream while you’re there. Spicy gifts It may be a season for snuggling up indoors while it pisses it down with sleet outside, but why not set your loved one’s mouths on fire to compensate? For the spice lovers out there, we recommend a trip to Lupe Pintos in Edinburgh or Glasgow to fill a basket of hot sauces of varying intensities, although if you need to pick out a few we have some suggestions. We’d recommend Glasgow Mega Death Hot Sauce (£4) – it’s local, it’s artisanal (it’s made by one guy) and it has a lovely and faintly satanic aesthetic. It will also knock your block off, so be careful. Also worth checking out are the offerings from Bonnie Sauce Co (£3.80), the people behind the Bonnie Burrito takeaway, with their jalapeño and lime particularly tasty. Finally, you’ll want a simple everyday hot sauce to complete your homemade gift pack, so grab the variety of Mexican favourite Yucateco (£3.80) which most closely matches the intended recipient – red for the fiery type, green for the understated yet punchy one, and black for the friend who likes to set things on fire. Seriously, this stuff tastes great but it smells like a burned-down house.

“ If you want to give someone a cabbage as a present, do it on your own time” Boozy gifts If you want a gift that’s local, trendy and imbibable, may we recommend one of Scotland’s many delicious craft spirits. We may? Excellent, because we were going to do it anyway. Your options are endless – you can go with some classic minimalist-with-a-flourish design, as seen in Dundee’s own Verdant Gin or the Wild Island gin from Colonsay, or grab something more totemic in the form of The Botanist or Isle of Harris. If you’re gifting to someone who loves colour, a bottle of Achroous from Electric Spirit Co or Hills and Harbour will do the trick. Then there are the eccentric gins, like Darnley’s Spiced Gin which is loaded to the hilt with seasonal spices, or a pair of madcap offerings from Crossbill – one’s a pineapple-loaded gin matured in sherry casks, the other is infused with foraged sumac. And if they don’t like gin, get them a bottle of rum instead. If they’re a white rum fan, Sea Wolf from the guys behind Bramble bar in Edinburgh is your choice; if it’s dark rum you need, get a bottle of Dark Matter from that noted hotbed of rum production, Banchory.

Kitchen gifts Three options here – the cheap choice is an indoor Mushroom Garden (£20), created from upcycled coffee grounds and guaranteed to be no more difficult to manage than your average potted plant or hamster. The middle option – the MasterPan (£60) – is a piece of culinary lunacy, and by no means a good idea for a present. However, we have to mention it because of its five discrete cooking surfaces, which allow you to make a full fry-up in one pan at the same time. Why? Who knows! Who is this for? *shrug*!

FOOD AND DRINK

And the final option is the Anova Precision Cooker (£129), aka ‘the sous vide machine’. Plop this bad boy in a pan of water and it’ll hold the temperature to allow you to slowly cook meats and veggies like a genuine master chef (or at least a genuine contestant on MasterChef). If your loved one is the kind who ‘has everything’, offer them this – they’ll either be pleased with the esoteric nature of the gift, or they’ll panic and start asking you about those nice bottles of gin. theskinny.co.uk/food

Lifestyle

Food News A pair of ambitious street food spaces, a vegan Christmas and a whole load of cheese feature in this month’s food and drink events guide Words: Peter Simpson

e kick off in Glasgow, with the opening event at the ambitious new Dockyard Social space in Finnieston. Headed up by the guys behind the Section 33 pop-up restaurant, the plan is for the warehouse unit to eventually become a permanent fixture with a host of street food vendors all under one roof. For now, head down for a weekend of pop-ups to help get the Social off to a flying start. 30 Nov-3 Dec, 95 Haugh Rd, tickets £5, dockyardsocial.com On a similar note through in Edinburgh, two of our favourites team up for a top-notch festive pop-up. FIRESIDE is a collaboration between the street food aces at The Pitt and party-loving dive bar Paradise Palms, taking over unused space at the Waverley Arches for a programme of street food, music, and a load of open fires and Christmas trees. As fans of each of these elements, we are fully on board. 30 Nov-6 Jan, East Market St, free entry Also in Edinburgh, things get extremely smelly (in a good way) at IJ Mellis’ Artisan Cheese & Wine tasting. Don’t know about you lot, but we bloody love cheese – the more artisanal, the better – and the wine just sweetens the deal even more. Consider this a pre-Christmas treat, or a scouting exercise for foodie presents. In fact, consider it whatever you want; it is loads of delicious cheese and wine in one place. 7 Dec, 6.30pm, 330 Morningside Rd, tickets £27 via Eventbrite Back in Glasgow, food anthropologists Küche are asking the tough questions – namely, what’s the deal with Saint Andrew? The Feast Day of Saint Andrew will celebrate and explore the stories behind St Andy; who he really is, what he got up to, where he comes from and where else he is celebrated. Naturally, this exploration will take the form of exciting food and drink from around the world, as all history lessons should do in our opinion. 7 Dec, 6pm, Kinning Park Complex, £PWYW, tickets via tabl.com The following night in the capital, it’s bubble tea o’ clock! Tempo Tea host a festive bubble tea tasting evening in celebration of the mysterious and kinda-futuristic drink with balls floating in it. You’ll try half a dozen different teas, get some background into the ways of the bubble, as well as grabbing a tea for the road. 8 Dec, 7.30pm, 7 East Market St, tickets £10, facebook.com/ TempoEdinburgh Next up is the Glasgow Vegan Christmas Festival, brought to you by the crew behind this year’s Vegan Connections festival. The Briggait will be filled to the brim with all the expected festive delights and gifts you’d want from a market two weeks before Christmas, but without any animals involved. There’s no animal in mulled wine that we know of, so we’re happy. 9 Dec, 10am7pm, 141 Bridgegate, £3 on the door, facebook. com/veganconnections Over at Barras Art and Design, there’s a special Christmas edition of BAaD’s Feast End Food street food market on 16 Dec that should be a chance for a festive catch-up with even the fussiest of foodie pals, while in the Southside on the following day Marchtown host a Christmas Beer Tasting. The theme is ‘sugar and spice’, so expect beers with a bit of a Christmassy kick. If you like nutmeg, it’s your lucky day. 17 Dec, 5pm, 741 Pollokshaws Rd, tickets £22 via Eventbrite

The Bitter Trend At the end of a long ol’ year, we look back on the things that both did and did not happen in the world of food

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urns out giving credibility to all these Nazis made all these Nazis feel more credible.’ ‘Who would have thought that voting for a thing would cause that thing to happen?’ ‘I shouldn’t have trodden in that brown, sticky puddle.’ Hindsight can make anyone look like a genius, and that’s especially true of the end of year wrap-up in which pundits reprosecute the past / change their previously-held positions and hope no-one notices. We made some predictions at the start of the year about what was coming in 2017; let’s see just how right we were, and what we missed. ‘Cauliflower Will Be a Hit’ Can we honestly say that 2017 was the year when Big Cauli rose to its rightful place at the top of the food chain? No, because that would be crazy. However, we have definitely seen an increase in cauliflower subbing in for chicken wings or nuggets, as it turns out that frying anything and covering it in delicious spicy sauce works just as well for vegans as it does for carnivores. So we were halfright. And speaking of vegans...

Veganism is Cool Credit to Scotland’s vegan chefs, bakers and foodies – they’ve managed to come roaring back into view after a few years of bacon and barbecue-fuelled decadence from the rest of us. Glasgow standardbearers like Mono and Stereo are still going strong, and Edinburgh is catching up thanks to the likes of Harmonium, but there’s a general vibe across the food scene that vegans a) aren’t going anywhere and b) might actually be on to something. Hence the rise of plant-based baking, increased options for vegans when out and about, and an overall increase in people loudly proclaiming their wares to be meatless. If nothing else, it’s nice to occasionally have your options pegged back a bit and be forced to be somewhat healthy (but only occasionally). We’re sticking to our guns on jackfruit though; The Skinny maintains that it is a rank, flobbery mess. Nutritional Yeast never took off either, but that’s probably for the best.

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Fermentation is sort-of Cool Sourdough still gets a strong thumbs-up from many foodies, and it’s always nice to be able to put some gochujang on a sandwich, but the fermentation craze hasn’t fully bubbled up yet. We’ve seen fermented products pop up on more menus, and heard tales of bands regaling interviewers with their love of kombucha, but we haven’t yet met a single person who has both tried and enjoyed the fermented milk drink kefir. Much like kombucha itself, we’ll leave this one for a while and check in on it later. Pizzas are the new Burgers (but Tacos are the new Pizza) It was around 18 months ago we first noticed Edinburgh and Glasgow were becoming hives of cheap, tasty pizza. It was as if there was a collective realisation that all the red meat we’d been consuming in the early half of the decade was probably not the best for the long-term. All of a sudden, bar menus were boasting of their woodfired ovens and slinging out pizzas like animated turtles from the 90s. In the past year, there have been signs that the next trend to truly take off will be the taco – it’s been bubbling away in the background for a while, but the fact that tacos are delicious, small (as in ‘small plates, so order lots of things and give us all your money’) and easy to scale up or down makes us think they’ll be everywhere before long. Everything is a Festival We believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said the following: ‘If you can drink it, you can make it into a festival.’ As in music, the food festival bubble keeps inflating and inflating, and there’s barely a weekend that goes by without some sort of experiential booze-up or cheese sampling to note. If the insane demand at the Edinburgh Cocktail Weekend earlier this year is anything to go by, this trend’s still got life in it. Our advice – don’t stand still for a second, lest a food and drink festival form around you and you end up trapped in a world of wristbands and endless drinks demos.

theskinny.co.uk/food

Words: Peter Simpson

FOOD AND DRINK

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Deck the (Summer)halls There are leaves on the ground and the smell of pumpkin spiced lattes in the air. We’ve all seen the John Lewis advert and cast judgement on the song. There’s no mistake folks, Christmas is here – lean into it

f December is an excuse for one thing, it’s a party, and by now we think it’s pretty clear that there ain’t no party like an S(ummerhall)-Club Party (Jo, Tina, Bradley, the rest, don’t sue us). Massaoke are taking over the Dissection Room for two very special events – Hogmanay Hootenanny on Actual New Year’s Eve. The Soul Train of previous years has chugged outta town and the sing-along spectacular is cruising on in. Why sing Auld Lang Syne when you could be howling out Livin’ On A Prayer. Their SH residency (since September this year) is also rolling out a Christmas special on 22 December. The big one, the main event, comes with the return of the Summerhall Christmas Market on 10 December complete with a wreath workshop running through the whole day – we advise booking in advance. Year round our building is home to dozens of creatives – artists, taxidermists, writers, designers, photographers, a brewery – and the market is a chance to buy their work, alongside the best of Edinburgh’s artistic community. If you’re looking to pick up unique gifts, get into the festive spirit with some carolling, and drink something hot, mulled, and boozy, then make sure you come on down. Oh and btw, ‘lean into it’ for December (SO NOT JUST CHRISTMAS) can also mean ‘come by and watch great gigs and maybe drink some nice beers,’ starting immediately with Neu! Reekie!’s Cold Turkey on 1 December – Scott Hutchison, Withered Hand, Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen are the fillings in this particular Christmas sandwich. We’ve got a bittersweet all-dayer on December 2 – one of our favourites, Orkestra Del Sol, bid farewell with their last ever live show, and a family friendly cabaret event in the day – come celebrate fourteen years of horns and polkas and everything else that made the band so good.

What’s On in Summerhall in December COLD TURKEY (SCOTT HUTCHISON OF FRIGHTENED RABBIT, WITHERED HAND, HOLLIE MCNISH + MICHAEL PEDERSEN) Fri 1 Dec, 8pm, £15 Debut outing of what may or may not become an international touring show. Hollie McNish is bringing her recorder. WINTER TRAD 2017 ROSS COUPER AND TOM OAKES, INNES WATSON, KIERAN MUNNELLY Fri 1 Dec, 8pm, £12/£10 Multi-award winning line-up heading up this year's Winter Trad Festival.

December 2017

RHYTHM MACHINE Fri 1 Dec, 11.30pm, £6 A night of performance art and unshackled dance music in The Dissection Room. DEERHART Til Fri 22 Dec, 11am-6pm (not Mondays), free Collaborative exhibition with drawings from Diana Zwibach & poetry from Yvonne Reddick THE GREAT WHITE HOPE Til Sun 14 Jan, 11am-6pm (not Mondays), free New works by Glasgow based artist Jacob Kerray. “To be The Man you have to beat The Man and right here, right now, I am THE MAN. Woooo™.” -and there's a ping pong table.

EXIT FROM COALTOWN Til Sun 17 Dec, times vary, free Exhibition: New and recent work from RSA Open Exhibition 2016 Summerhall Prize winner Michael Dawson ORKESTRA FIESTA: CAFE CABARET Sat 2 Dec, 12pm, £8/£4 Family friendly cabaret featuring members of Orkestra's extended family. ORKESTRA DEL SOL THE FINAL SHOW Sat 2 Dec, 7pm, £14 Celebrating 14 years of big hearted, sun-soaked music from this fantastic live band. EDINBURGH CEILIDH CLUB Tue 5 Dec, 8pm, £6 The best of Scotland's ceilidh bands in the Main Hall.

ANATOMY #16 RETURN OF THE FROST KID GANG: 2DEEP2DESOLATE Fri 8 Dec, 8pm, £7 Live art cabaret featuring dance, sound, costume and spoken word. SUMMERHALL CHRISTMAS MARKET Sun 10 Dec, 11am, £2/free Edinburgh's best Christmas market! High quality, ample choice and unique products that WILL sell out! EDINBURGH CEILIDH CLUB Tue 12 Dec, 8pm, £6 The best of Scotland's ceilidh bands in the Main Hall.

SUMMERHALL SINGERS WINTER CONCERT Wed 13 Dec, 7.30pm, £5 Our resident community choir singing Christmas favourites to get you in the festive mood. FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH SPOKEN WORD @ THE DICK Wed 13 Dec, 8.30pm Our monthly celebration of all things spoken! FLEETWOOD MAC’S RUMOURS: PERFORMED BY THE TRANSATLANTIC ENSEMBLE Fri 15 Dec, 7pm, SOLD OUT Expert musicians performing one of the greatest albums of all time. KID CANAVERAL’S CHRISTMAS BAUBLES VIII Sat 16 Dec, 2pm, £15/£12 Live music and other festive shenanigans all the live-long day!

CHRISTMAS GIFT WRAPPING WORKSHOP WITH WHITE RABBIT STATIONERY Sun 17 Dec, 1pm, £29 Join Kate from White Rabbit Stationery, have a glass of bubbles, and level-up your wrapping skills. EDINBURGH CEILIDH CLUB Tue 19 Dec, 8pm, £6 The best of Scotland's ceilidh bands in the Main Hall. MASSAOKE’S CLUB LA LA: XMAS SPECIAL Fri 22 Dec, 9pm, £8/£6 Massaoke's Christmas special! Tinsel and bangers! MASSAOKE HOGMANAY HOOTENANNY Sun 31 Dec, 9pm, £20/£15 Massaoke's Hogmanay special! Because Auld Lang Syne isn't the only thing you can sing at New Year's.

THE SKINNY

RE V IE W

Hear Hear We take a look at the importance of wearing hearing protection at gigs and as a musician, and explain why earplugs could be the best gift you could give a loved one this Christmas

n August we went to see the master of loud noises, Blanck Mass, at Summerhall and it was LOUD – loud to the point that it was painful to the ear if you weren’t wearing earplugs. We heard their soundcheck in the afternoon from our office (we’re based at Summerhall) and at points it sounded like a small jet was about to take off from the venue’s Dissection Room, so we knew what we were letting ourselves in for. You may be able to imagine our utter shock and disbelief, then, when we spotted the sheer number of people at this very loud gig not wearing ear protection. Yup, that’s what we were doing instead of watching the show, we were looking at people’s ears. We’re not weird, we were just genuinely surprised. “Many people just don’t know how aurally dangerous certain environments can be,” Jay Clark, CEO of EarPeace tells us. It seems not enough people are being educated in the importance of looking after their hearing health. Hearing loss and conditions like tinnitus, often described as a ringing in the ears, are real and in some cases irreversible; as well as affecting the way you listen to music or the simple ability to have a conversation, they can also lead to sleep deprivation and psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. It’s that serious. So when is loud too loud? Clark explains that “any industrial environment where the dB (decibel) levels are over 85 requires protection.” To put this into context, the British Tinnitus Association Plug’em has a very easy to understand scale which explains decibel levels and the maximum exposure time before it becomes unsafe – it’s not just about the volume, it’s also about how close you are to the source, and how long you’re exposed to it. 85dB is the equivalent of listening to a kitchen blender for 8 hours; a live rock band at 112dB can be damaging at a listening time of just 66 seconds, and we all know gigs last a lot longer than that. Also, 112dB is just an average… some can be louder. Blanck Mass most definitely was. “After three days dancing next to 18-wheelers converted to speaker stacks in Trinidad’s Carnival my eardrums were beaten and battered,” Clark tells us about EarPeace’s beginnings. “Recuperating on a Tobago beach I realised the ringing in my ears was louder than the waves. I turned to my girlfriend and said there had to be a better solution than foam earplugs. I was sick of the bad sound, discomfort, difficulty of use, and looking like an old man at a youthful 35. The idea was born. We needed a better ear plug.” After countless hours of research over the course of two years, EarPeace was launched at SxSW in 2010 and “the brand promise has always been pretty simple: ‘You will hear and feel better when you wear EarPeace,’” Clark says, adding; “If people don’t feel like their experience is going to be improved by something they just aren’t going to use it.” EarPeace plugs are incredibly affordable, at around £20, and come with a built-in attenuation system with three filter settings for varying levels of sound. “Attenuating plugs actually make live music sound way better,” Aidan Culley, the Health and Welfare Assistant at Help Musicians UK tells us. “You know if you’re at a gig and the sound engineer just keeps turning everything up to the point where the vocal is lost in a haze of drums and bass? Wear proper protection and that gets filtered out, and you can hear all elements of the music. “Steer clear of those foam earplugs, they’re not going to make music sound good and you’d be amazed how many people get put off getting proper hearing protection after using them. Fine

December 2017

for mowing the lawn, awful for listening to music.” Culley continues, “When you start wearing hearing protection don’t be surprised if it feels a little weird at first, and certainly don’t let it put you off. Make a habit of taking it with you whether you’re out playing or watching live music, or in the club.”

“ Many people just don’t know how aurally dangerous certain environments can be” Jay Clark, EarPeace

As well as gig-goers, it is vital that musicians and DJs protect their hearing as they can be exposed to unhealthy levels of noise night after night, which can lead to loss of income as well as loss of hearing. In 2012 Grimes had to cancel several live dates reporting hearing loss and tinnitus as the reason; and in the previous year music legend Phil Collins hung up his sticks for health reasons which also included hearing loss. Culley tells us about

the incredible Musicians Hearing Health Scheme available through Help Musicians UK which “launched in August last year and has helped almost 2,500 musicians access specialist advice and hearing protection so far. “Back in 2014 we ran a survey of professional musicians across the UK, and almost half (47%) reported experiencing issues with their hearing at some point in their career.” He continues, “That made us sit up and take notice, so we ran another survey in April 2015 specifically looking at musicians’ hearing. Those results were pretty startling: almost 60% (59.5%) of those musicians said they had experienced hearing loss or were unsure if they had, and 78% of those cited working as a musician as a contributing factor. Perhaps most worryingly, 39% of those had not sought professional help since they believed hearing problems are an unavoidable effect of working as a musician, and while 81% of respondents believed musicians should use hearing protection, only 67% had. “So there was clearly a gap in both understanding about hearing loss in the UK music community, accessibility of professional advice and ability to get hold of professional quality hearing protection. That led us to work with Musicians’ Hearing Services and the Musicians’ Union to launch the Musicians’ Hearing Health Scheme.” The scheme is open to all professional musicians, DJs, sound engineers, producers and music

Music

Interview: Tallah Brash Illustration: Lucy Kirk

teachers – ‘professional’ meaning they earn 50% or more of their income from music – and can give you access to specialist hearing assessments and bespoke earplugs for the cost of a £40 membership. Not bad. Since our ear-blasting at Blanck Mass in August, we’ve been to a gazillion other shows and still can’t get over how many people aren’t wearing earplugs at gigs. If you’re exposed to loud noises on a regular basis then you need to wear protection. If your ears start to hurt when you’re at a gig, on stage, or in the practice room, then you need to wear proper protection. Ironically, the night before writing this we went to see Run The Jewels at the O2 Academy in Glasgow and FORGOT our earplugs – fortunately the venue had free foam ones available at the bar, so we used those as a back-up. It wasn’t ideal, but our ears have lived to tell the tale and it’s worth noting that a lot of live music venues will have plugs available so don’t suffer in silence, or loudness rather... You get one pair of ears your whole life and you need to look after them, whether or not it makes you look cool, so do a bit of research, find out what’s available to you, and treat your ears to (or ask Santa for) a pair of earplugs, otherwise it could be more than just bells you hear ringing this Christmas. earpeace.co.uk helpmusicians.org.uk

Review

Double Up We look at the importance of merch in music and urge you to support your local scene this Christmas

The Age of Streaming There’s no denying that the rise of streaming services is suffocating the financial success of musicians. According to data journalist David McCandless in 2015 an unsigned band or musician in the US could earn a minimum wage selling just 105 self-distributed album CDs (or 457 retailer CDs for signed musicians) per month, or 148 Bandcamp downloads, or 547 iTunes album downloads. When it comes to streaming, however, a signed musician would only earn a minimum wage if they’re able to garner thousands of streams. Take Spotify, where an unsigned artist can only hope to make a feasible living if they reached 180,000 streams per month. Oh, and signed artists? Make that a modest 1,117,021 streams. And so, the record industry bleeds billions. But the good news is that appetite for live shows remains, with a recent study by UK Music reporting a 12% rise in audiences for live shows and events. Musicians rely on the income generated by live shows and merch more than ever.

Where Alternative Merch Comes In If a fan’s decision to hit up a musician’s live show is an extra slice of capital, investing at the merch table is the cherry on top. But even the market for logo-emblazoned clothing is somewhat saturated and that’s why in recent years, bands and musicians have gotten pretty damn creative with their physical offerings. Though we’re chin-deep in a digital world, it seems many of us still hanker for the joy of receiving a physical object in return for purchasing music. So much so that, along with records, the music industry has a renewed relationship with the cassette tape format. But there’s more to this plasticky trend than nostalgia and novelty. While records are often expensive and CDs still considered sort of tacky, cassettes bridge the gap between seemingly ephemeral music downloads and IRL ownership. Usually the tapes come with a download code, meaning the buyer is doubly rewarded for their investment, with both a souvenir and convenient access to their fave’s tunes. Not to mention, some collectors actually own cassette players.

Garden of Elks Low Hearts

fill their homes with merch. When Song, by Toad’s Jonnie Common wrote an album entirely comprising sounds from his kitchen (entitled Kitchen Sync), he cleverly released the music in the form of fridge magnets, complete with download codes. Common’s also no stranger to innovative merchandising; back in 2012 he released EP JWC008 via adorable coloured glass badges in the shape of cassettes by artists Keny Drew and Showpony. Such creativity is especially rewarded as we approach the Christmas season and music fans begin to take stock of their local scene for gift ideas. There’s the delightfully designed mugs of Edinburgh joy-bringers The Spook School; singersongwriter Harry Harris’s lovingly hand-bound pocket book featuring brush illustrations and access to his Andre the Giant EP; cassette tapes of sophomore record Low Hearts from Niall Strachan’s Garden of Elks, limited to a run of just 100, each featuring an original piece of art drawn by Strachan; Glasgow’s The Ninth Wave have some pretty cool looking tote bags; The LaFontaines have a book and keyring available as part of their Common Problem record bundle; Belle & Sebastian have some pretty lovely screen-printed tour posters; Mogwai have a record bundle available featuring album demos and signed screenprints; The Vegan Leather have some pretty rad badges and totes; Elle Exxe has a couple of beanie hats available and Vukovi have some sweet AF badges,

“ Give the gift of merch this Christmas” That understanding of fans’ appetites for tangibility has made something of a merch maverick of Eigg-based record label Lost Map. They’ve experimented with attaching download codes to postcards, a slightly cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternative to tapes (though they’ve also been known to dabble in CSD format). What’s more, along with tees and the like, LM also offer lovingly designed bobble hats and totes, both an opportunity for supporters to bear the logo on places other than their sternum or spine. And, just as fans embrace the opportunity to colonise unchartered areas of their wardrobes with their favourites’ logos, they’re also keen to

Do Not Miss

Preview

Photo: Ryan Johnston

Kobi Onyame

Kobi Onyame, SWG3 (Poetry Club), Glasgow, 3 Dec

Photo: Sarah Donley

The Spook School

theskinny.co.uk/music

The Spook School

Pronto Mama, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 13 Dec

Book Yer Ane Fest XI, Various, Dundee, 1-3 Dec Make That A Take Records are celebrating DIY punk music and culture across three venues in the heart of Dundee this December – Abertay Student Centre, Conroy’s Basement and Deacon Brodie’s. With over 60 acts playing the three-day event including Lou Mclean, Tongue Trap and The Spook School, they’ll also be hosting stalls for the weekend including Radical Rebel DIY, Safe Gigs for Women, Umlaut Records and Vegan Action North East, and it’s all for charity. What a great way to kick off December!

posters and patches up for grabs along with totes and tees. Across the country, musicians and labels are rustling up novel types of swag, giving fans the opportunity to support their art, to shop local, and to save the music industry in one fell swoop. Give the gift of merch this Christmas.

