Archive for July, 2006

Stone Roses Experience

12 Comments Published by Matthias July 25th, 2006 in Side Column.

Well it’s yet another tribute act up in Orkney this weekend, this time one with the ominous reputation of being one of the best tribute bands around. While it will sadden some to see the club packed out for a tribute act and sparse for acts like the Crimea, I’m trying to see it for […]

Primal Scream Rumour

6 Comments Published by Matthias July 22nd, 2006 in Side Column.

Has anybody heard anything to back up the rumour that was floating a around a couple of weeks ago about Primal Scream coming up? There didn’t seem to be a whole lot to substantiate it, but apparently they had expressed a desire to come up here and were in talks with a certain owner of […]

The Bees play Kirkwall

18 Comments Published by Matthias July 21st, 2006 in Gigs.

Upbeat indie rockers The Bees from the Isle of Wight are hitting Orkney, playing Fusion on August 4th as part of their highlands and islands tour. They are a decent retro throwback band, complete with cheery tracks, instrument swapping, beards and wooly hats.
Listen to tracks Left Foot Step Down, Stand & End of the Steet:
The […]

Singer loses job for going to Download.

7 Comments Published by Pete July 21st, 2006 in Side Column.

In a gallant display of loyalty to emo-worship, lead singer Pete of Vague Inspiration lost his job at Somerfield as a direct result of attending the Download festival. “I only got the job to buy cd’s in the first place” said a distraught Pete yesterday, adding “when someone pisses on your sunshine piss on them.”
His […]

Jazz Summer School Tutors at Woodwick

5 Comments Published by Gemma McGregor July 19th, 2006 in Reviews.

On concluding the three day jazz summer school, the five tutors took centre stage themselves on Tuesday for a goodbye gig at Woodwick House. Following an impressive opening number led by singer Maureen Cursiter, the quartet went on to play some upbeat Jazz standards. It was a treat to hear drummer Bernie Wilde, with his […]

Kris Drever in Kirkwall

3 Comments Published by Gemma McGregor July 18th, 2006 in Reviews.

After an exhilarating weekend festival on the tiny island of North Ronaldsay, Kris Drever stopped off to play a gig for his old friends in Kirkwall. Joined by Eamon Coyne on banjo and mandola, Gavin Firth on guitar and Erik Laughton on bodhran and snare drum, Kris played some rollicking good sets with everything from […]

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Highlights



Side Column

  • Finding New Music Online
    The Hype Machine is an audio blog aggregator that tracks songs posted on music blogs and lets you listen to them all from within the site. It often has a bit more of a varied selection than you find on Myspace, and is alot less annoying. Basically you just go there and type in the name of an artist and it'll search through hundreds of sites for all audio files. It also shows you related music videos on Youtube. It's especially useful when you hear a new track on the radio and want to listen to it again and find a few more tracks by the same band. For example, a quick search for Klaxons yields a plethora of tracks from the band, including remixes and live tracks. Go try it out with you favourites and let us know what you find. - #

  • Imaginative Fundraiser
    "Relay for life" was a fundraising event staged at Picky sports track on August 12th by Macmillan cancer care, who raised the astonishing sum of £50,000. Live music was provided aboard an open sided truck to spur the runners on. Sadly, I missed local blues band "Mean Business", but next up were two of the members of Blindspot - Josh McGregor and Darren Tait. The boys played electro & acoustic guitars and sang in harmony, providing a wide range of tones and textures. The songs penned by themselves were particularly striking - "White Spark" mirroring the drive and optimism of the crowd, and "Hold On" displaying Darren's masterful control of his instrument. Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" was a fitting song to choose for the finale, and the boys gave a tender performance of this difficult number with it's high vocals and irregular tuning. - #

  • Matt Willis (Busted) Interview
    By Clarissa Linnet. He might not be to everyone's tastes, but former bassist of Busted, now solo singer Matt Willis was recently interviewed by Orkney-based magazine Musicadian. Here, you can watch the exclusive video, where we discuss what we can expect from his forthcoming debut album and why he preferred being in a band... Click here to watch. - #

  • Darkness dropped?
    Gossip-by-email rag Popbitch reported today (without any explanation) that "The Darkness have been dropped". This seems a bit suss to me as you would have expected them to have had more than a 2-album deal when they signed with Atlantic. Still, after a disappointing second album the label may have got out on a contractual obligations clause. Lead singer Justin (of the mtv: "go away your teeth are wonky" fame) has just checked into the Priory, where he will be joined by Pete Doherty later today for a court-appointed stay. Rock n' Rehab baby! - #

  • Mars Patrol didn't make it up
    Sadly The Mars Patrol ran into boat trouble and Wednesday's gig had to be cancelled. We had arranged an interview, so hopefully the gig will be rescheduled soon and we can catch up with them. - #

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