Archive for January, 2011

All you need to know about goNorth 2011

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Submissions are now being accepted for goNorth, Scotland’s largest music industry event. The Inverness shindig takes place on June 9-10 and the biggest change this year is the introduction of the goNorth Festival Tour, replacing the goNorth stage at RockNess which has been on the go for the past five of its 10-year existence.

Instead, goNorth will now have its own stage at Wickerman in Dumfries & Galloway (July 22/23), Belladrum Tartan Heart in Inverness-shire (August 5-6) and Loopallu in Ullapool (September 16-17), and all the acts who are accepted for goNorth showcases will be invited to play at least one of these festivals.

In the best-case scenario, an artist could get to play three festivals and an industry showcase from one application. On top of that, they could also find themselves included on the goNorth 2011 compilation CD which will be sent out to industry movers and shakers by Music Week.

While goNorth will host 60 acts in total, 34 of them will be selected from online applications. The only downside is that they have to go through the dreadful Sonicbids website, which asks for a payment of $6 (yes, American dollars) to apply for a Scottish music event. Sigh. The deadline for submissions is April 27.

Amber Wilson – Let Down

Our Lunar Activities – Break My Fall

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Live review: Celtic Connections 2011

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

If the 2011 edition of Celtic Connections was about anyone, it was RACHEL SERMANNI. Having been invited to play seven separate gigs in its 18-day schedule, few artists in the Glasgow festival’s 18-year history will have found themselves more in demand, certainly not one still in their teens who hasn’t even released any music.

It’s not difficult to see why she is such hot property. Coming on to the Old Fruitmarket stage clad in a red tartan dress alongside her glamorous trio of female backing musicians for an unadvertised appearance at the annual BBC Scotland TV special, it took barely 10 seconds for the capacity crowd to hush itself in reverance at this enchanting spectacle.

Hers may have been the third performance of a six-act bill but it was a show-stealer. Opening song Breathe Easy with its chorus of “We’ll swim knowing rain can’t touch us” is playfully innocent and graceful, and enough to have a pin-drop silent audience rapt. With her beaming smile and easy charm, Sermanni is a natural in front of the microphone, addressing her new admirers with “Hello, many people” in her Highland lilt.

Song To A Fox is a more melancholy offering but, like Bones, it showcases the musical talents of her bandmates on piano and fiddles. With each of the acts limited to just 20 minutes, Sermanni rounds off a four-song set with a solo acoustic cover of The Jackson 5′s I Want You Back, beautifully transforming a party favourite into a touching lovestruck lullaby.

Opening the night was ANDY IRVINE, a mere half-century older in years, and from the school that folk songs ought to have two minutes of rambling explanation before they begin. His set of traditional storytelling material was livened up by the odd blast of harmonica.

FURNACE MOUNTAIN prove to be a real oddity, though an entertaining one. The Virginia-based stringed quartet, who look like they come from a town where time has stopped, embark on a frenzied instrumental start before completely changing pace with the tender folky ballad Ooh Belle, which makes great use of their two female members’ crackling, emotion-laced vocals. The two-minute finale of Sugar In the Gourd is downright ridiculous, however, and sees Danny Knicely ditch his mandolin to embark on a one-man jig on the spot, twirling and high-kicking his way to the end of the song and much laughter.

Following Rachel Sermanni are THE CREOLE CHOIR OF CUBA, a predominantly vocal group with 10 members, full of colourful costumes and expressive dancing, who endear themselves with their vibrancy and sweet attempts to communicate with the audience between songs with the most basic grasp of English. Although the harmonies of the five women are impressive, it does get a bit tedious, especially when the drowsy beat of Tande stretches into its seventh minute.

On the previous night at the same venue, the other Celtic Connections show The Pop Cop attended saw SHARON SHANNON’S BIG BAND hit by the withdrawals of Shane MacGowan and Imelda May.

While Irish accordion player Shannon’s own material is a bit too heavy on traditional reels, saved only by some interesting saxophone work and a waltz with a surprising shift up in pace, she does at least benefit from the variety of her guest vocalists. Last-minute replacement Heidi Talbot makes little attempt to disguise her nerves, warning the crowd, “If I make a balls of this I’ll do a dance… and I haven’t danced since I was 15″, but she weighs in with satisfying covers of Eddi Reader’s Everything and Tom Waits’ Time.

While fellow Big Band guests Eleanor McEvoy and Mundy turn the headline performance into a very Irish affair, Scottish support act THE PAUL McKENNA BAND deserve a mention. Despite the spruced-up quintet fancying themselves as a trad-folk boy band, albeit with a couple of members on the podgy side, they fill the Old Fruitmarket with their sweet harmonies and seem equally adept at both the slower ballads and uptempo barn dances.

*More video footage from Rachel Sermanni and other performers is available on the BBC Celtic Connections 2011 website

Rachel Sermanni – Eggshells

Rachel Sermanni - I Want You Back (live at Celtic Connections 2011)

Mundy and Sharon Shannon – Galway Girl

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The best Scottish music photo of 2010

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

“A good photo can’t be repeated” – Harry Benson

Thanks to everyone who entered The Pop Cop’s third annual competition to find the Best Scottish live music photograph of the year, launched last November. It really has become one of the highlights of what this blog does, whatever that may be.