For over ten years, Glasgow-based musician Kobi Onyame has been gradually making a name for himself (under numerous different guises) as one of the most promising hip-hop acts in Scotland. But for his 2017 album GOLD, he returned to his roots fusing rap, grime, and R’n’B with his Ghanaian heritage. After a year which has included awards and sessions for BBC Radio Scotland, headlining SWG3’s Poetry Club will be the perfect cherry on top of a successful year for Onyame. Support comes from DopeSickFly and LUNIR.

Glasgow’s Pronto Mama have had a bloody great year off the back of releasing their debut album, Any Joy, and this December sees the sextet head off on a mini-Scottish tour, which they’ve stated on their Facebook page will be their “last tour in Scotland for a while.” After a Twitter poll Pronto Mama will be performing a We Were Promised Jetpacks cover tonight in Edinburgh; a cover of The View at Clark’s on Lindsay Street, Dundee, 14 Dec; and a cover of Robert Burns at Furys Nightclub, Ayr, 15 Dec

MUSIC

Pronto Mama

Blanck Mass

Braw Gigs Xmas Bash, Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, 15 Dec Edinburgh purveyors of all things braw, Braw Gigs invite you to ‘sack off the office party and come on down and get egg-nogged AF’ at their Henry’s Cellar Bar Xmas Bash. While we can’t promote irresponsible eggnog consumption, we can fully endorse their suitably weird and wonderful line-up; there’ll be, amongst others, noise rock and electronics from Yorkshire’s Guttersnipe, poetry and music from Glasgow’s Joanne Robertson and a DJ set from Blanck Mass. Merry fucking Christmas indeed!

THE SKINNY

Photo: Claire Maxwell

sk a compulsive band tee buyer about their habit and they’ll have a good excuse for you. Some are sentimental about their gig-going, immortalising their experiences in screen-printed cotton. Others enlist the help of an emblazoned shirt to signal their fanhood to others. But there’s another reason many of those involved in music – particularly the indie, grassroots and DIY areas of the industry – have drawers guiltily overflowing with dozens (or hundreds, if you’re hardcore) of band tees, sweaters and hoodies. It’s as simple as this: there’s sorely-needed money to be made in music merch, and loyal fans are willing to make it rain. According to Amber Easby and Henry Oliver, authors of The Art of the Band T-Shirt, Elvis was one of the earliest musicians to be associated with the sale of screen-printed tees back in 1956. Then the Beatles began to harness the power of merchandising, selling tees on their 1964 US tour. Before long, the touting of printed garms was commonplace, going through various renaissances (think tie-dye logo tees of the 60s, metal’s jet black tees, Vivienne Westwood’s ripped up counter-culture band shirts).

Photo: Ryan Johnston

Credit: Niall Strachan

Interview: Kate Pasola

PSA: Make Gigs Safe Again A new wave of young punk bands are fighting to make their gigs safe spaces for their fans, reigniting a flame lit by the riot grrrl movement in the early 90s

aybe the Beastie Boys were right – you do have to fight for your right to party, even though it may feel like we really shouldn’t have to at all. Amidst all the shocking and disturbing stories of sexual harassment and assault that have been shared over the past year, we’ve also seen an overwhelming outpour of women and

men fighting back and deciding they’re not going to take any more shit. In the music world, an influx of riot grrrl and punk-inspired bands from around the globe have been taking on the status quo and providing a much-needed two fingers up to the patriarchy. Not just in their music, but also in their live shows,

musicians have taken a stand against sexism and harassment; and they’re not afraid to call you out for being a dick. Just a month ago frontwoman of D.C. punk troupe Priests, Katie Alice Greer, cut the band’s set at The Hague in the Netherlands short, where they were performing at the Crossing Border Festival. Greer walked off stage after being heckled by an audience member yelling “play something we can dance to,” and later addressed the incident on Twitter. “It wasn’t the worst thing anybody’s ever yelled at me on stage but it is the first time somebody yelling made me so tired I just had to call it a night for my own mental well-being,” she stated. But it’s not just women who are fed up. During his official after-show party at Marquee Sydney recently, the 6 God himself, Drake told a male fan, “If you don’t stop touching girls, I’m gonna come out there and fuck you up” before having the man in question removed from the club. Also, just a few weeks prior, Mercury-nominated rapper Loyle Carner had an audience member removed from his gig at the University of East Anglia in Norwich after he shouted, “you have big tits” at Carner’s female support act, Elisa Imperilee. Back in October 2015, five teenage girls in the UK created the Girls Against movement, following one of the founding members’ experience of sexual harassment at a Peace gig in Glasgow. The movement encourages people to share their experiences of sexual harassment or unwarranted attention at gigs and aims to establish a discussion around the topic, in the hope of introducing a change in the way certain people behave at gigs. Many bands have got on board and started promoting safe spaces at their gigs, so that their fans are able to enjoy live music without being made to feel uncomfortable or threatened in any way. Several different techniques and approaches have been trialled by bands to assist in solving, or at least reducing, the problem. Norwegian pop-punk four-piece Sløtface, LA duo Diet Cig and solo artist Adult Mom are just a few musicians who have made a point of establishing safe spaces at their gigs, but others take a more hands-on approach. Speedy Ortiz put up posters at their shows, with a phone number audience members can text anonymously to get in touch with security if they are victim to or witness any form of harassment at one of their shows. Sløtface’s lead vocalist Haley Shea told us earlier this year that they’ve had to kick people

out of their shows for behaving inappropriately towards women in their audiences and she described some of her own experiences of harassment at shows. “I’ve experienced people holding their arms around me and invading my personal space under the pretence that they’re protecting me from other people, which is a completely unwanted thing,” she said.

“Musicians have taken a stand against sexism and harassment; and they’re not afraid to call you out for being a dick” However, this movement is not something completely new. Sløtface are just one of the new wave of young punk bands influenced by riot grrrl, who discovered the movement through Sini Anderson’s 2013 documentary The Punk Singer, documenting the life of Bikini Kill frontwoman, and riot grrrl pioneer, Kathleen Hanna. Dating back to the 90s, riot grrrl promoted the exact same ideas and now, going full circle, their successors continue to fight that battle. One of the biggest criticisms of safe spaces has been the concern that they could lead to the death of mosh pits, but that completely misses the point of the movement. Safe spaces make gigs an all-round better experience for everyone involved, from the security to the performers to the gig-goers themselves. At its core, this movement is about inclusivity and that means being able to freely thrash around at a gig no matter what your gender and without being pushed, groped or harassed. Simply put, if everyone could just respect each other and each other’s personal space, then this discussion wouldn’t even need to be had at all – basically, just don’t be a dick. theskinny.co.uk/music

Edinburgh indie-pop stalwarts Kid Canaveral are back for, rather unbelievably, the eighth installment of their annual Christmas Baubles celebrations in conjunction with Lost Map records, and this year they’re taking over Edinburgh’s Summerhall. At the time of going to print their line-up includes London trio Girl Ray, garage rock supergroup The Surfing Magazines, Glasgow producer HQFU, singer-songwriter Emma Kupa and obviously Kid C themselves, but they’ve promised some special guests too. The whole thing starts at 2pm so yule be able to make a day of this one!

Glasgow-based duo Honeyblood are inviting us all to have ourselves a Honeybloody Christmas, and they’ve enlisted a whole host of musical pals to join in the festive fun with them at the O2 ABC tonight. As well as from Honeyblood themselves expect live sets, with a probably Christmas twist, from The Spook School, The Ninth Wave and Man of Moon. Also they’ve promised loads of stalls with festive fare and zines, plus party DJs and loads of surprises, and we (Honey)bloody love surprises!

December 2017

Mogwai, SSE Hydro, Glasgow, 16 Dec

Photo: Stephanie Gibson

Kid Canaveral

Mogwai

Absolute giants of the Scottish music scene play an absolute giant of a venue in the form of the SSE Hydro tonight, marking their biggest home turf headline show to date, and possibly their biggest anywhere? Having released Every Country’s Sun back at the start of September to critical acclaim, we can’t help but think this show is going to be just that little bit special. Oh, and there’s support from 2017 SAY Award winners, and Rock Action label mates, Sacred Paws, as well as Mark Gardener-fronted Ride. Ooft.

MUSIC

Honeyblood

Photo: Kathryn Wood

Have Yourself a Honeybloody Christmas, O2 ABC, Glasgow, 22 Dec

Photo: Steve Gullick

Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles VIII, Summerhall, Edinburgh, 16 Dec

The Vegan Leather

The Vegan Leather, King Tut’s, Glasgow, 31 Dec There are worse ways to see out 2017 and welcome in 2018 than catching one of our favourite young Scottish bands of the year. The Paisley art pop four-piece have had a strong year filled with numerous live dates, festival appearances and radio sessions having released some utter dancefloor bangers in 2017. The Vegan Leather are surely the perfect band to dance into 2018 with and they cordially invite you to their ‘Pink Tie Hogmanay’ tonight at Tut’s and promise some surprises along the way. SOLD.

Preview

Photo: Amy Muir

Credit: Wikipedia & Creative Commons

Words: Nadia Younes

Why I Broke Up With My Favourite Band After a raft of accusations and admissions of sexual misconduct across the music industry, one writer reevaluates her relationship with her former favourite band, Brand New

an you separate the song from the singer? Do you overlook the questionable behaviour of your problematic fave? I think I’ve been doing this, subconsciously, for a long time. Not anymore. In the last month there’s been a landslide of sexual assault accusations and unsatisfactory apologies. This new, post-Weinstein era has revealed that gross abuses of power are widespread and seemingly unstoppable. You’d think that watching powerful, horrendous abusers finally tumbling from grace might feel… good? At least like progress? But with every high-profile betrayal there’s a legion of fans left behind, and I’ve developed a weird fixation with reading the comments beneath a public statement. Do these people hold this famous person to the same scrutiny that I think they should? How quickly do they forgive? It’s easy to criticise this reluctance to let go of something precious, and I know I’ve condemned those fans loudly and often. Then it was my turn. My favourite musician was accused of persistent sexual abuse, and embarrassingly I didn’t know what to do with my feelings. This band was the band I turned to when I needed reassurance or inspiration, or to reconnect with the obsessive need for music that I felt so strongly as a teenager. Surgically removing those memories felt impossible. Then the anger came, gently at first, then in surging waves of fury. I was 14 when I went to my first ‘proper’ rock

show. My best friends bought me the ticket for my birthday, and we got the train straight after school to queue up outside the Brighton Centre, desperate to be the first inside, to stand right at the front. I was totally and utterly transfixed by the glamour of it all – soundchecks, merch tables, setlists stuck by mic stands. It seemed unbelievable, genuinely unbelievable, that these bands – the ones on my t-shirt, and on the posters in my bedroom – had travelled all the way here, to play for me. It’s hard to explain how surreal it first felt to be in a room of strangers who also knew every single word, every single hook, to my most important songs, but I’m sure you’ve felt that too. I lived in a sleepy, isolated village and I had longed for this: a whole scene, a musical family, standing alongside me. At the barrier, in a break between bands, a huge, bearded man looked down at me and said, kindly, “You’re a bit small to be here.” He probably was concerned for my safety, given the surging pits and persistent crowd surfers, but I took it as an insult and a provocation. I was small but I felt capable. I’d done my homework. I knew these bands. That night was the first of many, many shows I’d spend daring men to tell me I didn’t belong. I grew to kind of expect these challenges: a targeted, pointed elbow trying to dissuade me from joining a circle pit, perhaps. Maybe a passiveaggressive demand to know just how many rare

B-sides you can name. Worse – an anonymous hand sneaking where it shouldn’t, using the movement of the crowd to excuse sliding under your top, or into your jeans.

“ Part of my grief stems from realising that actually, I’m not shocked at all” But I didn’t want to stay at home. And I never correlated it with the artists themselves. The music I loved most in my teen years has since been dubbed ‘third wave emo’ – a specifically 90s-to-noughties brand of popular, melancholy rock that includes bands like The Get Up Kids or Taking Back Sunday. It’s a genre that hasn’t aged particularly well: you might hate these bands, and I’ll grant you that they also had a very slim following in rural Sussex. However, I don’t think I noticed that this scene was predominantly male – I think I thought it was normal. Knowing what I do now, that there’s a diverse world of powerful,

Words: Katie Hawthorne Illustration: Amy Minto

eloquent, talented musicians with differing gender identities and backgrounds, I wonder what it taught me to stand in rooms of mostly men, watching mostly all-male bands play songs that focused mostly on very male experiences. Just like reading an old diary, revisiting the lyrics of a once precious song can provide a few painful squirms. Noughties emo was all about break-ups, but with such a one-sided perspective it’s little surprise that women got a pretty rough deal. Jessica Hopper, in a 2003 essay called Where the Girls Aren’t, which I consider to be canonical reading, wrote: “We’re vessels redeemed in the light of boy-love. On a pedestal, on our backs. Muses at best. Cum rags or invisible at worst.” In hindsight, I feel particularly bad about these lyrics: “If you let me have my way I swear I’ll tear you apart / ‘Cause it’s all you can be / You’re drunk and you’re scared / It’s ladies night, all the girls drink for free.” That’s my favourite band. Or, my ex-favourite band. I used to think this song – Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis, by Brand New – was a smart but painful deconstruction of malicious male power. Then my worst fears were granted, and frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of soliciting explicit photos from underage girls, instances of physical assault, and of using his status, age and power to manipulate and groom young women for years at a time. In Pitchfork’s report, updated one week later, it came to light that two of these girls (aged 15 and 16 at the time) were music photographers, attending his shows in a professional capacity. Emily Driskill told the reporter: “He was the first person to ever tell me that I was hot. In hindsight as an adult woman, I know I was preyed on.” Part of my grief stems from realising that, actually, I’m not shocked at all. I know this all by heart. Those lyrics aren’t deep-rooted poetics, but practically an admission of gendered power imbalance – and I’ve sung them back to him, loudly. A young girl’s enthusiasm for music is routinely undervalued. Fangirling is an openly derogatory term. Apple Music boss Jimmy Iovine suggested, just two years ago, that women need help finding music for “when they’re heartbroken, or whatever”. Instead, my heart breaks for these women who had their enthusiasm and professionalism preyed upon and undermined by a man who knew exactly what he was doing. I am sad, too, for all the young fans that recognise how easily it could have been them instead. The fans who realise how deeply they invested in a scene that clearly never wanted them, or cared enough to protect them. As an adult I’ve had bouncers suggest that I’m a “groupie” while I’ve waited backstage to interview a band, and I’ve had musicians invite themselves back to my house, only to be forcibly intercepted by a clearly long-suffering tour manager. These incidents do little other than remind me that my expertise is often erased by my gender. I’ve had it easy: I grew up as a straight cis woman in a white middle-class family and could afford access to the material trappings of fan communities. I have rarely felt intimidated or in genuine danger, rather frustrated and insulted. I’ll never again have a favourite band – the kind that takes root at a formative age, and feels like a secret layer of insulation. This is a small price to pay. There are still many other bands I love, but now it’s a cautious kind of love and I know it always will be. theskinny.co.uk/music

Review

Music

THE SKINNY

Björk

Utopia [One Little Indian, Out now]

Helicon

Helicon [Fuzz Club, 8 Dec]

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Belle & Sebastian How to Solve Our Problems (Part 1) EP [Matador, 8 Dec]

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The How to Solve Our Human Problems project, to be released in three parts, is Belle & Sebastian’s attempt to return to their 90s heyday. Following the releases of Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister in 1996 the band were on a creative hot streak that culminated in three 1997 EPs, Dog on Wheels, Lazy Line Painter Jane and 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light. The recreation of this style of recording has allowed the band to lay down tracks as and when they arrive and to hone new ideas over a longer period. Each EP is centred around a single, the first being We Were Beautiful, which begins with a

Karine Polwart

Björk

paradise and new beginnings as its title would suggest, but also explores the concept of air; as a healing force; as a constantly moving entity; as an essential component of life, hidden in plain sight. Mixing personal field recordings of birdsong and an ever-present 13-piece flute section, the album’s 14 tracks – produced by Björk and featuring contributions from producers Arca and Rabit – rise and fall like migrating seabirds, soaring in unison and scattering across the sky before settling into moments of quiet solitude. Utilising ideas of breath, space and breeze to thrilling effect, this is Björk at her most reflective and inquisitive. There are no clear cut ‘hits’ as such, and the album clearly begs to be enjoyed as a whole entity rather than have its innards plucked and picked at. However, if given your full attention, it will transport you to paradise. [Ryan Drever] Listen to: Arisen My Senses, Blissing Me, Courtship skittering drumbeat and features plaintively nostalgic semi-spoken lyrics. It’s archetypal B&S, but with enough charm to sound fresh and interesting. The true standout of the EP is Fickle Season, which sees Sarah Martin’s lilting voice draped in a beautifully simple arrangement (acoustic guitar and soft drum clicks), mulling over the passing of time. It’s reminiscent of Isobel Campbell’s star turn on Family Tree or Martin’s own Waiting for the Moon to Rise. The other three tracks are inoffensive, but somewhat forgettable, and if the point of these EPs is to provide a snapshot of creative process in motion, How to Solve... Part 1 is simply too meandering to hit with much impact. Hopefully they can recapture some of the overflowing innovative urgency they had in 1997 over Parts 2 and 3. [Lewis Wade] Listen to: Fickle Season, We Were Beautiful

Huge credit must be given to Pippa Murphy, the sound designer with whom Polwart worked on the show. With brief ambient flourishes these comparatively pared back songs are set perfectly in context – the rhythm of wind on Tyrannic Man’s Dominion, a re-interpretation of Now Westlin rrrrr Winds; the constant chatter of birdsong, and a Karine Polwart’s musical meditation on maternity, slight ghostliness added to some of Polwart’s spoMidlothian, and migration, Wind Resistance, has ken word moments, particularly on Place to Rest been lavished with praise ever since it debuted and Mend. Tiny shifts in context that help push at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2016. A the story forward. Pocket of Wind Resistance manages to capture the A Pocket of Wind Resistance deserves to be essence of the stage production, while still tying sat through start to finish – at least for the first together as a coherent record in its own right. couple of times. Not that the songs don’t work on Polwart has always been a narrative songwriter, their own, because they absolutely do, but the but here she’s flexing her muscles even further. overall bleed from one to the next, the movement Molly Simes Welcome to Salters Road, which first of the narrative, is what makes this such a brilliant appeared on her SAY nominated album Traces just piece of work. [Harry Harris] as Salters Road, gives an already beautiful song more room to breathe, and placing it fully in the context of the story gives it a cinematic quality. Listen to: Molly Simes Welcome to Salters Road, Small Consolation A Pocket of Wind Resistance [Hudson Records, 17 Nov (physical release 1 Dec)]

December 2017

Photo: Santiago Felipe

Utopia has been described by Björk herself as her dating record; her Tinder record, in fact, as it was jokingly referred to in a recent interview with Dazed. However, unless the average response to using said app is equivalent to cascading waves of beauty, melody, and soul upon first sight – akin to that of opener Arisen My Senses – then the Icelandic ambassador to the cosmos appears to be selling her ninth album, and indeed herself, woefully short. Of course, there is a considerably more profound sentiment to be found buried within that press-friendly nugget, and it appears to be one of hope after hurt; moving on after the pain of divorce and allowing oneself to be open to love again after loss. Utopia consequently finds Björk in a seemingly happier place, or at least a more optimistic one, following the soul-bearing emotional stock-take of its predecessor, Vulnicura. The album’s prevalent themes of positivity, wonder and hope have also come to represent the importance of a brighter vision for the future in general as we continue to address some pretty uncomfortable truths about ourselves and the world we inhabit. Or as the artist puts it herself when announcing Utopia’s arrival: “if we’re gonna survive not only my personal drama but also the sort of situation the world is in today, we’ve got to come up with a new plan. If we don’t have the dream, we’re just not gonna change. Especially now, this kind of dream is an emergency.” Drawing inspiration from Björk’s well-known affinity with the natural world and its many forms, Utopia not only plays on themes of peace,

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East Kilbride’s Helicon have been buzzing around for more than half a decade, and only now are they releasing their debut album. Describing themselves as “neo-psychedelic ninjas with smatterings of sentient sitar,” Helicon have amassed a collection of EPs, singles and a cult following, so the psych-rockers’ album has been long-anticipated within certain circles. And indeed, Helicon’s self-titled debut LP very much meets expectations. The band are known for their trippy live shows, though they also indulge in a similar Indian mysticism influence as witnessed

The Just Joans You Might Be Smiling Now... [Fika Recordings, 1 Dec]

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The Just Joans’ distinctly Scottish take on indie pop flirts with both cloying sentimentalism and selfdeprecation with light-hearted hilarity. Presented as a loose concept album, the themes initially seem self-indulgent and unoriginal: the songs detail the confusion of singer-songwriter David Pope’s teenage years, the horror of his 20s and the terror of his encroaching middle age. Indeed, stories about small town boredom and drunken romance are old-hat, but nobody quite portrays dejection and lust with as much Glaswegian

on The Beatles’ White Album and more recently Kula Shaker. The use of sitar on Valmiki for instance is a clear reference to this, though its minor-key builds keep things fresh. Single Seraph is a catchy come-down track, while as the album progresses a more distinguished Mogwai influence throws in a combustible element to Helicon’s sound (and song titles) on tracks like Drinking of You or Teenage Murder. While Helicon may rely on a familiar if still niche sound, Tony Doogan’s (Mogwai / Belle & Sebastian) production at the infamous Castle of Doom Studios gives this record the widescreen-sound it thoroughly deserves. [Adam Turner-Heffer] Listen to: Seraph, Drinking of You, Teenage Murder

charm and lewd humour as The Just Joans. The album’s pinnacle – the 60s girl-group chamber pop of Steal the Keys (1996 Tears) – contains Katie Pope’s accented refrain which never fails to add colour and clarity. Elsewhere, the funk-tinged melody on Johnny, Have You Come Lately is brilliant and the primitive electronics of You Make Me Physically Sick (Let's Start Having Children) sounds like it belongs on a children’s TV show, profanities aside: ‘And your jokes are shite’. You Might Be Smiling Now... is lyrically smart, funny, and terrifyingly relatable. The Just Joans might not be universally understood, but for those of us dealing with the grievances of getting older while simultaneously not feeling ready for adulthood, this is our affirmation. [Hayley Scott] Listen to: Steal the Keys (1996 Tears), Johnny, Have You Come Lately

Visible Cloaks

Morrissey

Lex [RVNG Intl., 8 Dec]

Low in High School [Etienne Records/BMG, Out now]

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Visible Cloaks’ new mini album Lex continues the work begun at the start of the year by Reassemblage. The six tracks, composed by software rooted in randomisation and MIDI-translation, provide a glimpse into the ‘fourth world’, a conceptual musical plane that transcends borders and traditional methods of perceiving sound. The first five tracks are short snippets, all but Wheel are under three minutes, that hint at a global musical language. They correspond to Permutate Lex, a companion film that attempts to visualise these ideas. Wheel and Transient begin with chaotic noise, punctuated by dissonant voices (created by “feeding a chain of multiple dialects and accents through language translation software”). From the cacophony comes smooth, peaceful ambience, with natural sounds (breathing, humming) combining with manipulated electronic ones making for a digitally serene atmosphere. Final track, World, is longer than the rest of the record combined and, although it was created in a separate space to the other tracks, it’s where the ideas explored come together most successfully. The sounds of running water mix with the rippling effects of Dan Deacon-inspired notes as vaporwave whooshes breeze past (à la James Ferraro). The patient spaciousness of the track allows for reflection and it’s what really makes it work. Lex is inspired by lofty philosophical goals, on attempts to ‘communicate a world distant enough that it can’t be captured or comprehended in the present.’ On this front Lex is undoubtedly successful, sounding consistently otherworldly, but still retaining enough humanity to make it effective. [Lewis Wade]

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Morrissey’s 11th album arrives as patience with the man himself wears thin. Since his last album in 2014, Morrissey has engendered ill-will thanks to a poorly conceived t-shirt featuring James Baldwin, appearing to support Brexit and Nigel Farage, releasing a terrible debut novel and sharing his UKIP conspiracy theories at a 6 Music live set, along with the usual cancelled tour dates (the most recent of which was supposedly because it was too cold) and (at the point of going to print) an apparent defence of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey in a German newspaper. However, Morrissey is usually forgiven (or at least tolerated) thanks to a steady flow of solid, though not impeccable, solo releases and the seemingly endless fountain of goodwill still left over from his Smiths days. His latest album, Low in High School, does little to replenish the well of empathy as it meanders lazily through topical material (the army, the police, Israel, etc) with typically caustic indifference. Morrissey is teetering on the edge of irrelevance (many will argue he’s well past it) and what he does next may determine the rest of his career. Morrissey can alienate fans with outlandish outbursts or with decidedly average new music, but both at the same time is surely too much for even the most forgiving fan. [Lewis Wade] Listen to: Spent the Day in Bed, Home is a Question Mark rrrrr Shite rrrrr Boring rrrrr Solid

