Outside stage, Perth Concert Hall

29th July

Sound:  Atmosphere:  Performance:

It’s an ill wind that blows no good, or so they say. Friday seemed like a game of ‘Good news – bad news’ for me. Good news, STV player had its Thursday 6pm News broadcast, and there was the item with Yola Carter (and myself standing dourly in the audience). Bad news, due to circumstances beyond my control I wasn’t able to be at the gig I was supposed to be at today. Good  news, I was there for an excellent performance by Martha Fields – ‘Texas Martha’. Usually the outdoor free gigs at Southern Fried seem to be blessed by the weather. “I ordered sun,” complained Tayside bluesman Pete Caban. “It was here at three o’clock!” That was at the moment when raindrops began to hit the flagstones and a sharp petrichor floated up to our nostrils. Umbrellas went up, most of us skedaddled under the large overhang of the Concert Hall roof, some of us went inside for soul food.

Meanwhile ‘Shady’ Pete Caban and his sidekicks answered the hoary old question – Can blue men sing the whites? Well the answer is that they do, whether they can or not. Over this side of the pond, they’ve been doing so since the Rolling Stones’ first album, since Lonnie Donnegan, probably since before that. One thing that is a certainty in Britain is, in the words of Adrian Henri, the ‘Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack, John Mayall, can’t fail blues’! Pete and the lads launch into the exercise with gusto and a pint of elbow grease each, in just the way that you would expect from a middle-aged, Scottish four-piece. Everyone’s embarrassing uncles, especially when Pete attempts a duck-walk. It’s all fairly predictable, but that’s what you hire Shady Pete for – reliable support – and that’s what you get.

The rain cleared for the afternoon’s headliners, and gradually people risked getting damp bums to see and hear ‘Texas’ Martha Fields and the House of Twang, the French backing band she takes on European tour with her. Martha’s heritage, before Texas, is Appalachia. A couple of centuries, maybe more, before that a branch of her family came from Scotland, and she is the first one of them to come back here. If Shady set the blues stage for us, then there was plenty of blues/country crossover for us in Martha’s act. For me, Martha is one of these performers you have to hear live, as there is a tendency for her recorded work to have an edge slightly smoothed off. That can be a disadvantage, because her voice has a strict contralto range, which often seems restricted in the product of a recording studio. What you get from a live performance, on the other hand, is one-hundred- percent drive.

That’s what we got today, and it was a near-faultless performance. Martha always radiates good-naturedness. She actually enjoys being on stage, singing, seeing the audience, getting feedback, smiling with us. And she brings that persona off stage too, being a total charmer signing autographs afterwards. You can’t help but warm to her. The material was mainly promotion for her new album Southern White Lies, and it rocked and never let up. We heard songs such as the title track ‘Southern White Lies’, ‘What Good Can Drinkin’ Do?’, ‘Do As You Are Told’, ‘Lonesome Road Blues’, ‘Johanna’, and ‘Born To Boogie’.

The House Of Twang are a powerhouse on stage, driven by drums and stand-up bass. The guy wielding the Fender Telecaster can’t half play, and the same may be said about the band-member who trebles on pedal steel, resonator, and banjo. The ensemble as a whole has the edge of a bowie knife! A while back I said ‘near-faultless’. If there was a fault it was the slide-guitarist/banjoist being slightly lost in the mix, but that wasn’t his fault. Based on the headline act alone I’m going to rate the show thus: 3 stars for sound, it would have been more but for that loss in the mix; 5 stars for atmosphere, even though we came in dribs and drabs back into the audience area, scared of getting wet bums, the whole ambience was a crimson glow towards the end; stars for performance – slick, expert, exciting, and driven. Martha has a second appearance scheduled for the weekend, and if I can wangle my way into that I will!

Reviewer :  Paul Thompson

Saturday 16th July 2016

With The British Sinfonietta Orchestra

Conducted by Marc Bride

Set in the grounds of one of the most stunning and also allegedly haunted castles Scotland has to offer – Glamis Castle, home to Earl and Countess of Strathmore, birthplace of Princess Margaret and the late Queen mum has a lot of history… to which has now been added a jolly good show at Glamis, 2016. Set in the heart of Angus countryside, thesplendiferous surrounds heightening the atmosphere, before proceedings began I looked around the audience at 5the smatterings of tartan rugs keeping folk cosy in their seats, a gatheirng of people going out to listen to music they love, enjoying good food and live music with likeminded souls.

