A Night to Remember - Native Harrow live in Edinburgh

You kind of know that you are likely to be in for a challenging night when you turn up to a gig and find the stage is taken up with a full stage television screen showing football.....

…...not just any screen but reputedly the biggest HD screen in Scotland. Ok.

Am I in the right place? On the right night? I check the bar staff - 'Is there a band playing tonight?' 'Sure they're on at 10' Noting my glance at the huge screen they add 'The screen rolls up.'

Suitably reassured but still slightly apprehensive I order a pint and find a seat. Scanning the assembled audience I make some demographic assumptions. Younger audience than usual at an Americana gig but who's here for the football on the big screen and who's here for the sublime sounds of Native Harrow?

Too many questions already for a Tuesday night. I spot a local promoter who looks as out of sorts as me but he does get into the football, a bit. I hear someone else ask if there is music on tonight. Napoli are playing a slow burn demolition of Liverpool so it's good to know that others are as confused I am.

Just after ten the screen rolls up as promised and Native Harrow take the stage to perform one of two sets of beautiful and mesmerising folk americana. The beguilingly gentle but strong vocals Devin Tuel manage to cut through the lifeless venue and reach the ears of the receptive in the audience. Which going from the polite but fairly enthusiastic applause which follows each songs gives me some hope that the band feel the same.

I'm not sure though and reckon that they have read the venue and audience and realise that they'll have to chalk this booking up to experience and just hunker down and get through the sets. Whatever, they do just that and with open ears I lap up the sound as is washes over the stage and through the audience catching me with its insistence and intense beauty. I'm glad I came.

It's a great shame that for their first appearance in Edinburgh that Native Harrow were in such a lifeless place with such a mismatched audience.

I tweeted them later to let them know that at least one member of the audience enjoyed their efforts and would want to see them again. Somewhere else though.

Author note: I'm not going to name the venue here other than to say that I used to come to it many years ago when it had another name and saw some packed and enjoyable gigs there from these bands - Goodbye Mr McKenzie, The Rubber Dolphinarium, the Shop Assistants, the Truth and others (ok, I did heckle a couple of those bands). The last time I was there was when I used to go to clubs that played Hip Hop and found that House music was not to my liking. 

https://www.nativeharrow.com/

The Bonnevilles at Leith Depot

The Bonnevilles are a phenomenon - a punk blues whirlwind of drums/guitar/voice that lifts the roof, blows out the walls and fills you with joy. This duo out of Lurgan purvey a form of blues infused rock'n'roll with the volume way past 11 that is irresistible, lacerating and life affirming.  If you are going to see a band play down and dirty rock'n'roll you'd be hard pushed, very hard pushed to find a better band just now.

I've been lucky enough to see the Bonnevilles four times and each time I am astounded by their visceral attack and the sheer enjoyment they display as they storm through their songs. Tonight they started at full pelt, with hardly time to take breath between songs reaching a frenzied height with a inspired cover of 'Money (that's what I want)' before slowing things down with live staple 'Kneel at the Alter'. And that was only halfway through the set! More power to Andy and Chris who make the Bonnevilles a must see band. They'll be back - don't miss them!

Shout out too to tonight's support Mudlow. The perfect support with their take on swamp blues with a funky (in a good and dirty way obvs) backbeat they groaned, moaned and howled through a high power set and won new fans. Fabulous!  

https://thebonnevilles.co.uk/

http://www.mudlow.co.uk/

Dram Shop Gal - Carson McHone at the Hug & Pint 8/02/2019

Carson McHone is a native of Austin Texas and already a veteran of the city's honky tonk scene. As such you might expect her to be a purveyor of straight ahead four to the floor honky tonk music. Maybe she is with a full band behind her. Tonight she is solo, just her and her acoustic guitar and the songs while showing classic country and honky tonk influences also have a subtlety and quality that mark her as a songwriter to watch.

The songs stripped back in this intimate setting show a spare, stark quality and a lyrical deftness that marks them out. Musically she is steeped in the Texas honk tonk tradition and possesses a voice that can yelp like a best rockabilly girl when she needs it to but can also be gentle and reflective on the likes of 'Dram Shop Gal'.