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Listen to: World, Keys

RECORDS

Rhyme Watch As we come towards the festive season and everything begins to tie up for the end of term, news on the poetry front becomes less intense in terms of competitions and personal soapboxes

oetry was just made for this time of year. Sure, we want action – but more in the form of a gentle talk, a reading or a fun mixer to get us into the festive spirit. Something to get us bedded down into the indoorsy style of deep-thinking, whether it be in the party spirit or the armchair frame of mind. And fire. Definitely something involving fire. It goes with the territory, after all. The date to put in your diaries, if you haven’t already outlined it in red, is 15 December. Not just one, but two stonking nights of poetry, music and noise are up for grabs, both of which would be a memorable way to start the holidays. In true bombastic fashion, Neu! Reekie!’ are hosting their Xmas Snowblinder, which will be their third appearance at the gorgeous venue of Central Hall, Edinburgh. Early bird tickets have long flown off, but if you hurry you might still book a spot (full price £20). The night will feature top bods from spoken word, music, film and performance, and this year’s line-up is typically eclectic

and tantalising. Music will come in the form of Aidan Moffat, Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison (who’ll be paying tribute to Tom Petty), and the mighty Charlotte Church, who’ll be “debuting a new thing” with her band; Bill Drummond is involved too, although he may be on shoe shine duty. Poetry is also on the menu from Billy Letford, Hollie McNish, Iona Lee and Young Father’s Kayus Bankole, while She-Bang Rave Unit and Dave Hook will keep the party going into the wee hours. All that, plus mulled Buckfast! Meanwhile, at Clydebank Town Hall, Flint & Pitch are hosting their second Winter Revue, hosted by Jenny Lindsay and featuring an eclectic mix of music and spoken word from Alan Bissett, Rachel Amey, Chris McQueer, Miss Irenie Rose and The Strange Blue Dreams. Tickets are £10 (£70 for a group of eight), and it’s going to be glorious. It’s been amazing watching Flint & Pitch steadily flowering to become one of the most exciting ventures on the Scottish poetry scene,

and there’s already a fair bit lined up for the New Year. Watch this space… For people still looking to attend a more academic event before the partying starts, look no further than the keynote address for PEN at the Scottish Poetry Library on 9 December, given by David Pratt, foreign correspondent of The Herald. PEN having defended the rights of self-expression for writers over the past 90 years, the event is in honour of Human Rights Day and looks set to be a thought-provoking and lively evening. The programme will feature readings from leading Scottish writers, and attendance is free, with spaces bookable on Eventbrite. Finally, if you’re still stuck with what to buy the literary-leaning people in your life, it’s always a good idea to check out the talent on the new publications front, just so you don’t fall for getting yet another ‘Best Of ’ anthology – it may be classic, but, as any book hunter knows, ‘classic’ doesn’t always mean satisfying or refreshing. You’ll be

Words: Clare Mulley

glad to know that there are two events to help you choose something more personal. On 12 December, The National Library of Scotland is holding its annual and very successful Poetry Pamphlet Fair, featuring independent publishers from across the nation. As well as browsing and meeting the people behind the businesses, you’ll get to hear some of the poems as well, adding a lovely touch to the experience. The second is the Xmas Discount Shopping Night at the Scottish Poetry Library, on 14 December from 6-9pm. This one pretty much does what it says on the tin. You’ll have the chance to enter a raffle to win some SPL goodies, and there will be an extra bonus surprise on the night. Otherwise, it’s ten percent off everything except sale stock, and an extra 20 percent off for Friends. While you’re at it, buy something for yourself – Christmas only comes once a year, and what better excuse to stock up on new, shiny tomes? Ah, go on. theskinny.co.uk/books

Stage Directions Perhaps understandably, December is panto season in theatre land, but the 12th month brings about a number of really interesting shows across the country, with no dames, no tinsel, and lots of excellent theatre talent

eginning with a visual spectacular in the form of La Clique Noël, the latest circus show from La Clique runs until 6 January at the Festival Square Spiegeltent. This special festive version of the show, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004, features company favourites such as Scotty The Blue Bunny, Heather Holliday, Vicki Butterfly, a live band and special festive guests. Expect comedy, cabaret, circus, burlesque and much, much more. In Cumbernauld, tradition reigns with a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic fable A Christmas Carol at Cumbernauld Theatre. Beginning on 30 November, and running until Christmas Eve, this production, directed by Ed Robson, boasts a cast of just five actors, including Kern Falconer as Scrooge. This month, The Art School in Glasgow plays host to a revival of Liz Lochhead’s Dracula, courtesy of Student Theatre at Glasgow (STAG), the University of Glasgow’s theatre society. Running 4-6 December, and directed by Hanni Shinton, this piece pushes Dracula to the side in order to explore the role of women within the vampire myth, and explores women’s relationship with men and power in wider society, which could not be more relevant for 2017. Moving to Giffnock, The Carmichael Hall is set to present just two performances of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play on Stage. Taking place on 9 December, at 3pm and 7.30pm, this ‘alternative Christmas night out’ from No Nonsense Productions features six actors telling

Review

Words: Amy Taylor

the classic Christmas tale in the style of a 1940s radio play in front of a live audience. Every ticket comes with a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine! Over in Edinburgh, December also marks the premiere of The Sunnyside Centre, the very first full theatre production from Leith’s Village Pub Theatre, and also sees the company work in a new venue, The Hibs Supporters Club, for this new site-responsive work comprised of five small plays. Taking place from 11-14 December (not 13th), this new piece follows a group of people taking shelter after an Earth-jolting event, written by Tim Barrow, Sophie Good, Louise E Knowles, James Ley and Helen Shutt. Continuing on the theme of new work, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre’s How to Disappear, written by Morna Pearson, runs 8-23 December. Directed by Gareth Nicholls, the Traverse’s Associate Director, the play follows the consequences of austerity on agoraphobic Robert (Owen Whitelaw), his sister and carer, Isla (Kirsty Mackay) and their benefits assessor, Jessica (Sally Reid). Staying in Edinburgh, Scottish Ballet returns to the Festival Theatre with that festive favourite, The Nutcracker, which runs 9-30 December, before touring Scotland in the New Year. This version by Peter Darrell is loosely based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a fairytale written in 1816 by German author E. T. A. Hoffmann, which has been adapted several times as a ballet and is recognised as one of the most popular ballets in the world. Cinderella

theskinny.co.uk/theatre

THEATRE / BOOKS

THE SKINNY

December 2017

THE SKINNY

Guest Selector: Edit Select As 2017 draws to a close, esteemed Glasgow DJ and producer Tony Scott – aka Edit Select – shares his pick of the year’s best techno tracks Interview: Claire Francis f there’s anyone who knows their way around a techno tune, it’s Tony Scott. The Glasgow DJ and producer has been a prominent fixture on the scene for years now, having previously released on the Soma label as Percy X back in the 90s, as well as recording under various aliases of Mion, Recycle, and Abyss. This year Slam announced a new and improved series of their famed Pressure events, Maximum Pressure. The first party took place in late October with a Halloween special, and the next Maximum Pressure instalment takes place on New Year’s Day, with another all-star line-up in place for a ten-hour long extravaganza inside SWG3 (including the newly renovated Galvanizers warehouse space). Edit Select forms part of the monster bill, alongside Slam, Alan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Mills, Paula Temple, FJAAK (live), Radio Slave, Dr. Rubinstein, Darrell (Pulse) and Telford. Ahead of the show, Scott has shared his pick of the best techno tracks of 2017, which have been staples of his performances this year.

Amotik – Gora [Figure Jams 001] I played this track in most of my sets this year, slowly bringing it into the mix and letting it create havoc. Photo: Marie Staggat

Edit Select – The Drifter [Modularz] Perhaps my favourite track that I released in 2017 – certainly the most effective. It always kills the floor. Dasha Rush – Black Swan [Sonic Grove] Just class from Dasha – no scene jumping, just sticking to good quality music. I really love this track, especially for warm-up sets.

Oscar Mulero – Form (Kangding Ray Remix) [Warm Up Recordings] Absolutely brilliant remix by Kangding Ray. This is and will be in my box for a long time.

A. Brehme – Insan [Form and Function] Excellent track to start your set or bring in to change direction: simple but nice.

Sigha – Black Massing [Token] Great track from Sigha. Played this everywhere this year; a really intelligent and forward thinking track. I love it.

Phase Fatale – Order Of Severity (Extended Mix) [Hospital Productions] Another artist who has had a sublime 2017. Although I’m not a big fan of harsh abrasive techno, this track really stands out in my sets.

Anthony Linell – Emerald Fluorescents [Northern Electronics] Abdulla Rashim (aka Anthony Linell) perfectly sums up the Northern Electronics sound for me. Such a beautiful piece of music... respect.

Varg – Stockholm City [Northern Electronics] This has been Varg’s year, and hats off, he deserves it. I always mix this track in with something really heavy, like a loop from Cleric, and just create a monster track out of it. Classic. Tadeo – Long Time Ago [Token] When Tadeo makes something good you know all about it. This track gets me every time with the classy strings and excellent production. Edit Select plays Maximum Pressure, SWG3, Glasgow, 1 Jan editselect.net

Uncompromising Eclecticism Ahead of her Scottish debut, London-based selector DEBONAIR opens up about her invigorating, eclectic DJ sets

rom working in a record store as a teenager, to playing an instrumental role in the establishment of East London’s acclaimed underground NTS Radio station, it’s no surprise that selector Debi Ghose – aka DEBONAIR – boasts an expansive knowledge of music. As she explains, “I play broadly because I listen broadly. I come from a radio background – I’m one of the few club DJs that started as a radio DJ beforehand; usually it’s the other way round.” Formerly the Programme Director at NTS, Ghose has scaled down her involvement in the management side of the station in order to focus on her burgeoning DJ career. She still curates a fortnightly show that has gained a near cult following thanks to her eclectic selections, which traverse all manner of genres, from post-punk and vintage electronica to coldwave and Italo-disco. As DEBONAIR, Ghose has also been making her impact on the dancefloor, thanks to her ability to combine on-point track choices into highly energetic, eclectic sets. She will make her Scottish debut on 15 December as part of the Numbers + Warp showcase at Glasgow’s Art School, alongside the likes of SOPHIE, Errorsmith, Yves Tumour, and Minor Science; a group of selectors who have received plenty of critical acclaim this year. “Errorsmith and Yves Tumor particularly, I’m a huge fan of,” enthuses Ghose. “They’re the artists I’d be going to see if I wasn’t on it – they’re always the best gigs. I play lots of different gigs, some of them are quite straightforward [venues]; some of them are in art galleries. I very much enjoy the breadth of those opportunities. When I’m on a line-up like that, it means I can be pushing myself to do something

December 2017

interesting and engaging. And have fun as well as taking lots of risks – I feel like the crowd will be up for it.” Ghose has built her reputation on the back of her broad-ranging tastes and varied, stimulating sets. She explains that her wide-ranging musical palette has been cultivated organically, from listening to various radio programmes as a child, to working in a record store, and holding positions at BBC 6 Music and Resonance FM before becoming involved with NTS Radio at its inception. She cites Veronica Vasicka as a key influence, and singles out Kamixlo, Nkisi and MGUN as artists she admires. One would imagine that such a far-reaching interest in musical genres would be an asset to anyone seeking to carve out a career as a club DJ, but Ghose reveals that her multifarious approach initially drew some criticisms. “If anything, when I was first starting out as a club DJ it certainly wasn’t encouraged,” she says of her diverse DJ sets. “I think it’s only really now that my taste is being trusted more, as my profile gets bigger, and the gigs are going well, and that I’m getting more bookings, basically, and I’m getting the opportunity to play more broadly. “People want to know what you’re going to play, and with me they didn’t. And you know, they never will,” she laughs. “I couldn’t really compromise that, because that’s just very much how I relate to music.” Putting together a dancefloor-friendly set that combines techno and EBM with classic house and Italo-disco, with plenty of unexpected curveballs thrown in for good measure, also requires an intuitive ability to read a crowd. Ghose muses, “I think that’s really a skill, and

when I’m playing in a way I’m seeing how far I can take it. Of course, I’m there to DJ and entertain. I’m not there to weird people out and for them to go home and be really uncomfortable. Once the crowd has loosened up a bit, that’s when I’ll try and throw some more stuff out there... but the room having a good time is bigger than my ego.” While Ghose continues to gain traction on the club floor, she insists that her radio programme is still an essential part of her life. “As time goes on, I realise how distinct the two are to me,” she

CLUBS

Interview: Claire Francis

reflects. “What I probably love most on my show is playing really weird, obscure things I’ve picked up along the way that are very much for radio, and would kill any dancefloor. But obviously when I’m playing gigs every weekend, I’m thinking about tracks for the clubs. But they’re both very much ‘DEBONAIR’ – they’re both very much what I’m about, but two converse sides of the coin.” DEBONAIR plays Numbers + Warp at The Art School, Glasgow, 15 Dec theskinny.co.uk/clubs

Review

The Personal is Political Helen de Main has recently opened the exhibition that has come from a year’s engagement with women in Easterhouse through a consciousness-raising group. She discusses this terminology and the ways this process have changed her own outlook Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf

or over a year, the artist Helen de Main has facilitated a monthly consciousness-raising group (more on this terminology soon) in Easterhouse’s multifunctional learning, cultural and leisure facility, Platform. Until 11 February 2018, Platform will be hosting an exhibition of de Main’s work that has emerged directly from her discussions with the local knitters’ group. De Main describes being introduced to consciousness raising by her partner’s mother, who had run this kind of discussion group for ten years in a small town in semi-rural Derbyshire. “She went to art school and painted for a while, before life took over… It seemed like [activities like the consciousness-raising group] were her way into creativity, these open spaces where she could speak freely with other people. It offered creativity and a huge amount of support as well.” Not having previously heard of consciousness raising, de Main began to read and research the idea. She discovered it had had its heyday in the late 60s and early 70s, and started to sense there was a real value in the kinds of interactions it might foster. One question that came up was, do online forums fulfil this need for sitting together in a circle and taking turns sharing? Not for de Main, who thinks of the importance of the intimacy and general principles of consciousness raising: “go around in a circle, everyone has a turn to speak, don’t interrupt, don’t try and give out advice – which is an interesting one, just to let things sit there, rather than endlessly trying to advise people.” Though it may take many forms, the most simple way of imagining the feminist practice of the consciousness-raising group is a group of individuals sitting together and sharing everyday or past experiences openly in a circle, without

Review

being interrupted. De Main describes this as a “non-hierarchical discussion around things happening in women’s lives,” then projecting from the personal experiences “into more political life, what’s happening more widely,” but always relating it to the experiences discussed rather than allowing for theory to dominate conversation. When the invite from Platform came in 2015, de Main had already started a consciousness-raising group in Glasgow, and spoke about these interests to the Community Engagement Programmer Margaret McCormick. It was then that McCormick introduced de Main to the knitting group that has run for many years in Platform.

“ Don’t interrupt, don’t try and give out advice” Helen de Main

“I just started going along, and they tried to teach me to knit but I was terrible.” It was at this point that de Main asked the woman if they’d be interested in trying the consciousness-raising format of discussion. “They normally sit in the cafe, so I suggested that we could go into another space to have a bit more autonomy and privacy. It wasn’t that I was asking them to expose themselves to me, but I was interested in creating a safe space in which they might want to talk about [more personal subjects].” As conversation progressed, de Main began to appreciate the intergenerational perspective that the range of ages allowed for in the group.

“Six of them are in their 70s, and one of them was just a little older than me. They were all very open, and they all led ordinary but extraordinary lives.” Specifically, motherhood and family life were important bases for bonding. “I have two young kids, and there were lots of things that were resonant to me about the struggles and hardships. I have found myself going back again and again, and thinking ‘What would Jean [longtime member of the knitting group] do?’ They just have such a resilience… They weren’t all friends to begin with but have very much become their own support network.” De Main also asked the women to bring in some photographs, which started a “steady trickle” of photos that she began to scan on Platform’s photocopier. These materials have formed the basis for the current exhibition You Know, Things Like That, which comprises of around ten large- scale digital prints of the women she met in the group. “I’m interested in Platform as a public space, and I’ve made works in the past about introducing pictures of women into public space that are contrary to the usual imagery we are usually exposed to through media and marketing.” For example, as part of the Bloc Billboard project in Sheffield during 2015, de Main incorporated images of an older woman dancing, three women wearing hijabs on a motorcycle and a woman wearing a political placard. In Platform the blown-up images of the women de Main met there are also accompanied by small excerpts from the transcriptions. “It was a hard process to edit down, as we’d covered a whole range of subjects. In my work, I’d used snippets of text before, but [this time] it felt weird to have a pithy bit of text sum everything up… The things I’ve drawn out can be applied to lots of different situations, and hopefully evoke emotions in people

ART

– you can tell that there’s an authentic voice. I’ve selected 25 little sentences that are linking together the images that are on a huge 35 metre wall.” Due to its scale, the work is visible from different vantage points around the library area in Platform. A small series of screenprints on glass to go on the top part of the library space came from one participant bringing in a group of photographs that corresponded almost directly to some of the experiences that had been brought up during the conversation. After speaking to the group about her complicated relationship with her family, the woman brought in a photo album in which there were striking instances of the images illustrating sharply what had been partially addressed: “feelings of isolation, not being part of a larger family group.” De Main goes on, “I found it quite moving, so I made little screenprints of her on her own.” Printed on glass, the image is printed partly on the front then the back. “Different parts of the image operate on different [sides] of the glass. “We spent one of the sessions talking about motherhood, and that’s where I’ve taken most of the text from.” When thinking about the reason for this, de Main considers her own position during the beginning and later sessions. “I literally was pregnant when I first met them, then I came back with a baby, and they made me some lovely knits as well.” So it is that in the background of these images, there are diagrams of knit patterns. It’s a literal reference to the knitters’ group, but also an important symbol for de Main, too. “In their case, I was interested in the way things weave and knit together, the idea of one long piece of thread bringing all these stories and lives. I haven’t attributed one text to any one woman, because it was about that conversation.” You Know, Things like That, by Helen de Main, continues at Platform until 11 Feb

THE SKINNY

This Month in Scottish Art December comes with new markets, events and exhibitions across Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh

Photo: Mareike Tocha

Words: Figgy Guyver

Amanda Ross-Ho, Ausstellungsansicht, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017

Tramway

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Amanda Ross-Ho is best known for scaling-up household objects beyond human proportions in order to provide a ‘sculptural close-up’ of everyday life. So far in her promising career, the LA-based artist has enlarged backpacks and magnified earrings. In her first UK solo exhibition, UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE, 25 gigantic pairs of trousers adorn the wall of the Tramway space. They are inanimate, yet strangely charismatic for chinos. UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE takes its initial cue from the 1936 Charlie Chaplin film, Modern Times, a silent comedy that famously satirises the mundanity of post-recession factory life. Turned out trouser pockets make an obvious allusion to the austerity that has followed the 2008 economic crash. But far from being a slapstick exhibition of easy laughs, Ross-Ho’s

sculptural gestures are dramatic and densely layered, a tragicomedy of things. To slow down and spend some time among the work is to recognise the diagnostic thread that runs through the exhibition. On mirrored tables, neatly organised assemblages hint at the temporal tensions of economic production: repetition, rest, and metabolism. There are clock hands laid out next to five-fingered gloves, 3D printed fabric-eating bugs, and rogue Nike trainers contextualised as sweatshop artefacts. After a while, the whole room starts to feel like an actual factory floor, haunted by a spectral workforce that has clocked off early — or been laid-off entirely. Without being explicitly didactic, Ross-Ho unpicks the hours, days, and lifetimes embedded in objects by their producers, who are overlooked and undervalued in the ebbs and flows of free-markets. UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE is Ross-Ho’s work in its sharpest, most critical form. By all means, turn up for the novelty trousers, but expect to leave thinking about a whole lot more [Jonathan Coward]

Samuel R. Delany

Arika Episode 9: Other Worlds Already Exist Tramway

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Arika Episode 9: Other Worlds Already Exist, a quick-fire, jam-packed event with author and self-styled sexual revolutionary Samuel R Delany as its central speaker unfolds at Tramway between Thursday 16 and Sunday 19 November. The weekend takes the form of various talks, performances, and workshops within the spaces afforded by Tramway and Many Studios. Highlights include writer and poet Jackie Wang’s The Cybernetic Cop, a comedic and at times hard-hitting performative work exploring prison abolition and growing up with violent ‘RoboCop’ toys as a child. Author Huw Lemmey reads excerpts from his new novel Red Tory: My Corbyn Chemsex Hell, which features a darkly hilarious scene blending hallucinatory nightmarish chemsex with contemporary British politics. Black trans feminist writer Kuchenga

December 2017

Photo: Bryony McIntyre

Amanda Ross-Ho

ecember is a busy month for art in Scotland, with events happening alongside ongoing exhibitions in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. If you’re hoping to get into the Christmas spirit, there are fairs a-plenty: take your pick from the offerings at Summerhall, Stills, or House for an Art Lover. Find a full list for Glasgow and Edinburgh theskinny.co.uk/art At Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery, John Akomfrah’s duo of installations, Vertigo Sea (2015) and At the Graveside of Tarkovsky (2012) are on show throughout December. Be sure to visit Vertigo Sea, a crisp collage of the human and the marine, and the former’s cruel exploitation of the latter. In conjunction with the exhibition, Talbot Rice will host two events. On 7 December, Celeste-Marie Bernier will present an informal talk, Power to the Powerless. The discussion will introduce audiences to visual art created by Black British artists working across the Black Diaspora. Talbot Rice will also be hosting a symposium on 3 December entitled Collective Blackness, which will explore the exposure of black film collectives and the influence of consciously black creativity in contemporary cinema. At Fruitmarket, works by Scottish artist Jacqueline Donachie are currently on display. Central to the exhibition are Advice Bar, a freestanding sculpture and meeting point for advice sessions and Temple of Jackie, a camping-trailercome-social-space. In this spirit of participation, Fruitmarket will host a conversation on the theme of Art, Activism and Exchange on 13 December. Fruitmarket’s Iain Morrison will be joined by Consuelo Bassanesi, the Artistic Director of the Rio-based contemporary art centre Despina. Up in Dundee, a pair of exhibitions will open on the 9 December at DCA. Both shows will address curatorial concerns, be it by using the outside world to disrupt the white cube space, or by inviting spectators to become participants. Gallery One will house Fragments, new works by Andrew Lacon. The show will draw on the artist’s journey from Mexico in 2015, during which he transported

is a welcome addition to the programme having been invited back after Episode 8, in which she was an engaging and vocal audience member. This year she continues to cut through assumptions of knowledge with well grounded and insightful comment. Similarly, Robert Softley Gale’s discussions of disability manage to combine radical propositions with an atmosphere of convivial and lively discussion. The line-up is undeniably inspiring, with many interesting and exciting names, yet it features a notable dearth of local talent with only four Glasgow-based artists featured throughout the whole event. These are LAPS (a duo made up of Cassie Ojay and Alicia Matthews), Sgàíre Wood, and Robert Softley Gale. LAPS, on Saturday, perform Every Book is Dead, a smoke-filled, dystopian gig/ spoken word collaboration with queer fantasy fiction author Hal Duncan. On Sunday, the ‘otherworldly’ Sgàíre Wood delivers another dose of the impressively high-energy Celtic lip-sync fantasy that she has become increasingly known for within the Glasgow club scene. Both are highlights offering blessed relief from what at times feels like a heavily academic atmosphere. [James Findlay]

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Mexican pink marble through customs. This initial journey sparked a series of questions concerning the political lives of materials: how they are obtained, appropriated and used, often in locations far from their geographical origin. In Gallery Two, Kate V Robertson will present This Mess is Kept Afloat . The exhibition will also consider characteristics of materials, with particular interest in instability and dysfunction. Using a variety of rectangular forms referencing a cityscape, the artist will play with the appearance of depth. The premiere of Ai Weiwei’s new documentary Human Flow will be streamed live on 4 December at the DCA. Broadcast from the Barbican Milton Hall, Ai Weiwei will participate in a Q&A, moderated by Jon Snow, after the premiere. The new documentary visualises the monumental scale of human migration caused by climate change, famine and war in the C20 and C21. Considering the effects of mass movement such as this, the documentary will question whether our global society will choose fear, isolation and self-interest, or openness, freedom and a respect for humanity. In Glasgow, the New Glasgow Society will host a series of exhibitions throughout December. A highlight on 11 December will be Wet Seat (do not sit), which will open on the Argyle Street space. Featuring work by three fashion and textile students from GSA, the exhibition will include work that challenges the framework and teaching of fashion and textile design. If you’re on the lookout for Christmas gifts, there are art and craft fairs happening across Scotland. Highlights in Edinburgh include the Summerhall Christmas Market on 10 December, and the Stills Christmas Market on 9 December. Over in Glasgow, House for an Art Lover will host its annual Christmas Fayre on 3 December. There are many more events showcasing the best of Scottish art and design across the major cities – find out more on our site. theskinny.co.uk.art

