Performance Archives - Page 12 of 18

MHA Shines Spotlight On Mental Health Issues

Aberdeen City, Charity, Featured No Responses »

Aug 112016

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix.

A north-east charity will lift the curtain on mental health issues at a historic theatre in the Granite City.
From a puppet show that tells the tale of a lonely fisherman to award-winning performer Juliette Burton (pictured) showcasing her perception changing show, Mental Health Aberdeen (MHA) will host a range of events later this year at the Grade A listed Tivoli Theatre.

MHA has worked in partnership with North East Arts Touring to arrange the events around World Mental Health Day in October and hopes to raise awareness of mental health and the variety of services it offers.

North East Arts Touring (NEAT) promotes high quality and professionally produced theatre, dance and film productions in rural communities across the north-east of Scotland, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus.

Astrid Whyte, chief executive of MHA, said:

“We want to start up conversations about mental health and play our part in making it a bit easier for people to discuss issues related to it. Plans have been gathering pace in recent months and everyone at MHA is delighted to see how things are coming together.

“Despite difficulties MHA is currently going through regarding the upcoming closure of our services in Aberdeenshire we are determined to make the most of this event. Our partnership with NEAT highlights the benefits of important collaboration between the health and arts sectors and has given us a platform to raise awareness and challenge negative perceptions of mental health in a creative way.

“Juliette is a fantastic performer who manages to get across difficult topics in an accessible way and we are sure her show Look At Me will be a great hit on the day. For us this, and the other performances and activities we have planned at the wonderful Tivoli Theatre, is a different way to mark World Mental Health Day and shine a spotlight on mental health.”

Juliette Burton is a multi award-winning actress, writer, performer, presenter and ex-BBC broadcast journalist. Her show Look At Me was an official sold out event at Edinburgh Fringe 2015 and has received five star reviews. An informed speaker and performer, Juliette is a mental health ambassador who uses her experiences to offer hope and help others.

Her show explores appearances and perceptions and whether changing how you look on the outside can change who you are inside. From dressing sexily to wearing the hijab, being male, obese, old and nude, her show has many faces and examines whether what people appear to be is who they truly are.

Juliette said:

“I’m so excited to be returning to Aberdeen and performing at the Tivoli Theatre in October to mark World Mental Health Day. Aberdeen is one of my favourite cities and I can’t wait to meet all the people who come to the show – so we can break down some barriers and use laughter to be our light in the darkness.

“I’m so honoured to be a part of such a special series of events and I hope together we can unite people so we all leave feeling enlightened, inspired, happier and more connected! Bring on October!”

The Yugen Puppet Company will also perform on the day, telling the comic tale of a lonely fisherman who falls in love with a seal, and how in matters of love things don’t always go according to plan.

Based on the myths and legends of the Scottish Selkie and using hand-crafted puppets and striking shadow silhouettes, with music from the past, the company put their own twist on the usually tragic Scottish fairy tale.

MHA will be hosting activities, which include a music workshop with charity Musicrange, at the Tivoli theatre from 11am to 4pm on October 15, and will reopen the doors from 6pm for the Look At Me show.

MHA was founded in 1950 and the organisation was among the first to provide community care with its first residential project, a group home for discharged psychiatric patients, opened more than 35 years ago. MHA has also been providing day services continuously for over 60 years.

Further information is available online at www.mha.uk.net

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Aberdeen’s Music Hall Takes Time Out

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Jun 172016

By Duncan Harley

We all have our story to tell about Aberdeen Music Hall. Rocket-Man Elton John can still remember playing his first ever Aberdeen gig at the venue in far off 1972 and many Aberdonians can still recall their shock introduction to Glam Rock a year later when Bowie plus legendary guitarist Mick Ronson brought Spiders from Mars to the Music Hall stage.

Elton and Bowie were in good company since the historic venue has hosted performances from many of the good and the great over the past 194 years.