It's 'Dram Shop Gal' that stands out for me as it shows the quality of her writing offering a tale of a woman working bars with a lyricism that puts her with the best of singer songwriters coming out of the US today. There is also something about the melodies she creates which while based on the classic country she's grown up with is laced with echoes of old time Scots and Irish music which form a key root of country.

Carson McHone did not disappoint and had the audience in the palm of her hand entertaining them between songs with tales of the life and the road. I expected the country honky tonk feel of her songs and she delivered that but what I'd not expected was the references to classic American literature that peppered her show and informed the one new song she sang 'Hawks Do Not Share' which takes its title from a chapter of Hemingway's 'A Movable Feast' about the relationship of the two iconic creative impulses that were Zelda and F.Scott Fitzgerald. She also referenced Thomas Wolfe's 'Look Homeward Angel' and Langston Hughes 'Suicide's Note'.

Recently signed to Loose Records this is Carson's first tour of the UK showcasing her album 'Carousel'. She promises to be back later this year hopefully with her band. I'm looking forward to it already - this is a new talent on the rise.

Courtney Marie Andrews, Perth 8.12.18

There is something so genuine about Courtney Marie Andrews. Tonight underlined that. Appearing solo after touring most of the year with her band in support of one of this years best albums 'May Your Kindness Remain' Courtney Marie stripped the music down to its essence - voice, acoustic guitar and piano (alternating the last two).

The intimate setting of the Joan Knight studio at Perth Theatre allowed Courtney Marie the space to concentrate on telling us some of the stories behind the songs - who inspired them, what part of her life they were from. In short she just played us her amazing songs which are stories in themselves. She took requests at one point with hilarious consequences when she started '500 Nights' only to forget the second line and having to settle for the chorus - 'I've not played that song in 5 years!'. She hadn't factored in the extent of the audience knowledge of and affection for her work!
There were a number of stand outs for me including 'Honest Life', 'Paintings from Michael' (a song about her incarcerated uncle which seems to grow more powerful every time I hear her play it), 'Irene', 'Only in my Mind' and 'Rough around the Edges'. She finished the set by unplugging the guitar and stepping away from the microphone to sing 'May Your Kindness Remain'. It was a special moment and a special way to end a wonderful night.

I'll be seeing her again tonight at the CCA in Glasgow and to say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement.

The Last Days of Mankind by Karl Kraus, Leith Theatre

☀☀☀☀☀

There hasn't been a full theatrical production at Leith Theatre for thirty years and what a way to return. Co-director John Paul McGroarty has long held an ambition to get theatre back into the building. He and Yuri Birte Anderson have realised that ambition in quite a spectacular and stunning  way. They've reanimated Leith Theatre with an ambitious reimagining of Karl Kraus's The Last Days of Mankind a viscerally stunning examination of war and its effects on people and psyche. It captures the collective madness of a population caught up and enraptured by the myths perpetrated by politicians and the media. Kraus used material from real speeches and newspaper reports to illustrate the madness that descends and makes the unbelievable real and the real unbelievable. As Kraus said himself 'the most improbably deeds reported here really took place'. 

