Dec 032010
 

By Pete Thomson.

Motorhead. I only know three of their songs, but I do have a big soft spot for Lemmy Kilmister. When he was kicked out of Hawkwind in 1975 for ‘doing the wrong drugs,’ he formed Motörhead and never looked back. It’s more than 20 years since they were in town and when I hear they’re due to play the relatively cosy Music Hall, I just have to get tickets.

Due to “unprecedented demand,” however, the gig is moved to the infamous AECC. The prospect of an evening in that miserable, miles-from-nowhere hellhole holds considerably less allure but neither Lemmy nor I are in the first flush of youth and I might never get another chance to see him. Not in this world, anyway.

Ms. Ashby and I battle through gale-force winds on the night, stumbling into the AECC minutes before the band comes on. As we enter the arena, a few faces from the golden age of Radars drift by. For a moment the years seem to melt away, but there’s no Rosie behind the bar and beneath the varying degrees of intoxication obvious in my erstwhile drinking buddies there’s a discomforting but undeniable air of decrepitude. None of us is getting any younger.

Motörhead shortly hit the boards to deafening acclaim and launch into being, well, Motörhead. With Lemmy growling famously away beneath his customised cowboy hat, Phil Campbell throws a few guitar heroics while, high over the stage, Mikkey Dee thrashes madly at his kit for all the world like Animal from The Muppets. Nothing new there, then: cacophonous, no-frills rock and roll that sends the moshers about their somewhat less than solemn business of going loopy. Let’s face it, though, your average Motörhead fan is happy as a pig amongst the proverbial as long as they hear Ace Of Spades at some point and everything else at 150 decibels. Fair play to that.

she’s unusually pale beneath the sonic onslaught

But I’m not your average fan. Apart from the light show being downright ordinary, the sound is terrible and it’s dawning on me pretty damn quick why I stopped listening to this kind of stuff 30-odd years ago.

Yes, I can see why their music has been called “a beacon of defiant celebration,” and I do love the punk ethic that underpins everything Motörhead stands for; it’s just that after three numbers, they haven’t got an awful lot left to offer.

Ms. Ashby observes that maybe Motörhead is ‘a male thing’. Here against her better judgement, she’s unusually pale beneath the sonic onslaught but correct. Between hordes of headbangers having a ball and the hundreds of vaguely disappointed punters shuffling around uneasily at the back, there are very few women. Seven songs in, it’s time to go. We leave them to it.

It’s all been a bit of a let down; but that’s the trouble with legends, at least those with whom we’re largely unacquainted. Go see any revered artist without the emotional resonance that comes from hearing them at our most pivotal moments and we’re reduced to little more than interested spectators. Sometimes that works but it can be a recipe for disaster.

I remember how not even the warm intimacy of the Music Hall could save country giant Willie Nelson from being well past his sell-by date. Without that cushion of sentimentality, I saw not the wonderful show I’d hoped for but a tired old man going through the motions. The old trouper’s voice was shot, the show cloyingly contrived. But the majority of the crowd couldn’t care less. They loved him. Like Lemmy, he soldiers on regardless. Somehow, that’s exactly how it should be. Who wants to live forever, anyway?

Nov 252010
 

With thanks to Mark Chapman of PCS Union.

On Saturday 27 November at 11.00, Aberdeen Trades Union Council members, trade unionists and representatives of community groups from throughout Aberdeen will march from St Nicholas Church, Union Street, to an anti-racism rally in Castlegate.

A range of speakers will talk about racism, the anti-public sector cuts campaign and the campaign against privatisation of Royal Mail.

Mark Chapman of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) commented:

“We have recently seen activity by the BNP and National Front in Aberdeen. In a number of cases they have distributed racist literature to children outside city schools. There is no place for these beliefs in our society and Saturday’s march and rally is our opportunity to get this message across. Please join us to send out a clear signal – these people are not welcome in our community.

“Public sector cuts will have a huge effect in and around Aberdeen. With the city council set to make cuts of £127 million, there cannot fail to be a detrimental effect on every member of our community.