Built to a design by Archibald Simpson the building opened in 1822 and over the decades performers as diverse as Charles Dickens, John Anderson the Great Wizard of the North plus the comedy duo Pinky and Perky have trodden the boards to entertain and amaze Aberdeen audiences. Politicians Tony Benn, Winston Churchill, and Lloyd George put in appearances and throughout its history, the building has played host to everything from concerts and bazaars to theatre and sporting events.

As the A Listed venue begins a £7m restoration and re-generation uplift, Aberdeen Performing Arts recently hosted a series of “Lights Oot!” events showcasing the diversity of the venue.

March 31st saw a first performance of APA Associate Artist’s Aidan O’Rourke and Jason Singh’s experimental sound work “Connect:ed” (sic). Created through the Connect Project and a year in the making, the work represents the culmination of a process involving musicians and vocalists from all walks of life and genres within the City and Shire.

The next night the Music Hall hosted “Your Hall Your Story”. Following an introductory speech from Aberdeen Provost George Adams the evening focused on the recollections and reminiscences of the users of the venue.

Directed by Douglas Irvine with Artistic Production by Lesley Anne Rose, compere Robert Lovie and actor Cameron Mowat led the audience of around 600 on a journey through the sometimes turbulent but always entertaining history of Aberdeen’s favourite concert venue using both live and recorded recollections told first hand by those who were actually there.

The stories came fast and furious throughout the evening. Roberta Duncan told how her father rose to international fame following a world record roller-skating endurance marathon in the main hall.His record making 61 hours performance seemingly stands to this day.

Mary Smith remembered meeting Sir John Barbirolli at a Hallé Orchestra performance, Sandy Hood recalled hearing Mahler and local councillor, former European and Commonwealth lightweight wrestler, Len Ironside told how wrestlers had a particular dislike of the Music Hall wrestling ring.

“It was up on stage” he said “which meant that you felt every bump and had every chance of being thrown out of the ring and down the ten feet to the floor. When this happened, the audience would simply lift you up and throw you back in.”

On one occasion, as this was going on, a voice rang out:

“Is there any word yet oh ma new hoose councillor?”

The final “Lights Oot!” night featured the first public performance of Aidan O’Rourke and Jason Singh’s musical piece “Hibernation”.

Played as a finale at “Hootenanny”, an evening hosted by the Scottish Ceilidh All Stars, the new work has become the final musical piece performed within the historic venue prior to the two year closure.

During renovation APA will be “Stepping Out” in and around Aberdeen with a programme of events inspired by the Music Hall stories.

When doors reopen in spring 2018 the venue will feature an upgraded and restored auditorium, a new 100 seat performance space plus a new box office, café and bar.

Text and images © Duncan Harley and Grampian Transport Museum, Image design – Toni Todd. First published in the May 2016 Leopard Magazine’

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Jo McCafferty Lemon Tree Date To Aid Charity: 11.06.16

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May 192016

Jo McCafferty to play at The Lemon Tree in aid of the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

With thanks to Stuart Mitchell.

Acclaimed Aberdeen singer/songwriter Jo McCafferty will take to the stage of local venue the Lemon Tree on the 11th June in a rare local show in aid of the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

Jo has been playing since she was a teenager, both solo and in various bands including Charlotte Says and Modern Uses for Velcro.

She released her first album ‘Nothing Whispered to Katy’ at 17 years old.

In 2001 she released the album Radiaxial, an album featuring many live favourites which seemed to capture a lot of people’s imagination, this led to a lot of interest from various musicians and led to a lot of support slots and for the next few years Jo toured the UK playing with artists as diverse as Midge Ure and Glenn Tilbrook, Marillion and Donnie Munro, playing venues from the Amsterdam Paradiso to Croydon’s Fairfield Halls via Glasgow Barrowlands.

In 2004 she also found time to record and release Papercuts and Lime, an acoustic album which won more praise and notice.

In 2005 Jo was invited to be a guest support for US Singer/Songwriter Amanda Palmers first solo gig in the UK, and she formed the Jo McCafferty Band to play the show. The band was a big success and has reformed several times since to play special shows. In 2006 she started work on her first full length full band album, eventually released in 2010.

