Eclectic Glasgow Entertainments #26

Reviewing some Glasgow theatre offerings, poetry and music from this week

Alasdair Gray gave an interesting interview in The Observer at the weekend, talking of his feeling of running out of time to do all the things he has wanted. He seems more productive than ever at present with his decoration of the Oran Mor interior, a new collection of his short stories released this week and his tiled wall at Hillhead subway station unveiled recently. He is often described as a polymath; playwright, author, artist and activist. He grew up in an environment in Glasgow where artists could meet up, share ideas and try them out. One place you see young artists mixing with old hands and getting to try stuff out is at Oran Mor's A Play, a Pie and a Pint.

One person who I've seen giving a reading alongside Alasdair Gray recently is Alan Bissett, a man with many strings to his bow. He is an author, performer, has written plays for Oran Mor's A Play, a Pie and a Pint and is active in the 'Yes' campaign for independence. He has admitted light-heartedly on Twitter to being exhausted by his role in the independence campaign but he brought plenty of energy to his one man show "The Red Hourglass", which reached The Arches last week. Originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer he played the parts of several spiders being observed in a St Andrews research facility. The parts were individually well written and performed, but the pieces struggled to hang together to make a coherent point, despite the final summing up by the research scientist. He has often collaborated with others through Oran Mor and seems not to be lacking in confidence or ambition. The artistic community of Scotland isn't enormous though, and contributes so much to defining us, entertaining us, making us think. Like your corner shop, unless you use it you will wake up one day and find that it has gone and all you have left is that huge, bland multinational brand you've got to drive to. I guess that is the point I'm trying to make in blogging all these events, trying to help people see what things are going on.

This week a A Play, a Pie and a Pint has a class act in town with Bill Paterson as writer and performer in Astonishing Archie. I think I'm right in saying it is based on the bones of a 30 minute piece he wrote as a radio play a few years ago to perform with Stanley Baxter. Sadly Richard Wilson had to withdraw from this performance for health reasons. He is ably replaced by Kenny Ireland, who recently directed The Cone Gatherers which I saw in September at the Theatre Royal. Sharon Small of Inspector Lynley Mysteries fame and the voice of Alex Norton also feature. The star qualities of Bill Paterson has drawn a larger than usual gaggle of Kelvinside ladies and gentlemen to Oran Mor and the place was packed when I went there on Tuesday, and I can confidently say that I was about 30 years younger than most of the other spectators. Two brothers born either side of the war view the world (and music) differently and fight it out over their pal Archie's farewell funeral music - Sinatra or Elvis. Bill Paterson's Allan and the script are warm and witty. A tale of sibling rivalry fought out through the medium of musical tastes, it is brought together nicely by Sharon Small's Church of Scotland minister. It's good, gentle fun and I could see it working well on BBC Scotland as a 60 minute play, early evening on Hogmanay before Only an Excuse.

Tam Dean Burn

Cross pollination was in evidence again down at SWG3, in the Jim Lambie built "poetry club". On Thursday night monthly Edinburgh arts project "Neu! Reekie!" visited Glasgow for its second outing here, its 26th edition in total. This Edinburgh scheme describes itself as an 'anti-cabaret' and keeps itself so under the radar that this is the first time I've come across it (which maybe just shows how Glasgow-centric I am). Whoever put this evening together chose well. First up Kevin Williamson (Rebel Inc founder) and Michael Pederson introduced Tam Dean Burn performing a Bertold Brecht poem on New York boom and bust, today on Thanksgiving Day. All very cool to a soundtrack by JD Twitch, a Gershwin Dub.

Graeme Ronald, in solo Remember Remember guise did his ephemeral, wistful stuff in a beautiful 30 minute set (I could happily have had the same again). He's a multi-instrumentalist who started off doing his stuff as a soloist, looping and repeating sounds as diverse as guitar chords and bubble wrap pops to make atmospheric, melodic tunes. Playing electric guitar with interference from an iPod tonight was a new one for me. If you haven't picked up their album (as a band) The Quickening, go get it now.

Next up was the ever entertaining Liz Lochhead, who changed her readings to follow the vibe of the evening, reading "Ira and George" (Gershwin). It was also nice to hear her powerful poem "Listen" again, the voice of a kid at a Children's Panel. She is a great advert for poetry as an aural rather than a written form and a great reader. Her corbie (crow) says 100 times what Ted Hughes's manages in its opening speech from her play Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.