“Royal Mail privatisation will also lead to huge job cuts. This is a service that we all rely on and can trust. To privatise it would lead to a less-accountable and far more costly service for users”.

Nov 122010
 

With thanks to Interesting Music.

Interesting Music presents an interesting combination of musicians, each highly respected for their individual talent, at the Blue Lamp, Sunday, Nov 21st. ( see events calendar – click here )

Catriona McKay (Scottish harp) and Chris Stout (Shetland fiddle) play a dynamic and adventurous exploration of traditional Scottish music. Performing together for 15 years, they are connected to the traditions of their instruments while being highly aware of and enthralled by the possibilities they hold. They pursue a path to explore sounds that connect and challenge.

Their self-penned 2010 album White Nights is a modulation between past and present, between summer and winter, between reliability and risk. Music inspired by the heightened senses during the long light nights of summer in the north, and in contrast, music which celebrates reflections of winter landscapes and sounds.

Through colour and depth of tone, they abandon themselves on a journey to create one sound, yet they carve out space for one another to allow a musical dialogue. It is this unity along with communication that makes their music so compelling.

Catriona has just been short-listed for a Glenfiddich Award up against Biffy Clyro, Paulo Nutini and Isobel Campbell – an interesting line up to say the least!

http://www.mckaystoutmusic.co.uk

CATRIONA MCKAY AND CHRIS STOUT + SUPPORT
Sunday, 21 November 2010
The Blue Lamp, 121 Gallowgate, Aberdeen, AB25 1BU. Phone (01224) 647472
Doors 8pm
Tickets £10+bf in adv / £12 on door
Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic

Nov 052010
 

With thanks to Anne Campbell.

Catford,  a new band on the Aberdeen scene, are about to release a superb new album called “Chronicles”. The Album will be launched at The Blue Lamp on Monday 8th November, offering the first chance check out this exciting new act.

Multi-instrumentalists and singer/songwriters Steve Crawford and Davy Cattanach are joined by Jonny Hardie who is Davy’s former band mate in the popular traditional outfit – “The Old Blind Dogs”.

Steve and Davy have been writing and playing together for several years, originally with the Pictones, but laterally as an acoustic duo. Whilst working with Jonny on a recording project, Jonny asked if they would like to record some tracks at his studio. Naturally they jumped at the chance and with Jonny on board a few tracks quickly turned into an album with some fabulous string arrangements and accompaniment by Hardie.

Also performing on the album are well known local musicians Mhairi Sinclair and Nicky Cairney, and the legendary saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock. Nigel’s contribution to the track “Pressure” is one of the albums many highlights.

The result is an acoustic album with an emphasis on vocal harmonies, driven by Steve and Davy’s percussion and guitar along with Jonny’s luxuriant strings. Those of us who have been hearing these songs developed and played at various gigs and sessions can now hear them arranged and performed exquisitely and will finally be able to take them home.

“Chronicles” is released on the 8th of November at the Blue Lamp and will be available from local outlets. The band will be joined on stage by local guitarist Pete Coutts in addition to all who appeared on the album. See Events. (link)

Nov 052010
 

By Anne Cargill.

A women’s barbershop choir has helped raise almost £6,000 for an Aberdeen charity.

Pictured is Gwen Topp, Director of the Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines, presenting a cheque for £5828.98 to Elaine Thomson, Chair of Cornerstone. The money was raised at a recent Grand Charity Concert which also featured the Granite City Chorus and the Flying Pigs.

Said Gwen Topp, Director of the Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adeline:

“We are absolutely delighted that the show was such a success and that we have been able to support the work of Cornerstone.”

The Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines International is one of the top women’s barbershop choruses in the UK, attracting women of all ages.

The chorus welcomes new members to their rehearsals every Monday in the Britannia Hotel Bucksburn.

With over 90 members the chorus will be perfoming their Christmas shows in December:

6th December – Mastrick Church,
10th December – Midstocket Church,
13th December – Peterculter Church,
17th December Holburn West Church.