In recent years since starting a family Jo has pulled back on live and recorded work, still finding time to do an occasional special guest spot for Joan Armatrading, Fish and Miles Hunt, as well as appearing as a special guest for Marillion at their fanclub convention in the Netherlands, an event attended by over 3,000 people from around the world.

For this rare show in aid of SAMH at the Lemon Tree on June 11th 2016, Jo has pulled together some well-known and respected faces from Aberdeen’s music scene to reimagine songs from throughout her career, from some old favourites, to new material, as well as some rarely heard gems.

Jo commented:

“It is lovely to be playing a full band gig in Aberdeen again, something I haven’t done for over 10 years and even better to be doing it in aid of the SAMH, a charity very close to my heart. It’s been great to revisit and reinterpret the older stuff and look ahead with some newer stuff, and it’s just incredible to be doing a home gig like this at one of my favourite venues.”

Support for the gig will be from highly rated local singer Craig John Davidson.

Tickets are available on: http://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/jo-mccafferty

And for further information on Jo or SAMH please see:
www.jomccafferty.com
www.samh.org.uk

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“RAM It Down” At The Garage This Weekend

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May 162016

With thanks to Mark Chalmers.

RAM It Down Festival began as a grass-roots effort in 2015, organized by volunteers, inspired by established events down south, with the belief that Aberdeen should not miss out on touring bands visiting the city.

The first year was a success and around 160 metalheads descended on The Garage Aberdeen to indulge in their favourite pastime.

Festival organizer, Mark Chalmers remarks,

“The response to RAM It Down Festival has been overwhelmingly positive. Many people in the Aberdeen area are really passionate about their favourite style of music – heavy metal. We even have a number of private donors, who have donated large sums of money because they want to see this type of event in Aberdeen.”

The festival has been extended this year to include an extra and 60% more bands on the line-up, featuring artists from as far away as Sweden.

Paul Nazarkadeh, guitarist of London-based De Profundis commented on their upcoming slot on the festival,

“De Profundis have played all over the UK in our decade long existence, but never have we come so far north as the Granite City.”

The main driving purpose of RAM It Down Festival is to bring touring bands to Aberdeen and put them alongside local bands.

Festival organizer, Mark describes,

“One of the reason’s I decided to organise RAM It Down Festival is because I personally got fed up of people talking-down Aberdeen. I believed that people could do something about the things they are dissatisfied about, rather than simply complaining. I wanted more touring bands to come to Aberdeen, so this was my attempt to provide a solution.”

One of the heaviest bands on the line-up are Saturday main stage headliner, Winterfylleth. Based in Manchester, Winterfylleth have experienced international success and played many of the major festivals across Europe and extensive coverage in music magazines, such as Kerrang and Terrorizer.

A spokesperson for the band commented,

“It’s great to be invited to play RAM It Down Festival and bring our music to one of the furthest north cities in the UK and to play to fans who might not have a chance to see the band otherwise. See you on show day.”

There is a wide range rock and metal sub-genres represented on the line-up, varying from classic rock-inspired bands, such as The Amorettes and King Witch, as well as extremely heavy bands, such as Winterfylleth and Cambion. Most bands however fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, so there should be something to please most rock and metal fans.

Date: Friday 20th and Saturday 21st May,
Bands from 6pm (Friday) and 5pm (Saturday).

Venue: The Garage, 17 Windmill Brae, Aberdeen

Tickets available online via Skiddle, or in-person at Seratique, 20 Belmont Street, Aberdeen
2-Day Ticket: £15,

Friday Ticket: £6 advance (£7 on the door), Saturday Ticket: £10 advance (£12 on the door)

Friday Lineup (1 stage): Cambion, Risen Prophecy, Sanctrum, Neshiima, Orynthia.

Saturday Lineup (2 stages): Winterfylleth, De Profundis, Red Rum, Ramage Inc, Zombie Militia, Cleanse The Hive, The Amorettes, King Witch, Rats of Reality, Drencher, Frelsi

Pics courtesy of Dave Reed and Corina Andrian.