West end star Norman Bowman was a delight and not just because he is a local talent from Abroath but because he is a naturally gifted entertainer worth keeping an eye on . Understudy to Ewan McGregor , his rise to fame is an interesting one..how many shoplifters go to a panto with their best mate and don’t look back ending up in Cats, Westside story, the list goes on! Having been awarded a scholarship to train in Musical Theatre at The London Academy of Performing Arts. can catch him appearing in the UK premiere of Murder Ballad at the Arts Theatre, London from Thursday 29th September 2016.

Melanie Masson was everything you would expect from a classical diva…big hair, big personality and of course the obligatory big voice. She was forgiven by the audience for her quiver at the last note of her Goldfinger performance because you could see her total commitment to give the big sounds the audience wanted.When Bowman sang a Mary Poppins medley with Melanie Masson and she danced around the stage in her lovely red dress(many changes did keep her looking glam at all times) as the dark crept up and dusk starts to exit Masson’s Tuppence was a magical moment.As was Bowmans Supercallafragalistic duet was stopped mid way through because according to ‘young Mr.Bowman’ were..”I feel we are just being watched’ and not participating. As the spotlights zipped about the audience a few ‘half sozzled’ punters got lively and joined in.

Mica Paris did not perform as well as expected to justify keeping her Queen of Soul title. No Susan Boyle or Elaine Paige performing like last year but still The British Sinfonietta Orchestra proved as much as a hit as The Philarmonic were last time round. Their version of Harry Potter was tremendous and couldn’t be faulted and was the prelude to the fireworks display. Richard and Adam , who performed for the Queen recently , and are currently top of the classical charts did not disappoint. The touch of rain that was more more of a gentle misting than an unpleasantry ensures you half price tickets for next years event if purchased before 31 August. I think that the majority of returning guests will not be complaining about Scottish weather for a while , don’t you?

Reviewer : Clare Crines

Carlisle Sands Centre

08/06/2016

Sound: Atmosphere: Performance:

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Niccolo Paganini, The County Hotel, late 19th century / The Beatles, ABC Cinema, Carlisle, 1963 / Jimi Hendrix, ABC Cinema, 1967 / AC/DC, Carlisle Market Hall, 1978 / The Jam, Carlisle Market hall, 1981 / The Smiths, Carlisle Market Hall 1984 / My Bloody Valentine, Stars & Stripes, 1988 / Lady Gaga, Carlisle Airport 2011… Genuine musical events don’t come to Carlisle very often, but let’s add the latest “happening”: The Stone Roses, Carlisle Sands Centre, 2016.

This is a genuine old skool event that very few can do:  buying tickets at the box office, queues, lemons, the sense of anticipation in the city; we’ve yet to see if the Roses will offer anything new, but they are an event: bands/artists come and go, but only The Stone Roses in 2016 can do this. The weather in Carlisle is balmy–a rare condition here–and the people are outside the bars soaking it up. A walk through Hardwick Circus takes us to the Sands Centre a theatre/sports hall and there are lemons on the roof. 8.45, the singing starts in the Sands’ bar; just after 9 pm The Stone Roses arrive and it feels like the best band on the planet is playing in your school gym; somehow this feels apt.

Ian Brown asks, “Have you got your dancing shoes on?” And we’re off: no surprises, it is Adored. The gym goes mad. And never stops. One young lad in a Leicester shirt is on his mate’s shoulders and higher than everyone else, conducting like we’re at The Moscow State Orchestra. First impressions: the band sound fabulous; just beautiful. John’s looking brilliant, a bit like a 1970s George Harrison, circa All Things Must Pass. There were mutterings that Ian’s singing was a little inconsistent the night before, not here though, he’s on the sweet spot tonight, not that it matters though as the crowd sing every word of every song as we sweep through Elephant Stone, Sally Cinnamon, Mersey Paradise, Bye  Bye Badman and Begging You. Not only the lyrics either, at some points they also sing the iconic guitar parts.

There’s a brief pause, a flag of Saint George has been hoisted in the middle of the pit; Brown gestures for it, takes it and throws it away with the Cantonaesque line: “People who fly flags don’t deserve to.”  I notice Reni give Ian a little smile that says edgy Ian, and then they segue into a crowd singalong of Elizabeth My Dear: absolutely right, this isn’t the last night of the proms. Then we’re into the Roses’ voodoo groove: Waterfall, Don’t Stop, Fools Gold. 25 minutes of bliss as the groove mutates into endless forms most beautiful:  Shards of guitar beauty all over drum & bass variations that would have made Paganini proud.