All shows start at 7.45p.m.  Tickets available at the door or from 07941 415516 or tickets@aberdeenchorus.co.uk

Anne Cargill
Publicity Officer
Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines

Oct 292010
 

Compiled by Fred Wilkinson with thanks to Jani Lang.

The Jani Lang Band return to their ‘native home’ to deliver an extraordinary evening of music and dances from Hungary, Transylvania and beyond! The band will be appearing at The Blue Lamp on Saturday 6th November.

A táncház, meaning dance house, is the Hungarian ceilidh where people gather to enjoy, dance or learn traditional dances and music.

Jani Lang is a Hungarian fiddle player who is joined by some of the finest musicians from Scotland and Hungary to form the Jani Lang Band.

The Band was founded in Aberdeen Scotland in 2006 by Jani Lang, who moved there in 2005 after touring for many years with different bands and musicians. In Aberdeen local music sessions provided the starting point for a magical mixture of musical influences and talent.

The Jani Lang Band was born, creating a unique collaboration of Hungarian, Scottish, Irish and Egyptian musicians driven by an enthusiasm for Balkan and Gypsy music. This has developed into a shared passion and cultivated a deeper understanding of culture, language and the music.

On their Devil in A Box album they were joined by two of the most sought after musicians from Hungary, a rising star of the Gypsy music scene, singer-guitar player Guszti Balogh and the world famous cimbalom player, Kalman Balogh. The title Devil in a Box comes from a traditional Gypsy song which says: “If I catch the devil, I lock him in a box and the more he moves the more I hit the box”

Over the years they have stunned audiences at most of the Scottish folk festivals, such as the Shetland Folk Festival, Orkney Folk Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, Scots Fiddle Festival, etc. Their táncház will start with a performance of music followed by a ceilidh of Hungarian and Transylvanian dances led by a professional dancer from Hungary.

Come along to experience a real Hungarian ceilidh and dance the night away with the band!

Oct 292010
 

With thanks to Alex Constantinides.

A new charity set up to provide activities for adults with learning disabilities aims to put the emphasis on creativity, healthy living and fun!

Create Aberdeen – a new

initiative – was formed in March of last year as a response to Council cutbacks to Day Centres. However, the organisation is  not trying to replicate day services, but  aims to provide community-based activities which encompass the individual’s choices and needs, and also promotes integration and participation within people’s local communities.

Create members realised that people with learning disabilities had long been disadvantaged, discriminated against and segregated, and that Aberdeen services were going to fall far behind the good practices shown elsewhere.  For those losing a day centre place, a life of boredom, isolation and the knock on effects of that (ill health, depression, challenging behaviour) can follow.

Create is made up of staff, management and volunteers who got together to discuss what could be done to ensure people with learning disabilities had the opportunity to participate in meaningful activities that were suitable for their abilities, that enabled development, that were safe and supported, and also promoted the principles of Ordinary Living, and the rights of all to participate within their local communities.

Alex Constantinides of Create Aberdeen described how the group has evolved;

“With the support and encouragement of service users, carers, ACVO and other professionals, Create began the lengthy process of setting up as a constituted organisation, and lately a Company Limited by Guarantee with charitable status.

Run by skilled and experienced staff, with input from volunteers, the activities are tailored to meet the needs of the individuals attending the groups

“This has been a learning experience for all of us involved, and has meant some completely new skills have had to be learned pretty quickly – Previous social care jobs have not given us a grounding in fundraising, accounting or cashflow projections – but we have learned and are continuing towards our goals.

“Initially Create started with the intention of working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, and other voluntary sector providers, however this has proved to be a difficult task, and the process of providing a co-ordinated cluster of alternative services for people with learning disabilities has not run smoothly, but not for the lack of will.

“Create started by providing monthly social nights and fundraisers, and running taster days to let people know what we were about and what activities we could offer. Currently we are running regular sessions within community centres – Sports and team games, drama, arts and crafts, gentle exercise, music and dance. Run by skilled and experienced staff, with input from volunteers, the activities are tailored to meet the needs of the individuals attending the groups, and the choices they make.  Community Centre managers and Sheddocksley Baptist Church have been more than welcoming to our groups and have given us a great deal of support.’