Liz Lochhead

Scottish BAFTA winner and now Oscar long-list nominated animator Will Anderson then introduced his film "The Making of Longbird", a graduation project from Edinburgh College of Art which was a highlight of the evening. Look out for the Longbird, funny, clever. Very entertaining. Low Miffs front man, Leo Condi and a three piece band finished off an eclectic evening with some songs by Bertold Brecht and Jacques Brel and we finally got to see the Flying Scotsman sculpture/ smoke machine high up on the wall in action. Bit jealous of Edinburgh getting these Neu! Reekie! evenings on a monthly basis and I'll look out for the next Glasgow one now.

12 Hour Blitz of Edinburgh Festival 2012

Over the past few years I've annually tried to spend a day or two through at the Edinburgh festival. So, buoyed by a successful trip through on Saturday to the mysterious eastern side of Scotland to watch Partick Thistle beat Dunfermline 1-0 in Fife, I was back east again today, this time to do a 12 hour blitz around the festival.

First up something for the younger children, Petya and the Wolf, by Theatre Pushkin at the Assembly Roxy. My children's reviews of it suggest that they found it interesting but ultimately rather bamboozling as a pair of Russian clowns act out the well known story. It is maybe something that more appeals to 42 year olds like their dad, brought up on Czechoslovakian animated short films on BBC2, and I think the demographics of the audience reflected that with slightly more unaccompanied adults than children present.

Sunny morning at the Edinburgh Book Festival venue

Over at the Edinburgh Book Festival I went to see Michael Grant with my 12 year old son. He is the author of piles of books but has found recent success with his teenage fiction, the GONE series and his new series BZRK which he revealed has got Sam Raimi lined up to direct the film if/when it gets made. I haven't ever read his books but my son devours them. Michael Grant has clearly lead an interesting life and was an engaging and honest speaker, a big shaven headed guy who manages to call people "dude" with a straight face and it doesn't sound odd. He tries to temper his language for the age of the audience and almost succeeds but would clearly be good company discussing cigars and whisky.

Quick dash along to the Pleasance in time to see Horrible Histories Barmy Britain, based on the popular books and TV series, a light hearted romp through British history, jammed with gory stories and facts in the usual Horrible Histories manner. The two performers through a variety of costume changes go from the Roman diet as "Manky-Chef" characteers, to WWI with Earl Haig reporting back to Lord Sugar on the Apprentice. The show is an adapted version of the longer one running in England just now and they've played up the Scottish stories for playing in (Jessie King baby farmer, Burke and Hare, William Wallace) but it is funny how a show about British history jars a bit when the Scottish vs British vs English bit gets a little hazy.

City Art Centre's exhibitions this year are a bit disappointing after David Mach's dramatic show there last year. The Leslie Hunter and Scottish Colourists are a bit of a safe option and very familiar. The top floor has "Human Race", an exhibition allegedly "Inside the History of Sports Medicine", but its a bit of a jumble of disparate items and feels more like a cash grab for Lottey funding in an Olympic year.

More memorable and as mad as a sack of badgers are Harry Hill's paintings, My Hobby, up on the second floor of the clothes shop White Stuff on George Street. If I tell you it has everything from a coconut painted with the face of Jarvis Cocker to a painting of a multi-headed Chris Tarrant running about on the surface of Mars, you'll understand that his work has something for everyone.

Past the sale rack and upstairs to Harry Hill's stuff

Walking about I now had Bruce Springsteen playing in my ears to get me in the right mood for the next show, Sarfraz Manzoor doing 'The Boss Rules' at the Assembly Rooms. As I am ages with him, his stories of living through the80s, finding Bruce's music, starting a family and finding song lyrics chiming with what is going on struck a chord with me. He makes great play in the opening that he's not a comedian, but it is a humorous and warmhearted show and I was inspired to buy his book afterwards. I don't know why I bother as I feel foolishly self-conscious at these things ("yes, sign it to Paul, nobody else would thank me for it") and you can always get the books cheaper on Amazon. It just seems polite.

As the rain was now pelting down outside I decided to try and stay in one building for a couple of hours. Last time that I was at the Assembly Rooms on George Street I think was at a fundraising ceilidh to help the Eigg islanders buy out the landowner. The space which I was in back then now seems to have become Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Edinburgh so I had a wild rabbit tagliolini where last I'd done a Gay Gordons.

Arranging what shows to see sometimes was more to do with what was on at a free slot I had than any great plan, so it was good fortune for me that Stewart Lee's show at the Assembly Rooms was on at 6pm as it was one of the best things that I saw all day. He appears prickly as he delivers a fine monologue/rant about not having any material for a show and complains that half the audience aren't knowledgeable enough to get the jokes anyway. But it is comedians that are really the subject of his gaze. People tweeting and those emailing abuse also get it in the neck as he nicely lands back at the Carpet Remnant World of the show's title at the end.