Lemon Tree Date For Award Winning ‘RURA’

Aberdeen City, Events No Responses »

May 052016

RURA. One of the most exciting folk-based bands to emerge from Scotland in recent years

With thanks to Bob Buchan.

Live Act of the Year at the 2015 Scots Trad Music Awards, RURA will appear at The Lemon Tree on Monday 16th May.

With their second album, Despite the Dark, accompanied by extensive UK and international touring, RURA have well and truly reinforced their reputation as one of Scotland’s most powerful folk-based bands.

Their exquisitely rugged, yet refined, blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, whistle, flute, bodhran, guitar and voice has proven a resounding hit across the board.

The five-piece’s fire first ignited in 2010, as award-winners at Glasgow’s world-renowned Celtic Connections festival, where they have now appeared on a remarkable seven consecutive occasions.

Since then, Steven Blake, Adam Brown, David Foley, Adam Holmes and Jack Smedley’s powerful instrumentals and haunting songcraft has been a highlight of many of the world’s leading folk festivals – including Cambridge, Tønder, Winnipeg, HebCelt and Shetland, amongst countless others.

They are undeniably one of Scotland’s most sought-after, universally appealing acts. One listen – live or recorded – and it’s easy to see why.

“one of the most exciting bands on the Scottish folk scene” – Songlines (5 stars)

“accomplished musicianship, expressive vocals, flawless composition…supremely impressive” – FolkWords

“genuinely stirring stuff… there’s something very exciting about RURA” – Fatea Magazine

“a brilliant fusion of the old and the new” – The Herald

“Despite the Dark is a truly remarkable album… Rura are definitely heading in a huge direction.” – Bright Young Folk

“an album of its time for Scotland” – Folk Radio UK

“Rura are just what every festival needs. Barnstorming instrumentals and songs of exceptional quality. The Scottish music scene has never been stronger and these guys are right out in front!” – Bruce MacGregor, BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk

Despite the Dark Tour Dates – May, 2016:

13th May Eden Court, Inverness. 8.00pm / Tickets £12 -£14 / Box Offfice 01463 234 234

14th May Ullapool Village Hall. 7.30pm / £13 /
https://www.fatsoma.com/scottish-folk-promotions/et5l2d13/rura

15th May Incheberry Hall, Fochabers. 7.30pm / £7.52 – £13.85 /
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-arc-sessions-rura-tickets-21817495717

16th May The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen. 7.30pm / £14.20 incl bf / 01224 641122

17th May The Mash House, Edinburgh. 8.00pm / £13/
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rura-edinburgh-tickets-21406179459

18th May The Atkinson, Southport. £10-£12 + £1 bf / 01704 533 333

19th May Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury. 8.00pm / £15 / 01743 281 281

20th May Shepley Spring Festival /
http://www.shepleyspringfestival.co.uk/tickets-2/

21st May Otley Courthouse, Burley in Wharfedale. 8.00pm / £11-£13 / 01943 467466

22nd May The Convent, Stroud. 8.00pm / £11.25 incl bf / 01453 835 138

23rd May Colchester Arts Centre, 7.45pm / £10-£12 / 01206 500 900

24th May The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7.30pm / £12 in advance–£14 on the door
Tel. 01833 631 107

25th May Eastgate Arts Centre, Peebles. 7.30pm / £12-£14—£6 (schoolchildren)
Tel. 01721 725 777

26th, 27th, 28th & 29th May Orkney Folk Festival.
http://www.orkneyfolkfestival.com/tickets/

Much more info at www.rura.co.uk

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Lulu At HMT 21.03.16 – Dod Morrison Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Mar 222016

Review and photographs by Dod Morrison.

Most 67 years olds would be sitting at home, retired or pondering retirement. But Lulu? She is in the middle of a 35 date tour.

Billed as ‘An Evening With Lulu’, the iconic artist performs her hits and the songs that have influenced her career.

In 2015 she released her first self penned album ‘Making Life Rhyme’ and did her first tour in 10 years, she had so much fun and she decided to do it again 2016

It is a 2 hour set that many of the bands nowadays half her age couldn’t do.

