Scotsman.com - Gig reviews Feed

Gig review: Elvis Costello and the Imposters

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:20:18 GMT

ELVIS’ army has gathered from far and wide. Well, quite a lot from Glasgow anyway and, as he thunders on past the last train witching hour in a packed nearly three-hour set, chances are a few of them ended up here to stay.

Gig review: Elvis Costello and The Imposters, Edinburgh

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:31:49 GMT

ELVIS Costello’s Revolver tour has come round again, but no two shows are the same, thanks to the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, aka “the showbusiness marvel of the age”, a colourful fairground-style wheel of musical fortune which dictates the set list according to turns and choices made by audience members.

Gig review: Misty In Roots, Glasgow

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:29:31 GMT

WHILE the rain washed down upon tens of thousands at the huge Stone Roses show across the city, one love of a more intimate variety was playing out here.

Gig review: Exit Calm, Edinburgh

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:23:45 GMT

YORKSHIRE’S youthful Exit Calm may be the latest in a long line of British bands who write clod-hoppingly portentous lyrics in the hope they’ll be perfectly calibrated to register as profound with an audience bearing the glaze of beer in their eyes, but there can surely be little doubt that sequences like “forever dancing with the devil, you’re lost in the crowd / you think you’re on another level, you think you’ve figured it out” are of a kind which Noel Gallagher would gladly offer in a high-profile single release.

Gig review: The Stone Roses / Primal Scream, Glasgow

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:55:53 GMT

ALMOST 23 years to the day, the Stone Roses returned to the scene of one of their most historic gigs for, as singer Ian Brown put it, “a little déjà vu”.

Gig review: Exit Calm, Edinburgh

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:47:30 GMT

YORKSHIRE’S youthful Exit Calm may be the latest in a long line of British bands who write clod-hoppingly portentous lyrics in the hope they will appear perfectly calibrated to register as profound with an audience bearing the glaze of beer in their eyes.

Gig review: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Glasgow

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:23:24 GMT

AS EVER, hearing Neil Young play live was a tumult, a storm, an emotional flaying by guitar, with moments of shuddering calm secreted throughout.

Gig review: The Who, Glasgow

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:57:23 GMT

One moment of charged, nostalgic emotion among many at this show came when Pete Townshend unexpectedly dedicated Behind Blue Eyes to the late Iain Banks, a gesture that was met with a huge cheer – second only to that which went up earlier when archive footage of the band’s long-departed but legendary drummer Keith Moon appeared on the huge circular backing screen and proceeded to “duet” with Roger Daltrey.

Gig review: MacDougall & Friends, Glasgow

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:57:20 GMT

Last night’s early evening concert was a relaxed affair. The title itself – Jamie MacDougall and Friends – suggested as much. But it was the thread of folk music, and a manner of presentation to match it, that gave an air of congeniality to the hour-long programme.

Gig review: Fence Records Showcase, Glasgow

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:54:31 GMT

ON A RARE showing of glorious sunshine for the West End Festival, it was a testament to the esteem in which the members of Fife’s DIY label Fence Records are held, that so many ignored sunstroke and alcohol-induced exhaustion to cram into Oran Mor’s basement for this seven-hour showcase.

Gig review: David Liebman/Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Edinburgh

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:54:31 GMT

DAVID Liebman can make his soprano saxophone sing like a bird, moan like a wounded animal, and much else.

Gig review: Lisa Stansfield, Edinburgh

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:16:46 GMT

KNOWN during the Nineties for over-produced, mid-market ballads and upbeat tracks with only the vaguest resemblance to the then-burgeoning house scene, Lancashire’s Lisa Stansfield is not what you expect in person.

Classical review: David Liebman / Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Edinburgh

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:12:19 GMT

DAVID Liebman can make his soprano saxophone sing like a bird, moan like a wounded animal, and much else.

Gig review: Fence Record Showcase, Glasgow

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:08:32 GMT

ON A rare showing of glorious sunshine for the West End Festival, it’s testimony to the esteem in which Fife’s DIY label Fence Records is held that so many ignored sunstroke to cram into Oran Mor’s basement for this seven-hour showcase.

Festival Review: Rockness, Dores

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:02:32 GMT

ON A weekend like the one just passed, RockNess is a festival with its own built-in head start in terms of customer satisfaction.

Gig review: Stanley Odd/ Hector Bizerk, Glasgow

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:55:22 GMT

STANLEY Odd and Hector Bizerk may sound like characters from the Beano but are, in fact, two kindred hip-hop bands from either end of the M8, fronted by MCs who rap in broad Scottish accents.

Gig review: Half Man Half Biscuit, Glasgow

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 00:17:44 GMT

WITH their faithful cult following, dedication to the art of the song title (shameless puns and namechecking lesser-sung sporting heroes of yesteryear a speciality) and enduring reputation as John Peel favourites, Birkenhead’s Half Man Half Biscuit are The Fall it’s okay to laugh at – or, preferably, with.

Gig review: Mudhoney, Glasgow

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:10:13 GMT

RE-FORMING? That’s for those sissy bands who split up. While many of their better-known peers have been and gone and come again, this Seattle proto-grunge crew have kept on keeping on – in much their original line-up, led by singer/guitarist Mark Arm – for a quarter-century, averaging an album every four years.

Gig review: Breabach, Glasgow

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:10:02 GMT

Young Highland-rooted five-piece Breabach have come a mighty long way since first emerging as winners of a Danny Kyle Open Stage Award at Celtic Connections 2005 – not least literally, with consistent touring taking them as far afield as Australia, but primarily in terms of the steadily progressing musicianship and assiduous hard graft that have got them there.

Gig review: Todd Rundgren, Glasgow

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:10:00 GMT

In A long and varied career, encompassing psych rock, piano balladry, prog rock, even bossa nova, not to mention production duties for the likes of Meat Loaf, Sparks and New York Dolls, Todd Rundgren has been ahead of the curve technologically and out of fashion musically, but always worth checking in with.