At turns absurd and harrowing it is chilling to know the reality of the origin of this work and breath taking to recognise the startling parallels with the present day manipulation of public opinion and the language of war.
The production is international bringing together a cast from Scotland, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, France and Ireland and in that there is a echo of an lament to the fracturing of the post war European idea that has brought peace and not the unutterable horror of total war but now faces, with Brexit and the rise of populist right wing politics an uncertain future but some frighteningly familiar threats.
The staging and lighting is impressive. However it is the commitment of the actors and the sheer physicality of their performances which hit home powerfully whether it is the recurring newspaper seller becoming increasing deranged and ultimately empty in his exhortation of extra, extra edition or the philosophical discourse between the two Kraus's commenting cynically and optimistically of the progress of the war. The most disturbing scenes were for me the one where three actors disrobed and were transformed into disabled war wounded and in doing so provided the counterpoint to the mother who said enthusiastically of her son that she would rather he died gloriously at the front than came home permanently maimed. The other scene was the dinner party where the wealthy presented caricatures,, charades style of their fellow humans in the horror of war before one of them appears naked in a gas mask.    
A masterstroke is the involvement of the cabaret group The Tiger Lillies who have scored the production with a stunning set of songs which really add to the impact of the piece, punctuating and highlighting the dramatic flow as the characters teeter off kilter into collective madness. Their songs the describe the euphoria of belief over all others and also the degradation and humiliation of the deterioration of humanity. They add greatly to the atmosphere and depict a world straight out of Otto Dix both lyrically and in appearance.
As a first production at the newly reinvigorated Leith Theatre this production has shown the possibilities of the space and the willingness to imagine that fantastic things can be presented there. The Last Days of Mankind is a tremendous tour de force and a salutary anti-war howl at time when contemporary politics needs to wake up to the threats to peace and democracy. That the opening night was on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day and staged in a theatre that was bombed in WW2 makes it even more poignant. It is also playing during the week that the neo-fascist ideologue disruptor Steve Bannon is in Edinburgh. Art imitates real life just a bit. A dramatic warning from history. Well done to all involved in bringing this timely retelling to the stage.

Text of the play https://novembereditions.com/books/the-last-days-of-mankind-by-karl-kraus/

The Tiger Lillies score https://www.tigerlillies.com/blog/2018/11/12/the-last-days-of-mankind-digital-album-release

More about Leith Theatre https://www.leiththeatretrust.org/

Suzanne Vega Solitude Standing & 99.9F, The Queens Hall, Edinburgh, August 2018

Suzanne Vega toured both Solitude Standing and 99.9F to mark the 30th and 25th anniversaries of each album. She played both albums in track order back to back.

I have a rule that I sometimes break. That rule is that I don't go and see bands or singers who I should have seen back in their 'heyday'. This concert was an exception I wasn't expecting to make but am so glad I did.

Suzanne Vega is one of those artists who was there in the early eighties and I heard her, I got the literate word play and the arrangements but for some reason I didn't plunge headlong into her music. Probably too busy getting into garage-a-billy at the time.

It turns out though that whether I acknowledged it at the time or not Suzanne's music was there as a backdrop through those years and I realised that at this unexpected gig as she moved through the tracks on these two albums and the recognition level of the tunes and the lyrics was high.

Solitude Standing gives up the gems that are 'Tom's Diner' and 'Luka'. I have a personal memory of that album an album I've never owned. A friend of mine, sadly now passed away, had this album on his car cassette player permanently and I thought of him constantly as the concert proceeded through this familiar sequence of songs.

Vega is an engaging performer and didn't evidence any of the coolness that you might imagine she could exude. Opening the first set as the album does with an acapella version of 'Tom's Diner' is a brave choice and she pulls it off with a bravura and intimacy that set the tone for the rest of the night.

There was a short break between the sets and it was onto a the more electric and muscled sounds of 99.9F - the Suzanne Vega album I do have though its not been listened to in years. It was a revelation as I was surprised how well I remembered the album. 'Blood Makes Noise', 'Fat Man and the Dancing Girl' 'When Heroes go Down' and the sublime 'As Girls Go' were like old friends, familiar but also bright and fresh. 'In Liverpool' was my standout of the night in part because of the back story of the song about a first love and nearly meetings over the years. It was touching and affectionate in the way an old love can be after the passage of time but where there is still a connection to the hearts of both parties.

She finishes of the night with an encore which includes 'Left of Center' another song that seems to have formed part of the soundtrack of my life.

While this was an evening of memories sparked by these wonderful songs it was also an evening that looked to the now and the future as Suzanne Vega still tours and performs songs from her now long career including her more recent album inspired by Carson McCullers 'Lover, Beloved'.

It took me a long time to get to Suzanne Vega live and to reconnect with these wonderful songs but the long road was worth it. Who knows I may break my rule again but then again will my experience be as good as this?

  

Quebec, a realignment of the political landscape?

The recent National Election in Quebec has started a realignment of the politics of identity and sovereignty. That realignment has also seen the common thread of the modern political world - the polarisation of ideology and the rise of both radical left voices and anti immigration platforms.