Throughout the evening we are told stories and reminded that she has worked with some of the best out there including the late David Bowie and she does her rendition of ‘The Man Who Sold The World’.

We are told when she was going to write some songs and was wondering how to go about it.

She realised she lived with one of the best song writers around, Maurice Gibb.

We are told a story about the Bee Gees meeting up during one of their band splits and how they all met in a room for the first time in ages, and penned a song there and then.

Another story of the evening is her affection for Sydney Poitier and about her, at 19 years old, being cast for her film debut ‘To Sir With Love’.

She tells how, at that time, the film couldn’t be made in America, and singing the title track which went to number one in the US pop charts for 5 weeks in 1967.

She then announces:

“We will sing it now and I have updated it a bit”

The crowd love it.

During the evening she brings on the Military Wife’s Choir and they perform a rendition ‘Cry’ which brings a standing ovation from the crowd.

The last song is looming and Lulu says:

“I know what you want me to play and I know what you want me to sing, so let’s do it”

….and that now famous “weeeellllll” is shouted out and ‘Shout’ is played.

The military wife’s choir appear down the middle of the aisle to get people up and dancing but they need no encouragement and all are dancing and singing away.

Her voice throughout is immense , still great.

Lemon Tree To Show ‘International Waters’ – Tues Apr 5

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Mar 222016

Fire Exit presents ‘International Waters’, in co-production with Tron Theatre. With thanks to Liz Smith.

The social fabric has finally torn. Airports are closed, roads are blocked. Now even the 1% need to seek asylum. Four obscenely rich members of the elite pay through the nose to join an exclusive party on the last ship leaving London.

They stay alive using the only things they know – money, sex and madness. But the ship is sailing in the wrong direction.

They realise they don’t know each other. They don’t know the Captain. They don’t know what the hell is going on.

Like a perverse Aesop’s fable for the apocalypse, the twisting plot explores how progress can sometimes turn out to be a trap.

In this case it involves elegant glamour, brutal food poisoning, cyborg finance, Mack The Knife and a delicious bull testicle meringue.

The room keeps inexplicably shaking with an ear-splitting mechanical growl. Is this exile, extradition, extraordinary rendition? Are other passengers hidden on board? What’s their dangerous cargo? There’s a rumour it’s animals. Pairs of animals.

An aging pop crooner, a hapless trophy wife, a foul-mouthed photojournalist and a neurotic civil servant all know much more about the outside world than they’re letting on…

International Waters comes from multi-award-winning writer and director David Leddy, who has been called ‘Scotland’s leading theatrical innovator’ (Times) a ‘maverick’ (Guardian), a ‘genius’ (Scotsman), an ‘iconoclast’ (List) and an ‘institution’ (Independent).

The show features a stellar team of award-winning designers and actors. The four actors are: Selina Boyack (Nominated Best Actress TMA Awards, The Stage Awards and CATS Awards); Claire Dargo (Nominated Best Actress at The Stage Acting Excellence Awards, Sub Rosa, The Duchess of Malfi); Lesley Hart (March of Women, The Events, Dear Scotland); Robin Laing (Band of Brothers, Filth, Mary Stuart).

Set and costume by Becky Minto (Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Prague Quadrennial 2015 World Stage Design Exhibition); lighting by Nich Smith (Lighting Design Awards Best Public Building 2008, Cryptic, Long Live the Little Knife, Sub Rosa); sound by Danny Krass (Swallow, Huff, Who Cares); Production Manager Niall Black (Complicite, Royal Court, NTS).

Fire Exit presents, in co-production with Tron Theatre,

INTERNATIONAL WATERS.

Tues 5th April, 7.30pm.
The Lemon Tree,
5 W N Street,
Aberdeen,
AB24 5AT

Tickets: £13.20 inc bf | Students £5
http://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/international-waters

Ferocious Dog To Play Krakatoa – Sat March 19

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Mar 112016

With thanks to Jill Lerner, James H Soars Media Services.

(1)Ferocious Dog Press Shot - Copyright Pete Waggy 2015 copy

Ferocious Dog offer a full-on six-piece sound that encompasses folk infused with rock, reggae and Celtic vibrations. Picture: Pete Waggy.

