Nov 222016
Nov 172016
Duncan Harley reviews ‘Rent, the Musical’ at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.
It is Christmas Eve 1896. A painter, a philosopher, a musician and a writer are planning a bender.
The writer needs a bit more time to work on his play, and as his pals set off for the pub, he receives a visit from a neighbour Mimi, a poor seamstress, who chaps on his door in search of a light for her candle.
Mimi and the writer fall madly in love then they too head off to the pub.
Eventually it all goes pear shaped. Mimi contracts tuberculosis and dies of exposure. The writer is left bereft. Well, that at least was Puccini’s La Boheme operatic take on the cruel realities of inner-city poverty in Bohemian Paris.
Substitute Bohemian 1990s New York for 1890s Paris. In Rent the Musical, writer Jonathan Larson takes La Boheme, turns the opera on its head and gives the tale a garishly glorious modern twist.
The poverty and the ill health are still around, but instead of the scourge of tuberculosis, Larson has substituted the scourge of HIV. Instead of a lack of fuel for the fire we have a bad-ass landlord, in the shape of Javar La’Trail Parker’s Benjamin Coffin the Third, who cuts off the power on a whim. And in lieu of Mimi the Parisian tuberculous seamstress, we have a 20th century Mimi nicely portrayed, by Philippa Stefani, as an HIV-stricken East Village sex worker stroke exotic dancer overburdened by a major smack habit.
Puccini’s poverty-stricken painter is portrayed as an independent Jewish-American wannabe filmmaker by the name of Mark Cohen who, Super-8 in hand, is single-handedly tasked with recording for posterity the tribulations of the East Village community.
On first night at HMT the role of Mark fell to understudy Joshua Dever, since lead Billy Cullum had a chest infection.
A veteran of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease and Jesus Christ Superstar, Joshua’s performance was seamless and came with the welcome bonus of a clearly enunciated commentary on what at times can be a convoluted and maybe even over-complicated tale.
There are rock arias galore, multiple phone messages from friends and even a little bit of tango. But perhaps the star turn was Layton Williams as the controversially clad Angel Schunard, a high-heeled power-dressed drag queen and committed partner to gay philosophy professor and sometime anarchist Tom Collins.
Caring, giving and kind, but with a penchant for murdering canines for cash, she/he, or is it he/she, executed an absolutely astonishing gravity-defying triple entendre somersault plus twist whilst clad in pink fluffy five inch heels!
Fast-paced, rock-solid, mega-loud and at points furiously intensive, Rent the Musical presents a heady mix of anti-establishment sentiment combined with perhaps an overload of doom-laden prophesy. The spectre of HIV and AIDS perches Damoclean over the entire production, and multisexuality is the order of the day.
Songs include the classics ‘Seasons of Love’, ‘Goodbye Love’, ‘Over the Moon’ and ‘Light My Candle’. In all there are around thirty musical numbers in this revival.
Both the established Rent Heads amongst us and the newbies to the genre will be in rock heaven throughout this entire performance. And of course, Angel gets to heaven and Mimi’s tiny hand is frozen.
Directed by Bruce Guthrie. Lighting design Rick Fisher. Rent the Musical plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 19th November
Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122
Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA
Nov 172016
With thanks to Rob Adams.
Louis Durra had a ready-made response when Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature last month. The Berlin-based Californian pianist, who brings his trio to the Blue Lamp on Thursday, November 24, has a very cool, groovy take on Tangled Up in Blue, one of the stand-out songs from Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks album.
So he was able to slot it into his live set instantly as a dedication to the new Nobel laureate.
The opening track on Durra’s 2012 release, The Best of All Possible Worlds, Tangled Up in Blue contributed to the pianist’s unlikely elevation to American college radio sensation. In a way reminiscent of Ramsey Lewis in the 1960s, Durra’s jazz piano trio versions of Dylan, Bob Marley, Alanis Morisette and Radiohead songs took a trick with deejays and became part of the soundtrack to student life across the U.S..
A follow-up, Rocket Science, released later the same year, made similar waves with its explorations of the Beatles, White Stripes, KT Tunstall and traditional Mexican and French Canadian material.
Durra is by no means the first jazz musician to explore Radiohead’s repertoire, for example, or the first to cover pop hits of the day. That’s an idea as old as jazz itself. Durra, however, takes it further than most, even finding jazz piano trio repertoire and inspiration in Scottish electronica band Boards of Canada.