Jacqueline Donachie, Install View

Review

In Cinemas Most Beautiful Island

Happy End

Director: Ana Asensio Starring: Ana Asensio, Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden, Caprice Benedetti Released: 1 Dec Certificate: 18

Director: Michael Haneke Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Fantine Harduin, Franz Rogowśki Released: 1 Dec Certificate: 15

A warped reflection and an almost-voyeuristic montage of attractive young women navigating New York’s busy streets give an appropriately unnerving feel to the first few minutes of Ana Asensio’s directorial debut Most Beautiful Island. They’re perhaps easy to forget with the onset of the central plot but the unease returns with full force by the end of this uneven but steely immigrant drama. Luciana is an undocumented worker in the Big Apple and is played by the director herself. Loosely based on some first-hand experiences, the apparently innocuous narrative begins with various trials facing people in her position, trying to survive outside the system: from an awkward doctor’s appointment to an embarrassing job advertising a fast food restaurant in a chicken suit. She’s something of a beleaguered protagonist and some moments feel more contrived than others, particularly in Asensio’s performance. She’s far more compelling in quieter moments of reflection, where she’s inflected by a past trauma that prompted her flight to the US. Asensio really comes into her own when the film turns dark, however, and suddenly the wayward tone of the opening half focuses, morphing into precise tension. From the moment her friend Olga (Romanova) asks Luciana to take her place at a mysterious job who only employs women ‘like us’, you feel a tightening in the stomach; that Luciana’s desperation for work means she doesn’t flinch at the opportunity only adds to the strain. The nature of the ‘party’ she’s working is replete with distinct horror vibes, but this uses such tropes to subtle effect. The film remains an exploration of what it takes to survive but amplifies the danger via genre conventions. It’s a direct critique of the exploitation and degradation that many women suffer to keep their heads above water. In Luciana’s resolve, Asensio finds her groove both behind and in front of the camera. [Ben Nicholson]

Happy End’s lengthy opening shot is a livestream from a pseudo-Facebook Live video, as a young girl named Eve records her depressed mother at a bathroom sink, shot on her iPhone under unflattering halogen light. It’s an unsettling scene, with morose captions flashing across the screen as the young girl comments on the sadness that surrounds her life. The next thing we see is a static feed from a building site’s CCTV camera showing one wall of a construction as it slowly slumps down, killing several workers. It was rumoured that Happy End was going to explore the refugee crisis, and there are a couple of scenes that nod to this (one painfully awkward moment towards the end of the film particularly), but quite how this relates to technology is never made explicit. The engagement with technology isn’t cheap: Haneke clearly wants to explore how we interact with this media and how it impacts our lives. What dominates, however, is familial dysfunction, as well as Haneke’s other favourite themes: guilt,

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Released by Bulldog Film Distribution

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Happy End

repression, and of course death. Eve, played by Fantine Harduin, is the anchor of the plot, which follows the lives of her bourgeois relatives. These include Anne (Huppert), her stern, elegant aunt and head of the family’s construction company, and Anne’s dysfunctional, alcoholic son, Pierre (Rogowski) – who it turns out is responsible for the construction disaster. They, and the rest of the brood, live in a lavish mansion in Calais and are waited on by Moroccan servants. They have wealth and success, but the

Brigsby Bear

Director: Dave McCary Starring: Kyle Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Andy Samberg Released: 8 Dec Certificate: 15

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Review

Blade of the Immortal

Director: Takashi Miike Starring: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi Released: 8 Dec Certificate: 18

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Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike reaches 100 films to his name with Blade of the Immortal, a characteristically blood-soaked adaptation of a long-running manga by Hiroaki Samura. Pop star turned actor Takuya Kimura plays Manji, a samurai cursed with immortality following a near-death experience in a brutal battle – any life-threatening injuries he sustains, any limbs lost, will heal back up. He gains notoriety over the years, and one day crosses paths with Rin (Hana Sugisaki), whose parents were slain by a group of ruthless master swordsmen. Persuaded to help the young woman achieve vengeance, Manji ends up encountering various other deadly figures along the way to their target. Repetitive by design, Blade of the Immortal ’s (painful) pleasures may outstay their welcome for many thanks to its 140-minute runtime; rather than a streamlined story, the viewing experience is like an evocation of someone bingeing on multiple similar comic issues in one go. That said, an epic multi-character final brawl, akin to the climax of Miike’s 13 Assassins, goes some way to making up for the prior dragging. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Released by Sony

Released by Arrow Films

Menashe

Lu Over the Wall

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Joshua Z Weinstein’s fascinating and intimate portrait of Hassidic Jewish life in Brooklyn is shot-through with a restrained sense of realism, not least from the non-professional cast who make their film debuts here. Menashe Lustig plays the eponymous protagonist, a struggling Orthodox Jew who works in a convenience store and never seems to catch a break from his peers, extended family and his young son (Niborski). Menashe’s brother-in-law Fischel (Falkowitz) roundly mocks him for not being reliable or Orthodox enough and his manager is aggrieved by everything he does. As we slowly learn the details of a sudden tragedy that has befallen Menashe and the reasons why Fischel is sole guardian to his son, our sympathy begins to sink in. Shot in a direct vérité style, with 98% of the dialogue in Yiddish, Weinstein’s film is illuminating in the way that he has pulled back the curtain on a normally guarded community and presents its practices and customs unpretentiously. Lustig elicits a gentle, bittersweet performance, which is even more poignant considering most of the scenarios in the film are autobiographical. [Adam Stafford]

Released by Curzon Artificial Eye

In a year of charming bears lighting up the big screen to varying degrees of success, Brigsby Bear (admittedly of a different breed than Winnie the Pooh or Paddington) comfortably holds its own. It’s a strangely tragic but determinedly hopeful film about the cathartic power of stories and storytelling. This winsome tale from Saturday Night Live’s Dave McCary and Kyle Mooney – who directed and co-wrote respectively – follows James Pope (played by Mooney), who’s rescued by police from an underground bunker where he was unknowingly held captive by a couple he believed to be his parents (Mark Hamill and Jane Adams). Later he learns they kidnapped him as an infant and that the children’s programme that had defined his life, called Brigsby Bear, was a ruse. But as James struggles awkwardly, if earnestly, to adapt to his new life, his obsession with Brigsby only grows until he ropes his new friends and biological family into creating a movie to end the series that shaped him. Brigsby Bear begins a dark, quirky comedy and ends with an unexpected, lingering emotional punch. [Kelli Weston]

Director: Joshua Z Weinstein Starring: Menashe Lustig, Yoel Falkowitz, Ruben Niborsk Released: 8 Dec Certificate: U

Most Beautiful Island

atmosphere is far from joyful, with each inhabitant unhappy for one reason or another. The Austrian’s shtick has not exactly gone stale, but this blend of technology with family strife doesn’t gel thematically. There are still things to recommend in Happy End, particularly the blackly comic tone that should trigger a few guilty laughs, but perhaps it is time for this master director to explore some new territory. [Joseph Walsh]

Director: Masaaki Yuasa Starring: Kanon Tani, Soma Saito, Shôta Shimoda Released: 6 Dec Certificate: PG Reserved teenager Kai spends his time composing music. As he practises one evening, mermaid Lu appears in the water near his home, drawn by the ebb and flow of his looping samples. Soon, they kindle a friendship that will eventually charm Kai out of his shell. The adorable, amorphous Lu can command the power of the ocean. Her father bears a toothy resemblance to Totoro. Kai’s mother is palpably absent. The film’s theme is, in part, environmental. If you’ve seen Ponyo, or any other Ghibli creation, you’ll struggle to resist tallying up similarities. So it’s probably best to judge Lu on its differences. There is both sweetness and originality here; Lu sprouts legs when she hears music. She turns all the town’s abandoned dogs into ‘merdoggies’ so they can have a new life frolicking in the sea. An imaginative animation style flows in freeform between distinct textures. It’s a shame that the plot feels bloated and unresolved, even at almost two hours. Lu Over the Wall will never substitute the beauty or nuance of Miyazaki, but it may just tide you over if you’re suffering from withdrawal. [Kirsty Leckie-Palmer] Released by National Amusements

Released by Vertigo Releasing

FILM

THE SKINNY

Lost in Paris

Pulp

Witchhammer

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Director: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel Starring: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, Emmanuelle Riva, Pierre Richard Released: 4 Dec Certificate: 12 If you thought your last glimpse of Emmanuelle Riva would be as the ailing woman in Michael Haneke’s Amour, then you’re in for a surprise with Lost in Paris. “I have been drinking champagne and making love with handsome men,” the 88-year-old tells the niece who has been frantically searching for her, and that’s not the half of it. Riva is an impish delight in Lost in Paris, not least when she performs a graveyard duet with French comedy legend Pierre Richard. Aside from the addition of these iconic figures, this is more of the same from Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon. This is their fourth feature, and each feels a little bigger and more ambitious than the last, although they are all built around the pair’s distinctive brand of gawky slapstick. They like to create a situation and then squeeze every drop of comedy juice out of it before moving on to the next one, and the narrative they have contrived for Lost in Paris is essentially an excuse to string as many of these set-pieces together as possible. Highlights include a floating restaurant in which all the diners bounce to a musical beat, an awkward case of mistaken identity at a funeral home, and some vertiginous clowning on top of the Eiffel Tower that might remind cinephiles of Harold Lloyd; one of many homages to that bygone age of great screen comedy. If you’ve loved this pair’s previous work then you’ll surely enjoy this one too, but if you’ve never heard of Abel & Gordon before – as is too often the case – then Lost in Paris is a perfect place to start.

Director: Mike Hodges Starring: Michael Caine, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Stander Released: 18 Dec Certificate: 12 A year after creating one of the defining British gangster movies with Get Carter, three Michaels – star Michael Caine, writer-director Mike Hodges and producer Michael Klinger – reunited for another crime picture, albeit with a more comedic tone. Rome-based novelist Mickey King (Caine) – author of trashy bestsellers like My Gun is Long – is approached to ghost write the autobiography of former actor Preston Gilbert (Mickey Rooney), whose on-screen gangster roles were mirrored by off-screen mafia connections. But someone doesn’t want Gilbert to share his story, and King begins to find his commission more bloody and complicated than he expected. Pulp has long existed in the shadow of Carter, which is unfair, as this is a more sophisticated affair. Caine has made so many films, it’s easy to take him for granted, but here he’s at his most hilariously deadpan. Rooney’s natural exuberance is channelled into something more sinister. In fact, Hodges has a knack for intriguing casting: Lionel Stander and film noir icon Lizabeth Scott are similarly inspired choices. Filming took place on Malta, the island’s scuzzy colonial charm the ideal backdrop for a story about people on the make. “It was a ghost town,” says Caine’s King in the Chandleresque voiceover. “Two crossed coffins in the Michelin guide.” The only false note comes from the inclusion of a real-life boar hunt during the closing credits – sickening and unnecessary.

Extras Various, including interviews with Hodges and cinematographer Extras Ousama Rawi. Hodges talks about the genesis of the screenplay, A video essay by Variety film critic Peter Debruge places Abel and partly influenced by the career of mob-connected actor George Raft, Gordon in the burlesque tradition of screen comedy, and there’s an and unsolved Italian murder, the Montesi Scandal. Cinematographer opportunity to see one of the pair’s earliest collaborations, with the Rawi discusses the hazy brown colour palette Hodges wanted; atvery funny 2000 short Walking on the Wild Side. [Philip Concannon] tention to detail even went as far as repainting doors. Interesting fact: JG Ballard was a big Pulp fan, and wrote to Hodges expressing Released by Arrow Video; Lost in Paris is also in selected cinemas from 24 Nov his admiration. [Steve Timms]

Director: Otakar Vávra Starring: Elo Romancik, Vladimír Šmeral, Soňa Valentová Released: Out now Certificate: 15 In adapting Václav Kaplický’s 1963 novel about the 17th century witch trials in northern Moravia, director Otakar Vávra drew upon “authentic court recordings of Inquisition trials” – but admitted that his real inspiration was the Czechoslovak Communist show trials of the 1950s. As such, Witchhammer emerges as an allegory, a film firmly within the lineage of works that use witch hunts as a basis for political commentary, rather than for exploitation thrills (though the film is not without scenes of shocking violence and full frontal nudity, the latter being used to express both the initial sensual innocence and the eventual humiliation of the women under trial). The inquisition begins when a hobbled old woman is caught stealing the communion wafer – she has been told that the Host will help replenish a non-milking cow. An Inquisitor is brought in to crossexamine the woman and root out the witches, but the trial quickly escalates as his desire for wealth and power spirals out of control. If the allegory feels a little thinly veiled at times, the film deserves praise for the clarity, focus and raw power of its storytelling. Extras Released by Second Run in both Blu-ray and DVD editions, the new HD transfer handsomely shows off Josef Illík’s stunning cinematography. Extras include Vávra’s excellent early short The Light Penetrates the Dark (1931), an experimental montage with a rhythm typical of the silent era’s avant-garde. Contextualising Witchhammer are an informative printed essay and video piece, the latter of which compares the film with several other Second Run releases – including four films with which it shares a co-writer, Ester Krumbachová: The Party and the Guests, Daisies, Fruit of Paradise and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. Much like those films, Witchhammer is an essential purchase. [Alex Barrett] Released by Second Run

Released by Arrow Video

Win Mogwai prize package including Hydro tickets, vinyl and photographic prints O

ff the back of their ninth studio album Every Country's Sun, Glasgow rock titans Mogwai play the city's SSE Hydro on 16 December, with support coming from Ride and Scottish Album of the Year winners Sacred Paws. To mark this sureto-be-epic gig, we’ve a package of prizes to give away, each including a pair of tickets to the show. As well as tickets for the gig, five lucky winners will receive a limited edition box set of Mogwai’s new album Every Country’s Sun, which contains the album on CD and heavyweight double gatefold white vinyl, plus a 12" of album demos. In addition, each prize bundle also includes a photographic print of the band by Antony Crook, taken while they were recording the new album at the start of this year.

Win tickets to Nightvision Hogmanay

To be in with a chance of winning one of these Mogwai prize packages, simply head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question: What is the name of Mogwai’s latest album? a) Every Country's Sun b) Some Country’s Sun c) One Country’s Sun Competition closes midnight Sun 10 Dec. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms Tickets for Mogwai’s show at SSE Hydro are available from www.mogwai.co.uk/shows

YE in the capital is the place to be and this year is going to be even more special with arguably one of the best Nightvision Hogmanay line-ups to date. This year's event is happening at The Liquid Room & Warehouse and will feature Groove Armada (DJ set), Joris Voorn, Ben Pearce, Theo Kottis, Jamie Roy and residents, plus local guests TBC. This event sells out every year, and will undoubtedly be the best way to spend New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh! To be in with the chance of winning two VIP tickets for this year’s Nightvision Hogmanay at The Liquid Room & Warehouse (31 Dec, 10pm5am), simply head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question: Where is Theo Kottis from? a) Berlin b) Edinburgh c) Manchester

Competition closes midnight Thu 14 Dec. Entrants must be 18 or over. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. The last entry time is 3AM. VIP tickets include a ticket with speedy entrance and access to VIP areas inside the club (The Liquid Room & Warehouse). Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms For more information and tickets, head to thisisourvision.com

December 2017

DVD / COMPETITIONS

Review

Glasgow Music THE CRIBS KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £25

The Wakefield indie-rockers do their guitar-heavy and frantic thing. QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £69 - £79

Brian May and Roger Taylor continue to fly the Queen banner, with former reality singing contest bloke Adam Lambert in on vocal duties reminding us all why they probably shouldn’t have carried on without Freddie Mercury. SONGHOY BLUES

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £15

Malian powerhouse and top notch cheesers perform tracks from their new album Résistance.

Fri 01 Dec

DANSE MACABRE (TERMINAL GODS)

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £6

Another year, another end-ofyear party. Head to Stereo for a screeching, soaring, drummachine-thumping, cider-blacking gothstravaganza. SHED SEVEN

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £24

The Britpop also-rans revisit their glory days. SAINT ETIENNE

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £25

The 1990-formed English synthpopsters return with their new album, Home Counties. TIJUANA BIBLES (THE DUNTS + VOODOOS)

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £11

Four-piece neo-psychedelic rock’n’roll band from Glasgow. BDY_PRTS

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £10

Electro future-pop songwriting duo and producer partnership from Glasgow. OCEVNS (OSKAR BRAVES + PYRAMIDS)

BROADCAST, FROM 20:00, £6

Anthemic alternative rock band from Glasgow celebrate the release of their next single, Open Arms. JANKA NABAY AND THE BUBU GANG

PLATFORM, FROM 19:00, £7.50 - £10

The undisputed king of bubu’s debut at Platform, accompanied by The Bubu Gang. IRON BASTARDS (FIT TO WORK + ACID CANNIBALS + RAMROD)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

Fast rock’n’roll hardcore punk and heavy vibes. ABBA GOLD – THE CONCERT

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £30

Following two sell out performances at the Royal Concert Hall, ABBA Gold The Concert returns to Glasgow for a Christmas extrABBA-ganza. MARK SHARP

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Mark Sharp launches his latest EP Lost Cause, with an intimate headline show at The Hug And Pint. LEANNE & THE RADIX, AYE N AYE, HECTORRR (AYE N AYE + HECTORRR)

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–01:00, £6

Friday reggae shack lovers special.

Sat 02 Dec THE TWANG

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £21.25

Indie-rockers taking their inspiration from Madchester and Britpop times, showcasing material from their fourth LP.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM (ALUK TODOLO) ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £19.80

American black metal band formed in 2003 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. STILLIA

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £5.50

St Helens-based Stillia are rising fast, with their brand of indie-rock.

Listings

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £15

American indie-rock and folk musician and a member of the Knw-Yr-Own/K Records collective. ALEX CAMERON

MONO, FROM 19:30, £12

Alongside his pal Roy Molloy, the Aussie crooner’s 80s sleaze-pop and wiggly hips make for a thrilling show. THE EVIL USSES (THE GYMNASTIC BAND + NORMAL SERVICE + P6)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS , FROM 20:00, TBC

Bristol based four-piece that play, as they describe, ‘jazzy notrock, post-op pop’. PUMAROSA

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £9

British four-piece painting intense, vivid soundscapes and tapping into visceral feelings of alienation, who released their debut album, The Witch, in May. BELAKO (WEST PRINCES + BLOOD BLOOD + THE PALE KIDS)

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 19:00, £7

Post-punk and electronica mixed with a distinct grunge sound. CHURCH OF CONFIDENCE (FIRE EXIT + TALK OF THE TOWN + THE CUNDEEZ + THE ZIPS)

AUDIO, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Punk-rock band from Berlin. THE CHICKEN SLACKS

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £10

Groovy alt-country/Americana band from East Devon.

FUTURISE (BAD JEFF + EDGAR ROAD)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £10

Three-piece alternative electronic rock band based in Glasgow. ABBA GOLD – THE CONCERT

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £30

Following two sell out performances at the Royal Concert Hall, ABBA Gold The Concert returns to Glasgow for a Christmas extrABBA-ganza. DOREC-A-BELLE

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

The all-female, Inverness fourpiece bring their potent combination of gorgeous harmonies, catchy songs and unique instrumentation to this well-known venue. TECHNOCENTRIC: A NIGHT OF LIVE MACHINES (DUAL SHAMAN + ANOMALOUS)

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £6

The former Funeral For A Friend supports play a solo set in support of debut album Eternity, In Your Arms. HERMITAGE GREEN

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £11

Irish acoustic folk-rockers “playing music and having a good time.” RUN INTO THE NIGHT PRESENTS EMBRACE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 16:00, £5

Ten garage punk rock’n’roll bands strip back their sound for charity.

Mon 04 Dec THE CRIBS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £25

The Wakefield indie-rockers do their guitar-heavy and frantic thing. MOULETTES (RACHEL NEWTON + KATE IN THE KETTLE)

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £14

Renowned for their breathtaking live shows, few bands have the creative range and work ethic of Moulettes. DAN + SHAY (CATHERINE MCGRATH) ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £15

Joining forces just over a year ago, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney have established themselves as one of country music’s most promising duos. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. BOMBADIL

BROADCAST, FROM 21:00, £6

American folk band Bombadil from North Carolina make a stop at Broadcast on their debut European tour.

Tue 05 Dec THE CRIBS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £25

The Wakefield indie-rockers do their guitar-heavy and frantic thing. DESTROYER

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £16.50

13TH NOTE, 19:30–22:45, £2

THE SERIOUS MEN (THE CROSSMAKERS + SELINA HENRIQUEZ)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £3

Expect nagging hooks and insistent choruses from five adults who should know better by now.

NY punk rockers tour in support of the deluxe reissue of their cult album, um, Cult.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £4

Experimental math/post-rock band celebrating their album launch.

GRACEFELL (ALEX MAXWELL + NEON SUICIDE)

Three-piece alternative rock band with undertones of funk and psychedelia.

SCHWERVON! (DJ NEED A STACK (BOB NASTANOVICH) + SAVAGE MANSION) THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8.50

A two-piece American rock band, whose music is an expression of imperfect love through jagged rock minimalism.

Wed 06 Dec

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

STEREO, FROM 19:30, £14

CREEPER

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £15

Birmingham-duo carving out their own niche with their self-dubbed afrobean, mixing afrobeats with their own Caribbean roots.

Sun 03 Dec

The mighty guitarist from 70s rockers The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is back with brand new material and a brand new band.

The Wakefield indie-rockers do their guitar-heavy and frantic thing.

Described as a “one-woman powerhouse” by Radio 1’s Annie Mac, FEMME is the real deal when it comes to unadulterated artistry.

Destroyer plays CCA following the release of his twelfth studio album, ken.

Songs about sex, death, TV, growing old, soul-less wage slavery, suicide, greed, apathy and infidelity.

JAMES KIRBY 13TH NOTE, 19:30–23:00, £15

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

Transylvanian brothers Vio and Dacian make their live UK debut, as well as celebrating ten years of Dual Shaman. DRUNK GODS SINGLE LAUNCH (JIM THREAT + THE VULTURES + THE KAPLANS)

BAYSIDE CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £14

London heartland rock and soul band deliver a magnum opus, Brilliant Light.

FEMME (ELLE EXXE)

KARL BLAU

ZAL CLEMINSON’S SIN DOGS ORAN MOR, FROM 19:30, £12.50

LOTTO BOYZZ

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £9

FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Former Gallows and Pure Love frontman takes to the road with his latest project – expect somewhat of a ruckus.

THE CRIBS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £25

KATEY BROOKS

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £7.05

With her band in tow, Katey Brooks will be playing songs from her new album We The People, along with favourites from her earlier catalogue. GRACE PETRIE PRESENTS A LEFTY CHRISTMAS

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £6

Hailed as the political voice of a generation, singer/songwriter Grace Petrie has emerged in recent years as one of British folk’s most powerful new stars.

Thu 07 Dec MASTODON

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £27.50

Classic and southern-styled rock influences abound as the mighty Atlanta heavy-metallers descend. KERRANG! TOUR 2017

O2 ABC, FROM 18:00, £17.50

Australian metalcore crew The Amity Affliction headline, with support from Welsh post-hardcore crew Casey, high-energy Scottish rockers Vukovi and Blackpool ferocious five-piece Boston Manor. INVISIONS (DEATH REMAINS + RARE BREED + TENEMENTS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £7

Four-piece metal band on tour in support of their debut album, Never Nothing.

GUS HARROWER (AARON SMITH + LISA KOWALSKI)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £6

Gus Harrower takes his infectious sound to The Hug and Pint, with his band.

RCMS PRESENTS XMAS SPECIAL W/ CAULDER (THE PLASTIC YOUTH + PARLIAMO + FACENDO COSE)

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

The three-piece alternative rock band from North Lanarkshire headline this Christmas bash. SLIPPERY NIGHTS PRESENTS DROVES + GENDO IKARI

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

If you are of a nervous disposition then come and test yourself, with some of the finest gut-ripping music you will hear. TONY MORRIS + ALEKS JURCZYK + MURRAY COLLIER

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–00:00, TBC

Experimental and electronic music.

Fri 08 Dec

DIALECTS (FREDDIE QUELL + BISHOP)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

LANY

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Actual good indie pop. Hooky as fuck, upbeat and airy, with lyrics that read like a Californian’s Tumblr feed. (Seriously, their 2016 EP was called ‘kinda’ and featured songs called ‘yea, babe, no way’ and ‘WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS’.)

MESH COLLECTIVE FUNDRAISER (BREAKFAST MUFF + CHUMP + COMFORT + IO PAN + ORDER OF THE TOAD) 13TH NOTE, 19:00–23:30, £0 - £5

A host of bands perform to raise funds going towards setting up a new feminist/queer space. WILD FRONT

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £7

Hampshire four-piece making glistening guitar-pop. THE ODES (TED MILTON + SAM BRITTON) (KÜBLER-ROSS + SUSANNAH STARK)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:30–22:00, £9

A vital, energetic vehicle that pushes the collaborative expeditions ever further, simultaneously adding new work along the way. THE 13TH WAVE (THE SHUGGIE SANDINOS)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £5

Forged in Cathcart, Newton Mearns, Neilston and Shawlands, The 13th Wave have quickly established themselves as one of the most original ‘mid-life crisis bands’ in the Southside. BWANI JUNCTION PERFORM GRACELAND BY PAUL SIMON

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £20

Acoustic singer-songwriter James Kirby performs in Edinburgh as part of his UK tour. NICK HARPER & THE WILDERNESS KIDS

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £12

After a streak of rip-roaring, celebratory shows in 2016, Nick Harper & The Wilderness Kids are back with a new album and UK tour.

