Archive for September, 2008
Live review: The Little Ones @ King Tut’s, Glasgow
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
Sometimes we think we have this pop game sussed, that picking out those artists who are destined for success and ensuing fan worship isn’t so difficult if you know a good tune when you hear it.
At the end of last year we genuinely believed THE LITTLE ONES would be one of 2008′s most popular new bands, given the strength of their pre-album material and a decent internet buzz. But seeing as The Pop Copwas one of just 60 punters who made the effort to catch the Californians’ only Scottish date at King Tut’s last night, it does make us wonder.
In many ways it mirrors the riches-to-rags story of Voxtrot, another American indie pop band whose fantastic EPs earned them a sizable internet following which curiously seemed to evaporate when it came round to releasing their debut album.
Putting aside these indifferences, The Little Ones hadn’t travelled 5,000 miles to put on anything less than a thoroughly entertaining show, and their hardy fans were rewarded with a 30-minute set encompassing the highlights of their Morning Tide album as well as the standout moments from their Sing Song EP, namely Oh, MJ! and the barnstorming Lovers Who Uncover.
For now, I guess they’ll just have to remain our little secret.
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School of rock
Monday, September 15th, 2008
There’s no more liberating time than your university years yet there’s no less liberating time than Freshers’ Week – seven days of meticulously regimented fun.
First-year students are immediately foisted with timetabled drinking contests, themed parties, cheesy games and the challenge of copping off with a stranger. It’s effectively an 18-30 holiday without the sunburn.
Thankfully salvation usually comes in the shape of some decent live music entertainment and this year’s Freshers’ Week has seen Scotland’s biggest universities lure an impressive bag of talents which we’ve listed below.
GLASGOW UNIVERSITY
b The Subways + We Were Promised Jetpacks, September 15, Queen Margaret Union
4 The Subways – Rock & Roll Queen
4 We Were Promised Jetpacks – Roll Up Your Sleeves (live)
b Wiley, September 15, Debates Chamber, Glasgow University Union
4 Wiley – Wearing My Rolex
DUNDEE UNIVERSITY
b Frightened Rabbit, September 16, The Union
4 Frightened Rabbit – Head Rolls Off (acoustic)
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY
b N-Trance, September 20, Potterrow, Venue
4 N-Trance – Set You Free
STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY
b The Rascals, September 24, Strathclyde Union
4 The Rascals – I’ll Give You Sympathy
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY
b Chris T-T, September 24, The Tunnels
b Popup, September 26, The Tunnels
b The Ads, September 27, The Tunnels
b Fall Short! Conform!, September 28, The Tunnels
4 Fall Short! Conform! – Wolves
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Glasvegas – Glasvegas album review
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
GLASVEGAS the band speak in a language Glaswegians relate to but is kept at arm’s length by the ruling classes. So in some ways Glasvegas the album is the musical equivalent of John Smeaton.
However, this is not an record about class, it is about real life. Other artists preach to fans with thought-provoking lyrical themes such as soppy man-love, life in a tourbus or, in the case of the new Kaiser Chiefs single, “What do you want for tea? I want crisps”.
Glasvegas singer James Allan writes about a heroic social worker, the pressures of a pre-arranged playground fight, defiance over an absent father, insecurity manifesting itself in rabid jealousy.
It would be easy to misconstrue Allan’s slang delivery as a byword for ned-rock and file next to Oasis and The Stone Roses, especially if the Go Square Go chant of “Here we, here we, here we fuckin’ go” was your only experience of Glasvegas. But that would miss the point entirely. It’s the equivalent of listening to the numpties who call up radio phone-ins with their Old Firm paranoia, or cringing at deluded haggards with teeth stained by 40 years of neglect turning up for The X Factor auditions. It may make us embarrassed or ashamed to be Scottish, but it’s a representation we can readily identify with.
The Glasvegas album has humour and tragedy but, most of all, passion. Allan sings as though his gut is burning with all that’s wrong and right with the world. Flowers And Football Tops, easily the bravest opening song ever heard on a debut album, is a heartbreaking lament written from the perspective of the mother of Kriss Donald, the 15-year-old Glaswegian who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 2004.
The vintage 60s production immerses the music in echo, feedback and reverb, but the key to what makes this album a potential classic is that, at 10 songs long, the little weak material there is has been cleverly relegated to the tail-end, by which time the record’s rare emotional resonance should have left you utterly mesmerised.
Reasons to love Glasvegas: Genuine strike-a-chord emotion, lyrical ingenuity.
Reasons to hate Glasvegas: Over-hyped.
Reasons to ignore Glasvegas: None.
4 Glasvegas – Flowers And Football Tops
4 Glasvegas – Back To Black (Amy Winehouse cover)
b October 18, Moshulu, Aberdeen – Gonzo Tour with Friendly Fires (tickets on sale September 12)
b October 30, The Venue, Dumfries – Tennent’s Mutual gig (tickets on sale September 15)
b October 31, Town Hall, Ayr – Tennent’s Mutual gig with Laura Marling and Malcolm Middleton (tickets on sale September 15)
b December 16, Barrowland, Glasgow (sold out)
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