“I’m not on a ‘say no to the mainstream jazz repertoire’ soapbox,” says Durra.
“I’m just as likely to play music by Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Joe Henderson, Annie Ross or Brad Mehldau as, say, Snoop Dog. Jazz was once described as the sound of surprise and it’s my aim to make each piece have something unexpected about it, in the nicest possible way.”
Durra’s investigation of the wider popular music canon – his most recent album, Chromakey, has a typically understated exploration of country-noir singer Gillian Welch’s Orphan Girl – stemmed from his accepting a three-nights-a-week residency in a Los Angeles restaurant.
After years of playing an accompanying role, mostly in theatre, and having made a couple of jazz albums that sold disappointingly, Durra was in danger of losing interest. His residency, which presently expanded to four nights a week, allowed him to rediscover the hunger that had led to him turning onto jazz in his teens.
With four to five hours a night to fill he determined that he, his rhythm section and the bar staff and clientele alike wouldn’t get bored with the same tunes being played on rotation. So he worked up a repertoire of some two hundred items, ranging from jazz standards to songs by the Ting Tings, Radiohead and songwriter-rapper Ke$ha.
The restaurant’s customers liked what Durra calls his oddball pop covers. So he recorded a selection of them, gave the album to a publicist and found himself with a hit on his hands. When he then decided to investigate another market, he booked himself onto the Edinburgh Fringe and promptly won an award, a Herald Angel, one of the much coveted statuettes that Glasgow-based newspaper The Herald awards for performing excellence during Edinburgh’s festival season.
On his way back to California after his second Edinburgh Fringe run Durra stopped off in Berlin, loved the feel of the city and decided to move there. Wanderlust and the lure of the Parisian jazz scene will see him relocate to the French capital in the not too distant future but his raison d’etre as a musician remains as it was during his restaurant residency
“I want to connect with the public,” he says.
“And the best way to do that, the best way to draw them into my way of playing is to give them something they recognise every now and then. Just because you’re playing pop tunes doesn’t mean that you can’t make them artistic and expressive. Besides, there’s poetry in Bob Dylan’s music – it’s official.”
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Nov 172016
With thanks to Eoin Smith, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR.
Volunteers from Braemar Castle celebrate the end of their successful 2016 season, during which they attracted over 12,000 visitors.
A Deeside visitor attraction run entirely by volunteers hopes to get its 10th anniversary celebrations off to a flying start by picking up one of the region’s top tourism awards. Braemar Castle is in the running for the visitor attraction of the year accolade at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards (ACSTA), which will be announced next week.
It would top off an incredible run of successes for the venue, which is operated as a not-for-profit charity by the community for the community.
Locals were granted a 50-year lease on the property in 2007 and have almost tripled the number of visitors since its first season.
This season 12,045 visitors walked through the doors of Braemar Castle – compared to just over 4,000 in the opening season – and it hopes to hit a target of welcoming 20,000 people to the historic property by 2020.
ACSTA judges shortlisted Braemar Castle for the award after learning how the community had transformed the property, which had closed in 2004, into a focal point to provide entertainment and education to tourists, and bring business into the village.
The group responsible for running the castle has been able to appoint a full-time manager – while still undertaking the lion’s share of work – and have also raised over £440,000 to carry out repairs to the roof and chimneys.
Doreen Wood, vice chairman of Braemar Community Ltd, says everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for the big awards night taking place at Ardoe House Hotel in Aberdeen on Friday, November 25.
The castle will battle it out in the best visitor attraction category with Royal Lochnagar Distillery and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh. The winner will go on to represent the region in that category at Scotland’s national tourism awards – The Scottish Thistle Awards – which are announced in the spring.
Doreen adds,
“We want to give our visitors the very best experience of Highland Scotland in an authentic setting. And we want the Castle to act as a magnet to bring visitors to this area.
“The castle is operated by the community for the community and its success is down to the hard work and commitment of our local volunteers. With our 10th anniversary on the horizon, it’s a real accolade to be recognised and shortlisted for this award.”
Visitors who arrive at the castle can have a personal guided tour with a local volunteer, and an audio tour in both English and German is also available. They find the rooms presented as though the occupants have just stepped out – they can handle the artefacts and sit on chairs as though they were guests.