Sun 10 Dec DINOSAUR JR

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–23:00, £23.50

One of the most influential alternative rock bands to come out of the 80s, the band have created a style of noise-rock that is instantly recognisable. ROAM

STEREO, FROM 18:30, £10

Pop-punk band from Eastbourne, touring in support of their second album, Great Heights and Nosedives. THE FAMILY SILVER

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £16

Supergroup consisting of former Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene band members have their moment in the limelight. TRAVELLER (MEGAN BLACK)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7

Scottish-based rock band with a wide range of influences and a constantly evolving sound.

ROOTS IN THE ROUND (ROBERT VINCENT + DEAN OWENS + WORRY DOLLS)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £11 - £14

Exhilarating Nashville-style songwriters circle, with some of the UK’s most exciting singer/ songwriters. REGULAR MUSIC PRESENTS: LOW CUT CONNIE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £14

Philadelphia’s premiere rock’n’roll outfit is crossing the Atlantic for the first time for an eight-stop tour of the UK. BLOC+ JAM OPEN MIC

After sell-out shows at last year’s Fringe and Celtic Connections festivals, Bwani Junction return with their joyful rendition of Paul Simon’s Graceland album.

Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests.

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8.50

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–23:00, £23.50

MARK W. GEORGSSON & FRIENDS – A CHRISTMAS CRACKER

Join Mark and his hand-picked collection of friends and musical partners for a special festive show.

Sat 09 Dec

SOUL II SOUL (JAZZIE B + CARON WHEELER)

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £30

Soul-funk legends, best known for Keep on Moving and Back to Life, who have four top ten albums, won two Grammy awards and were nominated for five Brit Awards. THE SLOW READERS CLUB

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

Electro/indie outfit from Manchester, churning out everything from catchy upbeat indie tunes to introspective ballads. ACID REIGN

AUDIO, FROM 18:30, £14

Returning to Glasgow after a blistering set at Lords Of The Land 2017 and a sold out co-headline show with Xentrix at Audio. BRIAN ‘NASHER’ NASH (KATEE KROSS)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £10

Former Frankie Goes to Hollywood guitarist Brian Nash performs his solo material. JW-JONES

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Mon 11 Dec DINOSAUR JR

One of the most influential alternative rock bands to come out of the 80s, the band have created a style of noise-rock that is instantly recognisable. ONE OK ROCK

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £26.50

Japanese rockers, whose name comes from one o’clock, the time that the band used to practice on weekends. Simple but efficient. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. BLOCHESTRA CHRISTMAS LIVE

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Our mini orchestra provide an uplifting evening of Christmas covers, contemporary classics and more.

MEZCLA + OXTERED TO THE BOTHY

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS , FROM 19:30, £6

Two genre-spanning bands from Glasgow’s ever intertwined jazz and folk scenes.

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £7

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £10

JESCA HOOP

Award-winning, Glasgow-based five-piece rock band, celebrating the release of their new EP.

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £12.50

Manchester-based, Californiaborn songstress rich with layered harmonies, cavernous production and slow, sombre seduction. DEATHKILL 4000

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Ultra-cutting edge dark electro, hip-hop and post-punk.

DIVIDES EP RELEASE SHOW

ABBA GOLD – THE CONCERT

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £30

Following two sell out performances at the Royal Concert Hall, ABBA Gold The Concert returns to Glasgow for a Christmas extrABBA-ganza.

Progressive power pop from three of Glasgow’s local talent.

TEXTURE (ASTHMATIC ASTRONAUT + FUTUROLOGY) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, £3 - £5

Bram E. Gieben, aka Texture, launches his new solo album, Elevate, with a raucous live set fusing psychedelic futurist hiphop, grunge and deep electro. PETE TONG PRESENTS IBIZA CLASSICS

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £35 - £65

Anthems of the Balearic Isles are performed by The Heritage Orchestra, conducted by Jules Buckley, with special guests Candi Staton, John Newman and Jessie Ware. WITHERED HAND (SOLO)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 20:00, £11

Edinburgh DIY folk-rock troubadour Dan Willson plays a special solo show. YEAHRS (GER) + DTHPDL + PALE YOUTH

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Anthemic, glorious shoegaze courtesy of the German outfit.

PURE BANGIN’ (SAMBAYABAMBA TUITION SHOWCASE BAND)

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–22:30, FREE

Performance stemming from thirteen weeks rehearsals and tuition.

Thu 14 Dec EXTREME

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £30

The veteran rockers play their critically acclaimed Pornograffitti LP live and in its entirety, alongside some of their biggest hits outside of the record. COG PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: EMMA RUTH RUNDLE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £12

LA-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and visual artist, formerly of the Nocturnes. OLD HAIR XMAS PARTY

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS , FROM 20:00, TBC

Join Guttersnipe + Smack Wizards for a Christmas party at The Old Hairdressers. NO ONE KNOWS PRESENTS APOLOGIES, I HAVE NONE + KAMIKAZE GIRLS

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

The melancholic, punk-influenced quartet bring their impressive live show to Bloc.

Fri 15 Dec

HIT THE ROAD (BELLAROSE + THE 101 + LAST LIGHT)

Scottish new-wave popsters who have been around for a good three decades, celebrating the anniversary of their eponymous album with a double-dater. CHRISTMAS CAROUSAL

PLATFORM, FROM 19:00, £7.50 - £10

Glasgow’s most unique festive gig returns this year with headliner Malcolm Middleton, MC Almond Milk and Jo Mango. FREAKENDER PRESENTS: NEW CANDYS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £7

Big Freakender faves from Venice make a welcome return to Glasgow, in support of their new album Bleeding Magenta. P.O.S (MARIJUANA DEATHSQUADS)

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £12

Doomtree co-founder, Stefon Alexander is known for welding hiphop with guitar squalls, screamed vocals, and futuristic beats. FRIENDLY FIRE BAND (TOMLIN MYSTIC + MYKI TUFF + ESCAPE ROOTS)

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–01:00, £8

Live reggae with DJ support.

Sat 16 Dec MOGWAI

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £32.50

With a virtual musical tome of beautifully-crafted post rock at their disposal, the mighty Mogwai mark both the approach of their 20th birthday and the release of their new LP. Part of Celtic Connections. AMY MACDONALD

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £25

The Bishopbriggs lass hits the road for her first UK tour in four years. CHINA CRISIS

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £17.50

After sell out tours of the UK and America in 2015 and 2016, China Crisis return in support of their new album Autumn in the Neighbourhood. THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £15

Longstanding London-based folkrock crew in a re-jigged guise, but still featuring founding members Phil Odgers and Stefan Crush on lead vocals and guitar. DREADZONE

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £19

One of the most energetic, exciting and powerful live bands to emerge from the post-rave scene released a brand new album Dread Times earlier this year. HIPSWAY

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £25

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £3.84

Scottish new-wave popsters who have been around for a good three decades, celebrating the anniversary of their eponymous album with a double-dater.

AMY MACDONALD

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, FREE

Youth music touring project for 14-19 year old musicians based in Scotland, funded by Creative Scotland YMI Fund and PRS for Music Foundation. BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £25

The Bishopbriggs lass hits the road for her first UK tour in four years. STEVE PILGRIM

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

DOC BROWN

English comedian/actor returns to his roots, showcasing songs from his highly anticipated forthcoming album, Stemma.

Best known as drummer for The Stands, Paul Weller and John Power, this is a rare opportunity to see an acoustic solo show from Steve Pilgrim.

SILVERSTEIN

Canadian blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Cleveland indie band touring in support of their fourth full length release, Life Without Sound.

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £5

HIPSWAY O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £25

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £14

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–23:00, £15

CLOUD NOTHINGS (THE HOTELLIER)

BIG HOGG (ROCKET REDUCER + YOUTH OF AMERICA)

Tue 12 Dec The melodic punk group with over one million album sales to their name return to the UK.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £12.50

Wed 13 Dec

YAWNING MAN (BACCHUS BARACUS)

American experimental rock band from La Quinta, California, noted to be one of the first influential bands in the desert rock scene. DRAWS CREATURE MASK + RYDER THE EAGLE (FRA) + WHITE BAER

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Perth quintet combining indie-rock and folk with added classical gusto.

THE SKINNY

GERRY CINNAMON BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £22

The Glasgow singer plays his biggest headline show to date. HONEYBLOOD PRESENT – HAVE YOURSELF A HONEYBLOODY CHRISTMAS

O2 ABC, FROM 18:00, £13

The Spook School, Man of Moon and The Ninth Wave join Honeyblood in celebrating Christmas a few days early. BOB CUBA

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

Power-poptastic Bob Cuba return after ten years, in their spiritual home of Nice ‘n’ Sleazy. ROCK’N’ROLL CHRISTMAS WITH DAVE ANDERSON & FRIENDS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

Rock around the Christmas tree to songs from some of the greats of rock’n’roll.

RASCALTON (DEAD PRETTIES + PLEASURE HEADS) STEREO, FROM 19:00, £8

After their packed out show at Electric Fields, the Glasgow four-piece take their no-nonsense punk-rock aggro flare sound around the country.

FREAKENDER MEGA XMAS PARTY (SWEATY PALMS + LYLO + WOMENSAID + KAPUTT) THE FLYING DUCK, 20:00–04:00, £6

Freakender take over two stages at the Flying Duck to bring you a festive treat and their brand of full blown party action. THE HIGH FLIGHT (LIVE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

A fabulous selection of poetry and music.

Sun 17 Dec RM HUBBERT

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £15

DEATH HAGS BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, FREE

L.A-based French musician Lola G’s new project, that she likes to think of as ‘fuzzy doom pop echoing in the desert, traveling between worlds.’

Tue 19 Dec

ELIZA CARTHY AND THE WAYWARD BAND

SAINT LUKE’S, FROM 19:30, £20

The award-winning Scottish folkie, currently breathing new life into the genre, fronts her own 12-piece supergroup. STRATA

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Enter a world blending minimalism, groove, and unhinged free improvisation. Think Steve Reich meets Zu, and The Thing. JA LIVE PRESENT: UMBONGO NAMBARRIE (HECTORRR)

The Glasgow guitarist writes music about love, death, friendship, mental illness and occasionally a dog called D Bone.

A beautiful tropical blend of reggae, ska, rocksteady, dub and calypso music.

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £23.50

Wed 20 Dec

GOGOL BORDELLO

Gypsy punk ensemble from the suitably cool streets of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, riding along on frontman Eugene Hutz lead vocals and twirly moustache. FREAKENDER PRESENTS: TRACY BRYANT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

QUEER THEORY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

A queer cabaret show including live music, drag, poetry, comedy and performance art. TONGUE TRAP SPRING PERIOD EP LAUNCH (CRYWANK)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £5.50

Ex-Corners frontman plays Glasgow for the first time, in support of his new album, A Place for Nothing And Everything in its Place.

Glasgow band making grungy riffs, celebrating the release of their new EP.

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

A special evening with the return of one of Edinburgh’s finest bands, Vasquez.

BLOC+ JAM OPEN MIC

Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests.

A POP FAN’S DREAM: XMAS PARTY (DUGLAS T. STEWART + THE JUST JOANS + THE HECTOR COLLECTORS + COLIN’S GODSON + LITTLE LOVE AND THE FRIENDLY VIBES + POPART COMEDY) STEREO, 16:00–23:00, TBC

An all extended Christmas party event featuring top pop stylings and festive frolics.

Mon 18 Dec

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

CLEFT FUNDRAISER (VASQUEZ + BRITNEY + ADULT FUN)

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Thu 21 Dec PRONTO MAMA

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £10

Post-modern, bug-eyed beatnik group from Glasgow, who believe irreverent wordplay, clean musicianship and a dirty dedication to songwriting is how you do it. FISH

O2 ABC, FROM 18:30, £27.50

The group head out on their farewell to childhood tour.

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £37.50

SKANDAL (WATCHER’S GUARD + THE RHUBARB + JUNIPER GRAVE)

THE BLAS COLLECTIVE

London-based doom’n’roll band bring their finely crafted riffs to Scotland for the first time.

Melodic rock machine from Las Vegas, with hefty heavy metal stylings. BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Celtic Connections glitterati perform a night of inspiring covers, originals and classics. BOYZLIFE

O2 ABC, FROM 19:30, FREE

Brian McFadden from Westlife and Keith Duffy from Boyzone join forces to celebrate the success of each of their chart-topping bands. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free.

December 2017

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, TBC

FLEMBOT (INNES WATSON + TUNER)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7

Groove-jazz collective from Glasgow.

REPEATER PRESENTS PINACT + CODIST

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Delighted to have the Glasgow punk band return with their major melodic songwriting gifts and sonic sludge.

Fri 22 Dec

JOE STRUMMER TRIBUTE NIGHT

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £10

Annual fundraiser with various bands paying tribute to the late, great Joe Strummer. All proceeds go to the Strummerville charity.

SCOTTISH FICTION PRESENTS: FOREIGNFOX (MT. DOUBT + ACRYLIC + ANNIE BOOTH + MONEY INC.) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–01:00, £8

Scottish Fiction throw a big ol’ party at The Hug & Pint, showcasing all their wee label has to offer. THE ABSOLUTE JAM

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Tribute band capturing the authentic raw energy and sound of The Jam’s early punk roots. GATSBY SPEAKEASY

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–01:00, TBC

A 20’s styled party with live entertainment and dancing.

Sat 23 Dec HAPPY MONDAYS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £29.50

Bez, Gary Whelan, Mark Day, Paul Davies, Paul Ryder, Rowetta and Shaun Ryder take to the stage to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Happy Mondays. VIGO THIEVES

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £12

Wishaw alternative indie quartet, rich with synthesizers and emotionally-charged vocals, hopefully still riding high on the fact John-bloody-Leslie was in one of their first videos. GERRY CINNAMON

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £22

The Glasgow singer plays his biggest headline show to date. ROCK’N’ROLL CHRISTMAS WITH DAVE ANDERSON & FRIENDS

Thu 28 Dec STRETCHED

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

The secret meeting place of contemporary jazz-enthused savants.

THE HONEYMOON PERIOD: GHOSTS ALBUM LAUNCH

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Album launch night for Glasgow/ Berlin electro folk pop trio, also featuring the return of no wave glitter rock exponents, Bite.

Fri 29 Dec DEAD HOPE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

Three-piece post-punk band from Glasgow, touring in support of their debut album, Songs from the Second Floor.

TAYLOR SWIFT CELEBRATION NIGHT

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £10

Lisa Kowalski brings together an array of talented Scottish artists to showcase Taylor Swift’s songs old and new.

Sat 30 Dec

MASSAOKE - MOCKMANAY PARTY

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, FREE

Edinburgh Music Fri 01 Dec ABSOLUTE BOWIE

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £15

Europe’s favourite Bowie tribute act takes you on a musical journey through the ever-changing phases of his music and fashion, with incredible attention to detail. DIAMOND HEAD

LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00, TBC

One for the metal heads. REBEL WESTERNS

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, TBC

The Edinburgh-based alt-pop band gained a massive momentum in 2016, which they have capitalised on this year.

TONGUE TRAP SPRING PERIOD EP LAUNCH

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glasgow band making grungy riffs, celebrating the release of their new EP.

Join singalong sensation Massaoke for a legendary Mockmanay party, with all the glamour, glitter and fun of New Year’s Eve but less of the hassle.

NEHH PRESENTS... COLD TURKEY (SCOTT HUTCHISON (FRIGHTENED RABBIT) + WITHERED HAND + HOLLIE MCNISH + MICHAEL PEDERSEN)

Sun 31 Dec

Cold Turkey is the debut outing of what may or may not evolve into an international touring show.

CLUB NOIR PRESENTS MOULIN NOIR - NEW YEAR’S EVE BURLESQUE O2 ABC, FROM 21:00, £22

Don’t miss out on the last ever Club Noir show, going out with bang on New Year’s Eve. Expect lots of glitter and show-stopping performances. SAINT LUKE’S NYE PARTY W/ ITCHYCOO PARK

ST LUKE’S, FROM 20:00, £7

A 60’s-themed NYE party at St Luke’s. BLOCMANAY

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

A special night of secrets and suprises.

NYE 2017 (HAPPY MEALS + LOOSEN UP DJS)

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £15

Sonic voyagers, Happy Meals play live plus Loosen Up DJs provide the fun to take you through NYE.

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

Rock around the Christmas tree to songs from some of the greats of rock’n’roll. SONGWRITERS CIRCLE: MICK HARGAN (KATEE KROSS + PANIC ANCHOR + CHRIS JONES + UP IN SMOKE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Three successful singer songwriters, three different personalities, one great concert. THE KUNDALINI GENIE ALBUM LAUNCH

BROADCAST, FROM 19:30, £5

The Kundalini Genie invite you to join them for a night of Christmas debauchery as they launch their debut double album, Reverberation.

Sun 24 Dec

SONGWRITERS CIRCLE: MICK HARGAN (KATEE KROSS + PANIC ANCHOR + ANDREW NICOL + LYNZIE DRAY)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Three successful singer songwriters, three different personalities, one great concert. BLOC+ JAM OPEN MIC

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

SUMMERHALL, 20:00–23:00, £15

Sat 02 Dec

THE YOUTH AND YOUNG

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £6

Taking the energy of Celtic rock and marrying it to the exuberance of modern Scottish indiefolk. BDY_PRTS (WUH OH)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

Electro future-pop songwriting duo and producer partnership from Glasgow. THE FILTHY TONGUES

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £11.50

Alternative rock group from Edinburgh. RATTLED AND HUMMIN’

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £7 - £9

Scottish tribute to one of the world’s biggest bands, U2.

ORKESTRA FIESTA: CAFE CABARET

SUMMERHALL, 12:00–16:00, £4 - £8

To celebrate the end of a joyous 14 years as a performing band, Edinburgh’s Orkestra del Sol present a Summerhall all-dayer.

VEGAS! THE CHRISTMAS PARTY (FRANKIE SUMATRA + BUGSY SEAGULL + NIKKI NEVADA + THE VEGAS SHOWGIRLS) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–01:00, £9

Celebrating 14 joyous years of big-hearted, sun-soaked music, ridiculous stage antics and a penchant for polkas.

Sun 03 Dec

EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB (JW JONES + DANA DIXON BAND)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–01:00, £13

A Social Enterprise established to harness popular support for regular blues events in Edinburgh.

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Mon 04 Dec

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £6

STILLIA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Wed 27 Dec

St Helens-based Stillia are rising fast, with their brand of indie-rock.

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £22.50

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Tue 05 Dec

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–01:00, £14

London heartland rock and soul band deliver a magnum opus, Brilliant Light. PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 18:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke.

Wed 06 Dec LIONHEART (AIRRACE)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £14 - £16

A night of great rock, with a selection of rock legends, including Dennis Stratton from Iron Maiden.

Thu 07 Dec

NODENS ICTUS (OVERSOUL + SILAS NEPTUNE + KEEPERS BREW)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £14 - £17

Ozric Tentacles members’ take their new project on the road. WILD FRONT

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, TBC

Hampshire four-piece making glistening guitar-pop.

Fri 08 Dec

THE QUIREBOYS (THE GLORIA STORY)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £17 - £20

Another night of acoustic classics from the legendary rock band.

INDIGO VELVET (THE VEGAN LEATHER + SCRUFF OF THE NECK)

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £8

Tropical-pop quartet from Edinburgh.

THE ALIBIS (FIGHT ROBOTS FIGHT)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–22:30, £4 - £5

To see off the end of a busy year of songwriting, the band will be showcasing some new material alongside old favourites. JAMES KIRBY

ASSEMBLY ROXY, FROM 20:00, £15

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 18:00, £15

Thrash and metal extreme night.

Live hardwire jams, boogie, funk & party vibes for post Christmas LOLs.

The mighty guitarist from 70s rockers The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is back with brand new material and a brand new band.

SUMMERHALL, 19:00–01:00, £14

ORKESTRA DEL SOL – THE FINAL SHOW

Tue 26 Dec

HANDPICKED CASSETTE TAPES

ZAL CLEMINSON’S SIN DOGS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–01:00, £12

Acoustic singer-songwriter James Kirby performs in Edinburgh as part of his UK tour.

DEFACER (ENDLESS SWARM + BURT WARD + SKELPED + INSUFFERABLE + A SHOWER EH CUNTS)

An evening of Spotify playlists from one of Glasgow’s most respected DIY labels.

The MOBO winner and international dancehall star brings his live tour to Bongo.

Scotland’s award-winning retro club night presents an evening of cocktails and cool, showgirls and swing and roulette and romance.

Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests. GOLD MOLD DJ SET

WINTER REGGAE FEVER W/ GYPTIAN THE BONGO CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

MARK LANEGAN BAND

American alternative rock musician, currently on tour in support of his latest album, Gargoyle.

Sat 09 Dec DOORS ALIVE

The number one tribute band to the legendary 60s Californian rock gurus. BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT

NORDOFF MUSIC THERAPY SCOTLAND: HOLOCAUST (SPLINTERED HALO + SAPIEN) BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

A night of metal for a great charity.

MEDICINE MEN + AURORA BLUES (THE PALMIROS + FORREST CAN’T RUN) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

An amazing night of live music in the Capital.

Sun 10 Dec

OPEN MIC (JED POTTS + THE HILLMAN HUNTERS)

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

Great music all day for free.

THE EXPLOITED (BILLYCLUB + CRITIKILL)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00, TBC

Punk legends The Exploited come to the halls of La Belle Angele for a one-off home town show. HEADLESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, FREE

The Edinburgh-based rock/ pop covers band play a mixture of classic rock and up-to-date pop, mixing faithful renditions with alternative takes on classic songs. OTHERKIN

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £7

For fans of VANT, Alvvays and Black Honey. BEN HAENOW

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 21:00–01:00, £14

Croydon-born winner of The X Factor in 2014. NIKNAK PRESENTS: KOMODO KOLEKTIF

PARADISE PALMS, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Expect to be utterly entranced by the elastic, gamelan synth works of these Glasgow multiinstrumentalists.

Tue 12 Dec

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke.

Wed 13 Dec YAWNING MAN

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

American experimental rock band from La Quinta, California, noted to be one of the first influential bands in the desert rock scene.

Thu 14 Dec PRONTO MAMA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10

Post-modern, bug-eyed beatnik group from Glasgow, who believe irreverent wordplay, clean musicianship and a dirty dedication to songwriting is how you do it.

THE WILDHEARTS ACOUSTIC (GINGER & CJ) BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £15

A selection of The Wildhearts greatest hits played acoustically.

Fri 15 Dec

SAINTS OF ARCADIA (THE DROP)

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £5

An eclectic rock band from the frozen north, with ideas far above their station. FLEETWOOD MAC’S ‘RUMOURS’: PERFORMED BY THE TRANSATLANTIC ENSEMBLE

SUMMERHALL, 19:00–23:00, £18.50 - £20

Transatlantic Ensemble are at last coming to Edinburgh, performing Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours live and in its entirety. FRANK SATAN & HIS HUSBANDS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Back in Edinburgh for a full show, playing a mix of original material and twisted classics.

BRAW GIGS XMAS BASH AT HENRY’S CELLAR BAR (GUTTERSNIPE + JOANNE ROBERTSON + CITY VEGETABLES + FORDELL RESEARCH UNIT + BLANCK MASS (DJ SET))

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 21:00–03:00, £7

Sack off the office party and come on down and get eggnogged AF at this yuletide event of the season. RASCALTON (DEAD PRETTIES + CHEAP TEETH)

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £7

After their packed out show at Electric Fields, the Glasgow fourpiece take their no-nonsense punk-rock aggro flare sound around the country.

Sat 16 Dec

WOLFSBANE (TANTRUM)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £13 - £15

UK rock legends return for a one-off Scottish show.

HIT THE ROAD (BELLAROSE + THE 101 + LAST LIGHT) THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £5

Youth music touring project for 14-19 year old musicians based in Scotland, funded by Creative Scotland YMI Fund and PRS for Music Foundation. THE FESTIVE FROLICS CABARET SHOW AND DINNER

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–01:00, FREE

The cabaret show that adds that extra sparkle to your Christmas, delivering the best in cabaret entertainment. GIRLS ROCK SCHOOL EDINBURGH SHOWCASE (SCRAGFIGHT + GRSE GRADUATE BANDS)

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £3 - £5

The grassroots music school for women have their end-of-term gig, featuring self-proclaimed retired, feminist, ninja band Scragfight. FRANKLY, THE SMITHS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Prepare for an eclectic mix of Smiths classics and fan favourites, courtesy of this highly acclaimed tribute act.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–01:00, £12

Rod Thomas, born in Wales and based in both London and New York, formed Bright Light Bright Light in 2010 and has since released three LPs: 2012’s Make Me Believe In Hope, 2014’s Life is Easy and Choreography. HIPSWAY

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:00, £25

Scottish new-wave popsters who have been around for a good three decades, celebrating the anniversary of their eponymous album with a double-dater. TRUE SOUL

WEE RED BAR, 20:00–03:00, £10

Seven hours of quality soul. RYAN MCMULLAN

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £12 - £14

Portaferry’s young answer to Foy Vance has an ample sleeve that he has acoustically displayed his heart on.