[ See the website www.createaberdeen.org for updated sessions and social nights.]

“Create are also constantly looking at ways of fundraising and have a firewalk planned for Halloween this year, in the hope of raising over £1,000. Volunteers have been helping in our fundraising, and every donation has been helpful. We were successful in a bid to the Big Lottery – Investing in Ideas, and are currently using that funding to commission a feasibility study. Our evening drama group – Va Va Voom received funding from The Scottish Community Foundation – Make a Splash to enable us to pay for production costs for the performances in 2011.”

Create would be extremely happy to receive support from local businesses and individuals, either with donations, or voluntary work.

Contact alex@createaberdeen.org if you can help.

Oct 292010
 

By Fred Wilkinson with thanks to Christine Wilkie.

The Final Solution to the problem of Evil is a thought provoking and, in parts, controversial examination of the role of religion, faith, relationships and politics in modern day life. Two years after the authors tragic death, the piece has been released as an e-book by Chipmunka publishing.

David Alexander Edward Murdoch, born in Aberdeen on 21st January 1965,  was diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) at the age of twenty-one.

Davie, as myself and many others knew him, was a widely known and popular character who, despite his own difficulties, displayed a friendly and caring nature towards others around him. As fortune would have it, I only ever caught up with and spent time with Davie when he was ‘in good form’ and therefore have only pleasant memories of time in his company, and never fully appreciated the devastating impact of his mental health condition.

Never afraid to speak his mind, conversation with Davie could be surprising but always stimulating, and whether through his subtle sense of humour, or in focussed discussions, his need to question and to look at things from different angles always brought something fresh to our exchanges.

Davie had difficulty accepting that he had an illness. However, the condition dominated his life until his tragic death by suicide in Aberdeen on 23rd November 2008.

The Final Solution to the problem of Evil was inspired through his studies in Theology and his constant questioning of the meaning of life, the relevance of religion in today’s world and his often controversial views on day to day politics.

Unfortunately, Davie did not consider the piece to be finished. A short time before he died, he had written more on his computer which was misplaced during his last bout of mania. Perhaps we will never know what he really considered to be “The Final Solution to the Problem of Evil”

Chipmunka Publishing specialises in books, multimedia, music and art from themental health and well being community with the aim of giving more people a voice and changing the way the world thinks about mental health.

For more information on The Final Solution to the problem of Evil, click here.

Also by David A. E. Murdoch – Flying My Own Plane

Oct 292010
 

Miscellaneous

Mon 1st Nov.

7.00pm for 7.30pm start, Woodend Barn, Banchory

Climate Change and Scotland – What can we do about it ?

An illustrated presentation by our local member of the IPCC Professor Pete Smith FSB FRSE

Pete lectures on Soils and Global Change at Aberdeen University. Since 1996 he has served on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He was the Convening Lead Author of the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation chapter of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group III). He has coordinated and participated in many national and international projects on soils, agriculture, greenhouse gases, climate change, mitigation and impacts, and ecosystem modelling. He is a Fellow of the Society of Biology, a Research Fellow of the Royal Society (London), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

All welcome FREE ENTRY
Organised by Banchory Energy Reduction Initiative (BERI). BERI is a Climate Challenge Fund project working with the Banchory community to conserve energy in the home and through travel.
Information online at www.banchory.org

Tues 2nd Nov.

7.30pm, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Room 6

PUBLIC MEETING WITH THE MAYOR OF NAGASAKIA TALK A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD

The long running controversial subject of Nuclear Weapons comes to the fore in Aberdeen next week when the Mayor of Nagasaki will be speaking on behalf of a nuclear free world. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki and Vice President of Mayors for Peace will be talking about the effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th 1945. In the initial explosion and over the succeeding years over 200,000 of Nagasaki’s men women and children died agonisingly either from blast, burns, crushed limbs and bodies and latterly of leukemia, cancers and other tumours.