Volunteers work in partnership with local tourism businesses and events to cross-promote the area, and also stage exhibitions at the castle which change on an annual basis. They held re-enactments and events to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Jacobite uprising, and even found time to revive a local hill race.
In addition, the castle has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by interactive travel forum Trip Advisor, and has been rated the top thing to do in Braemar by the site’s many users.
“Over the past eight years we have refined our brand and we are confident in our distinctive product,” says Doreen.
“We aim to support and complement the current and future village offerings to establish Braemar as a destination.”
ACSTA aims to celebrate the very best of tourism businesses and individuals who help make stays in the region a memorable experience for guests. Awards will be presented in 15 different categories from most hospitable hotel to friendliest pub and from regional tourism ambassador to rising star.
Further information about the awards is available at www.acsta.co.uk
Braemar Castle photos – Credit: Angus McNicol.
Nov 102016
Duncan Harley reviews ‘Sunny Afternoon, the Musical’ at HMT Aberdeen.
Garmon Rhys (Pete Quaife) Ryan O’Donnell (Ray Davies) Andrew Gallo (Mick Avory) Mark Newnham (Dave Davies)
Picture in your mind’s eye a musical about a 1960s band who, in their day, released around 28 albums, were ranked 65th on Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’ list and occasionally, just occasionally, swung from chandeliers.
The Kinks popped pills, used girls and fell out with America. If it wasn’t broke they took an axe to it. If it was broke they swung the axe again just to make sure.
Hotel rooms, promoters and, on occasion, fans bore the brunt of the angst of the tempestuous four.
And then, just to let off steam, they turned inwards and beat the hell out of each other both on – and offstage. Fuelled by a heady concoction of wild music and wild parties, they seesawed repeatedly from giddy success to rock-bottom oblivion and then back up again.
Headed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, The Kinks did eventually make the Hollywood Bowl, but only after a very rocky ride.
Sunny Afternoon the Musical tracks the band’s career through a finely balanced combination of tribute numbers and snapshots of the band’s progress from the blandness of the Muswell Hill club scene through to the electrifying days on the international music circuit.
On opening night at His Majesty’s Aberdeen, word came that Ryan O’Donnell was unwell and that James Hudson would be playing the part of Ray Davies. He played it well and few in the audience would have even been aware of the substitution.
It was clear from the very start that this is no mere tribute show. Yes, there are musical numbers and yes there are stage strutting scenes, but there are also acres and acres of good solid bio to link the songs with the background stories which inspired them.
As the songs emerge, a tale of sibling rivalry and misunderstanding unfolds. The madly challenged Dave, sensibly dressed in a bright chintzy frock, swung from a chandelier while elder brother and leader of the band Ray tries to keep it together with wife Rasa. ‘A Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ led to the Pepsi cola’d ‘Lola’, and with Dave starting to resemble Ava Gardner on a massive bender, there were brotherly fights and band fallouts galore.
There are minor niggles. That drum solo in act two might be completely superfluous; and the colourfully Union-Jacked 1966 England World Cup Winners’ parade might not go too down too well in front of some Scottish audiences.
The transatlantic duet involving Rasa and Ray was particularly poignant, but it has to be said that although everyone on stage sparkled, Mark Newnham’s portrayal of Dave Davies sparkled most brightly.
His portrayal of the Mick Avory-hating guitarist left little to the imagination. Despite bad behaviour verging at times on the offensive, and a sometimes questionable dress sense, he emerged as a well-cast musical villain.
There’s humour galore. Harold McMillan takes it on the chin and long-dead Who drummer Keith Moon is revered as an eccentric Roller-owning rocker with a penchant for swimming pools.
Virtually all of the classic Kinks hits including ‘You Really Got Me’ and of course ‘Sunny Afternoon’ are up for grabs, and by the finale folk were rocking in the aisles to ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and ‘Lola’.
By the end of the night there was hardly a grey hair in the house.
Directed by Edward Hall with Barney Ashworth as Musical Director, Sunny Afternoon plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 12th November
Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122
Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA
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Nov 102016
With thanks to Gemma Setter, PR Account Executive, Frasermedia.
A leading Aberdeenshire organic recycling company is warning local food businesses to comply with Scottish waste legislation or face receiving new on-the-spot fines.