“Not bad for a Wednesday night, aye?” asks Ian. Then we’re into the finale: the new single All for One is transformed by a denser live sound more reminiscent of their past; the audience love it. Then we get more Second Coming material, Love Spreads & Breaking into Heaven: at this point an anthropologist might think they’ve discovered some new form of pagan ritual. The finish is She Bangs the Drums, This is the One and Resurrection. I’ll say no more. No encores; no more new material, and we walk out into the night to the sounds of The Supremes accurately describing our condition:  Stoned Love. This is the Stone Roses at Carlisle. 2016.

Reviewer : Paul Rivers

Photograpy : Angela Mchard

 The Playhouse, Edinburgh
Tuesday 7th June

Bernadette Peters is the sort of actress whose name you may not know but whose face and speaking voice are instantly recognisable from film or TV- even if you are not a big fan of musical theatre you are sure to recognise her from her role as the con-artist who pretends to be the lead character’s mother in the 1982 film ‘Annie’, or as the shy teacher who fallls for Steve Martin in ‘Pennies from heaven’, 1981. In the course of her varied annd illlustrious career she has won many awards, including 3 Tonys, and has many feathers in her cap, including stage work, films, TV, worked a recording artist and has a big heart, to boot, having raised a lot of money for AIDS and animal charities over the years.

There is something unique and likeable about her face and character, she has great stage presence and had the audience eating out of her hands in between songs, with her sharp, funny comments. She is a seasoned performer and her physical confidence is undeniable. In fact, when I researched her age I almost fell off my chair and had to check 3 different websites to make sure it wasn’t a mistake- she has the spectacular physique of a woman half her age and the voice and energy to match.

In this show she performed solo, with an 11 piece backing band who played every tune beautifully, consisting of 4 string instruments (2 violins played by Jonathan Hill & Calina De La Mare and a viola and cello, played by Polly Wiltshire and Nick Cooper, respectively), as well as the timeless French Horn (Marcus Bates), with both James Mainwaring & Graeme Blevins playing sax, clarinet and flute and David Thomas on the oboe. The band leader, Marvin Laird, is a highly respected, multi-award winning musical director annd conductor who has worked with the likes of Diana ross, Dusty Springfield and the like, scored the music for TV shows such as ‘Love boat’ and ‘Quincy’ and he and BP have had one of the longest working relationships in showbiz, spanning more than 4 decades. Under his leadership the band played seamless, flawless music- the sound was clear as a bell and the perfect complement to Peters’ husky, sexy tones.

Some absolute classics, including ‘Fever’, and Disney’s ‘When you wish upon a star’ were belted out with flair and gusto, while other hits were given the sensitive treatment more suited to their content, such as ‘Losing my mind’ and ‘Send in the clowns’. The show ‘s primary focus was on Sondheim material and many of the other songs were not as well known as we expected yet, judging by much of the audience’s reactions this was no impediment to their enjoyment since many of them were clearly regular theatre goers and a large part was clearly made up of Radio 2 listeners of the Elaine Page show who knew their A-Z of musical theatre.

However, this is obviously not the case for anyone expecting more mainstream hits. The rather specific nature of the show was also its Achilles’ Heel- several of the songs sounded rather similar and the sort of song that is, often, superfluous in a musical where speech would have done just as well- the content definitely could have been a little more appealing to a mainstream audience but her performances were fantastic nonetheless. To sum up, BP is a wonderful performer as were the musical director and band, the show is well produced by Neil Eckersley and all the crew but unless you are a die-hard fan of musical theatre, the sort who knows and loves every song, this show is not for you and should be left to the aficionados…but if you are that aficionado then you will love it.

Reviewer : Maya Moreno

Eastbrook Hall

Dumfries

4th June 2016

Retro’s original venue of Queen of The South Football Club’s Palmerston Park was hastily changed to Eastbrook Hall in Dumfries following the cancellation of the Boomtown Rats, Rick Astley and The Rezillos. The Stars of The Commitments  and ABC were all that were left of what could’ve been an amazing night with an eclectic mix of punk, post punk and New Romantics synth pop sounds under one roof. Instead we had a very well oiled wedding party in one suite and a very brave attempt at ‘the show must go on’ in the other making for an altogether surreal experience.

