Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

Blindspot win Battle of the Bands Final

15 Comments Published by Clazz September 24th, 2006 in Gigs, Reviews.

Blindspot have been announced as the well-deserved winners of Battle Of The Bands 2006. After mind-blowing performances from all six finalists last Thursday and a difficult decision from the three judges, the overall top three bands were announced as Superego, Roll Machine and Blindspot respectively.
With plenty of clapping and chanting right from the start, it […]

Battle Of The Bands Heat 2 Review

3 Comments Published by Ian September 17th, 2006 in Gigs, Reviews.

After an explosive Heat 1, where Roll Machine, Audio Narcosis and Superego went through, Heat 2 proved to be just as successful. There were six more orcadian bands battling it out for the chance to go through to the final and each trying to impress the judges with their originality. Hetty & The Petticoats were […]

Battle of the Bands Heat 1 Review

5 Comments Published by Clazz September 11th, 2006 in Gigs, Reviews.

By Clarissa Linnet. Around 500 people turned up to watch the first heat of the much-anticipated Battle of the Bands, which is to take place in Orkney every two years. Since the last Battle of the Bands in May 2004, various young bands have pushed their way into the spotlight, building up their own fan […]

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 […]

Stave Natives / Roll Machine / Dazed

8 Comments Published by Dazed July 17th, 2006 in Reviews.

Saturday night saw the first in a string of events intended to display the increasingly creative and widespread band movement in Orkney. Although there was a low turn out (a disappointing trend in such events) the atmosphere was relaxed and everyone enjoyed the wealth of talent on offer.
First band of the night ‘Dazed’ (to which […]

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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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