Keenan Recycling, which is headquartered in New Deer, is urging business owners to comply with their duty of care for waste to avoid the £300 fines that have been imposed on non-compliant firms since June this year.
Since 1st January 2016, it has been a legal requirement for all businesses that produce more than 5kg of food waste per week to have food preparation waste, spoiled items and plate waste collected separately for recycling by a registered waste carrier.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has started its fixed monetary penalty (FMP) campaign to identify businesses that are persistently non-compliant with the duty to separate food waste and other key materials for recycling.
Keenan Recycling, which turns food and garden waste into compost for farming and horticultural use, was the first company in Scotland to provide businesses with the opportunity to recycle items such as leftover food and coffee grounds.
The firm is now working alongside organisations such as SEPA, whose FMP campaign targets offices, retailers, restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes and takeaways that are failing to acknowledge and adhere to the regulations.
SEPA is tackling the issue by working in partnership with local authorities to identify persistent non-compliance within organisations across Scotland. Those found to be making no effort to make improvements to their waste management system will face a £300 fixed monetary penalty.
Keenan Recycling provides comprehensive guidance and advice to its customers, ensuring that they are all fully up to date with waste regulation.
Eleanor Strain, senior policy officer for SEPA’s national waste unit, said:
“Since starting the campaign, most offenders are making a conscious effort to train their staff to recycle and secure an improved service from their waste management contractor. The penalty system we’ve introduced is a much more proportionate enforcement tool, and gets the attention of small business owners who may not be aware of the legislation.
“Whilst I appreciate that SMEs have lots of other pressures, it’s important that they are aware of laws which can have a direct impact on their business. It’s simple to remain within the law, make sure that recycling systems are established and all bins are labelled to avoid mixing food waste, recyclables and non-recyclables.”
Grant Keenan (pictured), managing director of Keenan Recycling, said:
“Companies need to ensure that they have suitable plans in place to keep them in line with the duty to recycle. Disposing of food waste will keep them within the law and also helps the environment.
“Businesses that are struggling to abide by waste legislation need to remember that they may lose their consumer confidence, as customers want to know that businesses are acting responsibly and are helping to look after the environment.”
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Nov 102016
Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society launches Glass Half Full campaign to encourage current and former industry workers in Aberdeen to sign up for support. With thanks to Duncan Fisher, Senior Account Manager, The BIG Partnership.
Senior figures from the Scottish Licensed Trade at the launch of The BEN’s Glass Half Full campaign, at Blair Athol Distillery in Pitlochry, which aims to help former and current industry workers across Scotland who have fallen on hard times.
The Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society, known as The BEN, has launched a new campaign to increase the number of people it supports and is calling on potential beneficiaries from Aberdeen to get in touch.
The Glass Half Full campaign, which was launched with the help of leading industry figures at Blair Athol Distillery in Pitlochry, is targeting current and former members of the licensed trade who have fallen on hard times through illness, unemployment or other factors, and would benefit from financial aid.
As well as being backed by the national trade, the campaign is being rolled out regionally with the help of The BEN’s network of volunteers, known as ‘Visitors’, who will take on ambassadorial roles within their respective areas.
Established in 1864, The BEN has been providing social, financial and emotional support to members of the licensed trade for over 150 years. Financially, the charity offers regular discretionary payments as well as one-off grants for emergency situations such as housing repairs or transport costs.
To be eligible for support, applicants must have worked in the licensed trade (incorporating bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels, wholesalers plus packaging, production and distribution firms) for at least three years on a full-time basis. The three years do not need to be concurrent.
Commenting on the campaign, Alex Carnie, The BEN’s Visitor in Aberdeen said:
“The BEN works very hard to get its message out there and the Glass Half Full campaign gives us a platform to let potential beneficiaries know we are actively seeking more people to support.
“A lot of former and current workers of the licensed trade won’t know they’re eligible for support so the campaign is great for raising awareness of how the charity can help and hopefully it will encourage as many people as possible to contact us.”
As part of the Glass Half Full campaign, the charity conducted a survey of current licensed trade workers to gain an understanding of potential challenges faced by those in the industry. The survey found that 27% of respondents knew someone who would benefit from financial aid due to life difficulties.
The feedback also showed 25% of male workers had been unemployed during their time in the industry (up to 32% for males aged 26-40) while 14% of their female colleagues had received external financial support (excluding banks or student loans) at some point in their career (up to 20% for females aged 26-40).