Alan Parkers multi award and Bafta winning movie The Commitments was filmed a quarter of a century ago and told the tale of a soul band nearly attaining stardom in a touching and moving piece of fiction. This ironically lead to the stars riding on the crest of the movie tide and becoming fact, playing live for President Bush in Capitol house  in 2005, a highlight of original cast member and bassist Ken McCluskey’s career.

Myles Hyland on lead vocals took us on a soul filled voyage that lasted 2 hours with his energy and remarkably unwavering distinctive voice holding firm despite the longevity of the set.. Sandra Hyland and Antoinette Dunleavy singing backing vocals kept us highly entertained with their unique and over the top animated dancing that transported us to the early nineties pretty pronto. Mustang Sally, Chain of Fools, Take Me To The River, Try A Little Tenderness, Nowhere to Run, In The Midnight Hour and Hard To Handle had the audience captivated with their performance . I nipped out to take a breather from the heat indoors and discovered a lone female kilted bagpipe player engaging the passers by outside in the glorious gardens serenading the setting sun and the wedding party stragglers. She was tremendous though nothing to do with the Retro gig.

The Commitments have played with top blues and soul legends such as BB KIng and the late great James Brown and more recently with Black Eyed Peas. If you want to catch them then they are playing in the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy on Friday 17th June.

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After a brief interlude ABC bounded onstage. Martin Fry shimmied smoothly in his sharp suit much faster than looks humanly possible for a man his age. The audience were as entertaining as the band was professional. I’ve never been at a gig where pretty much all the males sang the words so seriously and intensely to their partners as they tried to emulate the dance moves going on on stage. It could easily have been narrated by David Attenborough as a rare insight into the human male’s mating ritual..a fascinating eye opener and from the balcony we had a birds eye view.

All the golden oldies were sung, The Look of Love (saved for the last song of couse) Poison Arrow which weirdly was sung again on the encore. We did get a glimpse of Lexicon of Love’s sequel Lexicon of Love 2 with Viva Love which unlike their song title That Was Then and This is Now sounded like it was made back in the day 34 years ago due to the bands singular style and unique orchestral maneuvers. A slick performance nonetheless that can be caught between now and November at a multitude of venues : the next one is Lets Rock Birmingham on the 11th June when they will be playing with Scottish acts of yesteryear Altered Images and Midge Ure

Clare Crines

Usher Hall

Edinburgh

May 27th

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What a joy again it was to spend an evening with Peter Oundjian & co. This season’s seminal subscription to the RSNO bares its soul to the world – their love of the classics & modernity blending into a bouquet of some beauty. Clad all in black, the Orchestra took to the the stage with a certain sense of excitement – they knew what was about to happen, I guess. Among them was Creetown’s own John Gracie, who 35 years into a his stint with the RSNO is about to lay aside his world-renowned trumpeteering from painting his incredible sonic tapestries in our ears. Beloved & respected, it was with some emotion that the entire Usher Hall applauded his arrival on the stage for one of his final shining & starry performances.

Tonight’s selection – the midway point of the season – began with new blood, the profoundly pleasant Remiscipate by an undergraduate at the London Royal College of Music, Lillie Harris. Its theme is the destruction of certain Glasgow flats, a moody, psychological & energetic ten minutes that was deeply poetic. An evocative & skillful work, I especially loved the aesthetical movements of the orchestra as they swept through her ten minute composition like waves across a sun=kissed lake. Rumbling explosions, crumbling masonry & plumes of dust all floated into my mind’s eye as Lillie wove her magic. Having learnt many instruments in her childhood, her natural progression led her to composition, & she is clearly a fresh & exciting talent. For such a young dame, she gave  Remiscipate a mature sense of suspense, of an unstoppability that could only end in a giant cymbal crash as the flats smashed into concrete. Excellent!

The central pillar of tonight’s performance was Richard Strauss’ ‘Four Last Songs,’ sung wonderfully by Norwegian soprano, Marita Solberg, who took the stage in a cyan dress, her blond locks tussling to her shoulders, & appeared among the sable orchestra like a chink of daylight in a stormblack sky. Four Last Songs has Strauss putting music to four of Herman Hesse’s haiku-like tri-quatrains, & does so exceedingly well. Of them, the superlativian second song & its galloping cha-cha-cha deer – like a railway at full speed. Solberg’s classical European voice was perfect for the task at hand, a perfect conduit for an entry into the Straussian psyche, where the steady philosophical mind of Schiller blends effortlessly with the melodic blossoms of an alpine morning tumbling down from furs. Yes Strauss & the RSNO’s interpretations of his visions provided a sumptuous glance at the glory of god and life. Listening to Solberg’s startling performance felt as if I was watching a Provencal gypsy-woman caught pick-pocketing in a narrow Marseille street, & pleading to her captors for mercy. Heartfelt to the max.