Mayors for Peace has over four thousand member cities in one hundred and forty four countries world-wide – sixty two of which are in the UK.


Comedy

Tues 2nd Nov.

7.30pm, Snafu

MARK NELSON, TONY LITTLER, SEAN GRANT, ASIM ALI, ANDREW LEARMONTH
£3/4/5

8.00pm, Music Hall

SEAN LOCK
£17.50+BF

Music

Sat 30th Oct.

4.00pm, One Up (instore gig)

STEVEN MILNE

7:00pm, Snafu

LITTLE COMETS, Plus Support

7:30pm, Lemon Tree

THE COAL PORTERS
£12+BF

8.00pm, Café Drummond

AKA SKA

8.00pm, The Moorings

GOTHIC DORICS

8.00pm, Captain Tom’s
Cirque-de-Sinister Halloween Party

THE RUCKUS, BROTHERS REID, SMOKIN CATFISH, THE WETFLEX
£5

11.00pm, The Tunnels

Rampage Rockclub
SATURDAYS IN ABERDEEN JUST GOT F**KING AWESOME!!
ABERDEEN NOW HAS A PREMIER SATURDAY ROCKCLUB.
http://www.facebook.com/rocknightaberdeen

Sun 31st Oct.

5.00pm to 7.00pm, Doonies Farm,  The Coast Road, Nigg , Aberdeen

Fire Walk Experience
An event to raise funds for future choices and Create Aberdeen ( see Article )

8.00pm, The Tunnels

GOO GOO MUCK ( Cramps tribute )

8.00pm, Carmelite Hotel, Stirling Street

Open Mic Session ( every Sunday. )

9.00pm, The Moorings

The Jam Factory ( every Sunday. )
Bands, acoustic musicians, jammers, poets etc. all welcome.

Mon 1st Nov.

7.30pm, The Tunnels

THEM:YOUTH Plus Support
£5

9.00pm, Blue Lamp

Traditional Acoustic Session. All welcome.

10.00pm, Café Drummond

Open Mic Night ( Every Monday )
Soloists, Poets, Musicians, Maniacs, and Full Bands Welcome.
( Full back line provided ) For more info, call 01224 619930

Tues 2nd Nov.

7.30pm, Lemon Tree

THE DIVINE COMEDY

Wed 3rd Nov.

7.30pm, Music Hall

LEE MEMPHIS KING (Elvis Tribute )
£18.50+BF

Thurs 4th Nov.

7.30pm, Cafe Drummond

6 DAY RIOT Plus Support

7.30pm, Project Slogan, 48 Langstane Place

MARK McCABE AND FRIENDS
Donation on entry

8.00pm, Shelley Leighs

The Big Mic Up – Hosted by Dave Moir and Kenny McLeod


Get off the couch! come down to Shelley Leigh’s and hear the music, be part of the vibe, Come along folks to Dave and Kenny’s open mic night . If you like to play, or just to listen then be prepared for a night of great music at Aberdeens latest musical cultural venue.

Fri 5th Nov.

7:30pm – 8:30pm, Music Hall

THE SALSA CELTICA BIG BAND with very special guests including JULIE FOWLIS and DERMOT BYRNE.

7.30pm, Lemon Tree

DAVE ACARI
£7+BF

8.00pm, Beach Ballroom

MERSAULT, THE DEPORTEES, AMBER WILSON, DEBUTANT
£7.50

8.00pm, Café Drummond

JAMES WALSH ( Starsailor ) Plus Support

8.00pm, The Moorings

DEATHWATCH, THE WRECKING BALL ( CLUB NIGHT )

Sat 6th Nov.