The younger generation of workers was also found to be at risk of facing difficulties, with 21% of respondents aged 16-25 stating they had already been in a situation which required financial assistance from an external body. Although older workers, aged 41 and over, have needed less financial aid (5%) than their younger counterparts, 17% still confirmed that they have been unemployed at some point during their career.
Demonstrating that both current and former members of the industry have been in a challenging financial position, the figures highlight the relevance of The BEN in today’s society and the continuing demand for its services.
As well as encouraging potential beneficiaries to get in touch, the Glass Half Full campaign aims to engage members of the licensed trade, and general public, to help spread the word and Chris Gardner, chief executive of The BEN, hopes it will enable the charity to support more people than ever before.
She said:
“Since it was established, The BEN has supported thousands of people across Scotland and we continue to strive to help as many as we can today. As a smaller charity this can sometimes prove challenging, largely due to a lack of awareness, but we hope the ‘Glass Half Full’ campaign will inspire people to either recommend our services or get in touch.
“We know there are hundreds of Scots out there who are eligible for support, but just don’t know it, so the campaign is a way for us to engage with them and let them know we are here to help. However, we understand the apprehension, and embarrassment, which can be caused by seeking financial support but would assure anyone considering contacting us that the application process is completely confidential and any arrangements are managed with the utmost discretion.
“The BEN will continue to support former and current members of the licensed trade for many years to come but we want to build our support network as much as possible. We believe the Glass Half Full campaign will help us expand our reach across Scotland and allow us to widen our impact on the lives of those who need it most.”
Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA), and BEN director, is backing the campaign and calling on the industry to show its support:
“The BEN has been the licensed trade’s national trade charity for over 150 years and we are immensely proud of the services it provides. From bar workers to draymen from sales people to restaurant and hotel staff it’s our job to provide assistance when needed. The BEN is well known within the industry, but many people are still unaware of how it helps people and who is eligible for support.
“Therefore we’re asking audiences from both the licensed trade and beyond to help raise awareness of the campaign and encourage anyone that may benefit from support to get in touch.”
About The BEN:
- The Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society, known as The BEN, offers social, financial and emotional support to former and current members of the licensed trade facing difficulties in life.
- The BEN supports people of all ages who have worked full-time in the sector for at least three years.
- The charity can provide beneficiaries with discretionary financial support or one-off grants for emergency situations. Examples include support in covering utility and household bills, the provision of furnishings and injury rehabilitation equipment as well as supplying mobility and transport solutions among many others.
- The BEN owns the BEN Pitlochry Estate, consisting of 18 bungalows, where it provides accommodation for current and retired members of the industry as well as ‘Respitality’ breaks for carers.
To find out more about The BEN or to enquire about support, please visit www.bensoc.org.uk or call 0141 353 3596.
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Nov 082016
Aberdeen Voice’s Fred Wilkinson and Suzanne Kelly spend a night at the Theatre; Krakatoa erupted (glad to get that bad pun out of the way) with possibly its most high voltage show and hyper audience ever. Photographed beautifully by Dod Morrison.
Feel sorry for yourself if you didn’t get into Theatre of Hate’s sold-out show if you love music, because it was one of those nights that will go down as legendary in Aberdeen’s live music history.
Theatre of Hate returned to The Granite City after a 30-something year absence touring new album, Kinshi, and we all went mad for it.
Theatre of Hate is Kirk Brandon (lead vocals, guitar, otherworldly stage moves); Adrian Portas (guitars; tonight, looming on a platform over the others on stage); Stan Stammers (bass guitarist whose playing flows like fine wine); John Lennard (saxophone – the most expressive you’d hope to hear) and percussionist Chris Bellcafe giving it his all.
The band formed in the early 80s, eventually morphing into Spear of Destiny. In 2014 they appeared for the first time in decades with a new EP of four diverse and powerful tracks which eventually led to…
Kinshi is Japanese for prohibited. The album artwork shows samurai warriors whose world and way of life was soon to be outlawed. While the samurai ways passed into legend, their warrior tradition persists – read into that what you will. The four songs from the EP included ‘Venice’ – a haunting/haunted ballroom love/break-up waltz.