Finally I'd saved the thing I'd been looking forward to most of all for last, James Kelman and Liz Lochead back up at the book festival in Charlotte Square. Familiar faces such as Irvine Welsh and Jackie Kay were in the audience too. I've long been an avid reader of Kelman's books and Liz Lochead's plays are some of the best I've seen in recent years. Her poetry I've only come to recently. Kelman is promoting his new book "Mo Said She Was Quirky" and gave a good reading from it. It was great to hear him read his stuff. In my head I find his writing makes perfect sense, it just sounds like real people's thoughts, ideas, actions and voices and he reads it as I envisage it when reading. I cannot equate that with some of the uncomprehending and sniffy reviews his books get. When asked about reviewers he breezily shrugged it all off. His early influences maybe explain my affection for his work as he basically read off my youthful reading list when asked; Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Zola and Camus. Interesting too was his comparison with the visual arts in how he works and admiration for Cezanne, Rodin and Modigliani. Also nice to hear the Pewter Pot and Rubiyat bars getting a name check. I swallowed my pride again and bought his book to get it signed, he feigned signing my book "to Pall", one of those occasions you think of the witty retorts on the drive home. Also the only time anyone has ever made that funereal pun with my name - dark humour, eh? Back to Glasgow.

Varied weekend entertainments, Glasgow

My head is spinning after a very random selection of outings this weekend. The problem I have is that I see something that seems interesting, then order tickets whilst forgetting what other stuff I've already booked. This leads to weekends like the one just past where I have a very incongruous selection of nights out.

Friday Night is Poetry Night
The Aye Write festival in the Mitchell Library had a sell out show by the laureate poets of Britain, Wales and Scotland; Carol Ann Duffy, Gillian Clarke and Liz Lochhead. I was familiar with some of the work from  Carol Ann Duffy and Liz Lochead but it is always given new vigour when a poet explains the process and thinking that went into making a poem. Liz Lochead discussed some of the pressures of being a poet who has to write on demand, but from the examples she read, she clearly does it with aplomb.

Saturday Night is Comedy Night
Saturday was obviously a day for celebrating, what with Partick Thistle winning 5-0 down in Dumfries I was not surprised at all to see Sauchiehall Street littered with drunken bodies from early evening. THen it clicked, when I realised I was the only one who didn't have a Guiness hat on, green and white balloons tied to my wrist and a shamrock painted on my face. It was St Patricks Day and as Mark Millar accurately described it recently Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night at the best of times now resembles Arkham Asylum. We were off to see Rich Hall at the Garage, up for the Glasgow Comedy Festival. He had noted the carnage outside too and did a great show rambling on about that and other stuff, singing with his guitarist and drummer accompanying at times and showing an old hand's knack at improv. He seemed like a man you could pleasantly spend an evening sharing a beer with. We passed a couple of bars on the way home and I had to dress like the locals so as not to stand out.

Obligatory dress-code in town Saturday night

Sunday Night is Music Night
What with my fellow admirer of eclectic music not currently in the country I had to go to the gig at the Art School on my own as nobody else could be persuaded that Blanck Mass supported by Konx-om-pax was a good idea. So I went alone, sat in a bar reading poetry about a skinhead desecrating graves first to get me in the mood, then went downstairs to get into the chin-stroking groove. First up was Konx-om-pax. It was dark down there so don't be surprised if you can't see anything in the video below, and the only action onstage was a man playing Angry Birds or something on his iMac whilst we nodded appreciatively to his drone, distortion and electronic beeps. (I actually rather liked it.)

Konx-om-pax

Next up was Blanck Mass, a side project of Bristol's Benjamin John Power, half of the experimental/noise duo Fuck Buttons. I enjoy the energy of the Fuck Buttons stuff and had it on today when I was out running and though I enjoy the ambient, wafting feel of the Blanck Mass stuff it can become quite introspective. Certainly he had more lights, buttons and wires on his table than the support act, but at times it was like watching Scotty concentrating on doing a particularly fiddly teleportation over 15 minutes, (except Scotty had swapped his red jersey for a green and white T-shirt that said Jamaica on it, but you know what I mean). It was a gig where several people ended up sitting or lying on the floor to help them stroke their chins, but I prefer to have a bit more head-nodding and toe tapping.

Blanck Mass

Anyway that ended the weekend on a relaxing note, a weekend on which Partick Thistle won 5-0, Rangers got beaten by Dundee Utd and just about lost the League, and Celtic got beaten by Kilmarnock in the League Cup Final. An all round good weekend.