Listings

KID CANAVERAL’S CHRISTMAS BAUBLES VIII (GIRL RAY + THE SURFING MAGAZINES + KID CANAVERAL + HQFU + EMMA KUPA) SUMMERHALL, 14:00–01:00, £15

Kid Canaveral celebrate five years of their Christmas baubles, with live music and DJs across multiple rooms.

LITTLE LOVE & THE FRIENDLY VIBES FESTIVE SHINDIG (FISTYMUFFS + FAST GIRLS + THE COSMONAUTS + STEPHEN MCLAREN) LEITH DEPOT, 19:00–23:30, £3.73

Little Love & The Friendly Vibes celebrate the release of their Christmas EP with a Merry Shindig, featuring a host of magical bands.

Sun 17 Dec

OPEN MIC (CRANACHAN)

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

Great music all day for free. AYNSLEY LISTER (CRAIG BORLAND)

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £14

Blues-rock guitarist, delivering contemporary songwriting fuelled with heart and soul. MOULETTES

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £14

Renowned for their breathtaking live shows, few bands have the creative range and work ethic of Moulettes.

Mon 18 Dec

BEASTO BLANCO (BLACK MARKET TYRANTS)

Tue 26 Dec

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED: XMAS EDITION

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:00, FREE

Special Christmas unplugged sets.

Wed 27 Dec

RAB HOWAT BAND - FESTIVE PARTY

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, FREE

Our resident party band give us a Christmas special.

Sat 30 Dec BAD MANNERS

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £22

English two-tone and ska band, led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel.

Sun 31 Dec

JED POTTS & THE HILLMAN HUNTERS

BANNERMANS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with a twist of rock and blues.

VEGAS! THE GRAND HOGMANAY BALL (FRANKIE SUMATRA + BUGSY SEAGULL + NIKKI NEVADA + THE VEGAS SHOWGIRLS)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 21:00–01:00, £25

Scotland’s award-winning retro club night presents an evening of cocktails and cool, showgirls and swing and roulette and romance. beatnik group from Glasgow, who believe in irreverent wordplay, clean musicianship and a dirty dedication to songwriting.

Dundee Music

Glasgow Clubs

Fri 15 Dec

Sat 17 Dec

VICE SQUAD

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

UK punk band, featuring legendary punk vocalist and writer Beki Bondage.

Sat 16 Dec

THE SCOTTISH PINK FLOYD

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

Scotland’s most exciting Pink Floyd tribute band.

Sun 17 Dec

PRE PRODUCTION PRESENTS: THE BOO HEWERDINE BAND

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 19:00–22:30, £12

Former Bible frontman, and one of the UK’s most respected songwriters, Boo Hewerdine returns with a full band to play his new studio album, Swimming in Mercury.

Thu 21 Dec

BEASTO BLANCO (RICHY NEILL + THE REINFORCEMENTS)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £15 - £18

A party night of glam-rock and 70s disco, with live music from The Time Bandits and DJ kit. All ticket proceeds are in aid of Tayside Cancer Support. TARGET 5

Aberdeen-based MOD tribute band, playing classic MOD revival and 60’s MOD tunes.

Sun 24 Dec

PRE PRODUCTION PRESENTS: XMAS WITH HARD RAIN

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 19:00–22:00, £5

Wed 20 Dec

Playing some of Bob Dylan’s Greatist Hits live with some added Xmas tinsel.

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £20

Tue 26 Dec

Round two from Chuck Garric & co. ULI JON ROTH

Widely recognized as perhaps the single most important protagonist of neo-classical guitar playing, Uli is seen by many as a trend-setter who has often been considerably ahead of his time.

Fri 22 Dec

ANGELIC UPSTARTS (THE MEDIA WHORES)

SMASH CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £10

Two excellent bands with antitory, anti-austerity lyrics and anger.

TYLA’S DOGS D’AMOUR (THE MAIN GRAINS + POWDERKEG)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:00, £14

Special Christmas date from this legendary act. THE APPLEBEGGARS CHRISTMAS PARTY (DAVY SLOAN + THE RATTLERS)

THE CAVES, 20:00–01:00, £13

Duo Kenny Herbert and Rab Howat write melodic and heartfelt songs, full of classic harmonies.

BOO HOO HOO CHRISTMAS PARTY (AVA LOVE + BOOHOOHOO) THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, TBC

BooHooHoo are doing it live, this time because it’s Christmas.

Sat 23 Dec PARTY FEARS THREE

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £12

One of the UK’s leading and most highly-respected 80s covers bands, celebrating the era’s music and sounds. DELUDED BUDDHAS

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, FREE

Final show of the year from local rockers. GRANT HART TRIBUTE NIGHT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

A tribute to Grant Hart of Husker Du, featuring members of Part Chimp and a host of other musicians, with proceeds going to the Grant Hart Foundation.

Sun 24 Dec

CLAUDE SPEEED (SEVENDEATHS + TONY JAGUAR)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Claude Speeed, formerly of prognoise act American Men headlines this LuckyMe hosted live showcase.

HARSH TUG

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Hip-hop and R’n’B to the extreme. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £4 - £6

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £7

Tue 19 Dec

Fri 01 Dec

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 19:30–22:45, £5

PURE GRIEF + DONNIE WILLOW

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Your second ALFOS of 2017, and it’s their Summer break up party. Breaking up is hard to do, but Andrew & Sean will see you through.

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Sat 23 Dec

A co-headline show from two of Scotland’s brightest rock bands that is sure to set the venue alight.

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £9

70S PARTY NIGHT WITH THE TIME BANDITS

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £15 - £18

Round two from Chuck Garric & co.

A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE (ANDREW WEATHERALL + SEAN JOHNSTON)

PRE PRODUCTION PRESENTS: THE LEVEE BREAKERS

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 19:00–23:45, £10

An unashamed celebration of some the best rock music ever written, by the greatest rock band of all time, Led Zeppelin.

Wed 27 Dec

COME TOGETHER - BEATLES NIGHT WITH RINGER & TRIPPER LIVE

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 19:00–23:45, £7

An evening dedicated to the music of the fab four, with live sets from local legends Ringer and Tripper.

Thu 28 Dec

THE COMPLETE STONE ROSES

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £18.50

The UK’s most well known, most seen and most successful Stone Roses tribute band, selling out venues across the UK and Ireland regularly.

Fri 29 Dec AC/DC UK

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £12

Europe’s premier tribute to AC/DC.

Sat 30 Dec WHO’S NEXT

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

Europe’s premier tribute to The Who

Sun 31 Dec

THE HOGMANAY HOOLIE WITH TRIPPER

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, 20:00–02:30, £5 - £10

Enjoy a buffet, live music from the mighty Tripper, party tunes from DJ Kit Clark and a piper at the bells.

FRIDAY NIGHTS

I LOVE GARAGE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

Garage by name, but not by musical nature. DJ Darren Donnelly carousels through chart, dance and classics, the Desperados bar is filled with funk, G2 keeps things urban and the Attic gets all indie on you. ROYALE SATURDAYS

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £8

Resident DJ Bobby Bluebell plays a mix of chart and electro. SATURDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

Nick Peacock, Alex O and John Ross spin a Saturday-ready selection of Northern soul and 60s and 70s hits. LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... DEKMANTEL SOUNDSYSTEM

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 - £12

Curators of some of the finest parties ever to happen and two of the best selectors the Netherlands have to offer hit La Cheetah with the ‘all night long’ treatment. LITTLE THOUGHTS INDIE XMAS DISCO

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £3 - £5

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing (as one might expect) cheesy classics of every hue.

Indie anthems and more.

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

A special five-hour set from the resident discotheque Grandmaster.

TRAX

DJ Daryl kicks off the first weekend of the month, spinning hip-hop, grunge, trap and dance tunes. FRIDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

A selection of funk and soul and 60s and 70s hits. FRESH! FRIDAYS

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £6

Resident DJ John McLean brings you the biggest tunes and best deals to make your weekend one to remember. LT #2 (BLOOD MUSIC + ELLE ANDREWS + RIBEKA)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 - £7

Blood Music Presents T.V. Peace, in response to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s TV War (1985). ADAM BEYER & SLAM

SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, £16 - £20

Slam play with another of techno’s leading lights in a 5 hour, ‘one big room’ special at SWG3’s TV Studio space. MISSING PERSONS CLUB 5TH BIRTHDAY (DISCWOMAN + VOLVOX + UMFANG) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £10

For their 5th Birthday celebration, Missing Persons Club will be welcoming two of New York’s finest. HYPERFUNK

BROADCAST, FROM 23:00, FREE

Glasgow-based parties, run by residents Ryan Docherty, DJ Curls and TryTryDieDown.

Sat 02 Dec SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. 2MANYDJS

SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, £13 £19.50

From politically incorrect progrock to funky R&B, from trendy hip-hop to banging German techno, the Dewaele brothers have it in their record collection. GLITTERBANG

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Disco divas and Euro-pop anthems for those ready to sweat.

SUPER MAX W/ DJ BILLY WOODS

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £8

HIGHLIFE PRESENTS ZOZO (AUNTIE FLO + ANDREW H&P)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5

Highlife returns with another UK first in the form of the incredible Zozo.

Sun 03 Dec SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes thorough the night. DON’T DROP: ONE RECORDS SHOWCASE (ADAM SHELTON + SUBB-AN)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

For week 6, Don’t Drop welcome the two men behind the legendary One Records. NULL/VOID W/ TWITCH

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Expect Wax Trax classics, devastating devotion and general DJ’ing genius that guarantees maximum dancefloor destruction. SUNDAYS AT LA CHEETAH (OOFT + THE REVENGE )

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, FREE

Currie’s Christmas crackers.

Mon 04 Dec BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no? BURN MONDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 05 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Eclectic Tuesday nighter playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005’. I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £8

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence. PERMOCULTURE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

The history of dance, made present.

Wed 06 Dec

FRIDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

A selection of funk and soul and 60s and 70s hits. FRESH! FRIDAYS

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £6

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Resident DJ John McLean brings you the biggest tunes and best deals to make your weekend one to remember.

FOUNDRY

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 22:00–03:00, £10 - £12

WRAP-IT

DJ Craig cures your Wednesday woes at The Garage. LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

Foundry & friends end of year party.

BASSMENT RESIDENTS JAM (KRIS BREEZY + GRAEME DREW)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 - £5

Fresh from their debut with Watergate resident Butch, the Bassment boys are back with another night full of house and techno beezers. MELTED

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Jungle, dancehall and tropical bass.

Thu 07 Dec

MISS KITTIN (BETA)

French DJ and producer fast becoming one of the most inspiring DJ’s and voices to emerge within the electronic music scene.

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... COOKING WITH PALMS TRAX (HUNEE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £15 - £17

The fourth and final party of 2017 ‘Cooking with Palms Trax’ residency sees Hunee grace the booth with Palms Trax.

Sat 09 Dec SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

JELLY BABY

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Ross McMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 - £4

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. ALL NIGHT PASSION (NATASHA KITTY KAT)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, TBC

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

KEEP IT ROLLING PRESENTS: SYMBIOSIS

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

One of the most experienced drum and bass collectives come to Flat 0/1, bringing reggae, dub, jungle, drum and bass.

Fri 08 Dec

RETURN TO MONO (SLAM + Ø [PHASE]) SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £12

For RTM’s annual Xmas party, Slam welcome Ø [Phase] to play some gritty minimal techno and Detroitinfluenced material. UNDERWORLD (NKC + MM B2B OH141 + AKUMU)

SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, TBC

Her Records presents Underworld: a new club night by MM. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. RUCKUS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Sarah Legatt’s monthly hip-hop, trap and R’n’B night. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Botch meets Beyonce DJ smash: a club night like no other.

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £3

I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, £16 - £22

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £4 - £6

BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no? BURN MONDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 12 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Eclectic Tuesday nighter playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005’. I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £8

DOOR 24

Psych, shoegaze and indie-pop. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.

Wed 13 Dec WRAP-IT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

DJ Craig cures your Wednesday woes at The Garage. DON’T BE GUTTED

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Outer limits beat worship.

Thu 14 Dec HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £8

Resident DJ Bobby Bluebell plays a mix of chart and electro. SATURDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

JELLY BABY

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Nick Peacock, Alex O and John Ross spin a Saturday-ready selection of Northern soul and 60s and 70s hits.

Ross McMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £8

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 - £4

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

REX THE DOG

Melody loving, tech loving Jake Williams makes a triumphant return to The Berkeley Suite, with his fantastic live modular set.

NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR PRESENTS OKO DJ (BFDM) (MR TC + LO KINDRE)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £8

The NOTJ crew host Oko at the Art School for her first ever Glasgow performance and, as usual, MR TC and Lo Kindre will be in attendance to guide your path into the night. BALKANARAMA PRESENT TRAKTORKESTAR

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £10

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing (as one might expect) cheesy classics of every hue.

Mon 11 Dec

ROYALE SATURDAYS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

FRIDAY NIGHTS

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, FREE

Currie’s Christmas crackers.

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Twelve-piece brass beast, bringing you the juciest sounds from the Balkans and beyond.

ANNA & HOLLY’S DANCE PARTY

SUNDAYS AT LA CHEETAH (12TH ISLE + FERGUS CLARK)

The Scottish ‘House Work’ tour date for South London DJ and multi-instrumentalist, Jax Jones.

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. Swinging garage psych-soul revelations.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

A long-time in the making, Don’t Drop finally bring us New York’s Dennis Ferrer.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

MONSTER HOSPITAL

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

Pop-punk and nu-metal school disco vibes.

DON’T DROP: DENNIS FERRER (DENNIS FERRER + MCEWAN & TORRANCE + RJAY MURPHY)

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Tropical, afro, disco and fun times from three of the city’s best record collections.

FIRST DATES W/ SPOOK SCHOOL DJ’S

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes thorough the night.

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow.

SINGLES NIGHT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

LOOSEN UP (CHARLIE MCCANN + FERGUS CLARK + DAVID BARBAROSSA)

Mungo’s Hi Fi on selection all night long with Tom Spirals on the mic.

SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Celebrate the 7” single with Beans and Divine.

Ghetto Disco Records founder and Liverpool Disco Festival resident, Natasha Kitty Katt will be gracing the All Night Passion discotheque for their last party of the year. WALK N SKANK: MUNGO’S HI FI CRATE DIGGING (MUNGO’S HI FI + STALAWA + TOM SPIRALS)

Sun 10 Dec

WE SHOULD HANGOUT MORE

Their last party in La Cheetah for a while will be a raucous and emotional send off as Peter Panther and Shahaa Tops go pedal to the metal.

UNHOLY

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. ELECTRIC SALSA

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 - £5

Electric Salsa continue to keep it local for their final party of the year and have invited some of their nearest and dearest to join them in the booth. DRUGSTORE GLAMOUR

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Ultimate disco diva pop worship. ART’S HOUSE WITH PEGGY GOU & ARTWORK

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 - £15

Artwork embarks on his takeover tour once again, this time bringing with him South Korean DJ Peggy Gou.

WALK N SKANK: IRA (TO LET) (MUNGO’S HI FI + TOM SPIRALS)

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

Ira will take Walk n Skank on a musical journey to pastures new, with support from Tom Spirals and Mungo’s Hi Fi.

DJ FOOD - SELECTED APHEX WORKS AV SET

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, £12

A celebration of Aphex Twin’s work from an Aphex twin superfan.

Listings

THE SKINNY

Fri 15 Dec CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. FRIDAY NIGHTS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £4 - £6

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing (as one might expect) cheesy classics of every hue. VIPER - THE SOUND OF DRUM & BASS

O2 ABC, FROM 19:00, FREE

Viper Recordings present the world’s first all ages dancefloor tour, bringing some of the biggest names in drum & bass. FAMOO

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

I AM A RAVER: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

SKREAM (ALL NIGHT LONG)

CLASSIC GRAND, 21:00–04:00, £5 - £15

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

A night of happy hardcore, DJ Rankin, DJ Cammy and co. SUBCULTURE: JOB JOBSE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

Trouw resident and one serious DJ, Job Jobse joins residents Harri & Domenic. SHAKA LOVES YOU PRESENTS: JOINTS ‘N’ JAMS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

Hip-hop old school with live percussion and stunning visuals. BELTERS II

All of the music you love, and the music that you hate to love. FRESH! FRIDAYS

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £6

Resident DJ John McLean brings you the biggest tunes and best deals to make your weekend one to remember.

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... APEIRON CREW (OUTER ZONE (WARDY & DOM D’SYLVA))

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £8 - £10

Copenhagen’s Apeiron Crew finally take the headline slot at a Glasgow show alongside La Cheetah residents Wardy & Dom D’Silva.

PLATFORM 18 RECORDS SHOWCASE (IVAN KUTZ + CRAIG HAMILTON + NIZ + ROWLANZ) SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

SESH

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

DON’T DROP: CHARLOTTE DE WITTE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Belgian DJ Charlotte de Witte joins Don’t Drop for their eighth and final party in the series. LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, FREE

Tue 19 Dec I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £8

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. ACID FLASH (IDA + REBECCA VASMANT )

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 - £5

The first Acid Flash party in Glasgow, with Ida alongside collaborator and pal Rebecca Vasmant on hand to help out, playing vinyl all night. BUCKFAST SUPERNOVA W/ MARBLE GODS DJ’S

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Pure pop and R’n’B bangers.

Wed 20 Dec NOT MOVING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Platform 18’s first record label showcase at the mighty Sub Club. Expect slick house and techno all night long.

Exotic tropical heated beats to cure the cold.

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–04:00, £15

Expect what has come to be expected from Haven ending the year right, with the return of a long lost resident and a live set from Hampton.

NUMBERS + WARP PRESENTS...

The two labels join forces with a massive line-up, including the likes of Yves Tumor, SOPHIE and Errorsmith. V. NICE

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Guilty pleasures galore, give into the music. DJ Boab flies in from Miami especially for this show.

Sat 16 Dec

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

CRAIGIE KNOWES (HEAD FRONT PANEL + THE BURRELL CONNECTION)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £10

Two-hour techno set from John Heckle’s alias ‘Head Front Panel’. ROYALE SATURDAYS

ORAN MOR, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £8

Resident DJ Bobby Bluebell plays a mix of chart and electro.

MOJO WORKIN’ (FELONIOUS MUNK + CLAIRE HYSLOP + TOM GILLESPIE)

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £2

Northern soul, motown, 60’s R’n’B and more, all at 45rpm. SATURDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

Nick Peacock, Alex O and John Ross spin a Saturday-ready selection of Northern soul and 60s and 70s hits.

December 2017

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

Sun 17 Dec

Currie’s Christmas crackers.

STEREO, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Fri 22 Dec

Equally known for their lively resident parties and hosting international heavyweight guests, Ezup see out 2017 in style.

We’ll be cranking up the OAP soundsystem and playing the coolest tunes of the 80s and early 90s.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

FANTASTIC GIRLS & GHOST MAN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Eurowave orgy with Happy Meals’ tall boy.

EZUP

No remorse disco adventures. A selection of funk and soul and 60s and 70s hits.

SMALL TALK W/ DJ ADIDADAS

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

SUNDAYS AT LA CHEETAH (RIBEKA + SOFAY)

FRIDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

Skream returns to his favourite club, from open until close.

HAVEN (STU COULL + CONOR MCCARTHY + HAMPTON (LIVE))

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

WRAP-IT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

DJ Craig cures your Wednesday woes at The Garage. SENSU PRESENTS MACEO PLEX, BARRY PRICE & JUNIOR

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10

After Maceo Plex was sadly unable to travel to Glasgow for Sub Club SoundSystem, Sensu have managed to organise this rescheduled date.

Thu 21 Dec HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

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

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 - £5

For part two of Stereotone’s La Cheetah goodbye, they’ve squeezed in as many of the family as they could and paired them up for a whole night of B2B’s. ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Ross McMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 - £4

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up.

WALK N SKANK: MUNGO’S CHRISTMAS PARTY (MUNGO’S HI FI)

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

Tis the season to Walk n Skank, with Mungo’s Hi Fi full staggering crew.

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 - £8

FRESH BEAT

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. FRIDAY NIGHTS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £4 - £6

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing (as one might expect) cheesy classics of every hue. DATE NIGHT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

Mixtapes of love, lust and euphoric embrace. FRIDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

A selection of funk and soul and 60s and 70s hits.

INCEPT WINTER CLOSING PARTY (SHDW & OBSCURE SHAPE + FRAZIER (UK) + NICK MCPHEAT + CO-ACCUSED) SWG3 GLASGOW, 21:00–03:00, £5 - £12.50

Kick-off the biggest week of the year and close the season in style. ENJOYABLE MOMENT FAREWELL

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Cosmic Dead curated avanteelectro psyche-out DJs bid farewell, forever.

Sat 23 Dec SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. FANTASTIC MAN

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Incoherent madness for those with a death wish. The worst club night in the world. CULTURE

STEREO, FROM 23:00, TBC

Expect top quality house, techhouse and techno tunes from three excellent local DJ’s. DIVINE! (ANDREW DIVINE)

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £5

Funk, soul, psyche, ska and more from one of Glasgow’s longest running clubs. THE LANCE VANCE DANCE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

Funky soul disco. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

Nick Peacock, Alex O and John Ross spin a Saturday-ready selection of Northern soul and 60s and 70s hits.

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... HOT FOOTIN W/ DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS (DAVID VUNK) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 - £12

Moustache Records’ main man, David Vunk joins the DABJ crew for the sixth and final part of their residency in the club.

HARDSTYLE SUPERHEROES CHRISTMAS PARTY (HEADHUNTERZ + KELTEK) SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, £15 £24.50

The biggest hardstyle star in the world, Headhunterz will be playing his first hardstyle set in years.

Sun 24 Dec SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes thorough the night.

SUNDAYS AT LA CHEETAH (ASSEMBLE + ALAN CURRIE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, FREE

Currie’s Christmas crackers.

Mon 25 Dec BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no? BURN MONDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 26 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Eclectic Tuesday nighter playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005’. I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £8

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence. 90’S RAVE

SWG3 GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00, TBC

A proper 90’s warehouse rave, soundtracked by classic house, trance and techno bangers. BOXING DAY BLOWOUT!

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Xmas recovery in the main bar only, with very special guest DJs.

UNHOLY

SATURDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 - £4

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. BURN MONDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats. BREAKFAST CLUB

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Gerry Lyons celebrates the 80’s.

SILVER DOLLAR CLUB (SGUTTED + STAMINA)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 - £5

SDC welcomes the Sgutted and Stamina residents as they go B2B all night long.

WALK N SKANK: SOUND SYSTEM PROJECT CHARITY SPECIAL (MUNGO’S HI FI)

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

The hugely inspiring soundsystem project takeover, with sets from Mungo’s Hi Fi and special guests. ANIMAL FARM 13TH BIRTHDAY: DONATO DOZZY

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £15

Round out the tail end of 2017 gracefully, with a hypnotising three hours from the Italian deep techno maestro.

Fri 29 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

Eclectic Tuesday nighter playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005’. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. SHAKE APPEAL

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

Six decades of rock’n’roll under one roof, hosted by the ultimate DJ trivium. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. FRIDAY NIGHTS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £4 - £6

Wed 27 Dec WRAP-IT

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing (as one might expect) cheesy classics of every hue.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £4

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

DJ Craig cures your Wednesday woes at The Garage. PALA (AERA + KIERAN APTER)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £8 - £10

Pala’s final party of the year brings Aera, a DJ who shows off the Pala sound, and good friend Kieran Apter alongside residents. PRAY 4 LOVE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Thunderous love songs only.

BIGFOOT’S 9TH: HELENA HAUFF

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 - £12

Crack Magazine’s number one most exciting DJ in the world right now joins Bigfoot’s Tea Party for their ninth birthday celebrations.

Thu 28 Dec HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

GO FUNK YOUR SOUL

Retro vibes for modern times. FRIDAYS AT THE BUFF CLUB

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 - £7

A selection of funk and soul and 60s and 70s hits. LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS...

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, TBC

Warm up for the New Year at La Cheetah. CHRISTMAS DANCE

THE RUM SHACK, 21:00–01:00, £3

Christmas party with the Friday Reggae Shack crew. Top skankin’.

Sat 30 Dec LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. SLEAZE (HANS BOUFFMYHRE + FRAZIER + JOHN GALLACHER)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 - £10

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

Sleaze Records’ closing party.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

JELLY BABY

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no? ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Ross McMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

I LOVE GARAGE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, 3

Hip-hop, soul and funk. MISBEHAVIN

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £5 - £6

Retro-pop, alt, dance and electro from DJ Drewbear.

Nick Peacock, Alex O and John Ross spin a Saturday-ready selection of Northern soul and 60s and 70s hits. SUBCULTURE XXX – THE BLACK MADONNA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £15 - £18

After The Black Madonna sadly had to cancel her show earlier in the year, the Smart Bar curator and resident is back. GONZO ALTERNATIVE NYE SPECIAL

BLOC+, FROM 23:00, FREE

The best indie disco in Glasgow brings all things MTV2 (pre-trash) and 120 Minutes.