The pre-apocalypse, politically volatile ‘Day of the Dog’s’ lyrics ask questions of East and West in terms of dogma and suffering:
“Breaking point / The Gateway to the West / Unhinged, broken / Flood makes the journey / Meanwhile warmongers / 7th century / Thirst for blood / All in the name of” (with ‘God’ being the unspoken name I conclude).
It makes me question our volatile world situation (God – if you’re reading feel free to weigh in).
It also makes me wonder why, when there is so much that needs to be said today, mainstream music shies away from reality and goes with safe, bankable lyrics and anodyne acts, or pointlessly salacious and pointlessly high-budget tracks (‘Bitch better have my money’ – thank you Rihanna). But I digress.
My favourite song from the EP and the album is ‘Slave’ – hypnotic rhythm leads to a great crescendo of guitar/bass/drum/sax with Brandon’s vocals riding the curl of this rich wave of sound.
Theatre of Hate have this amazing sax and guitar layering over bass/drum no outfit I know can approach. The song is a surprisingly accurate insight into the pressures on women to conform to the media’s Barbie-doll beauty ideal – physically impossible of course. ToH’s ‘Slave’ offers further keen observations on the thoughts an ageing starlet or model might have; am astonished by these insights into women’s issues.
Slave’s lyrics start off suggesting a portrait of a self-absorbed ageing beauty
“She woke this morning / put on slave paint / living the life of glamour / the Hollywood land ideal… Self love and pity from a bottle / the media play the woman game.”
Then Brandon’s lyrics widen out to perhaps the moral of the song (well, for me anyway), as he invokes the famous Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam:
“The moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.”
Brandon writes:
“No one can stop the clock that ticks / Or halt the calendar page / Fear itself, has made her slave / She’s the fashion, of her age – SLAVE.”
Ten points for including a beautifully illustrated booklet with lyrics with this album, and another ten points for Theatre of Hate for showing such understanding of the pressures the media and society put on women, particularly physically beautiful women to remain beautiful while time makes the feat impossible – it makes some of them slaves to vanity. ‘Slave’ is hypnotic; the way it builds is gorgeous – the album version is beautifully worked – and I can’t stop listening to it.
Back to the rest of the album. ‘Mr Mendacity’ is illustrated with an image of everyone’s least-favourite POTUS candidate, Mr Drumpf.
This timely piece of protest music is going down very well with anti-Trump factions (I wish it were on Youtube or somewhere I could share it more – hint hint) and reminds us what a good protest song can and should do.
“He’s got an ego, the size of his house / He’s got the money and he’s got a mouth / Flannels everyone he’s talking so loud / Suitably self impressed, working his muppet crowd” – and there in a few lines is a summary of a man no one should be taken in by.
There is a dub version of the album as well; I can’t wait to hear it. The project was crowdfunded, and contributors chose from a range of rewards and enjoyed periodic updates and tracks. Too late to be a crowd funder, but it’s not too late to order Kinshi, and from the look of how they were flying off the merchandise stall last night, looks like some of you are way ahead of me on the point.
The Krakatoa Show
There is a faithful core of people in Aberdeen who follow Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate; this first appearance in Aberdeen (last was apparently 30 years ago in Fusion) was highly anticipated, and there was an energy and enthusiasm in the crowded bar that night before the show started.
‘Black Irony’ was the first song of this set which balanced old and iconic ToH pieces perfectly.
The set was long and must have been gruelling, not least for Brandon whose operatic range and preternatural ability to sustain notes is well known – but it also all seemed to end far too soon. Twenty songs – or was it twenty-two? – filled the venue, and the crowd were ecstatic.
‘Black Irony’ is a dark, sinister indictment of western values :
“I believe in Micky Mouse, Snow White and the 7 dwarves / Snowden & Assange / I believe in Dr Strange”
Brandon menacingly intones; the sax is sultry, more than a bit sordid. Splendid work, and the crowd is responding to the new material, with many people already aware of the lyrics.
Towards the start of the set are ‘Americanos’ and ‘The Hop’ – clearly favourite songs of many people here. After ‘Ukraine Girl’ from the new album with its 1960s feel beat, things are calmed down with another haunting number this time classic ‘Love is as Ghost’. Loss, love, suicide, and pain in the lyrics are beautifully matched by the music, and the sax is mournful. Sticking to the dark side of romance is the classic (but angrier) Incinerator. The audience is very much there with them.