It is 23 years since the last independence referendum in Quebec and though the possibility of a fresh referendum seems unlikely almost to the point of non existent there are perhaps sign that in the realignment of Quebec politics a fresh self determination seed is being sown that may, in time flower and produce a new modern sovereigntist demand that realises afresh the dreams so narrowly lost a generation ago.

The Quebec elections of 1st October produced a huge shake-up to the political landscape of the nation. For 50 years the leadership of Quebec had pivoted between the Liberal Party of Quebec (the unionists) and the Parti Quebecois (the nationalists). various other minor parties had come and gone in the interim but nothing had broken that duality of political outcomes. Until now that is.

The election broke that mould and there may be no going back. Coalition Avenir de Québec (CAQ) a party formed and led by Francois Legault, himself a former PQ cabinet member is, on the face of it, a nationalist party. However it is avowedly not promising any future referendum on an independent Quebec. CAQ won 74 seats in the National Assembly - a landslide which saw them beat the incumbent Liberals comprehensively. The CAQ surge which had been threatened at previous elections came at the expense of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) who on the day were reduced to a humiliating 9 seats (later rising to 10 through a recount). CAQ also took a strong stance on immigration promising to reduce the number of people coming to Quebec which in the modern age sadly struck a chord with a large chunk of the electorate. 

As the counterpoint to the rise of CAQ the green socialist party Quebec Solidaire (QS) saw a trebling of its seats in the National Assembly to 10 (equal to the PQ). Quebec Solidaire is also a sovereigntist party and is open about independence being best for the future of Quebec. QS have tapped in to the anti neoliberal thread of modern politics to connect with a younger outward looking electorate looking for real change and welcoming of others.

Quebec Solidaire recently entered into a merger with the smaller Option Nationale (ON) a sovereigntist party positioned to the left and also finding support among younger voters. ON joined QS as a platform allowing two of its best performers, its leader Sol Zanetti and artist Catherine Dorion to stand and win in neighbouring seats in Quebec City. The energy within QS at this time must be strong with the success and the engagement of so many more electors looking for something more radical than the centre right neoliberal offered by CAQ and the Liberals. They put forward a platform of hope for the future. Their leader Manon Masse played the election well and comes over as a non politician while getting the politics of the merger and positioning of QS to make the breakthroughs they were looking for. The test for QS in the future will be to break out of the urban areas of Montreal and Quebec City and grow their base.

What of PQ? True they have suffered a huge setback reduced to 10 seats and not qualifying for official recognition in the National Assembly. The party has had a tumultuous time since it was last in power in Quebec as a minority administration, afraid of the independence question and vulnerable to the rise of CAQ. Following its defeat four years ago it changed leaders and veteran Pauline Marois exited with businessman Pierre Karl Peladeau briefly taking over the effect of which seemed to reposition PQ on the right before it then shifted toward the centre left under its next leader Jean-Francois Lisee. He's gone now along with many of their experienced politicians. However if PQ is to be reborn perhaps it needed a cathartic event like this meltdown to shake away any complacency. Recent research into who votes for the PQ showed that the party base support was still the baby-boomers that had supported it from its beginnings and it was failing to attract younger voters. Some analysts said that if the party continued on the trajectory indicated by the research it would eventually cease to exist. However as the PQ deals with its defeat in the election and setback for it as a party it may find that it has some of the younger members it needs to redefine and rebuild. Younger members were successfully elected - Catherine Fournier (who some in Scotland will know from her visit during Indyref) and the victor of the recount Meganne Perry Melancon. The future of PQ could be theirs as a generational shift and a redefinition of their aims for the 21st century is probably exactly what the party needs. It needs to see itself as the future rather than through the prism of the past.

The future of Quebec will be interesting to watch but it is worth saying from a Scottish perspective that in Quebec the aftermath of the failed second referendum has cast a long shadow over the sovereigntist movement, one that perhaps the independence movement here needs to keep in mind when demands arise for an immediate referendum. The cost for calling it wrong could be incalculable.