Sun 31 Dec SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes thorough the night. GBX HOGMANAY

CLASSIC GRAND, 20:30–04:00, £20 £29.50

Edinburgh Clubs Fri 01 Dec FLIP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £0 - £3

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. MISS WORLD

WEE RED BAR, 22:30–03:00, £5

Residents Kathmandu, Emily and Aphid spin disco, house, pop, techno, new wave, R’n’B and much more. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £3 - £5

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. FLY PRESENTS GERD JANSON

Bring in the bells with George Bowie, Ultrabeat and a host of other DJ’s.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £10 - £15

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £15 - £18

BUTTERZ X ELECTRIKAL SOUND SYSTEM (FLAVA D + ELIJAH + SKILLIAM)

SUB CLUB XXX NYE – HARRI & DOMENIC

The dynamic duo bring down the curtain on this momentous 30th anniversary year for Subbie and rock the party like only they can.

OPTIMO 20 HOGMANAY (TWITCH & WILKES + 12TH ISLE + GENERAL LUDD + LAPS) THE ART SCHOOL, 22:00–03:00, £16 - £20

Optimo return to The Art School to end a year of celebrating Optimo 20, with an all Glasgow line-up.

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... NYE 2017 (MARCELLUS PITTMAN + CALL SUPER + COURTESY + WARDY & DOM D’SYLVA + PARTIAL + LEZURE) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £12 - £20

A mammoth line-up over two floors to celebrate the New Year.

ELECTRIC FROG HOGMANAY PARTY (GROOVE ARMADA + JORIS VOORN + HAMMER + WE SHOULD HANG OUT MORE) SWG3 GLASGOW, 21:00–03:00, £27.50 - £32.50

Something big is brewing in The Electric Frog camp and Hogmanay plans are being hatched.

Running Back records boss returns to Edinburgh, with Telfort on support.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10 - £12

Grime shutdown with Butterz label bosses and one of their signees. ETC 36: CYBERBEASTS

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

FIRECRACKER RECORDINGS PRESENTS: HEAL YOURSELF & MOVE (LINKWOOD + LORD OF THE ISLES + OTHER LANDS + HOUSE OF TRAPS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Firecracker A-team take over Sneaks, with an outrageous line-up of local talent.

Mon 04 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. COALITION W/ HAAI (HAAI + GAV MILLER)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Eclectic selections from Phonox resident HAAi, who drops into Sneaks on a Sunday night.

Tue 05 Dec TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Drum & bass, bassline, grime, jungle and garage.

The ETC residents are going to be kicking up a storm in their old stomping grounds.

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE: SUSHI & SAKE PARTY (GARETH SOMMERVILLE + SIMON BAYS)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–03:00, £13 - £17

Free Sushi, Sake and house groovers.

CRAIG CHARLES FUNK AND SOUL SHOW

Craig Charles, funk and soul: does what it says on the tin. Bring dancing shoes. GLOBAL ROOTS #14 (ANDREA MONTALTO + GROPINA + ALBERTO COSTA)

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Amsterdam-based producer Gropina blends Italo-house and hazy Balearic vibes.

Sat 02 Dec BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

Immersive club night and soundtrack spanning old and new sounds of Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and New Orleans in Samedia’s jungle voodoo den cum lost township shebeen. MUMBO JUMBO W/ THE GOGO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £7

Funk, soul, beats and bumps from the Mumbo Jumbo gang and new room two residents The Gogo. ALLSORTS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £5

A judgement-free party space with no specific genre policy.

SHAPEWORK X TIMEDANCE (BATU + PLOY) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £8

Batu absolutely smashed it back in September 2016 and his label Timedance has gone from strength to strength, with highly acclaimed releases from the likes of Lurka, Giant Swan, and of course Ploy. FIRST EDITION: EDINBURGH TAKEOVER

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, 5

A night of disco, house, techno, acid and whatever. KEEP IT STEEL - THE WARRIORS RETURN

LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–03:00, £4

Edinburgh’s infamous rock and metal party is back.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3

Wed 06 Dec COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. SOUL JAM: PENTLAND & BEN G (PERCY MAIN + TUESDAY GONZALEZ)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

The Soul Jam posse bring in close pals Pentland & Ben G to bring their Boogie A-game.

Thu 07 Dec HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, R’n’B and urban in the back room. WITNESS X 131 NORTHSIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Rising hip-hop crew 131 Northside join Witness for a night of gully riddims.

Fri 08 Dec FLIP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £0 - £3

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £4 - £6

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. LIONOIL 3RD BIRTHDAY: MOVE D B2B TELFORT + PHILIP BUDNY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 - £12

Heidelberg’s Move D joins Telfort behind the decks for a special B2B in celebration of Lionoil’s 3rd birthday. LA LA LAND W/ B. TRAITS

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £10

FLY resident La la brings the Canadian DJ/producer/radio presenter to the capital. JUICE W/ UMFANG (AMI K + DAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Brooklyn breakthrough Discwoman Umfang makes her Edinburgh debut at Juice. Expect some raw, fast and mind-bending techno.

Sun 03 Dec

Expect something pretty special from the French & Lithuanian mavericks who will have you locked in from the off.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £6

JACUZZI GENERAL W/ GENERAL LUDD

A strong recommendation for a well-rounded night of dancing, techno and theatrics, hosted by a man who used to sell Jacuzzi’s and is now nailing this too. SUNDAY CLUB

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED: IVAN SMAGGHE (MANFREDAS)

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £14

MIGHTY OAK SOUND (SISTA EMMA)

A regular selector at Solfest House of Joy and Beatherder, Sista Emma brings positivity and unity through Jah music.

Listings

PHONIK PRESENTS ECHOPLEX THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Rhythmic techno bangers. BALKANARAMA PRESENT TRAKTORKESTAR

LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–03:00, £10

Twelve-piece brass beast, bringing you the juciest sounds from the Balkans and beyond. NO STRINGS ATTACHED: RADIO COWBELL (MAHON + CHINNY)

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The legendary party collective host a pre-party for their event in the Mash House with Ivan Snagghe and Manfredas.

Sat 09 Dec BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. ELECTRO CYCLE (HI TECH JOHN + FOXXY DJ)

THE VILLAGE, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Resident DJ’s Foxxy DJ and Hi Tech John spin some of the best house music old and new, from Chicago house to funky house. BIG N BASHY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £6

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle played by inimitable residents Brother Most Righteous, Skillis, Era and Deburgh. BIGFOOT’S 9TH BIRTHDAY: ANASTASIA KRISTENSEN

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £6

It’s been a massive year for Copenhagen’s techno belle Anastasia Kristensen and this is her first appearance in Edinburgh. HOMETOWN PRESENTS: MACKA’S BIRTHDAY

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 - £5

Expect good music and friendly faces as Hometown return to the Cowgate for another big party, celebrating co-head honcho Macka’s birthday. SPEAKERBUMP VS. MOOVN

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Cut from the same cloth in terms of musical taste, the pair hook up for a Christmas Party in the intimate loft space at The Mash House. OTHER THUMPERS W/ NINA STANGER (DONALD DUST)

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Other Thumpers welcome rising DJ and producer Nina Stanger for an evening of minimal wave, deep punk cuts and Detroit electro.

Sun 10 Dec SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday. TEESH: DJ VERRA NICE (DJ VERRA NICE + DJ CHEERS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

For the last ‘All You Can Eat Mind Buffet’ of 2017, TEESH are tickled pink to be joined by special guest, DJ Verra Nice.

Mon 11 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

Tue 12 Dec TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. MIDNIGHT BASS

WITNESS X SHAPEWORK (ROSS BLACKWAX + FAULT LINES + SKILLIS + GUISED) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Witness bring young team techno tastemakers Shapework along for a big old versus.

Fri 15 Dec JUICE (AMI K + DAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Dan & Ami K make weird waves through house and techno. RAW

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Monthly drum & bass at The Mash House, representing the full spectrum of the genre. FLIP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £0 - £3

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. XOXO

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5

The popular queer night returns to the Wee Red. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £5 - £7

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. FLY PRESENTS JASPER JAMES

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £10

The youngest DJ ever to play Sub Club, Glasgow’s Jasper James returns to Edinburgh for another set at FLY. HEADSET 3RD BIRTHDAY W/ NOODLES – GROOVE CHRONICLES

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

The UKG legend plays a one-off garage and jungle set for Headset’s month-long 3rd birthday celebrations.

WINTER CARNIVAL: ARCOIRIS + ATESFERA PRESENT RITMOCLECTIC (WINTER DRUMMERS + SANKOFA BEATS + CAILLEACHAN + DJ CORBETT + DJ JIMMY ROSA) THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £7

It’s time to gather together and keep warm, celebrate with mulled wine and seasonal face paints, and dance to some stonking tunes. ME AND THE DEVIL

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Me and the Devil throw various danceable oddities and intriguing sounds from across and beyond the spacetime continuum into a mix.

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Raw, high energy R’n’B at Bongo. DECADE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:30–03:00, £2 - £5

Edinburgh’s funnest alt party.

LEZURE 030: XMAS DISCO W/ AL KENT & FRIENDS (AL KENT + DJ LUCKY BRAND + OVERGROUND + SHAPEWORK)

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

The Glaswegian disco don will again be taking over the main room all night long for a special disco showdown. OVERGROUND X ALIEN JAMS (NTS RADIO)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, R’n’B and urban in the back room.

Listings

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. SOUL JAM: AUSTIN ATO (PERCY MAIN + TUESDAY GONZALEZ)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

The Disco don from Oban, who releases on Futureboogie and Phonica, takes on the Soul Jam crew.

Thu 21 Dec HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, R’n’B and urban in the back room.

WITNESS: SOULECTION TRIBUTE (ROSS BLACKWAX + FAULT LINES+ SKILLIS + GUISED) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Witness’ tribute to great LA label Soulection.

Fri 22 Dec JUICE (AMI K + DAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Dan & Ami K make weird waves through house and techno. FLIP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £0 - £3

PMSC: IONA (PERCY MAIN)

SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

WASABI DISCO: APEIRON CREW (KRIS WASABI) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Cutting edge all female techno trio come to the city for the first time from Copenhagen to grace the Wasabi decks.

PARTIPETS XMAS SPESH PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–03:00, FREE

Expect to listen to a borderless mix of weirdo disco, house, world groove & psychedelia and everything in-between.

Sun 24 Dec

DEFINITION (MARK BALNEAVES + MARTIN LIGHTBODY)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Definition is an underground house & techno party that has been soundtracking dancefloor joy for almost 10 years. SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

Mon 25 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

Tue 26 Dec TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. GROOVERS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Groovers is all about the music, focusing purely upon the tastiest. MIDNIGHT BASS

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect.

Drum & bass, bassline, grime, jungle and garage.

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £6 - £8

Wed 27 Dec

PROPAGANDA

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Drum & bass, bassline, grime, jungle and garage. FLY PRESENTS DENIS SULTA

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £10 - £16

CRÈME FRESHMAS

Semi-regular club night featuring good tunes and good people. MASSAOKE’S CLUB LA LA: CHRISTMAS PARTY

SUMMERHALL, 21:00–01:00, £6 - £8

A brilliant live band smashing out the ultimate Christmas anthems from Slade to Mariah to The Pogues.

HEADSET 3RD BIRTHDAY: RESIDENTS PARTY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Headset continue their 3rd birthday celebrations and December takeover with a special residents night. RIDE AT PALMS

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky Pete’s residents bring their inimitable party to the Palms.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 - £6

MIDNIGHT RETURNS

Sun 17 Dec

HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Wed 13 Dec

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Wed 20 Dec

Sat 23 Dec

The Glasgow label come through to bang it out on a Monday.

Thu 14 Dec

The Glasgow label come through to bang it out on a Monday.

Mash House lo-fi lovers Overground take a short trip down the road to bring Chloe Frieda of NTS Radio and obscure electronica imprint Alien Jams, alongside OG Wrisk.

Half of Dalston Superstore party Sexcloud, resident at Field Maneuvers and all-round sound gem Iona swings by the Social.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE (DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £5

BUBBLEGUM

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

Drum & bass, bassline, grime, jungle and garage.

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, £0 - £4

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE (GARETH SOMMERVILLE + SIMON BAYS)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Sat 16 Dec

Dark noise, electronic hip-hop and techno.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £3

MIDNIGHT BASS

Glasgow DJ Denis Sulta has been making waves so big he could cause a tsunami, and he returns to FLY for another round.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

Drum & bass, bassline, grime, jungle and garage.

Tue 19 Dec

BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. MESSENGER

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger Sound System. MINIVAL

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £10

Minival strive to bring an exciting edge to every party, seeking real talent and inviting the most inspirational artists on the house and techno scene. PINNACLE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Pinnacle return for another party.

JACKHAMMER 16TH BIRTHDAY (HANS BOUFFMYHRE + STEVE BICKNELL + NEIL LANDSTRUUM) THE CAVES, 22:30–04:00, £10

Celebrating 16 years in the techno game, Jackhammer have assembled a line-up that reflects their ethos more than any other.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £4

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

Thu 28 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. WITNESS (ROSS BLACKWAX + FAULT LINES + SKILLIS + GUISED)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Witness’ final weekly slot, with an all star line-up, all night long. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, R’n’B and urban in the back room.

Fri 29 Dec TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. JUICE (AMI K + DAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £0 - £2

Dan & Ami K make weird waves through house and techno. CREME FRESH

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–03:00, FREE

No Christmas songs but heaps of disco not disco, haute haus hits and every deep reggaeton track released in the world right now. FLIP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, £0 - £3

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect.

Sat 30 Dec BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, £0 - £4

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. MUMBO JUMBO W/ THE GOGO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 - £7

Funk, soul, beats and bumps from the Mumbo Jumbo gang and new room two residents The Gogo.

HOT MESS CHRISTMAS PARTY (SIMONOTRON) SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Glasgow Theatre

Edinburgh Theatre

Sat 09 Dec PROPAGANDA

Citizens Theatre

Assembly Roxy

CHURCH, 22:30–02:30, £0 - £5

1-31 DEC, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

6 DEC, 7:30PM, £10 - £12

PROPAGANDA

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Sun 31 Dec

Fri 15 Dec

RIDE (LOLLZ + CHEEKY CHECKS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Live fast die young, Ride gals do it well. Lollz and Cheeky Checks play 00s rnb and 90s hip hop and put their lighters up. WEE DUB HOGMANAY (SAMEDIA SHEBEEN + DJ RU ROBINSON)

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:00–05:00, £12 - £20

WARPED PRESENTS: THE FINAL KAGE WEEKEND

CONROY’S BASEMENT, 23:00–02:30, £5.50

Gavin and Phil bring their pop-punk antics to the basement for the final time.

Sat 16 Dec PROPAGANDA

Taking guests on a musical trip fuelled by reggae, dub, jungle and beyond, Edinburgh’s biggest NYE party returns taking place over two venues.

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

LA BELLE ANGELE, 22:00–05:00, £12 - £20

The final ever night will be DJ’ed by the legendary Kage quartet of Kenny fae Kage, Big Hairy Dave, DJ Col and Keiran “Use The Force” O’Rourke.

WEE DUB HOGMANAY (EVA LAZARUS + DANNY T & TRADESMAN + DJ SHEPDOG + ESCAPE ROOTS + NEM + NEMA KUTA)

Taking guests on a musical trip fuelled by reggae, dub, jungle and beyond, Edinburgh’s biggest NYE party returns taking place over two venues.

THE CAVES EDINBURGH HOGMANAY PARTY

THE CAVES, 21:30–05:00, £15

Enjoy floor fillers past and present and a bit of good old Scottish Ceilidh earlier in the night. NIGHTVISION HOGMANAY (GROOVE ARMADA + JORIS VOORN + BEN PEARCE + THEO KOTTIS + JAMIE ROY)

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:00, £26.95 - £43.95

The annual NYE party returns to The Liquid Room with another strong line-up.

Theatre

CHURCH, 22:30–02:30, £0 - £5

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

CHURCH, 22:30–02:30, £0 - £5

ASYLUM PRESENTS: THE FINAL KAGE WEEKEND

CONROY’S BASEMENT, 23:00–02:30, £5.50

Sat 23 Dec PROPAGANDA

CHURCH, 22:30–02:30, £0 - £5

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Sat 30 Dec PROPAGANDA

CHURCH, 22:30–02:30, £0 - £5

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

CINDERELLA

Dubbed ‘The Fairygodmother of Pantomimes’, it’s the good old story of rags to riches, pumpkins to carriages and ugly stepsisters.

The Art School DRACULA

4 DEC, 7:00PM, £7 - £8

Liz Lochhead’s stage version of Dracula tackles modern questions about the battle between faith and reason, sanity and madness, gender roles and women’s sexuality.

The King’s Theatre SLEEPING BEAUTY

5 DEC, 7:30PM, £17.50 - £69.50

One of the longest-running Broadway musicals, based on the songs of ABBA, returns to Glasgow. SCOTTISH OPERA: LA TRAVIATA

2 DEC, 7:15PM, PRICES VARY

Scottish Opera revisit La traviata – Sir David McVicar’s flamboyant and passionate masterpiece – after performing its Scottish premiere in 2008.

Tron Theatre ALICE IN WEEGIELAND

1 DEC, 7:30PM, £11 - £20

Wonderland becomes Weegieland in Johnny McKnight’s retelling of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel.

5 DEC, 7:30PM, £12

SHREK THE MUSICAL

2 DEC, 7:00PM, £18.50 - £79.50

Join Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona in this all-singing, all-dancing production of the Oscar-winning film. BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

1 DEC, 7:30PM, £15 - £72.50

A ‘show-umentary’ giving insight into the woman behind such hits as I Feel the Earth Move, Natural Woman, You’ve Got a Friend and Take Good Care of my Baby.

The Studio THE TIN SOLDIER

7 DEC, 7:00PM, £10 - £15

Bird’s of Paradise present an accessible and enchanting retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s first ever children’s story, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. THERE IS A LIGHT: BRIGHTLIGHT

As Brightlight was developed by young people for young people, this confident and energetic Contact Young Company piece is a fitting artistic response to what it’s like for those living with a teenage cancer diagnosis. Part of Chrysalis Festival 2017.

Massaoke takes over Summerhall for Hogmanay, with mass karaoke, live DJ’s and food from Shrimpwreck.

BFLF EDINBURGH ‘HOG-MINI: ALL THAT GLITTERS NEW YEAR’S EVE (CAPITOL 1212)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 14:00–16:30, £8 - £10

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD...ISH

Family fun for the post-rave generation of parents. Helping parents be responsibly irresponsible since 2013.

17-19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £11 - £13

Ring in the New Year at the Blair Street staple.

Building on a scratch performance at last year’s Chrysalis, Beacon mixes the magic of childhood with grownup responsibility in this fast-paced, physical, cautionary suburban fairytale about the future of our planet. Part of Chrysalis Festival 2017.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–05:00, TBC

18-19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £11 - £13

HOGMANAY AT THE CABARET VOLTAIRE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 22:00–05:00, £10

DARK MECHANICS

HEADSET HOGMANAY

A strong local line-up lead the New Year celebrations at Headset’s Hogmanay party. SATIVA: 25TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

WEE RED BAR, 21:00–03:00, £18

FINITRIBE PRESENTS: THE BELLS

PARADISE PALMS, 21:00–03:00, FREE

Dundee Theatre Dundee Rep A CHRISTMAS CAROL

1-31 DEC, 7:00PM, £9 - £12

The Gardyne Theatre

Expect to be twisted around by loopy playful, low-swung beats from DJ’s gifted at running circles around a crowd.

DANIEL KITSON - A SHOW FOR CHRISTMAS

17-19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £11 - £13

SUMMERHALL, 21:00–03:00, £15 - £20

ELECTRIKAL: WINTER DANCEHALL CARNIVAL

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, TBC

Royal Lyceum Theatre

Traverse Theatre

MASSAOKE HOGMANAY HOOTENANNY

Dundee Rep’s acclaimed ensemble bring this Christmas Staple to life.

HEADSET 3RD BIRTHDAY (MOSCA + LAKSA + HI & SABERHÄGEN + SKILLIS)

The Bohemians bring candyfloss coloured musical Legally Blonde to the King’s, complete with real life chihuahua and a talented cast to boot.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

MAMMA MIA!

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £5

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, TBC

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL

1-2 DEC, 7:30PM, £22 - £42

Theatre Royal

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

FLY 2017 FINALE: RESIDENTS SHOWDOWN

Get ready to sweat it out during the cold season at the hottest dancehall and bashment party in Edinburgh.

Festival Theatre

Daniel Kitson takes his Christmas show on a UK tour, following runs at Battersea Arts Centre and the Connelly Theatre in New York.

The First Lady of Scottish panto, Elaine C Smith stars in this adaptation of the Disney favourite.

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

Finitribe bring the Balearic spirit to Paradise Palms for a tropical hot dog night.

FLY close the season with a strictly residents-only affair.

RECKLESS

A festive pitch black comedy by Craig Lucas, presented by Edinburgh Grads Theatre

2 DEC, 2:00PM, £12 - £42.50

SUNDAY CLUB

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £7 - £9

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Sat 02 Dec

It’s the HOT MESS Christmas party! They don’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice, they just want to dance with you.

Techno twiddlers Neil Landstrumm and Tobias Schmidt bring back the sound of the 90s in blistering style.

PROPAGANDA

Dundee Clubs

CINDERELLA

1-31 DEC, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Dubbed ‘The Fairygodmother of Pantomimes’, it’s the good old story of rags to riches, pumpkins to carriages and ugly stepsisters. ROBERT C KELLY PRESENTS SLEEPING BEAUTY

19 DEC, 6:30PM, £23.50

Panto season is in full swing and this version of the Disney classic is Dundee’s only professional pantomime showing.

Taking inspiration from sources as diverse as scientist James Lovelock, singer Anohni and Pink Floyd, Firefly Arts asks some very disquieting questions of us all about what is actually going on in the world around us. Part of Chrysalis festival 2017. QUEER FISH

18-19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £11 - £13

Sweets, Skinny and Baby live in their own dystopian versions of reality: addiction, violence, chemsex and selfdestructive behaviour. Queer Fish explores modern social pressures and related addictions which are beginning to shape society’s underbelly. EMERGENCE

18 DEC, 3:30PM, £11 - £13

Experience three 20-minute experimental scratch performances by emerging young theatre-makers, including one by Chrysalis’ Saltire award-winning Emerging Director. Part of Chrysalis festival 2017. HOW TO DISAPPEAR

8 DEC, 7:30PM, £11 - £22

Winner of the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play, this pitch-black comedy merges biting social commentary and fantasy.

THE SKINNY

Comedy Glasgow Comedy Fri 01 Dec

THE FRIDAY SHOW (DAN NIGHTINGALE + STEFFEN PEDDIE + STUART MCPHERSON + SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Sat 02 Dec THE SATURDAY SHOW

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £17.50

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Sun 03 Dec

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £1 - £6

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out.

Mon 04 Dec MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £3

Two teams of comics battle it out for the biggest laughs under the watchful eye of ‘Improv Warlord’ Billy Kirkwood. KOMEDY

YESBAR, 20:30–22:30, £3

From the people who brought you CHUNKS, comes a night of actual komedy.

Tue 05 Dec RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £3

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Sat 09 Dec

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Sun 10 Dec

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out.

Tue 12 Dec LIGHT BULB SHOW

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, 20:00–22:00, FREE

An alternative comedy showcase. A brand new night of stand up comedy.

Fri 15 Dec

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £4 - £6

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. COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

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.

Fri 08 Dec

THE FRIDAY SHOW (KEIR MCALLISTER + ASHLEY STORRIE + JIM SMITH + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

December 2017

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Sat 23 Dec

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Thu 28 Dec

HOOTFEST! (GARY LITTLE + IAN COPPINGER + ASHLEY STORRIE + GARY MEIKLE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Fri 29 Dec

HOOTFEST! (GARY LITTLE + IAN COPPINGER + ASHLEY STORRIE + GARY MEIKLE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Sat 30 Dec

HOOTFEST! (GARY LITTLE + IAN COPPINGER + ASHLEY STORRIE + GARY MEIKLE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Sun 31 Dec

HOOTFEST! (GARY LITTLE + IAN COPPINGER + ASHLEY STORRIE + GARY MEIKLE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

MCPHABBS, 23:30–02:00, FREE

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS) YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

FUCK 2017! IT’S CHUNKSMANAY

Those silly CHUNKS kids are throwing an NYE party, followed by after party DJ set. Expect airhorn.

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit. THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

A Christmas special, featuring top professional comedy acts plus prime picks of up and coming local stand-up comedy talent.

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES

THE EARLY SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

Sat 16 Dec

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, 20:00–22:00, FREE

Wed 06 Dec

YESBAR, FROM 22:15, FREE

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts our late night comedy show, with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Open mic-style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to road test new material.

One hilarious show, completely improvised by two teams, based off an audience suggestion. Improv comedy at its finest.

THE LATE SHOW (JOJO SUTHERLAND + HARRY GARRISON + LIAM CUMBERS)

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

CROSSMYLAFF COMEDY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD + LUKE ASHLOCKE)

GLASGOW HAROLD NIGHT

Fri 22 Dec

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £9

Sun 17 Dec

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out.