Once again I doth my cap to the king of photographers, HARRY BENSON, who took time out of his incredibly enviable life of snapping American presidents and suchlike to cast his eye over all 72 entries. As my old man says, I could get a piece at anyone’s door.

Here are Mr Benson’s favourites:

WINNER

Photographer: Steve Perks (Montrose) (website)
Subject: Sham 69
Location: Cafe Drummond, Aberdeen; November 10, 2010

Steve Perks: “Oh my goodness! I can’t tell you how excited I am to have the legendary Harry Benson pick my image as his favourite, it is a great honour.
“I took up photography as a serious hobby six years ago and have been busy serving my apprenticeship in music photography since January 2010 by working with local bands in small bars and occasionally getting lucky on a freelance basis with groups like Level 42.
“I remember, as a very young bass guitarist, the punk explosion in ’77 and Sham 69 were right in the thick of it. My research alerted me to their ‘Who Killed Joe Public World Tour’ and I contacted their management to arrange a photo pass.
“As is often the case when you are new on the scene and trying to build a portfolio, I received no reply. Not being the type to give up easily, I added Dave Parsons, the original guitarist and founding member, as a friend on MySpace and sent him a private message. To my surprise, I received a prompt reply to say he had passed my details on to the new lead vocalist, who would be in touch.
“Time drew closer and I received no reply, so I added the guitarist and the lead singer as friends on Facebook. They were both very approachable and apologetic and everything got sorted for access on the night at Cafe Drummond. On arrival at the venue, I discovered the lighting was non-existent against a black backdrop and this was the first time I had ever been given permission to use flash, which is normally a big no-no.
“I bagged a large set of ‘safe’ shots then got to thinking why this band are still so successful. Their audience are as important as their performance so I decided to literally get right in the thick of it to create an ‘I was there’ set of images. I was jostled, pushed, covered in flying beer and felt like a war correspondent!
“I got a good set of images showing the interaction between the band and the audience. I chose this image because I had deliberately made the audience the focal point, but with the framing just right to pick out the two primary band members. As an added bonus, Sham 69 were so pleased with the images they have become good friends and I will get the call next time they are in the area!”
Harry Benson: “The photo is real and straightforward, you feel you are there. Everyone is having a good time and really into the band.”

Congratulations to Steve Perks for his fantastic winning photograph, which is almost as entertaining as the story behind it – a great tale of modern social networking mixed with old school rocking! Steve wins:
- A pair of weekend camping tickets for the Belladrum Festival in August
- A pair of weekend camping tickets for the Loopallu Festival in September
- A £50 gift voucher to spend at Park Cameras
- His winning photograph displayed on The Pop Cop website’s sidebar for the next 12 months

*Here are the technical specs of Steve’s winning shot for you photography geeks… Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mk3; Lens: Canon EF 24-70L; ISO: 3200; Aperture: f/2.8; Shutter speed: 1/200; Focal length: 70mm; Flash: Canon 580EX Mk2; Manual setting @ 1/64 power; ¼ CTO gel; Sto-Fen diffuser

JOINT 2ND PLACE

Photographer: Keith D Edinburgh (Edinburgh) (website)
Subject: Hagana
Location: Liquid Room, Edinburgh; August 1, 2010

Keith D Edinburgh: “I regularly photograph bands on the local Edinburgh scene as I’ve got a passion for live music and love trying to capture the essence of a performance in a photo. Hagana are, in my opinion, one of the best bands on the Edinburgh circuit and their live shows are always entertaining, particularly when they enlist the help of Phil (in the foreground of the picture) to lend his unique brand of ska-punk skills to their gigs. I picked this photo as I felt it captured the energy, fun and energy of a typical Hagana performance. The composition and lighting seemed to fall into place to create what is hopefully a striking and memorable image.”
Harry Benson: “You see the two musicians are completely engrossed in their performance and the angle is interesting.”

JOINT 2ND PLACE

Photographer: Edmund Fraser (Edinburgh) (website)
Subject: Basshunter
Location: City Nightclub, Edinburgh; September 4, 2010

Edmund Fraser: “I used to be the resident photographer in City Nightclub, I’m ashamed to say. Basshunter was shipped in from Sweden to perform to a particularly infatuated teenage crowd as one can see from the picture. There were lots of drinks flying about as per usual for a Scottish gig. I chose this pic as I felt it perfectly encapsulated the obsessed vibe of the crowd. Live music is as much about the crowd as the artist, if not more so in my opinion, and it’s great to watch the two come together on camera.”
Harry Benson: “The viewer can see that it is a real concert and not a posed photo taken in a studio. You see the hysteria of the fans.”

4TH PLACE

Photographer: Brian Vass (Larbert) (website)
Subject: Kids In Glass Houses
Location: Academy, Glasgow; November 17, 2010

Brian Vass: “I was shooting Kids In Glass Houses for an online publication called Is This Music? and grabbed this shot of the bass player. I chose to enter it as I really like the the look of intensity on his face and the lighting provided nice tones that I thought worked well in black and white. I don’t usually go for diagonal shots, but the composition called for it here. I framed this so that the mic stand intersected with the bottom corner of the photo, which then meets the line of the bass strings. It was a fairly frantic gig with lots of screaming fans and running around on stage, but there were only three photographers including myself and plenty of space to move around.”
Harry Benson: “Very interesting composition in black and white. You stop to look at this photo.”