7.30pm, The Tunnels

FOUND, INDIAN RED LOPEZ

8.00pm, Blue Lamp

JANI LANG BAND (Plus a Hungarian Ceilidh )

A táncház, meaning dance house, is the Hungarian ceilidh where people gather to enjoy, dance or learn traditional dances and music..
Over the years they have stunned audiences at most of the Scottish folk festivals, such as the Shetland Folk Festival, Orkney Folk Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, Scots Fiddle Festival, etc.
Their táncház will start with a performance of music followed by a ceilidh of Hungarian and Transylvanian dances led by a professional dancer from Hungary.
Come along to experience a real Hungarian ceilidh and dance the night away with the band!

8.00pm, The Moorings

BAD BAD MEN, WHOLE SKY MONITOR, DIGITAL SIN

8.30pm, Tilted Wig

THE OXBOW LAKE, LUIZA STANIEC

9.00pm, Café Drummond

CANCER BATS

11.00pm, The Tunnels

Rampage Rockclub
SATURDAYS IN ABERDEEN JUST GOT F**KING AWESOME!!
ABERDEEN NOW HAS A PREMIER SATURDAY ROCKCLUB.
http://www.facebook.com/rocknightaberdeen

Oct 222010
 

With thanks to Andy Kite.

A fantastic opportunity to catch up with some of the best musical talent the city has to offer will take place this Saturday [23rd]  in venues across the town as part of the Oxjam Takeover music festival.

Oxjam is a UK wide event with festivals taking place in around 30 cities.

With 25 local bands performing across five city centre stages this Saturday, there has been a huge amount of preparation to get things ready for the Aberdeen gigs.

Andy Kite, Marketing Coordinator said;

“We’ve been working at getting the festival in place since May and there has been a great deal of planning to put it in place.  From arranging line-ups, venues, timings, promotion and fundraisers things have been very hectic but we’ve all enjoyed every minute.

“The bands have all been great and seem really keen to get involved so we are really confident of putting on a great event so we urge everyone to come along and have a great time.  We really want to contribute to the charity and raise as much money as possible while using the festival as a showcase of the talent we have in Aberdeen.”

An eclectic line-up ensures there is something for everyone.

Both rooms in the Tunnels will be used with performances from Weather Barn (formerly Cast of the Capital), Le Reno Amps, The Deportees, Turning 13, Marionettes, Cuddly Shark, Eric Euan, Duke, Carson Wells and Katerwaul.

The Blue Lamp will serve up a party atmosphere featuring The Lorelei, The Gerry Jablonski Band, The Oxbow Lake, Chris Carroll and Flora Cook.

For those looking for something more reserved and intimate Enigma will host an acoustic night with the vocal talents of Jo McCafferty supported by The Kitchen Cynics, Craig Davidson, Sarah J Stanley and The Scandal Extracts.

Finally there will be a night of rock and roll on display at Cafe Drummonds with The Wildcards, Kashmir Red, Energy!, Emerald Sunday and Talking Sideways.

Tickets cost £5 and allow unlimited access to all stages and can be bought at One Up and www.wegottickets.com as well as on the door of each venue on the evening.  Doors open at 7pm with the first acts taking the stage around 7.30pm and there is an aftershow party at the Tunnels.  All money raised on the night is donated to Oxfam and contributes to Oxjam’s overall fundraising targets.

More about Oxjam nationwide –

Oxjam Takeover events take place on 23 & 24 October in the following locations:

Aberdeen, Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brecon, Brighton, Bristol, Canterbury, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guildford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London (Brixton, Leadenhall Market, Brick Lane, Kilburn, Kingston), Manchester, Neath, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Stirling, Stoke-on-Trent and Wiltshire.

  • More than 600 Oxfam shops across the country sell second-hand music – double the total number of independent record shops in the UK.
  • Oxfam shops sell around £6 million of music every year, which equates to around 1.8 million CDs and records every year, all donated by the British public. The largest single donation was of 4,000 vinyl albums to an Oxfam shop in Devon in 2008.
  • Oxfam has been one of the lead charities at Glastonbury since 1993, raising £2.7 million through stewarding the festival and signing up more than 400,000 people in support of its campaigns at the festival. Oxfam works at seventeen music festivals across the summer, stewarding, campaigning and selling festival fashion.