Mon 18 Dec CHUNKS

MCPHABBS, 20:30–22:30, FREE

The Scottish Comedy Award winning CHUNKS ain’t yer traditional comedy night.

Thu 21 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JANEY GODLEY, KAI HUMPHRIES AND HOST JOE HEENAN.)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, FREE

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Sun 03 Dec

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (DONALD ALEXANDER) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out.

THE TBC IMPROV COMEDY THEATRE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

The To Be Continued crew return with more sketches, scenes and improvised antics.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (LLOYD LANGFORD + JOJO SMITH + JOHN GAVIN + LIAM WITHNAIL)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. THE IMPROVERTS

BEDLAM THEATRE, FROM 22:30, £3 - £3.50

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an everchanging line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions. MONKEY BARREL’S BIG 1ST BIRTHDAY FRIDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:00, FREE

Celebrate Monkey Barrel Comedy Club’s 1st birthday, with a cracking night of premier stand-up.

Sat 02 Dec

MONKEY BARREL’S BIG 1ST BIRTHDAY FRIDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:00, FREE

Celebrate Monkey Barrel Comedy Club’s 1st birthday, with a cracking night of premier stand-up.

Thu 14 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

Tue 05 Dec MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

Fri 15 Dec

PROJECT X

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X.

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY)

Wed 06 Dec

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

VIVA LA SHAMBLES

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Anarchic comedy mayhem from Scotland’s finest young acts. TOP BANANA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Thu 07 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (SUSIE MCCABE + DIANE SPENCER + KEVIN SHEPHERD + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. CULT FILM: EDINBURGH

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

A film themed evening with a mix of food, craft beers, film quiz, comedy, prize raffles and a cult film screening.

Fri 08 Dec

THE FRIDAY SHOW (SUSIE MCCABE + DIANE SPENCER + KEVIN SHEPHERD + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 09 Dec

A CHRISTMAS CABARET (BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 16:00, FREE

A variety packed show for the Christmas cocktail hour that costs less than a cocktail.

Sun 10 Dec

THE TBC IMPROV COMEDY THEATRE

Fri 01 Dec

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

Edinburgh Comedy

TOP BANANA MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

The To Be Continued crew return with more sketches, scenes and improvised antics.

Mon 11 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond.

Tue 12 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond. PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X.

Wed 13 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond.

Sat 16 Dec

A CHRISTMAS CABARET (BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 16:00, FREE

A variety packed show for the Christmas cocktail hour that costs less than a cocktail.

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARK NELSON + MICKY BARTLETT + RIA LINA + ROBIN GRAINGER + STU MURPHY) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 18:30, FREE

Tue 26 Dec PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X.

Wed 27 Dec

HOOTFEST! (JOHN SCOTT + EDDY BRIMSON + MARC JENNINGS + SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club. TOP BANANA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Thu 28 Dec

HOOTFEST! (JOHN SCOTT + MARC JENNINGS + SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Fri 29 Dec

HOOTFEST! (JOHN SCOTT + EDDY BRIMSON + MARC JENNINGS + SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

Christmas cheer from the very best comics from the UK and beyond.

Sat 30 Dec

Sun 17 Dec

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 16:30, FREE

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (MICKY BARTLETT) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

A CHRISTMAS CABARET (BRUCE DEVLIN)

A variety packed show for the Christmas cocktail hour that costs less than a cocktail.

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out.

HOOTFEST! (JOHN SCOTT + EDDY BRIMSON + MARC JENNINGS + SUSAN MORRISON)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

THE TBC IMPROV COMEDY THEATRE

The To Be Continued crew return with more sketches, scenes and improvised antics.

Laugh your way to the end of the year at Scotland’s favourite comedy club.

FANNY’S AHOY! (JOJO SUTHERLAND + SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 17:00, FREE

The award-winning grand dames of Scottish comedy navigate you through rough seas with their distinctly comedic take on life.

Mon 18 Dec PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X.

Tue 19 Dec TOP BANANA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 20:30, FREE

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Wed 20 Dec TOPICAL STORM

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Radical satire from Keir McAllister, Vladimir McTavish, Stu Murphy and Mark Nelson.

Thu 21 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JO CAULFIELD + VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 22 Dec

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JO CAULFIELD + VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + BRUCE DEVLIN) THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 23 Dec

A CHRISTMAS CABARET (BRUCE DEVLIN)

Glasgow Art CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art LILT, TWANG, TREMOR

1 DEC-14 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

CCA invites three Scottish artists whose work examines the politics and production of voice. The human voice can mystify, calm, incite, deceive and betray. It can shift borders, change spaces and disturb our understanding of ourselves and our communities. Looking at how the voice takes shape in different places and environments, this exhibition explores the contexts in which voices are made audible. Examining the mouth, the mouthless voice, the embodied and disembodied voice, the voice as a tool, and as an instrument – the artists question the manner in which vocals affect the environment around us. BUZZCUT: DOUBLE THRILLS

13 DEC, 7:00PM, £7 - £9

Buzzcut Double Thrills brings monthly helpings of the wildest performers at the edge of disciplines, showing radical performance practices from around the world, alongside new live work in development from some of Scotland’s most exciting makers. ANNA DANIELEWICZ AND TOMÁS PALMER: AUTOCUE

2-15 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

A shipping forecast spirals out of control in this investigation of the making of media and the power relations that govern it from ECA grad Anna Danielewicz and GSA student Tomás Palmer.

Art Cyril Gerber Fine Art THE WINTER SHOW 2017

1 DEC-31 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

A fresh and exciting combination of paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures spanning the 20th century, through to present day, specially selected for this seasonal exhibition. Includes works by Glasgow School,Modern British Masters, Scottish Colourists, Joan Eardley, Scottish Modern Masters and a selection of Contemporaries.

David Dale Gallery and Studios HANNE LIPPARD

1-9 DEC, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

A new exhibition by Norweigan artist Hanne Lippard. Lippard’s practice typically explores the production of language using only the voice, and this show, entitled numb limb is set to continue her investigation of form and content.

Glasgow School of Art SOMNYAMA NGONYAMA: HAIL THE DARK LIONESS

1-17 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

South African visual activist Zanele Muholi confronts the politics of race and representation in her ongoing self-portrait series, posing critical questions about social justice, human rights and contested representations of the black body.

GoMA POLYGRAPHS

1 DEC-20 MAY 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition with a central point of Hito Steyerl’s film Abstract, which explores truth, fiction and evidence in a complicated world. Features Jane Evelyn Atwood, Muirhead Bone, Boyle Family, Gerard Byrne, Graham Fagen, Ian Hamilton Finlay and more. TASTE!

1 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

A snapshot of GoMA’s rich history combining artworks and archived material. Features work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Beryl Cook, Fischli/Weiss, Sarah Forrest, Andy Goldsworthy, Douglas Gordon, David Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi, David Shirgley, Stanley Spencer, Andy Warhol and Lawrence Weiner. STEPHEN SUTCLIFFE: WORK FROM THE COLLECTION

1 DEC-21 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow-based artist Stephen Sutcliffe brings a solo exhibition to GoMA, featuring works which draw upon a large personal archive of broadcast materials and printed ephemera. These new works focus on anxiety, self-doubt and the creative process.

House For An Art Lover OBJECTS OF CELEBRATION

1 DEC-4 MAR 18, 12:00AM – 12:00AM, FREE

A SYNCHRONOLOGY 1 DEC-28 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition presenting works by internationally significant figures, featuring contemporary art works in several mediums which deal with temporality, with the politics of time, with time’s passage and its recollection.

Platform

HELEN DE MAIN: YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT

1 DEC-11 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Over the past year Helen has been meeting with a group of local women at Platform. Through looking at these women’s lives, marked by commonalities and difference, remarkable events and mundane ones, the exhibition celebrates the strength, resilience and beauty that exists within everyday experience.

Street Level Photoworks FUTUREPROOF 2017

1 DEC-4 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The ninth annual showcase of new photographic talent selected from across Scotland’s Photography courses. Includes work from Yvette Bathgate, Sam Holland, Dosi Dimochovski, Katie Harris-MacLeod, Leanne Glass, Clare Hutchison, Gavin Bragdon, Gareth Bragdon and more.

The Common Guild

MARIA FUSCO: RADICAL DIALECT

1-30 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

An ongoing project conceived by writer Maria Fusco, including a cycle of events, a series of commissioned publications and a major new performance, all taking shape across 2017 and 2018. See thecommonguild.org. uk for info. SLOW OBJECTS

1-16 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition bringing together the works of artists Vanessa Billy, Edith Dekyndt and Erin Shirreff, all of whom share an interest in both natural and pseudo-scientific processes, alchemy and labour.

The Lighthouse CHOZUMAKI

1 DEC-6 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Sonica Artist in Residence, Japan’s Nelo Akamatsu, presents this intricate installation of glass and water, which uses magnetic energy to produce a spiralling vortex of curious sounds. ILLUMINATING LETTERS

1 DEC-27 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition inspired by the relationship between Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald, particularly his view that she was the creative force within their relationship, a revelation found documented in a private letter written by Mackintosh. LAST EDIT MADE SECONDS AGO

9 DEC-5 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Rachel McBrinn and Ben Callaghan collaborate on a moving image work, which interrogates the ways in which we interact with digital workspaces and content production technologies, seeking to critique the functionality and design of their user interface.

Objects of Celebration is a solo exhibition of new work by artist Claire Heminsley exploring the rituals of celebration.

The Modern Institute

Hunterian Art Gallery

The New York-based artist presents a new body of photographic works, including several from her recent series Women Crying, along with a new 35mm slide-projection piece Women With Cameras (Self Portrait).

ART OF POWER: MASTERPIECES FROM THE BUTE COLLECTION

1 DEC-14 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Take the oportunity to see major paintings from the Bute Collection at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute. Exhibition split across two venues, The Hunterian and Mount Stuart – ticket price covers admission to both. THE TRUEST MIRROR OF LIFE

1 DEC-21 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

A display of 19th century French caricatures showcasing work by some of its greatest exponents, including Honoré Daumier and Gavarni.

ANNE COLLIER

1 DEC-13 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane TONY SWAIN: WORKS OR EVERYONE

1 DEC-20 JAN 18, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

The Irish-born, GSA graduating, artist – best known for his paintings depicting complex private worlds painted over newspaper pages – presents a new body of work at The Modern Institute.

THE STAND COMEDY CLUB, FROM 16:30, FREE

A variety packed show for the Christmas cocktail hour that costs less than a cocktail.

Listings

Tramway

MEGAN ROONEY: OTHERS GOT WINGS FOR FLYING

1-10 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

A major new Tramway cocommission, curated by Louise Briggs for independent on and offline publisher and producer MAP. Megan Rooney’s work includes painting, performance, written and spoken word, sculpture and installation. The commission and exhibition will conclude with a performance by Andrew Graham and Megan Rooney, a continuation of a performance previously presented by Rooney at Cove Park in September. AMANDA ROSS-HO: UNTITLED PERIOD PIECE

1 DEC-4 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

An installation taking the form of a factory floor dedicated to the production of oversized garments, Ross-Ho’s surreal, theatrical environment subverts notions of time, labour and economy.

THE KOESTLER SCOTLAND EXHIBITION 2017 1-22 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of artwork, writing and music from prisons, secure hospitals, secure children’s homes, immigration detention centres and community justice services across Scotland, curated by writer Jenni Fagan.

Transmission Gallery BABY BOY

1-16 DEC, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A show curated by Black Radical Imagination at Transmission.

Edinburgh Art Arusha Gallery FRAGILE

1-3 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

A new show from Shelly Tregoning at Arusha Gallery.

City Art Centre HIDDEN GEMS

1 DEC-13 MAY 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The City Art Centre showcases ‘unsung and unusual’ hidden gems from its collection of fine art. SONGS FOR WINTER

1 DEC-4 MAR 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

City Art Centre host an exhibition exploring the work of Charles Poulsen and Pauline Burbridge; artists for whom drawing is at the centre of their practice. A FINE LINE

1 DEC-18 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

A showcase in partnership with Inverness Museum and Art Gallery and Gracefield Arts Centre, featuring a diverse range of work by four contemporary artists based in Scotland – Lizzie Farey, Angie Lewin, Frances Priest and Bronwen Sleigh. Features printmaking, drawing, collage, sculpture and ceramics.

Dovecot Studios BUILT IN TAPESTRY: DOVECOT TAPESTRIES AND ARCHITECTURE

1 DEC-17 MAR 18, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

A balcony-based exhibition at Dovecot highlighting projects from the studio’s history, featuring innovative and bold projects from commissions new and past. DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE

1 DEC-22 JAN 18, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Dovecot tells a tale of women’s work in the textile industry and within textile art in a group exhibition of work for those who have contributed to the gallery’s history and present. Features Caroline Dear, Linder, Sonia Delaunay, Hanna Tuulikki and more. SPINNING-IN-STEREO AND OTHER YARNS

18 DEC, 6:00PM, £12 - £15

A celebration of the social, communal, and historically vital activity of spinning, featuring live spinning demonstrations, a rope making experience with grasses and including a warming drink.

Edinburgh Printmakers

A NEW ERA: SCOTTISH MODERN ART 1900-1950

1-23 DEC, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

An alternative version of the history of modern Scottish art, featuring over 80 works by around 50 artists, including some of Scotland’s artistic giants and more unfamiliar artists.

ARTOBOTIC

Edinburgh Printmakers celebrate their 50th Anniversary year with an ‘Artobotic’, an art vending machine which distributes artworks ‘blind’ to audiences. FROM PAPER TO GOLD

1 DEC-31 MAR 18, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

To celebrate 50 years of printmaking excellence, Edinburgh Printmakers has invited 50 artists to participate in a special anniversary exhibition of exemplary Scottish printmaking.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop OPEN STORAGE

4-16 DEC, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Jessica Harrison, Bernie Reid and Yokollection (Francesca Nobilucci & Alexa Hare) return from Berlin to show their work after relocating for two months to exhibit and network in new environments.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall

EDINBURGH COMIC ART FESTIVAL

2 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

This year’s festival will feature over 40 creators from across the UK plus workshops, talks and events for comic artists of all ages, with special guest Rachael Stott. OUT OF THE BLUE ABBEYMOUNT STUDIOS NOW

4-7 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition by resident artists, telling the story of each artist: what are they doing, making and designing right now and what currently inspires them in their work.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

AGES OF WONDER: SCOTLAND’S ART 1540 TO NOW 1 DEC-7 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition telling the story of collecting Scottish art by reuniting artworks from the Royal Scottish Academy collection transferred to NGS in 1910 with a selection of those remaining in the Academy collection and those collected by the Academy up to the present day.

Scottish National Gallery

JOHN AKOMFRAH: VERTIGO SEA

1 DEC-27 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Talbot Rice showcase Vertigo Sea and At The Graveside Of Tarkovsky, two installations by acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker John Akomfrah.

Scottish National The Fruitmarket Portrait Gallery SCOTS IN ITALY Gallery 1 DEC-5 MAR 19, TIMES VARY, FREE

JACQUELINE DONACHIE

A showcase of the Scottish experience of Italy in the eighteenth century, a time when artistic, entrepreneurial and aristocratic fascination with the country was reaching boiling point.

1 DEC-11 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

1 DEC-27 OCT 19, TIMES VARY, FREE

Upright Gallery

THE MODERN PORTRAIT

A display collating paintings, sculptures and works from the Portrait Gallery’s twentieth-century collection, ft. a variety of well-known faces, from Ramsay Macdonald to Alan Cumming, Tilda Swinton to Danny McGrain.

Jacqueline Donachie presents sculpture, installation, photography, film and drawing in a major exhibition, engaging with ideas of support, platforms, and individual / familial / collective identity. JUXTAPOSED

1-22 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of illustrations and prints by Anoushka Schellekens and Rachel Donaldson.

REFORMATION TO REVOLUTION

1 DEC-1 APR 19, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition examining the cultural consequences of the national religion becoming Protestantism in sixteenth century Scotland. HEROES AND HEROINES

Dundee Art

1 DEC-31 MAY 19, TIMES VARY, FREE

A re-examination of major Scottish figures which questions our habit of framing history around individuals and idols. WHEN WE WERE YOUNG: PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDHOOD

1 DEC-15 APR 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts

KATE V ROBERTSON: THIS MESS IS KEPT AFLOAT

Part of Luminate 2017, this exhibition documents the experience and representation of childhood to coincide with Scotland’s Year of the Young Person 2018. Photographs from the permanent collection of the NGS are used to explore how the experience of childhood has changed over the years, and how the portrayal of children has shifted too.

9 DEC-25 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

1 DEC-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design

ART AND ANALYSIS: TWO NETHERLANDISH PAINTERS WORKING IN JACOBEAN SCOTLAND

A small exhibition focusing on two 17th-century artists Adrian Vanson and Adam de Colone, showcasing a group of paintings which have been examined by paintings conservator Dr Caroline Rae, along with the findings from her research.

Glasgow-based artist Kat V Robertson’s first solo exhibition in a UK institution, presenting a major installation of new sculptural work. ANDREW LACON: FRAGMENTS

9 DEC-25 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Andrew Lacon’s first solo exhibition in a UK institution is based on a journey he made from Mexico City to Birmingham in 2015 and positions expansive ideas in a deceptively simple way.

ULAY: SO YOU SEE ME

1-16 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Six-footer British masterpiece Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) by John Constable, displayed alongside another celebrated landscape painting, William McTaggart’s The Storm (1890).

1 DEC-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition centred around a painting of the execution of Charles I – based on eye-witness accounts and contemporary engravings – by an unknown Dutch artist.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

16 DEC-11 MAR 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The McManus

1 DEC-18 FEB 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Stills

20TH CENTURY: MASTERPIECES OF SCOTTISH AND EUROPEAN ART

An exhibition of works offering a historical overview of some of the most significant artistic contributions made during the last century. The exhibition also aims to place Scottish modern art within an international context. ARTIST ROOMS: MUSIC FROM THE BALCONIES - ED RUSCHA AND LOS ANGELES

1 DEC-29 APR 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A display highlighting the ways in which Ed Ruscha (b.1937, Nebraska, USA) draws upon urban landscape and architecture, cinema, brands, car culture and language that refer and relate to LA and Hollywood to create works about the American Dream. NOW

1 DEC-18 FEB 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A second edition of the Scottish National Gallery’s dynamic exhibition series NOW, this time focussing on storytelling and showcasing the work of Turner Prize-winning artist Susan Philipsz, along with pieces by Michael Armitage, Yto Barrada, Kate Davis, Hiwa K and Sarah Rose. PICTURE HOOKS

Acclaimed exhibition Picture Hooks returns for its third year, showcasing the result of one year’s collaboration between five arts grads and their established illustrator mentors.

Listings

Talbot Rice Gallery

Ulay’s work lies at the intersection between photography, performance and critical interventions. He has gained international recognition for his ground-breaking collabs with Marina Abramović, and brings a new sound installation to DJCAD for So you see me.

A MEETING OF TWO MASTERPIECES

1 DEC-25 MAR 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

1 DEC-18 FEB 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

2 DEC-10 JUN 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8 - £10

IN FOCUS: THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2017

An exhibition representing the best in contemporary portrait painting, selected from 2,580 entries by artists from 87 countries around the world. ROBIN GILLANDERS (A RETROSPECTIVE)

1 DEC-14 JAN 18, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

A solo exhibition at Stills dedicated to the work of Edinburgh-based artist Robin Gillanders.

Summerhall DEERHEART

1-22 DEC, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of art and poetry, the result of award-winning poet Yvonne Reddick’s collaboration with renowned Serbian-born British artist Diana Zwibach. EXIT FROM COALTOWN

1-17 DEC, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

2016 winner of the RSA Open Exhibition award Summerhall Prize. An exhibition of new and recent work by Edinburgh based artist, Michael Dawson. Michael produces vibrant works on paper, wood, mdf and canvas in an expressionist style. Intense and energetic, rich in vivid colour and heavily covered in text, stencils and bursts of texture, the works are primarily concerned with a universal experience filtered through his life.

A SENSE OF PLACE: TWENTIETH CENTURY SCOTTISH PAINTING

1 DEC-7 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of primarily landscape paintings, including work from the Glasgow Boys, the Scottish Colourists, James McIntosh Patrick and Joan Eardley. FIRE AND STONE

1 DEC-4 FEB 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

An continuation of the NMS and British Museum’s Reflections on Celts spotlight tour, featuring a replica of the Monifieth II Pictish stone which has been commissioned from stone carver David McGovern. THE VICTORIAN LANDSCAPE

1 DEC-28 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

This year’s Winter Works on Paper display features artists already represented in oil in the gallery, including John MacWhirter and William McTaggart, offering the chance to compare the effects achieved by artists in their use of different media.

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Illustration: Mica Warren

THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

1 DEC-14 JAN 18, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

New works by Glasgow-based artist Jacob Kerray.

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Beauty and Balance We take a look at jewellery by designers who fit the Local Heroes criteria of outstanding design that is emblematic of contemporary Scotland’s design language Words: Stacey Hunter

design language can be understood as not only an aesthetic characteristic but as a mood, attitude, perspective or process. The eclectic designers selected here all belong to Scotland’s flourishing independent jewellery design scene. In their own highly individual way, each brings a refreshingly inventive spirit, lightness of touch or social commentary to modern jewellery. Freya Alder uses brass, a relatively inexpensive metal for jewellery which gives her the freedom to communicate her ideas with an immediacy and expressiveness that working in precious metals can often limit. Alder’s recurring subject – the nude woman – is fraught with conflict, as the Glasgow designer explains: “The female form is often reductively objectified and generally devalued. I want my work to have a humour and an informality that isn’t often afforded to the subject of the naked woman or indeed the discipline of jewellery.” Akvile Su is a designer and activist who makes minimalist jewellery using recycled EcoSilver. The Lithuanian-born designer, who is based in Edinburgh, notes that jewellery is one of the most gendered of everyday items “so it’s important to challenge those gender norms through what we create and wear. I think it is a very dated idea to separate adornments into either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’. Gender neutral equates to ‘free’ and ‘modern’ to me. I feel like a change is coming soon and there is a global conversation happening already. One I am keen through my work to contribute to.” The way the designer oversees her photoshoots including casting, makeup and styling is indicative of the new wave of Scottish designers who are also art directors of their own brand. Kate Trouw is a Fife-based jeweller who uses Polymer clay, sand and sterling silver in her enigmatic designs. The designer has recently moved from London to her new Scottish studio, a converted Art Deco cinema which sits on a cliff above the sea. The forms and colours of her latest collection are influenced by items washed up on the beach that reflect an industrial heritage – “shards of pottery; swirling patterns of black sand (made of coal) and rusted metal.” Trouw has a nuanced approach to form that combines organic and manmade looking shapes together in a way that feels new, loose and free. Glasgow’s Soizig Carey creates what might be termed modern-mystical artefacts using silver and gold. Her current collection, Estética, explores geometric formulas, rotating movements and, principally, the circle. The designer describes her work as drawing heavily from publications by artist, designer and inventor, Bruno Munari, and

by mathematician and philosopher, Matila Ghyka. “They each explore geometry in art and nature and create visual case studies of shapes.” Cecilia Stamp’s Populuxe collection channels futuristic late 50s and early 60s style and consumer culture, mixing precious metals with pastel colours in resin. She studied printed textiles and surface design as well as jewellery, and is also a musician. Stamp believes that all of these forms of expression feed into her current practice. Her work is wearable, feminine, playful and refined. Stamp enjoys being part of the design community in Glasgow. She says, “There is such a strong community of artists, designers and musicians here, and this has definitely aided and fed into my work.” Heather Woof is an Edinburgh-based designer who makes minimalism fun. Her new collection reframes the classic teardrop shape balancing minimalist geometries with refined elegance and simplicity. Her Ripple collection is inspired by pattern and rhythm and features softer geometries, – movement causes light to play across the facets, highlighting clean lines and subtle textures. Jennifer Gray’s work occupies a unique place somewhere between sculpture, research, storytelling and metalsmithing. From her Utopia range – which featured a set of surface tiles rendered in Jesmonite, and a condiment set created with solid brass spheres – to her Dolly The Sheep Clone Bracelets in sterling silver for the National

Lynne MacLachlan

Jennifer Gray

Akvile Su

Cecilia Stamp

Heather Woof

Soizig Carey

Freya Alder

Kate Trouw

Museum of Scotland – Gray is constantly experimenting. Her style is eclectic, irreverent and romantic making her one of the most interesting designers working in Scotland today. Lynne MacLachlan’s work is characterised by her innovative processes. Her Glasgow studio tests the limits of materials and techniques to produce lightweight structures designed for the body. Using electric colour palettes MacLachlan hand dyes each piece creating shimmering Moiré interference patterns. She is best known for using 3D printed nylon, a durable, light material that has a tactile matt textured surface. More recently the designer has reproduced her innovative forms in precious metal with buyers given the option to choose an internal yellow or rose gold plating for a subtle flash of colour. Don’t miss our extended online article where we present more outstanding jewellery design including: Stacey Bentley, Ruth Leslie, Kirsten Manzi, Heather McDermott, Euan McWhirter and Tom Pigeon. @localheroesscot

December 2017

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