In China, 2015 was the year of the Sheep – but in Nottinghamshire and countless venues and festivals in the UK it was the year of the Dog. The year that Ferocious Dog snarled their way from the periphery of the festival and gig scene and put themselves firmly in the limelight of the alternative scene.

The band will once again be tearing up the road to Aberdeen on Saturday March 19 to appear at Krakatoa.

The climax of their new album tour saw them sell out Rock City in Nottingham in advance – a historic moment, the first time in the 35 year history of this auspicious venue an unsigned band has achieved this feat.

As one fan put it:

“For me it felt like a real watershed moment for a band I’ve had the pleasure of following for the last few years. It feels like this gig was the moment things might change, they have integrity and strength and a loyal following”

As well as touring the country in Spring and Autumn, festival headline slots littered the summer months – not to mention an appearance on the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury, attracting the third biggest crowd of that area for the weekend.

Ferocious Dog offer a full-on six-piece sound that encompasses folk infused with rock, reggae and Celtic vibrations. The combination of instruments creates a palette of sound that offers infinite variations: going in hard to get the audience up and moving, or slipping into melodic passages and dub-like fusions.

The role of the infamous Hell Hounds mustn’t be underestimated – an ever-growing legion of fans who follow the band up and down the country. They bring energy and passion to the gig whilst always welcoming the less initiated members of the crowd to join in and swell their ranks – making the evening feel like a huge party.

With the release of their new album ‘From Without’, the raw energy and passion you’d expect from Ferocious Dog is ever-present, but tempered and enhanced with new influences and craft. With production from Matt Terry and mastering from Al Scott, a co-written track with Nick Burbridge of McDermott’s 2 Hours fame and the addition of rich orchestral strings it’s really a coming-of-age moment for the band.

“it is the sound of revolution that beats in the heart of anyone who seeks equality, and the six piece band from Nottinghamshire burst with flavour and ferocity” – Ian Hall, Liverpool Sound

The Acoustic magazine in their review of ‘From Without’ wrote about the second song on the album, ‘Poor Angry and Young’ describing it as:

“A glorious hymn of anarchy and sets the tone of much of which follows.

“There is nothing new about rebellion, but Ferocious Dog lay it on the line and whip up a hell of a storm along the way”

Many of the reviews expressed the same sentiment.

2016 promises to be an even better year, with gigs already sold out, and headline slots at festivals booked. This is an event that’s needs to be experienced. Ferocious Dog are going places.

Ferocious Dog.
Krakatoa, Aberdeen.
Sat 19th March 2016, 8pm.
Tickets £10

www.ferociousdog.co.uk
www.facebook.com/FerociousDog

Smooth Soothing Sweet Roachford: A Review

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Mar 112016

By Suzanne Kelly.

Andrew Roachford’s night at the Lemon Tree was a tonic, and all sorts of people were there for a bit of remedy.

People may have arrived with their personal assortment of cares and troubles.

By the time we left, people were smiling, happy, chilled out, and more than a little thrilled. Cares banished for the night, courtesy of Roachford.

With a voice like moonlight through a stained glass window falling on deep blue velvet, Roachford had quite a roomful of admiring women. The girls in front of the stage didn’t stop swaying all night; by girls I mean ladies from 18 to about 68. This by no means meant this was a show for the ladies alone; there were plenty of men enjoying the show too.

That’s some backing band with Andrew Roachford – percussion, bass, guitar were faultless and tasty. But if Roachford had us all smiling, his playing had me utterly transfixed. His fingers and hands flying over the keyboards seemed to blur at some points; the subtlety and dexterity with which he got the precisely-desired tones, nuances, expression will stay with me for quite a while.

Charming the audience in between numbers, he took us on quite the musical trip. His version of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ is unique; there’s something about how he does it that takes a heartbreaking classic and throws light on it – and somehow he lightens the mood of it.