…& so the Ode of Joy, a piece of music which no human being can afford to experience in its full symphonic majesty. Preceeding it of course is the majority of Beethoven’s ninth, which is a little insipid at times, but one gets the feeling he was simply lulling us into a false sense of security. Of its inclusion in the subscription, Peter Oundjian told the Mumble,’its grand choral finale, celebrating the brotherhood of all mankind, is rightly beloved across the world, & the symphony’s compelling musical drama is also a fitting way to celebrate the RSNO’s historic birthday.’ You can tell Peter loves this piece, at times his stick-work was mesmerizing, shamanic even, & the piece was done a MASSIVE justice on the night but all parties concerned.

Beethoven was a riffer extraordinaire, & like the ending of Love Spreads by the Stone Roes he hits us one by one with orchestral layers of that earworming, ever-familiar, ever eternal piece of whimsical romantic musing. The Ode is famous for its choral support, including the return of Solberg, alongside Croatian Renata Pokupic (mezza-soprano) England’s Ben Johnson (tenor) & Germany’s Stephen Loges (bass-baritone). Chorus director Gregory Batsleer, told the Mumble, ‘I think audiences can have more connection with the Chorus if they’re singing without music, & it makes an enormous impact when the Chorus joins the Orchestra – its truly as if Beethoven couldn’t go any further with his music for orchestra & has to add a choir.’ When all are singing the word’s of Schiller’s 1785 poem full blast. there really is a fundamental shaking of the soul, as if the slopes of Olympus were echoing the chauntings of the gods.

Reviewer : Damo Bullen

O2 Academy: Glasgow

27 May 2016

Sound:  Atmosphere:  Performance:

With new album ‘These People’ riding high at number 2 in the UK midweek charts, former Verve frontman and maverick Richard Ashcroft strode out confidently to a sold-out Glasgow O2 Academy audience. It had been around five years since The Drugs Don’t Work star last appeared upon this stage; gone were the shaggy locks, the northern menacing leer which coined him the cruel nickname of ‘Mad Richard’ by the media, and in its place were a blue-suit, black polo-jumper, an army crewcut, and shades which were available to buy in the venue toilets. Regardless of such fashion faux pas, it was an electric atmosphere inside the congested arena where one and all were simply delighted to see a much-missed icon back on Glaswegian turf.

New album opener “Out Of My Body” kept things simple at the start, leading into first single “This Is How It Feels”. Both tracks offered a real punch, teeming with Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound smashing into the ruby-lit faces in the lower section. The instrumentation provided by Steve Wyreman and Adam Phillips on guitars, Steve Sidelnyk on drums, Damon Minchella on bass, and Anthony Gorry on keyboards appears to be a masterstroke as old favourites such as “Science of Silence” and New York” provided a robust backing, whilst Ashcroft’s decision to reunite with ‘Urban Hymns’ strings arranger Wil Malone elevated the music so that even those sat in the top tier back row were treated to its full capacity. The latter track from the ‘Alone With Everybody’ album in 2000 delved back further still with a drum and bass guitar-led march which clearly nodded towards The Doors ‘Five In One’.

Ashcroft’s often phlegmatic opinion of his former band has grated on fans in the past, intermittently appearing nothing more than cold, but as a live prospect he radiates nothing but pure warmth and love. From where I stood, the quixotic and timeless qualities of “Sonnet” was only slightly marred by two boisterous and highly out-of-tune ladies in the audience who were clearly suffering from antiperspirant and anger management issues, as Ashcroft led the audience down memory lane; ladettes and all. The fists remained pumping between the main attraction and audience on “Music Is Power”, before things slowed down into a more mellow sound during “Break The Night With Colour” and new track “Ain’t The Future So Bright”.