‘Conquistador’ then brings the set to ‘Mr Mendacity’ – and for a while I’m lost from my attempts to make notes on the night to just enjoying it. Floating along one moment, jolted then by ‘Legion’ and the chanting crowd, I’m enjoying the ride; we all are. Someone’s said to me at the end of ‘Legion’,
“That was a life-changing experience.”
The next thing I know Kirk’s getting everyone to sing ‘Original Sin’ with him. The fever pitch in Krakatoa is like no other night I’ve spent there and everyone’s shouting ‘Do you Believe in the Westworld’ at the top of their lungs before the final encore, ‘Propaganda’.
Perhaps people think first of Kirk, Stan and Lennard – the original ToH members.
This night would not have hit the heights without Adrian Portas’ talents and Farrant’s percussion. Watching and hearing Portas is a pleasure; wish I could have seen more of Farrant behind the crowd and the guitars – but we all felt and heard his work (must be exhausting mentally as well as physically).
Verdict – virtuoso (yeah an overused word) performances from all, with every member of ToH having moments when they particularly shone as individuals, and a night of wholly original music performed with conviction and spirit of a kind we rarely enjoy. There was one passage where Stan Stammers was remarkable, but as my notes were eventually covered in beer, I can’t quite tell you which bit I’d been particularly struck by.
During one moment of Zeppelin’s film ‘The Song Remains The Same’ Plant is backstage at Madison Square Garden and comes out with an odd statement:
“This is a song that sometimes takes a building in a manner which our forefathers were very used to. Did you hear that? It’s right though, isn’t it? That feeling that’s left everybody, the cosmic energy! Everybody goes yeah! Bash!”
I never knew what he was on about until this show.
Don’t take my word for it:
“They’ve disposed of traditional structures – chorus, middle 8. When you get it, you get it. I can’t predict what they’re going to do next. What an excellent night.” – Fred Wilkinson (Toxik Ephex, Aberdeen Voice editor, said while clutching his copy of Kinshi. Fred also wanted to mention how spot on he found the sound engineer’s work tonight)
“It was triumphant return to Aberdeen for TOH after 34 years and good to see the Aberdeen people come out and support a local venue that is keeping music alive” – Dod Morrison, photographer
“Aberdeen was brilliant” – Jayne Pirie
On A personal note:
I wish I’d made it to more of these dates; it’s a genuine regret as I’ve read such glowing reports about the shows. Fred Wilkinson wasn’t going to stay at first (he was there for a meeting earlier in the evening, but he was persuaded, and wound up very happy he remained, although when I pointed out the Trump artwork in the Kinshi lyrics, he had a funny turn.
Admission – I was a miserable, useless failed bass student; no matter how hard I practiced scales and lines, whatever I played sounded mechanical and stilted. So it was absolute thrill listening to Stan Stammers make such fluid, melodious, emotive music.
Another admission – I usually don’t like saxophone in rock such as Springsteen – Clements was a huge talent I admit – but there was always something so wholesome, American, clean-cut about most sax in rock that it just left me cold. Lennard’s playing is as far removed from the kind of sax I find cloying as is possible to get, and I loved it. Lastly I hope Hen is recovering well, and Craig Adams – thanks for yet another great night.
Let’s not leave it so long next time please. Encore.
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Nov 072016
Director Anthony Baxter catches up with Aberdeen Voice about his film being released for free before the US elections. With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.
Just the ticket. Director Anthony Baxter relaxes following the UK premiere of You’ve Been Trumped Too at Aberdeen’s Belmont Filmhouse.
A soaring number of Americans tuned in Sunday night to a special live streaming of two films Donald Trump has battled to suppress – multi award winning You’ve Been Trumped and the critically acclaimed You’ve Been Trumped Too.
Official figures show that more than half a million potential voters tuned in to watch one or both films over the course of two Facebook live events, with over 3 million more reached through Facebook shares, twitter and other social media.
Trump has reacted furiously to the content of You’ve Been Trumped Too – threatening to sue cinemas showing the film – adding to previous blistering attacks on both the film’s director launched on Twitter and lashing out at local residents branding them ‘morons’.
Following Trump’s legal threats, the filmmakers took the unprecedented decision to get the films out to as big an audience as possible through Facebook.