Avoid my prose on the matter, cut to the chase, and go listen yourself. It’s on his new album which was on sale on the day, and which you’ll find at www.roachford.co.uk. You’ll also find a powerful version of Paul Weller’s ‘You Do Something To Me’, and a take on John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ that Roachford’s remade with his own seal.

“This album showcases some of the songs that have fired me up over the years to become a performer and to look, to bring the magic in every show I play,” Andrew explains.

“I once read that a sign of a good singer wasn’t just about ability but more importantly about someone that when they sang you believe every word.”

He’d also played a sweet version of ‘Family Affair’ which had the room singing. For me his version of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s ‘Under The Bridge’ was particularly moving. The musicians couldn’t have made a more solid, credible, flowing job of a single note of this.

Andrew explains that

“Growing up surrounded with Jazz and Soul, and working in the studio with The Clash as a teenager” gave him an incredible grounding in music. “I’ve never categorized music, I listen to music that moves me…. and that’s what inspires my writing”.

Pigeonholing him isn’t possible, and I don’t see why anyone would try.

This is a vocal and keyboard artist of a kind they’re not really making any more. Get some of him live if you can; get the album at least. He seemed happy, relaxed, and friendly; and it seems like the whole of the Lemon Tree was there with him on the night.

Next time I can catch him, I definitely will.

The Cult At The Music Hall – Craig Chisholm Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Mar 112016

Thursday March 3 2016 saw the long awaited return of The Cult to an Aberdeen stage, this time at the Music Hall. Review and photographs by Craig Chisholm.

Frontman Ian Astbury, dressed all in black, cut an engaging figure centre stage

The title of The Cult’s recent album, Hidden City, seems quite appropriate as Aberdeen has been a city hidden from the band’s touring schedule for nearly 30 years. It’s actually been so long since they last played here that the halls they headlined in the mid ‘80s, both Ritzy’s and The Capitol Theatre, are now long gone as live venues – renamed and re-appropriated as clubs or, in the case of The Capitol, offices.

However, the old haunts may be gone but the old crowd still remain with 1,500 of them packing out a sold out The Music Hall on a cold Thursday night to welcome back the band to the Granite City.

Kicking off with the opening track from Hidden City, the jumpy swinging rhythm of Dark Energy, the five piece got the crowd instantly on their feet with a quick follow up of classic cuts Rain and Wild Flower.

For the next 90 mins the set spanned across the years from tracks from the 1984 album Dreamtime (Horse Nation, Spiritwalker) to latest single G.O.A.T (aka Greatest of All Time).
.

However, it was the tracks from the band’s biggest selling albums Love, Electric and Sonic Temple that got the biggest cheers – from Lil’ Devil to She Sells Sanctuary to Sweet Soul Sister and Fire Woman it was a reminder of how much great singles the band have released over the years.
Tracks from the recent Hidden City – arguably the bands finest album in over two decades and a fine return to form – may not have been so well known to the crowd but all were received with rapturous applause.

Frontman Ian Astbury, dressed all in black and hidden behind shades for the first new numbers, cut an engaging figure centre stage.

Looking half of his 53 years he never let up from beginning to end, immersing himself in each song and looking every inch the rock god, part Jim Morrison, part shaman. Between songs he engaged the crowd with his banter, his opinions and reminders of his Scottish heritage – even going as far as introducing final song Love Removal Machine as “Love Removal Macbeth”.

To his left, guitarist Billy Duffy cranked out the riffs behind his signature Gretsch guitars.

Holding the guitar near vertical at times he created a sound that resonated through the Music Hall from front to rear and quite possibly rattled a few drinks on bars at the far end of Union Street such was his volume and power.

Fellow Mancunians Johnny Marr and John Squire may get the plaudits for their work with The Smiths and Stone Roses respectively but Duffy is surely one of Manchester’s great guitarists with a body of work and personal history second to none.

Both Duffy and Astbury thanked the crowd unreservedly at the end for selling out the venue and they must have been left wondering why they had not been this far North for the last three decades.

One can only hope that they don’t leave it another thirty years before returning to Aberdeen.

On this showing, if they did then you are left with no doubt they could still pull in the audience and give a similar energetic performance to the one seen tonight.

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