At different points throughout the evening, the star-turn insisted how good it was to be back on stage and in front of his fans, patting his heart, holding his guitar above his head, or simply crying out “I feel the love, it’s good to be back”. The feeling was mutual as the audience reacted to Verve classic “Lucky Man”, dedicated to ‘anyone lost along the way’, singing back line for line to their hero. One punter at the back continued to howl “HIS-TO-RYYY” the duration of the gig, but most seemed appeased by the song-choices that had been made. The enormous queue to the gents toilets (space for six toilets despite thousands in attendance – sort that out, O2 Academy!) watched nervously on, scared that they would miss the many classics which Ashcroft could have plucked from.

Returning for a five-song encore which included “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Song For The Lovers”, Ashcroft shook shades from face and surprised the audience with his 1998 collaboration with UNKLE on “Lonely Souls”. Militant drums and flashing strobes turned this into an exceptional live track on what was, in all fairness, an easily forgotten generic album track. The surprises continued with how alarmingly good new single “Hold On” is live – a testament to the tight-knit group behind Ashcroft’s crooning, as the audience exploded into throwing beer cups, dancing, and arms stretching upwards to its uplifting vibes. Smile plastered across his face, Ashcroft exclaimed “Number 2 in the charts after five years of nothing” before castigating artists who live on their army of Instagram followers. It was clear that the last handful of years hadn’t been easy on the man from Wigan, and perhaps unsurprisingly his final gift was to play “Bittersweet Symphony” to a rapturous audience willing him on to keep taking things to a higher level. I confess that at this point, my note-taking has suffered and I became one of those people who need to film parts of the gig – perhaps it was just a little souvenir from a special evening which I wanted to keep. Sex and violence, melody and silence – Ashcroft brought it all during his 17-song set over two hours. This was a fantastic return to form and one can only hope that one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters doesn’t fade into the shade of bands like Coldplay for long again – we need him around, just as much as he needs ‘these people’. All aboard!

Reviewer : Stephen Watt

Everything was a little topsy turvy at the Botanic Late, a curious night of scientific discovery and abandon. Walking into the airy foyer of the Gateway, I was greeted by warm staff, and a decidely bohemian spectacle of folk wandering around me adorned wth glow-in-the-dark jewelry ad silver painted faces glistening like metallic masks. The hall was punctuated by the sound of ceilidh dancers stomping their feet to the strains of Science Ceildh. The band offer a mash of continental balfolk, quebecois and nordic traditions with a dash of techno and geek culture. Beyond, a pack of grinning headphone-clad dancers shuffled their feet to the world rhythms of Samedia Shebeen, who provided cutting edge electronic from across the globe in the form of a silent disco.

This sense of freedom, with a dash of abandon, set the night in good stead. The attendees ranged from uberhip students to bubbly-toffing yuppies, all finding their niche at the diverse array of activities on offer. There were robotics stands and microgreen stations, genetics microscopes, and beer tastings – all spread throughout the spacious halls of The Gateway, and staffed with friendly, highly intelligent scientists to explain the wonders on show. Most extraordinary was the robotics stand, where visitors wth presented a “desktop” 3D Printer. The device was immersed in the task of constructing a Pythagorean glass -a device which can only be half-filled with liquid (a drop more sends the glass toppling to the ground). Beyond, visitors were invited to behold robots dancing across the floor. The inventions were extraordinary and it was a privilege to encounter technology which plays a part in so many scientific enterprises, from robots on Mars to Star Wars toys, to medicine.

On the other side of the room, beyond the slightly overpriced bar, a team of kindly PhD students explained the resesarch they were conducting into genetics. Visitors were invited to peer down telescopes at vial containing mutant fruit flies – apparently bugs provide scientists with insight into genetic mutation and manipulation – a delightfully disgusting introduction to genetics. Nearby, CRUK even made an appearance, providing games to explain the ways that doctors are able to detect cancer. The representatives, drawn from the University Cancer Research department were energetic and friendly, all PhD students offering a true enthusiasm to discuss their research. If the brimming halls of The Gateway grew too busy, guests were able to take a stroll down the fragrant paths of the gardens, or lounge on cosy sofas on the outdoor decking. The evening was clear and bright, and the aroma of sizzling hot street food filled the air. The curiouser of guests were treated to virtual reality tours of the V&A, bridge-building activities, micro-green growing, jewelry upcyling, and a host of other activities designed to pique the futuristic and creative minded.

All in all it was a terrific evening. The design was thoughtful, and the attendance was just right – busy enough to feel bustling and energetic, yet spacious enough to keep queues at a minimum and seats available. If you haven’t checked out a Late, get yourself to the next one. It’s a very important date.