Director Anthony Baxter, who is currently touring Scotland’s cinemas with You’ve Been Trumped Too took part in a groundbreaking Q&A live to Facebook viewers from Inverness last night. Thousands of viewers reacted with fury to revelations contained in the film, that 92 year old Molly Forbes had been without a working water supply for 5 years, ‘all because of Trump’.
Now with just hours to go before Americans go to the polls, some UK cinemas are busy planning special You’ve Been Trumped Too events in defiance of Trump’s threats. For example, At Nottingham’s Broadway theatre a distinguished panel of political experts has been assembled to discuss the film following tomorrow night’s screening. They’ll also be hosting a presidential quiz as the first results come in.
Described as ‘a ticking timebomb’ by Indiewire and ‘the most important film of the year’ by The Irish Times, You’ve Been Trumped Too continues to stream live at trumpedfilm.com and at the film’s Facebook page. The film is also playing at a growing list of cinemas despite Trump’s legal threats.
Among those showing the film are London’s Picturehouse Central, the GFT Glasgow (where Baxter will be present for a Q&A tonight at the 8.45 screening), the Eden Court in Inverness, St Andrews New Picturehouse, the MacRobert Centre Stirling, Dundee DCA, Aberdeen Belmont Filmhouse and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse. The film has also been playing in theatres in the United States and Canada.
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Nov 042016
With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix.
A new Cuban bar and restaurant is bringing a carnival atmosphere to Aberdeen this month (November) as it prepares to throw open its doors to the public.
While winter may be drawing in, locals will be able to transport themselves to the Caribbean and enjoy the heady atmosphere of Revolucion de Cuba.
The Latin inspired restaurant, part of the same group which operates Revolution on Belmont Street, is launching in the Academy Shopping Centre on November 18, which will be its eleventh base in the UK and the first in Scotland.
After a £1.5 million transformation of the former Wagamama restaurant to create a fresh and exciting new destination for the city, Revolución de Cuba is bringing Cuban cool and the frenzy of Havana nights to the Granite City.
The site has been transformed into a Cuban wonderland that will provide the perfect place to unwind during the day. With a fantastic selection of premium cocktails and a wide selection of rums, customers will be able to enjoy a relaxed food and drink experience during the day before the premises turns into a Caribbean fiesta at night.
Having created 60 local jobs, the 4500 square foot venue will feature a live music stage showcasing some of the finest salsa acts from across the country and three bars.
The new venue will also hold weekly salsa socials, special Rum Club events, themed fiestas and cocktail masterclasses.
Russ Davidson, general manager of the Aberdeen Revolución de Cuba said:
“We are delighted to be bringing fun and sunshine to Aberdeen during what has been a tough period for the city. A lot of work has gone into the creation of Revolución de Cuba and we can’t wait to welcome the public in so they can enjoy a taste of Cuba and its fantastic culture.
“A lot of thought has gone into the transformation of the restaurant and we have a wonderful local team of staff on board who share the Revolución de Cuba’s passion for celebrating with tasty food and the best drinks.
“We have developed a brilliant Latin inspired menu for the Aberdeen public and are sure that they will enjoy everything we have to offer. This will be something completely different for the Granite City and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
Revolución de Cuba bars are characterised by a 1940s Cuban-inspired style, with dark woods, traditional bar counters, antique tiles and vintage furniture.
Featuring Havana-style ceiling fans and original Cuban artwork and photographs, each bar is tailored to give it an individual local character.
Visitors’ taste-buds are in for treat with the diverse Latin inspired cuisine made by mixing bold flavours, vibrant ingredients and Cuban passion.
The menu will feature loaded burritos, packed paellas, flavour filled quesadillas and a range of tasty tacos among other gems including jerk chicken, tapas and pork belly skewers.
Revolución de Cuba Brand Manager, Clint Ghent, said:
“Our mission at Revolución de Cuba has always been to bring a taste of Cuba and its rich culture to all parts of the UK. For Aberdeen we’ve found an amazing team of staff who share our passion for celebrating with great food and drink.
“Delivering the best customer experience is our sole mission and we do everything we can to achieve this. Whether you come in for a coffee or an evening out with friends, our team is there to entertain and serve our guests to the highest level possible.”
Keep up to date with the latest news on Revolución de Cuba Aberdeen by following their Facebook page or visiting http://www.revoluciondecuba.com/bar/aberdeen/
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