Reviewer Charlotte Morgan

Attend first festival of the season – check.
Meet a bunch of amazing people – check.
Get smashed and jump about like an arse – check.
Keep up the pace when you’re with someone and going at it and some random tries to come into your tent – check.
Bin your tent when it falls apart – check.
Get home before 2pm, put 3 bars on the fire and crack open the wine – check.
Repeat in a few weeks at Knock…

Dean Ryan

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Leaving Edinburgh on a dreek windy day, I was heading to the west coast to get a ferry to the Isle of Arran for the Deoch An Dorus Festival, held for one shiny, single day on Saturday the 30th of April on the coastal shores of North Sannox on Arran.  As the ferry sailed towards Athe island the snow capped mountains skipped out of the distance, beautiful but chilly.  As we docked at Broddick Harbour the sun appeared and blue skies followed. A great sign for the shennanigins to come.

A few miles north of North Sannox you came across the camp site and festival.  Situated on the coast in one of the best locations I have seen, it was a magical start to the festival season.  With a complete sell out and a crowd of 400 people and 12 bands attending the spirits were high. There woudl have been more, Deoch could have sold 10 times as many tickets, but the local council limited numbers, & being one of the lucky ones to be there I felt kinda special.

At roughly 12.30 pm the Well Happy Band began to invite us into their world of music, happiness and dance.  A fourteen-piece band of magical characters and an array of inviting instruments, this was their first performance at a festival. Colourful in costumes and in song they delivered a uplifting set that even had the power to move the clouds.  With Alaine’s soft & magical words casting magic over us all, the clouds parted and the sun shone with blue skies to follow.  Between sun, sea and snowy mountains the crowd engaged themselves with the band into a movement of warm April dancing.   A wee gem in the making, we hope to see the Well Happy Band again this year.

Walking around the site the feeling of togetherness was apparent, you felt everyone had waited  long enough for a chance to enjoy the wonderful out doors of the Scottish Festival Season. The joy of catching up with old friends and familiar faces was clear to see , greetings, laughter and shouting , hugs and embracing  was all shared with a big smile.

So the day continued, & catching as much music as I could fit in, I wandered to & fro between the two stages. The Fast Camels were a rocking bunch of lads, with hard rock beats they did themselves justice. Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 gave us the yellow fever… bright, colourful music that had us skanking like bees making honey.  They never fail to deliver their unique brand of fun & funk. A tight set with well timed beats. The No Name band consisted of a group of young lads who had only rehearsed a few times before this gig. With such songs as “Get a Job” they were well tuned into the reality of what matters when it comes to lyrics. With a rock and folk feel to their sound they deserved all the applause they got.  Well done !!!!

With a small intermission between bands I managed to capture the feel of the festival by chatting to festival goers and taking some memorable photographs. Then I had the pleasure of catching new band, Ichy Pinks, fronted by Nima Mariaaida, a sonic blast of beat-driven good times, choral glory & one hell of a funky costume. A real treat.

Next up were the funky, slick soulful disco band “Tinky Disco” with MC Mike on lead vocals. This band have been evolving well over the last year and with their funky beats and sleazy slick guitar sounds they have been entertaining audiences. With the down to earth fun of “Pussy Bus” and hard hitting message of “Dynamics” the members of Tinky Disco approach their music in a unique way.  You can skank, dance, boogie, jump and shake your arse to Tinky Disco as their diversity in music has something for everyone. With the addition of keyboards and percussion on the side this band I would expect   to become a familiar sight on the festival circuit.  As the sun set on the coastline their set came to a close with “Tinky Disco Party” and it surely was that, a party of spiritual togetherness. Well done Tinky Disco for bringing  alot  of warmth and good vibes to Deoch An Dorus Festival…

As the night went on  a chill appeared in the air and signs of a storm were brewing but the show must go on. With the Girobabies taking to the stage the rain lashed down and tents flew away but this did not dampen co-organiser Mark’s spirits. It was like he swallowed up the rain and blew away the cold as he and the Girobabes wanted nothing more than to do what they always do. Executing their set with precision and heart their melodic tunes blast their way through the Arran night sky. This was a beautiful start to the summer months ahead and with such locations as these the Deoch An Dorus Festival will only  thrive in further years. Thanks to all for a memorable experience.

Reviewer : Spud